A/N
As I think I've mentioned previously, I have zero knowledge of divorce law in the US so have tried to do my research on Washington State in particular. I know some readers have been frustrated that it hasn't happened quickly, but I wanted to be realistic here about the length of the process. That being said, hopefully this chapter deals with what you've been waiting for. But this comes with complete artistic license as I have no particular experience of family court
Callie sat on a bench outside the courtroom, tapping her foot unconsciously as she fiddled with the lid of her coffee cup.
A month had passed since she had received notice that Eduardo was contesting the divorce, and so an in person hearing was required. Of course, he'd left it right up until the deadline to respond to the petition.
Arizona was pacing in front of her, hands firmly placed in the pockets of her pantsuit. It unnerved Callie somewhat to see the blonde like that. She was always the calm one of the two, and her presence on the flight over to Seattle had been hugely reassuring. But now that the hearing was finally due to start, the pressure seemed to be getting to Arizona.
"Ari?"
"Yeah?" the blonde stopped pacing, and turned to Callie with a slightly vacant expression.
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah I'm…god, sorry" Arizona shook her head, seeming to snap out of her haze "I should be asking you that. Sorry. How are you doing?" she sat down and took the brunette's hand.
"I'm ok. What's got you all worked up?" Callie asked softly.
"I'm really sorry Cal. This isn't about me. I just…it feels like we're finally in touching distance of really being free of everything that happened back here. And I want so much for you to finally be able to stop worrying about what trick he's gonna pull next. So yeah…I'm just nervous, and I really really want this waiting to be over"
"Thank you" the brunette smiled, squeezing Arizona's hand.
"For…being crazy?"
"For being human. For caring. And mainly for momentarily distracting me"
"Well in that case, you're welcome" the blonde smiled back.
"Ms Torres? Ms Robbins?"
Their heads turned as they were approached by a suited man, and both women stood up.
"I'm Ben Warren, and I'll be representing you today. We spoke on the phone?" he held out his hand to Callie and then Arizona to greet them with a handshake.
Having discussed the pros and cons of the expenditure, Callie had decided it was worth paying for counsel to represent her at the hearing, particularly when she was advised that the costs could be awarded to her from the proceeds of the division of assets if she was successful and could prove that Eduardo litigated unnecessarily.
"I'm sorry I didn't get to speak to you sooner" Ben continued "but Mr Rodriguez served some additional paperwork this morning and the judge gave me some time to review them, which I wanted to do before I spoke to you"
"More paperwork?" Callie looked sceptical.
"Relating to your New York Times article" he continued.
"Well that's hardly new information. It was published like two months ago" Arizona pointed out.
"Absolutely. And I have made that point to the judge. But Mr Rodriguez is representing himself, and so the courts tend to be a little lenient. I also have no concerns about it in respect of your case – if anything, it strengthens the point that the marriage has irretrievably broken down"
"Ok well uh…" Callie nodded nervously "I guess I should trust my lawyer, right?"
"Not what people usually say about my profession, but yes – I'd suggest trusting me is a good place to start" he smiled genuinely.
"Ok good" the brunette smiled back "so what happens now? Can Arizona come in or is she likely to be called to give evidence or something?"
"You're both fine to come in. Ms Torres, the judge will want to hear from you, and she might want to hear from Ms Robbins, but as this isn't a criminal trial and there's no suggestion of contamination of evidence, you're both able to stay in court the whole time"
"Great" Callie visibly relaxed as the blonde placed a reassuring hand on the small of her back.
At that point, an usher emerged from the courtroom and nodded at Ben.
"Looks like it's time to rock and roll, ladies"
The three of them entered the court, with Callie and Ben taking a seat at the desk whilst Arizona settled herself in the otherwise empty chairs behind them. At the opposite desk, Eduardo was already seated, and his eyes narrowed, saving his most venomous look for the blonde.
They all got to their feet when the usher announced that the judge was entering, and she in turn told them all to be seated.
"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. We're hear today in the matter of Torres vs Rodriguez. Ms Torres, you are the petitioner and are represented by Mr Warren today, is that correct?"
