By midday, I was checking the video on my phone with trembling hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everything appeared perfectly normal at first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bev had a bowl of chopped fruit beside her while she played with her toys on the floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cheryl read a book while relaxing on the couch with a cup of tea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cheryl then looked at her watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBev, sweetheart, are you ready? Our friend will be here any minute now!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I felt sick to my stomach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was time to disclose the friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, Gran! I love her! Do you think she\u2019ll play with my hair again?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n She.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When she saw my daughter, Cheryl smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you ask her, I\u2019m sure she will, little love. And you remember, right About what we don\u2019t tell Mommy?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The sweetness of my daughter\u2019s voice was impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes. Not a word to Mom.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I almost dropped my phone on the tiles in the office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then the faint ring of the doorbell reached my ears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cheryl got up and walked to the door, adjusting her clothes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She opened it, and my hands gripped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had no idea who I was going to see or what I would see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, I felt nauseous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If I needed it, at least I had my wastepaper container nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then I caught sight of her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The companion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alexa, Jason\u2019s ex-wife, entered my house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jason had parted ways with the woman years prior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was informed that the woman had relocated to a different state, stating that she needed a new beginning with strangers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My daughter, Beverly, immediately rushed into her embrace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t recall reaching for my keys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How I got into the car is a mystery to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All I know is that I was racing home one minute while seeing my entire existence collapse on the small screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I flung the door open until it slammed into the wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They were all there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My daughter, Jason\u2019s ex-wife, and Cheryl are seated on the couch together like a bizarre little family get-together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Startled, Alexa turned to face me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh. Hi, Martha,\u201d<\/strong> she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t expect you home so soon.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n She spoke nonchalantly, as if she were supposed to be here and I wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As if I had interrupted their brief playdate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat the hell is she doing here?\u201d<\/strong> I asked, my voice sounding sharper than I intended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bewildered, Beverly looked up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy are you destroying the union, Mommy?\u201d<\/strong> Innocently, she enquired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A union? A reunion? I didn\u2019t comprehend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cheryl let out a sigh, sitting back like this was all so tiresome for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou always were a bit slow on the uptake, Martha,\u201d<\/strong> she said smoothly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everything was broken by the subsequent talk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat union? Or reunion? What is my child talking about?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Alexa moved uncomfortably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLook, I\u2026\u201d<\/strong> she started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I said, \u201cShut up,\u201d<\/strong> and to my astonishment, she did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cheryl grinned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think it\u2019s time you actually accepted reality, Martha. You\u2019re not supposed to be here. You were never really supposed to be here. I think the only good thing to come from you is Bev.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n My entire body went frigid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cheryl bent over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She pointed at Jason\u2019s ex and declared, \u201cAlexa is the one who was meant to be with Jason.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot you, Martha. My goodness, you were a mistake. And if\u2026 or when, Jason realizes that, Beverly should already know where her real family is. Alexa won\u2019t just leave her at some daycare. She\u2019ll move to working from home, so that she can be with your daughter.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Alexa refused to look at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She had a throw pillow on her lap and picked at the frills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou manipulated my child, Cheryl!\u201d<\/strong> I shouted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou let her believe that I didn\u2019t matter\u2026 that she didn\u2019t matter?! That we were both replaceable to each other!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cheryl\u2019s eyebrows went up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/strong> Something broke inside of me. And I don\u2019t know what I would have done if my child hadn\u2019t been present. Alexa was still silent when I turned to face her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd you? You went along with this? Why? You left Jason! So, what the hell do you even want?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n She took a swallow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI just\u2026 Cheryl convinced me that Beverly should know me. That maybe if Jason and I\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I moved in closer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you and Jason what? Got back together?\u201d<\/strong> I spat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She didn\u2019t respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked at Cheryl again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am done with you,\u201d<\/strong> I said, my voice was steady now, deadly calm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou won\u2019t see Beverly ever again.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cheryl pushed her hair behind her ear and grinned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat will never happen, my son.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I smiled at her, hard and cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I embraced Beverly tightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She didn\u2019t argue with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She was perplexed, though. And more than anything else, that broke me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I vowed to keep my baby near as I sat in the car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nobody was going to take my daughter away from me, no one at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not Cheryl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not Alexa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And what if Jason didn\u2019t support me when he learnt?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then not even him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I described the matter to Bev while we were out for ice cream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMom? What happened? Did I do something wrong?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As I watched her pick at her ice cream, I replied, \u201cOh, no, honey.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGrandma did the wrong thing. She lied to you and me. And she was very naughty. We\u2019re not going to see her again.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n She said, \u201cAnd Aunty Alexa?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re not going to see her either. She hurt Daddy a long time ago. And\u2026 she\u2019s not a nice person. And what do I say about people who are not nice?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe avoid them!\u201d<\/strong> she exclaimed, grinning as she recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Neither Alexa nor Cheryl were home when we arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Jason was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When he said, \u201cHello, baby,\u201d <\/strong>Bev leaped into his arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJason, we must speak.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While I told him everything, we sent Bev to play with her toys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As additional evidence, I gave him the video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a long period he was silent and pallid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe\u2019s never seeing Beverly again. Never. I don\u2019t care.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cheryl attempted to contact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She made an effort to protect herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her number was blocked by me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not everyone deserves a second shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, some people are not deserving of the title of family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By midday, I was checking the video on my phone with trembling hands. Everything appeared perfectly normal at first. Bev had a bowl of chopped fruit beside… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1904,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodarticles.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodarticles.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodarticles.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodarticles.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodarticles.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5453"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/goodarticles.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5454,"href":"https:\/\/goodarticles.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5453\/revisions\/5454"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodarticles.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodarticles.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodarticles.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodarticles.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}