Page 76 of Next Time Will Be Our Turn
She called back within the hour with four names for me to try. I thanked her and started going down the list. The first two lawyers I called were unavailable. The third put me on hold for fifteen minutes before the line suddenly went dead. I was on the fourth and last lawyer. It turned out to be a woman, which took me aback, because I knew just how impossible it was to be a woman and stay in such a competitive profession in Indonesia. I recovered quickly and introduced myself.
“What can I help you with, Ibu Magnolia?” the lawyer, Andika, said.
She sounded young, and I second-guessed the wisdom of consulting with her, then hated myself for doubting her. If she were a man, I would spill everything without even a second thought. I filled her in as best as I could, stumbling over details and feeling like I was making a meal of it. I was so nervous, and there was so much on the line.
Andika listened quietly, only saying, “I see,” and “Right,”once in a while, until I was done speaking. Then she said, “Just to clarify: You would like to put yourself forward as your niece’s legal guardian, even though her biological father, who was still legally married to her biological mother up until her death, is still in the picture and making a claim for the return of his daughter?”
God. When she put it like that, it sounded so hopeless. “Yes,” I said in a small voice.
Andika took a deep breath. “It’s going to be very tough. I don’t know if—”
“He used to beat her up. Even when she was pregnant.”
There was a pause. “Did she ever file charges?”
My stomach sank. “No.”
“Were there any witnesses?”
“Me. And my husband. And my parents. Well, we didn’t actually see him beating her, we saw the wounds.”
“Did you document these wounds?”
“Document?”
“Did you take any photos?”
I started to shake my head, then stopped. “Yes. Yes! We did. Iris didn’t want to press charges, but we took pictures in case Erik tried to make life difficult for her.”
“Do you still have those photos?”
“Yeah. I’ll need to look for them, but they’ll be on my laptop somewhere.”
“Good.” She made ahmmsound for a moment, and I could almost see her sitting there, thinking. “We may have a case. If we could show the judge that Bapak Erik has a history of violence, we could argue that he would make an unfit parent to Hazel.”
I wanted to leap up into the air. My stomach was flip-flopping inside me. “Yes! Exactly.”
“And her legal guardian would be you,” Andika mused.
“Yes.”
“You are married, correct?”
“Yes.”
“What do you and your husband do?”
“My husband is the head of an OBGYN family clinic, and I…” I hesitated. “Well, actually, I just finished a master’s degree in social work.”
“Oh, good. Very impressive. We would make a good case to show that the two of you would be far more appropriate guardians to Hazel.”
“We would…” My voice trailed off.
“Why do you sound unsure?”
“Ah…” I gritted my teeth and grimaced at the wall, cringing at what I was about to ask. “Would it be possible to prove that I would be a more appropriate guardian to Hazel? Not me and my husband, but me as an individual.”
Another long pause. “Are you and your husband planning on separating?”
