Chapter 8: The Shadow at the Gate
The first real test of their new boundaries came two weeks later. David was parked in the pickup line at Lily’s elementary school, tapping his steering wheel to the rhythm of the radio.
As he glanced in his rearview mirror, his blood turned to ice. Three cars back, gripping the steering wheel of a silver sedan, was Eleanor. She was wearing dark sunglasses, her neck craned as she watched the children filing out of the double doors.
David’s pulse skyrocketed, but he forced his breathing to remain steady. He had anticipated this. He immediately picked up his phone and dialed the school's front office, informing them that an unauthorized, legally restricted individual was in the pickup line.
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Within ninety seconds, the school’s assigned resource officer was tapping on Eleanor’s window. David watched through his mirror as the officer spoke sternly to her, pointing toward the exit. Eleanor’s face contorted in anger, but faced with a uniformed officer and a direct violation of a court order, she had no choice. She aggressively threw the car into gear and sped out of the parking lot.
When Lily hopped into the backseat of David's car a moment later, smiling and holding a drawing she had made, she had no idea how close the past had come. David smiled back, putting the car in drive. The system had worked.
