The Big Time

CHAPTER TEN

" THERE ARE LAWS," GRAMPS said, "that give your father some rights."

"Dad!" Troy's mom said, her lips curling back in disgust.

"You need to listen, young lady," Gramps said, his voice and look stern. "It's true. Drew has rights. If he can show he didn't know about Troy and he's his father, the court will give him some kind of visitation rights, especially if Troy wants it."

Troy's mom bit her lip and winced.

"And," Gramps said, turning his eyes on Troy, "your mom can fight it. She can get a good lawyer and drag this thing out so that it'd be years before Drew could ever see you.

"That wouldn't be good," Gramps said. "But, Troy, you have to know this. Your father is a smart man. If he really wants to see you, to be a part of your life, then he'll find the laws if he doesn't know them already. And, if he's willing to use his time and money and initiate a suit, then I say it proves he's not just showing up on a whim because he saw you two on Larry King. That's what I say."

Gramps picked up his fork and rammed home a mouthful of food, chewing so that his leathery neck danced up and down and side to side.

"He has to sue to get to see me?" Troy asked in disbelief.

"No," his mom said softly, "that's not what Gramps is saying. He's saying that if it's that important to Drew to see you, then he'll begin a lawsuit, and if he does, we'll just settle it right out of the gate."

"Why do we have to make it hard on him?" Troy asked.

Gramps held up his hand so Troy's mom would let him speak. He swallowed and washed down the mouthful with a gulp of juice before he said, "Because he made it hard on you, Troy. And on your mom. There's a saying that anything worth having is worth fighting for, and it's true. If he really wants a relationship, let him fight for it. Then when he does get it, he's a lot less apt to walk away from it."

"Again," Troy's mom said.

Gramps glared at her.

"Well?" she said to Gramps before dropping her shoulders and turning to Troy. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'll behave."

His mom extended her hand across the table and let it hang there between them.

"Is it a deal, Troy?" she asked.