Daniel shook his head.
“Telling Oliver I don’t want to see him isn’t protecting him.”
Nobody contradicted him.
Christy looked around the room. Several guests who had been laughing with her earlier were now avoiding her eyes.
Jason lowered the phone.
“You said he didn’t care about Oliver.”
“You lied to me about him.”
“Jason, please.”
“You said he didn’t care about Oliver.”
Christy glanced toward the guests.
“Can we not do this here?”
For a moment, I felt the old instinct to apologize.
Jason turned toward me, his face red. Whether it was from shame or outrage, I couldn’t tell.
“You brought him here to humiliate us, didn’t you?”
For a moment, I felt the old instinct to apologize, to explain myself until he stopped looking angry.
Then I remembered Ava watching the adults’ faces, and I recalled how Jason had always looked for someone else to shift the blame to.
“No, Jason. I came because our children wanted me here.”
“You made fun of me for coming alone.”
He opened his mouth, but I continued.
“You made fun of me for coming alone, then you mocked how I looked when I arrived with someone. And now, after all that, you think I’m here for some petty revenge?”
A few guests looked toward Jason.
“I don’t need your approval to attend my children’s party, and I won’t apologize for moving on. Who it’s with is non of your business, you selfish man.”
Jason stared at me.
“The children haven’t done anything wrong. Let them finish Halloween.”
This time, I didn’t look away.
Christy clapped her hands.
“Party’s over. Everybody out.”
“No,” I said. “The children haven’t done anything wrong. Let them finish Halloween.”
Jason glanced toward the backyard, where the kids were laughing inside the maze.
“We’ll handle the missed visits through our lawyers and the parenting coordinator.”
“They can finish the last game,” he said quietly.
Christy stared at him.
“You’re taking her side?”
“I’m thinking about the kids.”
Daniel put his phone away.
“We’ll handle the missed visits through our lawyers and the parenting coordinator,” he told Christy. “Not here.”
On the drive home, Ava asked why everyone had gotten so quiet.
She turned away.
The last game was awkward, but Ava won a bag of candy, and Ben proudly announced that he’d survived the haunted maze without crying.
When it ended, I gathered their things. Oliver hugged Daniel goodbye, already asking when they’d see each other again.
“We’ll talk soon, buddy,” Daniel promised.
On the drive home, my daughter asked why everyone had gotten so quiet.
“Is Daniel coming over again?”
“The grown-ups had a disagreement,” I told her. “But none of you did anything wrong.”
Ben leaned forward.
“Is Daniel coming over again?”
I looked at Daniel, who smiled without taking his eyes off the road.
“I hope so.”
Three weeks later, Daniel told me that both visits he’d arranged through the parenting coordinator had happened.
One evening, after dinner, he kissed me outside my door.
He and I were still seeing each other, too.
One evening, after dinner, he kissed me outside my door.
“So we’re a thing now?” he asked.
I smiled.
“I think it’s about time we both get to have a good relationship.”
