Chapter Thirty-One

Thomas

 

Over the next two weeks, Tess seems to straighten out a bit. She’s home when Ellie arrives from school and is cordial when I speak with her. Although she hasn’t budged on her relocation motion. We’re scheduled for a mediation today. I’m not hopeful, but for Ellie I’ll try. I sincerely hope Tess shows up this time.

Ellie has already stepped out the front door with my keys.

“Sunshine, I need to go,” I call upstairs to Frankie.

“I’m coming.”

“No, you’re not!”

She laughs as she lands before me in the foyer. “You’re right, but there’s always time later. Good luck. I’ll be here all day in case you need to go to court. I love you.”

“I love you.” I kiss her goodbye.

When I arrive at Antionette’s office, I can tell she’s already irritated when her assistant escorts me into the conference room.

She’s on the phone with someone. “No, Pat. It’s unacceptable. I don’t appreciate the games your client is playing with her daughter’s life. I’ll speak with my client and get back to you about our course of action.”

“Tess isn’t coming. What are my options?” I’m done with this back and forth.

“Good morning. You could go to court and get her motion dismissed again. She’ll likely refile it. We could go to court and request a hearing as soon as possible for the court to hear the parties, considering it’s impossible to come to an agreement if Mrs. Spears refuses to show up. If she fails to show up, we could ask for sanctions if she files again and fails to pursue the motion.”

“Can I ask for sole custody?”

My attorney whips her head up. “I didn’t know sole custody was something you wanted to pursue.”

“I’m not sure I do. The last thing I want to do is cause more strife, but my daughter needs stability. She needs a resolution.”

“You can certainly file a motion making that request. Will you be successful? I’m not sure. At this point, Mrs. Spears’ behavior doesn’t rise to the level of harm, at least harm we can prove. Does her attentiveness need work? Yes. Should she be more mindful of the impacts of her actions on your daughter? Absolutely. In my experience, a judge may order a refresher parenting class at first. If the problem persists, then you might be able to make a case for shifting to sole custody.”

“I appreciate your candor. Please see if we can go before a judge today to request a hearing as soon as possible.”

“Of course.”

“I’m going to make arrangements for after school. Please call me when you have any information,” I inform her.

“I will. Hopefully, I’ll see you right after lunch.”

“Thank you.”

I leave her office. I would like to say I’m surprised. At this point, nothing Tess has done rises to the neglect level. I’m prepared to expect nothing from my ex-wife in regard to our daughter. Part of me would like nothing more than for Tess to drop her motion and move to Connecticut. We could work out a visitation schedule around school vacations and holidays. It isn’t ideal for Tess, but it might be for Ellie.

Me: Can you meet me at your rock?

Frankie: I’m on my way.

After a short drive, I park along the curb at Hartley Reserve. I consider waiting for Frankie, but I decide against it. As I near the edge of the grass, I remove my shoes and socks to walk along the shore. A few minutes after I pull myself up on her rock, Frankie slips beneath the wrought iron arch at the entrance.

“Thank you for coming.” The weather is overcast today, much like my mood now.

“All you have to do is ask.” Frankie sets her palms beside me and joins me perched on the large, flat rock. “Do you want to talk or just be?”

“Just be for now.” I lift my arm and tug her closer while her arms clasp around my waist. A decent amount of time passes in silence. The only sounds are our breathing, the waves crashing against the shore, and the occasional seagull. “Thank you again for coming. I’m sure it set back your progress on the Cooper plans.”

“You and Ellie are more important than work.”

“I would have gone straight to my workshop if it weren’t for you.”

She lifts her eyes to mine. “I meant what I said. I’m here for both of you. I would rather you talk to me and build for pleasure, not because you’re sorting through something.”

“I know. It’s why I called. My attorney gave me a few options. None are sufficient in my opinion. I even asked about filing for sole custody.” I pause, expecting Frankie to say something, she doesn’t, and I love her for it. “I don’t want to take Ellie away from Tess. I want Tess to step up and act appropriately for our daughter. For now, I opted for the less-nuclear option, even though nuclear might be what Tess needs to get herself together.”

“What exactly does that mean?”

I push out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Hopefully, we’re going to court later today to ask for a hearing on the motion.”

“Can’t you just ask for it to be dismissed again?”

“It’s an option, but we’ll be right back here again after Tess refiles. Ellie needs a resolution to this issue. This takes away Tess’s ability to prolong this anymore.”

“Makes sense.”

My phone ringing breaks into our conversation.

“Hello.”

