Adjusting Addie Page 6

  "I am so glad to see you happy, Addie," Annie said. "I've noticed a big change in you during the past few weeks. You seem so much happier. But, spanking? Really? Is it a kinky thing? Something like 50 Shades of Grey?" she questioned. "It sounds very 1950s housewife, to me. I don't think I could ever get behind something so patriarchal."

  "Nothing like 50 Shades of Grey. It isn't just kinky, exactly, more of a lifestyle. We actually haven't had sex yet. He holds me accountable by disciplining me when I need it. Don't tell him, but I really like it." Addie giggled nervously. She didn't realize how hard it would be to speak these words out loud to someone. She knew she couldn't tell anyone at work about this or any of her other friends. They would immediately tell her that Brad was manipulating and abusing her. She trusted Annie, though. If only she could make Annie see what she saw. "He's only spanked me once, and it hurt, but it was…" She paused, trying to find the right word. "It was nice. It's nice having a real, alpha male in my life who takes charge. He isn't controlling or abusive. He's sweet, funny and caring. He just happens to spank me if I'm naughty," Addie said, playing down the situation. She didn't want Annie to think she was in a domestic violence situation.

  "You said it is called 'domestic discipline'?" Annie asked, and Addie chuckled.

  She knew that tone. Annie was going to go home and research it. "The journalist in you is coming out again," Addie said.

  "What can I say? I'm intrigued. Don't get me wrong, no man will ever beat me."

  "He doesn't beat me, Annie. He spanks me."

  "No man will ever spank me!" Annie said with conviction. "But if it works for you, and it is consensual, what do I know?"

  "Not much! Remember what I told you, 'never say never'! Now, what is going on in your love life?"

  The women finished their lunch, a few minutes later, with promises to see each other more often. As it stood, they were lucky to see each other once a month, even though they lived in the same town. Annie was often off on investigative reporting cases, and Addie lived and breathed work. She used to, anyway, before she met Brad. Now, he was helping her find a healthy balance between work and personal life. Addie headed back to the former, where she was putting the finishing touches on a court report. Her desk phone ringing startled her. It was Evelyn asking her about the visitation tonight. She was going to be late! She was glad Evelyn had seen her car in the parking lot when she left and called her. Addie didn't know what was causing her to be so distracted lately.

  Addie grabbed her keys and rushed to her car. Once at the courthouse, she sped through security and upstairs to the childcare center. The center was used for two purposes. The county offered a free service for parents who had official court matters and needed childcare during the hearings. The second use of the center was for visitation between violent offenders and their children in a secured facility. There were individual private rooms for these visits.

  "Hey, Add!" Addie looked over to see Amy greet her from over the top of a thick textbook.

  "Hi, Amy! How is this semester going?" Addie asked the childcare center's supervised visitation evening program assistant. Addie had a special place in her heart for Amy, as Amy had been her very first foster child on her caseload. They were only seven years apart. The agency had thought the age difference would help Addie relate to Amy. It had worked, and Addie had remained her caseworker until she had aged out of the system. Amy had managed to overcome a very rough start to her life. After aging out of foster care, she had started down the wrong path but was able to self-correct and was now attending the University of Washington on a full ride scholarship while working three part-time jobs, including this one. At twenty-five, Amy had finally gotten into a healthy groove.

  "Pretty good! I was on Dean's list, again, this semester."

  "I am so proud of you! Let's grab lunch soon? I want to hear all about what is going on in your life!" Addie said, and Amy nodded. "Is Mr. Whitehall here yet?" Mr. Whitehall was Lindsey's father. Technically, he didn't meet the requirements for visits at the courthouse as he had never been convicted of a violent crime, and she could have chosen to arrange his visits outside at the park or another venue. But, he scared her, and she had chosen to be cautious with him. His wife had gotten a temporary restraining order against him before she disappeared. Without her testimony, the order had been dropped. He had technically never been convicted, but Addie's gut told her otherwise.

