Page 83 of Baby Blue
Blue held his breath. “Let me pull my case notes,” she said and grabbed that damn legal pad she had every time he saw her. “Here it is. According to my notes, the house wasn’t fancy but it was tidy. Plenty clean enough. The child had more than adequate clothing and food, and he had done a good job putting together a nursery. In all, he was respectful and she seemed content and healthy.”
“Did you ask about her physical well-being? Had he taken her to a doctor?”
“Yes. He said he’d discovered that she hadn’t had her immunizations and he was in the process of getting them up to date.”
“And has he?”
“Yes, sir. He’s provided me with proof that he has done that.”
“Very good.” Glen stood for a minute and thought before he asked, “What about childcare?”
“He’s worked out a good system with his neighbor who’s a nurse.” She stopped when Mr.Casey gave a snort. “It seems he’s built a good support network that includes other people too. Plus I gave him a checklist before his home study, and there were no deficiencies. None.”
“What would you say, on a scale of one to five, with five being the best and one being the worst, are his parenting skills?”
Ms.Parker shrugged. “Hard to say, but right now, I’d give him a four and a half to a five.”
Blue’s mouth fell open. He’d been sure the woman hated him, but she obviously thought he was doing a good job. Having her testify had seemed like a horrible idea to him, but Glen had insisted, and it had paid off. “So, Ms.Parker, is it your opinion that Mr.Wallace is fit to be a parent?”
“Yes, sir. If I believed otherwise, the child would’ve already been removed.”
“Thank you. No more questions.”
Mr. Casey stood. “So, in your opinion, what will happen to the child if it’s discovered that the infant isn’t his? What kind of trauma will that cause?”
“There’s no way of knowing. Of course, the paternity test will tell us decisively if he’s her biological father.”
“There’s been no paternity test, correct?” Casey asked.
“Oh, yes,” Ms.Parker said, and Casey’s face fell. “We felt we needed one. He and his attorney signed off on the request.” She cleared her throat and clasped her hands together on top of her legal pad as it lay in her lap. “They asked the testing company to send the results to our office so no one could accuse them of tampering with anything.”
Dear god,Blue thought. He felt a little faint, but Glen put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back into the moment. “Do you have them?” Casey asked.
“Yes. No one’s seen them yet, but I’ll be glad to open the envelope.”
“Please,” the judge said. Ms.Parker pulled out the envelope, tore it open, and pulled out a sheet of paper. “Do you know how to interpret the results, Ms.Parker?” JudgeHargrove asked.
“Yes, sir. And this says… it is with ninety-nine point nine seven five percent surety that Mr.Wallace is the infant’s biological father.”
Blue had all he could take. He dropped his face to the table and sat there, afraid to look around. There was no scientific doubt?Indigo was his daughter. He heard Mr.Casey say, “No more questions, YourHonor.”
There was only one person left, and that person took a deep breath and lifted his face from the table. It had gone well, and he prayed he wouldn’t ruin it at the last minute. All he really wanted to do was run to the holding room, grab Indigo, and run as fast and far as possible. He was wondering if he could pull that trick off when the judge said, “The court calls BrentWallace.”
Blue’s feet were heavy as lead as he made his way to the witness box. The judge made him take the oath and he took a seat. Glen instructed him to state his entire name, his age, and where he lived. Then he asked Blue the simplest question he could’ve asked: “If you could say anything to the court, what would it be?”
Blue sat for a minute and thought. Whatwouldit be? “Anything?” Glen nodded. “Well, um, I guess I’d say that my life has been one big surprise. It never seemed that I was in control of anything, not who I lived with, or where I went to school, or even if I went to school, or what I ate, or what I wore. I ran away when I was seventeen and lived on the streets, but I didn’t have the tools I needed to make good decisions because I’d never been taught, so I was clueless. But I’ve learned more about how to live, how to make decisions, how to conduct myself, and how to interact with people in a healthy way in the last six months than I have in my whole life. Between caring for an innocent, dependent little human and working with others who’ve volunteered to help me, I’ve learned a lot. I’ve grown as a person. I’ve developed more confidence and stretched myself. And it’s all because of Indigo. Letting her down is something I’d die before I’d do. She doesn’t deserve that. She deserves a happy life.” Blue stopped and stared at his shaking hands. He couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“Would you say you’re a good parent?” Glen asked.
Blue sighed. “You know, I don’t know, but if I’m not, it’s not for lack of trying. When I lost my job and didn’t have any money, I did something I never thought I’d do?I signed up for government assistance. When I had some money, I made sure she had everything she needed before I bought anything for myself, and that included food. I’d starve before I’d let her go hungry. I’ve tried to make sure she’s socialized so she knows how to relate to people. I’ve read that stack of baby books onmy nightstand at least a dozen times. I don’t know if I’m a good parent, but Iwantto be a good parent.”
Glen winked at Blue. “Was there a time you didn’t want her?”
Blue chuckled. “I tried to give her to Anne that first day! I didn’t know anything about kids. I’d never been around them. Well, maybe some foster brothers or sisters, but not since I’ve been an adult. But I have to tell you, the first time I fed her by myself, then burped her and changed her diaper without help, I felt ten feet tall.” Blue hesitated for a second, trying to rein in his emotions. “I fell in love with her in forty-eight hours. And I’ve never loved anybody so much in my life.”
“Are you thinking about the future?”
Blue nodded. “Yes, sir. I’m taking the money I’ve been making on the songs I write and sell and putting it into an account for all three kids to use for college. If she wants to go, I want her to go. If she wants to go to vocational school, I’ll support her in that too. I just want her to be happy and have a good life.”
