Page 82 of Finding Home

Succinctly, I dash off three exclamation points at the end of Caleb’s note.

“You disowned your daughter when she got pregnant out of wedlock, did you not?”

“That’s not how it happened.”

“No?”

“No. Isuggestedshe marry the father. Orsomeone, at least. But Claudia wouldn’t listen to me, because her whole life, her mother told her a pack of lies about me and turned her against me.”

Paula perks up. “Is that so? What kinds of lies, Mr. Beaumont?”

Ralph’s face turns red. “She implanted false memories that turned Claudia against me.”

Paula leans an elbow on the lectern. “Describe the lies and false memories for me, please. In detail.”

Genius,I write on the notepad, trying not to smirk. Now that Ralph’s stupidly brought up the topic, how will he get out of this, without having to admit his daughter accused him of raping and molesting her? Sadly, Claudia’s not here to testify to that truth herself; but at least now, the judge will get to hear about those accusations through Ralph.

“I . . . I don’t remember,” Ralph stammers, his face turning even redder. Plainly, he’s realized his mistake.

Paula persists, at which point Ralph looks at his lawyer for help, prompting the guy to leap up and shout an objection.

“He brought it up himself as fact,” Paula argues evenly. “So now, he needs to back up his allegation.”

“I’ll allow it,” the judge says. She stares down Ralph. “Answer the question. What lies and/or false memories doyou allege your ex-wife implanted into your daughter’s brain to turn her against you?”

Ralph hems and haws and ultimately claims he doesn’t remember, exactly. And, eventually, the judge instructs Paula to move on to another line of questioning. The damage is done, though, if you ask me: Ralph now looks like a fucking liar.

Paula asks Ralph a bunch more questions, all of them designed to establish his lack of contact with Claudia and Raine, as well as his lack of parenting skills. And when that’s done, Paula returns to our table with a covert wink at Caleb.

“We’re done with our presentation, your honor,” Ralph’s attorney announces.

The judge trains her dark eyes on me. “Miss Capshaw? Your presentation, please.”

Shit. While I wring my hands underneath the table, my attorney smoothly rises from our table and checks his notes. He’s a smart guy whom I’ve come to trust. As we’ve discussed at length, I’m here to support Caleb’s bid for full custody of Raine and my own unlimited visitations rights, because that’s what I truly think is best for Raine. If I sense things aren’t going well for Caleb, however, we’re standing at the ready to pivot and ask for full custody formeand visitation rights forCaleb. Frankly, it’d pain me to do that to Caleb; but the most important thing is keeping Raine out of Ralph’s clutches, no matter what.

Someone fetches my first character witness, my mother, from that room down the hallway, and she proceeds to testify that I’m the kindest, sweetest, gentlest person in the whole world and the best possible guardian to Raine. She talks about her own love for Raine. The fact that Raine is part of our family. And when she’s asked about Caleb’sfitness as a father, my mother confirms he’s become a wonderful, caring, and gentle parent. One she wouldn’t hesitate to entrust Raine with, as long as our family is always allowed to be involved, too.

My attorney asks Mom a few questions about Ralph. Specifically, about his reputation in Prairie Springs and what she knows of his general character. But Ralph’s lawyer successfully shuts down most of the questions as “soliciting hearsay,” whatever that means.

Finally, my attorney asks, “What does the child call you, Mrs. Capshaw?”

“Grammy,” Mom answers proudly. “Which is perfect, because I certainly think of her as my granddaughter.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Capshaw. That’s all.”

Ralph’s attorney says he doesn’t wish to cross-examine my mother. Probably, because he’s wary of opening Pandora’s box on all the bad things my mother has heard about Ralph from living in Prairie Springs her whole life. So, in short order, it’s Dad’s turn to testify.

Like Mom, my father swears I’m the greatest person who ever lived in the history of the world and a spectacular guardian to Raine. He also repeats Mom’s endorsement of Caleb, and similarly gets shut down when trying to say Ralph Beaumont is “well known in Prairie Springs” to be a “really bad guy and a liar.” Finally, when it comes time to reveal Raine’s nickname for him, Dad answers proudly, “She calls me Pop-Pop, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

As with Mom, Ralph’s lawyer chooses not to ask Dad any questions. Which means, ready or not, it’s now time for me to take the stand and try to do everything in my power to keep my baby girl away from the man who’s evil incarnate.

“How do you know Ralph Beaumont?” my lawyer asks me, after getting some preliminary stuff out of the way.

“He’s my best friend’s father. Claudia and I used to go over to each other’s houses all the time, growing up, when we both lived in Prairie Springs.”

“Did a time come when you stopped going over to Claudia’s house?”

“Yes. After I witnessed Mr. Beaumont punching and shoving Claudia’s mother—” Ralph’s attorney bolts up and makes a screaming objection that makes me flinch. There’s a big bruhaha, as all the lawyers and the judge squabble about the situation. But, finally, I’m allowed to continue my answer, with the admonishment that I’m only allowed to testify to things I’ve personally witnessed with my own physical senses, and not about things I might have heard, second-hand, from Claudia or anyone else.

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