Chapter Thirty-seven
A couple of Saturdays later, Lina was putting the last of the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher when Logan appeared with Liam perched on his hip. Lina’s eyes widened.
“Would you take him? He won’t stop getting in front of the television.”
“Lo Lo,” Liam said, patting Logan’s arm.
“And saying that,” Logan continued, clearly annoyed. “Katie is supposed to be watching him, but every time I put him in her room he comes right back out and blocks the television. He’s ruining the game.” After pulling his history grade up, Logan had earned back his gaming system and had been playing nonstop with Brian, who had spent the night.
“I’ll take him. Come here.” She held her hands out to Liam.
“No!” Liam tucked his face into Logan’s neck.
“What’s going…” Phil trailed off as he came into the room.
“Lo Lo,” Liam said, patting Logan’s face.
“Yes, that’s Logan,” Phil said.
“He won’t let me put his down,” Logan complained.
Lina fought hard to keep from smiling as she watched Logan try unsuccessfully to dislodge Liam from his side. “I’ll get him a cookie,” she said, crossing to the pantry.
As soon as he saw the cookie, Liam stopped fighting, and Logan lowered him to the floor. “Stay down here and eat cookies,” Logan told him before leaving the room.
“Lo Lo,” Liam said as soon as Lina handed him a cookie.
“No. Logan’s busy.” She lifted him up. “Maybe Daddy will take a walk with us. It’s a beautiful day.” She kissed the side of his cheek.
“He was holding him,” Phil said, a look of disbelief in his eyes.
“I know.” Lina smiled. “It’s a beautiful day.”
***
Three days later Phil had just returned to his office after a lunch meeting when Anne came in and set a letter on his desk. “It says ‘personal’ across the top, so I didn’t open it. It was couriered over this morning.”
“Thank you.” He absently opened the envelope as he read through an e-mail, pulling out a single sheet of paper. He pulled his gaze from the computer screen and looked down at the letter, frowning when he saw Kim’s name and address across the top. The subject line read, “Intent to move out of state.”
Phil had no memory of the drive to the law offices of Hendrix, Wolff, and Pearson. When he stepped off the elevator and into the lush lobby, he almost collided with Tom Hendrix.
“Phil, what—”
“Is Kim in?” he interrupted.
“I don’t know—”
Phil brushed past him. “Is Kim Ryan in?” he asked the receptionist.
“Yes, but—”
Phil continued past her desk, not hearing anything else she said as his long strides carried him toward Kim’s office. When he reached her closed office door, he rapped on it twice before pushing it open.
Kim, who was sitting at a round table in the corner of her office with a man and another woman, came to her feet. “Phil?”
“Would you excuse us?” he asked the other two, not taking his eyes from Kim.
“I’m in the middle of a meeting,” Kim said.
“We’ll just wait outside,” the woman said before hurriedly following the man from the office.
“You need to reread our custody agreement,” he said, his voice level. “You can’t move to New York. I’ve already called my attorney. We’re filing an objection in the morning.”
“Good. Now, if that’s all, I’d like to get back to my meeting. I’m trying to wrap everything up. I’m moving in two weeks.”
“You aren’t taking my son out of the state.”
“I’m done living in suburbia. You can’t dictate where I live.”
“The fuck I can’t. We have a legally binding agreement that states you can’t take him more than fifty miles from me.”
“That agreement is going to change because I’m moving to New York.”
“You’re not. I won’t allow it.”
“What are you going to do?” She smiled smugly. “Sue me for custody? We both know you don’t want him.”
When Phil left Kim’s office, he found himself driving the familiar route to his church. The subtle smell of candle wafted in the air when he opened the doors a short time later. He made his way to the wrought iron votive stand in the back corner, lowered himself to his knees, and lit a candle.
He prayed for Liam. He prayed for his family. He prayed for strength. Minutes passed.
When he was finished and coming to his feet, the door opened and Father Mathew entered. “Phil.”
“Good evening, father.”
“I didn’t expect to find anyone here tonight,” the older priest said.
“I didn’t expect to be here.”
“Is everything okay?”
“No.”
Father Mathew lowered himself down onto a pew, leaving space for Phil to sit beside him. “What are you struggling with?”
“You know I have a son that isn’t Lina’s?”
