The judge granted me temporary primary custody, ordered child support, restored my access to part of our joint funds, and barred either of us from moving another dollar.

Chapter 7 — The Apartment

Two weeks later I signed a lease on a small two-bedroom apartment near the children’s school.

One kitchen drawer stuck no matter what you did to it. The bathroom tile had faded to an uncertain beige.

The living-room window looked directly onto the brick wall of the next building.

And when I opened the door, Maisie ran the length of it shouting about our enormous hallway.

Caleb spun in circles on the carpet until he fell down laughing.