“No, we’re okay, but Kathy’s parents showed up at my house a few minutes ago and tried to take Owen. They have a lawyer, and there’s a court date in L.A. in a month and a half. They gave me a legal document that says they’re suing for full custody. What am I going to do? I can’t afford a lawyer, but I won’t let them take him! I absolutely refuse!”
“Sweetheart, let me handle this. I’m on my way to the airport, and as soon as we hang up, I’m going to hire the best law firm in California to represent you.”
“The airport? Where are you going?”
“I’m coming to you, mi amor. Please don’t cry. I swear to you, I won’t allow anyone to take your son away.”
I hugged my knees to my chest as I muttered, “They looked wealthy. Kathy’s parents, I mean. He’s a dentist. They probably hired a really good lawyer.”
“It doesn’t matter who they hired, because our lawyers will be better. Now I need you to do something for me, sweetheart.”
“What?”
“Take pictures of the legal document they gave you and send it to me. Their lawyer’s name will be on it, take a picture of that first and text it to me. I want to know who we’re dealing with. Send me any information you have on Kathy’s parents, too.”
“All I have is a business card.”
“That’s a good start.” Lucky’s voice sounded muffled as he spoke to someone on his end. Then he came back on the line and said, “I need to go now, so I can start making calls. Send me the lawyer’s information and the business card right away, okay?”
“I will. Thank you so much, Elian.”
“I’m so glad you called me, sweetheart. See you soon.” With that, he ended the call.
I took photos of the business card and the lawyer’s name as instructed and texted them to Lucky, who replied: That’s perfect. Please don’t worry, Logan. I promise I’ve got you. The fact that he seemed so confident helped to slightly ease the feeling that something was crushing my chest.
After I took pictures of the entire document and emailed it to Lucky, I called Kathy. She’d never answered the texts I’d sent over the last couple of months, asking for information on the baby’s immunizations and some other things. But my texts had gone through, so I assumed this was still a working number.
It went straight to voice mail, so I left her a message that said, “Kathy, it’s Logan. Your parents just showed up on my doorstep unannounced. They’re trying to get custody of Owen. What the hell? Did you put them up to this? Call me back, I need answers.”
I paced around for a minute or two, hoping she’d call right back, but of course she didn’t. Owen was watching me with wide eyes, and when I realized I was worrying him, I pulled up a smile and said, “Come on, kiddo, let’s go make some lunch. You’re probably hungry.” He smiled at me and took my hand, which made my heart clench in my chest.
It was tough to keep my emotions hidden, but I tried my best as I made Owen some food, then sat beside him while he ate. My stomach was in knots, so my own meal went untouched.
After lunch, the baby seemed tired so I took him upstairs for a nap. Once he was asleep, I curled into a ball on my bed and called Hal, who answered with, “Perfect timing. I’m all alone at work and bored to death, so you can entertain me.”
“Something’s happened.”
“What’s wrong?” He sounded panicked, so he must have heard a lot in those two words.
I told him all about the unexpected visit and the fact that I’d be fighting for custody, and he muttered, “Shit, I can’t believe this is happening! Did Kathy ever mention her parents?”
“She told me they were mean and verbally abusive, so she left home at eighteen and cut all ties with them. I don’t think she’s spoken to them in the last four years. She’s an only child, so maybe they want the baby to replace their long-lost daughter or something. Who knows?”
“It’s infuriating that she hasn’t called you back. Have I mentioned I never liked her?”
“Yeah, you have.”
“What’s the name of the law firm her parents hired? I want to look it up.” I repeated the name I’d seen on the legal document, and he said, “Okay, one sec. I’m just waiting for the work computer to boot up. We mostly just use it for inventory.”
“Are you sure we should be doing this right now? I don’t want you to get fired for goofing off on the job.”
“The boutique has had zero customers all day. Plus, let them fire me. They’d be doing me a favor by freeing me from retail hell.” I could hear him typing, and after a moment he said, “Shit, this law firm looks super fancy. They’re like, the kind of lawyers who’d charge five hundred bucks an hour just to chat with you.”
“Is that how much lawyers charge?”
“I’d say two to four hundred dollars an hour is typical, but—oh fuck.”
“What’s wrong?”