Chapter 11

The young man at the door was well-dressed and well-groomed. He asked if she was Ms Casey Landers. She said yes, but Casey didn't know what he wanted with her until he handed her the large envelope. Then he nodded and left.

Casey stared at the official looking letter that he had handed her. The return address in the corner said 'Sanborn and Hess, Attorneys at Law.' She wondered why a lawyer would be sending her a letter.

That evening, when House arrived, he saw the letter sitting on the kitchen counter.

"What's this?" he asked her.

"Nothing." She said.

"It looks important. It looks all lawyerly and everything."

"It's not." She picked it up and threw it into the trash can and continued to put dinner on the table. "Come on, dinner's ready. Tif's eating at Judy's and going right to softball practice."

He didn't go to the table. Instead he opened the trash can and removed the letter. He pulled it out of the envelope and started to read it.

"What are you doing?" she said in a startled voice. "Don't read that! First of all, it's mine. It's a federal offense to read someone else's mail. Secondly, it's garbage. That's why I threw it away."

"Well, if it's garbage, you won't care if I take it." He walked away from her, reading as he did. The letter said:

Dear Ms Casey Landers:

Re: Tiffany Landers

We have been retained by Thadford and Margaret Pendleton to represent their interest in the above matter regarding the custody of Tiffany Landers. Our clients have requested that we petition the probate court for a hearing regarding the guardianship of said minor. Inasmuch as Mrs. Pendleton is the sister of the minor child's deceased mother, Elizabeth Harris Landers, she and her husband, Thadford Pendleton, will be requesting that the court award them full custody. We believe it is in the best interest of everyone involved if this matter can be resolved without the need for a court trial. We ask that you contact us within ten days to set a mediation to hopefully reach a mutual agreement regarding said custody. If you retain legal representation, please have them contact us as soon as possible.

If you should have any questions…

House stopped reading and looked at Casey. "Who are these people? Why do they want the kid?"

"I told you it's nothing."

"It's an official letter! It's important. Casey, what's going on here?"

Casey sighed. "It's bullshit. Muffy and Thad Pendleton are self-absorbed yuppies. There is no way that they are taking Tiffany from me. It's probably just a whim that ol' Muffy had."

"Who the hell is she?"

"Tiffany's aunt. Her mom's sister."

House was stunned. He hadn't realized that the child had any other relatives besides Casey.

"If she's her aunt, she might have a claim."

"My brother and sister-in-law, Tiffany's parents, named me as guardian. Besides, she never even met Tiffany. She hadn't talked to Beth in years, never came when Tif was born and didn't even come to her only sister's funeral. No one is ever going to give Tiffany to her."

House looked at Casey, then back at the letter. It was not only very official looking, it was very expensive. The paper was high quality and the address of the law firm was in Manhattan. This wasn't a fly by night operation.

"Do Muffy and Thad have money?"

"Yeah, oodles of it. Beth came from a rich family. Thank God, she was normal. She hated all the snobbery in her family and just wanted to get away from it. She was a good person. But her sister? I met her once. What a b!tch! And the guy she married is from an even richer family."

"Casey, these people have money and they've hired expensive New York lawyers. This is serious."

"They don't have a case."

"They have money. Sometimes that means more. You need to get a lawyer."

"I can't afford a lawyer."

"Can you afford to lose Tiffany?"

"I'm not going to lose her. No judge will give her to them."

"You don't know that. Judges can be strange people. Get a lawyer. I'll pay for it."

"You will not. I don't need a lawyer."

"Are you going to ignore this? Because I think they'll drag you to court anyway."

"Of course I'm not going to ignore it. I'll go to court and tell them that Rick and Beth named me her guardian, Muffy has never met or tried to contact Tiffany and that Tiffany wants to stay with me."

House lost it then. He yelled at her, "Are you deranged? Or do you think this is one of your Broadway musicals? I can guarantee that if you burst into song, the judge isn't going to join in and rule in your favor."

Casey yelled back at him, "I know what I'm doing."

"No, you don't. You're burying your head in the sand and thinking this is just going to go away."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. It's what you do whenever you don't want to face something."

"I do not. And I don't want to talk about this."

House was exasperated. "See? That's exactly what I mean!"

"That's enough. I told you, I know what I'm doing."

"You're an idiot!"

"I must be, I'm standing here arguing with you."

"Well, at least if you're arguing about it, you're not ignoring it."

"Why do you even care? This is none of your business. She's my niece. It has nothing to do with you."

House stared at her in silence for a few moments, then said, "Yeah, I guess not. After all, the kid means nothing to me. Why should I care if she goes to live with some people she doesn't even know?"

"She's not going anywhere."

"Keep believing it. Maybe all your wishes will magically come true."

"Stop patronizing me. You don't know anything about it. And you have no right to yell at me about it."

"I guess not. Doesn't look like I have any rights here at all. You know, I think I should just go home."

"Maybe you should." She said tightly.

He headed out the door and onto his motorcycle. She refused to watch him leave until she heard the bike start. Then she ran to the door and called out, "Greg!"

But he didn't hear her and rode off.

As she watched him ride away, she thought, I do not need this right now. She didn't believe the custody claim would amount to anything, but she knew it was going to be a bother. She couldn't worry about Greg House's feelings.

And anyway she always knew this relationship would not last. Why was she surprised that he left? No one ever stayed with her for long.

She walked back into the house, alone.