Cracks in the Sidewalk(37)

“Sole legal custody,” JT repeated. “That’s good, real good.”



Five days later Claire McDermott stood at the front door of her house and signed for the registered letter sent from the family law division of the Union County Court. Even before she’d closed the door, Claire could sense bad news seeping through the paper. Registered letters were almost always bad news. Friendly mail waited in a mailbox until a person had time for it. Bad news was something Elizabeth could do without, Claire reasoned. She carried the envelope into the kitchen and slit it open. The document inside read:

Caruthers v Caruthers

Petition for Sole Legal Custody of Three Minor Children

“This is ridiculous,” Claire grumbled. “He’s already got custody!”

She slapped the paper down on the counter and walked into the dining room. For several minutes she stood there staring out the window, seeing nothing but the words: sole legal custody. Finally she turned back to the kitchen, picked up the paper, and began to read.

Apparently Jeffrey wasn’t only seeking custody of the children, he was also asking the court to deny Elizabeth’s request for visitation rights because it was not in the best interest of his children and would cause them undue emotional distress.

“His children,” Claire huffed. “His! That’s so JT, acting as if Liz had no part in the birth of those babies!”

For a good two minutes Claire stood there talking to herself, giving voice to her anger. Finally she picked up the telephone and called Charlie at his office. “You can’t imagine what he’s done now.”

“What who’s done?” Charlie replied.

Claire gave an audible huff. “You know who I mean. Jeffrey!”

“Oh.” Charlie sighed.

“He’s filed a petition asking for custody of the kids.”

“Hasn’t he already got custody?”

“He wants sole custody! He wants to deny Liz visitation rights!”

“That’s ridiculous! No court is going to—”

“Maybe not,” Claire interrupted. “But we can’t take a chance that—”

“We’re not going to,” Charlie answered. “Call Dudley, and let him know what’s going on. He’ll handle it.”

“Are you sure Dudley can—”

“Of course he can. He’s a lawyer!”

Claire hung up the telephone wishing she felt more certain of Dudley Grimm’s capabilities. He was such a mild-mannered man, so soft-spoken and small, so slender and only inches taller than Claire herself. She would have preferred someone with a booming voice and powerful girth, someone capable of striking fear into the opposition.

~

That evening Claire met Charlie when he came through the door. “Don’t mention this to Liz,” she whispered. “She doesn’t know.”

“Doesn’t know?” Charles echoed. “Why?”

“I don’t want to worry her right now. She’s had a good day, so why spoil it?” Claire went back to preparing dinner.

Two days later Dudley Grimm telephoned Claire.

“Judge Brill called a conference with me and Jeffrey’s lawyer,” he said.

“Why?”

“My guess would be that his docket is overloaded. He’s probably going to ask that we come to a mutually agreeable resolution out of court.”

“The judge can conference all he wants, but I’ll never give up Liz’s right to see her children nor will I agree to Jeffrey having sole custody.”

“Claire,” Dudley said, “you don’t get to make any of the decisions in this case. These actions concern only Elizabeth and Jeffrey. As far as the court is concerned, you and Charles are basically bystanders.”

“Excuse me?” Claire’s voice was riddled with indignation. “We are not simply off-the-street bystanders. We’re the children’s grandparents!”

“But as I explained, in the state of New Jersey grandparents have no legal standing in a custody battle. The only exception would be a case where both parents are either deceased or declared unfit to raise the children.”

Claire sputtered a few more objections, but when she hung up the telephone she knew the time had come to tell Elizabeth.



Judge Brill didn’t tolerate squabbling lawyers and frivolous actions, something he made perfectly clear before he’d settled into his seat.

“I see no reason why I should have a case such as this on my docket.”

“Your Honor,” Dudley Grimm said mildly. “My client is a dying woman who has asked for nothing more than a few personal mementos and access to her three children.”

“Reasonable enough request,” Judge Brill commented. He turned to Noreen Sarnoff. “Why does your client have a problem with that?”

“Well, Your Honor.” Noreen sighed in the breathless way that caught men off guard. “The children in question are young and extremely impressionable. The father feels that seeing their mother die in front of them would cause extreme emotional trauma.” She gave another sigh. “Then there’s the issue of the grandparents—”

“The grandparents,” Dudley cut in, “are responsible and upstanding parents who have stepped in to care for their terminally-ill daughter because her husband refused to do so. Understandably, they are concerned about the welfare of her children.”