CHAPTER TWENTY

As Paige and Brian drove to the courthouse, he looked over at her, thinking of the fantasy he’d conjured earlier. He knew their marriage would be filled with passion. Even with her quick temper, she was the right mix of sugar and spice, nothing like the selfish shrew he’d thought she was upon first impression. Paige was proving to be one of the most selfless women he’d ever known. She’d be his wife someday, but how soon?

An hour later, Paige and Brian were sitting in the courthouse waiting for the judge to call his case. Olivia and her lawyer sat on the other side of the courtroom. Olivia shot icy daggers at them with her cold brown eyes. Gerald Johnson, Brian’s attorney, walked over to Brian and Paige with a confident smile on his face. “Good morning,” he said.

“I hope it will be,” Brian replied.

“It will be. Brian, you’re going to keep custody of your son. I’m willing to bet my fee on it.”

Brian didn’t want to smile or be too optimistic about the case. Murphy’s law was still in effect. Anything that could go wrong probably would. A strange man walked over to Olivia and her attorney. Brian watched as the two of them embraced. “Who’s that?” Gerald asked Brian.

“I haven’t a clue,” he said shrugging his shoulders. 


“She hasn’t remarried, has she?”


“What difference would it make if she had?” Brian asked.

Gerald sat down beside him and lowered his voice. “A two parent family looks a lot better to this judge than a single mother or father.” Gerald glanced at Paige. “Any chance that you two will get married any time soon?”

Brian narrowed his eyes at him. “I’m not going to use my relationship in that way,” he said.

Gerald folded his arms across his chest. “Your ex-wife doesn’t seem to have that problem.”

“I’m not her. Besides, she abandoned her son. The judge will have to take that into consideration.”

“Remember what I said before, you know, about betting my fee? Let’s not,” he said as the court clerk called their case.

Paige blew Brian a kiss and he and his lawyer headed for the front table. Judge Charles White looked at Brian and Olivia.

“Good morning. I see that things couldn’t be worked out between the parents. So, here we are again,” he said. “Mr. Kittles, I’ve reviewed the documents you presented to the court. I just want to get this straight: Mrs. Jackson is engaged to be married, has just purchased a house in Decatur, Georgia, and wants to take her son from the only home he has ever known.”

Kittles stood up and pulled at the lapels on his jacket. “Your Honor, my client has the means to provide the stable family for her son that she didn’t have six months ago. Mr. Jackson has kept my client from her son, not giving her a chance to bond with her son. These are his formative years and he needs his mother.”

The judge folded his arms under his chest. “If that’s the case, why didn’t the former Mrs. Jackson think of that before she left her son?” Judge White turned to Gerald. “Mr. Johnson, you contend that Mrs. Jackson abandoned her son and sole custody, if awarded, should remain with Mr. Jackson. Now, it’s my understanding that Mr. Jackson is a police officer. How can he provide adequate child care as a single father?”

Gerald didn’t stand up. He looked at the judge and smiled. “Your Honor, Mr. Jackson has made several changes in his life. He gave up leadership in the Elmore Police Department’s vice and narcotics unit. He works more manageable hours as a school resource officer. He has built in family support as well. Mr. Jackson has a sister who babysits for him. Also, Mr. Jackson is in a relationship with a guidance counselor from the high school. She has helped Mickey cope with the divorce of his parents. But the child is fragile, Your Honor. Taking him away from his father would harm his psyche. Even while Mrs. Jackson has been in town, she has proven to be a neglectful mother.”

Kittles cleared his throat. “I object to that characterization of my client.”

Gerald stood up and picked up a copy of Mickey’s medical records. “If I may submit this to the court,” he said before approaching the bench. “This is a copy of Brian Jr.’s medical records. At age three, he was found to be allergic to shellfish. However, while in the custody of his mother, Mickey was served shellfish and ended up in the hospital. Mrs. Jackson allows her mother to smoke around the little boy and disappears at night, adding to his anxiety.”

The judge turned to Kittles. “Well?”

“Your Honor,” Mr. Kittles began. “I assure you, that was an isolated incident and Brian Jr. doesn’t have any respiratory problems that are aggravated by his grandmother’s occasional cigarette. And to get to the point, Ms. Watson, the grandmother, would not live with Mrs. Jackson and her family in Atlanta.”

The judge raised his hand. “I’ve heard enough from the lawyers. I want to talk to the parents now,” he said as he stared intently at Olivia. “Mrs. Jackson, why did you leave your son?”

Olivia dropped her head. “That was the hardest thing that I ever had to do,” she said. “I knew taking my son while I was in transition wouldn’t be fair to him. Besides, he needed to finish the school year. I thought my ex-husband and I had an understanding.”

“You’re a liar!” Brian exclaimed.


Judge White banged his gavel. “Mr. Johnson, control your client.”

Paige, who was sitting behind Brian, placed her hand on his shoulder. Brian had forgotten that she was in the courtroom. He looked back at her, then again at the judge.

“Your Honor, I apologize to the court for my outburst,” Brian said after he regained his composure.

“Don’t let it happen again,” Judge White cautioned.

“This is what I dealt with my entire marriage,” Olivia continued. “Fits of rage. Brian can’t control his temper and neither can his so-called girlfriend.” She shot a look at Paige. “She attacked me on the front lawn of her house.”

Brian dropped his head. He’d known this was going to come back to haunt him.

“I don’t want my son raised in that kind of environment,” Olivia continued.

Paige stood up. “Excuse me, Your Honor,” she said. “I know I may be out of order, but I would like to explain my actions.”

“And you are?” he asked.

“The woman Mrs. Jackson attacked. While both of us were wrong for fighting like children, neither of us is innocent in the alleged attack that she’s talking about. Fortunately, Mickey wasn’t around to see his mother and me acting like two ill-mannered high school students. I take responsibility for what I did and I apologize to Mrs. Jackson and the court,” she said.

The judge nodded. “Now please sit down.”

Paige sat down and Brian turned to her and smiled. “Thank you,” he mouthed.

The judge turned to Brian. “Mr. Jackson, have you allowed your ex-wife to see your son?”

“Yes, sir, I have. But Olivia seems to be more concerned about what’s going on in my personal life than what’s best for our son,” he said.

“Even though she’s engaged to be married?” the judge questioned.

“This is the first that I’ve heard of an engagement, sir. I want Olivia and Mickey to have a relationship, but she has to realize that she walked out on him and he’s still dealing with the aftereffects of that. He has nightmares and abandonment issues. I don’t know this man that Olivia is marrying and neither does my son.”

“That’s because you haven’t let us spend time with him!” Olivia interjected.

“Mrs. Jackson, you’ve had your say,” Judge White said. “And I’ve heard enough. We’re in recess until I reach a decision. I’ll contact the lawyers when I’m ready to rule.” He banged his gavel and then dismissed the courtroom. Brian knew he wouldn’t breathe until he knew what the judge’s decision was.

Paige grabbed his arm. “You look like you’re about to pass out,” she said.

“I’ll be fine, let’s just get out of here,” he said as he looked at Olivia and the man she claimed was her fiancé. They walked out of the courtroom arm in arm, brushing past Brian and Paige.

“She’s not going to win and anyone can tell that she isn’t really going to marry that man,” Paige said as she and Brian headed out through the other door.