Michael straightened his leather watch strap.<\/p>\n
At four o\u2019clock on a Sunday afternoon, a cold wind was blowing across Oakridge Community Park.<\/p>\n
Noah was standing on the third rung of the metal jungle gym.<\/p>\n
The four-year-old held his left sleeve tight in his right hand as he looked down at the scattered wood chips.<\/p>\n
He had on a heavy blue winter coat zipped all the way to his chin.<\/p>\n
Ten yards away, Derek knelt on the concrete walking path.<\/p>\n
Michael watched his older brother work a silver wrench against the rear axle of Noah\u2019s yellow bike.<\/p>\n
The left training wheel was bent inward at an awkward angle and scraped against the thick rubber tire.<\/p>\n
Derek had given him the bike for his birthday back in May.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis side needs a new steel bracket,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
Derek\u2019s voice was quiet and gravelly and barely carried over the wind.<\/p>\n
He rubbed his thick thumb against his knuckle.<\/p>\n
Black grease was worked deep into the lines of his palms from a long week at the auto shop.<\/p>\n
He kept his eyes on the loose hex nut.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can grab one Tuesday after work,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hardware store on Main has the heavy-duty ones.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTake a look at this up here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael went over to the bike.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Derek pointed the handle of his wrench at the steel tube just under the right handlebar grip.<\/p>\n
A thick smear of fresh white paint covered the scraped yellow metal.<\/p>\n
Underneath, the steel showed bright and jagged where the original factory paint had been stripped off.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he run into the side of your garage again?\u201d Derek asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy garage is made of brown brick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael ran a finger over the white paint.<\/p>\n
It felt dry and chalky against his index finger.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t hit anything over at my place,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Michael looked over at Noah.<\/p>\n
The boy was coming down off the jungle gym with slow, careful steps.<\/p>\n
He got to the bottom and stood beside the green plastic slide.<\/p>\n
\u201cNoah,\u201d Michael called.<\/p>\n
Noah looked over at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome over here a second,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Noah walked across the dry autumn grass and stepped up onto the concrete path.<\/p>\n
His right hand stayed clamped tight over his left sleeve.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019d you ride your bike this week?\u201d Michael asked.<\/p>\n
Noah looked down at the ground by Derek\u2019s heavy leather work boots.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly on the sidewalk,\u201d Noah said.<\/p>\n
His voice came out as a soft, unsure whisper.<\/p>\n
He said the word sidewalk twice more.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ride it near the house on Maple Street?\u201d Derek asked.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Noah took a step back from the bike.<\/p>\n
\u201cTravis told me to leave the bike outside,\u201d Noah said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would Travis say that?\u201d Michael asked.<\/p>\n
Noah looked off toward the empty metal swing set.<\/p>\n
\u201cI only left it out there,\u201d Noah said.<\/p>\n
Michael glanced at his watch.<\/p>\n
The digital face said four fifteen.<\/p>\n
He had to get Noah back to Lena by five thirty.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWe ought to get going,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Derek got up and wiped his hands on a blue shop rag.<\/p>\n
He looked at the fresh white scrape on the bike frame and dropped his wrench on the concrete path.<\/p>\n
Michael picked up the yellow bike by the middle of the frame.<\/p>\n
He carried it out to the parking lot and put it in the trunk of his sedan.<\/p>\n
The bent training wheel scraped loudly against the trunk lid as he forced it closed.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Noah sat quietly in his blue plastic booster seat for the fifteen-minute drive across town.<\/p>\n
The booster seat had cost forty-five dollars at the big-box store the month before.<\/p>\n
Michael checked the rearview mirror three times.<\/p>\n
Noah was staring out the window at the bare autumn trees along Route 4.<\/p>\n
Late-afternoon traffic lights along Route 4 glowed bright red against the gray sky.<\/p>\n
Michael stopped at the corner of Oak and Miller.<\/p>\n
He looked at the time on his dashboard clock.<\/p>\n
Five twelve.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The heater blew warm air on his cold hands.<\/p>\n
They pulled into the narrow driveway of the rental house on Maple Street at five twenty on the dot.<\/p>\n
A dark blue pickup was sitting in the driveway by the front porch with its engine running.<\/p>\n
Exhaust puffed into the cold evening air.<\/p>\n
The truck had big off-road tires and a silver metal toolbox bolted into the bed.<\/p>\n
Lena was standing on the bottom porch step.<\/p>\n
She had on a heavy gray sweater and her arms were folded across her chest.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Michael parked at the curb and walked Noah up the cracked concrete path.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a really good weekend,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Lena gave a quick nod.<\/p>\n
She kept shifting her weight from one foot to the other.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got a ton of laundry tonight, so we need to make this fast,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
She spun her silver wedding band around her middle finger.<\/p>\n
The nervous habit had stuck with her ever since they signed the final divorce papers in August.<\/p>\n
\u201cI brought the check for his indoor swim lessons,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He took a folded forty-dollar check out of his shirt pocket.<\/p>\n
Lena didn\u2019t reach for it.<\/p>\n
She looked past Michael at the idling blue truck.<\/p>\n
The driver\u2019s window was tinted dark.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust stick it in the mailbox,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s right here in my hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPut it in the box, Michael.<\/p>\n
Now.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lena stepped forward and took Noah by his right hand.<\/p>\n
She tugged him gently toward the wooden porch stairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to know who\u2019s in that house when my son is there,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Lena stopped on the second step.<\/p>\n
She glanced at the blue truck again.<\/p>\n
\u201cTravis is only dropping off a few groceries,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
She turned and hurried Noah in through the front door.<\/p>\n
The brass deadbolt clicked loudly shut from inside.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The blue truck\u2019s engine revved once.<\/p>\n
The heavy mechanical roar bounced off the neighboring houses.<\/p>\n
Michael walked back to his sedan and got behind the wheel.<\/p>\n
The truck stayed parked in the driveway as Michael backed out into the street.<\/p>\n
At seven o\u2019clock Michael was sitting in the little office at Derek\u2019s auto repair shop.<\/p>\n
The cramped room smelled of motor oil and stale coffee.<\/p>\n
Michael opened his red ledger notebook on the scratched metal desk.<\/p>\n
He turned past three pages of carefully logged visitation dates.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He clicked his pen.<\/p>\n
He wrote the drop-off time in the right column.<\/p>\n
Five twenty.<\/p>\n
He wrote down the swim lesson payment.<\/p>\n
Forty dollars.<\/p>\n
He drew a straight black line under the dollar amount to close out the weekend.<\/p>\n
Derek came into the office with a metal tray of heavy socket wrenches.<\/p>\n
He put the tray on the floor beside a stack of old tires.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He took a big plastic tub of heavy-duty hand cleaner off the top shelf.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got the bike out back?\u201d Derek asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s in my trunk,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Derek scrubbed the black grease out from under his fingernails.<\/p>\n
He rinsed his hands in the deep utility sink in the corner of the office.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something I need to tell you,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
Michael quit writing.<\/p>\n
He straightened his watch strap.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a late tow job Thursday night,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came back to the yard by way of Maple Street.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael waited for him to go on.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat blue truck was sitting in her driveway at two in the morning,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe says he just visits.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek dried his hands on a rough paper towel.<\/p>\n
He looked straight at Michael.<\/p>\n
\u201cI drove past again Friday night and Saturday night,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe truck was there both times.<\/p>\n
The house was dark.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael looked down at the open red ledger.<\/p>\n
The lined pages were full of careful notes and exact times.<\/p>\n
Lena had sworn in mediation that she lived completely by herself.<\/p>\n
She\u2019d said Travis only came by for the occasional dinner and weekend afternoons.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told the referee it was only her and Noah in that house,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen she lied,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The flat words hung in the little office.<\/p>\n
