I almost dropped the watering can.
Vanessa.
I walked outside.
She looked me over.
“Margaret.”
Not “hello.”
Not “how are you?”
Not “how are the boys?”
Just my name.
The man beside her stepped forward.
“Mrs. Ellis? I’m Calvin Mercer. I represent Ms. Reed.”
Vanessa had returned to her maiden name.
He handed me a large envelope.
“I’ve been retained regarding a petition for termination of guardianship and restoration of parental custody.”
I stared at him.
Then at Vanessa.
“You want custody?”
Vanessa folded her arms.
“They’re my children.”
It was incredible how much three words could hurt.
My children.
As though the ten missing years were an inconvenient gap in paperwork.
“You haven’t spoken to them in a decade.”
“I was dealing with things.”
“For ten years?”
“I don’t have to explain my life to you on the sidewalk.”
“You absolutely do if you’re trying to take those boys.”
