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The Other Mothers (Chop, Chop Series Book 5)

Page 19

by L. N. Cronk


  “Maybe you’re right,” I said.

  “I know I’m right. Now,” she said, reaching her hand up to the back of my neck, “do you really want to lay here and talk about Tanner all night or are there some other things that we could be doing right now?”

  “I guess there are some other things we could be doing,” I admitted and I let her draw my lips to hers.

  But even as she was kissing me, I kept thinking about the fact that Tanner was my friend. And I couldn’t help but wonder why.

  What exactly, I asked myself, was in it for him?

  ~ ~ ~

  DESPITE THE FACT that Dorito was “going to be with us for a good, long while”, I gave him an extra-long hug in the morning when I dropped him off at school.

  “I love you, buddy,” I said as someone in a blaze orange vest opened his car door.

  “I love you, too,” he said, scrambling out. The blaze orange vest slammed his door shut and I watched after him, hoping he’d remember to turn and wave at me.

  He did.

  I waved back and flashed him the I Love You sign. He did it back, following it up with the peace sign, because that meant, I Love You, Too.

  I stayed and watched until he had disappeared through the giant metal doors, not caring if there was a line of parents behind me, anxious to drop their kids off and get their day started.

  I love you, Dorito, I thought. No matter what happens – I hope you will always know how much I love you.

  At home I found that Laci had made me my favorite breakfast – hash brown potatoes and sausage.

  “Thank you,” I said, hugging her. “It smells great.”

  “Sit down,” she said, rubbing a hand over my shoulders. “I’ll pour you some juice.”

  I sat down, looked at my plate, and then back up at her.

  “What?” she asked.

  “If I eat anything I’m gonna get sick,” I confessed.

  She looked at me sympathetically.

  “Don’t worry about it,” she said, taking my plate away.

  “I really appreciate it,” I told her.

  “I know you do,” she said, setting my plate on the counter and coming back to me. I pulled her onto my lap and wrapped my arms around her. She hugged me back and put her cheek on the top of my head. After a moment we heard Lily talking to her stuffed animals in her bedroom.

  “Sounds like somebody’s up,” I said.

  “I’ll go get her,” Laci offered.

  “No,” I said. “I’ll go get her. You sit down and eat.”

  “I’m not going to be able to eat either.”

  “Well,” I said. “Wrap it up and we’ll have it for dinner. I’ll go get Lily.”

  “Okay,” she agreed, and I went to get our daughter.

  Tanner was late, but just when I worried that he wasn’t coming he pulled up in the drive. Laci followed me to the door. I opened it up and held up one finger to Tanner to let him know that I’d be right there.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” Laci asked, wrapping her arms around me.

  I found myself wishing that she was, but she was still in her bathrobe and Tanner and I needed to get going. Plus, I really had meant what I’d said earlier about her picking Dorito up from school like she always did.

  “I’m sure,” I said, pulling her close. “I’ll call you as soon as I know something.”

  “Okay,” she nodded, giving me one last, long kiss.

  “Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  I squeezed her and then jogged to the driveway where Tanner was waiting in his truck.

  “You’re late,” I pointed out.

  “I’ll drive extra fast to make up for it.”

  “No,” I said, hastily doing up my seat belt. “That’s okay.”

  “I wonder how much marriage counselors make?” he mused. I suppressed a smile.

  “So suddenly you and Laci are alright?” he asked after a moment.

  “Not suddenly,” I said, “but we’re alright.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said.

  “Thank you,” I acknowledged.

  He turned left at the end of our block and picked up speed. I sat quietly for a moment, thinking about the conversation I’d had last night with Laci.

  “Why are we friends?” I asked Tanner, breaking the silence.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “How come you and I are friends?”

  “I dunno,” he shrugged. “We have a lot in common.”

  “Like what?”

  “Gee,” he said sarcastically, “let’s think about this for a minute. What’s something we do together?”

  “I know we both like shooting and fishing and stuff,” I said, “but so do a million other guys. What makes us special?”

  “What makes us special?” he asked, glancing at me apprehensively. “Please tell me you didn’t just say that.”

  I smirked at him.

  “I think you need to go back to San Francisco,” he told me.

  “Come on,” I said. “I’m serious. Why are we friends?”

  “We’ve been friends since we were three years old, and now all of a sudden you want to know why?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Why?”

  “I dunno,” I said. “I guess because yesterday you started acting like a psychiatrist and now you’ve got me thinking about stuff.”

  “And so now we’ve gotta have a mushy conversation about why we’re friends?”

  “You started it,” I pointed out.

  “Yeah,” he agreed, “but only because I wanted you and Laci to get back together. That mission’s accomplished, so the conversation’s over.”

  “But why do you care so much if things are okay between me and Laci? What’s it to you?”

  “Because I want you guys to be happy,” he said.

  “Why?”

  “Because we’re friends.”

  “Exactly,” I said. “So why are we friends?”

  “Oh, brother,” he shook his head.

