A lot.
Savannah had apparently avoided explaining the details because she was uncertain how Nolan would react.
Nolan, meanwhile, had simply assumed the baby was biologically his.
That assumption had become the foundation for every decision he had made.
Now the foundation was cracking.
The Phone Call
My phone rang at 7:18 the next morning.
It was Nolan.
I almost didn’t answer.
Finally, I did.
“Audrey, we need to talk.”
His voice sounded completely different from the confident man outside the courthouse.
“About what?”
There was silence.
Then he asked:
“Have you booked the Copenhagen flights?”
I looked across the kitchen.
Two suitcases stood beside the wall.
“Yes.”
“Cancel them.”
I almost laughed, but there was nothing funny about the situation.
“Why?”
Another pause.
“Something happened with Savannah.”
I already knew enough from mutual acquaintances to understand what he meant.
But I made him say it.
“What happened?”
His voice dropped.
“There are questions about whether the baby is mine.”
I closed my eyes.
Then came the sentence I had been expecting.
“I need Willa and June here.”
Not “I miss them.”
Not “I hurt them.”
Not “I made a terrible mistake.”
He needed them.
Suddenly.
I answered quietly.
“Yesterday, you told me to take them because you had a son coming.”
“I was emotional.”
“You sounded very calm.”
“Audrey, don’t do this.”
I looked at the suitcases again.
“I’m not doing anything to you, Nolan. I’m following the agreement you signed.”
His Family Remembered the Girls
By lunchtime, Patrice was calling.
Then Richard.
Then Nolan again.
Patrice left three messages.
The third said:
“Those girls are Becketts. They belong near their family.”
I listened twice.
Three months earlier, Patrice had missed June’s school performance because she was helping Savannah choose nursery furniture.
She had forgotten Willa’s birthday dinner because of a prenatal celebration.
Now suddenly the girls were essential to the Beckett family.
Richard’s message was more direct.
“We can work something out financially if you reconsider leaving.”
That one almost offended me more.
They still didn’t understand.
This was never about money.
I had my own career.
My new position included relocation assistance, housing support and an excellent salary.
More importantly, I had spent years teaching my daughters that their value could not depend on someone else’s approval.
If I changed our entire future because the Beckett family suddenly became interested again, what lesson would that teach them?
He Came to the Airport
The morning of our flight arrived sooner than I expected.
Willa wore a navy sweater and carried her backpack.
June insisted on bringing her stuffed rabbit.
I had barely slept.
Leaving the country was exciting, but it was also frightening.
I was taking two children away from the only city they had ever known.
I questioned myself repeatedly.
Then I remembered Willa’s face outside the courthouse.
That gave me strength.
We had passed through the first section of the terminal when I heard someone shouting my name.
“Audrey!”
I turned.
Nolan was hurrying toward us.
His shirt was wrinkled, and he looked as though he had not slept.
Willa immediately moved closer to me.
Nolan stopped several feet away.
For the first time, I saw something resembling regret on his face.
“Please don’t leave.”
I remained calm.
“Why?”
He looked at the girls.
“Because they’re my daughters.”
I nodded.
“They were your daughters two days ago.”
He flinched.
“I made a mistake.”
“A mistake is forgetting a birthday present. What you said to them was a choice.”
Nolan lowered his voice.
“I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
Willa looked at him.
Then my nine-year-old asked the question neither of us expected.
“Would you be here if the baby was definitely yours?”
Nolan froze.
I watched his face.
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Willa had her answer.
The Papers He Had Signed
Nolan eventually turned toward me.
“You can’t just take them overseas.”
I opened my handbag and removed a copy of the final agreement.
Rebecca had advised me to carry it while traveling.