  "Nope. But he has a few more minutes," Amy replied, looking at the clock hanging above the door.

  Addie went into her favorite room to set up for visitation. She pulled out a folding table, set up three chairs and made sure she had a clipboard for notes. She knew Lindsey liked to color, so she snagged a couple of the coloring books aimed at older children and a box of colored pencils and brought them in. She checked her watch and saw she had enough time to run down to the cafeteria and grab some coffee.

  Visits were set up with staggered arrival and departures for the safety of the children and their caregivers. The visiting parent showed up, waited fifteen minutes, and then the child and their caregiver would come in. The child would wait at security, and the caseworker would come and get them. This way, the visiting parent never saw the foster family. Then, when the visit ended, the caseworker would return the child to the foster parents while the visiting parent waited in the room for another fifteen minutes before being released by Amy. This allowed the foster parents time to leave without fear of being followed. The visiting parent would leave out a different exit, as well.

  Addie had another five minutes before Mr. Whitehall was expected to get there. Once he arrived, Amy would be the one to greet him, and she would have him wait in the holding area. This gave Addie twenty minutes before the visit would officially start. However, Addie liked to be in there when the visiting parent arrived. She liked to assess their mood and observe anything that might be a reason to cancel the visit. She needed to know if they were under the influence before the kid would arrive. She had too many visits where a parent came drunk or high and Addie'd had to cancel. If a visit was to be cancelled, she preferred to do it early, before the child was on the way. This was easier on the caregiver and better for the child's emotional wellbeing.

  Addie stood in the line to get coffee and reached for her phone to text Brad. Tonight's visit was two hours long, because last week's visit was cancelled. Lindsey had been sick, and Mr. Whitehall was allotted a makeup. If Mr. Whitehall had been the one to cancel, he would not get a makeup visit. They had a 'no electronics' rule during visitations. The rule was mostly to protect the child, but Addie also felt it would be disrespectful to use her phone or have it out, so she always put it on silent.

  It didn't take long for Addie to realize she had left her phone in Brad's office, plugged into the charger. She had brought bagels and coffee to his office for breakfast and had plugged her phone in while they ate, since she had forgotten to put it on the charger before bed the night before. She swore she had, but when she woke up, her phone had been on the kitchen table and not next to her bed where she swore she had left it. Damn! She muttered under her breath. Brad really liked her to check in when she got to visits and when she left. He was worried about some of the client's criminal records. Well, he'll just have to deal, just this once; there's nothing I can do about it now. She shrugged it off and hoped he wouldn't spank her for it later. She had forgotten her phone a few times over the past week. A couple of times, she was unsure as to how she had forgotten it, convinced she had grabbed it. This time, she was sure she had legitimately left it. She remembered plugging it in, and she did not remember unplugging it. He had shown his displeasure with her for forgetting it, a few days prior. Not having a home phone, and it being the primary mode of communication, he was worried she wouldn't be able to call for help if something were to happen. She was perfectly safe inside the courthouse with armed protection and would make sure to remind him of that if it came up. If she thought to herself, wishful thinking, when. She had no doubt it would in
deed come up. Addie could feel her butt cheeks tighten at the very thought.

  Arriving back upstairs with her coffee, Addie was surprised that Mr. Whitehall wasn't sitting in the waiting area. She looked quizzically at Amy.

  "He called. He got stuck behind some accident on the interstate," Amy said. "Can you call him back?" She pushed over the desk phone. They never used personal phones to call a client. Addie dialed the number, and Mr. Whitehall answered on the first ring.

  "I am so sorry. I left early to be on time and there's an accident on the interstate. We are down to one lane and they landed a rescue helicopter. I really don't want to miss my visit with Lindsey. Is there any way we can make an exception to policy and meet somewhere else?"

  "Umm. I don't think that's a good idea," Addie said, concerned with where the conversation was headed.

  "But don't you supervise visits at other places? Like McDonald's or a park or something?"

