New Year Second Chance

“There.” My dad touches my cheek. “Looks like you finally have some life back in you.”

And I do feel it. I feel alive again.

“I’m going to talk to Dax, Dad,” I promise my father. “I’m going to take the man I love back.”

He nods. “You do that.”

~

The next day, I go to Dax’s house. Mike tells me he isn’t home, though. He never came back from London, which I guess is why I haven’t been able to reach his phone, and no one knows when he will be back.

I make Mike promise to call me when Dax gets back, then drive home. For the next few days, I wait to hear from him. Each time my phone rings, I jump, thinking it’s him. Or Mike. But so far, neither.

Is Dax ever coming back?

Then one evening while I’m making dinner, the doorbell rings. I drop the knife I’m holding on the chopping board, take my apron off and rush to the front door. I hold my breath as I open it, only to let it out in disappointment as I see a woman standing outside.

A reporter? No. She seems too nicely dressed for that.

“Can I help you?” I ask her.

“I’m Alice McCarthy,” she introduces herself. “I’m an attorney for Barbara Keating.”

Who?

“Are you Jenna Holt, sister of Sarah Holt?”

I nod, unable to speak because my brain is still trying to come up with possible reasons why a lawyer would appear at my doorstep.

“I’m just here to deliver some papers.”

She opens her briefcase and takes out an envelope, which she hands to me.

I stare at it. Papers? What papers?

“You can go on and open it,” she says.

I reluctantly do that. It feels awkward – me opening an envelope while someone’s watching – and it seems to take me longer than usual. Finally, though, I manage to open it.

I read the top of the first page.

Non-Parental Custody Petition

I have a bad feeling about this. As I skim the rest of the document in a flurry of panic, Alice speaks.

“That is a petition for the custody of Shanna Holt filed by my client.”

I understood that much. What I don’t understand is why.

I look at her. “I’m sorry, but who is your client?”

“Barbara Keating,” she repeats the name. “She is Shanna’s aunt.”

I give her a puzzled look. I’m Shanna’s aunt.

“She’s the sister of Tom Keating, who was the boyfriend of your sister, Sarah,” Alice explains further.

Tom. Yes. He and Sarah dated for years.

“Tom died over a year and a half ago,” Alice continues. “Before Shanna was born.”

Which was why I ended up with Shanna.

“Barbara is related to Shanna by blood,” Alice goes on. “Which is why she has the right to file this petition.”

And I’ve just found out I’m not. But isn’t that a private matter? I thought my dad, Emily and I were the only ones who knew.

“Shanna has been with me since she was born,” I tell Alice. “And Barbara must have known about her before now. Why is she just filing a petition now?”

“You will find out during the hearing,” Alice answers.

Hearing? Already?

“It’s scheduled for next week. You’re required to be there.”

Next week? Wow.

“You can represent yourself,” Alice adds. “But I would advise that you bring your own lawyer.”

My own lawyer? I don’t even know a lawyer.

Still, I put the papers back into the envelope and nod.

“Good.” Alice smiles. “I’ll see you in court, then.”

She leaves my doorstep.

I stay in the doorway for a few seconds, numb and speechless as I stare at the envelope in my hand, which seems unreal to me. Then I close the door slowly and drag myself back to the kitchen. As I pass by the living room, my dad gets off the couch.

“What happened?” he asks me. “Who was that at the door?”

I throw myself at him, wrap my arms around him and bury my head in his chest. Then I tell him what the lawyer just gave me, what she just told me.

When I’m done, he pats my back. “Oh, sweetheart, everything is going to be alright. Anyone with half a mind knows Shanna belongs with us, her family.”

“But am I her family when I’m not related to her by blood? This woman is.”

My dad snorts. “Everyone knows family isn’t just about blood.”

But custody isn’t about what everyone knows. It’s about the law.

“Shanna loves you. Anyone just has to look at the two of you and they’d be crazy to tear you apart.”

But Shanna doesn’t get a say. She’s not going to be in court. It will be just me, fighting for the both of us. And I’m scared, so scared that I’m going to lose.

I love Shanna so much. I’ve already done so much for her, given up so much for her. I never thought anyone would take her away from me. Why is someone trying to do that now?