Chapter Forty-Three
Blake
I paced the hallway of the courthouse as I waited for the judge to call our case. I could still feel the effects of the alcohol I’d consumed the night before, but I’d done my best to counter them with a cold shower. At my lawyer’s urging, I’d put on the only suit I owned and was trying to look like the upstanding citizen and outstanding parent I was supposed to be.
My lawyer had advised me to say as little as possible and to bring character witnesses if I could. I’d asked Chief and Tony to come testify on my behalf, but I’d avoided calling Emily. I wasn’t entirely sure if it was because I thought she wasn’t a good character witness or if I just didn’t want to open the door when I had no idea where it would lead.
I wanted her back, but I felt fairly certain that when she’d told me to get out, she’d meant for good.
When Remy and her lawyer showed up, I watched as they marched down the hall toward the judge’s chambers and went inside. It occurred to me that the deck was already stacked against me. Remy had filed this paperwork so quickly, and I was now certain that she knew she was going to win this fight long before this. She’d been waiting for me to screw up so that she could bring the issue before a judge and cut me out of Nina’s life. She’d finally get her revenge on me for leaving her.
I sighed heavily and ran a hand through my hair as I tried to think of any way I might be able to influence the proceedings so that I wouldn’t lose custody of Nina. I couldn’t come up with a single new idea, and the situation seemed hopeless.
Ten minutes before we were due to enter the courtroom, Nina came running down the hall as if her life depended on it.
“Dad! Dad! You have to call Emily and tell her to come here!” she yelled.
“Nina, slow down, what are you talking about?” I said, as my daughter flung herself into my arms, nearly knocking me off my feet.
“Dad, you have to call Emily,” she pleaded, as she looked up at me. “You have to tell her you’re sorry!”
“I did call her,” I said wearily. “She didn’t answer her phone.”
“If you call her, she’ll forgive you, Dad!” Nina urged. “She thinks you’re mad at her, but she wants to help! Please call her, Dad! I don’t want to live with Mom full-time! I want to be with you!”
“Nina,” I sighed, feeling torn between doing as she asked and not wanting to disappoint her when things didn’t turn out the way she hoped they would. I knew what we were up against — Remy and her high-powered lawyer had curried favor with the judge and the deck was decidedly stacked against me. I was not going to win this round.
“Dad, please, just do it,” Nina said softly. “If you love me, just do it.”
“That’s not fair,” I protested.
“Call, Dad,” she said, as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek. “Just call.”
She let go and stepped away to find the bathroom as I pulled my phone out of my pocket. She smiled at me and then disappeared around the corner. I looked at the phone screen and then pulled up Emily’s number and hit Send. I waited as it rang, and then felt both relief and disappointment as it went to voicemail.
I hesitated and then left a second message before hanging up.
When Nina returned from the bathroom, I told her I’d called and left a message. She nodded and took my hand as we waited for our turn in the courtroom.
Ten minutes later we were called into the courtroom. I scanned the hallway, but there was no sign of Emily. I sighed heavily as we entered the room and took my place at the table with my lawyer. I knew this would move quickly and that I wouldn’t get to say much in my own defense. Remy and her lawyer had made sure of that.
We stood as the judge entered, and once she’d rapped her gavel on the bench, we began. Chief and Tony provided statements supporting my assertion that I was a good father and an upstanding citizen, but the judge didn’t seem moved by either man. Remy had brought several of her business associates to testify, but it was obvious that they didn’t know Nina nor she them.
“Does anyone have anything else to add before I render my decision?” the judge asked, from her position above the court.
“I do,” said a voice from the back of the courtroom. I turned and saw Emily striding up the aisle confidently.
“And you are?” the judge asked.
“Emily Fowler, Your Honor,” she replied, as she walked to the front of the room and faced the judge. “I’m Nina’s 10th grade History teacher and Blake Gaston’s girlfriend.”
I heard Remy gasp as Emily explained who she was, and when my lawyer turned to me with a questioning look, I simply nodded. I had no idea what Emily was doing, but it was obvious to me that she had a plan to help.
“There’s no mention of you in the papers that Mr. Gaston filed with the court, Ms. Fowler,” the judge said, giving her a skeptical look.
“I know,” Emily said, bowing her head in deference before turning to look at me. “I made a mistake, and Blake was furious with me, but I wanted to come tell you what happened, and I wanted to let him know that I still love him.”
“She can’t do this, Your Honor!” Remy cried, as she stood up.
“Ms. Gaston, I suggest you sit down and let me decide what I can and cannot allow to happen in my courtroom,” the judge warned. Remy’s lawyer pulled her back down into her chair and whispered urgently in her ear. Remy crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back, looking like an angry child. The judge turned back to Emily and said, “Ms. Fowler, what is it that you have to add to this hearing?”
“Your Honor, I was the one Nina went to the night she returned after running away,” Emily began. “I wanted to call her mother and father immediately, but she begged me to wait until morning to do it so she could have a chance to gather her thoughts and be able to explain what she’d done and why.”
“And you thought this was a good idea?” the judge said, raising an eyebrow.
“No, Your Honor, I did not,” Emily admitted. “But I was afraid that if I didn’t give Nina a little bit of space, she’d take off again, and then it would be my fault for pushing her into a situation that might have been truly dangerous. I made a bad decision, but it felt like the best one at the time.”
“Why didn’t Nina want you to contact her parents?” the judge asked. “Did she give you a reason?”
“She did, Your Honor,” Emily said, looking over at me. “She was trying to figure out a way to tell her mother that she wanted to live with her father full-time, and she didn’t want to hurt anyone.”
