Mary, Mary

Chapter 30

"ALEX, IT'S BEN ABAJIAN calling on Thursday, one-thirty my time in Seattle. Listen, I have bad news I'm afraid.

“It seems that Christine's attorney has filed a motion to move up the final custody hearing date out here. I'm not sure I'll be able to block it, or even that we should. There's more, but I'd rather not go into it until we speak. Please give me a call as soon as possible.”

My heart picked up its pace. Ben Abajian was my lawyer in Seattle. I had hired him soon after Christine brought Little Alex to live there. We'd talked a couple dozen times since then - on my dime, of course.

He was an excellent attorney, a good guy, too, but his message was a bad sign. My guess was that Christine had taken her own interpretation of what had happened in California and run with it, straight to her counsel. With the time difference out west, I was able to catch Ben Abajian still in the office. He tried to emphasize the positive for me, but his tone was all bad.

“Alex, this is only temporary, but they've also filed an ex parte motion asking for sole physical custody of Alex Junior until the final hearing is over. The judge went for it. I'm sorry to have to tell you that.”

I squeezed the phone tight in my hand. It was hard to respond, or even take in what Ben was telling me. Christine had never gotten this aggressive before. Now she seemed to be trying to keep me from even seeing Little Alex. In fact, she'd just succeeded, at least temporarily.

“Alex, are you there?”

“Yeah, Ben, I'm here. Sorry Just give me a second.”

I put dowTi the phone and took a deep breath. It would do me no good to spiral down right now. Or to blow up over the phone. None of this was Ben's fault.

I put the phone back to my ear. “What was the basis for the claim?” Tasked. Not that I didn't already know, or at least suspect.

“Concern for Alex's safety The motion cited the dangerous police work you were doing while you were in California with him. The fact that you supposedly abused your privileges while he was in your care at Disneyland.”

“Ben, that's bullshit. It's a complete rearrangement of the facts. I consulted on a case with LAPD.”

“I'm assuming as much,” he told me. “Anne Billingsley's her attorney It's not beyond her to do a little grandstanding, even at this phase. Don't let it get to you, okay?” Ben went on, “Besides, there's some good news here, believe it or not. An earlier trial date means they have less time for Christine to establish a status quo under the new arrangement. The judge isn't supposed to take these temporary orders into account, but it's like unringing a bell. So the sooner the better, really. We were actually lucky to get on the calendar this early.”

“Great,” I said. “Lucky us.”

Ben told me to write an account of exactly what happened in California. I had been keeping a diary on his advice ever since I'd hired him. It included time spent with Alex, things I noticed about his development, family photos, and, maybe most important, any concerns I had about Christine. The fact that she had whisked our son away from me two days early certainly qualified. Those ups and downs of hers were a concern, deeply troubling. Was this latest development one of them?

“There's one other thing,” Ben told me. “You might not like it a whole lot.”

“Listen, you find something for me to like about all this and I'll double your fee.”

“Well, one of your strongest arguments is going to be Alex's relationship to his siblings.”

“Jannie and Damon aren't going on the witness stand,” I said flatly. “That's a no, Ben; I won't allow it.”

How many times had I seen capable adult witnesses eviscerated in a courtroom? Too many to even consider putting my kids up there.

“No, no, no,” Ben assured me. “Definitely not. But it would have a positive impact if they could be present for the searing. You want Alex back, don't you? That's our goal, right? If I'm wrong about that, then I don't want to spend time on your case.”

I looked around my office, as if for some kind of magic answeL “I'm going to have to think about it,“ 1 finally said. ”I'll get back to you.”

“Remember the big picture, Alex. This isn't going to be pleasant, far from it, but it will be worth it in the long run. We can win this thing. We will win.”

He was so calm and collected. Not that I expected him to get emotional - I just wasn't in the mood for a rational conversation with my attorney.

“Can we talk first thing tomorrow?” I asked.

“Sure. But listen, you can't give up hope. When we get in front of a judge, you need to know in your heart that you're the best parent for your son. That doesn't mean we have to trash Christine Johnson, but you can't come in looking, seeming, or even feeling defeated. Okay?”

“I'm not defeated. Not even close to it. I can't lose my son, Ben. I won't lose Alex.”

“I'll do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Call me at work or at home. You have my cell?”

“I have it.”

I don't know if I said good-bye to Ben or even hung up before I threw the phone across the room.