by KIKI MALONE
“Mr. Cross, you may begin,” the judge says as he looks to Andrew and Maggie’s lawyer.
“Your honor, I have, in good faith, a belief that the DNA test Mr. Montgomery has is fake. Both of my clients have assured me that they are the biological parents of the girls and that Mr. Montgomery is not being honest about the results he received on the girls’ DNA.”
“Is this true, Mr. Montgomery?” the judge asks.
“Your honor,” Robert says as he stands, “I have a sworn affidavit from the company we used when we had this test taken more than three years ago, that states Mr. Montgomery is indeed the biological father of the three children. This is an outrageous claim against my client’s morals.”
“Mr. Cross, what proof do you have that the DNA test is not correct?” the judge asks.
“Your honor, if you will. Here we have Mr. and Mrs. Anthony’s young son. If you look at the pictures of the three girls, you will see that all three children are practically identical. As a matter of fact, the youngest of the triplets could be passed off as twins with their youngest child. If that doesn’t show you enough that these children share the same parentage, then you must be blind.”
“Enough,” the judge barks. “How dare you have such an accusation against me. What kind of attorney are you? You’re not going to win your clients’ case by insulting either me or the other party.”
“I apologize your honor,” Mr. Cross says. “I was simply trying to make a statement and it came across incorrectly, please forgive me.” He doesn’t look like he’s sorry at all, he actually looks kind of smug. Where the hell did Maggie find an attorney like that?
“Jeff has always been that way, he’s a smug asshole,” Elizabeth chuckles in my ear. “He and Andrew have been friends a long time and this has always been his way.”
Well, that’s a little bit of knowledge that I lean over and whisper into my attorney’s ear. He looks back at me and smiles. He, too, knows that this could potentially work in our favor.
“Your honor, if you will,” Robert says as he slowly approaches the bench. “Here is a copy of the original DNA test that was taken. As you can see, the blood tests show that Mr. Montgomery is indeed the biological father of the triplets. There’s no reason for the Anthony’s to have a claim to them at all.”
The judge looks over the paperwork and then looks into my eyes.
“Mr. Montgomery,” he addresses me directly. “When you took this test, were you aware that the children may not have been yours?”
“Your honor,” I begin, “I never had a doubt that the children were mine. My attorney believed it would be for the best if we had the test done once Maggie, I’m sorry, Mrs. Anthony, started making claims that they were not. Until recently, I never even opened the envelope. I, too, was stunned when we walked into the courtroom and saw their child. He does look like my youngest of the triplets, Sofia, but Sofia also looks very much like her biological mother, so there’s a good reason for that. I don’t believe that the test is a lie, but if it pleases the court, I will submit to additional tests to prove my paternity.”
This seems to make the judge happy. He looks down at the file in front of him and flips through some pages.
“Mr. Montgomery, thank you for your answer, it helps me with my preliminary decision. And please know,” he says as he looks over at Maggie and Andrew, “this is only preliminary. I am ordering a new DNA test be done with all parties involved except for Mrs. Montgomery. All parties, including the minor son of the petitioners, will submit their DNA for testing so we can determine the true paternity of the children. I am requesting the young child for DNA also because it will let us know the exact relationship of the child to the other children. As for custody, Mrs. Anthony, I will not allow you to suddenly change your mind years after they have solely been in the custody of Mr. Montgomery. If you wanted to be a mother, you would have been there this whole time. However, I will allow you limited visitation with the girls until we get the DNA tests back.
“Mr. Montgomery,” he continues, and I know my heart is already starting to break. I don’t know how much more of this I can take, but he keeps on, “You are to take the girls to meet their mother one day a week. She will be allowed to be with them for 24 hours, unsupervised, until such a time that they develop a relationship with her. After the DNA tests are done, I will probably grant Mrs. Anthony more time with the girls if she can prove to have a healthy relationship with them.”
“No,” I gasp. “Please your honor, don’t do this.”
“I’m sorry Mr. Montgomery, but this is my decision.” He hits his gavel on the podium and gets up and walks out.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
ELIZABETH
MAKING THINGS WORK
MY HEART BREAKS for my husband and my girls as the judge makes his decision then walks from the room. I want to grab him and run out of here, but I know we can’t. There are papers to sign and DNA tests to conduct. I can’t believe after all of these years, we are going to have to share the girls with cuntasaurus rex over there.
Yes, that’s her official name to me, though I know I’m going to have to try and not say it out loud in front of the girls.
“Those girls will be mine,” Maggie snickers at Carter. “I told you, you’d rue the day you fucked with me Carter. I just had to bide my time and wait until you least expected it. Did you think selling my home from underneath me would just happen? That there wouldn’t be any consequences? No, I waited until I knew I could hit the hardest. See my husband over there, he’s kind of ruthless. I knew I hit the jackpot with him. He’d do anything for me. Unlike you. Wait until you see what else we can do. This is only the beginning.”
“Listen, bitch,” I start to say as I make my way to her. Arms grab me from behind and I know it’s Carter. He knows I’m on the warpath. The relationship we’ve built since we finally consummated our marriage has been nothing short of amazing.
