Page 47 of Jag

“River,” Mr. Blankenship said and nodded his head to acknowledge her.

“Mr. Blankenship.”

“Please, call me Norman. We’re going to be spending a good amount of time with each other for the next little bit.”

A nurse stepped in and informed us we would have to step out for the upcoming shift change. We could return in an hour and a half.

“We could go to the cafeteria,” River brought up, and I nodded along with my dad.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll join you. I could use some coffee. Plus, it will give us a chance to talk,” Norman said.

“Yes, we do need to talk,” I said, reached for River’s hand and linked our fingers. Once the badges were turned in, the four of us headed to the cafeteria. As we walked, Norman told us about Poppy’s birth, to include the date, the time, and her weight. My suspicion was right, at barely eleven months for Poppy’s age, Simone was three months pregnant when I left. She’d known before I left the area.

The four of us sat at a table as off the grid as possible to have some privacy.

“I’ve had plenty of time to think before arriving here, Norman. I didn’t head home until two months after Simone and I ended our relationship. She knew she carried my child while I was still here.”

“Yes.”

“I am sorry for your loss, Norman. I know you are burying your daughter, but goddamn, my daughter could have died, and I wouldn’t never have known about her. Simone had her flaws, but I wouldn’t ever have believed her capable of this. And you, why didn’t you inform me? I not only had a fucking right to know, I had a right to make the decision on how I would be in Poppy’s life. Both were fucking taking from me. And I wasn’t the only one shorted. My dad missed...what, a year, with his granddaughter? I didn’t even know her age or the date she was born until now. I know nothing that deals with her because others made that fucking choice!”

“Dom,” River said.

“What!” I turned to her and snapped. River’s eyes went wide, and I felt like shit. “I’m sorry, River.”

“I know it’s because you are angry but, Dom, you’re here now with Poppy. I’m not dismissing that the whole thing is shitty. You can’t make up the time no matter how mad you get. People do crappy things to other people. And though Norman was involved, and you want to lash out at him for that, it’s nothing compared to the punishment of having to bury his daughter,” River paused and looked at Norman, “because no parent should have to bury their child. And yes, Poppy could have died, but she didn’t. You can’t dwell on what could have.”

I looked at Norman and knew River was right. The man had dark circles under his eyes. He looked worn out and dealing with Simone’s death, Poppy in the hospital, it had taken its toll on him.

“Want I’m trying to say, is that things happen that are out of our control. But once given the opportunity, we decide how it gets handled from that point,” River said, then picked up her coffee cup and took a drink.

“River’s right, son. You can only go forward,” my dad said and patted River’s arm that laid on the table.

“Yeah, she is. Glad she came with us. She might be the only one to keep us out of trouble.”

“No, even I’m not that good,” she said behind the coffee cup she’d lifted to take a drink.

I chuckled, my dad laughed, and Norman snorted. Even in serious situations sometimes you needed to take a moment to just be.

“Since we have twenty minutes left before we can go upstairs, I’d like to get through everything, so our time can be spent seeing to Poppy. First, she will be going home with me. I won’t keep you from seeing her, but you will need to come to Shades Valley. Second, when the doctor makes his rounds, I’m going to have them take a swab from Poppy and me. Going to need the DNA to get my name added to her birth certificate since Simone is deceased. I still have some contacts around here, so I should be able to expedite anything I need to be done. I’d like to get any running I have to do done before they wake Poppy. Because I’m not going to want to leave her if I don’t have to. That’s where I stand on things, Norman,” I laid everything on the table. I needed to know if I was going to have to fight Norman.

“I’m not going to fight you on taking Poppy. She needs to be with a parent. I’m her grandad and I love that little girl, but I know my limits. I still had some youth when Simone’s mother died, and I had to raise her by myself. I don’t have that energy now. I’m a workaholic, which would put Poppy being raised by a nanny more than by me. With her across the country, it might be good for me. It will force me to take a vacation every now and then, so I can visit her. If your contacts can’t help you get things done before Poppy is ready to travel, let me know. Got a few contacts that owe me favors,” Norman finished speaking and looked at his watch, then continued. “It’s about time to go back up, but I need to go by the funeral home to deal with Simone’s burial. I’ll try to get back before the doctor makes rounds. When I come back though, I’ll bring all the documents you’re going to need for Poppy. Also, I imagine you’ll be flying home, so later we can talk about when you want to get Poppy’s things boxed and sent to your house.” Norman stood, and I looked at the clock on the cafeteria’s wall and did the same.

“Don’t rush to get back, Norman. I’ll let you know what the doctor says if you miss him.”

Norman shook hands with me, then my dad, and left to take care of his business. Dad stood and stretched as I held the chair for River. The three of us rode the elevator up and then stopped by the desk for the badges we needed.

The whole process would become a routine before Poppy was released no doubt.

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