CHAPTER 41
CAT
When Cat got home from visiting her parents' early in the evening, her son latching onto her hand, she was feeling physically sick. She thought they were beyond all of the judgment and the holier-than-thou attitude. She thought she could go over there and have a nice meal; hell, maybe even have a decent, adult conversation!
Apparently, she was overly optimistic.
Nick was there waiting for them with dinner ready when she came through the door and slammed it shut with just a little too much force. She recognized the sweet, doughy scent mixed with meat and spices. He got Mexican, likely from their favorite place. She should've been hungry again by now, especially after the day she'd had, but the idea of eating anything made her feel even worse.
She wanted to throw up.
"We ate a lot of bacon!" Luke said excitedly as he darted straight for Nick.
"Are you serious? Dang, I'm so jealous... so I guess you aren't too hungry now then?" Nick chuckled, although there was something a little off about him too, like his day hadn't been much better than hers.
"Yes I am!" Luke said quickly, almost defensively.
Regardless of what could be going on to make him look so glum, Nick still took the time to lower himself down into a semi-kneeling position on the floor to give Luke a hug, the kind that made Cat want to cry. She loved watching those two boys interact, but right now all she felt was guilt.
She should've stood up to her dad about Nick. Who was he to go saying those things when the two had never actually shared more than a few sentences before? Her dad didn't know anything, but still he ran his mouth like his opinion was the only thing worth listening to. It was the exact same story now as three years ago. He needed to have the final word, no matter who got hurt.
Maybe she had to cut her losses.
"Hey buddy, do you think you could go play in your room for a little bit? You can go set up your race track, we'll play after dinner," Nick said seriously.
Luke tore toward his bedroom without a single protest and Nick stood back up at his full height, towering over Cat once again. She watched him as he ran his fingers through his hair, looking almost nervous.
"It wasn't that bad, I'm OK..." Cat said, but he could probably tell from her tone of voice that she wasn't telling the truth. Before she could stop herself, she went on angrily. "They just make me feel like such a child, and it's like I'm incapable of defending myself around them... I don't know, it's like I'm constantly searching for approval I'm never going to get..." she hissed, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his chest. When he only hugged her back half-heartedly, she looked up at his face and frowned. "What?" she asked.
"Nothing, it's not important, we can talk about it later," Nick answered.
Cat was not convinced.
"Nick," she egged him on stubbornly.
Nick hesitated for a moment, running his fingers gingerly through Cat's hair and down her shoulders. His fingertips caused goosebumps to run down the length of her arms, all the way to her own fingertips.
"I had a pleasant conversation with James today," Nick said in a deadened sort of voice.
"Shit," Cat muttered.
Nick led her to the couch and explained everything. With every word that came out of his mouth Cat felt her heart rate pick up speed. She didn't know whether or not she believed James would give up his rights as Luke's father so easily, certainly not after all the hell he'd put them through over the last few months. On the other hand, she would definitely not put it past him to have some sort of ulterior motive... a scheme...
But what exactly did he think he could achieve by giving up?
"What are you thinking?" Nick asked when Cat didn't speak for almost a full minute.
"I don't know, I can't help but get the feeling he's got something up his sleeve," Cat said, falling against the back of the couch and letting out a long, tired sigh. "How did he sound? Did he sound... off?" she added, looking sideways at Nick.
He shrugged.
"He seemed sincere enough, more so than I've ever heard him, actually," Nick answered.
"I'll call Sully on Monday and see what he thinks," Cat told him.
"Yeah," Nick nodded.
Monday came and Cat spent her day off at the park with Luke, hoping a little time walking around and playing on the playground might help them both forget these last few weeks had even happened.
There were a few teenagers hanging out on the swings, but for the most part Cat and Luke practically had the whole place to themselves. She was able to run around with him, climb after him, and go down the slides with him—over and over again, because he didn't want to stop.
When they got back home and reality set in again, Cat decided it was time to put on her big girl pants and call Sully. She needed to know what the hell was going on with the custody case, and if any of what James had said was true. So after putting Luke down for a nap, she gathered up all of the paperwork she'd accumulated over the last few months, picked up the phone and sank into a kitchen chair.
"Can I speak to Sullivan McDonald, please? It's Catherine Logan," she asked on the third ring.
"Just a moment," the lady on the other end replied, sounding bored.
Cat tapped her pen against the kitchen table restlessly, trying to organize her thoughts so that they wouldn't all come out of her mouth in one giant cluster of unidentifiable babble. When she heard Sullivan pick up on the other end, it was like someone had taken a needle to her brain and popped it, all the air and all of her thoughts rushing out in a big rush.
She was completely at a blank for what to say. God, she really needed to relax; the whole situation was getting to her. She was losing her damn mind.
"Hi, it's Cat... um, Cat Logan," she said into her phone, raking her fingers through her hair.
"Hi Cat," Sully replied.
The moment she heard his voice, Cat started to cry. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she wiped them angrily. She could feel a thick lump forming in her throat but she spoke anyway. She told him everything that happened with James and Nick. The lawyer didn't try to interrupt; he just listened silently as she got everything off her chest.
