Charlie looked out at the small gathering in front of him. His eyes moved slowly across the office like he wanted to make sure he looked into the face of every person there. When he was done, he unfolded his hands from the top of the desk in front of him and held them out over us.
“Thank you all for coming in this afternoon. I know it was short notice, but I venture to say we are all eager to have this issue behind us as soon as possible. As you all know, a filing was submitted to the court on behalf of Grant Waters with his parents, Beatrice and Edgar, both named as well. This petition asked the court to grant full and permanent custody of the minor child, Remy Waters, to his father. It also sought to clearly outline physical custody. Which included removing all visitation rights from the child’s mother.”
“Yes,” Beatrice said.
It was obvious to any listening that she was not pleased about being in the office. This was not her choice, and every word being spoken only worked to make her angrier. But that didn’t stop Charlie.
“Before now, the agreement was that Grant Waters would have custody of Remy but would allow for mutually agreeable visitation terms. The counter-petition entered on behalf of the mother of the minor child, Lindsey Trewes, sought to divide custody equally and allow for frequent and legally compulsory visitation.”
“Yes,” Lindsey said, her eyes sliding over to Beatrice as if underlining something close to mockery.
“As everyone present knows, we’ve been waiting for the case to move through the courts so it could be decided. However, today Beatrice and Edgar on behalf of Grant have agreed to withdraw their petition for full custody and no visitation,” Charlie said.
Lindsey looked at Grant’s parents, then back at her lawyer. “But I don’t want to go back to the way it was before. It’s great that they are withdrawing the petition. But I’m not okay with Grant still having the ability to just tell me when I can and can’t see my son. I want a more equal split of custody and a firm visitation schedule.”
Charlie smiled as he nodded. “Both terms are included in the letter given to me by Mr. and Mrs. Waters and signed by their son. He wasn’t able to be present today due to obligations with work and caring for the child, who I understand was injured recently.”
“Yes,” Lindsey said. “He was seriously hurt. I just came from visiting with him. Grant was at the office.”
My stomach twisted again at her compulsion to explain the situation, almost giving Grant an excuse, but I stayed silent. I was here only because of my financial link to the case. There was nothing I needed to say.
“The proposed terms for equally dividing custody and responsibility for Remy are outlined in these documents,” the lawyer said, sliding them across the desk toward Lindsey. “I’ll ask you to look them over and decide if they are agreeable to you. If so, you can sign them, and they will be put into action.”
I listened as they went over everything in the papers and asked questions. It was fairly boring, but I couldn’t discount the tremendous impact it was having on Lindsey’s life. This is exactly what she wanted, what she was willing to fight for. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was a result of Grant finally putting his foot down to his parents. We’d seen a glimpse of him growing a backbone while we were in the hospital. Maybe it continued and he told them they weren’t going to control his life or his son’s any longer.
I was glad Lindsey was finally getting what she wanted. She looked almost shocked as she signed the papers and Charlie congratulated her. The other lawyer and grandparents stood and stalked out of the office, obviously defeated. When they were gone, Lindsey glanced my way. She turned back to the lawyer and thanked him, then left without another word. I stayed long enough to make sure Charlie was paid and to thank him personally for everything he had done.
As I slipped out, I hoped I had lingered behind long enough to avoid Lindsey. I wasn’t quite ready to talk to her.
Too bad she didn’t share that sentiment. When I stepped out of the office, there she was, leaned against my truck looking very ready to talk.34LindseyI almost left the office without saying anything to Vince. There was so much bouncing around in my head I didn’t know if I could handle anything else, and he hadn’t looked too happy to see me when I first went in. Maybe this wasn’t the day to try to have a conversation with him. I even went so far as to leave after thanking Charlie without saying a word to Vince. There was the chance I’d run into Beatrice and Edgar outside, but, frankly, they were the preferable option.