Page 84 of Brother to Brother

I rose, shaky, and with feet that felt like lead, I plodded to the witness box, and climbed the two steps. I woodenly went through the motions of swearing in and what have you and sank into the chair, focusing on Archer and studiously ignoring my parents. I was giving it everything I had just trying not to hyperventilate.

“Mrs. Turner, why did you leave your parent’s house?” he asked me, “Why did you pick up in the middle of the night and drive all the way here, across several states, without having any assurance that you’d have a place here for you when you got here?”

I looked over to my sleeping boy and the fractured ache in the center of my chest throbbed anew, “Because I could see it,” I said and sniffed, unable to stop the tears from slipping free. I looked up at the Judge, and said, “Because they were killing my little boy’s spirit just like they did mine and he wasn’t even out of diapers yet. He still isn’t. Because I realized the longer that we stayed there, the more they would just keep emotionally beating me down and keep stripping my little boy’s sparkle and shine away.”

“Was there something specific that happened to make you leave?”

“Phillip hit me, in front of Noah. It was bad enough they were screaming at me in front of my son, but when he back handed me, I was done. I didn’t want my son raised in an environment where he thought that that wasokayornormal. I want my son to grow up to be like his father now, like Archer – excuse me, Charles Turner, my husband.”

Archer’s look softened as he gazed at me from across the room and I sighed. The Judge asked mea lotof questions, and I told him everything. About how I’d been trying to save money. About how my parents kept changing the rules mid-game and how it was impossible to keep up. I told him how I’d brought Noah into this world alone, and how I realized that if I could dothat, that I could take care of him myself too.

I told him about how when I arrived, it was to find out Noah’s biological father had died. I told him the truth, all of it, and then I tearfully begged him not to give those monsters my baby.

The Judge thanked me quietly and let me get up to go back to my seat. When I got there, Archer stood and pulled me in tight, kissing the top of my head while I bawled all my bitterness and fear onto his nice but so-wrong-on-him suit. He got me into my seat and rocked me back and forth while the Judge called a recess to deliberate.

It took me the whole fifteen to twenty minutes to calm down and get ready to hear his decision. When he came back, it was with a grim expression on his face. He sat down and waved all of us down to sit, too. I sank into my chair and watched him.

He scoffed and took off his glasses, rubbing a hand over his eyes and then the rest of his face. He sighed before saying, “I’ve been in family law for almost fifty years, and I’ve been sitting on this bench for more than thirty-five of ‘em and I haveneverseen anything come across my desk like this right here.”

He looked over at my parent’s table and leaned heavily on his bench in their direction, “First off, your case for kidnapping has no legal standing whatsoever as your daughter is your grandson’s custodial parent. Always has been, and to put her mind at ease, I’m telling you right now, shealways will be.” I sagged into Archer, the wind sucked clear from my lungs, gasping to reclaim it.

“Second of all, I quiteagreewith Ms. Washington, your blatant attempt at using the system to terrorize Mrs. Turner and her son, are quite probably, the most disgusting abuse of the legal system I have ever seen and that is saying a lot. I don’t think you realize whatcouldhave happened and it horrifies me that one of those things that could have happened would be that your grandson landed in your care.

“I can tell you straight off that thatisn’tgoing to happen today, or any other day for that matter. I am denying your petition for custody, and what’s more, I am issuing an order of protection against you in favor of Mr. and Mrs. Turner, that way your attempted abuse of the system is on record.”

The Judge shook his head, “I don’t know where you people get off,” he said and turned to me, “Mrs. Turner, I am so very sorry that you had to be here today, and that you’ve had to live with your fear for this long. You have, by all accounts, been doing a marvelous job as a mother and I wish you and your family all of the best.”

“Thank you, Your Honor,” I said faintly, still in disbelief.

“I will leave it up to you, on if you want to show your parents the love, mercy, and compassion they have seen fit to withhold from you by allowing them to be a part of your life and your son, their grandson’s life. I am still going to put forth this no contact order against your parents. If you wish to have your parents be a part of your life again, you will need to have that vacated before any visitation can take place, lest you find yourself in violation of the order. Restraining orders, no contact orders, orders of protection – whatever you would like to call them, are a two way street. Am I understood?”

“Yes, Your Honor. Thank you, Your Honor,” Archer said for me. I was too stunned. My mother was howling and wailing. Her church ladies trying to console her, and Phillip was whispering furiously with their lawyer.

“My decision is final, so entered, so ordered, this hearing is adjourned.”

He banged his gavel and my side of the courtroom erupted in whoops and cheers, along with applause.

“We won?” I asked stunned, it hadn’t quite sunk in.

“We won,” my lawyer confirmed. I held tightly to Archer, and stared at my son who Ms. Washington was bringing to me.

“I don’t understand” I said, “Good things just don’t happen to us without something going horribly wrong.”

Archer barked a laugh, “That may have been the way of things before, but not anymore, Baby. I promised you that I’d protect our family and I meant it. You, me, Noah, and our little bean you got growing in there. Now let’s get out of here.”

I took Noah from her who was justout,slept through the whole damn hearing, which I was so grateful for.

“You have a beautiful family, now go on and get out of here, Melody. You have much better places for y’all to be.”

“Oh you wretched girl!” my mother cried when I turned around to leave. The Judge was long gone and I didn’t even remember him leaving.

“Me?” I asked incredulous, “Take a look in the mirror, Mother. Jesus, I can’t even with you,” I said and let Archer lead me out through the gallery. His club brothers, and my club sisters forming a human blockade between me and my former family.

“Head to the club,” Revelator called out and I marched right out to the parking lot and my car, my son in my arms. I put him carefully in his car seat and strapped him in.

“Come on, Baby. I’m driving,” Archer declared.

“Good, because I’m so not fit to do it.”

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