I've been around, someone like me should know better.
Chapter 28
But I know the game, you'll forget my nameā¦
A few days later, Victoria was waiting when House came home. She handed him an envelope.
"This is the custody agreement my lawyers drew up. Please read it and let me know if you have any changes you'd like to make. If you'd like your lawyer to look it over, that's fine."
House looked at the fat envelope in his hand. "Why don't you just recite the abridged version?"
"Very well. Essentially, you'll have Andralynn every other weekend. If one of us has to work or is otherwise occupied, we can request to switch weekends. You also have the option to take her on Wednesday evenings."
"What does that mean?"
"It means if you don't have a patient and wish to take her for the evening or overnight, you may. You'll just need to contact me no later than two p.m. that day."
"O-kay." He said, starting to get confused.
"Now, for holidays, we can either alternate them or split them. For instance, if I have Thanksgiving, you have Christmas, and then the following year, we switch. Or we each take half of the holiday weekend."
Now he was confused. "I'll read it." He told her.
She gave an exasperated sigh. "The problem is, you won't. Then you'll complain when it doesn't go the way you want. And I refuse to deal with that. So please, have a lawyer, have James, have SOMEONE read it. Be sure it is to your liking. As soon as it is, I'll bring my lawyer here so that we can both sign it and he can notarize it. And we can file the divorce papers then too."
"Fine." He told her, stuffing the envelope under his arm.
Logic told him that he should have a lawyer look at it. The only lawyer that he knew was Stacy and he was not going to her with this (or anything else, for that matter). He also didn't want to involve the hospital lawyer in his private life. Not to mention that the hospital lawyer hated his guts.
In the end, Anita's son (the lawyer) came to visit Mom one morning. House wasn't sure if it was a coincidence or if Hazel was looking out for him, but the guy read the papers for him. He explained the agreement to House, noted a few things that should be changed and told him that basically it was a good agreement.
House was not expected to pay child support, since Victoria had a lot more money than him. He was required to deposit money into a trust fund for Andra every month to demonstrate his willingness to look out for her well-being. Visitation and holidays would be flexible and they would adjust as needed based on their schedules.
House gave the papers back to Victoria and two days later, her lawyer came to the penthouse. They signed the agreement and the lawyer notarized it.
When he left, Victoria said, "Well, now you are free to move out. If you could please do that soon, I would appreciate it."
He nodded and said, "I'll leave tomorrow."
He went to his room and stretched out on the bed. This would be the last night he slept here, the last night he could peek in on his sleeping daughter at any time. Because of that, he got up and wandered into her room.
She looked so sweet sleeping there. He reminded himself that he would still be a part of her life. Still, he would miss seeing her whenever he wanted.
As he stood there, he didn't see Victoria come to the doorway and peer in.
A tinge of sadness touched her, but she pushed it back. He was going to see his daughter. There was nothing for her to feel guilty about. After all, she'd been very magnanimous, considering he had broken their agreement. Now she was forced to do the divorced parent shuffle with him, instead of being the single mom. He should feel guilty for disrupting her plans.
So why did she feel like a bitch?
A/N: Thanks to all of you that have been reading and especially those who have left comments. It's very gratifying. i know that Victoria is not the most likeable heroine, but I hope that in the end, she redeems herself to you. And I hope everyone is enjoying the Billy Joel. I won't mind if you start humming the song while you're reading. Thanks!