  “Maybe you hang around with me just so you can see Laci from time to time,” I said with a laugh in my voice so he’d know that (for the most part) I wasn’t serious.

  “Yes,” he said sarcastically. “I’m still so in love with Laci that I’m willing to spend twenty hours a week pretending I give a rat’s behind about you in hopes of catching a glimpse of her in her bathrobe every now and then.”

  “‘Still so in love’?” I asked. “Does that mean that you’re admitting you really were in love with her?”

  I may have imagined it, but – for the briefest instant – Tanner actually seemed somewhat unnerved.

  “If you really want to know,” he said, recovering quickly and reaching over to pat my hand, “It’s not Laci that I’ve been in love with all these years . . .”

  “Yes,” I agreed, pulling my hand away from his. “The endless parade of ladies through your bedroom is just a facade until I come to my senses.”

  “Why are we having this conversation?”

  “It’s keeping my mind off the trial.”

  “I see.”

  “So seriously, why are you my friend?”

  “I don’t know, David,” he said, beginning to sound exasperated. “Why are you my friend? I mean, actually, I’m quite surprised that you’re willing to hang around with someone who used to sleep with your wife!”

  “WOW!” I exclaimed. “You are really desperate to change the subject here, aren’t you?”

  “It doesn’t bother you that I slept with you wife?”

  “She wasn’t my wife at the time,” I smiled. “And you didn’t sleep with her.”

  “I could have,” he insisted.

  “Yes,” I said. “I know. No woman can resist the great Tanner Clemmons’ Charm. Thank you so much for not turning it on when you were dating Laci.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “So come on,” I said.
“Tell me why you’re my friend.”

  “You go first,” he said. “You tell me why you’re my friend and then I’ll come up with something.”

  “I dunno,” I shrugged.

  “See!” he said triumphantly. “You can’t tell me why you’re friends with me, either!”

  “Well, actually, yeah, I can,” I said. “Laci and I talked about this last night.”

  “Talked about what last night?”

  “Why we like you.”

  “Really?” he asked, sounding rather pleased. “You actually had a ‘Things We Like About Tanner’ conversation?”

  “Yes,” I nodded. “It was the happiest moment of my life.”

  “I can’t wait to hear this! Tell me. Start with why Laci likes me.”

  “Actually,” I said, “we both like you for pretty much the same reasons.”

  “My tush?”

  “Uhhh, no. That wasn’t on my list.”

  “Was it on Laci’s list?”

  “I have no idea. Surprisingly, I didn’t ask her how she felt about your tush.”

  “Find out, will you?” he asked. “Report back to me.”

  “Uh-huh,” I said. “I’ll ask her right after I tell her whether or not we get to keep Dorito.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “So tell me,” he said. “I wanna hear the list.”

  “There wasn’t a list.”

  “You said my tush wasn’t at the top of the list, so there must have been a list.”

  “Well . . . it’s a very short list.”

  “Hit me,” he said.

  “Okay,” I said, smiling. “You’re a lot of fun to be around.”

  “That’s a given,” he said. “Tell me something I don’t already know.”

  “That’s all I can remember,” I said. “I told you it was a short list.”

  He gave me a sideways glance.

  “Okay,” I went on. “You’re very dependable.”

  “Like a Labrador retriever?”

  “No,” I laughed. “Like we can count on you. You’re always there, always willing to do whatever you can to help us.”

  “So I’m fun and I’m helpful. That’s great.”

  “Not just helpful,” I said. “You would do anything for us. Anything. It says in the Bible, that no one shows a greater love than when he lays his life down for his friends.”

  I ventured a glance at him and saw that he was getting edgy, fast. I moved on quickly.

  “That’s how you are,” I explained. “I know that you’d give your life for me. Or for Laci. Or for my kids. I know that I can count on you for anything.”

  “Yes,” he said, keeping his eyes on the road. “I’m a saint.”

  “So, that’s basically why I’m friends with you,” I said. “Now it’s your turn. Why are you my friend?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Oh, come on!” I cried. “I said all this nice stuff about you and you can’t come up with one single thing to tell me?”

  “You’ve got nice hair.”

  I sighed.

  “And you’re really fun to pick on.”

  I glared at him.

  “There,” he said. “That’s two things.”

  “I tell ya, Tanner. I’m really feelin’ the love.”

  “I don’t know!” he said, sounding exasperated again. “I don’t know why I’m friends with you! We get along! I enjoy being around you! Isn’t that enough?”

  “I guess,” I said, reluctantly.

  We rode quietly for a few minutes.

  “You know,” I ventured after a few minutes, “I’ve been thinking about something else you said yesterday . . .”

  “Don’t,” he said.

  “Don’t what?”

  “Don’t start proselytizing.”

  “I wasn’t going to start proselytizing!” I protested.

  “Uh-huh.”

  I thought for a moment and then asked, “How exactly do you define proselytizing?”

  “Talking to me in any way, shape or form about God.”

  I sighed heavily.

  “Amazed that I know you so well?” he asked, glancing my way.

