Against the Odds (18 page)

While I get gloved up, Gus discusses the news
conference with me. “The hotel booked our flight for us. I insisted
we fly out the same day we arrived.” 

“
Good, I can’t stay. I
have too much at home to deal with.” 

“
I’m beginning to see
that,” Gus says and I feel that there is more to come. “I wonder if
maybe this isn’t a good time for you to fight.” 

I move my hands to stop Dad and Tim from
wrapping them. “You think I can’t stay focused on the
fight?” 

“
I’m just saying you have
a lot going on,” Gus says holding up his hands in
defense.  

“
I got this. You worry
about getting us to where we need to be and I’ll worry about
winning the championship fight.” 

Gus, says, “Fair enough. Are you
ready?” 

“
Let’s
dance.” 

Bruce Myles

I sit in my office waiting for Drake Sinclair
to arrive. He’s my last appointment and he’s already late. To say I
was shocked by his request to have a private meeting with me would
be an understatement. I knew the motions we filed in family court
for custody of Madison would get his attention, but I didn’t think
Drake would reach out to me personally. I figured he was a man who
would let his attorney handle everything. He’s not as smart as I
once gave him credit for.  

When Drake is thirty minutes late, I stand to
leave. I have dinner plans with my wife, Mason, Angel, and their
twins, Ana and Alex. It pleases me to know that Mason has finally
settled down. I gather my briefcase and head towards the door when
the speaker comes to life and my secretary announces my last
appointment is here.  

I open the door and watch
as Drake Sinclair saunters towards me. He looks like a powerful
man, but he is definitely a stupid man.
He
pays an attorney to do what?
“Drake,” I
say, politely.  

“
Bruce, thank you for
seeing me,” he says with an outreached hand.  

I shake his hand and say, “I see you didn’t
take my advice and bring your attorney with you.”  

He laughs. “No, I didn’t. Mr. Reed is on a
more important mission.” 

 
Once he is in my
office, I close the door and motion towards the chair, “Please,
have a seat.” 

“
Thank you. Besides, I
wanted to speak to you alone.” 

“
I’m sure this has to do
with Madison. Did you not understand the paperwork you received
from the courts about custody?”  

“
Don’t be so
condescending, it’s unbecoming of you.”  

“
What is it you want,
Drake” I don’t have all night.”  

“
Before we go into court,
I thought you should know that the secret is out about Bobby
Grether.” 

“
What secret are you
talking about?” I take the seat at my desk across from him. Drake
looks smug. “The Grethers have no secrets,” I insist.
Drake Sinclair is starting to piss me
off.
  

“
Really?” he rubs his
scruffy chin with his left hand. He raises a brow and says, “It
took me some searching, and I have to say, it even took me by
surprise.” 

“
Drake, really, I have
someplace I need to be. I don’t have all
night.”  

He continues, “Bobby’s drug abuse and his
police record aren’t a secret? It was a bit shocking, I have to
admit.” 

I knew about Bobby’s past,
but I had no idea Drake would find out.
“No, it’s public record,” I say, casually.
Bobby told me he had his one and only police
record expunged. Is this what Drake is talking about?
“I’m not going to sit her and discuss the
Grethers with you.”
 
 

“
Well, the police record
for assault is public record but his drug addiction isn’t.” Drake
sits on the edge of his chair and asks, “Do you honestly think any
court in Florida is going to give a junkie custody of a
child,
my child
?” 

“
Drake, this conversation
is over.” I stand up and walk around my desk to escort Drake out of
my office.  

Drake laughs and stands tall as he casually
walks towards the door. “Mr. Myles, I can see I caught you off
guard. I didn’t want you showing up in court…
unprepared.” 

“
Are you forgetting who
the attorney is?” I say as I hold open the door. “Unprepared? We’re
ready for whatever you think you have. And if this is all you
have…” 

“
Don’t underestimate me,
Bruce, This is just the icing on the cake. I haven’t even begun to
scratch the surface.” He walks through the door, turns around and
says, “When I get through digging the dirt up on Bobby
Grether…well, let’s just say, he won’t stand a chance of getting
custody of Madison.” 

“
I wouldn’t get your hopes
up too soon, Drake. It’s still early in the game to announce a
victor. Have a good evening.” I say before shutting my office door.
I look at my watch and I am already over an hour late for dinner. I
then call my wife and tell her I’ll be working late at the office,
again. This conversation with Drake has absolutely caught me off
guard. Maybe I didn’t give him enough credit. I don’t call Bobby, I
call in my investigative team instead.  

Leah

I stand by the bed and
watch as Gracie sleeps. I smile at all of her facial expressions.
She is my dream come true. Mom and Margie come in and spend the
morning with us. Mom and I have lunch together in the cafeteria
while Margie stays with Gracie. I stocked the nursery with a few
bottles of breastmilk for Gracie, so she is in good shape. I’m
thankful my breast milk
is plentiful and
pumping isn’t a problem. I am still amazed at how much milk I can
get from pumping. With Jamie, I always worried she was going
hungry, but not with Gracie.  

During lunch Mom says, “When Robert goes out
to Vegas in a couple weeks, you can stay at the house with me if
you’d like.” 

“
Thank you, I actually was
thinking about doing that. But then I decided I would stay at the
hospital with Gracie. You know, have like a slumber party the few
days he’ll be gone.” 

“
That sounds like fun. Are
you assuming she’ll still be here?” Mom
asks.  

“
I was. I didn’t even
consider that she may be home by then.” 

“
Well, we’ll see what
happens. If she is home and you want help, I can stay with
you.” 

“
Let’s just plan on you
staying with us, if Gracie is home by then. It’ll be easier to not
move everything I need to your house for a few days.” I know Robert
said he would be home the same day, but there is always the chance
that something will happen.  