"I have an e-mail from his lawyers. I'm so sorry that I didn't get to it sooner. I would've–" he paused for a moment, perhaps to read the e-mail, and Cat took the opportunity to mop at her tear-stained cheeks. "It's all there, Catherine. He really did file to terminate his parental rights. He wasn't trying to mess with you or Nick."
Cat let out a shaky breath, and then immediately started to sob again.
"Oh God, so it's over?" she choked out.
"There'll be a hearing. You'll get the copy of the petition in the mail shortly. But after that, yes Catherine, it'll be over," Sully said, and she could practically hear the smile in his voice. "You'll finally be done with me."
Cat actually laughed out loud.
"I'm sorry, Sully... It's not you, it's me... but we can still be friends?" she attempted to joke, but her sense of humor was a little bit non-existent in that moment. Could you really blame her? She was still freaking out a little about the latest development in the custody case.
After months and months, it was really coming to an end. She'd be able to move on with her life, and keep raising her son exactly like she was doing.
"Thank you so much, Sully," she said, tucking a strand of curly auburn hair behind her ear.
"You're very welcome, Catherine. I know how hard it's been for you and your family. I'm just glad you're going to get to rest easy now," he replied.
"I don't think I'll be able to rest until the hearing is over and done with," she laughed softly.
He told her more information that she jotted down on an empty page, but honestly she was hardly hearing any of it. All she cared about was that there was finally a light at the end of the long, long tunnel.
The next few weeks were a blur. Between work, parenting, starting a new semester at Loyola, and the occasional date night sprinkled in-between, Cat and Nick hardly had any time to worry about the looming hearing. Of course, that didn't mean they forgot about it completely, especially not at night.
Cat kept having nightmares, and Nick often found himself comforting her, telling her everything was going to be alright. On one particularly rough night, he whispered to her and ran his fingers through her hair as she huddled against him, her head on his chest. He told her about their life together, and how they still needed to visit Disneyworld.
"I'm gonna take you and Luke, during winter break," he promised.
"Our first big family vacation," Cat whispered as she ran her hand up his stomach.
She could hear him breathing in the dark. She could feel his heartbeat against her cheek. He was solid underneath her fingertips, and she clung to him.
"Next year, we can go camping in Washington, or Oregon," he went on.
Cat knew what he was doing. He was trying to distract her from the bad dreams she kept having almost every night. It was working. She could feel herself relaxing again, and her heart rate was returning to normal.
"I'd like to go to California one day," she murmured sleepily.
"Then we'll go to California," he told her.
"Maybe in a few years we can do a road trip from the Pacific to the Atlantic," she suggested, although at this point she wasn't even sure if her words were making any sense, or if these were dreams that'd ever become reality. Would she even remember saying any of it in the morning? Regardless, it didn't really matter. She was slowly falling back asleep, her own breathing now matching the rise and fall of his chest.
The hearing to terminate James' rights as Luke's parent finally happened in the middle of October, just a few days before Cat's twentieth birthday. It was stressful, and awkward, and incredibly difficult to go through, but at least James didn't pull anything, or cause a scene. He remained quiet for once in his life and let his lawyers do most of the talking. Cat was so grateful.
Then, just like that, it was done.
Nick and Cat wasted no time to go and pick up Luke from Matt and Amanda's house. They needed to go out and celebrate as a family.
"What are we feeling like?" Cat asked her boys as they climbed into a cab.
"Let's get pizza!" Nick offered enthusiastically.
"I like pizza!" Luke shrieked and wriggled excitedly as Cat attempted to get him buckled up into his car seat.
"I know you do," she laughed, and Nick rattled off the address of their favorite pizzeria to the driver, so he could put it in his GPS.
"Pizza is my favorite!" Luke cheered.
The three year-old kept chanting about pizza during the whole ten-minute taxicab ride, and if the driver was annoyed by it, he didn't say. Both Nick and Cat were far too happy about the outcome of today to reprimand him for being so nosy. He was just a kid, and now he could finally be completely happy and care-free.
"I love you," Cat whispered and kissed her man on the cheek.
"I love you too," Nick replied softly.
"I want pizza, I want pizza, I want pizza!" Luke kept singing at the top of his lungs, hands in the air now and legs kicking against the back of the passenger seat.
"We're almost there, you'll get your pizza, little man," the cab driver chuckled and peered at the little family through the rear-view mirror. Cat's gaze found his reflection, and their eyes met briefly. She smiled almost apologetically, but he just shrugged it off.
She still felt bad though, which was probably why she gave him such a large tip when they left the cab a few minutes later, an excited Luke tugging restlessly at Nick's hand.
Cat grabbed her son underneath the arms and lifted him high off the ground. "How hyper are you?" she giggled and tried to balance him on her hip so that she could link her other arm into Nick's. "Did Matt and Amanda feed you sugar?"
"I like sugar!" Luke cheered.
"I think we'll have to have a talk with them," Nick chuckled and pulled Cat a little closer to his side. Together, as a family of three, they walked into the restaurant.