“I do.”
“His mother plans to move to New York with him. I’ve been trying to convince myself that it will be okay, that a baby is better off with their mother but I know that isn’t true, not in this case.”
“Is she abusing him in some way?”
“No, not physically. But she doesn’t spend enough time with him. He isn’t her priority. I know he’s happier with me. I see it in his eyes when I pick him up or drop him off. He wants to be with me. I’m afraid she isn’t capable of nurturing him. She’s too selfish.” Phil clasped his hands together in his lap. “But I can’t take him. I know he’s an innocent baby and I’m the reason he’s here but I can’t be a full-time father to him. I can’t do that to Lina.”
“Have you spoken to Lina?”
“I won’t ask her to raise him. She has already sacrificed enough for me. And I can’t leave her and my other children – I won’t leave them. I was lost without her. There’s no solution.”
“There’s always a solution. God doesn’t present us situations we can’t handle. You need to control what you can control and leave the rest in God’s hands. Be the best father you can be to Liam. That’s all God expects of you. That’s all you should expect from yourself.”
***
Lina was in the produce section of the grocery store when she had an overwhelming feeling that Phil needed her. There was no cell service in the store so she abandoned her cart and went outside to call him. There was no answer on his cell or office phone.
Her anxiety went up a level when she arrived home and Phil’s car wasn’t in the garage. He should have picked up Liam more than an hour earlier.
“Have you heard from Dad?” she asked Katie who was in the family room watching television.
“No.”
“Logan?” She ran up the stairs. She found him at his desk on his computer. “Do you know where your father is?”
“No.” He frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I just. I—I can’t find him.” She left his room, hurrying to her bedroom, hoping to find something, anything to relieve the fear consuming her. “
“Mom?”
She spun around at the sound of Logan’s voice. “Is he home?”
“No. What’s going on? Why are you so upset?”
“I don’t know.” She put her fist to her mouth. “I just—I need to find him.” He needed her. She could feel it with every pore of her being.
“Do you have him on your phone? You know, the tracking app?”
Lina parked beside Phil’s BMW. The church was dark, but the door was unlocked. She saw him as soon as she stepped inside. Relief surged through her, knowing he was at least physically okay. He was kneeling in one of the pews, his head bent in prayer. She hesitated, not sure whether to interrupt him.
Her heels tapped on the worn hardwood floors as she approached but he didn’t seem to hear her as he continued to pray. When she stopped within feet of him, she realized he was crying, his shoulders shaking. She’d never seen him cry.
“Phil?” She sat down beside him, clutching his arm. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I need to be alone, baby,” he said, his voice raw with emotion. “Please.”
“No.” She stroked her hand over his back. “You have to tell me what’s going on.” Tears came to her own eyes. “Did something happen to your parents?”
“No.” He shook his head. He covered his eyes with one of his hands.
“What? You have to tell me,” she whispered. “Please.”
“She’s taking him. She’s taking Liam. They’re moving to New York.”
Her heart dropped. “No.” She shook her head. “She can’t do that. Call your lawyer. Make them stop her.”
“I can’t stop her.”
“What do you mean you can’t stop her? You’re his father. He needs you.”
“The judge almost always sides with the custodial parent in cases like these.”
“She isn’t a fit mother. We can prove it—show the judge how many hours she leaves him with the nanny. We’ll tell them about the way she left him over Christmas. The bite marks—there are medical records. We can beat her.”
“Those arguments only come into play if I’m fighting her for custody.”
“Then fight her for custody. She isn’t taking him away from us. He needs you. He needs you too much.”
“I can’t make you do that.”
“Make me do what?” She shook her head. “I love him. She isn’t taking him away from us.”
Lina met Adele for breakfast the following morning. Phil was gathering evidence for the temporary custody order his attorney planned to file first thing Monday morning, so Lina had offered to take Liam with her.
“You can’t be surprised,” Adele said after Lina told her the events of the previous day. “The only reason she was here was to get Phil. She’s finally accepting that will never happen.”
“She’s not taking him,” Lina said emphatically. “Whatever it takes. We’re going to get him.” She felt a lump in her throat as she looked at Liam, whose eyebrows were pulled together in concentration as he tried to zip up the jacket of the teddy bear he was holding. Losing him wasn’t an option.
