Here it is, as promised, the next chapter of IWAALF. I'm a little behind on drafts, so if I don't get another chapter written this week, it will be two weeks before I post the next chapter. This isn't the most evil cliffhanger, so I think you'll forgive me if you have to wait a little longer for the next chapter.
It Was All About Love For
By: December
Chapter Three: To handle all the broken bits of glass
Last time: "Derek decided he wanted full custody of Mike. He was fighting to declare Sally an unfit mother….it would have make for good TV."
Dr. Lawrence looked a little shocked by that statement. "Good TV?" she finally asked.
James nodded, "Especially 'back in the day'. It was right in line with some of those awful reality shows. For my historical culture course we had to watch a few episodes of some of that stuff. I mean, 'Flavor of Love,' 'The Surreal Life,' 'Charm School,'-"
"Hey, hey! 'Charm School wasn't that bad," Dr. Lawrence objected.
"But the rest were total crap?"
The older woman sighed, "MTV, VH1, and a lot of other networks/channels have a lot of answer for, when you think about it." After a beat, she gasped, "The trial wasn't 'Flavor of Love' worthy?!"
"It was reunion special worthy," James confirmed sadly. "But I should probably tell you about that."
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People always underestimated what children noticed. At least that is what Mike thought as his father and Casey led him up the courthouse steps. Did he know all of what was going on? No. Did he know it was a big deal? Yes.
It wasn't just because they let him miss school that day. Sometimes parents did let you miss school when you weren't sick. His mother had let him stay home a few times when she'd known he was faking. And it wasn't because they made him dress nicely for the meeting today. Parents are always trying to dress their kids nicely. It was because of how the adults were behaving.
Honestly, Mike thought everyone had been behaving strangely all month long. For the whole month he'd been living with his dad and Casey, who - Mike figured out - must be the new wife he'd never met before, Mike hadn't seen his mother at all, even though he'd asked. Casey, at least, seemed worried about that. Mike overheard her suggesting to his dad that he should maybe let Sally see him. He expected a screaming match after Casey expressed that opinion. There wasn't one, but his father didn't let Mike see his mother either.
Instead, Mike saw a lot of his grandparents – all of them. He saw Grandpa George and Grandma Nora first and the most often. It also meant that he had to sit through a lot of bad jokes, but Grandpa George did try to make him smile. And Grandma Nora would give him the occasional hugs and listen when he complained about school. Luckily, Grandma Nora left the cookie baking to Casey.
After awhile, Nana Abby began to come by and check on him, too. She said she was proud of him for remembering his manners, and then she smiled and shared that she'd never quite gotten Mike's father in the habit of using good manners. Being around Nana Abby was hard, because, if his father was around, she'd picked on and worry her son a bit. Watching his Nana and his father made him miss his own mother. He never said anything, though. And he was also careful to keep everything very clean, because part of him worried he'd barred from seeing Nana Abby next.
Eventually, Grandma Rose and Grandfather Will also came by. Grandma Rose gave him a big hug and peppered him with questions. Was he alright? Were they treating him well? Did he miss his mother? Were there a lot of rules? Was he unhappy?
His father quickly put a stop to those questions. Mike was able to ask how his mother was. Instead of answering that, Grandma Rose just hugged him – and glared at his father, which just made Mike more nervous. But he didn't want to rock the boat, so he whispered to Grandma Rose to tell his mother that he loved her.
But the month ended and here he was, following his father into a courthouse. Most of what happened was a blur until he saw his mother and she saw him.
"Mikey!" she shouted and she rushed over to hug him.
"Mom!" he replied and he hugged her back.
"It is so good to see you. I've missed you so much. My little boy," his mother only squeezed him tighter. He squirmed a little, because it what getting hard to breathe. As his mother released him, he could hear his father's shoes and Casey's heels stop behind him.
"Are you okay? Mom said you looked okay, but you never know. Have you been eating? Getting to school okay? Are they treating you okay? They haven't locked you in any rooms or any-"
"Sally," Mike's father objected. "Don't."
"Don't what?!" his mother straightened, looking prepared for yet another screaming match. "Check on how my son is?! Given that he was practically kidnapped and I haven't seen him in a month-"
"He was not kidnapped, Sally. You've known where he was the whole time."
