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Twenty Years Later
Book II
(The Family Expands)
Chapter 4
Jaden was getting ready to go home with his dad, and Beth told him he couldn't go now, or ever again. He screamed and yelled at her, and told her how much he hated her. He locked himself in his room, and the next day, when she went to wake him up for school, she couldn't find him. The police found him wandering the streets two days later; dirty, disheveled, hungry and thirsty. He told the policeman, who found him, that he was looking for his daddy, but he didn't know how to get to his house. He begged the policeman to take him to his daddy, and not to his mother, who was mean and nasty to him.
Unfortunately, the pleas of an eight-year-old boy fall on deaf ears, and the custody battle resumed. Beth's argument was that her ex-husband was homosexual, and he was exposing Jaden to homosexuality. The judge sneered at her and said, Madame if your son is a heterosexual, all the exposure in the world won't change him. Homosexuals are totally exposed to heterosexual parents and relatives every day of their lives, and it doesn't change their sexual orientation. I will interview all the parties involved, and then I will make my decision.
To which Beth began a tirade, calling the judge a fucking faggot lover. Before he had her removed from the courtroom, he advised her to remain silent, lest she be the one to lose custody of her son. The judge suspected that she was not entirely sober.
Since Beth had named everyone in Rob's household as contributing to the delinquency of a minor, she involved all of them in the lawsuit, without meaning to do so. Judge Marino studied the background of everybody involved in the case, and could find nothing but upstanding citizens. The household consisted of three engineers, two engineering students, a pharmacist and an auto mechanic. The judge did not know the defense attorney personally, but he was aware of his background. It was Laurie's husband, James. The judge knew that James undertook all cases concerning discrimination pro bono, and he greatly admired him for that. On the other hand, Beth's attorney had once been disbarred for a year for introducing false evidence. He was generally considered to be a hack ambulance chaser among his peers.
Judge Marino had four sons, the eldest of whom was gay. The judge loved him as much as any of his other sons and their families. In fact, his son was an assistant district attorney, and the judge often had to recuse himself from a case his son was trying. Beyond all that, his son's partner was a cardiologist. The judge had actually suffered a heart attack during a family dinner, and his son-in-law saved his life.
In spite of that, he swore to himself to be fair and objective. He interviewed every member of the household individually, and asked only one question. What activities did the men partake of during Jaden's visits? For some reason, the judge felt that Mac, the auto mechanic, who had never gone to college like the rest of them, would somehow be the most candid.
"Well," Mac began, "here's what a typical weekend looks like. Rob picks up Jaden early Saturday morning and he takes him to the gym, where Ari, Dennis and I play basketball every Saturday morning. When we get home it's close to lunch time, and we usually have sandwiches and milk. After lunch we all play with Jaden in the back yard. Ari and I are jocks and we have been instructing Jaden in how to play basketball, baseball and football. He's a whiz, Judge. He's been sinking eight out of ten baskets, and hitting every baseball thrown at him. Every weekend he's with us, he throws the football a little bit farther. That kid has a magic arm. I wish I could have thrown a football like that, when I was eight.
"I'll be honest, Judge, my fathers and my brothers and I go clubbing most every Saturday night, but on weekends when Jaden is with us, our dads and Rob stay home with him. We've pretty much exhausted Jaden with sports during the day, and after dinner, he watches TV for a little while, and generally falls asleep. Rob carries him up to our dormer, where the boy has his own bedroom and bathroom. Whatever that woman might be saying is a lie. Not one of us would harm a hair on Jaden's head. He thinks of us as cousins, but we think of him as our little brother.
"On Sunday mornings, the whole family, including Jaden, goes to church. After church, we usually eat lunch out. When we come home, we play ball with Jaden for a while, and then he does his homework. We help him out with that. Rob takes him back to his mother in time for dinner. If it will help Rob's cause, Judge, the boy does not want to go back to his mother."