Derek tossed the damp paper towel into a gray plastic bin by the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cA guy doesn\u2019t leave his truck there three nights running unless he\u2019s living there,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe custody agreement says no living together for the first six months,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Lena knows it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael shut the red ledger.<\/p>\n
The silver rings snapped together inside the thick cover.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll talk to her tomorrow,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to do more than talk,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to find out what else she\u2019s hiding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael drove home to his empty apartment.<\/p>\n
He parked in his assigned space and took his briefcase off the passenger seat.<\/p>\n
The climb up the outside stairs to the second floor was dead quiet.<\/p>\n
The outdoor security lights hummed softly in the cold.<\/p>\n
He went into the kitchen and set his briefcase on the laminate counter.<\/p>\n
He opened Noah\u2019s blue plastic lunchbox to clean it out for the week.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A half-eaten sandwich lay wrapped in a paper napkin beside an unopened apple juice box.<\/p>\n
Michael threw the sandwich in the metal trash can.<\/p>\n
He wiped out the inside of the lunchbox with a damp paper towel.<\/p>\n
At eight thirty his phone rang on the kitchen island.<\/p>\n
Carla\u2019s name was on the screen.<\/p>\n
Michael hit the green speaker button.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you looking at the quarterly budget sheets?\u201d Carla asked.<\/p>\n
Carla talked in crisp business language.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t bother with hello.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got them right in front of me,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
He took a thick stack of coffee-stained quarterly budget sheets out of his briefcase.<\/p>\n
He spread them across the counter beside the sink.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe regional audit starts on the fourteenth,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re short on prep time, and the operating margins are extremely tight this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
A steady tapping came through the speaker.<\/p>\n
Carla always tapped her red pen on her leather notebook when she went over schedules.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m running the freight transit numbers again tonight,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need your complete focus on this presentation,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe executive board is flying in from Chicago.<\/p>\n
Your promotion is riding on this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo distractions this time, Michael.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla\u2019s pen stopped tapping.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you\u2019ve got custody arrangements to juggle,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI know how family court wears a person down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael looked at the brown coffee stains on page three of the budget report.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe numbers will be perfect,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019d better be,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re not all the way present for this audit, they\u2019ll find a logistics coordinator who is.\u201d<\/p>\n
She hung up.<\/p>\n
Michael stood in the kitchen listening to the refrigerator hum.<\/p>\n
He picked his pen up off the counter.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He took his wall calendar down from the side of the refrigerator.<\/p>\n
Next month was completely empty.<\/p>\n
He laid the heavy paper calendar flat on the counter beside the budget sheets.<\/p>\n
Michael stared at next month\u2019s blank page, his pen hovering over the dates.<\/p>\n
He pushed the tip of the pen into the paper and drew a heavy blue circle around December fourteenth.<\/p>\n
Then he shut his red ledger of custody dates and reached for his car keys.<\/p>\n
The bell over the door of the Oakridge Diner jingled at eight sharp the next morning.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Michael sat in a back booth, counting the days left before the holiday schedule kicked in.<\/p>\n
Lena came over to his booth and slid onto the vinyl seat without taking off her heavy gray coat.<\/p>\n
Michael pushed his empty coffee cup to the edge of the table.<\/p>\n
He laid a freshly printed copy of the updated visitation draft in the clear space between them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the regular weekend rotation we talked about,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll you have to do is sign the bottom line today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lena looked at the single sheet.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She kept both hands in her lap.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need your signature so I can file it before the clerk closes Friday afternoon,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Lena touched her left hand.<\/p>\n
She started nervously spinning her silver wedding band around her middle finger.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t sign it today,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe agreed on these exact dates three weeks ago,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Lena glanced over her shoulder at the window facing the parking lot.<\/p>\n
Her eyes flicked to the street.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She talked fast, the words tumbling out in a defensive rush.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe takes care of the paperwork around the house now, Michael.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael tugged at his watch strap.<\/p>\n
The leather felt tight on his wrist.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s Travis got to do with Noah coming to my house?\u201d Michael asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cTravis likes keeping our household schedule organized,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
Her voice trailed off into silence.<\/p>\n
She stared hard at the pink and yellow sugar packets in the ceramic bowl.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a legal custody document between the two of us,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTravis has no legal standing here whatsoever.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust leave the paper with me,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll have him look it over tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael pushed the paper farther toward her side of the table.<\/p>\n
He needed her signature to lock in Thanksgiving weekend with his son.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not negotiating my time with my son through your boyfriend,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always make these schedules so hard,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She picked up the paper and folded it into ragged thirds.<\/p>\n
She jammed it deep in her coat pocket without looking at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell Travis I want that signed and back to me by tomorrow morning,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Lena slid out of the booth and walked quickly to the door.<\/p>\n
At one in the afternoon the air in Derek\u2019s shop bay reeked of motor oil and burnt exhaust.<\/p>\n
Michael rolled the little yellow bike in through the big open bay doors, past an engine block that had been taken apart.<\/p>\n
Derek wiped black grease off his thick hands with a red shop cloth.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He came over and knelt beside the little bike on the concrete floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI brought it by so you could check the bolt on the right training wheel,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Derek took hold of the metal bracket and gave it a hard yank.<\/p>\n
It stayed solid against the frame.<\/p>\n
He slid his hand up the steel handlebar and stopped short.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me Noah scraped this on the brick retaining wall at the park,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what Lena told me when she dropped him off Sunday,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Derek brought his face closer to the metal tube.<\/p>\n
He rubbed his thumb against his knuckle.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrick leaves white chalky dust,\u201d Derek said in his low, gravelly voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t dust.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael crouched down beside his older brother.<\/p>\n
The fluorescent shop lights overhead glinted hard off the damaged paint.<\/p>\n
Derek pointed one thick finger at the deep groove gouged into the yellow frame.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook right here, down inside the deepest part of the scratch,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Michael squinted at the bare steel.<\/p>\n
Tiny flakes of dark blue paint were pressed hard into the metal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s automotive paint,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
Michael touched the blue flakes with his index finger.<\/p>\n
Their edges were sharp.<\/p>\n
\u201cTravis has a dark blue truck,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know exactly what color his pickup is,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe must\u2019ve backed into it at the edge of the driveway,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t get paint transfer this deep from a light bump of the bumper,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomebody slammed this bike hard against something solid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael tugged at his watch strap again.<\/p>\n
