33. Elizabeth
Thirty-Three
Elizabeth
I don’t sleep well this weekend. For one thing, any time I have to abruptly change Jake’s plans, it’s fraught. I’m so tired, mentally, and he needs to ask me a lot of questions over and over again to feel reassured about what to expect on Monday.
“What is the statistical likelihood Dad will send me away?” He looks so young, so vulnerable.
I pull him into my arms and promise him I will never let that happen.
I do it again and again, right up until we park in the garage downtown, both wearing our most uncomfortable professional clothes, and we walk hand in hand toward the courthouse.
Erin is waiting for us in the lobby, greeting us warmly and abruptly in a way that oddly sets Jake at ease. “That flaming asshole doesn’t even have a lawyer,” she snorts. “Sorry, kid,” she adds as an afterthought, but Jake just shrugs.
We enter the elevator and make our way to the courtroom. The hall is crowded and bustling with people in suits, angry parents, a few sullen kids. Erin pushes the open the door to our hearing room and I take a deep breath before crossing the threshold.
There, standing stoically in a dark grey suit, is Kellen Brady, grinning. My jaw drops and my heart swells a little bit. I didn’t even call him this weekend, or leave my house, or really leave the fetal position. It never occurred to me to ask him to come with me, but seeing him here I feel…hope.
“Hey, Beth,” he says, leaning in to kiss my cheek. I hear Jake grumble beside me and Kellen tosses him a wink. He reaches a hand out toward Erin. “Kellen Brady.”
She raises her eyebrows and looks him up and down. “Erin Long,” she says, pulling back her hand and turning toward me, then back to Kellen. “You, sir, are what we call an upgrade.”
Kellen blushes and shifts his weight. It’s then that I notice he’s not here alone. Grinning behind him are Callum and…Orla. Jake hustles over to them and beams. “What are you guys doing here?”
Cal shrugs. “We had nothing better to do, so we thought we’d hang out and then take you with us to check out all the robots at our office.”
“You have robots in your office?”
Erin taps my shoulder and gestures toward the front of the room. “Come on, guys,” she says. “Let’s do this thing.”
My head swims as the judge enters and the court staff give their spiel. I barely look over at smarmy Todd, sitting by himself seeping audacity. I think about Kellen here, even though I ignored him all weekend. Orla came. Orla!
I’m rubbing circles on Jake’s back without thinking as Todd stands up.
Apparently he gets to go first since he is filing today’s motion.
He waves around a USB drive, saying, “I have compelling video evidence here, your honor.” Erin rolls her eyes and grins as he begins to play the video on the monitor in the front of the court.
I cringe as Todd starts yelling, and I hear Orla and Cal growl at the part where Kellen shows up and tries to calm things down.
Once Todd starts yelling about sending Jake away, the judge holds up his hand. “That’s enough, Mr. Gaston,” he says, sternly.
“Your honor? I think you need to see the rest of this to—“
Judge Palowski takes off his glasses and sets them on the desk. He crosses his arms across his chest. “Mr. Gaston, are you aware that I also have an autistic teenager?”
Todd stammers. “I was not aware of that, your honor.”
The judge nods his head. “I do indeed, and I have to tell you that I do not appreciate the notion that your long-term parenting plan is to send your son away to an institution that doesn’t exist.”
Todd clenches his jaw and I squeeze Jake’s arm. The judge picks up his glasses and puts them back on and leans forward, pointing at Jake. “Jacob, do you have any desire to spend time with your father?”
“I object!” Todd stomps his foot and the judge glares daggers at him.
“Jacob,” Judge Palowski says again. “What are your thoughts on all this?”
“I want to stay with my mom,” he says, and I feel a sob crawl up my throat. I breathe rapidly through my nose, trying to calm down.
“I suspected as much.” The judge starts writing in his book on the table. “I am awarding Ms. Burns full custody in this case and adjusting support payments accordingly.” He looks up at me and smiles. “Case adjourned.”
“Yes,” Erin pumps her fist and turns to me for a high five.
“I don’t understand,” I tell her, frowning. Kellen, Cal and Orla hustle forward as Todd is escorted out of the room by the clerk.
“I’ll make it simple for you,” Erin says. “That oozing hemmerhoid came in here guns blazing and demonstrated exactly how much of a pile of feces he is. He’s now being guided through adjusted paperwork to pay out the ass and leave you guys alone.”
Cal grins and elbows Orla. “Oh, I like her.” Orla nods. Kellen shushes them and squeezes behind the table to put his hand on my shoulder. Only when I feel his firm touch do I realize I’m barely able to stay standing.
I don’t say anything. I can’t speak. I need to make sure I understand what I’m hearing. “So Jake and I are free?” Kellen beams at my words, pulling me in tighter as I try to listen to Erin.
“Free and fully funded. It’s coming right from his paycheck into your debit account,” she says. “Congratulations, Liz. Hope I never see you again.” I laugh at her candor and thank her for her work on the case.
She winks at Kellen. “Definitely an upgrade, Liz.” And she’s gone.
I turn around and look into Kellen’s eyes.
“It’s over,” I tell him. He picks me up and spins around, holding me in the air, and when he sets me down he pulls me in for a kiss.
I hear the other Bradys whistle and Jake protest and when I disentangle myself from Kellen’s embrace, I feel like I should be embarrassed, but all I can think about is how happy I feel.