I kept a very close eye on Nora over the next few days.  When I wasn't home when she arrived after school, I texted her to make sure she was at our place.  Now it was Friday and Nora was itching to get back to her mother.  I hated that I didn't trust Laura with our daughter.  It worried me any time Nora was with her.

Friday after school, Nora texted me that she was taking the subway to her mother's.  I texted back that it was fine and did she need me to bring her any clothes or other items.  She responded that she'd like a couple changes of clothes and her toothbrush.  I went into her room and picked out a couple things I'd seen her wear recently and tossed them in a bag.  I got on the subway and headed over to Queens.

Laura had texted me her friend's address, so I used my Google Maps to find the place.  The neighborhood was shady as hell, and I really didn't like the idea of my daughter staying there.  I knocked on the screen door, hearing loud music coming from within.  When no one answered I found the doorbell and rang it several times.

Nora came to the door and stepped outside, closing the door behind her.

"Thanks, Lin," she told, taking the bag from me, then she turned to go back inside.

"Woah, woah, woah," I stopped her.  "I need to speak to your mother."

"Uh..." she looked concerned.  "I'll see if she's busy.  Stay here."

Nora obviously didn't want me coming inside, which worried me.  I waited patiently on the front porch and Laura came out a couple minutes later.  She smelled heavily of perfume, like she'd just bathed herself in it.

"Yes?" She asked me, stepping outside.

"Just wanted to check in regarding our daughter," I told her.  "Are you planning on having her for the whole weekend?"

"If that's okay with you," she said, then took a sip from the can of Coke she had in her hand.

It wasn't exactly okay, but there wasn't much I could do about it.  I needed to let Nora be with her mother, and this was the easiest arrangement for now.

"That's fine," I told her.  "Send her home Sunday afternoon. She has homework I'm sure."

"Alright.  Bye," she told me, reaching for the door.

"Could you send Nora back out?"

She disappeared inside and Nora came out a few moments later.  Lin caught a whiff of cigarette smoke.  "Do you have everything you need?" I asked her, and she nodded.  "Good.  Give me a hug."

Nora stepped forward and hugged me quickly then disappeared inside.  I stood on the porch for several long moments, not wanting to leave.  I really wanted to take Nora back with me.  This was no place for her.  I heard several adult voices coming from within.  I doubted any of them would be very good influences.  Sighing, I started walking back towards the subway.

___

All weekend, I couldn't take my mind off Nora.  I texted her multiple times a day to make sure she was doing okay.  She responded diligently, knowing I was worried and wouldn't hesitate to come over if I thought she was in any danger.  Finally, Sunday afternoon came around and Nora texted that she was on her way back on the subway.

Fifteen minutes later, she walked through the door with her bag, looking tired.  I walked over and gave her a hug, and she reeked of cigarette smoke.  "Did you have a nice weekend?"

"Yeah, it was fun," she said.  "Mom found a place a couple blocks over.  She puts down a deposit Monday."

"Great," I commented.  Laura had apparently found work as a cashier at a drug store, so she was able to be approved for a lease.

"I'm gonna go take a shower," she said, and I thought that was a great idea.  The thought of her breathing in all that second hand smoke concerned me.

She emerged a few minutes later, her wet hair swept up with a clip.  Sebastian was thrilled to see her, so he ran and grabbed her around the legs.  Nora laughed and knelt down to his level, giving him a big hug.  Sebastian and Francisco had missed her like crazy.

"Let's play trains!" He suggested, pulling on her hand.

"Only for a little while, Seb," I told him.  "Nora has homework to do."

She allowed herself to be dragged over to his toys, kneeling on the floor.  The two played happily for a good 45 minutes before I told them it was time for Nora to get busy on homework.  She went to her bedroom to get started.

Later in the evening when it was time for dinner, we all sat down at the table, except for Nora.  I noticed she was more sitting on her knees, sometimes half-standing next to her chair.

"You okay, sweetheart?" I asked her.  She had long since given up protesting the use of the word sweetheart.

"I'm fine," she said as she chewed her food.  I dismissed it as nothing as we continued our meal.  Nora offered to help with the dishes, so we all started to bring our plates to the counter.  She began rinsing off the plates in the sink.  Sebastian was in a playful mood, so he was running around the kitchen island.  After a couple laps, he ran up to Nora and playfully shoved her on the butt.

