Stephanie half rose. “Objection, relevance, Your Honor. Also, this is hardly moving forward, and Dr. Scanlon has already testified to this point.”
Franklin turned to the judge. “I’ll modify my question, Your Honor.” He faced Mike again. “Dr. Scanlon, when you decided to renew your contract for a second tour, you had absolute confidence in the high quality of the care that my clients would continue to provide Emily, isn’t that true?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t it also true that my clients have provided Emily with a loving, stable, and happy home?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t it true that Emily is happy in their care?”
“Yes, she is.”
“Isn’t it true that Emily loves my clients, and they love her, as if she were their own child?”
Mike’s mouth went dry. “Yes, but I’m her father and I love her, too.”
Franklin turned away and faced the judge. “Your Honor, I have no further questions.”
Stephanie stood up. “I have no redirect, Your Honor. May we take a break before Mr. Franklin begins his case-in-chief?”
“Make it snappy,” Judge Shield answered, with a nod.
Chapter Sixty-eight
Stephanie steered Mike from the courtroom, down the hall, and through a door marked Attorney Conference Room, which was a small room with an old mahogany table and a few hard chairs. She closed the door behind them and turned to Mike, her eyes alive with animation. “Listen, you were terrific! You did great! Way to go!”
“Really?” Mike felt shaky, and his stump throbbed like it was on fire. He pulled up a chair and sat down. “What did I do right?”
“Everything.” Stephanie began to pace, too excited to sit down. “Props to your genius lawyer, because our trial strategy worked beautifully. Your direct examination went so well that Franklin had nothing left. Couldn’t you tell that? He ran out of gas!”
“You really think it went well?” Mike had been too busy doing it to assess it, and the stakes were so high.
“Yes, the very best it could have gone. I was worried about your cross, but Franklin didn’t hurt you at all.”
“Good.” Mike exhaled, relieved. “Now what happens?”
“Franklin will put on his case. He’ll have Bob and Danielle testify, and he’s going to rely on the fact that they’ve had Emily all this time and have provided a good home for her.”
“That sounds good for them though, doesn’t it?”
“No, if that’s all they got, they lose. Remember, you have the presumption as a parent. If it’s a borderline case, then you win.”
“Wow, really?” Mike felt dazed and happy. “So am I done now?”
“No, remember, the procedure. After Bob and Danielle testify, I may ask you to get back up on the stand, if they’ve hurt you.” Stephanie’s expression grew serious. “Just do the same great job you did before, and tell the truth.”
“Will do.”
“Now, when they testify, don’t react if something bothers you or makes you angry. Hang tough. Good to go?”
“Yes,” Mike told her, bracing himself.
Chapter Sixty-nine
Mike didn’t have to know Bob to see that he wasn’t happy in the witness stand, sitting upright with a frown and jerking his chin repeatedly out of his cutaway collar.
Franklin cleared his throat. “Mr. Ridgeway, where are you employed and for how long have you worked there?”
“I’m self-employed in a limited liability corporation, a law firm called The Ridgeway Group. We practice general business law in Erwin and have for almost fifteen years. I employ twenty-one people and intend to hire two new associates this year.”
“Mr. Ridgeway, please tell the court how you and your wife Danielle came to take Emily into your home.”
“Well, my wife’s younger sister passed away while Mike was on his first tour, and we were the only family Emily had. We were her only babysitters, too, and we love her and she loves us.” Bob’s expression relaxed, but not enough to smile. “My wife Danielle quit her job as my office administrator to stay home with Emily full-time, and Dr. Scanlon was more than happy to have us take her on.”
Mike shifted in the chair. Bob’s casual tone made it sound like he didn’t care, and looking back, he had to admit Emily wasn’t uppermost in his mind after Chloe died, especially when he found the booze. His arm throbbed.
“Mr. Ridgeway, did there come a time when Dr. Scanlon formally agreed that you and Danielle should have legal and physical custody of Emily for as long as necessary?”
“Objection, Your Honor,” Stephanie said, without getting up. “That calls for speculation about my client’s intent.”
“Your Honor, I’ll withdraw that question and save you the trouble of ruling.” Franklin reached for some papers on the table and brought them to the court clerk, who labeled them and handed them back. “I’d like to move into evidence as Respondents’ Exhibit D, the custody agreement between the parties.”
“Granted.” Judge Shield flipped through some papers on the dais. “The agreement was attached as an exhibit to your brief, and I’m familiar with it, so proceed.”