"Yes..." Callie cleared her throat "yes your honour"
"…and Mr Rodriguez, you are the respondent and are representing yourself today, is that correct?"
"That's correct, ma'am" Eduardo smiled up at the judge.
"At the outset, and for the benefit of all parties, I am going to set out the law as it pertains to divorce here in Washington State. Ms Torres, I understand that you are now resident out of state, but given that you have filed for divorce here I'm sure Mr Warren has explained that it is the laws of this state that will govern proceedings"
"I have, your honour" Ben confirmed.
"Wonderful. Now, in Washington State there is only a singular ground for divorce, and that is that the marriage has irretrievably broken down. Ms Torres, in filing your petition, you are therefore alleging that to be the case. And Mr Rodriguez, as is your right, you are contesting that position. Is that correct?"
"Yes, ma'am" Eduardo confirmed.
"Therefore that is the first issue that I will be making a ruling on" the judge continued "if, and only if, I find that the marriage has irretrievably broken down, the second issue then relates to division of assets. Washington State is a community property state. That means that both property and debts acquired during the course of the marriage are to be divided equally, unless the court deems it necessary to rule otherwise. I may also at that time consider any application for alimony from either party. Is that clear to everyone?"
Everyone confirmed their understanding of the judge's instructions.
"Wonderful, in that case we will proceed with consideration of the evidence in respect of the first issue. Both the petitioner and the respondent have provided witness statements, which I have read. Ms Torres, when you are called to give evidence, you do not need to repeat the contents of your statements unless you are asked to by either Mr Warren or Mr Rodriguez. Mr Rodriguez, as you are representing yourself, you will be entitled to give your testimony in monologue form as part of your closing argument. You also have the right to cross examine Ms Torres. I appreciate that this may be difficult for both of you, and I simply ask that you both keep it civil and relevant to the issue at hand. If I believe either of you are straying off course, I will intervene. Do you both understand?"
Callie and Eduardo both nodded in the affirmative.
"Mr Warren, as your client is the petitioner, you will begin by calling evidence on her behalf"
"Thank you, your honour"
Ben indicated to Callie that she needed to proceed to the witness box, and she did so with shaky legs. Arizona wiped her palms on her knees, feeling the nerves exuding from her girlfriend from across the room.
"Ms Torres" Ben began "can I start by asking you to confirm that the contents of the statement that you have provided for this hearing is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge and belief?"
Callie cleared her throat "Err yes, yes it is"
"Thank you. As per your statement, you moved out of the marital home on September 4th last year, and soon after that you relocated to New York. Since that time, have you had any contact with Mr Rodriguez?"
"No. Erm, today is the first time that I've seen him in person since I collected my things and moved out. I had blocked his phone number but he did manage to call me and leave a voicemail once. No contact other than that"
"And what was the nature of that voicemail?"
"He uh…" Callie looked down nervously "he was angry, he'd just been served with the divorce papers. Said he was keeping the house, and was vaguely threatening, warned me to just walk away and get on with my 'dyke life', I believe the phrase was"
"And has there been a single moment since you left where there has been any prospect of reconciliation on your part?"
"Absolutely not" Callie shook her head firmly "my marriage is well and truly over. I have no intention of ever speaking to Eduardo again, let alone resuming any kind of relationship with him. I've seen who he truly is and that is not a person that I want in my life"
"Thank you, Ms Torres, no further questions at this stage" Ben smiled at her and sat down.
The judge turned to Eduardo "Mr Rodriguez, you may now question the witness. I will remind you again, please keep this civil and limit questions at this stage to the first issue, which is your assertion that the marriage between yourself and Ms Torres has not irretrievably broken down"
"Yes, your honour" Eduardo got to his feet and walked towards the witness box "good afternoon, Callie"
"Good afternoon" Callie responded through gritted teeth.
"I'll get straight to the point. When you left our home, who did you leave with?"
"Arizona Robbins"
"And was it her idea for you to leave?"
"To leave you? No. That was my decision. After that we decided together that I'd go back to New York with her"
"And how soon after Ms Robbins came back into town did she suggest that you left with her?"