“Not now, babe,” Carter whispers in my ear. “She’s trying to get us to react to prove we’re unfit for the girls. Don’t let her push your buttons. We’ll handle this the right way.”
It’s crazy how he’s the calm one after everything that creature did to him. I was actually very surprised that he held it together during the judge’s entire diatribe. I expected him to snap a few times, but I guess that’s what happens when you are the consummate professional and I’m the get down and dirty mechanic. I react faster than I think whereas he thinks before he acts.
“Fine,” I say, looking it directly in the eye. “She’s nothing but a piece of shit who doesn’t deserve my time anyway.”
Well, yeah, I really can’t be trusted not to react. I turn on my heel and head out of the courtroom. When I get outside, I notice that Angela and Mikael are waiting for us. I knew my best friend would be here to support me, and I should have known Mikael would be here as well.
“Let’s get a drink,” Angela says. “It looks like you two could use one. My parents have the kids and I know they’d be upset if we picked them up too early.”
I have to agree with Angie. Her parents have really taken to the girls. They treat them just like they belong to them. The girls also love them. They’ve never had grandparents and just love their Gigi and PopPop. Really, I can’t blame them. They are really great parents and grandparents.
“Carter,” I say as I turn in his arms. “Come on babe, we can all talk this out together. Let’s get a drink and relax with Angie and Mikael while we figure out what to do next.”
“Sounds good,” Carter agrees, “but I have to sign paperwork and go down to the lab for them to take my blood first. Then, we have to bring the girls here to have them tested as well. I know we need to relax, but the sooner we get them tested and get the results, the sooner all this bullshit will be over. There’s more than one way to skin a cat, and with Maggie’s little confession in there, I think I know how to get her to back off.”
He’s right. I completely pushed it out of my mind that we need to take the gi
rls in to have their blood drawn for this test. I turn around and look at my best friend and apologize that we can’t go out with them.
“Don’t worry,” Angie answers. “We can still make this work. I’ll call Mom and Dad and have them bring everyone down here. You can do what you need to do then they can take them back home. We’ll all have a family dinner and together, as the family we are, we’ll figure out how to get these fuckernutters out of our lives. You guys don’t deserve this.”
My best friend, she always has the answer. Mikael just looks at her, shakes his head and walks away. Hmm, I wonder if there could be something between those two.
“Elizabeth,” Carter calls. I didn’t realize he had walked away while I was talking to Angie.
“Call them,” I tell Angie as I walk to where Carter is standing with our attorney.
“Angie is going to have her parents bring the kids down here, so we don’t have to go get them. Let’s go get your paperwork done while we wait.”
“Okay,” Carter says to me, then turns back to Robert. “Thank you for today. I hope we can get this done quickly. I don’t blame you for anything, so stop worrying. We all should have known that one day she was going to start some shit.”
Carter grabs my hand and we walk over to the clerk’s office. When we get there, we see Mr. and Mrs. Trying-to-take-our-kids-away, so we wait outside, to avoid any more conflict. We don’t speak. There are way too many emotions going through the both of us right now and we both understand that we need time to process.
“Mr. Montgomery, you can come in now,” the clerk says from inside the office.
When we walk inside, I take notice that the assholes are no longer in sight. I look to Carter and he shrugs his shoulders. We must’ve both been really lost in our thoughts not to notice them leave. Good riddance.
“Because the last DNA tests were only done by swabs, we’ll do a blood test for this one. You will need to head downstairs to the MedCorp office for them to draw the blood. The children will have finger pricks done, as they are young, and we don’t need as much from them. We’re going to try to make this as painless as possible, but they will feel a little prick. I’m so sorry you have to go through this, but we really want to ensure there are no questions after this round of tests are done. I will need you to fill out these papers and then you can go down. Mr. and Mrs. Anthony already headed downstairs with their son, Oliver. By the time you’re done with your paperwork, they should be finished so you don’t have to see them until they pick up the girls. The visitation day is set up for this Saturday with pickup at eight am and drop off on Sunday at the same time. Please don’t be in violation of this visitation as it will reflect poorly on your character and the judge won’t take that lightly. This visitation will happen every week until we appear back in court four weeks from today. Do you understand?” The clerk then hands the paperwork to Carter and tells him he can sit and fill it all out.
I didn’t realize visitation would happen so fast. Saturday is only two days away and we’ll have to prep the girls for this. I don’t know how they are going to handle being away from their father for that long. As far as I know, they’ve never been away from him for more than a few hours at a time.
“Thank you,” Carter says absentmindedly as he grabs the papers and takes a seat. I can see in his eyes and the way he is acting right now that his heart is breaking. Mine is too, to be honest.
“Please tell Angela we’ll have to do this another day,” Carter says without looking at me. “I need my girls and only have two days with them. I can’t share them tonight, or tomorrow, with anyone.”
