But Why Daddy?

Chapter 25

By: Lizzie

©Lizzie 2002-2004

            It wasn’t until about thirty minutes later and Josh was getting ready to make a bottle for Kayla that he realized it’d been an hour since he saw her. He walked up to the nursery and she wasn’t there, panic began to flow though him. He went to the baby monitor and it was still on. He thought about who had the other end. ‘Cynthia.’ He said to himself. He went back to the kitchen were Cynthia was. “Cyn…where’s Kayla?”

            “Last I saw her, Paula was in the living room with her.” Cynthia said. She looked at Josh, “Why?”

            Josh shook his head and walked to the living room. No one but his brother and sister, “Have you seen Paula?”

            “Yeah, she said she was going to put Kayla down because she was asleep.”

            “No, I was just up there.” Josh said. His eyes went wide as he rushed to the door. He opened the door, walked out and stood on the porch.

            While he was out there, Cynthia and Karen walked into the living room, “Where’s Josh?” Karen asked

            “He just left out. It was weird.” Heather said, “He asked if we saw Paula. When we said no, he just left.”

            Cynthia went to the front door and watched as Josh walked down the path to the driveway, “What are you doing, Josh?”

            “How did Paula get here?” he asked without turning around

            “She had a rented car…” Cynthia said. She looked around, “And it’s gone…”

            “Damn it!” Josh said. He turned around and looked at her, “She took Kayla!”

            “She what?” Karen asked when she joined them outside, “Are you sure?”

            “Mom, I was just in Kayla’s room,” Josh said, “She wasn’t there.”

            While they were outside talking, the phone inside rang. Heather went to it and answered it, “Hello…yeah, he’s here…who is this…oh, Robert, I’ll get him, hold on.” Heather took the cordless phone and walked outside, “Josh, it’s Robert.” She held out the phone.

            Josh walked to her, took the phone and walked back inside, “Hello?”

            “Josh, it’s Robert, how are things going?” Robert asked

            “She took her.” Josh said, “She took my daughter.”

            “What?” Robert asked, “Who took Kayla?”

            “Paula!” Josh shouted, “She’s been spending time with her before she leaves.”

            “How long?” Robert asked

            “She’s been here about two months.”

            “No, how long has Paula been gone?” Robert asked

            “Thirty minutes or so.”

            “She didn’t tell anyone where she was going?”

            “No, damn it!” Josh said, “We’ve been busy working on the release.”

            “I’ll call her lawyer and you try and find out where she is before anything else is done.”

            “What are you talking about!?” Josh exclaimed, “We have to call the police so they can find her!”

            “We will, but one thing at a time.” Robert said, “I’ll call you in one hour.” Robert hung up the phone.

            Josh handed the phone to Tyler, “Where’s Liz?”

            “In a meeting.” Cynthia said, “She’s been it all day.”

            “Call her and tell her it’s an emergency.” Josh said walking farther into the house, “I’m not going to sit around and wait for Robert to call me.”

            Cynthia, Karen and Heather followed Josh into the house and Tyler closed the door, “Josh, sweetie, what are you going to do?”

            “What I should have done the minute I found out Kayla was mine.” Josh said, “I’m getting full custody of my daughter and Paula will have nothing to do with her.”

            Cynthia nodded her head, took the phone from Tyler and called Liz. They talked briefly, with Cynthia nodding her head a couple of times and adding a series of mmhmm’s and okay’s before she hung up the phone.

            “How do you plan on doing that?” Karen asked

            “With Liz.” He simply stated. He turned and looked at Cynthia who was just getting off the phone, “Well?”

            “She’ll be here in twenty minutes.” she said, “She said that in the mean time find something that tells where Paula could have gone.”

            “She was leaving the country tomorrow.” Heather said, “That’s all she talked about while she was in the living room with me and Tyler.”

            Josh walked to his sister, “Did she say how she was getting there?”

            “Plane to London then boat the rest of the way…I think.”

            “Boat?” Josh questioned, “Paula gets sea sick.”

            “That’s the least of our problems.” Karen said

            “I have to agree with mom.” Heather said, “Paula’s one French fry short of a Happy Meal.”

            There was an uneasy laugh in the room, “But seriously,” Josh started again, “Why would she take a boat?”

            “Slow trip to Hell is my guess.” Tyler said, “That is where she’ll end up if she leaves the country.”

            “Bite your tongue.” Karen said looking at Tyler, “That’s your niece’s mother.”

            “I was never fond of her to begin with.” he said, “All that indecisiveness about who Kayla’s father is…she was asking for trouble.”

            Josh sighed and rubbed his hands over his eyes, and then he looked at Heather, “How did you know she’s taking a boat the rest of the way?”

“I saw sea sick pills in her bag and whoever she was talking to they were must have been concerned about not having a large enough room.” Heather said, “Paula kept saying, ‘We have a center cabin and it’s huge. I saw it myself.’ Then she finished on the phone and gave me a smile.”

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