  “You’re exceptionally insightful for a big, dumb jock,” I admitted.

  He gave me a self-satisfied smile as we drove on.

  “It wouldn’t hurt you to talk about God,” I said after a moment, breaking the silence.

  “No,” he agreed, “but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna.”

  I looked at him.

  “It really bothers me that you won’t talk to me about this.”

  He glanced at me and then put his eyes back on the road.

  “Look,” he said rather reluctantly after a minute. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m reading the Bible every day.”

  “Really?” I asked, trying not to sound too excited.

  “Yeah.”

  “Well . . . well that’s great!”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Any particular reason?”

  “Just because,” he said curtly. “I’m just doing it, okay?”

  “Okay,” I nodded. I tried to drop it, but I couldn’t keep myself from asking, “What are you reading right now?”

  “Acts.”

  “Ooooh,” I said. “That’s one of my favorites.”

  He rolled his eyes at me.

  “I’m not an expert or anything,” I offered tentatively, “but if you ever have any questions or anything . . .”

  “No,” he assured me quickly. “I’ve got it covered.”

  “Okay,” I agreed, deciding to stop pushing my luck.

  “But,” he went on, “if I suddenly decide to go get dunked in a river or something, I’ll let you know.”

  “You promise?”

  “Yeah,” he nodded. “I promise. As a matter of fact – if I decide to do it – you can be the one to push me under.”

  ~ ~ ~

  WE BARELY MADE it into the courtroom before the bailiff called our case and Judge Goebeler announced his decision.

  “The complexities of this case,” he began, reading from a paper that he held in his hand, “have forced this court to consider not only what is in the best interest of the child, but also to examine the legal rights of both the petitioner and the respondent. If the court were to only consider the well-being of the child, it would undoubtedly be forced to rule in favor of the petitioner. The child has known no other family for the past five years and has been, by all accounts, incredibly nurtured and happy in that environment. To disrupt such familiarity and success at this stage would, no doubt, be traumatic – to say the least.

  “However,” (why did he have to go and ruin his little speech with the word however?), “in a case where a child has been clearly kidnapped from his or her parent, the return of that child to the parent upon their recovery is almost always guaranteed, regardless of the happiness and emotional stability of that child in their new situation.

  “The court finds that the determining factors in this case come down to whether or not the child was indeed kidnapped from the respondent, and whether or not the respondent was given the opportunity to contest the termination of her parental rights and the subsequent adoption petition.”

  This, I thought frantically, is exactly what Beckham has been banking on.

  “The act of kidnapping,” the judge went on, “is defined as the crime of unlawfully seizing and carrying away a person by force. The respondent has presented compelling evidence to support the claim that the child was indeed taken from her unlawfully and by force. Furthermore, the respondent has submitted evidence that she was unlawfully prevented from locating the child and from contesting the termination of her parental rights and the subsequent adoption. It is the belief of this court that the respondent did not intentionally abandon her child, nor was it ever her desire to relinquish her parental rights.”

  I glanced at Reanna, hoping that something in her body language would signal me that she wasn’t worried too
, but she just stared tensely at the judge.

  “However,” (suddenly I loved that word), “the court has further examined the actions of the respondent following the kidnapping and has found no evidence that any attempt was made by the respondent to find the child. Many legal avenues were available to the respondent, but none of those options were pursued. No police reports were filed. No searches were made of the local orphanages. No media were alerted to the fact that the child was missing. By failing to take any action to attempt to regain custody of the child, the respondent was, in effect, consenting to the actions of her husband.”

  I noticed Reanna’s head give a slight but encouraging nod. I looked back at the judge.

  “I would like to take this opportunity to make it clear that the court believes that the respondent was indeed under duress and that her failure to take action to recover the child was due to the fact that she was in an abusive situation and feared for the safety of both herself and her children. Nevertheless, other options were available to her and by not pursuing them she was, in essence, condoning the actions of her husband and abandoning her child. The court finds that once the child was abandoned, he was then legally considered an orphan and thereby eligible for his subsequent adoption.”

  For the first time, Judge Goebeler glanced up from his papers and looked directly at Savanna.

  “Mrs. Escalante, this court feels your loss. You have endured much hardship and my sympathies lie with you. However, as Ms. Justice stated in her closing arguments, this court cannot be placed in a position of considering why you made the decision you made. The fact of the matter is that you – for whatever reason – made a decision to abandon your child. Once that decision was made, your son was legally an orphan and was subsequently eligible for adoption.”

  He returned his gaze to the papers.

  “I find that legally the respondent has no claim to her biological son. Furthermore, I find that all actions taken by the petitioners and by all parties involved in both the international and state adoptions are found to be in full compliance with the laws of both countries and with this state.

  “Therefore, the respondent’s counterclaims to set aside the adoption and the petition for termination of parental rights are denied. Furthermore, it is the ruling of this court that full and legal custody of the minor child shall remain with his adoptive parents, David and Laci Holland. Case dismissed.”

 

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