He pictured Noah riding his bike anywhere near that heavy truck.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll ask Lena to keep the bike in the backyard from now on, where it\u2019s safe,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Derek stood up and threw the red cloth onto his wooden workbench.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou honestly think that was an accident?\u201d Derek asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cTravis is careless,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019d run over a four-year-old\u2019s toy on purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek picked up a heavy steel wrench and held it tight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you\u2019re making excuses for a man who doesn\u2019t deserve a single one,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
Michael looked at the bent metal basket on the front of the bike.<\/p>\n
The blue paint caught the bright shop light again.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust tighten the chain for me,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
At three thirty Michael was carrying four thick budget folders down the carpeted hall at Apex Logistics.<\/p>\n
Carla fell in beside him near the doors to the copy room.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She had her leather notebook tucked neatly under her left arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour third-quarter projections look solid on paper,\u201d Carla said in her crisp business voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cI finished going through the final shipping variances this morning,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Carla stopped by the water cooler.<\/p>\n
She tapped her red pen on the cover of her notebook.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got a very unusual call transferred from the main switchboard an hour ago,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
Michael stopped and moved the heavy folders to his other arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid a regional driver miss a log sheet?\u201d Michael asked.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was your ex-wife,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
Michael tightened his hold on the cardboard folders.<\/p>\n
\u201cLena actually called the main office?\u201d Michael asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe went around your direct line and asked the receptionist for your department head,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she want?\u201d Michael asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wanted me to confirm your exact work hours for this whole week,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
Michael stared at the carpet.<\/p>\n
In four years Lena had never once called him at work.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you hand her my schedule?\u201d Michael asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her company policy doesn\u2019t allow us to give out employee schedules to outside callers,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her to get in touch with you directly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks for handling it like that,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Carla moved closer and dropped her voice almost to a whisper.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t sound like she was asking for herself,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d Michael asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could hear a man talking loudly in the background,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told her to ask whether you were working late Thursday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael stared at the red pen in Carla\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n
Travis was actively trying to keep tabs on where he went around the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry for the disruption,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt won\u2019t happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla started walking toward the copy room doors again.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep your personal business entirely outside this building,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe regional audit starts in six days, and I need you ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cMy focus is right here on this budget, nowhere else,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Carla pushed open the heavy wooden door and stepped into the bright copy room.<\/p>\n
\u201cMake sure it stays that way,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
The heavy door clicked shut.<\/p>\n
Michael stood by himself in the quiet hall, looking at his name on his employee badge.<\/p>\n
At six that evening the Oakridge Public Library parking lot was nearly deserted.<\/p>\n
Tall streetlamps buzzed in the cold air.<\/p>\n
Michael parked beside Lena\u2019s car and stepped out onto the damp asphalt.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There was no sign of Lena.<\/p>\n
Travis was standing alone by the passenger door of her sedan.<\/p>\n
Travis had on a heavy brown work coat.<\/p>\n
He stood perfectly still with his hands buried in his coat pockets, watching Michael.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s Noah?\u201d Michael asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cLena took him in to use the bathroom,\u201d Travis said, in a loud, too-casual voice.<\/p>\n
Michael walked closer to the front bumper of Lena\u2019s car.<\/p>\n
He wanted to keep some space between himself and Travis.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Travis pulled his right hand out of his pocket.<\/p>\n
He had Noah\u2019s little blue winter jacket balled up tight in his fist.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou forgot to send this along with him yesterday,\u201d Travis said.<\/p>\n
Michael reached for the jacket.<\/p>\n
Travis didn\u2019t let go.<\/p>\n
Travis squeezed the nylon with a grip that was far too hard.<\/p>\n
His knuckles went white.<\/p>\n
\u201cTake your hand off my son\u2019s coat,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Travis pulled the jacket a little closer to his chest.<\/p>\n
The casual tone dropped out of his voice and turned sharp.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou left Lena three voicemails today,\u201d Travis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was calling about the visitation schedule she took with her this morning,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw the schedule,\u201d Travis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll let you know what works for us when we get around to looking at it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael tugged at his watch strap.<\/p>\n
The metal buckle felt cold.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cLena and I settle the dates,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got no say at all in when I see my son.\u201d<\/p>\n
Travis finally let go of the jacket.<\/p>\n
The sudden slack sent Michael stumbling back half a step.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to quit calling her phone,\u201d Travis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I need to talk to my child\u2019s mother, I\u2019ll call her,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Travis came around the sedan and stood inches from Michael.<\/p>\n
\u201cI handle all the communication for that house now,\u201d Travis said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYou talk to me, or you don\u2019t talk to anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re out of your mind,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Travis pushed his hands back down into his coat pockets.<\/p>\n
He stared at Michael for a long, silent moment.<\/p>\n
Then Travis turned his back and walked slowly to his dark blue pickup without saying goodbye.<\/p>\n
Michael watched the pickup\u2019s red taillights vanish around the corner of the library lot.<\/p>\n
He stood on the asphalt a long time.<\/p>\n
The evening air felt a lot colder than it had ten minutes earlier.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He checked his watch, went back to his sedan, and drove home without a sound.<\/p>\n
At ten o\u2019clock Sunday morning sunlight spread across the kitchen island.<\/p>\n
Michael stood at the stove and flipped a third buttermilk pancake onto a ceramic plate.<\/p>\n
He put a little pat of butter on top.<\/p>\n
He brought the warm plate around the counter and set it in front of Noah.<\/p>\n
The forty-five-dollar blue plastic booster seat squeaked against the wood as Noah shifted.<\/p>\n
Derek sat across from them on a wooden stool.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He had on a faded gray mechanic\u2019s shirt and was pouring syrup from a glass pitcher over his own stack of pancakes.<\/p>\n
There was grease under his fingernails from working in the shop all morning.<\/p>\n
Noah reached across the granite counter for his heavy cup of orange juice.<\/p>\n
He used his right hand.<\/p>\n
Halfway to the cup, Noah jerked his arm back and drew in a sharp breath.<\/p>\n
The plastic cup rocked on the counter and settled.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you bang your elbow on the chair?\u201d Michael asked.<\/p>\n
Noah kept his eyes on his plate and shook his head.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He reached across his body and gripped his left sleeve tight with his right hand.<\/p>\n
Derek stopped pouring the syrup.<\/p>\n
He set the heavy glass pitcher down by the napkin holder.<\/p>\n
He leaned over and touched Noah\u2019s forearm gently.<\/p>\n
Noah flinched again and pulled his arm back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat looks a little sore, buddy,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI only bumped into the table in the hallway,\u201d Noah said.<\/p>\n
Derek rubbed his thumb against his knuckle.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He looked over Noah\u2019s head at Michael.<\/p>\n
Michael tugged at his watch strap.<\/p>\n
The red ledger of custody dates lay on the counter by the fruit bowl, shut and silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWere you riding your yellow bike when it happened?\u201d Derek asked in his low, gravelly voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one with the new scrape on the front?\u201d<\/p>\n
