Emerson
I was working my way up to asking her out.
That’s the thought I keep returning to as I sit in my home office and pore over the folder Tanisha put together for me. This is not how I thought I’d be spending my evening.
Why am I looking at it at all? I can’t consider this. It’s ludicrous. Insane. I should shut this file and chalk it up to momentary madness on the part of a good woman suffering from her family’s emotional blackmail.
Her brother tried to marry her off to an old man.
When I realize I’ve crumpled the paper in my hand, I force myself to relax my fist. As a brother myself, I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on hers right about now. I could teach him some manners, and maybe fill him in on what year it is.
But isn’t she trying to do the same thing? Marry herself off to me?
I know this sort of things still happens all the time. For some cultures, some people, it’s considered normal. Arranged marriages have been going on far longer than love matches, but her story still makes my blood boil.
My first marriage wasn’t ideal, but at least we’d known each other for a while. We made the decision together, without family interference. It was a quick one, based on a defective condom, but I still think it was the right thing to do. Langston will never be a regret.
But this situation is different. Tanisha is different, and she deserves more than some detached transaction, whether it’s her choice or not.
Anyone who’s ever spent a moment in her company would know she’s worth more than this.
I grimace as my pride takes a dent looking down at her financials. Literally and figuratively.
Damn.
It’s a fact that the courts are less likely to give sole custody to a single father. And because I was an idiot who gave in too easily with our last shared custody arrangement, the hoops the lawyer described me having to go through were substantial enough to have me talking to Jae in the first place.
I met the nanny when he, pub owner Seamus Finn and I took our kids to the indoor water park this past summer for the annual Waterslide Olympics. The boys enjoyed it, and the activity was structured enough that it gave the adults a chance to hang out on the sidelines while our kids wore themselves out. Jae impressed me with his wit and obvious affection for his charge, as well as his loyalty to J&T Nanny Placement. He couldn’t say enough about them.
Tanisha’s partner, Joey, had sent Jae to help with young Zach after his father was injured in a fire. It was a favor for the Finns, who I knew were far more used to doling those out than receiving them.
When I first received the summons for family court with a hearing a few months from now, I was tempted to ask for a Finn favor myself. I genuinely admire the family that half of my siblings have now married into. There isn’t a better man than police chief Solomon “Younger” Finn, and Seamus is an admirable father and entertaining companion. But over the years I’ve gotten the feeling there’s been some rule bending going on with a few of their significant others.
Ken Tanaka for example. He works with the government at times, and I can’t deny his skills with a computer, but there have been episodes where he’s gone around the law in service to the people he and his fiancé, Brady Finn, care about. I’m grateful for what he did for Bronte and William, but I won’t deny it makes me wary. I’ve got kids to think about, and the work I do is used in litigation enough that I’d rather not give anyone cause to doubt its probity.
And so I talked to Jae instead, because my lawyer mentioned that, in lieu of a wife, a reputable caregiver on hand for the boys would look better to the courts than a varying schedule based on extended family availability.
In lieu of a wife.
No.
Then Tanisha Chahal sent me an email, the first of many we’ve been exchanging on a daily basis. I’ve never refreshed my browser so much in my life, but I wasn’t lying. I like talking to her. I’ve enjoyed our lunch meetings, with and without my boys in attendance.
At first, I wanted her to meet them so she could get to know their personalities beyond the questionnaire and find them the best possible nanny for our needs. But those lunches quickly became something more.
They liked her. Barry isn’t a surprise. He was born with an open heart, and at ten, he’s still willing to befriend anyone who gives him the opportunity. Langston, on the other hand, has always been more suspicious and standoffish with people outside our immediate family. Like me. I know part of it has to do with his being older and remembering more of the arguments I had with Ro.
But Tanisha won them over from the start, simply by being herself. She talked to them without condescension, and they responded. After the first day, Barry thought she looked like a princess, and Lang was equally enthralled. Their reactions only enhanced my own admiration for the lovely and efficient woman.
I look down at the paperwork again. She is efficient. Organized. Thorough. She’s even sent a copy of her medical records along, which makes me uncomfortable since I’ve never been one to invade anyone’s privacy.
The agreement itself is exceptionally detailed and legally sound. It’s a very solid prenup that covers nearly every concern I could come up with if I were taking this seriously.
Is that what I’m doing here?
Yesterday, I was planning to ask her out for dinner, just the two of us, to talk in person the way we’d only ever done in emails. About our likes and dislikes. Our favorite music. What we want for the future.
A date.