Married Men (47 page)
Authors: Carl Weber
“As your lawyer, I don’t think this is wise, Wil.” I grabbed his hand and removed it from my arm.
“You’re my lawyer, Greg. Not my daddy. It’s your job to give me advice. I heard your advice. Now I’m gonna go talk to my wife. So move!” I gave him a cold look and he stepped aside, but I could tell he wasn’t happy about it.
Diane was less than twenty steps away, but I swear it felt like a mile. I could see her and her friends whispering and pointing as I walked over. It was enough to make a brother paranoid.
“Can I help you?” Diane looked up from the bench and rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, can we help you?” her fake-blue-eyes, bad-weavewearin’ friend Desiree added with attitude as the rest of her friends laughed.
I glanced at each of the women, then at Diane. “Can we talk? In private?”
“The only thing I have to say to you is
show me the money.”
Diane clapped her hands and laughed, and her friends joined in like it was the funniest joke she’d ever told. Personally I didn’t see a damn thing funny, so I scowled at each of them, which only made them roll their eyes more.
show me the money.”
Diane clapped her hands and laughed, and her friends joined in like it was the funniest joke she’d ever told. Personally I didn’t see a damn thing funny, so I scowled at each of them, which only made them roll their eyes more.
“Okay, Di, you had your laugh. Can we talk now?” I glanced at my watch, then back at Diane. It was almost time to go in the courtroom. If I was going to talk her out of this silliness, it had to be quick.
“Y’know, you are really aggravating me.” She sounded annoyed, but that didn’t stop her from getting up and walking away from her friends. I followed her down the hall, and when we were out of listening range, she turned around.
“What do you want, Wil?” She placed her hand on her hip.
“I want you to stop this, Diane. I want you to let me come home so I can take care of you and the kids like I always have. We don’t need these people to tell us how to take care of our family,” I sighed.
“What’s wrong, Wil? Scared you’re gonna lose everything?” She smirked.
“No, Diane, I’m scared I’m gonna lose you.” I gave her my most sincere look. “I love you, Di, and I’m going crazy without you.”
“I love you too, Wil. And that’s why I hate you so fucking much for doing what you did to me. You fucking, no-good dog!” She tried to slap me but I grabbed her arm. “Let go of me before I scream,” she demanded.
“Last chance, Di. I love you. Always will. And you just admitted you still love me, but if we walk in that courtroom today, I become the enemy.” She forced herself to laugh, trying to get free.
“You still don’t get it, do you, Wil? You’ve been the enemy ever since I found those pictures of you and those hoochies.” She pulled her arm free and walked toward her friends. I shook my head as I walked back over to mine.
“What’d she say?” Jay asked as he watched them walk into the courtroom.
“She said that I’m the enemy.” I glanced at Greg. “You sure we can win this?”
“Well, like I told you before, there’s never a winner when children are involved. But yeah, I can’t see her getting anywhere near what she’s asking. And you’ve got a real good shot at joint custody. I’d take your case before I’d take hers.”
“Good. Maybe if I win, it’ll make her see the error of her ways and she’ll let me come home.”
The courtroom was small and looked more like someone’s office than the courtrooms you see on TV There was an expensive-looking desk, which was supposed to be the judge’s bench, with about ten chairs in front of it, along with a small table for the stenographer. The judge, a white woman in her late fifties, looked more like someone’s grandma than a judge, but her demeanor was very official. She wanted the hearing to start as soon as we sat down.
The child support hearing itself was short, and except for Diane and me, there was no testimony. Greg had explained to me earlier that because it was only a hearing to determine child support and visitation, not a divorce proceeding, the judge was the only one who would ask any questions of us. Both Diane’s lawyer and Greg had a chance to state their cases. Diane’s lawyer, a forty-something white yuppie, did her best to portray me as a sex-crazed degenerate who hadn’t given his wife money or come to see his children in almost a month. She’d done everything from show those pictures of the naked girls and me, to dumping a bag of sex toys Diane and I had accumulated to spice things up on the judge’s bench. I couldn’t believe my ears when she had the nerve to tell the judge that I forced Diane to use them. What a crock of shit that was.