Noah stared at the little puddle of syrup on his plate.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t look at Derek.<\/p>\n
\u201cTravis was yelling,\u201d Noah said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cHe shoved my bike into the garage wall.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael laid the metal spatula flat on the counter.<\/p>\n
He came around the kitchen island and crouched beside Noah\u2019s stool.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas he yelling at you, buddy?\u201d Michael asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was yelling at Mom about grocery money,\u201d Noah said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy bike was in his way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek picked up his coffee mug but didn\u2019t drink.<\/p>\n
The garage wall at Lena\u2019s rental on Maple Street was unfinished brick.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
That accounted for the deep white paint scratches on the steel handlebar frame.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t mean to,\u201d Noah said.<\/p>\n
Michael looked at his son\u2019s small shoulders.<\/p>\n
He reached over and gently mussed Noah\u2019s hair.<\/p>\n
\u201cEat your pancakes,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got an errand to run this afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n
At two o\u2019clock the Oakridge County Courthouse smelled of industrial floor wax and old paper.<\/p>\n
Michael walked past the cold plastic chairs in the waiting room and sat down at a public computer terminal in the records room.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He typed the name Travis Miller into the county database.<\/p>\n
The screen loaded slowly.<\/p>\n
The search turned up three old traffic tickets and a clean local background check.<\/p>\n
Footsteps clicked on the tile behind him.<\/p>\n
Michael swung his chair around.<\/p>\n
Referee Vance was standing there with a thick stack of manila folders.<\/p>\n
Vance slid his reading glasses down his nose.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe local records only cover Oakridge city limits,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re looking in the wrong county.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s living on Maple Street now,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore he moved in with your ex-wife, he was renting an apartment across the county line,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n
Vance set his folders on the corner of the terminal desk.<\/p>\n
He leaned over Michael\u2019s shoulder and typed a new web address into the browser.<\/p>\n
A statewide database came up on the screen.<\/p>\n
Vance typed the name again and clicked search.<\/p>\n
A single line of text showed up in a gray box.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It gave a docket number from neighboring Warren County, dated two years earlier.<\/p>\n
The whole details section under the number was blacked out.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would it be restricted?\u201d Michael asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat happens when a file involves family protective orders or sealed diversion programs,\u201d Vance said in careful, formal language.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe county seals the details unless you\u2019ve got a subpoena.\u201d
\nMichael took a pen out of his pocket and copied the docket number onto the back of a parking receipt.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do I go about getting a subpoena?\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need an open custody petition,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you need a very solid legal reason to force a neighboring jurisdiction to open its vault.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vance gathered up his manila folders.<\/p>\n
He tapped the computer screen with his index finger.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want that file opened, you\u2019ll need documented, factual evidence of a present threat,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil then, it stays closed to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael watched Vance head off toward the judges\u2019 chambers.<\/p>\n
The restricted docket number sat on the slip of paper in his hand.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Travis had an active court history he was keeping out of sight.<\/p>\n
At five o\u2019clock the late sun hung low behind the bare oaks on Maple Street.<\/p>\n
Michael carried a pair of black winter boots up the concrete steps to Lena\u2019s front porch.<\/p>\n
He knocked twice on the wooden door frame.<\/p>\n
The heavy inner door swung open.<\/p>\n
Lena stood in the hall behind the metal mesh of the screen door, spinning her silver wedding band nervously around her middle finger.<\/p>\n
\u201cNoah left these in my trunk last week,\u201d Michael told him.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lena didn\u2019t open the screen door to take them.<\/p>\n
She glanced back over her shoulder into the dark living room.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could\u2019ve dropped them off at school,\u201d Lena said quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t need to just show up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to hear about Warren County,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Lena went perfectly still.<\/p>\n
Her hand fell away from her silver ring.<\/p>\n
Heavy footsteps thudded on the hardwood inside.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Travis came into the narrow entry and pushed the screen door open.<\/p>\n
He stepped past Lena and planted himself right in front of Michael on the porch step.<\/p>\n
Travis kept his hands buried in his heavy coat pockets.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got a real problem with boundaries,\u201d Travis said in a loud, too-casual voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know all about the restricted docket,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Travis smiled, but his eyes stayed dead flat.<\/p>\n
He moved closer to the edge of the concrete porch.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you keep digging into my personal history, I\u2019ll make a phone call,\u201d Travis said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cAny more poking around and the police will get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael studied how sure of himself Travis looked.<\/p>\n
A man with a sealed record would usually steer clear of the law.<\/p>\n
Travis seemed completely certain the local police would side with him over Michael.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that a threat?\u201d Michael asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m giving you a friendly heads-up about harassment,\u201d Travis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe officers around here take harassment very seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lena stared down at the porch boards.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Her quick chatter fell into total silence.<\/p>\n
She stepped back into the shadows of the hall.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t come back here without an invitation,\u201d Travis said.<\/p>\n
Travis yanked the winter boots out of Michael\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n
He stepped back and shut the heavy wooden door.<\/p>\n
The deadbolt snapped loudly into place.<\/p>\n
Michael walked back down the concrete steps to his sedan.<\/p>\n
He wondered what kind of friends Travis had at the local precinct to make a threat like that.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He wondered why Lena had refused to sign the updated weekend schedule at the diner the week before.<\/p>\n
At half past seven, fluorescent lights hummed up near the ceiling of the Apex Logistics office.<\/p>\n
Michael sat at his metal desk going over shipping schedules for the regional fleet.<\/p>\n
The numbers swam together on the bright monitor.<\/p>\n
Carla came out of her corner office with a green plastic folder.<\/p>\n
She dropped a thick stack of coffee-stained quarterly budget sheets on Michael\u2019s desk.<\/p>\n
\u201cThursday\u2019s route projections are completely wrong,\u201d Carla said in her crisp business language.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYou put two delivery drivers on the very same loading dock.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael rubbed his eyes and stared at the printed columns.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can correct it in the routing system right now,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Carla tapped her red pen on her leather notebook.<\/p>\n
She watched Michael key the correction into the software.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe main switchboard logged four outgoing calls from your extension to the Oakridge records department this afternoon,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
Michael stopped typing.<\/p>\n
He tugged at his watch strap.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was on my lunch hour,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe timestamps say between two and three,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s core operating hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla opened the green folder.<\/p>\n
She took out a single sheet of yellow carbon paper and slid it across the clean blotter.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a formal written warning for excessive personal phone calls during work hours,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
Michael looked down at the official company letterhead.<\/p>\n
His name and employee number were typed across the top.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The date was printed in bold black ink.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarla, my son is living in a house with a man who has a sealed court record,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just trying to figure out who this guy is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla shut her green folder.<\/p>\n
Her voice eased a little, but she held herself stiff.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you\u2019re dealing with family trouble,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy brother went through an awful custody fight five years ago.<\/p>\n