Franklin took the agreement to Bob. “Mr. Ridgeway, you’re familiar with this, aren’t you?”
“Yes, it was drafted by someone in my office, modeled after a form she found. We practice business law, not family law. I know that Dr. Scanlon thinks I wrote it, but I didn’t.”
Mike blinked, surprised. He’d thought Bob drafted it to screw him, but maybe he hadn’t.
“Mr. Ridgeway, the agreement clearly provides that you and Danielle will have custody of Emily for ‘as long as necessary.’ What was meant by that?”
Stephanie rose. “Objection, Your Honor, as to relevance. This isn’t a contract dispute, in which we need to determine the intent of the parties. It’s irrelevant whether the parties had a meeting of the minds about when the custody arrangement should end. The only inquiry today is what is in Emily’s best interests.”
Franklin turned to the judge. “Your Honor, it’s relevant because it shows that Dr. Scanlon was more than willing to entrust Emily to Danielle and Bob completely. In fact, he signed an agreement that essentially gave them full custodial rights for an indefinite term.”
Stephanie scoffed. “Your Honor, as it states in my brief, Dr. Scanlon didn’t intend to transfer his rights to his daughter forever. He trusted his brother-in-law to act as his lawyer with respect to the custody agreement. Moreover, Dr. Scanlon testified that he had faith in the care provided by the Ridgeways. Our position is that it was only temporary.”
Judge Shield nodded. “I’ll grant your objection, Ms. Bergen. Mr. Franklin, the contract is moot at this juncture. Please, move on.”
“Thank you, Your Honor.” Franklin pivoted neatly toward the witness stand. “Mr. Ridgeway, moving on, please tell the court about your relationship to Emily.”
“It’s wonderful. I love her, and I’ve been, in all practical effect, her father. She treats me like a father and she calls me Daddy.”
Mike cringed. Stephanie wrote on a legal pad in block letters, RELAX.
Franklin cocked his head. “Mr. Ridgeway, does Emily call Dr. Scanlon Daddy?”
“No, and she doesn’t really know him. She cries every time he holds her and always has.”
Mike reddened because Bob was right. Stephanie began tapping the eraser end of her pencil on the table.
Franklin nodded. “Mr. Ridgeway, who paid Emily’s expenses during the considerable time you and your wife gave her a home?”
“We did, all of them.” Bob frowned again. “I make an excellent living from my practice and I’m happy to do it. Mike said he’d pay us back, but I wouldn’t accept it. We’re her parents, for all intents and purposes.”
Mike was kicking himself. He hadn’t had a chance to settle up with them yet, and he should have made it a point.
“Mr. Ridgeway, while Emily was in your and your wife’s care, did she incur any accidents or injuries?”
“No.”
“Did you ever fall asleep while babysitting her?”
“No.”
Mike swallowed hard. It still killed him that he’d fallen asleep on Emily. Next to him, Stephanie wrote, DON’T WORRY, THIS IS GOING NOWHERE.
“Mr. Ridgeway, are you presently or have you ever had any problems with drugs or alcohol?”
“No.”
“Are you presently or have you ever had any issues regarding anger management?”
“No.”
“Have you ever been arrested or charged with any crime, including but not limited to assault?”
“No.”
Stephanie rose. “Objection as to relevance, Your Honor. Again, we have no quarrel with the level of care that Emily has been given while her father was deployed. Our position is that her father is willing and able to care for her, and he has presumptive custody. In the interest of saving this court’s time, especially in a snowstorm, we’d be willing to stipulate as much.”
Franklin hesitated, facing the judge. “Your Honor, this line of questioning will give the court a much fuller factual basis on which to base its decision, snowstorm or not.”
“I’m going to grant that objection.” Judge Shield twisted his chair to the witness stand. “Mr. Ridgeway, as a lawyer, you’re sophisticated enough to know that you are not on trial here, nor is your ability to care for Emily. In addition, weather aside, the last thing I would do is give short shrift to a matter of this magnitude, where a child’s safety and welfare are concerned.”
Bob nodded. “I understand, Your Honor.”
Franklin said, “Thank you, Your Honor. I have only one question left. Mr. Ridgeway, why do you think that you and your wife provide a better home for Emily than Dr. Scanlon?”
Stephanie rose. “Objection, Your Honor. The witness’s opinion on the ultimate question in this matter is irrelevant.”