Greg, on the other hand, portrayed Diane as a money-hungry bitch who had no love or concern for her children’s welfare. I wasn’t too happy about this strategy, but he had assured me Diane’s lawyer would portray me much worse, which she did. He showed the judge the agreement and canceled checks I’d written during our separation along with pay stubs to validate our claim that I could not afford that or any increase. He also presented my 401K loan and loan papers I had Kyle draw up when he loaned me money for my apartment. He tried his best to explain the pictures as a practical joke, but I don’t think the judge bought it at all. Despite that I was comfortable with the job he’d done. The rest was up to the Lord.
“Mr. Thomas, you and Ms. Lewis have both presented persuasive arguments. Why don’t we adjourn for lunch till two o’clock, and when we return, I’ll give you my decision.”
When we returned from lunch, it took the judge about ten minutes before she came back into the courtroom carrying a file. She sat in her chair silently as she shuffled through the papers, finally taking off her glasses before speaking.
“As you all know, this is a custody and support hearing, not a divorce proceeding. So this court is only concerned with the welfare of the children involved, and not the parents.” The judge placed her glasses back on her head and began to read the papers in front of her.
“Okay, in the case of custody of the two minor children Katherine and Teddy Duncan, the court awards custody to the mother Diane Duncan.”
What?
My eyes went wild with surprise. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My God, she was taking my kids away from me. I turned toward Greg with a bewildered look, hoping he was going to object or something, but he was face front staring at the judge like everything was going according to plan. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to take the kids away from Diane, but I did want to be a part of their lives. Now with this crazy-ass judge giving her custody, it meant that she had all the power when it came to my kids. It meant I had nothing.
My eyes went wild with surprise. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My God, she was taking my kids away from me. I turned toward Greg with a bewildered look, hoping he was going to object or something, but he was face front staring at the judge like everything was going according to plan. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to take the kids away from Diane, but I did want to be a part of their lives. Now with this crazy-ass judge giving her custody, it meant that she had all the power when it came to my kids. It meant I had nothing.
As every second went by, it was getting harder and harder to breathe, and I could feel my stomach knotting as the judge’s words became painfully real. I glanced at Greg again, and he was still staring at the judge. That son of a bitch had practically promised me I’d get joint custody. How the hell he could sit there without saying a word was beyond me. I was about to give him a piece of my mind, but he got lucky and the judge started to speak again.
“Mr. Duncan, since your wife is presently living in your house and you are living in a studio apartment, the court has decided that it is in the best interest of the children not to award you joint custody. If in the future you find more suitable arrangements to house your children, we will gladly reconsider. Now as far as visitation, Mr. Duncan, you will have every other weekend, holidays, and two weeks during the summer.”
I exhaled slowly. At least I’d be able to see my kids. I glanced over at Diane, who was grinning from ear to ear. Things were working out just the way she had planned. All she had to do was get my child support raised and she’d have all the power and all the money. Damn, would you believe after all this I still had love for that woman? But just once I’d love to smack that grin off her face. Especially now that this psycho judge was probably gonna make me pay her out the ass.
“Mrs. Duncan, it says here that you made almost fifty thousand dollars last year. Is that correct?”
“Yes, your honor.” Diane nodded with a smile.
“And Mr. Duncan, you made sixty thousand dollars last year?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied, though I felt like I could barely breathe. My knees were wobbling.
“All right, in the matter of child support, the court awards Mrs. Duncan one thousand dollars a month, plus half the cost of child care.” I almost lost my lunch. I held on to the desk in front of me so I wouldn’t fall flat on my face. I couldn’t believe it. That bitch of a judge had just raised my child support four hundred dollars. How the hell did she expect me to pay an extra four hundred dollars a month, half the day care, and all the rest of the bills at the house? I glanced at Greg, and he had the nerve to smile.
“What are you frowning for? We won,” he whispered.
“How do you see that?” I raised my eyebrows in confusion. Diane’s loud voice made me turn toward her before Greg answered.
