Intrigue

“ So, where do we begin Alex. I’m lost. I cannot believe all of this is happening. I don’t even know where to start with all of this.” She rubbed the back of my neck.

“First call your parents. Then go to the furniture store. Buy a crib, changing table and a bureau. Call Jonathan now and get him to meet you at my place in an hour or so with the furniture and he can help you put it together. I’ll shop for everything we need besides the furniture.” I nodded and dialed Jon’s number.

“I need help man, I am about to have a breakdown. She is mine, we are going on a road trip and I need to buy stuff and set up the house tonight for a home visit tomorrow.” Jon agreed to meet me. I drove Alex back to the apartment so she could get her car.

I dialed my parent’s number and my mom picked up. “Hi sweetheart, how are things?” she asked.

“A little hectic right now. Madison is mine mom. If it wasn’t for Alex, I’d be a hysterical mess. She is sending me for furniture while she shops for clothes and everything. I need to leave town tomorrow for a few days. She is basically taking care of everything. We have a house visit and all tomorrow.” My mom cleared her throat.

“So I am a grandmother? Wow, I am really happy for you Brent. I think once you get over the shock you will be fine. I am calling your dad now and we will probably fly in tomorrow or the next day. We can help Alex set everything up while you are away.”

My mom was great on the phone promising to book a flight as soon as possible. I arrived at the furniture store and Jon was waiting outside with Duncan and Sharpy. “Ok, I need to get a crib, changing table and bureau according to Alex.”

The guys were great and Jon and Sharpy got way too into it arguing over cherry wood vs. oak. I honestly didn’t care. I had no idea what I was doing and was feeling completely overwhelmed. We took the stuff back to Alex’s place. She had an empty bedroom where I didn’t. I ordered food and grabbed beer from the refrigerator, handing them out. We got to work on assembling the stuff.

Abby and Alex came in an hour later with a mass of bags, dropping stuff off and running back out the door. By eight o'clock, everything was assembled and the girls had just returned. Everyone left and Alex and I sat on the floor sorting out her purchases and putting stuff away. I told her to let me know how much she spent on everything so I could give her a check to deposit but she ignored me.

By one o'clock in the morning we had completely baby-proofed the downstairs and set up her room. Alex told me she would get up early and do the upstairs as well as finish Madison’s room. I kissed her and she cuddled up next to me. “Goodnight Daddy.” she said as she started to fall asleep.

She dropped me off at the airport the next morning and I didn’t want to let her go. She had been my savior the last few days. She was the picture of loyal in my eyes, never wavering or even hesitating when we found out that Madison was mine.

She had everything basically ready to go for the visit today. She was up before me even, setting things up. She said she would be finish by the time the house visit happened. I hated to go away and leave her to handle all of this. I couldn’t even imagine how hectic today would be for her. She was working as many hours as she could and surviving on five hours of sleep a night. She truly was amazing in my eyes.

After I got home from the road trip we had decided that I would fully move out of the apartment next door and into hers. There was no reason to take up space in both when we were sleeping at her place anyway.

Jon and I talked for a long time on the plane about the whole situation. “Alex is something else. Jon you had to see her in the courtroom. She was a freaking animal. I mean the other lawyer looked like he was ready to crawl under the table by the time she was done. I wish I could have recorded it.” He laughed and said he would go one day just to see it.

“So what are you going to do with Madison when you have away games?” he asked.

“Honestly, she has already offered to take care of her, but we are going to need to hire a nanny at some point next week. She has a lot going on, especially because she is newer at her job. She is averaging about five hours of sleep a night this past week. I don’t understand how she does it.”

He grinned, “cause she is Alexa, super girl.” I just smiled. “Ain’t that the truth bro.”

We landed and checked into the hotel. I had two hours to kill before practice. I went and grabbed something to eat and brought it back up to my room. I dialed her cell. “Hey baby, how are things going?” I asked her.

“Good, Madi’s room is finished and I’m just straightening up now. Actually I’ll probably go grab something to eat and bring it back. The visit isn’t until one o'clock. Call me when you are done practice and I will let you know how it went. Oh, and your mom and dad called. I have to pick them up at seven o'clock at the airport. I checked and they already had hotel reservations. I told them they could stay at our place and we could stay next door since you weren’t moved out yet but they said no.” We talked for a while longer and then I left for practice.

We had a game in Detroit tonight and then a game in Minnesota tomorrow night. Honestly, I couldn’t wait to play Detroit. I had so much frustration to release. I had been holding it inside since they told me about Madison and I just needed someone to release it on.

I was scared to be a Dad, and mad Ava never contacted me about it. I missed nine months of my daughter’s life because of her, time I’ll never get back. I played horribly at practice and Coach Q threatened to bench me if I didn’t snap out of it. I could take me mind off of what was happening back home. I was nervous about the house visit. If things didn’t go well, it would hold up everything.

I nearly sprinted of the ice once he told us we were finished. I grabbed my phone from the locker room and sat down. “Hey hun, how did it go?” I asked saying a silent prayer.

“Everything was great. Mrs. Williams was with the person who checked out the house. She pulled me aside and let me know everything was going well and you should be able to pick her up the day after you come home. She let me know you are going to be a great father and she also told me fantastic news.”

“What kind of news Alex?” I asked.

“Well, apparently, Ava has been told she is facing fifteen years. I spoke to Alan and he said they are recommending the maximum sentence because of the quantity she was busted with. But anyway, Mrs. Williams told me she went and talked to her and let her know that you were taking Madison and going to file for full custody and what not and she has decided to relinquish her rights. So in a month or so, after a hearing, Madison will be all yours. You won’t ever have to deal with Ava.”

The happiness in my chest threatened to burst. “That’s great news. I couldn’t be more relieved actually. The thought of my child going to the jail to see her killed me.”

Someone knocked at my door and I hung up with Alex. It was Sharpy. “Come one, we have a few hours, let’s go buy baby crap. Abby is having a girl too.” We walked out of the room and towards the lobby.

Notes

There gonna be a little family :)