"She made no such suggestion until I had decided that I was ending our marriage" Callie replied firmly.
"You and Ms Robbins have a history of…" Eduardo paused, appearing visibly disturbed by what he was asking "deviant relations, don't you?"
"Are you asking if we were lovers? In which case, the answer is yes. We were a long time ago, and we are again now"
"So there is a pattern of Ms Robbins appearing in your life, you deciding that you're a lesbian, and then as soon as she disappears, you return to your heterosexual life?" Eduardo asked, raising his eyebrows.
"I have never defined myself as either a lesbian or heterosexual" Callie corrected him "I'm bisexual, always have been, just like I've always been in love with Arizona. If you hadn't threatened her and made her leave town when we were teenagers, you and I would never have been married in the first place"
"Your honour, I would ask you to note that there is no independent evidence to support this allegation" Eduardo turned to the judge in protest.
"Duly noted" the judge responded "however, it is of course the evidence of Ms Torres and also contained within the statement of Ms Robbins, so the assertion remains on the record. As you have raised the issue of Ms Torres' relationship with Ms Robbins in your cross examination, she is well within her rights to provide her side of the story"
Eduardo appeared somewhat flustered by the judge's response, and took a moment to gather himself before returning his attention to Callie "Isn't it true, that when Ms Robbins leaves you again, you'll turn right back to what you know, to men? To your husband?"
"Objection" Ben got to his feet.
"It's ok" Callie smiled at him before he could continue "I'm happy to answer" she turned to stare at Eduardo "if Arizona were ever to leave me, which I sincerely hope won't be the case but none of us can predict the future, I would rather spend the rest of my life alone than even have to be in the same room as you, let alone continue a marriage with you"
Eduardo just stared back at her.
"Do you have any further questions, Mr Rodriguez?" the judge asked after a few moments.
"Erm, no ma'am" Eduardo returned to his seat.
"Very well. Both parties may now address me on the issue of the breakdown of the marriage alone, at this stage. Mr Rodriguez, as the unrepresented party, you will have the benefit of first listening to Mr Warren's submissions, before responding. Mr Warren, you have the floor"
"Thank you, your honour" Ben got to his feet "Your honour, you have read the statements from Ms Torres and Ms Robbins, and heard from my client today. The simple facts in this case are that Ms Torres has not only left the marital home, but also the state. She has since started a new relationship, one in which she is happy and one which she has no intention of ending. Her career has also taken off in New York. She simply has neither the desire nor the intention to ever resume a relationship with Mr Rodriguez. I will anticipate the arguments that Mr Rodriguez will make, based on his questions today and his conduct in respect of my client in recent months. The only basis on which Mr Rodriguez may seek to establish that the marriage has not in fact irretrievably broken down, is by arguing that Ms Torres is currently 'not in her right mind' and has somehow been brainwashed by Ms Robbins. In fact, he went to great lengths to seek to establish this when he reported to the local police that Ms Robbins, a renowned and respectable paediatric surgeon, had abducted Ms Torres, despite it having been made very clear to him on multiple occasions directly by Ms Torres that their marriage was over. You have the statements, your honour, which detail what I accept to be solely allegations, but nevertheless they paint a picture of the lengths to which Mr Rodriguez has gone over more than a decade to remove people from Ms Torres' life. Whilst I am not dwelling on this conduct today, as it is not strictly relevant to the issue of the breakdown of the marriage, I would ask you to consider it as strong supporting evidence that establishes the level of sincerity with which Ms Torres expresses her views as to ever reconciling with Mr Rodriguez, now that she knows the truth about his past conduct. Therefore your honour, I would respectfully submit that there is only one possible finding that can be made on the first issue, and that is that the marriage between my client and Mr Rodriguez has irretrievably broken down. Thank you"
As Ben sat down, Arizona found herself holding her breath in the seat behind him. She couldn't see how the judge could come to any other conclusion, but Eduardo was always such a wild card that she genuinely had no idea what he was going to say.
