“Mr.
Wills, how are you managing now? How do you intend to support your kids…without a job?”
“I have a job. I can support them well.”
“Be specific, Mr.
Wills. What job and what’s the salary?”
“It…It’s a part-time freelance gig. I’m a video editor.”
“Mr.
Wills, I admire your confidence, despite your climbing down the career ladder! I’m sure you make nothing much like you used to in your previous job, right?” the lawyer added ironically. “A freelance job.
Low salary. And raising two kids in today’s recession. Well…That’s all, Your Honor.”
Sara was then called up to the box as Harry’s heart started pounding.
“Ms.
Sara, can you please tell us about your life with your husband…I mean, soon-to-be ex-husband?” Harry’s lawyer asked. “Did he ever refuse to give you money or care for you in any way?”
“No…Not at all. He was always generous with our finances.
We never had any issues with money.”
“Did Mr. Wills ever raise his hands on you or the kids? Has he ever come home drunk and misbehaved at home?”
“No, he never laid a hand on us.
My husband. Sorry. Mr.
Wills has never come home drunk.”
“Your husband has taken care of you. You even agreed on that. He’s never laid his hands on you.
Then why did you leave him and the kids?”
“I had a nervous breakdown. I was so depressed with the things going on in my house. My husband never had time for me.
He was always busy. He would come home and sit with his laptop, barely asking me if I was sick…happy…or sad. I tried to cope.
But I couldn’t do it anymore and left. I didn’t want my kids to struggle with me as I wasn’t emotionally stable at that time. So I had no choice but to leave them with their father.”
Harry slowly started to break on the inside, and those words hit him like a bag of bricks.
“Ms.
Sara, where were you these six months? What were you doing, and how will you care for the kids?”
“I was in Chicago at a friend’s place. I wanted to be away from everything and everyone for a while.
Then I moved back to Boston…got a job as an interior designer.”
“What’s the guarantee you won’t have another breakdown and won’t abandon the kids again?” the lawyer broke Sara’s silence.
“Objection, Your Honor. This is baseless and….” Sara’s lawyer chimed in. “My client Ms.
Sara has come for the children’s custody. Why would she leave them again?”
“Order…Order.”
“I won’t do it ever again. My children are my world.
I’ll be there for them and never let anything like that happen again.”
And two hours later, the verdict was announced, and Sara was granted custody of the kids.
“….Mr. Wills, you’ll have the right to visit your children and take them with you two days a week. You’re required to pay $860 as support to your children every month.
This case is now closed.”
It was a pleasant Sunday morning for everyone but Harry. The kettle sat on the stove, shooting a plume of hot steam as he watched his kids put their favorite Lego toys in the cardboard box.
“And here you go…the roller skates are in this box. And Sonny, no ice cream after bed, alright?
And you there, little fella…No fighting with your brother, okay?”
The boys nodded, their eyes downcast.
“Daddy, are we not going to live as one happy family like we used to? With Mommy?”
Harry hugged his kids, trying his best not to cry. And just as he secretly dropped those tears while hugging them, there was a loud knock on the door.
“Hey!” Harry smiled at Sara.
“Come in.”
“Mommy! Mommy!” the boys ran to her.
“I…I’ll just go get the things out of their bedroom,” Harry pulled himself together to gather his children’s stuff to be taken down the elevator.
“Mommy, we missed you so much.”
“It’s okay, sweetie. Mama will never leave you again.
Never.”
Just as Sara held the boys’ hands and turned around to leave, she stopped.
“Honey, what’s the matter? It’s time to leave.”
“You’re just tearing us apart,” spoke Cody, the eldest of the two, as he let go of Sara’s hand and bolted to his father.
“We want Mommy and Daddy,” added Sonny.
Harry gently brushed his children’s hair with his fingers and hugged them tighter, sighing a deep heavy breath.
“It’s okay, little fellas…It’s okay.”
Sara could no longer hold herself back. She bolted in their direction and hugged them, the embrace lasting for a few minutes before she looked Harry in the eyes.
What can we learn from this story?
Source: amomama