Now my heart is breaking even more. I know he doesn’t realize what he is saying right now. He didn’t even include me in spending time with the girls. He just wants to be alone with them. I guess I can understand that, but I thought we were building a family and him shutting me out isn’t conducive to our relationship.
I walk out of the room and tell Angie the new plans. She doesn’t argue and says she understands. As we talk, her parents arrive with the girls and they come running right into my arms.
“Momma Elizabeth,” Felicia says. She started calling me that just a few days ago and it melts my heart every time she does. I don’t think she realizes what a gift her and her sisters are to me.
“We missed you and Daddy today,” Felicia tells me.
“Gigi and PopPop gave us so much love today,” states Isabella.
“They are fantastic grandparents, aren’t they?” I ask, looking each girl in the eye.
“Yes,” they all exclaim, happily.
I love that Angie’s parents love these girls so much. It really means so much to me that they’ve adopted them into their hearts the way they have.
“Girls,” I hear Carter say with so much emotion from behind me. I didn’t even hear him come out of the clerk’s office.
“Daddy,” the three screech at the same time. Yes, it was absolutely a screech and all of us adults are trying to clear our ears out after that one. All three girls run and almost tackle Carter to the ground. It’s as if it’s been years instead of hours since they’ve seen him.
How the judge made his decision without even seeing this man and his kids together is beyond me. It’s something I’m going to have to ask Robert about. If he doesn’t have the answer, I know that he’s not the right person for us now, though Carter may have thought he was years ago. What happened to a home study? We never had one of those. Isn’t that what is typically done in a custody case? Or will that come next? Yeah, there are definitely a lot of questions that need answers. I make a mental note to do some more research on all of this.
While I was sitting here, lost in my own thoughts, Carter was telling his girls that they have to have tests done and turns to head downstairs with them. I’m so lost to myself and to him right now and my heart continues to break some more.
I don’t think he even realizes that he didn’t ask or wait for me to go with them. I guess after so many years of it just being the four of them, he totally forgot I was here.
“What about Elizabeth?” I hear Isabella whisper to Felicia and Sofia. It seems like she can tell her father is lost in another world and is trying not to let him hear her. That’s the thing about young girls, though they think they are whispering, you can hear them from a mile away. If the situation wasn’t such a somber one, I’d laugh at her trying to be quiet.
“Elizabeth.” Carter suddenly turns around, shoulders slumped. “Please, come with us.”
I know it wasn’t his original thought but I go with him anyway, head held high. I came into this relationship with the sole purpose of Carter not losing his girls, even if the way he’s acting right now is breaking my heart, I will see this through.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CARTER
THE SATURDAY THAT NEVER ENDS
THE LAST TWO days have been very stressful in our home. After explaining to the girls that they had to spend the night with Maggie, Isabella had a temper tantrum and Felicia purposely locked herself in the bathroom saying she’d never go. Sofia attached herself to Elizabeth and refused to leave her side, saying she already has a mommy and doesn’t need another one.
I happen to agree. Elizabeth has been an amazing mother to my girls the short time she has known them. If you didn’t know any better, you’d never know she wasn’t their real mother. Wait, I meant biological mother. Because in reality, Elizabeth is more of a mother to these girls than I know Maggie could ever be to them.
Mine and Elizabeth’s relationship has taken a step backwards. I know I made a huge mistake in the courthouse the other day when I said I wanted to be alone with my girls. I know I should’ve said and acted differently but I didn’t. I was an asshole to my wife and I hope that while we’re alone for the next twenty-four hours, I can find a way to make her forgive me.
I’ve been back to sleeping on the couch in our bedroom and I don’t like it one bit. I loved holding my wife in my arms every night when we went to bed. I lo
ved sinking so deep inside her that I didn’t know where I ended, and she began.
It’s my fault she’s pulled away, but I intend to make it right again.
That is, if I can get over losing my girls for the night to that vile woman I thought I once loved.
Today is the day that Maggie will come get the girls and they will spend the night with her and Andrew. I’m not okay with this, but I know it’s something I must do to stay on the good side of the judge. It will be good for the girls to get to know their little brother, but I really don’t want them to get attached. I know it’s selfish of me, but I think I’ve earned that right after everything Maggie did and how she just walked away without even looking back.
“Daddy,” Isabella calls softly up to me, “I don’t want to go. Why do I have to go?”
My poor baby, I try to calm her the best I can but there’s nothing I can really do for them.
“Izzy, baby, it’s only for one night,” I tell her. “I promise Elizabeth and I will be here waiting for you tomorrow morning. It will be an exciting adventure.”
I have been trying to convince the girls this will be fun for them, though I think they see right through me.
I jump when I hear the doorbell ring and look over at the clock. Seven forty-five, they are early. Shit. I was hoping they would be late, or better yet, not even show.
Elizabeth walks in the room holding both Sofia and Felicia in her arms. From the look on the girls’ faces, I can see they have been crying.
Fuck, how am I supposed to do this to them?
“It’s okay,” Elizabeth whispers. “I calmed them down. They’re ready. Right girls?”
“Yes, Mommy Elizabeth,” both girls answer.