lady says quietly. “That is very useful information.”
“But what are you going to do about it?” I say before I even think about what I’m doing. “What happens now? Ronnie doesn’t want custody of Travis, and as you can see there is no reason to keep him here now, so what happens?”
I only stop my rant when Aisha grabs hold of my hand and squeezes it. She’s trying to reassure me, but I can also feel her trying to calm me down as well. She doesn’t want me to ruin this for her, which I can obviously understand since this may be her one and only chance to get her son back.
“Sorry.” I shake my head sadly. “I don’t mean to overreact; I’m just worried about Travis. I don’t like not knowing where he is.”
“But you are not the boy’s father...”
“He has done a damn sight more for Travis than his biological father has ever done,” Aisha surprises me by biting out. She has been silent up until now. “I don’t think it’s fair of you to say that he has no right to speak about Travis. He can ask questions about my son.”
The CPS worker looks shocked. I should probably tell Aisha to calm down as well just like she did for me, but I can’t stop myself from smiling. It’s just really nice to have her stick up for me like that, to recognize how much I care for Travis, even if this woman doesn’t.
“I am going to have to speak to my manager,” she finally says. “I would appreciate it if you all waited here.”
I turn to see Aisha and her parents nodding in agreement. I guess that means they think this is good news. Well, if that’s the case, then I will try to be positive as well. Try to think that the manager is going to ensure that Travis comes back into Aisha’s care.
“What do you think will happen now?” I ask nervously as soon as the woman has left the room. “Do you think this is going to end up going well? Have we done enough? Is there anything else that I need to tell them?”
“You have done more than enough,” Aisha does her best to reassure me. “I wouldn’t even be in this position if it wasn’t for you.” I meet her eyes and she gives me a smile. “I’m really sure that everything is going to be fine now.” She holds on to her stomach. “I can feel it. I can really feel it.”
“You can?” I don’t know if I can trust gut instinct, but if it’s helping Aisha then so be it. Who am I to argue? “Okay, well I hope so. I can’t stand the tension...”
Just as I feel like my head might explode, the door swings open and much to my surprise and relief the woman hasn’t come back alone. She has Travis with her, and he immediately looks over the moon to see his mother.
“Mommy!” He runs up to her and holds her tight, sobbing against her chest, which reminds me that the last time he saw her, Aisha was in hand cuffs and pretty much hysterical. I bet he has been incredibly worried the whole time he’s been stuck in this nightmare. “Mommy, I missed you so much. I love you, Mommy.”
I stare at the woman from the CPS, trying to silently communicate with her that this is why I fought so hard. Because she is a good mother because she did nothing wrong to deserve any of this. I do want to yell that, but I’m not going to get into a fight now that everything’s been sorted.
“Thank you.” The anger inside of me dissipates the moment Aisha’s mom rests her hand on my shoulder. She’s speaking to me in a much softer tone than I’ve heard from her before. “Thank you so much for doing this. I really do appreciate it. We all do. I know you didn’t have to do this for us, and it’s massive. You have changed our lives for the better.”
I have a feeling that she is not just talking about getting Travis back here. She is also referring to the fact that I sparked the conversation which has hopefully brought them back together as a family. I have started them off anyway, but the rest is up to them. I can only do so much.
“You are welcome,” I reply with a soft smile, knowing that there is no need to