24. Do I Have To?
Do I Have To?
Dani
"I don’t want to see him again or be in his life!" Mason yells as he wanders around the kitchen.
"I know, Bubba, but I don’t need a shit-storm raining down on us because Helen didn’t get her way."
And Helen always gets her way.
I had explained the whole situation to Mason after Josh left and he went mental. Mason was pissed that I kept this from him and I don’t blame him.
"I don’t give two shits Ma!" Mason yells.
"I know you’re mad, Bubba. I should have told you about this after it happened, but I didn’t think Josh would show up."
My phone starts ringing next to my elbow. Luke again. He has been calling for the past three hours. I shut the damn thing off. I am not doing any work for him tonight. I’ve got enough on my plate at the moment.
Mason drops into a chair. "Do I have to?"
I’m not going to push Mason into doing something he does not want to do. He’s seventeen, he has a say in some aspects of his life.
"If you don’t want to, I’m not going to force you."
Mason pushes his huge body off the chair. "Thanks, Ma," he kisses my cheek on his way out of the kitchen.
I scrub my face. I grab my cell and head outside. Turning it on and clearing all the notifications from Luke, I call Mark from the office. If anyone can help, it’ll be him. Child custody and child support is his forte. As I listen to it ring, I pace my small front yard.
"Hello?"
"Hey Mark, it’s Dani. Sorry for calling so late."
"No worries. I’m just catching up on some work. What’s up?"
I explain what has been going on with Josh and the court threat.
"Mason is over twelve, he has say in who he lives with." Mark informs me.
I start biting on the side of my thumb. "And you're positive about that? I've read articles about children over the age of twelve not being able to choose."
"In some cases, if the judge thinks that the parent they currently live with is not a good fit, they will give custody to the other parent. What I would be worried about is the amount of judges the Whitlock’s have on payroll." He says, the sound of rustling papers his background noise.
"Is there anything I can do?" I ask.
Mark sighs and more papers move. "This is going to sound forward, but is there any chance you’re free to talk about this in person?"
"Uh, yeah. Where?"
"I can come to you if you’d like." Mark offers.
Do I want Mark here to talk about this with Mason in the house? I glance back at the door. I should involve him in this.
"Sure. I am over on Seaton." I give Mark my address.
"I’ll see you in twenty," he says, hanging up.
I stare out over my small yard. I pray Mark can help or point me in the direction of someone who can. Mark’s red Audi comes racing up the street. He parks behind my hunk of junk and gets out.
"Hey," I wave as he walks up the walkway with his laptop bag and a coffee. "Come on in. Ignore the noise and mess. Mason’s has friends over." I open the door.
"No worries. I’m glad Mason is home."
I shut the door. "Really?"
"I may have some questions for him."
"Okay, but he mostly answers in grunts and sighs." I show him to the kitchen. "Have a seat."
Mark sets his laptop up and with a few clicks on the keys, he’s ready to go. "Okay," he claps his hands. "I’m going to start a casefile. What you chose to do with it is up to you."
I start biting on the side of my thumb again. "Okay."
"Mason’s full name?" Mark asks.
"Mason Christopher Carter."
"Age?"
"Seventeen."
"Attending school?"
"Yes. He’s going into grade twelve in September."
His fingers move over the keyboard quickly. "Today was the first time he met his father, correct?"
"That he can remember, yes. He did know about him though." I switch to my other thumb. I better stop biting it or there is only going to be bone left.
Mark glances up at me over his laptop. "I’m going to give you a rundown on what you'll need if you decide to take them to court. The majority of it is paperwork on Mason, primarily his birth certificate, and any correspondence you may have between Josh and yourself."
"If I do decide to take this to court, what are my chances of winning?"
"Honestly?"
I nod.
"If you get a judge that's not on the Whitlock's payroll, you have a pretty good chance," he closes his laptop. "However, I can't see that happening. John has some major pull with the courts. He's not called The Shark because of his teeth."
My heart stops dead in my chest. If I go through with this, I could lose Mason.
And that would shatter me.