Elliott and I used to be so close.  He was my little boy.  Somewhere in middle school it changed.  I wasn't so cool anymore and he just wanted to be with his friends.  I tried not to take it personally.  This was just him growing up.  I could handle him not spending time with me, but I couldn't handle him all of a sudden hating me.

This sneaking around worried me.  I needed to be able to trust him.  Steven would probably be the first to admit I'd done the heavy parenting with Elliott growing up.  Steven had been pretty hands-off when it came to tough stuff.  Now that the hard stuff involved back talking, lying, and sex, it was harder to handle.  Hard for my heart to handle.

I laid awake in bed, replaying the incident earlier.  The way he'd looked at me like I was the enemy.  The slam of the door as he left to escape to his father's again.  I'd called Steven to tell him what happened and asked for him to back me up.  He'd probably do it off-handedly.  He'd never let Elliott criticize me, but he would be sympathetic to his problems.

I turned over in bed and Lin's eyes fluttered open.  He looked at me, groggily and rubbed my hip.

"You okay?" he croaked out.

"Fine," I told him, not wanting to disrupt his sleep.  He could tell I was lying.  He rubbed at his eyes and propped his head up in his hand.

"Tell me," he gently ordered me.

"I just can't stop thinking about Elliott," I told him.  "He hates me."

"He doesn't hate you," Lin said.  "He's a teenage boy.  He wants more freedom than he should have right now.  You're doing the right thing."

"They why did he leave?" I pointed out.

"Because he's stubborn," Lin said.  "Like someone else I know."

I smirked and he leaned forward to kiss me.  He settled back down on his back. 

"Give him some time.  Besides, we said if they broke the being alone rule, they were going to stay at the other parent's house for a week."

"That was a dumb thing for us to say," I told him.  "Steven lets him do whatever he wants."

"Well, I'm going to pull the reins in tight with Joey," he said.  "And her mother will back me up."

I sighed, not liking the whole situation and settled into my pillow.  I wanted my sweet Elliott back.

___

I was at home with the kids the next day when Joey stormed in after school, looking upset.  It was Tuesday so she was still suspended and was supposed to be at her mother's.

"Joey," I said.  "What's wrong?"

"Mom got a job offer," she told me.  "In Chicago."

"What?" I asked.  "When did you find this out?"

"Just now," she told me, shifting her weight from foot to foot, not knowing what to do with her energy.  "And she wanted to know if I wanted to go with her.  Why would she do that?"

I thought for a moment, taking it in.  If Clarita indeed moved to Chicago, that would make custody pretty challenging.  Courts tended to side with the mothers in custody disputes.  Lin would be heartbroken if his daughter moved across the country.

"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves," I told her.  "She just got an offer.  That doesn't mean she's accepting it."

"It's from some huge firm," she said, continue to shift around, tears in her eyes.  "It would be a big promotion.  She's going to accept.  You should have seen her face.  She was so excited."

I sighed, rubbing at my temple.  "Well, she would have a lot to discuss with your dad.  Because you're his daughter too."

"If I have to move across the country with her I'm gonna go insane!" she said.  "I hate her!  And I hate her more now.  She wants to take me away from Elliott?"

"Okay," I said, putting a hand on her shoulder.  "Take some deep breaths.  Nothing's happening yet.  Do you want something to drink?  Maybe some tea?"

"Okay," she said shakily.

"Go sit down on the couch," I told her.  She walked over and Alex soon wandered over.  Little kids were good for taking your mind off big worries.  Alex sat with her as they talked and she showed her her doll.  A few minutes later I brought over two mugs of tea and sat on the other couch.

I wondered if Lin knew anything.  I'd like to think Clarita would talk to Lin about this first before mentioning it to Joey.  However, it sounded like Joey happened to be there when Clarita got the offer so it was unavoidable.

Even though she was supposed to be at her mother's I of course let Joey stay.  She needed some time to think.  I texted Clarita to let her know Joey was with me.  When Lin got home around 6:00 he looked stressed.  Joey was immediately on him.

"Daddy, did Mom talk to you?" she asked almost as soon as he walked in.

"Yes," he told her.  "We'll talk about it later.  I need time to think."

"About what?" Joey demanded.  "I can't go with her!"

"Joey, she hasn't even accepted the offer yet," he said.

"But she will!" Joey said, getting upset again.  "You can't let her take me!"

"Josephine, I need you to go to your room," Lin told her, touching his fingers to his temple, a sure sign he was frustrated.  "We'll talk later."

She huffed and stormed back to her room.  Lin leaned back against the counter, scrubbing his hands over his face.

"Big news," I commented.

"Yeah," he said.  "A bombshell."

"What did she say?" I asked, treading lightly.

He sighed heavily and I thought I saw tears swimming in his eyes.  "She really wants the position.  Her family's from Chicago so she wants to be back there.  Wants to take Joey."

I was silent for a few moments.  "But you have a right to your 50% custody," I pointed out.

"I can't make her fly back and forth every week," he said.

"Obviously not," I agreed, stirring the spaghetti in the pot.  "What about half the year here and half the year there?"

He shook his head.  "That would be too complicated with school," he said, working his tongue around in his mouth.  "She's lived here all her life.  She shouldn't have to move across the country."

I nodded, but as a mother I couldn't imagine being away from Elliott for so long.  But Lin was also his father and probably felt the same way.  It was an all around tough situation.  Lin rested the heel of his hand over his mouth, thinking.

"If I take her to court, they'll side with her," he said.  "She's the mother."

I set the fork aside and walked over to him, taking his hands in mine.  "Fathers have more rights these days," I pointed out.  "Plus, Joey's old enough to say where she wants to be.  I'm pretty sure she'd rather stay here with you."

He nodded.  "They fight like cats and dogs," he agreed.  "But I also want them to have a good relationship.  I don't want to take her away from her mother."

I gently stroked at his hands with my thumbs, not knowing what to say.  Nothing I said could really make this any better.

"I don't know what to tell Joey," he said.

"Just be honest," I urged him.  "She's old enough to understand what's going on."

He nodded and Alex ran up to him to show him a painting we'd done earlier.  Lin smiled and picked her up, glad for the distraction.  While I continued dinner he played with her and Jack in the living room.

Joey must have told Elliott the situation because they were both sullen at dinner.  Joey was tearful.  It was heartbreaking.

After doing the dishes, Lin wandered back to Joey's room to talk to her.  I started getting the kids ready for bedtime, getting their jammies on.  I sat in the rocker in Jack's room and read them two stories, as was the routine.  Midway through the second book, I saw Lin walk by sullenly and go into our bedroom.  I put the kids down and immediately went across the hall.

Lin was sitting on the bed, leaning forward on his elbows, head down.  I slowly approached and sat next to him, rubbing my hand up and down his back.

"She refuses to leave," he told me after a few silent moments.  "Said she'll fight her mother tooth and nail."

"Well, I think the three of you need to sit down together and talk about this," I suggested.  "Have a serious conversation.  Clarita has to realize that Joey's old enough to choose where she lives."

He nodded.  "She's stubborn though," Lin told me.  "I have a feeling she won't want to let her go."

I rested my mouth against his shoulder as I kept rubbing his back.  "Well, I think it would be smart to get a lawyer involved.  This is important."

"Yeah," he said quietly, sighing heavily.  He then laid down on the bed on his side.  I scooted behind him and wrapped my arm around him.  Then I heard him quietly crying.  All I could do was squeeze him tighter and be there with him.