  "Yes, but only for families who don't pose a risk at abduction or physical harm."

  "I would never! I don't have a history of violence, and I would never harm my child. Please. I haven't seen her in a month! I miss Lindsey!" Addie paused for a second. Lindsey is ten, she thought, old enough to fight back and run if something were to happen as far as an abduction. Addie had a Taser, and the park was public. On a nice night like tonight, there would be a ton of people out.

  "Just this once. We will see how it goes. Memorial Park, see you in twenty."

  "Thank you! I can't tell you how much I appreciate this." Addie hung up the phone before she could change her mind; her heart was racing. She couldn't believe she had just given in to him.

  "Are you sure about this, Addie?" Amy asked. Addie saw the concern written across her face.

  "I think so. Lindsey is old enough to not just be picked up and whisked away. Mr. Whitehall, while creepy as crap, isn't much of a threat."

  "He's young and in shape…"

  "He's in his thirties; it's not like he's eighteen."

  "That's young."

  "Yeah, I guess but I don't think he would jeopardize losing Lindsey. Court is soon, and he's always on perfect behavior because of that."

  "Just be careful," Amy stressed. "You mean a lot to me; I don't want anything to happen to you. Think you should talk to Evelyn, first?"

  "No, she had plans tonight. I don't want to bother her. I promise, I will be careful." A few minutes later, Addie was headed to the park with Lindsey in the backseat. She had grabbed the coloring books and planned on sitting at the picnic table for the visit.

  "How is summer camp going?" Addie asked the little girl in the backseat. It might sound like small talk to other people, but Addie was genuinely interested.

  "Okay, I guess," Lindsey said. "They want us outdoors, like all of the time, and being in the park so much gets boring. But, one of my friends is there, so we sit and talk."

  "Oh? What do you talk about?" Addie asked

  "Boys, mostly," Lindsey said with a giggle. By the time they pulled up to the park, Addie had learned all about Lindsey's crush on this boy named Wes. Fifth grade and already a crush. They talked about Wes as they walked over to the pavilion with the picnic tables. Addie had spread out the coloring books and started to color with Lindsey when Mr. Whitehall showed up.

  Chapter 6

  Brad was in his office finishing up charting, when he heard a buzzing sound. He looked down at his cell phone, but it was, as it always was when he was working, on silent. He looked at the wall and saw Addie's phone. He frowned. They had several discussions over the past week about her leaving her cell phone in random places. She had left it at work when she had gone home for the day twice in one week! Not having a house phone, Brad had been worried when he couldn't reach her. If something happened, she wouldn't be able to call for help. She had even lost it one day and had to use the 'find my IPhone' feature on his phone to locate it. Locate it, she did, at a diner she had breakfast at, six hours earlier. She hadn't had her phone for six hours! Six hours before she even realized she had lost it. On the one hand, Brad was glad she wasn't addicted to her phone like many in their generation. He didn't have to worry about her paying more attention to her phone than him at dinner. On the other hand, if her car broke down, if she got into trouble at one of the visits that she supervised, or if she needed help… Brad selfishly liked being able to reach her and check on her whenever his spidery sense was tingling. It had been tingling now for several minutes and he had to stop himself from calling her, knowing she was at the courthouse.

  Dammit, Addie, he thought to himself, I'm going to have to let my hand do the talking to your bare ass, tonight. Maybe then, my words will sink in a bit better.

  He grabbed the phone off of the charger, intent on taking it to Addie. The texts popping up on her home screen grabbed his attention. Amy's worry and sense of urgency was easy to read, and Brad, praying that his hunch on which park she would be at was right, headed to his car.

  "Hey, Add, it's Amy. I'm really having second thoughts about you going to the park with Mr. Whitehall. I mean, his record is less than stellar, and policy is that we never meet these types of clients outside of the courthouse," Brad read.

