Chuck squeezed Bobbi’s hand and gave her a sideways grin. He got exactly what he wanted. She, on the other hand, had to figure out a way to explain this all to Shannon tonight.
“Further,” Judge Swift said, “Ms. Ravenna supports the claim that Mr. Molinsky was not aware of the birth of the child, nor of his existence these last six years. She has not asked for support and from her financial filings, it is clear that she is independently capable of providing for the child.”
Judge Swift closed the folder. “However, Mr. Molinsky, you appear to be a man of some means, and more than willing to accept your responsibility and obligation to your son.” Chuck nodded. “Ms. Ravenna’s refusal of support should not abrogate your responsibility, nor should the child be denied the benefit of that support. Therefore, I am ordering a sum of fourteen thousand dollars per year in back support for the maximum of five years, a total of seventy thousand dollars, to be established in a suitable fund for the boy to be applied to his college education.”
Bobbi choked at the sum. Tracy’s going to get his money after all. She tried to steal a glance at Tracy, but the woman had angled her chair, purposely no doubt, to make that impossible. Chuck, however, didn’t bat an eye.
“Is this a problem, Mr. Molinsky?”
“No, Your Honor. I’ll need some time to transfer the funds.”
“That’s understandable. I’ll say thirty days. Notify the court if that’s not long enough, and we can extend it. Finally,” Judge Swift said, “the court will assign a case manager who will assist you in developing a parenting plan that will address the specifics of your arrangement. As part of that plan, we will work out an equitable amount of monthly support going forward.” She slid a calendar closer. “October eighteenth, I’ll see you back here with the final plan. Any questions?” She looked at Tracy and Chuck giving them a chance to speak. “Nothing? Then if you ladies will excuse us, I would like to speak with Mr. Molinsky and Jackson.”
Bobbi’s jaw dropped. Wait in the hallway alone with Tracy. Chuck didn’t say anything about this. No way. Tracy patted Jack’s knee and eased around his chair. Bobbi waited, running her thumb over the paper in her pocket, as if nothing bad could happen as long as the sheet was there, as long as she had contact with it.
After giving Tracy plenty of time to get out, Bobbi stood to leave. Chuck squeezed Bobbi’s hand and winked. She almost laughed out loud at him. Did he really believe a wink could reassure her? She answered his wink with a glare before she slipped out the door.
Chuck knew that look meant Bobbi would unload on him as soon as he left the hearing room, but honestly, he never anticipated the judge sending her out in the hall with Tracy. Besides, for all her fears, Bobbi was a very strong woman, more than capable of standing up to Tracy.
Since he couldn’t do anything for Bobbi right now, he focused on the little boy in the chair next to him. His son. His son was coming home with him tomorrow night. A lump rose in his throat as Jack looked him in the eye for the first time, but the boy quickly dropped his eyes.
Judge Swift folded her arms and leaned forward on the table. “Now Jackson—”
“Just Jack,” the boy corrected.
“All right, just Jack,” the judge said with a smile. “This was quite a surprise to you, wasn’t it? Have you met your dad before?”
“My mom said my dad was dead. He doesn’t look dead.” Jack nodded toward Chuck.
“No, he doesn’t. Have you ever spent the night away from your mother, like at a grandparent’s house?”
“I don’t have any grandparents.” Jack fidgeted with his tie. “Do you think this looks dopey? My mom made me wear it.”
“No, it’s very appropriate. Jack, do you understand that I ruled that you’ll spend tomorrow night and Saturday night at Mr. Molinsky’s house?”
“Yeah, I got that part.”
“If you get homesick, Mr. Molinsky will take you back to your mother immediately, but you need to spend some time with your dad.”
“It’ll be okay. Mom said he was a good guy.”
Chuck’s smile hid his shock. Was Tracy’s hostility an act then? Why?
“Do I get my own room?” Jack asked with Joel’s squint. “’Cause I have my own room at home, you know.”
“You can have your choice of Brad’s or Joel’s room.”
