Disclaimer: I don't own, I rent.
"December 5th, 1995. The time is 10:00 AM." And so the custody battle began…
Maureen had Julie in her lap, sitting behind Mark and Joanne. Joanne finally got off of work, left her business trip two days before to be here for the trial. Molly couldn't come, the anniversary of her mother's death was tomorrow and she was going to visit her father for the week. Roger was sitting behind Joanne and Mark felt her look toward him.
"Again, it's easy—try and relax…" Joanne muttered to Mark and he nodded uneasily.
"Charlotte Dawson," the judge spoke her name evenly and Mark looked over toward Charlotte, who shifted in her stature. "You are suing for custody of your child, Julie Marie Cohen, correct?"
"Yes, your honor."
"You may sit." The judge hadn't made eye contact with anyone since sitting down. "And Mark Cohen, you have custody of the child, I am I right?"
"Yes, your honor." Mark felt his hand trembling, he heard Julie begin to whine behind him and Maureen attempt to hush him until Julie reached for Mark and then Roger took hold of the child, bouncing her up and down on his knee and calming her.
"You may sit," the judge muttered after a pause when Julie whined and Mark obeyed, sitting. "Alright, Mister… Palm, you may call your first witness."
"I'd like to call Ms. Charlotte Dawson to the stand, your honor." Charlotte approached the stand and glanced toward Mark with an unreadable and unpleasant expression.
"Would you care to explain your relationship with Mr. Cohen, Ms. Dawson?"
Charlotte shifted in her chair and tilted her head to the side as if confused. Mark looked down and Julie grabbed his sleeve.
"He is my ex-husband and the father of Julie," Charlotte seemed bemused; out of it… something wasn't right.
"Was the relationship between the three of you admirable?"
"Between the two of us, yes, but the three of us—not so much," Charlotte looked toward Mark who turned toward Julie to hold her in his lap, calming her quickly.
"Elaborate, please, Ms. Dawson," Mr. Palm asked, beginning his pace.
"Mr. Cohen was never around much as soon as Julie was born. He went on a business trip that I didn't agree with, when he knew I could use his help in new parenthood and he was gone for months."
"Where did the trip take him? Far away or close to home?"
"Is Chicago far enough?" Charlotte asked sarcastically and Maureen muttered profanities under her breath as Mr. Palm gave her a warning glance and the judge mimicked that glance.
"And when did he leave in comparison to the child's arrival home from the hospital?" Mr. Palm continued.
"It had to have been a month and a half…" Charlotte paused and confirmed, "six weeks because my mother visited that weekend."
"Within the time span that you were on your own with your daughter, did you face any trouble with finances or care for the child?" Mr. Palm questioned and Charlotte nodded immediately.
"I was on maternity leave and didn't have enough money. Times were tough as it was, money wise, and I wasn't used to taking care of a baby, let alone on my own!"
"What was the reason behind you leaving the day Mr. Cohen arrived home?"
"I was offered a job in Europe and we both agreed that for my job description it would be a good idea… more exposure… more experience," Charlotte's voice trailed off.
"And what experience were you looking forward to?"
"Objection," Joanne spoke, looking up from the notes she was taking diligently. "Relevance?"
"I agree, Mr. Palm, the fact that your client wished to earn new experiences from her travel is obvious, stick to the case."
"I'm sorry, your honor…" he paused and looked toward Charlotte. "No further questions," Mr. Palm seemed annoyed as the two sat down and Joanne stood up.
"Alright, Ms. Jefferson, you may call your first witness to the stand," the judge ordered.
"I'd like to call Mr. Cohen up to the stand, your honor."
Mark stood up and handed Julie to Roger, who took her and rocked her quietly. His throat felt swollen, his hands felt sweaty… he felt faint, but he somehow made it to the stand.
"Mr. Cohen," Joanne began and Mark looked up at her. "You are Julie's biological father, correct?"
"Yes," again his voice sounded strained and weak.
"How long ago was it that Ms. Dawson left your household?" Joanne asked and Mark shifted in his seat.
"A little under year and a half ago," Mark replied, his voice building confidence.
"Describe to me your return home from your business trip that evening," Joanne ordered and Mark swallowed.