“Mr. Thornton, this is Cammie from Attorney Kramer’s office. The court scheduled your hearing at one this afternoon. Will the time be a problem?”

“No. Thank you, Cammie. I’ll be there.” I end the call, kiss the top of Frankie’s head, and slide off the rock. After guiding her to the ground, we walk to the grass and put our shoes back on. “Will you be home this afternoon for Ellie?”

“Yes, I’ll be there.”

This woman has no idea how much she means to me. No other woman was ever as forthright about Ellie and followed through. Once this relocation issue is settled, I’m going to make her mine for the rest of our lives. After an all-too-brief kiss, I drive to the courthouse and Frankie goes back home. I love that. Home. Our home.

I enter the courthouse and locate Attorney Kramer in the corridor outside courtroom two.

“There are two more cases before ours,” she informs me.

I nod and take a seat on the bench.

“Contessa Thornton, now known as Contessa Spears, vs. Thomas M. Thornton,” the bailiff calls my case a bit later.

We move into the courtroom and take our places at the counsel tables.

“Pasquale Lucci for the petitioner, Your Honor.”

“Antionette Kramer for the respondent, Your Honor. Mr. Thornton is to my left.”

“Good afternoon. Mr. Lucci, where is your client?”

“My client was unable to join us this afternoon.” His tone is clipped and angry.

I glance at Tess’s attorney. Even he is fed up with her no-shows.

“Very well. Miss Kramer, you requested this hearing, please proceed.”

“Thank you, Your Honor. My client requests a date certain in the near future for the pending motion regarding relocation of the minor child. This is the second time Mrs. Spears has failed to appear when mediations have been scheduled, and her notifications are always last minute.”

“Mr. Lucci, your response?” the judge directs him.

“Given the circumstances, I have no objection to a hearing being set for this matter.”

If my attorney is surprised, she doesn’t show it. I know I am.

“Excellent. Madam Clerk, please provide the soonest morning hearing for this matter. Mr. Lucci, if your client is not present, I will dismiss her motion.”

“Understood, Your Honor.”

“Please see the chief clerk for your date assignment. The parties are dismissed.”

We leave the courtroom and walk directly to the clerk’s office. After a short wait, she provides a hearing two weeks from now.

“I’ll be in touch to prepare before the hearing,” my attorney informs me.

“Thank you. Have a nice afternoon.”

“You as well.”

I leave the courthouse and hurry home. I may even beat Ellie there. She knows we were scheduled for mediation again today, so I’m sure she’ll have questions when she gets home.

“Sunshine.” She doesn’t answer me. I set my keys in the bowl and lay my jacket over the banister. I pass through the kitchen, nothing. Dismissing the bedroom without checking, I lean against the doorframe of the office. Frankie is marking up a landscaping plan with colored pencils. She’s mesmerizing when she’s focused. No, she grabs my attention the moment we’re in the same room. Even when we aren’t, she’s on my mind. It isn’t until she turns to check something behind her I noticed the AirPods in her ears.

Rounding the desk, I set my hand around her wrist. She looks up at me. I seize the opportunity and kiss her slowly and deliberately. Once I’m temporarily satisfied, she pulls one of the earbuds out. “Hi. How did it go?”

“Hi. This is amazing. Boston or Mystic?”

“Thanks. Mystic. I finished Boston a few days ago. That bad or that good?”

“We have a hearing set. The judge told Tess’s attorney, if she doesn’t show, he’ll dismiss her motion.”

“Progress, I guess.”

“I didn’t know what else to do. I don’t want to make it worse, but this is the last chance I’m giving Tess.”

“What does it mean, Dad?” Ellie is standing in the doorway of the office.

“Hi, Ellie. Let’s talk in the kitchen.”

I follow Ellie with Frankie out of the office. “How was school?”

“Fine. Please explain what you just said.”

“What do you want to hear?”

“The truth,” Ellie answers emphatically.

“Mom didn’t show up again. My attorney gave me a few options. One would be to ask for a dismissal again, but she could refile. Second, would be to ask for a hearing, which would require Tess to show up or something even more drastic.”

“You went with option two?”

“Yes, but I’ll choose the drastic option if she doesn’t show up at the hearing.”

“Okay. We need to get moving to practice. Big game this weekend.” Ellie hurries upstairs and dresses for practice.

“Do you want to stay here and finish or come to the field?” I ask Frankie.

“Do I get a walk and kisses behind a tree?”

I grin at her. “Without question.”

“I’ll get a hoodie and pull on some shoes.”

We are off to practice within thirty minutes. It seems like we have been doing this together longer than we have. I plan to keep it that way.