was likely to sink into depression and resume binge drinking.
As for Bruce, presumably his girlfriend was taking care of him. Besides, the old man must be steaming about Wade’s new job, of which word had almost certainly reached him by now. Every time Wade considered phoning, his temper started to rise in anticipation of an argument. So far, he hadn’t followed through.
Wade and Adrienne had scheduled their visit with the attorney for Thursday at 1:00 p.m. Wade didn’t have to use his lunch hour; since he’d worked two nights this week to catch a man faking a disability claim, Mike let him take the afternoon off.
Once again, Adrienne beat him to the office. When she rose to shake hands, Wade noticed that her deep rose blouse brought out the color in her cheeks. “Nice outfit,” he said.
“My favorite store was having a sale.” She gazed up at him warmly. Her blond hair, tied back with a ribbon, gleamed with golden overtones.
“Did you do something different with your hair?”
“Highlights,” she told him. “I figured I’d be too busy next week with the wedding.”
“It makes you look younger.”
She winced. “Uh...thanks.”
“ Even younger,” he corrected, and she smiled. Age appeared to be a sensitive topic, although based on what Vicki had said when they were dating, he estimated her sister was a mere three years older than he was.
In Geoff’s inner office, they explained that things were going well. As before, the attorney recommended drafting a formal custody arrangement.
“I’m not ready for that,” Wade said.
“Neither am I.” Adrienne tapped the armrest of her chair. “But we could start to firm up a schedule.”
That made sense. “I can pick up Reggie at his sitter’s most Saturday mornings.”
“That would be fine.” She sounded relieved.
“I’m not sure where we’ll go, though.” Certainly not to Daryl’s place.
“I’d be happy to draw up a list of activities,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be complicated. Kids like simple things, like visiting the beach or a playground.”
“You seem to be moving toward a consensus rather nicely. I don’t usually see such cooperation.” Geoff cleared his throat. “However, I’d like to caution that you may both be averse to confrontation. If you’re holding back, sooner or later you’ll run into problems.”
That was a startling insight. Wade’s opinion of the man rose a notch.
“Despite my initial reservations, I’m comfortable with the way things are progressing,” Adrienne said. “I don’t believe either of us is afraid to be frank.”
While Wade didn’t want to read too much into the statement, he was glad his attempts at parenting met with her approval. Adrienne’s good opinion meant a lot, both because of her experience with Reggie and because...
Because I like her. Nothing wrong with that.
The attorney reviewed options regarding custody. Shared custody seemed the most appropriate, when they were ready for that step. Even though, as the boy’s surviving parent, Wade had a good chance of winning sole custody if he went for the jugular, the loser wouldn’t only be Adrienne; it would also be Reggie.
“We could draw up a temporary visitation schedule that allows for frequent ongoing contact with both of you,” Geoff concluded. “Also, I should point out that there’s a potential conflict of interest in having me represent both of you. I recommend hiring your own attorney.”
“I’ll take it under consideration.” If things got messy, Wade wouldn’t hesitate to do that.
Adrienne leaned forward. “I’d like for us to meet again after the first of the year, if that’s okay with Wade. Let’s see how our informal arrangements survive the holidays. By then we might be ready to put things down on paper.”
“Survive the holidays—good way of putting it.” In Wade’s experience, family gatherings brought out the worst in people. They agreed that Wade would collect Reggie that Saturday
As for Bruce, presumably his girlfriend was taking care of him. Besides, the old man must be steaming about Wade’s new job, of which word had almost certainly reached him by now. Every time Wade considered phoning, his temper started to rise in anticipation of an argument. So far, he hadn’t followed through.
Wade and Adrienne had scheduled their visit with the attorney for Thursday at 1:00 p.m. Wade didn’t have to use his lunch hour; since he’d worked two nights this week to catch a man faking a disability claim, Mike let him take the afternoon off.
Once again, Adrienne beat him to the office. When she rose to shake hands, Wade noticed that her deep rose blouse brought out the color in her cheeks. “Nice outfit,” he said.
“My favorite store was having a sale.” She gazed up at him warmly. Her blond hair, tied back with a ribbon, gleamed with golden overtones.
“Did you do something different with your hair?”
“Highlights,” she told him. “I figured I’d be too busy next week with the wedding.”
“It makes you look younger.”
She winced. “Uh...thanks.”
“ Even younger,” he corrected, and she smiled. Age appeared to be a sensitive topic, although based on what Vicki had said when they were dating, he estimated her sister was a mere three years older than he was.
In Geoff’s inner office, they explained that things were going well. As before, the attorney recommended drafting a formal custody arrangement.
“I’m not ready for that,” Wade said.
“Neither am I.” Adrienne tapped the armrest of her chair. “But we could start to firm up a schedule.”
That made sense. “I can pick up Reggie at his sitter’s most Saturday mornings.”
“That would be fine.” She sounded relieved.
“I’m not sure where we’ll go, though.” Certainly not to Daryl’s place.
“I’d be happy to draw up a list of activities,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be complicated. Kids like simple things, like visiting the beach or a playground.”
“You seem to be moving toward a consensus rather nicely. I don’t usually see such cooperation.” Geoff cleared his throat. “However, I’d like to caution that you may both be averse to confrontation. If you’re holding back, sooner or later you’ll run into problems.”
That was a startling insight. Wade’s opinion of the man rose a notch.
“Despite my initial reservations, I’m comfortable with the way things are progressing,” Adrienne said. “I don’t believe either of us is afraid to be frank.”
While Wade didn’t want to read too much into the statement, he was glad his attempts at parenting met with her approval. Adrienne’s good opinion meant a lot, both because of her experience with Reggie and because...
Because I like her. Nothing wrong with that.
The attorney reviewed options regarding custody. Shared custody seemed the most appropriate, when they were ready for that step. Even though, as the boy’s surviving parent, Wade had a good chance of winning sole custody if he went for the jugular, the loser wouldn’t only be Adrienne; it would also be Reggie.
“We could draw up a temporary visitation schedule that allows for frequent ongoing contact with both of you,” Geoff concluded. “Also, I should point out that there’s a potential conflict of interest in having me represent both of you. I recommend hiring your own attorney.”
“I’ll take it under consideration.” If things got messy, Wade wouldn’t hesitate to do that.
Adrienne leaned forward. “I’d like for us to meet again after the first of the year, if that’s okay with Wade. Let’s see how our informal arrangements survive the holidays. By then we might be ready to put things down on paper.”
“Survive the holidays—good way of putting it.” In Wade’s experience, family gatherings brought out the worst in people. They agreed that Wade would collect Reggie that Saturday
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