“Nina Gaston wants to live with her father?” the judge asked, as she looked down at the paperwork on her desk and began flipping through it. “This is not the impression I got from the petition that was filed with my clerk.”
“She does, Your Honor,” Emily nodded. “She feels that despite having her best interests at heart, her mother is overly controlling and often absent since she travels a great deal for her job. Nina feels that she would be happier living with her father and visiting her mother on the weekends her mother is in town.”
“Ms. Gaston, you indicated in your petition that Mr. Gaston is a neglectful father who is rarely home and who doesn’t have a vested interest in raising a healthy teenager,” the judge said, as she pulled the petition from the stack of papers and began reading from it. “You said, and I quote, that Blake Gaston works overnight shifts on a regular basis and leaves the minor child at home without supervision. He pays no child support and has not contributed to the college fund for said minor.”
“That’s unfair!” Nina cried from the bench behind Blake. “My dad does everything to help me! He’s the one who made me focus on getting my grades up! He was the one who met with my teachers! Mom didn’t even show up!”
“Miss Gaston!” the judge said, as she rapped her gavel on the desk. “You will remain quiet, or I’ll have you removed from the courtroom immediately!”
“It’s not fair,” Nina muttered under her breath.
“Ms. Fowler, are you one of the teachers that Mr. Gaston met with?” the judge asked.
“I am,” I nodded. I could see Remy out of the corner of my eye and knew that if looks could kill, I’d have been dead 10 minutes ago. “Mr. Gaston met with me when Nina’s grades dropped, and we worked out a plan to get them back up.”
“And was that plan successful?” the judge asked.
“Very much so, Your Honor,” I said. “Nina’s History grade now puts her in the top 10 percent of the sophomore class.”
“I see,” the judge nodded. She was silent for a long time as she read through the papers in front of her and consulted her notes. Then she looked up at the courtroom and said, “I’d like to speak to Nina in my chambers with the lawyers for both parties. Now.”
“Your Honor!” Remy protested.
“Ms. Gaston, I suggest you remain seated and not say another word,” the judge said, looking down at her. Remy sunk back in her chair and dropped her gaze to the floor as Nina and the lawyers followed the judge into her chambers.
I looked over at Emily, but she wouldn’t meet my gaze. Remy sat at her table, staring straight ahead and fuming silently.
The judge and the lawyers returned after 15 minutes. When I saw Nina looking down at the floor as she followed them back into the courtroom, my heart sunk.
We’d lost the case.
All eyes were on the judge as she sat down and pulled out a paper from the stack in front of her. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I waited for her to tell us her decision.
“Mr. and Mrs. Gaston, it is obvious to me that you both love your daughter a great deal and that you want what is best for her,” she said, looking back and forth at Remy and I. “However, I don’t think parents always offer the most accurate assessment of what is best for their children, and after having listened to Nina, I believe that her feelings also need to be considered as I render my decision.”
The judge shifted her gaze to Nina, and all eyes followed. Nina refused to lift her head and look at either her mother or I, and I felt the weight of what was about to be said pushing down on me. The judge was going to give custody to Remy, and I was going to have to deal with the loss the best I could.
“Mrs. Gaston, I believe that you have tried to act in the best interests of your daughter and ensure that she is safe and well cared for,” the judge continued. “And Mr. Gaston, I believe that you also love your daughter and want what’s best for her.”
I swallowed hard as I nodded, my eyes never leaving the judge.
“After having heard Nina’s opinion on what’s best for her, I have decided that it is in the best interests of the minor child to award temporary full custody to her father, Blake Gaston, and allow her to live with him full-time,” the judge said. Remy gasped and rose up out of her seat to protest, but was pulled back down by her lawyer and silenced. “Mr. Gaston has provided a stable, secure environment in which Nina feels safe and loved, and in which she has thrived over the past six months. Mrs. Gaston, you travel a great deal, and Nina has indicated that you and she have had a strained relationship for some time, and that she feels you both would benefit from joint counseling sessions to help improve your connection.”
“But he made her run away!” Remy yelled, unable to remain silent.
“Silence, Mrs. Gaston, or I’ll have you cited for contempt,” the judge warned with a stern look. “As I was about to say, Nina has explained her rationale for running away and taken responsibility for what happened with Ms. Fowler, though I still think that as an adult, she should have exercised better judgment.”
The judge looked toward the back of the room and singled out Emily, who ducked her head and nodded in agreement.
“I believe that you have both raised a daughter who has a good head on her shoulders despite her immature way of coping with the prospect of losing time with her father,” the judge continued. “I am ordering a year of co-counseling sessions for Nina and you, Mrs. Gaston, and I am appointing a mediator to help you and Mr. Gaston come up with a reasonable visitation schedule. Therefore it is decided that Mr. Gaston will have temporary full custody of the minor, Nina Marie Gaston, for one year, at which time, if the parties have not established a mutually agreeable solution, I will issue a final ruling on this matter. Court is adjourned.”
The judge rapped her gavel on the bench, and we all rose and watched her leave the courtroom. I stood next to my lawyer, stunned that I’d been awarded custody.
“Dad, we did it!” Nina cried, as she ran to me and threw her arms around my neck. I hugged her tightly and then remembered Remy was still in the room.
“Go hug your mother, Punkin,” I whispered. Nina looked up at me with a scowl, and I shook my head. “We won. You can be kind.”
She nodded and slowly walked over to where her mother stood with her lawyer. Nina stared at Remy for a moment, and then reached out and hugged her. I couldn’t hear what she said, but when Remy pulled away, she smiled weakly and nodded before turning and leaving the courtroom.
I turned and looked toward the back of the room where Emily had been sitting, but her seat was now empty. As happy as I was that I now had Nina, there was a heaviness in my heart.
I’d lost Emily.