Eduardo got to his feet, a self satisfied smirk on his face "Your honour, I think it's important for me to explain some of the background here as I fear that you are being painted somewhat of a distorted picture of the history of my relationship with Callie, and how Ms Robbins comes into it. You see, Callie always had relationships with men, was always happy in Newport, and was really part of the family here. We all grew up together, Callie's sister is married to my best friend, our families are close. There was a tentative relationship between myself and Callie when we were teenagers. Everything changed with Ms Robbins moved to town with her family. Callie…she became a different person. Everyone around her could see Ms Robbins gradually influencing her. It was almost like she had Stockholm Syndrome or something. And eventually she actually managed to convince Callie that she was a lesbian, and all of a sudden Callie didn't want anything to do with me or any of the other boys in her life. Then, Ms Robbins upped and left town, and Callie was back to her normal self. Our relationship got back on track, we eventually got married. We were actually about to start trying for kids when Ms Robbins reappears and all of a sudden she's convinced Callie to leave me, leave her family, and run to New York. Your honour, I know Callie. And I know that eventually she's going to free herself from Ms Robbins grip, and realise who she really is. And when she does, I'll be ready to welcome her back to our marital home. And that's why I'm pleading with you to give me the time to allow this marriage to work. Thank you"
As Eduardo took his seat again, Arizona could feel the bile rising in her throat. The terrifying thing was that he actually seemed to believe the nonsense that he was spouting. He genuinely seemed to think that it was only a matter of time before Callie came back to him.
There was a tense few minutes as the judge reviewed the papers. Ben seemed surprised that she hadn't retired to her robing room, but it seemed she was just checking a few things before stacking the papers before her again.
"Ms Torres, Mr Rodriguez. I have considered the contents of the petition, the evidence submitted in writing prior to this hearing, and what I have heard today. I have a number of options available to me, including referring you to mediation for a period of 60 days to seek to resolve the issues…"
Arizona felt physically sick as she visibly saw the tension grow in Callie's shoulders.
"However, having had the benefit of reading Ms Torres' statement, and hearing the adamant nature of her claim that she has no intention ever to resume the relationship, supported by her view, the validity of which is not actually relevant to the issue, of the unreasonable conduct of Mr Rodriguez in the past, I am satisfied that mediation would not assist in this case and I therefore make a finding that this marriage has irretrievably broken down. I will therefore enter a decree of dissolution of the marriage today"
Arizona was sure that the relaxation of her own shoulders mirrored the brunette's, and she had to refrain from vocalising her relief.
"Mr Rodriguez" the judge continued, turning to Eduardo "I understand that my decision will be disappointing for you, and I urge you to take some time after this to reflect and begin to move on with your life. This decree will represent the end of a chapter for you, but does not prevent you from starting a new one. Now, as I explained at the beginning of the hearing, there is a presumption in this state that all property and debts are divided equally. I understand from the paperwork that there are no debts to speak of, but there is a property, in which you currently reside, and you are asking the court to deviate from an equal split of the assets. Is that correct?"
"Yes, your honour"
"Given that it is you that is seeking an exception to the legal presumption, I will therefore ask you to explain, briefly and keeping to relevant issues only, why you consider that would be a just outcome"
"Your honour" Eduardo got to his feet "she's destroyed my life. She walked out on me out of the blue, emptied our bank account…"
"Objection" Ben got to his feet "your honour, the evidence before you shows that Ms Torres withdrew exactly 50% of the balance of the joint checking account, and has not used it since"
"Mr Rodriguez, do you dispute that position?" the judge turned to him.
"That uh…I'm not sure on the exact sums involved…"
"I have reviewed the bank statements provided as part of the petition and from what I can see, Mr Warren is correct. So unless you wish to provide evidence to the contrary, I will consider that cash assets have already been divided equitably"
"Perhaps I may move on, your honour?" Eduardo asked.
