If I Did It by O.J. Simpson Read Free Book Online Page A

three of them on a flight for
December 21.
I was excited, but I was still wary—still pissed at Nicole for
pulling that little Thanksgiving stunt. Later, I found out that she'd
had a fight with yet another guy—the guy that got her pregnant, I
think—and that she had been feeling needy and fragile and had
wanted the kids to herself. I wondered if she was going to keep her
shit together over Christmas, or whether she was going to try to
mess up those plans, too. And I wondered whether I was going to
get drawn into Nicole's bullshit and drama for the rest of my life. It
didn't seem right. I'd always been there for her when she needed
me, during the marriage and long after, and I suspected that her
inability to get her life in order was going to create endless prob-
lems for me and the kids. I didn't like it.
On December 21, I went to the airport to pick up Arnelle and
the kids. We were over the moon with happiness. We spent the next
day running around town, shopping and eating and having fun and
visiting with friends. I thought to myself, Being a single dad ain't
half bad!
Then next day, December 23, I got a call from Nicole. She
was crying so hard I couldn't understand a word she was saying, but
she finally pulled herself together and told me that she desperately
wanted to come o New York. “I can't he away from the kids,” she
    said. “I miss them too much. Please, O.J. Let me come. I want to be
with my kids. I don't want to be alone.”
Now don't get me wrong, I was pissed at Nicole, but I've never
been much good at holding grudges. “Okay,” I said. “I'll have a
ticket for you at the airport.”
“Really?”
I guess she couldn't believe it was going to be that easy. “Yes,”
I said. “I'm sure the kids would love to have you here.”
“Thanks, O.J. I mean it.”
“There's one catch,” I said. “You can't sleep in the apartment
with us. Paula wouldn't like it. I'll get you a hotel.”
She didn't complain, she didn't say a word, in fact, because she
knew this didn't concern her in the least. Paula and I had been dat-
ing for several months now, and we were very happy together, and I
wasn't going to do anything that might jeopardize the relationship.
Of course, Nicole didn't know that Paula wasn't actually going to be
there over the holidays—she was spending Christmas in Florida,
with her parents—but that didn't make any difference to me. If I let
Nicole sleep in the apartment, it would have been disrespectful to
Paula, and that wasn't going to happen. Unfortunately, I had to call
Paula to tell her what was going on, and I kind of dreaded it. Paula
had taken the time and trouble to fix Christmas dinner for me and
the kids before getting on her plane to Florida, and this is how I was
going to repay her—by spending Christmas with my exwife?
“Paula, it's me, O.J. How are things in Florida?”
“Great. How are you? You sound funny.
”I'm fine.“
”How are the kids?“
”They're great,“ I said. ”But I sort of wanted to talk to you
about Nicole.“
”Nicole?“
”Yeah. She decided she wanted to be with the kids for
Christmas. She's flying in tomorrow.“
Paula got mad, and things went downhill from there. She
hung up on me, and when I called back she wouldn't answer. I
called back obsessively, and for a few hours I imagined how Nicole
must have felt when she was trying to get hold of me and not suc-
ceeding. I left messages—”I'm sorry. I can't do anything about it.
She's the mother of my kids“—but Paula didn't return my calls.
Anyway, to make a long story short, Nicole joined me and the
kids in New York and we had a very nice time together. We went to
Radio City Music Hall for the Christmas pageant, ran around the
city like tourists, and on Christmas morning we opened all the
presents Santa had left.
That afternoon, the weather was nice, so Nicole and I took
the kids for a long walk in Central Park. When we got back, we ate
leftovers and put them to bed. Afterward, Nicole and I packed