“What the fuck do you mean, that’s all I get?” she yelled at her lawyer. “You got Lisa ten times this!” Her face was beet red. The only time I’d ever seen her that angry was the day she kicked me out. I watched in amazement when she turned to the judge, who was about to leave. I could tell by her facial expression that she was about to do something stupid. I think her lawyer sensed it too, because she tried to stop her from speaking. But it was too late.
“Is that all I get?” Diane yelled at the judge. The judge stopped where she was and sat back down in her chair, placing her glasses back on her head.
“Yes, Mrs. Duncan, that’s all you get. I don’t know what your lawyer told you, but we have very strict laws when it comes to child support in this state. And the law in this state says that you get twenty-five percent of Mr. Duncan’s income for two children, and that’s what I awarded you.” Diane stared at the judge in amazement.
“To be honest, I can’t believe Ms. Lewis didn’t advise you to keep your previous agreement with Mr. Duncan.” It might have been my imagination, but it almost looked like the judge smirked as she said this.
“I did, your honor,” Lewis interjected. Diane looked at her lawyer and sucked her teeth.
“But, but ... what about the electric and the car note? Who’s gonna pay the mortgage or the other bills?” The helpless look Diane gave the judge even made me feel sorry for her. She’d been so arrogant and determined to get me that she hadn’t even listened to her lawyer.
“Mrs. Duncan, you make fifty thousand dollars a year. I think you’ll be able to manage.” The judge stood up, ready to leave again.
“You gotta be fucking kidding me. You can’t do this!” Diane was out of control, and took a step toward the judge with balled-up fists, like she was about to kick her ass. Lucky for her, her friends grabbed her before a court officer did.
“Yes, Mrs. Duncan, I can do this. Now one more outburst from you and I’ll have you locked up for contempt.” She took off her glasses and pointed at Diane’s lawyer. “Ms. Lewis, if I were you, I would get your client out of my courtroom right now.” The judge and Diane exchanged angry stares as her lawyer and friends escorted her out the door.
Once Diane was out of the courtroom, I had a short conversation with Greg, who explained everything that had just happened, then quickly left, saying he had to see another client. I’d won. I’d beaten Diane in the courtroom. But even though I had supposedly won, the only thing on my mind was the look she gave me as I left the courtroom. Her friends were trying to console her, but she looked like something out of
The Exorcist.
The Exorcist.
“What the fuck are you looking at, Wil?” she screamed. “You think you won something? You ain’t won shit, Wil!” I tried to ignore her and kept walking down the hallway, but she was right on my heels. I could hear her pumps stomping behind me. “Did you hear me, Wil? You ain’t won shit! And don’t think you gonna see the kids!” I stopped dead in my tracks as I turned to face her.
“What do you mean, I can’t see my kids?” I roared. I think I scared her friends more than I scared her, because they all took a few steps backward. “Didn’t you hear what the judge said in there? She said I get the kids every other weekend.” Diane twisted her lips and sucked her teeth.
“Please, you get the kids when I say you get the kids. And you ain’t gettin’ shit till I get my money. Now, you can think I’m playin’ if you want to.”
I stepped closer. “Look, Di. You took me to court. I didn’t ask for this. All I wanted to do was come home. But I won, and if you wanna play games, we can be right back here in court next week. Then you can explain yourself to the judge. ’Cause I’m gonna see my kids and all I’m gonna give you is a thousand dollars. The law on my side.”
“We’ll see,” she said threateningly. “It’s Monday, Wil. You’ve got until next Monday to get me my money. There’s an opening in the Atlanta distribution center, and they’ve offered me the job. If I don’t get my money by Monday, I’m putting in for a transfer.” Diane turned and strutted with her friends to the elevator.
“Don’t do this, Di. I don’t wanna fight with you,” I pleaded as she stepped on the elevator.
“I want my money, Wil. And you won’t see those kids if I don’t get it. ’Cause we’ll be in Atlanta at my mother’s place, and that’s a mighty long drive every other weekend.” I watched the elevator doors close.
“Shit!” She was right. I hadn’t won a damn thing.
“Yo, dawg.” Jay grabbed my arm. “I told you before, I can get you and Diane back together. All you gotta do is say the word.”
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