Page 65 of Dibs
“What about your sons? How will you see them if you live halfway across the country?”
She kicked at a bit of dirt on the walkway. “I know it’s not ideal, but I’ll figure something out.”
“Really? Because you can hardly keep up on your visitation while living in the same city.”
The fact she had shown up as happy as could be without a thought about how her moving would affect our children had me shaking my head. Once again, Tyler and Dylan took a backseat to her desires.
“Our custody agreement says I get them for spring break in three weeks.”
I lifted my brows in surprise that she actually knew the details of our schedule. “And?”
“I want them to come to Houston.”
“What?” I seethed. “You can’t be serious.”
“Miguel’s family lives there, and they want to meet Tyler and Dylan. You really can’t say no.”
“If you expect me to pay for them to fly out there—”
She held up her hand. “Miguel offered to pay.”
“Fine, but you might want to find out from them if they even want to go.”
“They don’t get a choice either, Gage. I’m the parent.” She turned to leave.
“Then maybe act like one.” I slammed the door before she could respond and walked back to the living room, grabbed my laptop, and fired off an email to my lawyer.
* * *
Kids ranthrough the halls of the school, excited for spring break to start. Unfortunately, I didn’t share in their joy as I locked up my classroom. The upcoming week was going to be the longest period of time I had ever spent separated from my boys, and I wasn’t looking forward to not having them around. I worried the house would feel empty without their laughter and bickering. The only bright spot was knowing I’d have Chase to keep me busy.
Tyler was waiting for me when I got to my SUV. The boys were taking a late flight to Houston to visit their mother. “Let’s go pick up your brother.”
We hopped in and left for the middle school. Once we had Dylan with us, I headed toward the freeway. Since we had to leave right after school, we’d loaded their luggage in my vehicle before leaving that morning.
“You guys are sure you got everything?” I asked as I merged with the traffic.
“Yep,” they both answered.
The airport was only a fifteen-minute drive and the time passed too quickly. When we arrived, I found a parking space in the short-term lot, and we walked inside. Since I had secured a pass, I could wait with them at the gate and watch them get onto the plane.
After checking in and getting through security, we found a restaurant to grab a bite.
“If you guys need anything while you’re gone, you can call me.”
Dylan nodded while Tyler stared at his food. I knew he hadn’t been looking forward to the trip, and I hoped it would be the last time Lisa forced him to spend an entire vacation with her if he didn’t want to. My lawyer and I were in the process of drawing up a petition to change my custody agreement with Lisa, but she wouldn’t be served until after the boys returned home to San Diego, for fear she’d do something rash. I didn’t want them to have to deal with any fallout that might happen if she got pissed.
“Hey, I’m sure you’ll have fun.” I tried to sound reassuring.
“What day are you picking us up?” Dylan asked.
We’d already gone over the plan several times, but I thought he might have been anxious about being away from home. “Chase and I will be there on Friday.”
“Jase too?” he asked.
“Yes, Jase too. Then we’ll fly to St. Louis for the baseball game.”
That brought a smile to his face.