“Who’s Brad and Joel?”
“Your brothers.”
“I have brothers?” Jack’s eyes grew wide.
Chuck disarmed him at last. “Oh yeah, and a sister.”
“A sister! Mom told me about her!” He quickly clamped his hand across his mouth. “Oh no, that was supposed to be a secret. You won’t tell her, will you?”
“No.” Chuck pulled his wallet out and motioned for Jack to come closer. “This is Shannon,” he said, showing Jack her picture. “She’s five. These two guys are Brad and Joel.” Chuck pointed out each of his sons.
“Those guys are old,” Jack frowned.
“Joel is eighteen. He’s in college, and Brad is twenty-two. He’s in law school.”
“My mom’s a lawyer.”
“So am I. I used to work with your mom.”
“You came to my house that night!”
“Yes, I did,” Chuck said, putting his wallet away.
“Hey, you need a picture of me in there,” Jack said.
“You think you could get me one?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Jack said, and then he turned to Judge Swift. “Can I go now?”
“Yes, we’ll be checking with you to see how things are going with your dad, but I think you’ll get along fine.”
“Thank you, Judge!” Jack scrambled around the chairs and out the door.
Chuck shook the judge’s hand. “Thank you.”
“Not at all. This looks like it may be the very rare happy ending.”
As soon as Bobbi saw Tracy seated on the bench, busy making notes in her planner, her instinct was to go straight to the car. Only the possibility that the judge might call them back in made her stay. Hoping for invisibility, she leaned against the wall on the other side of the hearing room door. Please God, let this go quickly.
Tracy continued to scribble, and Bobbi couldn’t help glancing her direction. The woman had to be approaching forty by now, although it didn’t show. Her tailored tan suit and hunter green blouse buttoned almost to the top set off her auburn hair. She crossed her long legs, drawing Bobbi’s attention to her tan pumps, made from some exotic skin, probably snake. Bobbi couldn’t resist a wry smile. Snake, how fitting.
As that smile faded, she conceded Tracy was certainly attractive, but hardly the seductress Bobbi always pictured, perhaps hoped, she was. Believing the affair was completely Tracy’s fault was so much more palatable. Otherwise, Bobbi had to admit Chuck’s failings, and face the responsibility he bore for the adultery. His guilt then became her guilt.
Bobbi knew she hadn’t driven him to cheat, hadn’t neglected him, or berated him, but she was hardly the perfect wife. What if she’d dealt with the tension and drift that crept into their marriage? What if she’d been less combative in those months before the affair? What if she hadn’t left Chuck home alone and gone to Detroit with Rita? The what-ifs never went away. She doubted they ever would.
Afraid to move and risk the rustle of clothes or anything that might draw Tracy’s attention, Bobbi dropped her head, and began counting floor tiles. She flinched when Tracy spoke.
“Mrs. Molinsky?”
Her voice was unnervingly gentle and courteous.
“Look, I really don’t have anything to say to you—”
“I understand that,” Tracy interrupted, “but things are not the way you think they are.”
“Really?” All the angry, bitter thoughts Bobbi harbored about Tracy raced through her mind, ripping open those wounds. “You expect me to believe you’re something other than a shameless, vindictive woman out to destroy my husband and my marriage?”
Tracy uncrossed her legs and turned in
her seat. She smiled slightly and gently shook her head. “I’m not vindictive, and I’m not out to destroy anyone. Whether you believe it or not, I don’t want anything more from Chuck.”
She shuddered hearing Tracy say Chuck’s name. Don’t dignify her with a response. Let it go.
“Mrs. Molinsky, again, this is not my doing. He came to my house. He filed the paperwork. He’s the one making the demands. You should take this up with him, really.”
Bobbi clenched the paper in her pocket so tightly her fingers ached. “What I discuss with my husband is none of your business. My marriage is none of your business.”
“Your marriage survived.” Tracy coolly arched an eyebrow, and her mouth turned up ever so slightly at the corners. “And that is precisely why I chose Chuck.”
