Dylan’s eyes narrowed as he looked at me. “Tessa is planning—”
“I’m going to stay home.”
“Maisie will be in what grade …?” the woman looked at her paper.
“First grade,” I said.
“You could work.”
“I like making a home. I know it’s very unmodern for a woman today, but for now, I enjoy it.”
She turned to Dylan. “I see you can afford to live on one income. In fact, you live quite modestly considering your income.”
I understood how important it was for child welfare to investigate families to make sure they had the means and emotional stability to care for a child, but it felt invasive. Did they look into my financial records too?
“I don’t need much. Maisie. Tessa. A roof. That’s it,” Dylan said, and that I did believe. Well the Maisie and roof part anyway.
“Were you raised in a traditional family?” she asked us.
“I was. My parents live in Brooklyn,” I said.
“What brought you here?”
“I came here for college and stayed,” I said. I smiled at Dylan, hoping I looked like a woman in love. “I fell for my neighbor.”
Dylan brought my hand to his lips. It was so strange how the gesture both made me happy and so sad at the same time. It wasn’t real, I had to remind myself.
“What about you, Mr. Hyatt?”
“I was raised by a single mom, mostly.”
“Mostly?”
“She remarried a few times, but none stuck.” I heard the edge of tension in his voice, but he worked to maintain a smile.
“It sounds like it wasn’t as steady as what you’re providing Maisie,” she said, apparently hearing his tone as well.
“No. It was difficult, to be honest, which is why I’ve worked so hard to provide Maisie with a stable home.”
I wished I could know what happened to him as a kid, but now wasn’t the time to ask.
“Single fatherhood isn’t as unusual now as it used to be, but I need to ask how it was you got custody the first time.”
“Veronica wanted out. I stayed.”
The social worker studied him as if she were waiting for him to elaborate. “She wanted a divorce but didn’t take Maisie?”
“Veronica and I married young. I think we were caught up in the idea of a fairy tale. The reality, at least for her, was very different. I was happy to live in a small town, run my business, and raise my child. Veronica wanted more. So, she left to get it.”
“And you were okay with that?”
He shrugged. “By the time it happened, I could see it coming. She was unhappy. Life here with me was boring, at least that’s what she said.”
“And what about Maisie?”
He took a minute and I had to admire his restraint in choosing his words carefully. “Maisie didn’t fit into Veronica’s plans at the time. She had a dream to pursue.”
“So, you were left to care for Maisie alone.”