A week had passed since Bea had taken custody of Laura's baby, and now she, Joe, Katrina, Louise, Marlowe, and Lizzie were headed to court to prove that Bea should take custody.
When they arrived in court, the judge and jury were already waiting for them. They each took their seats.
"Ladies, gentlemen, and gender-non-conforming citizens," said the judge, "we are here today to determine the custody situation of this infant, whose name is yet to be determined. Her mother was arrested previously in the week, and now Mrs. Beatrice Spurling has come to us asking for full custody." He tapped his mallet. "The floor recognizes Beatrice Spurling."
Bea handed the baby off to Louise and came to the stand. "I cared for this baby as much as a mother should. I held her, fed her, all that. Frankly, I'm appalled that Laura was so reckless to bring her with her while she was knowingly breaking her restraining order."
"Did you ever suspect there was foul play involved in the situation?" The judge asked.
"Not at first," said Bea, "but after spending some time with Joey and Louise, I'm beginning to suspect that Laura only had her to get around the restraining order."
The judge nodded and tapped his mallet. "The floor recognizes Katrina Beaufort."
Katrina came up to the stand. "The only times Laura ever bothers to come see me is when she wants to take me away from my dad," she said. "The first time, I was eight, and she tried to take me from a mall. The second, I was eleven, and she tried to have him and Nana arrested."
"Had she ever tried to contact you before the incident?" The judge asked.
"No," said Katrina, "but once she found out I existed, she became obsessed with me. Let me give you a metaphor to describe it; Dad needs Vicodin to get through the day. Laura is addicted to Vicodin, and she keeps trying to steal it from Dad, even when it gets her in legal trouble. Now, her most recent attempted heist has put her in prison, and her kid is being taken away from her, all because she couldn't get help for her addiction."
"Miss Beaufort, I don't understand what you're saying," said the judge.
Just then, a cop came in with Laura. "Sorry we're late," he said to the judge, "she wasn't very cooperative."
Once they sat down, Katrina continued. "In this scenario, Vicodin is a stand-in for myself. Dad needs me, and Laura is obsessed with taking me from him, and now she's going to jail because of it."
"Are you saying I'm a druggie?" Laura glared at Katrina.
"Miss Sanders, she is not accusing you, she is speaking metaphorically," said the judge. He tapped his mallet. "The floor recognizes Viktor Von Kaiser."
Von Kaiser came to the stand. "Elizabeth und ich waren zu Hause, als Laura kam. Ich überprüfte die Türkamera und sah sie und Beatrice." (Elizabeth and I were at home when Laura came. I checked the door camera and saw her and Beatrice.)
"I understand you alerted the authorities to her presence," said the judge. "What did they do when they arrived?"
"Nun, natürlich haben sie Laura festgenommen. Sie versuchte, einen von ihnen zu schlagen, aber einer nahm das Baby, während der andere sie mit Handschellen kette." (Well, of course they arrested her. She tried to hit one of them, but one took the baby while the other handcuffed her.)
Bea raised her hand, and the judge gave her a moment to speak. "I was not aware of the restraining order until the cops arrived. I thought she just wanted to see some relatives who lived far away."
The judge nodded, and turned back to Von Kaiser. "Was Laura aware of your relationship with Katrina prior to the incident?"
"Nein," said Von Kaiser. "Sie erzählte den Leuten, dass sie verliebt waren und das Baby gehörte ihm. Ich vermute, dass sie nicht einmal wusste, dass ich existiere." (No. She was telling people they were in love and the baby was his. I suspect she didn't even know I existed.)
"Ah, paternity fraud," said the judge. "Thank you for your input." He tapped his mallet. "The floor recognizes Bradley Cash."
Wait, what? The Beaufort and their friends were surprised to see Super Macho Man emerge from the back and come to the stand. "I can back up the whole 'paternity fraud' thing. Laura was trying to say Joe was the kid's dad, so I stepped in and was like 'yo, he's gay'. She was really insistent on it, so I made up a story that she was cheating on Joe with me and I was really the father, and that made her mad enough to admit the truth."
"Mr. Cash, why would you make up such a thing?" The judge asked.
"My reputation can take it," said Super Macho Man. "If someone claimed their kid was mine, everyone would doubt them, even if it was true. And for the record, I really don't have any kids. Joey? If the rumour spread that he had an affair baby, he'd be done for. Everyone would be hounding him to step up, take responsibility, don't be a deadbeat."
"I see," said the judge. "So it was a benevolent lie to help keep Joseph out of legal trouble. Thank you, Mr. Cash." He put his mallet down. "Has the jury reached their decision?"
A woman in the jury stood up. "We, the jury, believe that Laura Sanders is unfit to keep the child. However, we are undecided if custody should be awarded to Beatrice Spurling."
"Alright," said the judge. He tapped his mallet and brought Bea back to the stand.
"You can't take my baby, you bitch!" Laura shrieked. "Joe already took Katrina, you can't have Karina too!"
"Hold on," said the judge, "Karina?"
"She gave the baby a similar name to Katrina so they could be 'sisters in spirit'," said Bea to the judge.
"I see," said the judge. "Mrs. Spurling, please state every reason you think you should be given custody of the baby."
"Well," said Bea, "my husband and I both have stable jobs, a big enough home, and easy access to childcare," she said. "Furthermore, I'm starting to think that Laura would have left all the childcare to me anyway once she couldn't use the baby as a pawn anymore."
"Alright," said the judge, "now I'd like to hear from your husband." He tapped his mallet. "The floor recognizes Veles Spurling."
Veles came to the stand and stood next to his wife. "Bea and I are both high-end employees at a tech company. Our house has a spare room that we agreed we could turn into a nursery one day, and our neighbourhood has all kinds of high school and college kids who offer babysitting services." He pursed his lips for a moment. "It's just, we've been struggling with infertility for years, and we were just about to give up."
The judge nodded. "Jury?"
Another jury member stood up. "With this new information, we've been convinced that Bea and Veles Spurling should take full custody."
"Motion carried," said the judge. "I hereby grant custody of Baby Girl Sanders to Beatrice and Veles Spurling. Meeting adjourned."
As Bea and Veles exited the stand, they were given a new copy of the birth certificate to sign. And so they signed it.
"This certificate is to welcome the birth of Alexandra Faith Spurling, born on September 7th at 8:29 am weighing 7 lbs 7 oz to Beatrice Spurling and Veles Spurling."
"Take good care of my grandbaby," said Louise as they were heading out.
"Donne-lui une meilleure vie," said Joe. (Give her a better life.)
"We will," said Bea. "We promise we'll take the best care of Alexa." She kissed her new daughter's forehead.
