gentle, calm. “But we just wanted to let you know today, Mike here’s been talking to some attorneys whoare in the Lord’s Lieutenants with him—”
“Attorneys?” Lily’s stomach tied itself into a Gordian knot.
“Yes,” Mike said. “You see, we just don’t feel that a young lady on her own ... a young lady suchas yourself, with no blood ties to Mimi whatsoever ... what kind of parent could you possibly be?”
“I’ve been a damned good one for the past thirteen months.” She ran her hand through her hair,which loosened her bun and made her dreadlocks fall loose on her shoulders. “Look, I don’t have tojustify myself to you. You read Charlotte’s will the same as I did. If you loved Charlotte at all, you’drespect her wishes.”
Charles’s tone was irritatingly even. “We loved Charlotte very much. It’s just that we don’t feelshe was capable of understanding what is best for her child. She was blinded by her ... her ...”
“Her sickness,” Mike finished helpfully.
Lily set Mimi in her car seat and spun around to face her enemies. “Her sickness, huh? Let me tellyou, this, this, is the sick shit right here! Charlotte knew more about loving and raising a child than youfucking bigots ever did!”
“See, this is just the kind of thing we’re talking about,” Mike said calmly. “You should never usesuch foul language in front of a child.” He pressed a card into Lily’s fist. “If you decide you’d like to talksensibly about this, you can speak to our attorney.”
As Charlotte and Mike walked away, Lily looked at the card in her hand: STEPHEN J.
HAMILTON, ATTORNEY-AT-LAW. Hamilton was one of the most powerful right-wingers in the state.
And all Lily had on her side were the wishes of her dead lesbian lover.
She got in the car and pounded her head against the steering wheel. That was productive, shethought. Now what the hell am I going to do?
CHAPTER 3
Lily sat on the couch with her head on Ben’s shoulder, a glass of wine in one hand and a Kleenexin the other. When she’d put Mimi to bed an hour ago, she had stood by her crib watching her sleep. Mimiwas perfect in sleep — her fringe of eyelashes resting on her round cheeks, her little rosebud lips slightlyparted. Lily had trembled with the fear of losing her.
Charlotte’s absence left an aching void in Lily’s life, but even the second Lily heard about theaccident, she knew she would go on. She would have to, for Mimi. Without Mimi, though, Lily couldn’teven imagine a reason for waking up in the morning, for keeping up a pretense of living.
Lily could tell that Ben wasn’t used to women crying on his shoulder. He patted her in the