I know exactly how distracting it gets.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She tapped the yellow sheet with her red pen.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the regional audit is next week,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe quarterly budget presentation depends on these shipping numbers being perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael picked up a blue pen to sign the acknowledgment line at the bottom of the warning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll have the budget spreadsheets fixed by tomorrow morning,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Carla watched him sign.<\/p>\n
She took the white original and left the yellow copy on the desk.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to keep your focus inside this office if you want to keep your job,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She turned and went back to her corner office.<\/p>\n
Her door clicked shut.<\/p>\n
Michael looked at the empty shipping schedules on his monitor.<\/p>\n
He needed solid proof to get Judge Vance to open that Warren County file.<\/p>\n
The warehouse floor below went totally silent as the night shift went on break.<\/p>\n
Michael stared at the yellow written warning lying on his clean blotter.<\/p>\n
Michael watched a green crayon sweep a wide circle across the paper placemat.<\/p>\n
Noah held the crayon in his small fist, keeping his eyes down on the table at the Oakridge Family Restaurant.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
On the other side of the booth, Lena kept nervously spinning the silver wedding band on her middle finger.<\/p>\n
She\u2019d insisted on a neutral public spot for lunch.<\/p>\n
Travis sat beside her, slouched back against the red vinyl cushion.<\/p>\n
He tossed a heavy key ring onto the Formica tabletop.<\/p>\n
Michael stared at the key ring.<\/p>\n
The brass deadbolt key was for Lena\u2019s front door.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d paid for that lock himself three years ago.<\/p>\n
How had Travis gotten hold of Lena\u2019s house keys?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Travis caught Michael looking and gave him a broad smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust settling in,\u201d Travis said in a loud, too-casual voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaking sure the house is safe for the three of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael tugged at his watch strap.<\/p>\n
His pulse was racing against the leather.<\/p>\n
\u201cI looked at the Warren County public terminal yesterday,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Lena quit spinning her ring.<\/p>\n
Her hand fell flat on the table.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael, don\u2019t do this right now,\u201d Lena said in a quick, defensive whisper.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re here to have a nice lunch with our son.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noah stopped coloring.<\/p>\n
He gripped his left sleeve tight with his right hand and shrank back into the vinyl seat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw a restricted docket file with your name on it,\u201d Michael said straight to Travis.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to know what\u2019s in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Travis laughed.<\/p>\n
It was a sharp bark that made two women in the next booth turn around.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sure have an active imagination,\u201d Travis said.<\/p>\n
Travis reached into his coat pocket.<\/p>\n
He took out a folded sheet of white paper and pushed it across the table.<\/p>\n
Michael unfolded it.<\/p>\n
It was a standard Oakridge local background check, printed that morning.<\/p>\n
The results column showed no offenses.<\/p>\n
\u201cClean as a whistle,\u201d Travis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went down to the local station myself today.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Figured you could use some peace of mind, seeing how worked up you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael read the page twice.<\/p>\n
The check only covered Oakridge County.<\/p>\n
It left out the neighboring Warren County database entirely.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis doesn\u2019t mean a thing,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou ran a local check to hide an out-of-county record.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means I\u2019m an upstanding citizen,\u201d Travis said loudly.<\/p>\n
He leaned in and jabbed his finger hard on the paper.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it means you\u2019re stalking me,\u201d Travis added, his voice dropping into a sharp threat.<\/p>\n
Lena snatched the paper from Michael and shoved it back at Travis.<\/p>\n
\u201cSee?\u201d Lena said quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got nothing to hide.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re being totally unreasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noah slid out of the booth and stood in the aisle.<\/p>\n
His blue sweater slipped off his shoulders and dropped onto the carpet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to go to the bathroom,\u201d Noah whispered.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lena got up right away.<\/p>\n
She took Noah\u2019s hand without looking at Michael.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll take him,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
She steered Noah quickly toward the back of the restaurant.<\/p>\n
Michael picked the blue sweater up off the floor.<\/p>\n
The acrylic felt rough against his palms.<\/p>\n
He followed them down the narrow hall by the restroom doors.<\/p>\n
The air smelled strongly of lemon bleach and french fries.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lena was standing outside the men\u2019s room door.<\/p>\n
Noah had gone in by himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cLena,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t honestly think that piece of paper proves anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lena folded her arms.<\/p>\n
Her eyes flicked toward the main dining room.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt proves he went out of his way to put your mind at ease,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe left Warren County out on purpose,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw the restricted file on the court terminal with my own eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou saw a name,\u201d Lena snapped.<\/p>\n
\u201cTravis says it was a clerical mistake about some guy with the same last name.<\/p>\n
He straightened it out with the clerk this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a lie,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cJudge Vance showed it to me himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJudge Vance is a busy man,\u201d Lena said in a loud, defensive rush.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe probably got it wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to know who\u2019s living in that house with my son,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Lena took a step back.<\/p>\n
She raised her voice until it rang down the tiled hall.<\/p>\n
\u201cQuit following us,\u201d Lena shouted.<\/p>\n
Michael went stock-still.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re making a scene over nothing, and everybody here can see it,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
A waitress carrying a tray of water glasses stopped dead in the aisle.<\/p>\n
Three customers at the counter swiveled all the way around on their stools to stare at Michael.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Michael stood there holding the little blue sweater.<\/p>\n
He could feel strangers\u2019 judgment settling heavy on his shoulders.<\/p>\n
Noah pushed the heavy wooden restroom door open.<\/p>\n
He glanced at the staring waitress, then up at his mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre we going home now?\u201d Noah asked, soft and unsure.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre we going home, Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n
Travis showed up at the end of the hall.<\/p>\n
He stood with his hands deep in his coat pockets, watching Michael with a look of complete satisfaction.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Michael passed the sweater to his son.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll call you later,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
He walked past Travis without another word, his eyes on the exit.<\/p>\n
At four o\u2019clock the fluorescent lights in the Apex Logistics conference room gave off a low electric hum.<\/p>\n
Michael stood at the head of the long wooden table.<\/p>\n
He clicked the plastic remote to move to the next quarterly budget slide.<\/p>\n
Carla sat by the projector in a tailored gray jacket, tapping her red pen on her leather notebook.<\/p>\n
\u201cProjected outbound freight costs for the winter quarter come in at an estimated forty-two thousand dollars,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He clicked to the next slide.<\/p>\n
A big pie chart filled the white screen.<\/p>\n
Carla\u2019s pen stopped tapping.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo back a slide.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael hit the back button.<\/p>\n
The earlier spreadsheet came up.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at row fourteen,\u201d Carla said in her crisp business voice.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Michael read down the line items.<\/p>\n
The regional truck maintenance total showed a surplus of eleven thousand four hundred dollars.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the projected maintenance reserve,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s mathematically impossible,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou carried the fleet depreciation over twice.<\/p>\n
And you left out the diesel fuel surcharge entirely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael stared at the numbers.<\/p>\n
