Dinner

Last night, Lucian and I met Nemo for dinner. It's part of my let's see how Nemo and Lucian interact with each other plan. At this point, I still don't feel that Nemo has earned any trust from me. But the only way for that to happen is to see them together. And although he doesn't have my trust, I did witness Nemo being tender with Lucian, and even that was a positive step.

Lucian (aka Mr No Nap) made the whole affair a bit more difficult, but all in all, we had an okay time. Because, really, how great of a time can you have with your ex-husband who you despise, who lies every chance he gets, sleeps with any willing female, and looks and smells awful?

Back to the story: We met at a local fast food restaurant. You know, the one with the kid's meals and choking hazard toys because they never have the toddler toys? Anyway, we placed our order and when the girl told us the amount, Nemo said - I've got it. He gets his wallet out, reaches into the bill section and realizes that he doesn't have enough money. So he pulls out his debit card and hands it to the girl.

Seconds go by, I'm holding Lucian who wants to be put down but I can't let him run, so he's starting to freak out. The girl then says - your card was denied.

Why I was shocked, I'll never know. (Last summer, when it was our account, I was denied an $11 purchase at the grocery store. We used to receive overdraft notices in the mail daily. I'm not sure how Nemo ever paid all those fees back, we had so many.) I think I was surprised because I thought that even though Nemo is paying me child support, I thought that Elvira and his dad (and possibly others) were helping him out financially. Maybe it's always a shock to find out someone is dead broke. Later I would feel sad at how pathetic he is, and self-doubt as to if I should have bought this jerk dinner. But at the moment all I felt is surprise.

I paid for dinner. I opened my wallet, glanced at my credit cards that I've been able to keep. I thought of my good fortune of not having my credit ruined by this man. I reached into the bill section and slickly pulled out a twenty dollar bill and handed it to the girl.

Nemo was embarrassed and said things like - my paycheck must not have cleared, and - I'll pay you back on Friday.

I told him not to worry. I might not have a house of my own or a car of my own, but I can afford a hamburger for my son.

We ate our meal while I basked in the joy that is having (a small bit of) your life in control.