Page 100 of Stone Rules

I look from him over to Charlie, cursing myself for letting Thompson get to me last weekend. “Yes,” I tell him. “He approached us at a club. He said some very unpleasant things about Charlie. I told him to stay away from us.”

“Told him?” he asks, raising his eyebrows.

“I may have had him pinned up against a brick wall when I did.”

“Shit, Ethan. Witnesses?” he asks.

I nod. “Yeah. Charlie and three of our friends.”

He shakes his head. “Okay. Well, let me lay it all out for you. This is just a temporary restraining order. There will be a hearing in thirty days to determine if it will become permanent. But I won’t sugar-coat it, Ethan. The guy has a case against you. And he has witnesses to prove it. Even though they are your friends, they can still be called to testify for him and I’m sure you wouldn’t want to put them at risk by asking them to lie under oath.”

I sigh. “I would never ask them to do that.”

“Given the circumstances,” John says, looking at Charlie’s pregnant belly, “you may find a judge sympathetic to your situation. Honestly though, it could go either way. But for now, this order is a ‘stay away’ order which means you can’t go to his residence, his place of employment, or any other location that would put you within a hundred yards of him.”

“That won’t be a problem,” I tell him. “I don’t want to be anywhere near that asshole.”

John looks at me in sympathy. “Ethan, you don’t understand what I’m telling you. You can’t be where he is. If you are, he can have you arrested. You can’t beanywherehe is. That includes the hospital if he chooses to be there when the baby comes.”

Charlie gasps and touches my hand before getting up to pace the room.

“What? That’s crazy,” I tell him. “Do you mean to say he can keep me from watching this baby being born? From supporting Charlie through it? From witnessing one of the greatest things a man can experience?”

He nods. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“Fuck!” I slam my palm on the table.

Charlie walks over and rubs my shoulders. “Ethan, how will he ever know when the baby is coming if we don’t tell him?”

“You are required to tell him,” John says. “That was in the original court papers you got served. You are required to tell him about all things related to the baby, including when you go into labor. If you don’t, you could be brought up on charges for withholding information. That will not help your case against him if he turns out to be the father.”

“So, what do we do, John?”

“What’s your due date, Charlie?”

“December 5th,” she says.

“That’s about seven weeks.” He looks at the restraining order again and thinks for a minute. “Honestly, if it were me, I’d get that paternity test.”

“Get the paternity test?” I ask. “Now?”

“Yes,” he says. “The guy pretty much has you over a barrel, Ethan. And you are close enough to her due date that it doesn’t really matter anymore. I mean, the way it is now, he can prevent you from being at the birth if he gets the permanent order. If it turns out he’s the father, he can make things very difficult as well, even if a judge doesn’t award him the order. But you seemed to indicate to me there is a fifty-fifty chance this child is his. And as I see it right now, fifty-fifty is the best shot you have to get him out of your life. How long does it take to get the results of the test back?”

“I think Dr. Chavis told us it would take two to three weeks.”

“Good, so you’ll have the results back before the hearing. Get the test. We’ll deal with the rest later. Until then, stay away from him. Don’t give him any more ammunition.”

“Thanks, John,” I say, shaking his hand and walking him to the door.

I join a very somber Charlie on the couch. “We will get through this,” I tell her. “Together.” I touch her engagement ring. “You are so strong, Charlie. Look at what you did today. You just need to be strong for a little longer. Can you do that?”

She nods, giving me a barely-there smile. “As long as I have you, I can do anything.”

“That reminds me, I guess now we’ll have to take two tests this week.”

“Two?” she asks.

“Yeah. The paternity test and the marriage license test.”

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