I went to check in on Nora later that evening and found she was already asleep on her bed. Her cheeks were still stained with tears. I sighed, not quite knowing what to do. I knew this would be hard on her, but she was more upset than I had expected. Had I done the right thing asking for full custody?

The next morning, Nora was quiet as she got ready for school. She was subdued when she was usually a bundle of energy, ready to go. When I asked her questions, she gave me one word answers. I really wanted to talk to her, but she was already running tight on time. I told her to have a good day and she disappeared to catch the subway to school.

I went through the motions of my day, constantly thinking about Nora. What was she thinking and how was she feeling? I was in the middle of my thoughts when the phone rang. Nora's school. I picked up immediately.

"Mr. Miranda?"

"Yes," I said frantically.

"This is Mrs. Matthews. I'm the school nurse at Hunter and I have Nora in here with me. She had a bit of a meltdown a few minutes ago so I have her in my office to cool down."

"A meltdown?"

"She started yelling at a teacher and stormed out, and then a faculty member found her in the bathroom crying," she explained. "Are you able to come down and pick her up?"

"Yes, I'll be right there," I told her and immediately stood up. I found my keys and my wallet and rushed outside. I took the subway and ten minutes later, I was at school. I checked in at the main office then walked quickly down the hall to the nurse's office. I remember where it was from my days here.

When I walked in, Nora was laying on a cot, her knees curled up towards her chest in the fetal position. She was crying softly. The nurse greeted me and shook my hand.

"She's better now, but she was pretty distraught when she came in," she explained quietly.

"Thank you," I told her, then slowly walked over to Nora. I knelt down next to her cot, her back facing me. I placed my hand on her upper arm and rubbed it gently.

"Sweetheart, let's get you home," I told her softly. She rolled over, her face covering her hands. I sat down on the floor and bent down so my face was close to hers.

"I didn't want to choose," she told me tearfully. I knew she must mean choose between her mother and me. Immediately, I felt horrible. If I hadn't asked for full custody, none of this ever would have happened.

"I know," I said softly. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. You're upset so let's get you home and get you into bed."

She finally nodded and pushed herself up to seated. I studied her face, looking at her eyes, but she refused to make eye contact. Nora picked up her backpack and followed me out of the room. The nurse told her to feel better. I quickly signed Nora out at the office and we walked out. The ride home was silent. Nora immediately went to her bedroom and I decided to give her some space. I texted Vanessa.

Nora had a meltdown at school so she's home with me now. Not sure this custody arrangement is the best thing.

We can talk about it later. Is she okay?

In her room now. I'm gonna go talk to her.

Keep me updated. Xxx

After a good half hour, I knocked on my daughter's door and she answered softly to come in. She had already changed into some sweatpants and a hoodie with her hair swept up in a messy bun. I sat down next to her on her bed.

"Was this all about the custody hearing yesterday?" I ventured gently. She nodded.

"I'm sure you're having a lot of difficult feelings. Do you wanna talk about it?"

"I don't know," she said, scratching at her arm. "I just feel really bad for mom. I should have told the judge I wanted to be with her half time."

"Is that what you want?" I asked her.

"I don't know," she said, tearing up again.

"Take some deep breaths," I told her, rubbing her knee. She nodded and did her best.

"Nora, I asked for full custody because your mom isn't in a good place," I tried to explain. "She's barely keeping her head above water. She's in no shape to be raising a kid."

"But she raised me by herself for years," Nora pointed out.

"Yeah, but she only started doing drugs recently, right?" Nora nodded. "So it seems like she's in a downward spiral. I don't want you to have to deal with that. A kid shouldn't have to watch her mom hit rock bottom like this."

"But what if she hits rock bottom because of me? Did you see her when the judge read his decision? She was devastated."

"She loves you very much," I clarified. "But I think she knows it's better for you to be with me right now."

"But what if I just want to see her?"

"You can hop on the subway and go," I told her. "This is not going to be an overly strict arrangement. If you decide you really want to spend the night at your mom's on a Thursday night I'm not going to hold you back. Is that what you're most afraid of?"

She nodded, wiping away her tears.

"I don't want you to worry about that," I told her. "If you need your mom, then you'll get your mom."

She seemed to be calming down a bit more now that she knew I wasn't going to keep her locked up while she was here. It was never my intention to be an ass about this whole custody agreement. Nora was a kid, and sometimes a kid needed her mother. I would never deny her of that.

"How about some ice cream?" I suggested. She smiled a little bit and nodded. I took her by the hand and we went out to the kitchen. I took out the big tub of chocolate ice cream while she found the syrup and whipped cream. She got way more than I'd usually allow her – three scoops and a mountain of syrup and whipped cream. The ice cream seemed to do its trick, and I began to see a smile on her face again.

I texted Laura later that night to say we needed to chat. We made plans to meet at a coffee shop in Queens the next afternoon. When I arrived, Laura was already at a table looking disheveled and worn out. Her fingers traced the sides of her coffee cup as she stared blankly at it. I ordered a coffee and joined her.

"Hey," I said hesitantly, unsure whether she was upset with me.

"Hi," she said with a croaky voice, so she cleared her throat.

"How are you holding up?"

"Fine, considering," she said. "It's not every day you lose custody of your child."

She looked me right in the eye.

"Laura, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," I said. "I think Nora's worried that I'm going to keep her away from her. But I told her, and I want to tell you now, that if she wants to see you, she can see you any time."

"Does that go for me too?"

"What?"

"If I wake up in the middle of the night and miss my only daughter can I hop on the subway and come see her?"

"Laura..."

"I don't see what was so wrong about having split custody, Lin. I can't believe you actually took her away from me."

I hung my head for a moment to compose myself. That hurt.

"Laura, I'm not trying to take her away," I explained. "It's just that you're in no position to be taking care of her right now. Can't you admit that?"

"So I'm going through a rough period," she admitted. "That doesn't mean I should lose custody of my child."

"Laura, you were doing drugs. Nora doesn't need to be around that."

She sighed, slouching in her chair. Her face looked like she was years older than she really was. Laura had led a tough life. I didn't want that for Nora.

"Vanessa and I will take good care of her," I reminded her. "We've got her in a good school and she's staying out of trouble. For the most part. She's in good hands."

"The lawyer drew up my paperwork," she said. "I don't get her until next Wednesday. Can I take her out for lunch this weekend?"

"Of course," I said and took a sip from my coffee. "Should I send her here, or are you coming to Manhattan?"

"Here would be better," she said.

I nodded. "Listen, I wanted to talk a little more about this co-parenting thing. Obviously it's new for both of us. I think it's important that Nora knows we're on the same team, and that we're both looking out for her."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

"I'll try to keep you as up to date on anything pertinent," I told her. "And if you could do the same."

"Sure," she said simply.

"And if you need me to back you up on anything, I'll be behind you 100%. I'll enforce anything you decide."

"Great," she said, obviously not in the mood much for talking.

I tipped my coffee bit to finish it off. I could tell Laura had had just about enough of me for the day. "Well, thanks for meeting up with me," I told her. "I'm gonna head back."

She nodded as I got up. I threw my cup in the trash and heard her call my name.

"Yeah?" I asked, walking back over.

"She loves to have her hair brushed," she told me randomly. I gave her a look, urging her to explain more. "She'll never tell you, but that calms her down. If she gets upset, brush her hair."

I gave her a small smile, not expecting her to share such information with me. I nodded and then left the coffee shop, leaving the mother of my first child alone.