“
Okay, sounds good.
Nothing like a slumber party with my granddaughter,” she smiles.
“And if she’s still in the hospital, we’ll plan on me staying here
with you.” 

“
Mom, you don’t have to do
that…”  

Mom interrupts and says, “I want to. I know I
don’t have to.” 

“
Thank
you.”  

We finish lunch and when we get to the
nursery, there is loud beeping and commotion. I frantically look
for Margie and Gracie. Margie is standing in the corner of the room
holding the baby. I search the room to see what the problem is.
When I see the medical staff is across the room, I know the
incident is with the newest and smallest child brought in last
night. 

N.I.C.U. is a small area with maybe 10
newborns. And because the babies are usually here for a lengthy
stay, you know who’s here and you get to know them and their
parents. Not personally, but you do have a bond with them that
others don’t. We are all here against our will, praying for the
best possible outcome for our children. 

I watch in horror as they use a small Ambu
bag to breathe life into a helpless infant. They quickly and
efficiently transport the incubator out of the room. I cry as they
exit the room while performing C.P.R. on the baby. I don’t see any
family members leaving with them.  

I rush over to Gracie and
hold her tightly but gently. I kiss her tiny head and move my head
side to side so I can feel her hair on my lips. Inhaling deeply I
smell her unique hospital scent. It’s not Baby Magic, which I love,
but it’s a clean and sterile smell.
Gracie’s smell.
 

“
I… I… I don’t know what
happened,” Margie stutters. “One minute I was singing softly to the
baby, and then all these alarms went off. The nurses and doctors
came running from all direction.” 

Mom comforts Margie and
Gracie comforts me. I say a silent prayer for the very sick infant
and I also thank God for watching over Gracie.
Is it wrong to be grateful that it wasn’t my
child?
  

Mom and Margie leave and I continue to hold
Gracie. They didn’t bring the baby back in. I try not to think
about what that means. The other mothers and fathers visiting their
child also look fearful. Nurse Amy is out today. I’m not sure I
would ask her about the baby. I’m not sure that I really want to
know. I’m happier living in my own clueless little bubble. I text
Robert because I feel the need to be close to him.  

Leah: How’s your workout,
Ace? 
 

Robert: It’s good. Is
everything all right?”
 

Leah: It’s good. Gracie’s
wonderful and she misses you.
 

Robert: I miss her, more.
I’m showering now. I’ll be there soon. 
 

Leah: See you, soon. Be
careful. I love you.
 

Robert: Always, and I love
you, too.
 

I want to say to hurry,
but I don’t. While I am waiting for Robert, I decide something. He
won’t be happy with me or my decision, but my mind is made up.
While Gracie sleeps I read, I pace, and I pray. My mind races with
thoughts of Jamie, Madison, Gracie, and the baby who may or may not
survive to see another day. The dark cloud comes closer; it looms,
wanting to get ahold of me.
Why
me?
 

I’m feeding Gracie when
Robert walks through the door. He nods in the direction of some of
the other parents. Some parents are attending to their child’s
needs while others wait, just wait, for their child to get well
enough to be taken off the ventilator or to be moved from their
incubator. Whoever said that time stands still must have had a very
sick child.
 
 

I smile when I see Robert. He looks around
the room before he makes his way towards me. “That didn’t take
long,” I say, returning his kiss. 

He kisses Grace next, then says, “I caught a
ride with Gus. I wanted to spend some time with my
girls.” 

“
I’m glad you did. We
missed you.”  

When Gracie is done eating, I hand her to
Robert. He positions her on his lap, cups her cheeks with one hand
and pats her gently on her back. “Why do you burp her like that?
She looks so funny when you squeeze her cheeks like
that.” 

He laughs as he watches her facial
expressions. “I burp her like this so I can see her. I can’t look
at her if she is on my shoulder. And stop calling our daughter
funny looking,” he teases. “Gracie, did you hear Mommy say you look
funny?” 

I laugh, too. Gracie crinkles up her nose and
begins to scream. Not a little dainty cry, but a full out
bawling-your-eyes-outcry. “See Leah, you hurt her feelings,” he
says as he puts her up on his shoulder. She calms.  

I continue to laugh. “I see now. It’s a
conspiracy against Mom. Tomorrow Gracie and I will plot against
Dad.” 

“
My Gracie won’t stand for
that. Will you, Gracie?” Robert coos.  

I love watching the interaction he has with
her. My warrior husband is nothing but mush when he is with our
daughter.  

I remember when Jamie was
a baby and even in her toddler years, Robert would always refer to
her as his Jamie. One night she was in bed and he was tucking her
in. I was eavesdropping in on their conversation. He asked Jamie.
“Whose girl are you?”
 

“
I’m your girl,
Daddy.”
 

I smiled as I listened to
their conversation.
 

“
Who loves you to the moon
and to the stars and back?”
 

“
You do,
Daddy.”
 

“
Whose little girl will
you always be, no matter how old you are?”
 

“
I’ll always be your
little girl. I love you bunches, Daddy.”
 

“
I love you to the…” he
begins to say. 
 

“
Moon and stars and back,”
she giggles. “I know, Daddy.”
 

He kisses her and turns
off her lamp before leaving. I wait for him outside of her bedroom
door and say, “Is this a new form of brainwashing?” I stand on my
tiptoes so I can see him eye to eye.
 

“
Is that what that looked
like?” he asks in between kisses. 
 

“
That is exactly what that
looked like,” I say, kissing him back. 
 

He scoops me up and
carries me into our bedroom. “I’m just reassuring her that she will
always be my little girl.”