“Oh, no worries,” I breathe. “I’m just so glad to have someone to talk to right away. This is so upsetting.”
“I completely get it, and I’m happy to give you an opinion as a friend of a friend, but I wouldn’t recommend taking any action based on my input until you talk to your own attorney,” he says. “This is just off the clock advice from a person with experience in family law.”
I assure him I understand where he’s coming from and then fill him in on the details of the suit. “He’s suing for full custody, claiming he’s more financially stable, since I’m living with my parents. He says he can provide Felicity with a home of her own, a room, a pool, a college fund, and everything else money can buy, as well as a traditional, nuclear family.”
My voice goes sour on the last sentence. I can’t help it. Learning Liam is married is the rotten cherry on this shit sundae.
Apparently, Liam and Char said their “I dos” a month ago, and are now ready to settle down and raise a baby.
My baby.
The sheer gall is enough to make steam come out of my ears.
I take a breath and keep going, “Liam says he can offer Felicity a more wholesome environment in a single-family home, without a sexual deviant charged with indecent exposure living in the house.” I sigh. “My dad was arrested for streaking down Main Street with his buddies. It’s his first offense and really not a big deal, but it’s going to look bad on paper.”
Chris makes a considering sound. “Yeah, it won’t look good. Anything else?”
Pulse picking up, I add, “There’s some other stuff in there—questioning my mothering skills, claiming I’m attempting to alienate him from his daughter even though I’ve been eager to facilitate visitation—but nothing unusual. Or true. I can prove I’ve been taking good care of Felicity and that I’ve tried to reach out to him numerous times to set up a visit. He’s the one who’s refused to engage.” I wipe my palm sweat on my jeans again. “So…what do you think?”
He clears his throat. “How long ago was your divorce final?”
I hesitate, glancing over my shoulder to ensure everyone is out of ear shot before I say in a softer voice, “Is this call confidential?”
“Of course,” he says. “I wouldn’t discuss your private business with Mason or anyone else.”
I bite my lip as I pace closer to the fence. “Liam and I were never married,” I confess. “But I haven’t told my parents. They’re old-fashioned and would lose their minds if they knew I wasn’t Liam’s wife when Felicity was born.”
“Oh, but that’s great,” Chris says in an upbeat voice. “Your ex will have a much harder time establishing parental rights if you weren’t married.”
“But his name is on her birth certificate,” I say, wishing I hadn’t been so adamant that Liam claim Felicity as his. At the time, I’d thought it would help us feel more like a family. Now, I just want to kick myself for being a fool. “And we signed paperwork. We both acknowledged that he’s the father.”
Chris grunts. “Well, that will make things less complicated for him. Paternity is already established. That’s one less thing he’ll have to prove.” He sighs. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it sounds like he’s got a decent case. Not a great case, but, depending on the judge, there’s a chance he could get shared custody. And maybe even compel you to move back to Nashville since that’s where you were both living when Felicity was born.”
“But my work and family are here,” I say, panic spiking hard and fast. “I don’t have the money to move back, and even if I did, I couldn’t afford childcare in Nashville. The only way I can afford it here is that my mom helps out. A lot. And the older ladies from church will watch Felicity nearly for free when my mom’s busy.”
“I hear you, childcare costs are crazy these days,” he says, sympathetically, “But if you get primary physical custody, which I would think is likely, then the father will have to pay some amount of support to help with childcare. What’s he paying now?”
“Nothing.” I shake my head and pace faster. “He hasn’t paid anything since we left. Even when I begged him for help. I had to borrow money from my parents at first, before I started working full-time for my sister’s catering company.”
“All right, that will look bad for his case, but—” Chris’s voice is muffled for a moment before he comes back on the line. “Sorry, I’ve got to go in a second. It’s time for the twins’ bath, and that’s been a two-parent job these days.”
Two parents.
God, what would it be like to have another parent around? Someone to get up in the night with Felicity a few times a week so I can get a full night’s sleep, someone to run buy more diapers while I put the baby down for a nap and grab a few minutes of peace on the front porch with a glass of tea and a good book? Someone to marvel with me at how fast our daughter is growing, to share in the milestones and the everyday miracles of raising her together?