The mistake was painfully obvious.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He tugged at his watch strap.<\/p>\n
The metal buckle was cold on his skin.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see it,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll fix the formula.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla flipped open her leather notebook.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo to slide eight,\u201d Carla told him.<\/p>\n
Michael clicked ahead twice.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour warehouse inventory totals don\u2019t match the regional ledger you turned in yesterday,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re off by seven hundred pallets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael swallowed hard.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d spent three hours going over the slide deck the night before, but his mind had been entirely on the Warren County docket.<\/p>\n
\u201cI grabbed the wrong data set for that chart,\u201d Michael said quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the third big mistake in a ten-minute presentation,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
She closed her notebook and laid her red pen exactly parallel to its edge.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou got a formal written warning yesterday about how distracted you\u2019ve been,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m dealing with a serious family situation,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just need a few days to get the right legal filings in at the court center.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla looked at him with a steady, unreadable face.<\/p>\n
\u201cApex Logistics can\u2019t put regional operations on hold while you sort out your personal life,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
She got up from her chair and collected her files.<\/p>\n
\u201cFix these slides before five,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the executive board sees these mistakes tomorrow afternoon, they\u2019ll let you go.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Carla walked out of the conference room.<\/p>\n
The heavy glass door swung closed behind her.<\/p>\n
Michael stood by himself in the projector light.<\/p>\n
The wrong numbers glowing on the screen looked like a foreign language.<\/p>\n
He deleted the slide and typed the right figures into the empty cells.<\/p>\n
His fingers felt thick and clumsy on the keys.<\/p>\n
At six thirty the air in Derek\u2019s shop smelled of motor oil and hot metal.<\/p>\n
Michael sat on an upended oil drum near the open bay doors.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Cold evening air swept across the concrete floor.<\/p>\n
Derek stood at the long steel workbench.<\/p>\n
He rubbed his thumb against his knuckle as he listened to Michael describe the mess at the restaurant.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a clean local check,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe shoved it right in my face about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek picked up a red shop rag and wiped the heavy grease off his socket wrenches.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s how guys like Travis work,\u201d Derek said in his low, gravelly voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey know exactly which lines to cross and which ones to stay away from.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Michael pressed his hands down on his knees.<\/p>\n
\u201cLena bought every word of it,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe screamed at me in the hall.<\/p>\n
She told the whole restaurant I was harassing them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek tossed the shop rag onto the bench.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe doesn\u2019t want to see the truth,\u201d Derek said flatly.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s got her rent covered and a guy who plays the tough protector.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to take him back to court,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI need Judge Vance to order a statewide background check.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek leaned back against the edge of the workbench.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou go to Judge Vance right now, you\u2019ll lose,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cVance saw the restricted file,\u201d Michael said stubbornly.<\/p>\n
\u201cVance saw a name on a screen,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told you to get a lawyer.<\/p>\n
Instead you went after them in public and got screamed at in a diner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael looked down at the stained concrete.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cTravis turned in a local check today,\u201d Derek went on.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Vance asks for proof of danger, Travis hands him that clean sheet.<\/p>\n
Then Lena tells the judge you\u2019re stalking them at family lunches.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael knew Derek had it right.<\/p>\n
That local background check was a perfect shield.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got a set of her house keys,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s pretty much living there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need real proof,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cNot suspicions.<\/p>\n
Not your gut.<\/p>\n
We need documented facts even Lena can\u2019t deny.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarla wrote me up again today,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne more mistake and I\u2019m out of a job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek picked up his clipboard and started checking off the day\u2019s repair orders.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you lose your job, you lose your custody footing,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cVance isn\u2019t going to hand Noah to an unemployed father who looks like he\u2019s coming apart.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not coming apart,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re slipping,\u201d Derek said, correcting him.<\/p>\n
\u201cTravis is playing a game, and right now he\u2019s winning it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael got up off the oil drum.<\/p>\n
His legs were stiff from the cold draft.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need a private court evaluator,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomebody who can legally look into that house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvaluators cost money,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cA whole lot of it up front.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll clean out my savings account,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Derek hung the clipboard on a metal hook beside the office door.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do that,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you\u2019d better make sure you still have a desk at Apex tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek crossed to the electrical panel on the back wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo home and get some sleep,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll sort out the evaluator tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Michael sat alone on the oil drum while Derek shut off the overhead lights in the shop.<\/p>\n
Michael sat in the cold plastic waiting room chairs outside Courtroom 3B until the heavy wooden door swung open.<\/p>\n
A clerk in a gray suit waved him into the restricted hallway.<\/p>\n
Michael went into Judge Vance\u2019s private chambers.<\/p>\n
Morning light came through the tall frosted windows and lit up the dust drifting in the warm air.<\/p>\n
Vance sat behind a broad mahogany desk piled with blue case files and printed dockets.<\/p>\n
Michael took the wooden chair across from the judge and unzipped his bag.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He set his red ledger squarely on the polished wood.<\/p>\n
He tugged at his watch strap.<\/p>\n
It was nine in the morning exactly.<\/p>\n
Vance laid his reading glasses on his desk before he spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re asking for an emergency residential evaluation without a lawyer,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, sir,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
He laid his hands on his knees.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour ex-wife has primary physical custody under the current decree,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have standard weekend visitation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael opened the red ledger to the October page.<\/p>\n
\u201cLena has been leaving my four-year-old son alone with her new boyfriend.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have police reports that document this?\u201d Vance asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have my son telling me he\u2019s scared,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Vance picked up a silver pen.<\/p>\n
\u201cFamily court requires documented, factual evidence.<\/p>\n
Secondhand statements from a toddler don\u2019t meet the legal standard.\u201d He tapped the pen on his blotter.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cLena said she lived alone,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow a man named Travis is living there full time.<\/p>\n
She kept that from the court.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vance looked over the ledger entries.<\/p>\n
\u201cLiving together isn\u2019t a crime,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got a restricted docket entry in Warren County.\u201d Michael leaned in.<\/p>\n