"You took him out of the house without telling me, shoeless, with nothing but the clothes on his back!"
"I took my son out of a dangerous situation where he was picking up glass in a wrecked kitchen while you were passed out at the bottom of the pool!"
"So you say," was her reply.
"Are you are accusing me of making that up?!" his father was almost shouting. He also took a step toward Mike's mother, but Casey restrained him.
"I think you love the idea of using my son as a weapon when it suits you. Or maybe someone wanted a family?" his mother sneered as she noticed Casey. "It is nice that she's here, though. Nothing quite like sisterly support, is there, Derek?"
Although Mike didn't understand what that question meant, he had an idea that his mother had dealt his father a low blow. Before anyone could react, however, Mike heard another pair of heels rushing up.
"And, on that note," Nana Abby said as she walked between the battling parties and hugged her grandson, "I think I should take Mike with me for a minute, hm? He can talk to me about that book he's reading for school." Taking his hand, Nana Abby began to lead him away from his parents.
"Wait a minute," his mother began to object.
"Sally, I'm the most neutral person here," Nana Abby replied.
"…She's right," Casey agreed after a pause.
"Fine, then. I'll see him again soon again anyway," Sally relented as she glared at Derek.
And with that, Nana Abby led the little boy away.
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Dr. Lawrence's wince looked almost painful. "They were fighting like this before the custody hearing began?"
"So, you figured out this was the custody hearing?" James asked with a lifted eyebrow.
"What else would it be?" she returned.
"Good point."
"Poor Mikey…didn't have to sit through that contentious hearing, did he?" Dr. Lawrence asked, her worry clear in her voice.
"No. The family judge, luckily, thought exposing him to that would harm him and bias his opinions. So the judge had Mike wait in his quarters until he was ready to talk with him. Initially, they wanted him to wait alone, but Nana Abby managed to wrangle being able to be back there with him until the judge talked with the boy. When the judge asked her if she wouldn't rather be out in the courtroom, she said that this 'isn't something I want to see,'."
"Did Mike ever hear about what happened in the courtroom?"
"He heard pieces of it, later, but that day, talking to the judge was enough of an emotional rollercoaster for that day."
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Mike had been so grateful that Nana Abby was allowed with him for most of the day. The boy was still upset by the shouting match between his parents. No one was really talking to him about what was going on, but he knew it was big deal stuff. Life changing stuff. And that his mother was in shouting mode.
After he had been with Nana Abby for awhile, an older gentlemen in a robe asked to speak with him, alone. Mike was a little nervous about that, but he resolved to use the good manners Nana Abby taught him and try to stay out of trouble.
"Hello, Mike," the man said after Mike had a seat in his office. "I'm Judge Lenox. Can we talk for a few minutes?"
"Yes, sir," Mike said quietly.
"It's been a rough day so far, huh?" the judge asked.
Mike shrugged. "I guess."
"You came with your father today, right?"
"Yes, sir," Mike replied.
"And you've been staying with him for awhile."
"Yes, sir."
"How do you like it?" the judge asked.
Mike paused as he tried to think about how to answer that question. "It's been different. I haven't really spent this much time with my dad in a while. And I've gotten to see a lot of Grandpa George and Grandma Nora and Nana Abby."
"You were with your mother earlier this year, right?"
"Yes, sir," Mike replied.
"How did you like that?"
"Mom's…fun. She's around a lot, because she doesn't work. Most days it's just…normal."
"Most days?" the judge asked.
"I love my mom," Mike quickly said.
"I'm sure you do," the judge said. "I was just curious about what you meant by most days."
The question made Mike nervous, but he got the feeling that he couldn't lie. "Nana Abby says that everyone has bad days. Sometimes Mom is a little lonely and invites some of her friends over. And sometimes, she gets angry at Dad and screams at him. But he screams back," Mike was quick to add.
"Do you feel safe living with your father?" the judge asked.
Blinking at the odd question, Mike answered, "Yes."
"Did you feel safe when you lived with your mother?" the judge continued.
"Yes, sir."
The judge was quiet for a few minutes. Then he asked, "What do you think of Mrs. Venturi?"
Mike looked at the judge confused.
