Chapter 16: Supervised

Morgan didn't say anything on the courthouse steps.

He just looked at Kaitlyn.

Then he put his hand on my back and walked me to the truck.

The communications woman kept filming us all the way down the block.

"I'm not doing it," he said, once the doors were shut.

"I know."

"I'm not sitting at her table so he can stand on a stage."

"I know, Morgan. Drive."

The next morning was Reece's first supervised visit.

The county family center was in an old school on the North Side.

The visiting room had a rug with a road map on it, a bin of plastic blocks and a big window in the door.

A monitor sat in the corner with a clipboard.

She was a calm woman in a cardigan who'd clearly watched a thousand of these.

I handed Kinley over at ten sharp.

Reece was twelve minutes late.

He came in with a giant white teddy bear from the hospital gift shop, still wearing its price tag.

It was bigger than our daughter.

"Hey," he said to me. "Hey, Andie. Thanks for this."

"Thank the judge."

I went out to the hallway and watched through the window in the door.

The monitor didn't mind.

Everybody watched through that window.

Reece sat down on the little chair with Kinley across his knees.

He held her the way he'd hold a chart.

Stiff, flat, at arm's length.

She stared up at him in her orange hat.

She'd smiled at the lieutenant on Tuesday, and at the church ladies, and at Ruthann's gum.

She didn't smile at him.

"Hi, Kinley," he said. "I'm your dad."

His phone buzzed in his pocket.

He looked at it.

He put it back.

It buzzed again.

He looked again.

"Hi," he said again to the baby. "Hi there."

Kinley started to fuss.

He jiggled her too hard.

She fussed louder.

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