Chapter 17
Abby was silent when he finished his presentation. "Well?" he said, eager to gauge her reaction. Her face was expressionless.
"I don't know, Carter. What do you expect me to say?"
"Yes, it's a great idea, you're a genius, I want to put your plan into action?" Abby smiled slightly, and he knew that was a good sign. Last time he brought up the subject, she had stormed out of the room.
"Well, then I think you're gonna be disappointed," she said, and his spirits rose even higher. She was making jokes; maybe she would agree!
"I just want you to consider it, Abby. Look at it this way: you could have your own wing of the house, you wouldn't even have to see me if you don't want to. You could have time to recuperate, and once you're at 100%, you could start looking for a job again. You'd have a nice, safe place to live, and the kids would have a family. Not a conventional family," he rushed, seeing the look on her face, "But they would have both of their parents. Two people to take care of them. You've been working yourself too hard, Abby. It's time to give me a chance."
The morning's events seemed to have put Abby in a good mood; she still hadn't stormed out of the room. "But it's so permanent. I don't want the kids to get used to living here, just so I can uproot them again. If we settle in here, I'm committing the next 14 years of my life to...living with YOU."
Carter tried not to be offended by that statement. "I know. I know it's not ideal; it's not even close. But I've been turning this problem over in my head, and I really can't think of anything better. Can you?"
Abby shook her head slowly. "No, I can't. But I want to give it some more time. I don't want to commit to this until I'm absolutely sure that this is the best thing for all of us."
Carter was already sure of this, but at least Abby seemed to be seriously considering it now. That was more than she had done before. Hopefully, he could wear her down with time. "Okay," he said, "Think about it. Tell me when you make up your mind, okay?"
Abby nodded. "Okay."
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"Tag! You're it!"
Jill stamped her foot impatiently. "Tag me! I want to be it!"
Riley shook his head. "Daddy's it now. He has to tag you."
Jill looked towards Carter expectantly and held out her hand. "Tag me?" she asked.
Carter laughed. "I think you're supposed to run away from the person who's it," he reminded her.
"I know, but I wanna tag Riley!" She shook her hand impatiently.
Carter touched her hand. "Yes!" she yelled, charging towards Riley. He took off down the hall, and Carter could hear their laughter echoing as Jill caught him.
Carter walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa next to Abby. "It's so nice to actually have kids in this house. It's been so quiet lately." Abby nodded but didn't respond.
Riley ran into the room and slapped Carter on the arm. "Tag! You're it, Daddy!" Before Riley had taken two steps away from the sofa, Carter had picked him up and was holding him upside down.
"Who's it now?" Carter asked. Riley, whose face was red from laughing, could not respond.
As Abby watched the exchange, she was surprised by how much it moved her. They need their dad, she realized. Of course, she had known it before, but seeing him here, playing with them, made her realize just how important it was for him to be a part of her lives.
She thought of her own father. Had he ever played games like this with her, just for the heck of it? She couldn't remember, probably because she didn't want to. Had he even loved her? She would never know. He had left, without so much as a backward glance to the family he left behind. He couldn't have cared less about his son and daughter.
But Jill and Riley had a father. And he loved them. And he was willing to do whatever it took to be a part of their lives.
Abby had kept them away from him for a good part of their lives. She had left justified at the time, but now she was wondering if it had been the right thing to do. They could have had this: Carter, a nice place to live, two parents to take care of them. They deserved that, didn't they?
Abby watched Carter as he pretended he was going to drop Riley on his head. They needed this. They needed a father, someone who would help her take care of them. As much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't raise them alone. Four years of nonstop care had left her drained, and the time she had spent at Carter's house was a welcome break. It had been so nice for the past few weeks, knowing that she didn't have to look after Jill and Riley every single moment. Knowing that, if she slept until 9:30, when she woke up the housekeeper would have already gotten the kids up and made breakfast. Maybe she was being selfish, but for the first time in four years, she was spending a little time on herself.
Jill had entered the room and, seeing the action, said, "Pick me up too, Daddy!" Abby smiled, watching the three of them as they played. Jill and Riley had a father who cared about them, who wanted to be a part of their lives. Until this moment, Abby hadn't realized just how important that was.
It was at that moment that Abby made up her mind.