“You chose him?”
“I have a great deal of respect for Chuck. He’s a good man. I knew he would never leave you for me, and now I have Jack. Jack is my life.”
“You used him? Just to get pregnant?” It was all for a baby. The anguish of those months she and Chuck were separated, and the long road back, all so Tracy could have a baby. Joel was right. Tracy was a sociopath with no regard for anyone but herself. “You have no idea what kind of pain you caused.”
“I never claimed to.”
“Then why come back? You said you got what you wanted, and you’ve left us alone for years.”
“I had no choice.”
Before Tracy could say anymore, Jack burst out of the conference room. “Mom! I have brothers and a sister!”
“You are a lucky boy.” Tracy smoothed his hair and shepherded him toward the door, without so much as a glance back toward Bobbi.
Lucky. Years ago in the coffee shop, Tracy said Chuck was a lucky man. Was there a connection? What did she mean when she said she didn’t have a choice?
“Honey, I’m sorry,” Chuck said as he closed the conference room door behind him. “I had no idea the judge would send you out here with her.”
He reached for her hand, but she pulled away. “She is evil, Chuck. I feel like I need to go wash.”
“What did she say?”
“She said she chose you,” Bobbi said, sarcastically imitating Tracy, “because she knew you’d never leave me.”
“Well, she’s right about that part.”
“Don’t you think that’s a little creepy? Choosing you?”
“I don’t know, maybe.” Chuck put a hand on her shoulder to guide her out the door, and down the stairs. “We’re through with her for six weeks.”
“I doubt that. We’ll never be through with her until one of us is dead.”
“Now who’s being creepy?” Once they reached the parking lot, she let him take her hand. “All in all, I thought things went great.”
“Define great.”
“We got Jack. She didn’t fight anything, and she didn’t mention Rita at all.”
“You got visitation rights, and she’s not going to fight anything she can’t win, and there was that small detail of seventy thousand dollars! Did you miss that part?”
“We can make that back in six months as long as the stock market doesn’t crash.” He unlocked the car, and opened her door for her. “We got Jack. Tomorrow night.”
He shut her door, keeping her from replying. Purposefully, she suspected. In the afterglow of his victory, he seemed to have conveniently forgotten their daughter who knew nothing about the little boy her daddy was bringing home. With his determination to push things forward, Chuck stripped away any possibility of easing Shannon into this new family arrangement.
Chuck got in on his side of the car, tossing his suit jacket and tie in the backseat. “What?”
“I know you are more excited than I will ever understand, but I’m not sure I’m comfortable with this, and I’m really concerned about how Shannon’s going to take the news. We haven’t told her anything, yet.”
“Shannon will be fine. She’ll love having Jack around.”
“You hope. You assume even, but you don’t know.”
“Honey, God wouldn’t bring all this together if it was going to hurt Shannon.”
Bobbi gave up trying to talk to him. He wasn’t listening. She pulled her cell phone from her purse and dialed her sister’s number. “Hey, we’re done, so you don’t have to pick Shannon up.”
“How’d it go?”
“He won, I guess. He won visitation, but the judge ordered Chuck to pay seventy thousand dollars in back support.”
“Seven?”
“Seventy, seven zero.”
“That’s a fortune! I thought she didn’t want any money from him.”
“She didn’t ask. The judge graciously awarded it.”
“So when does visitation start?”
“Tomorrow night.” Bobbi glanced at Chuck, and hoped he was listening. “Say a prayer that we can explain it all to Shannon. Her little life is about to be thrown into complete upheaval.”
When Bobbi didn’t say two words on the drive to Shannon’s school, Chuck decided it was for the best. She did better if he left her alone to process things. Bobbi had to learn how to separate Jack and Tracy, to see Jack as his son, not Tracy’s son.
Chuck found a parking place in the shade at Stoneburner Elementary, but before getting out of the car, he turned to his wife. “Jack’s not like his mother.”
“He’s got her genes.”
