Small hands swept over the paper, leaving a large purple streak. Then they went back over with blue to make some smaller squiggles. Melodie was typically a very meticulous artist, but today she was “experimenting.” At least that’s what she told her father.
The painting River was creating beside her was a bit more contained and totally more boring. While Melodie’s focus was creating art, River’s goal was to preserve the cleanliness of his kitchen table.
This was the first Tuesday in a long time where Nia wasn’t coming for Melodie. Even though his feelings towards his ex-wife were raw, Melodie wouldn’t understand why she wasn’t coming. So, River used himself as a replacement. He thought it was going pretty well. Melodie was smiling and laughing and a complete mess and she hadn’t asked about her mother once.
River had just pressed a red thumbprint on the top corner of his painting when someone knocked on the door. For a moment, he assessed the mess. The table was cleaner than he’d expected because most of the paint landed on his arms and Melodie’s . . . everything. River sat up carefully to avoid touching anything else and jogged over to the sink.
Rinsing off the paint and wiping his hands didn’t take too long, but whoever was behind the door was impatient. The knocking didn’t stop. By the time he had a hand on the doorknob, a scowl was firmly settled on his face.
When he swung the door open, the expression deepened.
Daureen Benjamin stood right in front of him, irritation etched into the few wrinkles donning her skin. Nia was a step behind her, picking her nails distractedly.
Under the Daureen’s scrutinizing stare, his old t-shirt and sweatpants suddenly felt embarrassing. A fun afternoon with his daughter became an immature choice for a single father to make. He hated the way Mrs. Benjamin looked at him. He so badly wished to slam the door in her face.
“What are you two doing here?” He questioned, crossing his paint speckled arms over his chest.
“To take Melodie, of course,” Daureen replied. The words were like a dagger through his heart and River widened his stance as if to protect Melodie from the women outside. Daureen was blind to the fear she caused and continued on to say, “Nia watches her on Tuesdays.”
River was relieved, of course. But he shifted his attention to the next glaring detail.
“Why would I give my child to you after you threatened me?” he scoffed. Daureen Benjamin was always presumptuous. Always audacious. When he married Nia, he thought it was just a cute family quirk. Now, he wondered how he could ever stand being around this old woman.
An evil spark shone in her aged gaze, and River prepared himself.
“Do you really want that on record?” she asked. A moment later, she pulled out her phone, showing an ongoing recording. “That you barred Melodie from being with her family? From her sweet grandmother?”
A muscle ticked in Nia’s jaw at the sight of the device but she didn’t say a word. River refocused on the older Benjamin. She was awfully persistent. River didn’t know if this conversation had the power to ruin his odds in court. But he didn’t have the liberty to take chances. This was his daughter. This was Melodie.
“Fine,” he grumbled, regretting the words when the older woman’s full lips stretched into a perfect smile. “But we were painting so I’ll have to give her a bath.”
River took a step back, pausing when the two women began to follow him.
“You can wait out here.”
River swung the door shut.
They had a car. And more importantly, there was no need to waste common courtesy on those two.
He told the truth about the bath, but he didn’t clarify how long it would take. River spent 50 long minutes cleaning up the table, putting away their paintings, and giving Melodie a bath. He agreed when she asked to use the bubbles and didn’t rush her cosplaying as a mermaid.
“Do you remember Daddy’s phone number?” he asked as he toweled her dry.
“Mmmhmm!”
Melodie proudly recited River’s phone number. And when he asked her to recite the harder one, Hunter’s, she did it even faster.
“I have a song for them,” she explained condescendingly, looking at her father over the tip of her nose.
“Oh, I see.”
Melodie looked quite proud of herself and it made River feel better about putting her in Nia’s hands.
He’d known Nia Benjamin since he was 23-years-old, a kid who knew nothing about life and even less about love. He’d grown up with her in some ways. He never wanted to imagine that she’d kidnap Melodie. But the trust was gone and his daughter was everything to him.
River let Melodie dress herself, using that time to slip a tablet into her backpack. River installed a tracking app on her tablet a few months ago, right after Nia came back. He only told Hunter that he did it, and he’d never turned on the app before. But now, River might have to use it. His heart sank at the thought.
This situation was the last thing River had wanted for Melodie. But, with the numbers memorized and the tracker in her bag, River felt just a little bit better about opening the door for the Benjamins again. Daureen seemed, unsurprisingly, exacerbated. It was almost an hour since they’d knocked on his front door, but River couldn’t care less about her discomfort.
At the sight of her grandmother and mother, Melodie’s face lit up. River’s protective instinct flared up when she threw herself into the cruel arms of the older Benjamin but he bit his fist to keep it at bay.
Daureen started dragging Melodie away, leaving Nia standing on the porch alone. River’s throat grew tight and his hands flexed, dying to pull Melodie back into the safety of their home.
“If Melodie’s not back here by 8 pm sharp, I’m coming to get her myself,” River seethed, glaring fiercely at the woman he used to trust. Nia’s eyes slipped to the ground and a small ‘okay’ was her only response.
With her small boots on the driveway, Melodie turned around as if to say goodbye to her dad. But Nia was already pulling the front door shut. River stood there for a moment, processing the confused expression Melodie wore when the door was shut in his face.
—————
Across town, in one of Toronto’s many high-rise buildings, Hunter met with a lawyer. But Coby Montgomery wasn’t just any lawyer. He was a lawyer specialized in divorce proceedings and familial disputes. He was also a groomsman alongside Hunter and one of Josh’s closest friends. Hunter could have gone to one of the copyright or tax lawyers in a contract with Stick Figure Animations but River and Melodie meant everything to him. They deserved the best.
Getting a meeting free of charge was already too nice of Coby. Hunter tried to find a way to repay him. But the man was wealthy enough to not need money. And, when Hunter offered dinner, he patted his round stomach, saying “I’m trying to cut down on fast food.”
So they focused on River’s case. Over the past several days, River sent him everything he had on Nia and any information he thought might be brought up in a custody case. The big concern–other than the fact that women got custody a lot more often than men–was the grandmother. The late Mr. Benjamin was a wealthy man and left all of his wealth to his wife and child. With that sort of money, the Benjamins were promising a life far more grand and stable than anything River could offer.
When River told him all this, Hunter offered his money but River shot the idea down.
“We’re not married,” River explained. “So a rich boyfriend means nothing according to the law.”
The mention of marriage had Hunter’s mind going weird places but he agreed. Right now, the odds are stacked against River. So, he called Coby and spent the morning before their meeting printing out all the documents himself.
Now, Coby read over the splayed out files, eyes narrowed in focus. He was a polar opposite of the man Hunter met at the suit fitting. Back then, Coby couldn’t stop telling jokes. But Mr. Montgomery was in his element now.
Hunter could do nothing but wait, twiddling his thumbs until Coby had something to tell him. An hour later, his patience was rewarded. Hunter raced out of the building, dialing River’s number with the sound of Toronto traffic in his ears.
“Hunter?“
The Benjamins had driven off with Melodie a few minutes ago and River was checking emails to take up the unplanned free time. Hunter’s excitement shone across the line and was a crazy contrast to River’s somber mood. Hunter jogged across the street to his car, smiling wildly.
“We got her,” he panted. “I’m coming over. I’ll explain everything when I get there.”
———————————
Coby might have been on to something. I wonder what he told Hunter 🤔
Theories in the comments? Maybe someone’s familiar with family law, lol.
We’re coming to the final chapters so get ready, guys!
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