Page 54 of The Surrogate Nanny
“What the fuck happened?”
“There was—”
“Anthony?” The distress in Simone’s voice was palpable and had me racing to my truck.
“What’s going on, Simone?”
“Th-they tried to take Nori away from me.” She had barely gotten the words out before she started sobbing.
“W-who tried taking Nori from you? Did someone try to kidnap our child?” Simone’s sobs grew further away. “Hello? Simone?”
“Hey, it’s Jonathan again. Long story short, Simone was detained earlier while shopping.”
“Detained? Why? Was it because she had my credit card?”
“Anthony, I need to tell you something, and you won’t like it.”
“Jonathan, my patience—”
“Simone was shopping with Nori at Eliza’s boutique and Eliza...fuck...um...Eliza accosted Simone.”
“Eliza, your ex? That Eliza?”
“Yeah. She was being batshit crazy as usual and approached Simone and started asking her sensitive questions about Nori, specifically who the parents were and if she was the nanny. Simone ignored her and continued shopping. As a result, Eliza went full psycho and called the cops claiming that Simone was kidnapping Nori. Simone was handcuffed and placed in the back of a squad car until I arrived and set the situation straight.”
“I’m gonna kill that fucking bitch, and I mean it, Jonathan. It’s enough that she fucked up your family, but I refuse to allow her to do it to mine! I’m suing her for making a false report and, no doubt, for the emotional distress she inflicted upon Simone and Nori. I want those officers’ badge—”
“I’ve taken care of everything, Anthony. I have all their info—the responding officers’ names, badge numbers, supervisors’ info, and precinct. Eliza was arrested for making a false police report. I will give Simone a mild sedative that I found in your medicine cabinet to calm her nerves. Nori is napping peacefully. I’ll stay with them until you get home, okay?”
I blew out a relieved sigh.
“Can I speak to Simone?”
“Let me see if she wants to speak. She’s a little inconsolable right now.”
He didn’t have to tell me. I could hear her crying in the background. It was haunting, giving me flashbacks of when I was awarded custody of Nori. Simone’s cries stayed with me, blanketing me at night when I attempted to catch a few hours of sleep, reminding me of my cruel selfishness that I may never make amends for.
As I waited, I contemplated what I could do to prevent something like that from happening again. It wasn’t lost on me that my family received curious and sometimes judgmental stares from strangers. It annoyed the shit out of me and made my blood boil. I was tempted to confront them a few times, but Simone always managed to talk me down. Getting riled up was easy for me, but I had to check my privilege. No one would ever publicly approach Nori and me and question her paternity. Simone didn’t have that luxury and would always have to deal with questioning stares or ignorant intrusions and inquiries.
“Hello?” Simone croaked.
“Hey, sweetheart. I know you’re a mess, so I won’t ask how you’re doing, but did they hurt you or Nori?”
“No...physically...we’re fine. When are you coming home?”
“Soon. I have to make a pit stop. In the meantime, Jonathan will offer you a sedative, and you should accept it and get some rest.”
“I don’t fucking need drugs, Anthony. I just want you to come home,” she snapped. I knew she meant serious business. Simone didn’t use foul language often, especially not the f-word.
“I hear you. I’ll be home as soon as I can. Okay?”
She deeply inhaled and exhaled. “Okay. Do you need to talk to Jonathan again?”
“Yes.”
“Here he is.”
“Hello?”