“What about Logan? What did he say?”
“Nothing yet.” She pulled her gaze back to Adele. “We haven’t told the kids. There’s nothing to tell them yet. But Logan is starting to come around. It may be an adjustment, but he’ll be okay. Phil thinks we have a good chance of being granted joint custody. With that she can’t leave.”
“Who’s going to watch him while you work?”
“Probably a nanny. I’m not going to worry about that yet.” She’d do whatever it took, even if it meant switching to interior decorating full time so she could be home with him, if that’s what the judge required.
“Is he always this good?” Adele asked.
“He’s good at entertaining himself if that’s what you mean. I think he’s been forced to.”
“I’m pregnant,” Adele calmly announced.
“What?” Lina’s eyes flew to Adele. “By—by William?”
“Yes, by William,” Adele said, frowning at her. “He’s my boyfriend.”
“I know. I just—why didn’t you tell me?”
“I just did.”
“Does he know?”
“Of course he knows. It was his idea. I’m forty-three years old. I didn’t even think I’d be able to get pregnant. I was just trying to humor him. It only took him a month to knock me up—asshole.”
“Oh my God, Adele.” Lina came around the table and gave her a hug. “You’re going to be a mom.”
***
As Lina preceded Phil and his attorney into the courtroom two weeks later, nerves churned in her stomach. She sat in the first row behind Phil and his attorney. A few minutes later she heard the sound of the door opening as Kim and her lawyer appeared. Lina didn’t acknowledge her, staring straight ahead as Kim took a seat at a table beside her attorney.
A door in the back of the room opened, and a bailiff ordered everyone to stand as the judge entered the room. The next hour was a blur. Phil’s attorney spoke first, outlining their case and what they were seeking, full custody of Liam. Phil didn’t expect to get it, but he thought it would give him a better chance at gaining joint custody.
Kim’s attorney stayed mostly silent as Phil’s attorney claimed Kim didn’t spend enough time with Liam, providing fifteen months of invoices from seven different babysitters. Liam spent an average of sixty-five hours a week away from Kim, not including his time with his father. Next, the Christmas incident was outlined. This time Kim’s attorney did object, stating his client had offered Liam to his father and that the caregiver in question was licensed in the state. Finally, Phil’s attorney listed the number of extra weekends Kim had given Liam to Phil over the past six months. It amounted to an extra weekend each month. The attorney ended by saying that it was more in Liam’s interest to be a member of a two-parent household.
When Kim’s attorney spoke, he argued that it was unreasonable to make Kim stay in Maryland when her extended family all resided in New York. She had secured a position offering a substantial pay increase at a firm with more potential for personal growth. He argued that she was trying to build a career, and as a single working mother, the hours she spent away from Liam shouldn’t be held against her.
When the lawyers were done speaking, the judge announced he would have a decision by the following week. Lina released a breath as she watched him leave the room. She had no idea how he was going to rule.
“I’m not staying here,” Kim announced, addressing Phil directly as they all came to their feet. “We can end this all right here. If you agree to no child support, you can have full custody.”
“He agrees,” Lina said.
Kim continued to look at Phil. “Good. You can pick him up later today.”
“Again?” Katie asked when Lina told her they were having a family meeting in the living room. “This is getting ridiculous.”
Moments later Lina was beside Phil on the couch. Logan was in the club chair, and Katie was kitty-corner to them with Liam on her lap.
“Lo Lo,” Liam announced, pointing at Logan.
“Why does he constantly say my name?” Logan asked.
“Because he loves you,” Katie said. “Don’t you, Liam?”
“Your mother and I went to court today to keep Kim from moving with Liam to New York,” Phil began. “We left court with full custody. This is his home now. With us.”
“All the time?” Logan asked. His gaze swung between his parents.
“Lo Lo!” Liam shouted.
“You hear that, Liam?” Katie asked. “You’re going to live here all the time. No more crying because you have to leave.”
“Yes, all the time,” Phil answered Logan. “It’s going to be an adjustment for all of us. But it was the only way we could keep her from taking him. We’re going to have a nanny come to the house to watch him while your mom and I are working.”
“What about his mom?” Logan asked.
“He’s a Hunter,” Lina said. “He belongs with us.”