"It was—seven o'clock that night and I took out my keys to open the door when it opened before I could turn the lock. Ms. Dawson was standing with her bags packed and she pushed past me. When I asked where she was going, she handed me a note and ran down the stairs. I was going to follow her when I remembered Julie. I saw her sitting on the floor in the living room alone crying."
"Was there a nanny there to take care of the child?"
"There were bottles of formula scattered around the apartment, but no one was there… it was like she was going to leave our daughter there with formula and some cans of baby food that she couldn't open before I came home…"
"And what did the note say?"
"That she couldn't handle it. I guess she meant parenthood… She wanted to give me a 'taste of my own medicine' at single parenthood. We were never really fit to be parents, we just fell into it."
"Meaning…?"
"We didn't want kids at the time and then it happened, so it was time to grow up. I took my old job back to earn money and when the internship came up, I didn't want to take it, but Charlotte—Ms. Dawson thought it was good for me. A promotion might be involved, etc."
"So you were against the idea of leaving your wife and new born child alone for some business internship, is that what you are saying, Mr. Cohen?"
"Yeah—well, I wouldn't want it done to me and since we both were in this a little shaky, I thought me helping would ease the tensions… She was tired after coming back from the hospital and Julie wouldn't sleep—ever… so we took turns in the beginning sleeping, but she could never sleep, so I took off of work and stayed home while Ms. Dawson went to work or her parents house… She told me she wanted to bond with the baby while I left, to give her time to get to know her daughter."
"No further questions," Joanne answered with a small victorious smile as she turned and the judge called for her second witness. "Maureen Johnson, would you care to explain your relationship with Mr. Cohen and the child?"
"I'm Mark's—ex-girlfriend and the second night after Charlotte left, Mark called me."
"And he asked for advice? For finances?"
"No, if he wanted money, he'd ask his parents!" Mark hung his head and bit his lip in frustration. "No, he um—Julie was hysterical in the background and Mark sounded—practically dead on the phone. He had no sleep from the night before and Julie hadn't either."
"What did he ask you, Ms. Johnson?"
"For help! The kid was crawling out of her crib, wasn't warm, wasn't sick, and didn't need to be changed, just exhausted and restless. I met his parents and his sister when we were dating…"
"Objection!" Mr. Palm stood and the judge looked up from his own notes. "Relevance?"
Maureen rolled her eyes and looked at the judge. "I swear it's going somewhere."
"Sustained."
"Thanks, so his sister has like—three kids and she had an ultrasound that weekend, so everyone went, but Mark, me, and the kids. So we babysat and he was a little awkward with the kids, like all men are, so I played with the kids a little, talked to them like people and not babies. We played dress-up and stuff."
"So Mr. Cohen, knowing from experience that you were good with children, called you to help him with the child?"
"Yep."
"Have you frequently went over to help him with the child?"
"All the time."
"Does he call and ask for the help, or do you take it upon yourself to visit Mark and the child?"
"Mark never takes breaks. He has weird hours for work and then he comes home to a restless kid. I help him take a break when he hasn't gotten sleep in weeks with Roger, his roommate."
"Thank you Ms.—" Joanne began, but Maureen cut her off.
"Cause he loves that kid. He won't take a break even for sleep or anything if Julie whines or cries or even moves an inch. He sticks to her like glue—he's a good dad, better than the one he had and better than mine. The kid is spoiled."
"Thank you, Ms. Johnson."
Maureen sat down in her chair and Mark looked toward Julie who was asleep in Roger's arms.
"No further witnesses, your honor."
"I will now call a recess and when we return, we will begin the cross-examinations." The judge looked up at Mark for a moment, then at Charlotte and then left the courtroom. Joanne shot a death glare to Maureen and looked over at Mark.
"Pookie, relax."
"Remind me never to question her in court."
"I did great."
"You put Julie asleep," Mark replied, taking the infant into his arms. Charlotte was looking at the two with longing eyes, and then glanced at Mark with a glare before turning to leave the courtroom herself. Mark's eyes followed her as she left until he saw Molly at the back of the courtroom. Charlotte stopped, looked at her and sat beside her as they began talking.
Molly's eyes frequently shifted to Mark's stare until he turned around.
"You were completely inappropriate and you babbled!"
"I didn't babble!"
"Guys, shut it, we're in a courtroom."
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