Vance shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t authorize county resources based on a restricted file I haven\u2019t seen.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The county caseworker schedule is full through January.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael glanced at the heavy wooden door.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has to be some other way,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son is in danger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can hire a private court evaluator,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you can produce verified expense records showing you have the money, I\u2019ll sign the order.\u201d Vance pointed at the ledger.<\/p>\n
Michael worked out his current checking balance in his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does a private evaluator charge?\u201d Michael asked.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cA twelve-hundred-dollar retainer,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBring the statements to the clerk by tomorrow afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael shut the red ledger.<\/p>\n
He had four hundred twelve dollars in his account.<\/p>\n
He got up and put the notebook back in his briefcase.<\/p>\n
He had to come up with the money before the deadline.<\/p>\n
At one o\u2019clock Michael pulled into the gravel lot of Derek\u2019s auto repair shop on Route 4.<\/p>\n
He walked past a truck engine in pieces and stepped into the little front office.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Derek was behind the metal counter sorting invoices.<\/p>\n
Michael unzipped his briefcase and took out his Apex Credit Union statements.<\/p>\n
He spread the white printouts across the greasy counter.<\/p>\n
Derek wiped black oil off his hands with an orange shop rag.<\/p>\n
He looked down at the highlighted balances and the recent forty-five-dollar receipt for a blue plastic booster seat.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re eight hundred dollars short,\u201d Derek said in his low, gravelly voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy rent\u2019s due on the first,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t dip into the housing budget without breaking the custody income requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek threw the orange rag onto a pile of tire catalogs.<\/p>\n
He walked over to the heavy metal cash register on the back desk.<\/p>\n
He turned a brass key, and the drawer sprang open with a loud ding.<\/p>\n
Michael watched his brother lift out the black plastic tray of loose change.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need that money for the new hydraulic lift,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Derek pulled a thick envelope out from under the tray.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He rubbed his thumb against his knuckle as he looked at the register.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lift works fine for now,\u201d Derek said bluntly.<\/p>\n
He came back to the counter and opened the envelope.<\/p>\n
He started laying crisp hundred-dollar bills on top of the bank statements.<\/p>\n
Michael counted them as they landed on the paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cDerek, I can\u2019t take the shop\u2019s money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not asking your permission,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need a professional inside that house.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Derek laid the twelfth bill on the stack.<\/p>\n
\u201cTake the money, Michael.<\/p>\n
We do this the right way, or we don\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael tugged at his watch strap.<\/p>\n
The leather felt tight on his wrist.<\/p>\n
He looked at the twelve hundred dollars lying on top of his financial records.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Vance signs the order, the evaluator shows up without warning,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll see exactly who Travis is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael collected the bills and folded them in half.<\/p>\n
He slipped the folded cash into his jacket pocket.<\/p>\n
He looked at the open metal drawer of the register.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll pay back every cent,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Derek pushed the register drawer shut.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust get that court order,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
At four o\u2019clock Michael parked near the Oakridge Park pavilion.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The late autumn wind moved through the bare oak branches over the playground.<\/p>\n
Noah ran toward the wood chips in his heavy winter coat.<\/p>\n
Michael followed him past the deserted picnic tables.<\/p>\n
Lena was sitting on a green wooden bench near the tall metal slides.<\/p>\n
She held her phone in her right hand and stared at the blank screen.<\/p>\n
Michael sat down on the other end of the bench.<\/p>\n
Noah went over to the tire swing and gripped his left sleeve tight with his right hand.<\/p>\n
He stood stock-still, watching a bunch of bigger boys yelling by the climbing wall.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t like loud noises lately,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Lena glanced up from her phone.<\/p>\n
She spun her silver wedding band nervously around her middle finger.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s just shy,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
Her quick, defensive voice carried over the cold wind.<\/p>\n
Michael watched Noah back away a step from the swing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m filing a motion for a private residential evaluation,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Lena stopped spinning the silver band.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYou went to Judge Vance,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
Then she went completely silent for three seconds.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe evaluator is going to need access to your house on Maple Street,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Lena shifted on the wooden slats.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a huge invasion of my privacy,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to know who\u2019s sleeping under the same roof as my son.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lena dropped her phone into her leather purse and snapped it shut.<\/p>\n
\u201cTravis works late shifts,\u201d Lena said quickly.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cHe sleeps during the day.<\/p>\n
An evaluator can\u2019t just come knocking on the door.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael glanced at his watch.<\/p>\n
Four twelve.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t you sign the updated weekend schedule at the diner?\u201d Michael asked.<\/p>\n
Lena stared down at the wood chips.<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t want court officials looking into whether Travis lived there.<\/p>\n
\u201cTravis told me signing new legal forms was a trap,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a regular holiday schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe takes care of the paperwork around the house now, Michael.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael let her words hang in the cold air.<\/p>\n
Lena looked back over at Noah.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you drop the court request, I\u2019ll give you Friday nights,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
Michael turned to look at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn extra night every weekend,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou pick him up Friday after school,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cHe stays with you till Sunday evening.<\/p>\n
Just call off the evaluator.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael thought about the twelve hundred dollars in his pocket.<\/p>\n
He looked at Noah standing by himself near the tire swing.<\/p>\n
Lena was finally offering him more time.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery single Friday,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery Friday,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeginning this week.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Michael gave a slow nod.<\/p>\n
At six o\u2019clock Michael went back to the Apex Logistics office.<\/p>\n
The main floor was nearly empty.<\/p>\n
He went into the break room and took a paper cup.<\/p>\n
He filled it with dark coffee from the glass pot.<\/p>\n
Carla came through the doorway with her leather notebook.<\/p>\n
She stopped beside the vending machine.<\/p>\n
She tapped her red pen on the leather cover.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYour desk was empty at two,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to drop some financial papers off at the courthouse,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Carla spoke in her crisp business language.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe regional audit team requires full operational alignment,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour updated project schedule is due.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael passed her a printed spreadsheet from his folder.<\/p>\n
Carla looked over the columns.<\/p>\n
She clicked her red pen and initialed the bottom of the page.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe executive budget conference starts tomorrow at two in the afternoon,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe quarterly slides are ready,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Carla raised her eyes from the spreadsheet.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve been distracted, Michael.<\/p>\n
The regional directors noticed the mistakes in your last presentation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy custody situation is settling down,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLena agreed to give me more weekend time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla didn\u2019t smile.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI need you fully present in that boardroom tomorrow,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
She passed the signed schedule back to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is your last chance to show me you can focus.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand that,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Carla turned and walked off down the hall.<\/p>\n
