Playing House

I don’t know how much time had passed by the time I woke up, but the sun was still out so I figured it couldn’t be that late.

I walked out of my bedroom and slowly made my way downstairs, where I saw the living room completely cleaned up and back to normal. I heard noise in the kitchen, so that’s where I went next. I walked in and saw Ben at the table, feeding Beau and Maddie. I looked at the clock, which read 1:33 PM.

“Hey,” Ben greeted, immediately coming up to me.

“Hey,” I whispered, letting him engulf me in his arms. He just stood there with me for a few moments before my children started getting fussy. Ben kissed my forehead and went back to his seat, giving my kids more food. I stood to the side and watched, letting scary thoughts overtake me.

Jake came from a fairly well off and powerful family, so there was no doubt in my mind he could actually get custody of the kids.

Ben finished feeding the kids, and sent them off to play in the living room when he saw my dazed expression. He came over to me and rubbed my arms, asking me what was wrong.

“What if he gets the kids? I don’t know what I’d do if-”

“Hey, it’s alright. He was probably just angry, spouting shit. Do you really think he wants full custody of the kids after trying to avoid you all for so long?” Ben pointed out.

As soon as Ben finished, the phone rang. He kissed my forehead and pulled away, going to answer the phone.

“Hello?” Ben greeted. The person on the other line spoke, and Ben’s features immediately darkened. “Excuse me?” He started having a heated discussion with the other person as I looked on anxiously. When they were done, he slammed the phone down angrily.

“What is it?” I asked, his features softened when he looked up at me, and I could almost see pity in his features. He walked over to me and put his hands on my hips. “Ben?”

“That was Jake’s lawyer…they want to have a meeting tomorrow,” Ben told me. I couldn’t stop the tears from springing to my eyes, and Ben just pulled me in for a hug. “I’m sorry. But we’ll get through this, I promise.”

His words didn’t comfort me, because he didn’t have anything to lose.

I did.

There was no we.

Early the next day, Marty and Patrick came over to take care of the kids while I was dealing with all this lawyer stuff. I didn’t have a lawyer, because I couldn’t afford one, but Ben offered to let me use his.

I wasn’t sure if you needed a special kind of lawyer to do custody stuff, but it was better than nothing. It was an informal meeting at some restaurant, so I begged Ben to go with me,

Okay, so I didn’t have to beg. I pretty much got half way through my request and Ben had already agreed.

So here we were, Ben, me, Ben’s lawyer and Jake’s lawyer, sitting at the restaurant and waiting. Jake was never on time for anything before, so it didn’t surprise me that he wasn’t on time now. Eventually Jake’s lawyer got a phone call and he excused himself.

He came back a few moments later, looking somewhat annoyed.

“Alright,” Jake’s lawyer started. “My client is not able to attend this meeting, but he has instructed me about what he wants, so let’s get started?” I rolled my eyes. This was just like Jake to not even show up to a meeting this important. “We are having this meeting because my client is requesting full custody of the children he and Ms. Williams had together. Listen Ms. Williams, I’m going to be completely honest with you. I don’t think Jake is fit to be the guardian to these children.”

My eyes snapped up at that moment, and I studied this lawyer. What was he playing at?

“Just based on his relationship with you and his children in the past, and the fact that he didn’t even show up to this goddamn meeting, it’s clear that he’s irresponsible. But, I’m afraid that’s the only thing working in your favor,” he explained.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“He’s got status, Ms. Williams. His name holds a lot of clout around here. Why do you think I’m representing him although I clearly am not in favor of him?” The lawyer chuckled. “He’s got money, and a lot of it. Even if you somehow got a judge who would treat this case like any other, they’re going to side with Jake. He’s got a job, a car, a house, a stable relationship, and can provide a solid future for these children. I don’t mean to offend, but you on the other hand…”

“Wait, what do you mean he has a stable relationship?” Ben asked.

“You know…a girlfriend. Well, she’s his fiancée,” the man answered.

“Why would he lie?” I questioned. The lawyer looked at me quizzically. “He came to me because he said he wanted to get back together and be a family. But he’s got a fiancée, so I don’t understand.”

“He wants the children, Ms. Williams. That’s why he’s doing all of this. The company he works for, it’s run by his father, you know that.” I nodded. “His father refuses to hand over the company unless Jake's got heirs. The woman Jake is with now, she can’t have children.”

“So…what, he’s just going to show up one day with two year old twins?” Ben’s lawyer pointed out.

“I don’t know the details, I just know the basics. I’m sorry,” Jake’s lawyer shrugged.

“So, what exactly can I do to retain my custody?” I asked.

“Not much,” Jake’s lawyer replied, causing my heart to sink. “The hearing is in less than two months, and you’d need to do a lot by then. Basically, just provide these children with a certain future, and you’ll have a better shot. Courts tend to side with the mother, but this is kind of an odd case. Do you have a job?”

“I’m his housekeeper,” I said, pointing to Ben.

“A house?”

“Uh, well, I live in his house,” I replied, pointing to Ben again.

“A car?”

“Er…no,” I answered.

“A college fund for the twins?”

“Well, I haven’t really started that yet…” I informed.

“A stable relationship partner that could possible provide all these things?”

I glanced at Ben but he looked away.

“Um. No. Not really,” I whispered.

“Well, that’s the hill you have to climb within the next few weeks, I’m sorry to say. Listen, the only other thing I can do to help you is try and pull some strings and get a good judge,” he said, gathering his things. “The rest is up to you. Good luck.” He stood from the table and shook all our hands, and I told him thank you.

I don’t even remember the ride home, because I was in such a daze.

As soon as Ben and I walked through the front door, Beau and Madeline immediately ran and engulfed me in a hug, snapping me back to reality.

I couldn’t hold back anymore, as I slid to the floor crying with them in my arms. They looked at me confused, but remained silent. Marty and Patrick came into the room, and their smiles faded when they saw me. The glanced at each other and then at Ben, who just shook his head.

“Come on,” Ben whispered in my ear, pulling me up. The kids still clung on to me, and I didn’t want to let them go. Ben led me over to the couch and made sure the three of us were comfortable before going to talk to Sharpie and Havlat. The kids were immersed in the television, but I kept my gaze rooted on them.

Who knew how much longer I’d be able to be this close to them?

I heard Marty and Patrick leave, and Ben came over and told the kids it was naptime. I reluctantly let him take them from my arms and he disappeared upstairs. When he came back down, he knelt down right in front of me and wiped my tear streaked face. He grabbed my hands and gave them a squeeze, which only made me cry harder.

He pulled me forward and kissed my temple, telling me it was all going to be alright.

“No it’s not,” I whispered. He pulled back and looked into my eyes. He stood up and tugged me along with him, heading upstairs. We walked into his bedroom and he shut the door behind me, before rifling though his drawers. He pulled out an old jersey of his and tossed it to me, but I was too tired to move. I stood there and stared at it while tears formed in my eyes again.

Ben had already discarded his clothes and thrown some sweatpants on before slowly walking towards me. He set his hands on my waist before moving them upwards, taking my shirt with him. His hands then went to the button of my jeans, unfastening it and guiding them off my hips. I stepped out of them and he pulled the jersey over my head.

We both got in bed and he wrapped his arms around me, holding me close.

“Amalia, we’ll figure something out, okay?”

It was hard not to believe him, because his voice was so firm and his eyes were so sincere. But I knew better. I knew he thought he was being honest, and had no idea that what he was saying wasn’t true. But the truth was, my children were going to be taken away from me, and there was nothing I could do about it.