"She was the woman who came with your father…"
"Oh, Casey," Mike answered. "She's nice. She made me chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast the morning I met her."
"Does she make chocolate pancakes for breakfast every morning?"
"No," Mike pouted. "She and Mom have this crazy idea that I need to eat fruits, vegetables, and icky healthy stuff."
The judge laughed. "My mother still wants me to eat the icky healthy stuff, too."
They continued talking for awhile. The judge asked how school was going, what Mike's favorite activities where, what he liked doing with his mother and with his father. Mike tried to be polite and honest, but the questions were making him a little nervous. He wasn't sure why.
Finally, the judge asked, "Do you like staying with your father and Casey?"
"Yes," Mike said. "But I miss Mom, too, you know? Living with Dad is more…neat? Orderly? But…"
"You love both of your parents," the judge shared.
Mike nodded.
After that the judge thanked Mike for talking with him and got Mike some lunch, which Nana Abby appeared to share with him. Although the sandwich and chips looked good, Mike couldn't eat much of it. It felt like he was waiting for something, but didn't know what.
He found out what later on. That afternoon, Nana Abby took him back to the hallway where his parents had been shouting earlier. His dad and Casey were off to the right. His dad looked relieved and even smiled when he noticed Mike. Off to the left was his mother, who looked rather upset and seemed to be crying a little bit.
"Mike-" his father began to say, but he was interrupted by his mother.
"Mikey, why? You did this! You had to. I had it together."
Mike froze next to Nana Abby, not sure what his mother meant. "Mom?"
"Sally…don't do this here," Casey requested quietly.
"Did I ask you? He isn't yours. You do know that, right?" his mother sneered.
"Sally," his father warned, but Sally had returned her attention to Mike.
"What's so great about living with your father anyway? I took care of you. I love you, Mikey!"
At this point, Mike was really confused. "What-?" he started to ask his grandmother, but his father walked over to him and knelt next to him.
"Bud, you're going to stay with me and Casey for now on. Okay?"
Mike's eyes widened. Still afraid he was being punished for the mess in the kitchen, he asked, "But Mom-"
"You'll still get to see her. Maybe not as often as you did last year, but she'll still visit."
"You bastard! Don't make it sound like I had a choice," Mike's mother objected.
Mike looked up to see his rather upset mother surrounded, with his Grandma Rose and Grandfather Will on either side of her. "It's not fair! It's not fucking fair! What do I get out of all of this? So, I only got to keep my son until 'wifey' decided she wanted a family?!"
Casey gasped at that and Mike's father growled, but Mike's mother continued on with her rant, "What Derek Venturi wants, Derek Venturi gets, it seems! Regardless of what it does to anyone else. Well, Mikey, you better hope that Derek and his 'wifey' want you for the long hall. Or your life is going to suck."
"Sally!" Mike's father objected.
Mike wasn't sure of all what happened next. He just felt frozen. Someone, either Nana Abby or Grandma Nora wrapped him in a hug and gave him chocolate. His Grandma Rose and Grandfather Will led his mother away. Somehow he got bundled into a car and taken back to his father's house.
And he didn't have to go to school that next day.
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"Holy shit! I mean-" Dr. Lawrence tried to backtrack.
"You meant holy shit. It was kinda a craptastic custody hearing," James allowed.
"Poor Sally," Dr. Lawrence shook her head, "it must have been hard to lose her son on top of everything else."
"The judge, in the decision, did say that he thought Sally loved her son and when she was 'having a good day,' she was a good mother, but he was concerned about the possibility of depression and maybe bi-polar disorder. He wanted Sally to get help some help and in the meantime, giving full custody to the more 'stable' parent made sense."
"Did the judge make a mistake, James?"
"No, not at that time," James allowed. "But, it's like you've said, words have power."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, everything was fine, until, as Sally predicted, Derek didn't want Mike anymore."
"Wait," Dr. Lawrence put up her hand while shaking her head. "I'm not sure I believe this. After all he did to protect his son, Derek got bored one day and decided he didn't want him anymore?"
"No, that's not what happened. That might have been easier for Mike to deal with, actually."
"Then what happened, James? I'm confused."
"What happened," James began, "is that his second wife got pregnant. When she began a mother of a child of their own, having his son around wasn't really necessary anymore."
- to be continued -