Page 14 of Shaded Amethysts
Molly was looking up at me with complete trust visible in her gaze, like I had all of the answers. The only problem with that was… I didn’t actually haveanyof the answers.
Trying to be rational, I ran my fingers through my bobbed hair as I said, “Okay, this deal is their first offer, right? We can always counter-offer.”
Molly shook her head sadly, “No, the lawyers have been hammering it out for a while, and this is the final result of their negotiations.”
I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of shoddy negotiators these overpriced lawyers were.
“They said the birth mother’s rights tend to trump almost anything else when these cases go to court,” Molly murmured quietly.
“But you’ve been raising him and taking wonderful care of him for all of this time. He’s obviously very loved and well-adjusted,” I weighed in as I pointed at the happy child.
Molly nodded before saying, “But I didn’t carry him in my stomach or give birth to him, so evidently that’s all that usually matters in these types of cases. Unless we are able to prove that she’s an unfit mother, she will likely get full custody of him.”
“She abandoned him and signed away her parental rights. If that doesn’t make her unfit, I don’t know what does.” I worked hard to keep my tone from escalating, despite my outrage, because I didn’t want to upset Scout.
“Her lawyers are claiming she had postpartum depression and wasn’t in her right state of mind when she signed that document. Our attorneys believe the court will find in her favor regarding that claim, since she did seek treatment from a counselor during the months following his birth.”
I wanted to scream in frustration for Molly. This wasn’t fair, and it didn’t look good for their chances of keeping their child. My significant concerns must have shown on my face because Molly asked in a squeaky voice, “Do you think we should sign the agreement?”
After thinking long and hard about my answer, I said, “They aren’t conceding much. The risks of going to court are that you’ll end up with less visitation or have to relocate to California, but the potential rewards are much greater. I think we should take our chances in court.”
Molly nodded in my direction as if my words made sense before saying with finality, “Then that is what we’ll do.”
After helping her pack Scout’s belongings, I watched her heft the diaper bag onto her shoulder and pick up her little boy. Once she solemnly walked out of my room, I silently prayed that my decision wasn’t dooming her family to even more heartbreak.
12
Avery
Iwas still reeling from the devastating conversation with Molly about the shitty custody arrangement that was being pushed onto them when Noah called. I glanced at the screen, saw his name, and considered ignoring the call.
I justified my reluctance to speak to him by telling myself that I wasn’t in any mood to chat with a romantic interest. However, I knew that if the screen had read ‘Gage,’ rather than ‘Noah,’ I would have been falling all over myself to answer it.
Deciding I had officially lost my normally-rational mind, I stabbed at the button to answer the call. “Hi, Noah. Are you calling to give me an update on the kitten?”
“Oh, sure.” Noah quickly shifted into doctor mode. He told me the kitten was doing well and should be ready to go home in a few days. While he was speaking, I found myself looking forward to the kitten’s homecoming because it would give me a valid excuse to see Gage again.
The mere idea that I was much more excited about the opportunity to see a possible murderer than the handsome doctor on the phone had me questioning my sanity. I shook my head as I tried to figure out what the hell was wrong with me.
“Avery?” Noah asked, sounding a bit perturbed as he pulled me back into the conversation.
“Oh, sorry. What was that?” I asked, since I had no idea what the man had said after the kitten update.
“I asked you when we could go out on another date,” Noah reminded me with irritation edging his tone.
“Oh, umm… I don’t know.” I stalled, hoping he would take the hint and drop it.
Instead, he pushed onward. “Are you busy with the custody case? Perhaps I could bring you a pizza while you work one evening?”
Wow, that was a thoughtful suggestion. Why can’t I like him?
For whatever reason, the mental image of him showing up at my doorstep with a pizza didn’t bring me any joy, and it wasn’t just because of the wedding planning frenzy it would send my mother into. There was something not quite right about him for me, so I decided it was better to rip the bandage off quickly than to drag out the process.
“No, thank you. I think it’s best if we remain just friends and don’t date.” I had intended to let him down easily, but the words came out sounding harsher than I wanted. I cringed at the sound of them emerging from my lips, but didn’t back down from their meaning.
“I see.” His words were clipped, making it obvious that I was abundantly clear.
I wasn’t sure what else to say, so it was almost a relief when he said, “Good day, then,” and hung up on me.
