Page 78 of Of Literature and Lattes
He rushed over his words, not sure how to frame things or what details mattered, but by the end he thought he’d covered the salient points: Quick marriage. Quicker divorce. Becca’s birth. His move to Winsome. Krista’s plan to move to North Carolina.
At some point in the telling, Madeline had set down the latte and started typing.
“No, don’t take notes. I don’t want to take up your time. I just want to know if there’s anything I can do.”
Madeline’s fingers stilled for a moment. “I think better this way.” She typed on and started talking. “The move can’t be imminent. Your ex-wife has to provide you with written notice before leaving the state. So until that happens, perhaps she’s just dreaming.”
“But Becca said they were heading there to look at houses this week. When I asked Krista, she denied it, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t going.”
“Looking for a house isn’t moving. Don’t let that worry you. Not until she gives you official written notice. How are parenting rights allocated?”
Jeremy shook his head and leaned forward, resting his forearms on Madeline’s desk. “I’m not sure that applies to us. I didn’t have a lawyer when we divorced. I just signed the papers she sent to me and mailed them back to her. Becca wasn’t even born yet.”
“Is your divorce sited in Illinois or Washington?” At his shrug, Madeline typed up a storm before looking at him again. “Are you named on your daughter’s birth certificate?”
“Yes.” That question he could answer.
“Good. Now...” Madeline sat back and picked up her latte again. “Walk me through this... How does it work when you want to see your daughter?”
“I call and drive to pick her up if Krista lets me.”
“There are no set times?”
Jeremy shook his head.
“I need to do a little research into this, including getting eyes on that divorce agreement. I’d also like a copy of Becca’s birth certificate.” Madeline leaned forward. “At the most basic level, your ex-wife can’t move your daughter out of the state without your permission. You are Becca’s father. If Krista persists, I suspect our first step will be to file an injunction against her to keep her in Illinois until we work out your parenting rights, if you have none delineated.”
“How do we do that?”
“I file a petition with the court and we schedule a hearing. Two hearings. The first will request Krista stay in Illinois, and that can come fast. The second could take months. That one will determine parenting rights.”
Jeremy pushed forward. “But say I get weekends and Tuesdays or something; she can’t leave after that, can she? What will it matter if I have rights if Becca’s halfway across the country?”
Madeline’s eyes softened. “Let’s take this one step at a time.”
One step at a time. Jeremy sat back and thought about all those “one steps” he’d made over the past several months, and how few of them turned out to be good ones. “I don’t want to lose her.” He pressed his lips tight. “She’s a pretty incredible kid.”
“I would agree with that.” Madeline smiled.
Jeremy stood. “Okay. I’ll get you the papers and... What do you charge for this kind of help? For the Brendon stuff too, you never told me.”
Madeline smiled again. “Why don’t we worry about all that later too?”
Jeremy opened his mouth to protest. To accept such help, such generosity, was hard. It stuck in his throat and made him feel weak. But, quick on the heels of that thought, he reminded himself he had no money—and Janet knew it. And if Janet knew it, he suspected there were no secrets from Madeline either.
“Thank you. I will pay you... I will.”
“I trust you and I’m not worried, Jeremy.”
He waved good-bye to Janet and Claire on his way back through the bookstore and returned to his coffee shop. Everything inside him felt jumbled. But as much as he wanted to sit in the back office to settle, he needed to make one more stop.
Ryan stood at the register talking to a young woman, coffee already in hand.
Jeremy tapped him on the shoulder. “I’m sorry to leave again, but I need to go talk to Krista.”
Ryan glanced at him. “You okay?”
“I hope so. I’ll be back to close up.”