Every member of the household told Judge Marino essentially the same story. Rob was the last, and at the end of the interview, he said to the judge, "You can arrest me for what I am about to say, but I would kill anyone who touched a hair on that boy's head. My sexual orientation has nothing to do with my ability to be a father. If that was the criterion, I would have been taken away from my parents, who loved me dearly, but were differently oriented." Judge Marino thought about his own relationship with his gay son, and smiled inwardly.
Then he interviewed Jaden himself. "I love going to my dad's house," he proclaimed. My cousins are super. They teach me how to play ball, and when I bring homework over, they help me with it."
"Doesn't your mother help you with homework?
"No, sir."
"Where do you sleep at your dad's house?"
"That's really neat, Judge," the boy said. "I have my own private room and bathroom. At home, I have to share a bathroom with my mother."
"Do you ever wrestle with your cousins?"
"No, sir. I wanted to wrestle with my cousin, Larry, once, but he told me that it was not appropriate. I didn't know what he meant, but I figured the answer was no."
"If you didn't have to go back and forth between your parents, who would you rather live with?
"My dad, and all my cousins, and Uncle Arlen and Uncle Kenzie. I feel safe there."
"Don't you feel safe with your mother?"
"No, sir, I don't,"
"Why not?"
"She's never home when I come home from school, so I just go to my friends' houses and play with them."
"Who makes your dinner?"
"I make it myself. Usually cereal and milk."
"When does your mother come home?"
"I try to wait up for her, but most of the time I fall asleep. If I'm still awake, I have to help her get into bed. Her breath smells bad, and she can't seem to do anything for herself, not even undress."
The judge's blood was beginning to boil. He gave Jaden a hug and dismissed him. He asked his bailiff to bring in Jaden's mother.
"I'll be brief," he said. "I just want you to answer a few questions."
"Sure," she said. "That's what I'm here for."
"What time does Jaden get home from school?"
Beth was unprepared for that question, and she began to blubber. "Two o'clock, I think. Maybe 2:30 or 3."
Are you always home, when Jaden comes home?"
"Oh, yes."
"What's your typical routine when he comes home from school?" Beth was ready for this question. "I give him milk and cookies, and then he goes over to a friend's house to play until dinner."
"Do his friend's ever come to your house?"
"Lots of times."
"Can you give me the name of some of his friends and their parents so I can corroborate what you have told me."
Beth looked distressed. "I'm afraid I never asked," she said.
"Really. Don't you ever call one of his friend's parents to make sure that the boys are there, and not getting into mischief?" Beth remained silent. She finally realized that everything she said could be checked out.
"When does he do his homework?"
"Right after dinner, and before his bedtime."
"Do you ever help him with sticky problems?"
"Oh sure, of course."
"What subjects do you help him with?"
Beth began to mumble. "You know," she stammered, "reading, writing and arithmetic."
"Is that right? Are you aware that Jaden is also studying history, geography, and science? Do you help with those subjects?" Beth wisely remained quiet.
"I'd like to show you a video," the judge said. "It was taken by your husband's lawyer over a period of two weeks. It clearly shows you carousing every day from early afternoon to as late as midnight, in a bar called Laddies and Lassies."
Beth's mouth fell open, and she continued to be silent.
"I want you and your husband here first thing Monday morning, when I'll render my decision. In the meantime, it's Friday, and I'm sending Jaden home with his father."
Beth left with the certain knowledge that she was not going to get full custody of her son.
On Monday morning Rob dropped Jaden off at school and went directly to the judge's chambers. James was there as was Beth's attorney.
"I need to ask for a continuance," the sleaze said.
"Why?"
"My client is indisposed."
"She's in the hospital, Judge," James said. "It seems that she was in a barroom brawl Saturday night. The police had to be called, and she was taken to a hospital. She's in bad shape."
"How do you know this?"
"I could say that I can't disclose my source, Your Honor, but I want to be candid. I have taken another pro bono case just like this one. The wife is seeking total parental rights because her ex-husband is gay. Naturally he's following this case very closely. He's the police officer who took Jaden's mother to the hospital."
"I had already made a decision, but I was a little hesitant. Now I am going to render my decision, without a doubt in my mind. I am granting full custody to the father." He looked at Rob. "You can cease paying child support immediately. I wish I could tell you not to pay alimony, but I can't. You would have to start another law suit requesting that her claim for alimony be reviewed.
