Page 119 of The Moment We Know

Assuming she’d been on the verge of saying ‘death’, David was silent for several seconds as his thoughts turned to the daily horror of Lauren’s job, and how heart-breaking it must be to deal with so much abuse. To anyone, of any age.

“So, if I end up finding evidence of abuse—and depending on what it is—Ashley could be legally charged with either a misdemeanor or a felony.”

Even though he knew child abuse was a crime, hearing the legal ramifications that could be applied to the mother of his child was a bit sobering, and it took David a few moments to respond. “Okay.”

In the wake of his heavy tone, Lauren said, “I’m sure this is a lot for you to absorb. Hearing the words ‘misdemeanor’ and ‘felony’ makes shit real, with real consequences, and sadly, some people back away at that point, because they don’t want to get that deep. Especially when it involves family members.”

“Well, no worries there. I’m not one of those people,” he told her, disgusted that protecting a perpetrator would be more important to someone than protecting a victim. “If Ashley’s guilty of anything, then I want her to be held accountable for it.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear that.”

He cleared his throat. “So, with that out of the way … when can you see Jacob?”

“Let me pull up my calendar. Hold on.”

While she was busy doing that, David pulled up his own.

“All right,” she announced about a minute later. “The earliest available time I have is Wednesday at five. I realize that’s probably around dinnertime, so if it doesn’t work—”

“It’ll work. We’ll have an early dinner.”

“Okay, good. Now until then, just relax and don’t talk about Ashley, or this past weekend with Jacob anymore. It’s important to just let him be, so he can decompress and feel safe before I see him, all right?”

“What if he brings it up on his own?”

“Honestly, I doubt he will, but if he does, go with it, and then let me know what he says.”

“All right.”

Lauren made a low humming noise again. “One more thing. What are you planning on telling Jacob about his visit with me?”

“Um …” David trailed off, stumped, as if he’d been asked how nuclear reactors worked.

“That’s what I thought,” she said, then quickly went on to tell him, “In my experience, the simplest explanation is always the best. You could tell him you know he’s been feeling ‘sad’ and you want him to feel better, so you’re taking him to see me because one of my super powers is making kids feel better—all of which are true.”

Chapter 48

Later that night, once Jacob was asleep, David called Valerie to tell her about Jacob’s weekend visit with Ashley, the conversation with Paige in the kitchen, and Jacob’s upcoming appointment he was going to have with Lauren in a few days. Valerie had been kept abreast of the issues Jacob was having all along, so keeping this new development from her was not even something David considered doing.

Her response was pretty much what he was expecting, because it mirrored his own.

“It’s hard to believe this could be happening,” Valerie murmured. “But something is happening and … Ashley abusing him in some way makes the most sense.”

“I know, Mom.”

“I’m glad Paige was there.”

“Me, too.”

His talk with Jacob went better than David thought it would, much to his relief. He brought it up during Tuesday night’s dinner, striving to be casual as they were chowing down on Sloppy Joes, a house favorite. “So, the other day when I was talking to Paige,” he said conversationally, “she was telling me about this really nice lady she knows, who talks to people—”

“Why?” Jacob asked, remnants of red sauce decorating his face.

“Because that’s her job.”

“Why?”

“Well, Lauren—that’s the really nice lady’s name—likes to help people who are feeling sad, and—”

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