Franklin opened his mouth to respond, but Judge Shield cut him off with a wave. “Denied, Ms. Bergen. You’re probably right as a technical matter, but I’m inclined to hear what Mr. Ridgeway has to say.”
“Thank you, Your Honor.” Franklin turned to the witness stand. “Mr. Ridgeway, please finish your answer.”
Bob nodded. “I’m not trying to take away anything from Dr. Scanlon, but facts are facts. He’s had a hard time since he’s been back, and the war definitely changed him. Even though that’s understandable and he’s getting help, we can’t pretend that it doesn’t affect Emily.”
Mike looked down. The war had changed him. He was different now. He knew it inside.
Bob continued, “Emily is happy with where she is, and we don’t have any problems like that. Danielle is always home with her, so she had the best possible care, and my wife is her aunt, a blood relative. The truth is, no woman on the earth loves Emily more than Danielle does.”
“Thank you.” Franklin turned to Judge Shield. “I have no further questions of Mr. Ridgeway, Your Honor.”
Stephanie remained standing. “Your Honor, I have no cross-examination of Mr. Ridgeway.”
Franklin’s head swiveled around in surprise, then he recovered. “Okay, then, Your Honor, if I may, I’d like to call Mrs. Danielle Ridgeway to the stand.”
Danielle rose and walked to the witness stand as Bob was excused, and Mike sensed the energy in the courtroom change, perceptibly. Judge Shield seemed to ease back in his chair, his long fingers going to his chin, and the court clerk smiled in a reassuring way. Danielle climbed the steps to the witness box, and when the court officer came over with the Bible, she looked nervous as she placed her hand on its pebbled cover.
“Do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”
“I do,” Danielle answered, her voice sweet and soft.
Mike found himself looking at Danielle with new eyes, maybe because she was out of her typical context, and she had never reminded him of Chloe more powerfully than at this moment. She exuded a vulnerability and kindness that she shared with Chloe, and he could feel his heart ache for her, which both surprised and confused him.
Franklin didn’t approach the witness stand, implicitly according Danielle a stage. “Mrs. Ridgeway, please tell us something about the care you’ve been giving Emily, on a full-time basis.”
Danielle smiled, faintly. “I don’t understand. Are you asking me what I’ve done, as a mother? Are you asking me what a mother does?”
Stephanie wrote on the legal pad, SHE DIDN’T KNOW THE FIRST QUESTION WAS COMING? But Mike felt a pang, because he had messed up his first question, too, and he understood what Danielle was saying.
Franklin paused. “Mrs. Ridgeway, let me clarify something before you answer. Both you and your husband use the term father and mother, but you’re well aware that you’re not Emily’s father and mother, isn’t that right?”
“Of course.” Danielle’s face fell. “Emily’s mother will always be my little sister Chloe. I loved my sister and I would never try to replace her. It was Emily who started calling me Mommy, and I think of myself as her mother, but these are semantics. To me, I always think about what’s best for Emily, and if it makes her more comfortable or more like the other kids to call me Mommy and Bob Daddy, then I’m fine with that. It’s always about what makes her feel happiest and most secure.”
Mike felt petty for having quibbled with Danielle about the terminology. Stephanie wrote on the pad, DON’T WORRY, THAT DOESN’T MATTER, LEGALLY.
“Mrs. Ridgeway, please tell us briefly the tasks you perform when you take care of Emily.”
Danielle nodded. “I don’t regard them as tasks, that’s the main point to make here. I’ve known Emily from the day she was born and I’ve raised her from when she was seven months old. If I listed the tasks, we’d be here forever, and they wouldn’t really tell you what it’s like to raise her, nor would they tell you what it’s like to be Emily and live in our home, as part of our family.”
Mike flashed on Sara’s memorial service at school, with Danielle, Bob, and Emily sitting with the other families. He couldn’t help but think that Danielle was making sense, though he’d never heard her articulate it before. Maybe he hadn’t given her the chance.
Stephanie was writing, STAY CALM. I WON’T OBJECT BECAUSE IT DOESN’T MATTER.
“Mrs. Ridgeway, can you describe for us your relationship to Emily?”
“I think that, like any mother of a young child, I’m her world.” Danielle’s tone grew even softer, almost with reverence. “Emily looks to me for all of her basic needs, but that’s only a fraction of what children, especially young children, need from mothers. I think those early years are so important. It’s not only when a child learns how to walk, talk, and feed herself, but more importantly, it’s when a child learns who they are, whether they can trust the world, and whether they’re loved.”