AN: Alrighty, here's chapter three. I want to apologize if my chapters look a bit disheaved. I'm sure It's just a technical glitch, because I'm having problems with spacing, but I'll try to fix it ASAP.
Amy and Ephram stood in their bedroom that evening, not long after Will and Amy had returned from Denver. Ephram was undoing his tie, while Amy took off all her jewelry.
"So, when he passed the road test, was there jumping and screaming or did he just pass out?" Ephram sarcastically asked his wife.
"Actually, he was really calm, up until I told him he could drive home, then thescreaming started." Amy smiled. Even after being married for fourteen years, she and Ephram still bantered to each other.
"Speaking of driving" Ephram said, crossing the room toward his wife. "I was thinking that once Will's license comes in the mail, we can send him and Eva out for pizza, maybe, four, five, times a week. It'd work out perfectly, we'd have time alone, they'd have pizza." He put his arms around Amy's neck, and kissed her softly on the cheek.
"Ephram-" Amy began, but he covered her mouth with a kiss before she could finish. "Ephram, I've gotta tell you something."
Noticing the tone of urgency in Amy's voice, Ephram stopped and fixed his attention on his wife.
"Today, on the way to Denver, Will asked me where the name "Kellner" came from." The information hit Ephram like a ton of bricks.
"What did you tell him?" A thousand thoughts ran through Ephram's head. He was not mad at Amy, but at himself. He'd dug himself and his son into a very deep hole.
"I lied. I told him it was an old family name." She said, sitting on a chair in the corner of the room.
"He believed it?"
"It seemed like it."
"Damn it!" Ephram slammed his fist down on the dresser. "I wish I'd never given him a middle name."
"Ephram, don't say that. He doesn't know anything, he'll probably never ask about it again." She put her hand comfortingly on his shoulder.
"He asked twice. What if he keeps thinking about it? After all these years, I can't believe this is happening now." Ephram pulled away from Amy's touch. Again, not out of anger at her, but because he felt that he didn't deserve sympathy for this kind of mistake.
Amy sensed this, but she felt useless."You can't change what she did, Ephram. You're the good guy in this. You made the right choice."
The pianist sat on the arm of the chair, next to his wife. "That's the thing, I don't always feel like I did." This was true, though Ephram struggled to remember the last time he'd regretted his choice.
Ephram sat with his father, as well as Amy, in the courtroom. It had only been a few days since the conversation in the car, and now it was time for the Judge's final decision.
"All rise for the honorable Judge Edward J. Sweetman." The bailiff commanded, and all in the room did so as the Judge entered.
"In case of Ephram Andrew Brown versus the state of Colorado, I have decided to rule in favor of the plaintiff, Ephram Brown.Mr. Brown, would you please approach the bench at this time with your parent or guardian."
Ephram and Andy rose from their seats, leaving Amy to watch from the sidelines. She lightly squeezed Ephram's hand before he went, wishing him good luck.
Up at the bench, the Judge spoke to Ephram. "Mr. Brown, I'm going to rule in your favor and award you full custody of your son." The young man's heart seems to skip a beat, and not just for joy, but also for fear of what the Judge was going to say next."On one condition: I'm going to mandate that you and your son meet with a social worker once a month until you reach the age of eighteen. It is my hope that you will be able to provide a loving and stable home for your son, despite the fact that you are considered a minor by the courts. Now, I'll legally change the birth certificate if you'll present me with the name you've chosen for your son."
Ephram quickly glanced around the court room, and his eyes fell on the couple that were supposed to have adopted his son, Thomas and Janet Miller. Mrs. Miller didn't notice Ephram's glance, which was good because she looked like a nervous wreck as it was. It was then that Ephram began to feel bad for them. They hadn't done anything wrong, all they wanted was a child, and Ephram grimaced at the thought of their reactions when the adoption agency told them that he wanted custody of the baby. He was now having second thoughts: The Millers seemed like good people and they could give his son a real family. Was it right of him to take hisbaby away from theonly people he'd known, aside from Ephram's court-appointed weekly visits, since he was born?
"Mr. Brown, have you chosen a name for your son or not?" Judge Sweetman's slightly annoyed voice brought Ephram out of his daydream.
Ephram cleared his throat. "Willingham Kellner Brown." The Judge nodded and wrote the name down on the piece of paper.
"Your son is with a social worker in the children's holding room down the hall, show the bailiff outside the room those papers and you'll be allowed to take him home. Good Luck to all of you." He said to Ephram and his father.
"Thank You." Ephram replied, and passing The Millers as they went, he, Amy, and Andy left the court room.
Thanks for reading, please review!