Michael took his coffee back to his cubicle.<\/p>\n
He dropped into his gray desk chair.<\/p>\n
He pushed a few coffee-stained quarterly budget sheets out of the way.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He reached into his pocket and took out a small silver key.<\/p>\n
He bent down and unlocked the deep bottom drawer of his metal desk.<\/p>\n
He took out his heavy custody binder and laid it on the blotter.<\/p>\n
He opened the thick rings to the section for legal fees.<\/p>\n
He reached into his jacket and took out the folded cash Derek had given him.<\/p>\n
He smoothed the money flat with his palm.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t know whether Lena would really keep to the new deal.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He left the money lying on the page.<\/p>\n
The green stack of hundred-dollar bills lay on top of Michael\u2019s open custody binder.<\/p>\n
Michael folded the hundreds into a white bank envelope.<\/p>\n
He locked the envelope in his sedan\u2019s glove box and turned the silver key.<\/p>\n
At ten the next morning he pulled up to the curb outside the rental house on Maple Street.<\/p>\n
He checked the time on his phone.<\/p>\n
He carried Noah\u2019s heavy blue overnight bag and the forty-five-dollar blue plastic booster seat up the wooden front steps.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The weather had turned brisk, and it hurried his steps to the porch.<\/p>\n
Lena had the front door open before he could get to the brass doorbell.<\/p>\n
She had on a clean white sweater, and her hair was pulled back neatly with a black ribbon.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome in,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
Michael stepped onto the woven rug in the entry.<\/p>\n
He set the blue booster seat against the wall.<\/p>\n
He fully expected to hear loud, harsh music or the hostile tone Travis usually had ready.<\/p>\n
Instead the little house smelled strongly of cinnamon and fresh coffee.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Travis was standing at the kitchen island with a glass coffee pot.<\/p>\n
He had on a crisp blue button-down shirt tucked into dark jeans.<\/p>\n
He poured a steaming mug and carried it straight over to Michael.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack, one sugar, right?\u201d Travis asked.<\/p>\n
Michael looked down at the dark coffee.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t reach for the ceramic mug right away.<\/p>\n
He tugged at his leather watch strap with his left hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cTake it, Michael,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She spun her silver wedding band nervously on her middle finger.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all just trying to get along today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael took the warm mug.<\/p>\n
Travis stepped back two paces and pushed his hands deep into his coat pockets.<\/p>\n
He gave a polite, careful nod.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we got off on the wrong foot, Michael,\u201d Travis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m only here to help Lena, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael took a slow sip of the coffee.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It was brewed just right, exactly the way he made it at home.<\/p>\n
Noah came running out of the hall carrying a yellow plastic dump truck.<\/p>\n
He ran smack into Travis\u2019s leg.<\/p>\n
Travis chuckled and mussed Noah\u2019s hair gently.<\/p>\n
Noah leaned into it and smiled up at the taller man.<\/p>\n
Michael watched his son closely.<\/p>\n
Noah held his left sleeve tight with his right hand, the old habit he fell into whenever he felt shy.<\/p>\n
But Noah didn\u2019t flinch or look frightened.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI brought his extra-thick socks,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe forecast says it\u2019ll drop below freezing tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI already turned on the hall heater,\u201d Travis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll be plenty warm in that back bedroom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael set the heavy overnight bag down on the hardwood.<\/p>\n
He noticed a shiny ring of brass keys lying on the edge of the kitchen counter.<\/p>\n
A silver house key hung from the metal ring right next to a black truck remote.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre those his keys?\u201d Michael asked under his breath.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lena stopped spinning her silver ring.<\/p>\n
She stepped right in between Michael and the counter.<\/p>\n
\u201cTravis has a lot to take care of around here,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
Michael\u2019s eyes went from the keys to Lena\u2019s face.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did he end up with his own set to this house?\u201d Michael asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave him a copy after we\u2019d been dating two weeks,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe needed them to get the mail while I worked late shifts at the clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo weeks is awfully fast, Lena.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s taking care of us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe fixed that loose wooden step on the porch yesterday afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael looked past her at Travis.<\/p>\n
Travis was standing calmly at the stainless steel sink, washing a breakfast plate in soapy water.<\/p>\n
The hostile, looming stance from the library parking lot was nowhere to be seen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks for the coffee,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave a nice morning,\u201d Travis said over his shoulder.<\/p>\n
Michael went out the front door and walked slowly down the concrete driveway.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He looked back at the house and watched the front curtains draw closed.<\/p>\n
At one thirty the wide aisles of Oakridge Hardware smelled of fresh-cut pine and heavy machine oil.<\/p>\n
Michael stood in front of the brass hardware display.<\/p>\n
He picked up a heavy steel deadbolt package and turned it over to read the tiny installation instructions on the back.<\/p>\n
Derek stood next to him, picking at a line of black engine grease under his fingernails.<\/p>\n
He took a heavy brass door hinge out of the wire bin beside them.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He worked the metal pivot and rubbed his thumb against his knuckle.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe actually surprised me this morning,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHanding you coffee right off the bat like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew exactly how I take it,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLena probably told him,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he stood out there in the open and looked you in the eye.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s worth something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael put the deadbolt back on the metal shelf.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He looked at a long row of shiny brass padlocks hanging on metal pegs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked Lena about his house keys,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe gave him a copy after dating him for fourteen days.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople move fast when they\u2019re lonely,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was washing dishes like the place belonged to him,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
Derek dropped the brass hinge back in the bin.<\/p>\n
He leaned against the metal shelving.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe you ought to hang on to that cash I gave you,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least for a few days before you call the private evaluator.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael picked up a plastic packet of silver mounting screws.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think I\u2019m overreacting with the emergency custody filing?\u201d Michael asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you\u2019ve got a huge corporate presentation tomorrow afternoon,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need your head completely clear for Carla and the executives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael turned the plastic packet over in his hands.<\/p>\n
He needed tomorrow afternoon to go off without a hitch.<\/p>\n
Any interruption during the budget meeting could cost him his job.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cLena wants to keep Noah at her place all day tomorrow,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe promised to stay home with him till five.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet her,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTravis seemed perfectly calm today.<\/p>\n
Noah looked fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNoah let him mess up his hair,\u201d Michael said.<\/p>\n
\u201cKids can tell when grownups are behaving,\u201d Derek said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe Travis finally gets that he has to follow the rules if he wants to stick around.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Michael nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
He dropped the mounting screws back into the wire basket.<\/p>\n
He headed for the glass doors at the front with empty hands, willing to believe in the quiet morning.<\/p>\n
At four thirty the long fluorescent tubes hummed steadily over Michael\u2019s desk.<\/p>\n
The late-afternoon traffic lights on Route 4 blinked red through the office window.<\/p>\n
He squared up the sharp edges of his quarterly slide folders.<\/p>\n
He stacked the blue cardboard covers neatly beside his monitor.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Carla stood on the far side of the gray fabric partition, going over a printed copy of the final slide deck.<\/p>\n