“And mine. Plus, he’s going to have something his mother never had, and that’s a stable family to belong to.” He took her hand. “What you’re giving him is priceless. It’s going to change the course of his life.”
“Glen already said that. You’re making me feel guilty.”
“Whatever works,” Chuck said with a smile. Yeah, she’ll come around.
After waiting in the gymnasium for several minutes along with the other parents and grandparents, a bell rang and Mrs. Brubaker led a group of kindergarteners through the far doors. Chuck spotted Shannon, holding tightly to her backpack, scanning the crowd for a familiar face. When she saw her parents, she grinned broadly and ran to them, dodging adults and the other students.
“I thought Aunt Rita was coming,” she said as Chuck swung her up into his arms.
“We got finished, so we came instead,” Chuck said. “I can leave you here for Aunt Rita, if you’d rather.”
“No! I want to go with you!”
Chuck set her down, then took her hand and began to steer her through the crowd with Bobbi sticking close behind them.
Once they made it to the sidewalk where there was more room, Shannon took Bobbi’s hand, too. “I wish you could pick me up every day!”
“Mommy does pick you up every day,” Chuck answered.
“No, I mean both of you.”
“That would be pretty terrific.”
“Can we get ice cream?”
“We have some at home,” Bobbi said.
“Rats,” Shannon said, climbing in the back seat.
Chuck leaned in to buckle the seat belt. “It was worth a shot,” he said with a wink.
“Guess what happened today?” Shannon asked as soon as Chuck got back in the car. “Dylan pushed Emily in the lunch line.”
“That wasn’t nice,” Chuck said.
“Well, he already got in trouble twice, and Mrs. Brubaker said if he didn’t want his name to end up under the bucket, he better straighten up.”
“What’s under the bucket?”
“Daddy, first you move your name down, then you turn it over, then you hafta put it in the bucket. Then you don’t get any recess.”
“Under the bucket must be really bad then.”
“Nobody in the history of the world’s been under the bucket.”
“I think I’ve been under the bucket before,” Chuck said.
“When?” Shannon’s eyes were wide, anticipating a good story.
“Long time ago. It’s a long story.”
“Tell me, tell me.”
“Later,” Chuck said. “Much lat
er.”
Once they got home, Shannon could hardly wait for her mother to unlock the front door. She bounded into the house, dropping her backpack by the door. “Shannon, go get your Bible,” Chuck said. “Mommy and I want to talk to you.”
“Now?” Bobbi said quietly to Chuck.
“It’ll never be any easier.”
“What are you going to say? How are you going to explain adultery to a five-year-old?”
“I think I’ve got it. You can jump in if I mess it up.” Shannon found her Bible and met her parents in the kitchen. “Is this your real Bible, not your storybook? This is the one with all the words?”
“Uh-huh.”
Chuck took her Bible and sat down at the kitchen table with her, with Bobbi across from them.
“Okay, Mommy taught you these,” Chuck said as he began to count on his fingers. “Genesis, Exodus ...”
“’Viticus,” Shannon said, picking up the list. “Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, First and Second Samuel, First and Second Kings, First and Second Chronicles—”
“Hold it right there,” Chuck interrupted.
“But I can say the rest.”
“I know that, but I want to read some from First Chronicles with you.”
“Daddy, nobody reads that.”
“Pastor Glen would probably agree with you.” Chuck smiled and turned the pages in her Bible. “Here, let’s read this part right here.” He pointed out the genealogical list of King David’s wives and sons.
Shannon followed along, reading the words she could with Chuck tackling the names. When they finished, he laid the book aside. “What did you see in that stuff we just read?” Chuck asked.
“David had a lot of kids,” Shannon said.
“He sure did. What else?” Chuck read the passage again to help her remember.
“He had a lot of mothers, too.”
“Well, they weren’t David’s mothers, they were his sons’ mothers. Just about every son had a different mother. Do you think that’s the way God wanted it?”
Indemnity: Book Two: Covenant of Trust Series Page 12