  A few minutes later, Amy texted again. "I'm going to be worried until you are back here. Please text me that you and Lindsey are okay when you get a chance."

  Brad hoped that Addie was at the same park where she supervised the rest of her visits, the one where he saw her the night he adjusted her back and they had dinner together for the first time. It was well lit and popular. During summer evenings, the park would be full, and at the very least, she wouldn't be there alone.

  The hairs on Addie's arms were standing straight up as Mr. Whitehall continued to talk to Lindsey. "When you come live with me, I am going to take you to Shugas. Have you ever been to Shugas, Lindsey?"

  "Mr. Whitehall, you know you aren't allowed to speak about future events." It was a rule in the program. The kids couldn't get their hopes up about living with their biological parent again and then be crushed. They had rules in place to keep the kids from dealing with broken promises and expectations.

  "Oh, yeah. Sorry." He flashed Addie a big smile. Addie wondered at the topic of Shugas. It was definitely not a place she would imagine Mr. Whitehall eating. It was less of a steak and potatoes establishment—they didn't even have cheeseburgers—and more of a salad and tapas cafe. The fact that she had been there with Annie for lunch today made the coincidence more alarming.

  "Anyway, have you ever been to Shugas?" he asked Lindsey.

  "Nope. What is that?" Lindsey said without looking up. Addie had noticed how Lindsey never met eye contact with her father. She would look at Addie every few minutes, almost like a toddler looking at their mother for reassurance that they were still there. She needed the comfort and safety of knowing Addie was there and that Addie was paying attention. She wouldn't look at her father, though. Even after all of these visits, she still had a hard time meeting eye contact, accepting affection or initiating conversation with him.

  "It's a restaurant downtown. It has delicious food. The salmon salad, lavender lemonade and almond butter cake are the best. Isn't that right, Addie?" Mr. Whitehall said, turning to look at Addie.

  Addie felt the color drain from her face. Chills ran up her spine, and the hairs on her arms stood up. That was her order. Her regular order. She had a hard time pronouncing 'Aracelli Nicoise', the proper name of the salad, so she just said, "salmon salad." She had just eaten that exact same thing, two hours ago. She tried to shake the feeling of dread that was crawling up from her gut. Perhaps it was a coincidence. Maybe, he had been in there for lunch one day when she was eating there and she didn't see him. Maybe he ran by the office one day when she had gotten her order to go. There had to be a very good reason for him to know her order. Addie felt nauseated. She swallowed hard and turned when Lindsey spoke.

  "That sounds disgusting," Lindsey said. "Salmon, ew." Addie laughed forcefully, trying to keep a façade up
for Lindsey. It was important to Addie that Lindsey feel safe.

  "You might like it if you tried it. There are eggs, potatoes, onions, tomatoes and my favorite, kalamata olives, in it!" Addie said. "Of course, you have to be careful eating those, because they still have the pits in them."

  "Ewwwwww," said Lindsey. "That sounds even more disgusting! Onions? Yuck!"

  "What about noodles, Lindsey? Do you like those?" Mr. Whitehall asked.

  "Oh, yes! I really like spaghetti," Lindsey said.

  "Have you ever had Thai food? There's this place next to the grocery store that has delicious Chicken Pad Thai and vegetable spring rolls," Mr. Whitehall said. The park started to spin before Addie's eyes. She reached down and steadied herself on the picnic table. She felt the moistening under her arms and across the top of her forehand. She was having a physiological reaction to his words. She swallowed down the bitter bile that rose in her throat. He was mentioning another one of her regular restaurants that she went to with Brad. The one next door to his work that they visited often. They would get two entrees to share and a double order of vegetable spring rolls. Brad would take the leftovers to work the next day, for lunch.

  "It would appear that we have similar tastes," Addie said, staring Mr. Whitehall dead in the eyes. The look was challenging. She wanted him to know that she was aware of the game he was playing with her. He smirked at her, and she knew that he was having fun at her expense. She could see it in his eyes.