Rob began to cry, and James threw his arms around his shoulders to comfort and congratulate him. Then the judge did something very unusual for him. He also offered words of comfort and congratulations to Rob. "I wish all my cases were this clear cut," he said.
Beth's attorney stormed out of the judge's chambers knowing full well that he would never get paid. He only took the case because nine times out of ten the mother won.
With the court order in hand, Rob ran to Jaden's school. He obtained copies of all his son's records and took Jaden out of class.
"Where are we going?" the perplexed boy asked.
"We're going to your new school, which is only one street away from your new home. The judge said that from now on you'll be living with me."
Jaden looked at his father with total disbelief written all over his face. All he could manage to say is, "Whoopee."
Rob went to the administration office at the local school, and took care of all the paper work. Then one of the secretaries took Jaden to his new classroom and to meet his teacher and his new friends.
"I'll meet you right outside after school," Rob said. "I'll show you the way home, but until you're sure of the route, one of us will be here to meet you every day. Okay?"
"Okay," Jaden said. The secretary smiled at him, took his hand, and led a happy boy off to a new adventure.
Rob went home, and called Arlen at work. "When we go to work tomorrow," he said, "you'll be going with one happy co-worker. I was granted full custody of Jaden."
Rob could hear a slight sob at the other end of the phone. "We'll have to celebrate royally tonight," Arlen said. "Do you think we could put Jaden to bed early?"
Kenzie came home about 1 PM. Rob filled him in on the events of the day, and the two men hugged and hugged.
"I didn't expect anyone home this early," Rob said.
"I only teach two classes in the morning. I always get home by one."
"That's great. Do you think you could pick Jaden up at school, until I'm certain, he can walk home on his own, or until he makes friends to walk home with?"
"No problem at all. What time does he get out?"
"2:30," Rob said.
"Let's pick him up together today."
Jaden walked out of the school, accompanied by a cute little boy. "This is Michael," he said. "He's my new best friend, and he said that he passes our house on the way to school, and on the way home. He said, he'd walk with me until I learned the way."
"That's wonderful," Rob said. He looked at Michael. "I'm Jaden's father, and this gentleman is his Uncle Kenzie."
"Pleased to meetcha," Michael said, and he and Jaden marched on ahead of Kenzie and Rob.
They reached Jaden's home first, and Michael said, "I'll pass by at 8:30 tomorrow morning. If you're ready, come out and we'll walk to school together. Would you like to play together after school?"
"Yeah, I'd like that."
"That'll be great."
"Michael," Rob said. "Jaden goes over to the high school every Saturday morning to watch his cousins play basketball. Do you think that you would like to go with him?"
"Wow, I sure would."
"Okay, give me your telephone number and I'll clear it with your parents. If they say yes, be here at 8 am Saturday morning."
After Michael ran off, Rob turned to Kenzie and Jaden. "What do you say we go over to my wife's apartment and get Jaden's stuff?" There wasn't very much, and they were back home before 4 PM. When they arrived there, Ari and Larry were home from school. When they saw Jaden, they hugged and kissed him, and he told them the good news.
"I have a new friend," he told his cousins, "and he's coming to the basketball game on Saturday."
"Fantastic," Ari said. "I can't wait to meet him."
The house was in chaos as one by one the men came home and got the good news. Immediately after dinner, Rob called Michael's home. A deep baritone voice answered.
"You must be Michael's father," Rob said. "My son just came to live with me, and our boys have become friends already."
"Of course, you must be Rob. I'm Richard, Richie. That's all Michael's been babbling about since I got home from work. Sure he can go to the game on Saturday. It sounds like so much fun, could I come along?"
"Absolutely. The more the merrier to cheer my nephews on. Be here at 8 AM Saturday morning. Would you're wife like to come along?"
"I'd bring my husband, Carl," Richie said, "but I'm afraid he'll be out of town for work on Saturday."
Rob was struck dumb, but he did manage to say, "Great, see ya Saturday."
To be continued...