"Ouch!!" She protested loudly, bending her knees in pain.  He hadn't hit her that hard.  "Sebastian, don't do that."

"Sorry," he said, then continued his running.  Nora bit her lip in pain, composing herself for a few moments.  She let out a deep breath and then continued with the dishes.  I was watching from the table and became concerned.  Something was bothering her.  She was in pain.  Vanessa was in Franky's bedroom changing his diaper, so I poked my head in.

"Hey, V?" I asked, stepping inside.

"Yeah hon?"

"Will you have a talk with Nora this evening?  I think she's in pain."

"Sure," she said.  "What's bothering her?"

"Did you notice how she wouldn't sit down at dinner?  And just now Sebastian pushed her on the butt and she screamed out in pain."

Vanessa looked at me, eyebrows furrowed.  She realized this was a sensitive area of the body and she wouldn't want to talk to me about it.  She agreed she'd talk to Nora after we'd put the boys down.  I headed back out to the kitchen and caught Sebastian, tickling him.

"Alright, you little monster," I said, tickling his belly.  "It's bath time."

I took the little guy to the bathroom and started to run the bath.  He began to strip his clothes off, stumbling around as he tried to get his shirt over his big head.  I laughed and reached over to help him.  Sebastian climbed in, and Vanessa brought little Franky in a few minutes later.

Soon, the boys had been put to bed.  I found my laptop and sat down on the couch to get a bit of work done.  Nora had gone to her bedroom and I heard Vanessa go in a little while later.  She was in there for a good fifteen minutes.  Finally, I heard the door open and close, and Vanessa walked out to the living room.

"Lin, we've got a big problem," she said quietly as she joined me on the couch.  I was immediately concerned and put my laptop down on the coffee table.

"What is it?" I searched her face.

She sighed out.  "I asked Nora about her bottom and she was really evasive at first.  Said she'd fallen and bruised herself.  But finally I got her to admit that her mother's new boyfriend beat her with a belt over the weekend."

"What?!" I asked, exasperated.

"Apparently, he was trying to act like he was in charge and she was talking back and being rude to him.  So, he took off his belt and beat her butt with it."

I was beyond shocked and immediately livid.  Some random guy had touched my daughter.  Beat my daughter.  I was so angry at that moment, if the man had been there I probably would have strangled him.

"Are you kidding me?"

Vanessa shook her head.  "I finally got her to show me her bottom.  It was covered in bruises.  No wonder she couldn't sit down."

My heart broke for Nora.  She wasn't going to admit it to us.  She was going to keep it a secret because she knew we already didn't like her going over there.  This was unacceptable.  I was going to call Laura up and give her an earful.

"Do you think I should go talk to her?" I asked Vanessa, knowing it was a sensitive subject.

"Maybe in a little while," she said.  "Give her a few minutes."

I nodded and went to the kitchen to get myself a drink.  My hands were shaking and my heart was racing.  I couldn't imagine ever hitting any of my children, let alone taking a belt to them.  What kind of monster was this dude?  And what kind of idiot was Laura that she would let someone like this into their lives?  Had she just stood by and let this happen?

I decided I needed to talk to Nora first before I made a phone call to Laura.  I tried to focus on my work a bit, but I wasn't getting very far.  Finally, I looked at my watch and decided to go pay Nora a visit.  I gently knocked on her door and heard a soft 'come in'.

I gave her a weak smile as I came in and sat on her desk chair.  She was sprawled out on her bed, laying on her stomach.

"Hey," I began, wanting to pick her up and hold her in my arms.  The poor kid had gone through quite an ordeal this weekend.  "Vanessa told me what happened at your mom's.  Do you want to talk about it?"

She sighed and looked away, embarrassed.  "Not really.  It was just some other idiot guy my mom found at a bar.  He kept acting all tough and I couldn't take it any more.  I cussed at him and insulted him and he just snapped.  I think he'd been drinking."

I sighed, feeling sick to my stomach.  "I'm sorry that happened to you," I told her.  "You didn't deserve that.  No child deserves to be hit, especially with a belt.  Are you still in pain?"