"Please do"
"Your honour, I appreciate that I'm not a lawyer, and the reality is that I couldn't afford one, yet my wife could. That should tell you something about our respective financial circumstances currently. The truth is, throughout our marriage, I was the breadwinner. I provided for Callie, gave her the security of our home. Since she left, she has sought to do irreparable damage to reputation, making me a laughing stock in my home town and going so far as to slander me in the New York Times. I understand that future earning capacity is relevant in financial considerations, your honour. I would ask you to consider the fact that in the past six months, my wife has left me for another woman, clearly has substantial means to pay for a lawyer, has damaged my reputation in the national press to the extent that nobody in Newport wishes to do business with me, and now she wants to take my home. She doesn't need it, she's shacked up with a rich doctor. Me? I'm left with nothing"
The judge waited for Eduardo to take his seat again before speaking "Mr Warren, I don't need to hear from you at this stage. Mr Rodriguez, I'm afraid there are two significant problems with your claim. As I have already indicated, we live in a community property state. Whilst the court may interfere with that presumption, that is generally only likely to occur in cases where there are children involved and it is in their best interests for one parent to retain ownership of the family home. No such reasons apply in this case and therefore I see no reason to deviate from the legal presumption. You are correct when you say that future earning capacity is relevant, and it can be both to assets and also alimony. However, the issues that you have raised today, and their relevance to your future financial provision, seem to me to hinge on one thing. That is, your assertion that Ms Torres is lying about your conduct. Now I'm not here to conduct a criminal trial, and I very much suspect the statute of limitations is long past for the crimes it is alleged you committed, but that also means that nobody here needs to prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt. The civil standard of proof applies, and what that essentially boils down to is this question. Which of the following is more likely – that you committed the acts alleged in the witness statement, or that Ms Torres has written a libellous article for the New York Times? Based on the evidence before me, and that includes statements from Ms Robbins and also a Mr Karev, applying the balance of probabilities, I consider it more likely than not that Ms Torres is telling the truth. Therefore, any damage to your future earning capacity is as a result of your own actions and not those of Ms Torres. On that basis I will be making a standard division of property order, which will require the home to be sold, and no order for alimony"
"Are you fucking kidding?" Eduardo yelled, jumping to his feet "That fucking dyke bitch got to you too, didn't she!"
"Mr Rodriguez, I suggest you sit down before I have to call security and have you removed"
Seething, Eduardo seemed to consider his options for a moment before sitting back down.
"Mr Warren" the judge turned to Ben "is there anything you wanted to add at this point?"
"Yes, your honour" Ben got to his feet "there is the matter of costs. My client has privately funded these proceedings. As you will be aware, she has already paid for the costs of filing the petition and associated paperwork, however, the cost of representation at this hearing was one that only became necessary as a result of Mr Rodriguez challenging the petition. Based on your findings today, your honour, I would ask you to find that such a challenge was spurious and therefore require the respondent to be liable for my client's costs"
"Thank you, Mr Warren. Mr Rodriguez, do you have anything to say by way of reply?"
"Go fuck yourself. Not like I've got any money anyway"
"Response noted" the judge replied tersely "Mr Warren, I'm granting you an order for all costs incurred subsequent to the respondent's filing of his dispute with the petition. Given the financial circumstances of the respondent, I will order those costs to be deducted from the respondent's share of the proceeds of the sale of the marital home, prior to the remaining balance being released to him"
"I'm grateful, your honour"
"What?" Eduardo leapt up again "You can't fucking do that! I swear to god, you'll regret this…"
Before he could go any further, the judge abruptly exited the courtroom. Ben hastily put away his papers, and before Eduardo could even make it across the room to them, the usher had alerted security who escorted him from the building.
"Well" Ben turned so that he was facing both women "I think that went ok"
Callie let out a relieved laugh "That…I mean, did that actually just happen? I'm not dreaming, right?"
"You did it!" Arizona leant over the chairs and squeezed the brunette tightly, before pulling back to address Ben "I mean, I guess you did it really, but oh my god I'm so happy right now"
"Hey, you guys did a great job filing the petition in the first place. It really wasn't a difficult job for me to come and help you out in the end"
"Still, thank you so much. You have no idea how free I suddenly feel" Callie smiled.
"Well how about you two get out of here and enjoy your freedom" Ben instructed them with a smile.
The brunette turned to Arizona "I think we have time for champagne before our flight"