2 weeks, 14 days without seeing her children.
Ethan called from the phone at school during lunch.
“Mom, Jack keeps asking for you.”
“He sleeps with your sweater.”
“Lily will not eat breakfast.”
“I am trying, but I do not know what to do.”
“You do not have to do anything, baby.”
“Just be there, brother.”
“I am coming.”
“I promise you.”
“I am coming.”
She threw away your book.
The one on the nightstand.
“I could not save that one.”
Pause.
“But I saved the growth chart numbers, Mom.”
“I wrote them all down before she painted over it.”
“Everyone.”
“Every birthday.”
“I remember them all.”
Clare pressed the phone against her chest, closed her eyes, and breathed through it.
The way you breathe through labor, controlled, deliberate, counting.
If you ever find yourself in a custody situation, here is the most important thing I can tell you.
Document everything.
Every text message, every phone call, every interaction.
Save it in three places.
Your phone, the cloud, and your attorney’s office.
The court does not care about your feelings, no matter how justified they are.
The court cares about evidence.
Be the person with the most evidence.
The hearing came 2 weeks later.
Thomas Whitfield’s team dismantled Marcus’ restraining order in 40 minutes.
The judge was visibly unimpressed by Diane’s sworn statement and noted that traveling to a dying parent’s bedside is not abandonment by any legal definition.