"A little," she admitted.  "Mostly just when I sit."

"Do you think you can go to school tomorrow?" I asked her.  She bit her lip and then shook her head no.  I wasn't about to force her to sit on a bruised bottom all day long.

"You can stay home," I told her.  "I don't want you in pain.  Will you let Vanessa check in on you each day?"

She nodded.  "Dad?"

I looked at her, my heart swelling at the sound of the word dad coming from her mouth.  It happened sporadically.  Most of the time I was Lin.  "Yeah, sweetheart?"

"I still want to be with my mom," she admitted.  "I know Larry will be there, but I still don't want to be away from her."

"Nora, I'm not letting you go back over there if Larry's there.  You will never see that man again."

She sighed out and nodded.  I hoped she felt reassured about that.  I gave her temple a quick kiss before leaving the room to go to my own bedroom.  I pulled up Laura's number on my phone and called.  She picked up on the fourth ring.

"Yep?"

"Laura, can you explain to me why our daughter came back with bruises all over her butt?" I got right into it.

She sighed.  "She was mouthing off to Larry.  She had it coming."

"Are you trying to tell me that Nora deserved to get spanked with a belt by some stranger?" I asked, exasperated.

"Lin, you can discipline her however you want.  In my house, she's gonna get slapped if she takes it too far."

"I don't want my child being hit," I told her.  "Ever."

"It's not going to be a regular thing, Lin," she tried to explain it away.  "Larry was drunk."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?  Your drunk hookup beat our daughter only because he was drunk?"

"Why do you always twist my words to make me sound ridiculous?" She accused me.

"Because you are ridiculous," I countered, my voice rising.  "And believe me, I will be bringing this up in court."

"You're such an ass," she told me.  "Fuck you."

The line went dead and I stared at the phone a few moments, frustrated and angry.  I tossed the phone onto the bed, disgusted.  I went back to the living room where Vanessa was reading.  She could tell I'd had a conversation with Laura by the way I carried myself.

"What did she say?"

"Apparently beating your child is an acceptable form of discipline over there," I said as I got out a bottle of wine.  I was so angry that I felt the veins in my temple pounding.  If someone touched my kid, you better watch out.  I was in papa bear mode.  "I'll be bringing this up in court.  Do you think Nora would testify?"

Vanessa shrugged.  "She wants to stay with her mother, Lin.  She's not going to speak against her."

"But she can speak out against her idiot boyfriend."

"She might go for that," Vanessa agreed as I sat down with a glass of wine.  She reached over and gently stroked my thigh, trying to calm me.  My body wasn't having it.

"I want to murder that man," I said honestly.

"Lin, that's not going to solve anything," she said wisely.  "This battle has to be fought in the court room."

"I know," I said, taking a huge gulp of wine.  "I just want to fantasize."

Vanessa leaned over and kissed my cheek.  "I'm gonna go check on Nora.  Come to bed soon."

I knew I wouldn't be calm enough for bed for quite a while.  To get out this anger, I feel like I needed to go run 5 miles, or beat the hell out of a punching bag.  I had a huge amount of anger and tension bottled up.  A while later, I heard Vanessa go back to our bedroom.  I put my wine glass in the sink and joined her.  I sat on our bed, leaning my arms on my legs as she finished brushing her teeth.  Vanessa came to sit behind me on the bed and began to massage my shoulders.

"Damn, you're really tight," she commented as she began to knead my shoulders and upper back.  That's where I usually carried all my tension.  I closed my eyes and tried to just focus on the feeling of Vanessa's hands on my body.  I tried to relax my shoulders and breathe deeply.  She was so patient, working at my back for probably a good fifteen minutes before I began to feel some relief.  Finally, she gave my back a few supportive pats and kissed my cheek.

"Come to bed," she whispered.  "You can call your lawyer tomorrow."

I nodded in agreement and turned my head to capture her lips in a sweet kiss.  I really was the luckiest man in the world to have her.  She kept me sane and always thought of things logically.  Vanessa pulled the covers back and I climbed in, quickly stripping out of my jeans.  We laid down facing each other and she gently stroked my upper arm until I finally fell asleep.