Page 41 of Bonus Daddy
The rest of the concert was a happy blur. I was on cloud nine, barely conscious of who was performing what. Not only had my daughter performed beautifully, but she’d had a whole cheering section here to support her.
Granted, T.J. had been fidgeting so much he got his foot caught between the seat cushion, and Sully and Cal had to do an emergency extraction while a harpist performed, but it was otherwise a smooth night.
When it was over, the whole group stayed to congratulate her, wrapping her in hugs and demanding photos. So often, I doubted my ability to do this job. To raise these girls on my own. But tonight, I was reminded that the most important thing I could do was surround them with love.
It was bittersweet, knowing that if all went as planned, we’d be gone before the end of the summer. We’d lose this support system. Though we’d gain another in Vermont.
Though in my hometown, we’d also find fewer music opportunities for Kit, and nowhere on earth could compare to the endless excitement of the city. It was for the best. I knew it in my bones. But it was moments like these that made the hard years we’d spent in Jersey almost worth it.
On the way out, I was still coming down from the excitement, a little stunned, so Brian steered me toward the door, his hand on my lower back.
As we neared the exit, my heart plummeted. Kenneth stood toone side, wearing one of his signature dark suits with no tie, his graying hair slicked back in his usual style.
It shouldn’t have surprised me that he was here, but I’d been so nervous and distracted that I’d forgotten to even look for him. It was such a large venue, and I assumed that if he deigned to appear, I wouldn’t even see him.
Beside him, hanging from his arm, was a young woman with her face buried in her phone. She was wearing what I can only describe as a scrap of fabric and texting furiously.
“Jessica,” Kenneth said.
His voice alone, that tone he’d used for so long when he was angry with me, made my spine snap straight.
“And you,” he said, sneering at Brian. “The lawyer.”
“Hi, Dad,” Greta said with a small wave.
Kenneth had the good sense to give his daughter a smile, if nothing else. “Margaret. So good to see you.” The words were spoken as if she were a professional acquaintance instead of his nine-year-old flesh and blood.
He looked around Greta, eyeing Kit, who was chatting with Lana.
“Katherine,” he boomed. “Excellent job. I would have thought the Bach piece was too challenging for you, but you seemed to make it work.”
Seemed?I could feel my blood pressure spike. “She was spectacular,” I corrected, bristling at his passive aggression.
“Thank you, Dad,” Kit replied, her voice and her expression equally stony.
“Good to see you all,” he said, looking at his watch. “Must run. We’ve got reservations.”
The woman, who had only now looked up from her phone, was suddenly keen to participate in the conversation. “Kenny’s taking me to Le Bain,” she said with a smirk. “Bottle service. You know how it is.” She flipped her waist-length hair over one shoulder and went back to texting.
I held back a scoff. He was taking this practical child to a club? He was a fifty-three-year-old father.
Greta’s face fell, but Kit’s expression only hardened, her eyes locking on her father. For a moment, she let her sassy tween glare burn a hole in his forehead. Then she grabbed her sister’s arm and turned her back, focusing on the boys.
Kenneth stepped closer to Brian, jaw clenched. “Happy now?” he asked. “I know what you did. How my Metros seats were suddenly no longer available. And I’m sure the bar association will be thrilled when they find out you’re fucking a client.”
I gasped, stumbling back a step at the vitriol in his tone.
“You are out of line,” Brian said, his voice steely.
Cal and Sully stepped closer, both pulling up to their full height, which was, honestly, intimidating.
“Did I get it wrong?” Kenneth asked me. “You want me to believe you dragged your lawyer here just for fun? Or so you’d have backup when you saw me? I didn’t realize you could afford to pay someone to pretend to care.”
Bile rose in my throat, and the instinct to run washed over me. But I couldn’t. I wouldn’t let my girls see me back down.
Kenneth looked me up and down, sneering in disgust, and a wave of shame nearly knocked me over. In this moment, I was reliving every criticism and nasty comment he’d ever made.
I closed my eyes, wishing the floor would open up and swallow me.
