“Steph explained them away. She had never cut anyone’s hair before, and Emmy wouldn’t sit still. She botched the job but intended to have it fixed after school. She never got the chance to follow through because you took Emmy even though it was Steph’s day to have her. Steph has every right to cut her kid’s hair, even if she does a crap job. Her explanation that Emmy had a tantrum and made the process difficult to do, well . . . Beth didn’t buy it, but Emmy wasn’t physically hurt because of it. I know that doesn’t help, but there are thresholds that have to be met.
“The bruises were an accident. When Steph pulled Emmy up from the chair, Emmy became defiant, threw a tantrum, and pulled away, making Steph hold her arm tighter to keep her upright, leaving marks on her arm. Emmy, in a fit, tugged herself free, lost her footing, and fell into the table and hit her eye.”
“Bullshit. Steph was pissed and hurt her.”
“Emmy’s account isn’t that far off from Steph’s, but I agree Steph stuck close enough to what really happened and your four-year-old didn’t add anything to raise a red flag.”
“Emmy had a difficult time explaining what happened. If I’d been allowed to help her during the questioning . . .”
“You know they aren’t going to let you do that and make it look like you coerced her to say something.”
“Pam and the principal had to back up Emmy’s account that her mother hurt her on purpose.”
“They couldn’t say that Emmy’s distress wasn’t caused more by her classmate calling her ugly than what her mother did to her. They didn’t see the bruises on Emmy.”
“I should have shown them.” Only he and Trinity were in the room when he took the pictures of Emmy’s arm and eye. Damn. He’d missed an opportunity to have witnesses.
“Emmy told Pam her mother was mean. Kids say that all the time.”
“What about the photos I gave you of the apartment?”
“The ones you took when you entered the dwelling without Steph’s permission.” Elijah’s chiding tone didn’t help. “We’ll hold on to them and only use the pictures if we need them. Right now, Steph looks bad, but not bad enough to lose custody. Beth’s recommendation to the judge that Steph take a parenting class was accepted. Steph promised not to leave Emmy alone again, and understands if she does she could get into hot water. Beth will follow up with a home visit in two weeks.”
“Do you have any idea what Steph could do in that amount of time? How much does Emmy have to endure while Steph’s neglect and abuse rise to the threshold where someone finally does something about it?”
“I know it sucks, but you’re doing what you need to do.”
It didn’t feel like he was getting anywhere. Not when he had to send Emmy back to her mother, who basically got away with what she’d done. She’d attend the parenting class, but she probably wouldn’t pay attention to any of it.
“Steph’s new lawyer sent over a counterclaim to our request for full custody.”
Of course Daddy came through and paid for Steph’s lawyer. Great. He expected a fight; it just sucked having to put Emmy through it.
Elijah went on. “She’s furious and says you’re trying to steal her daughter. And I quote, ‘He’s just being mean.’ Seriously, her lawyer put that in her complaint.” Elijah rolled his eyes.
Frustration got the better of him and he snarled, “Let me guess—he’s buying Steph’s story about what happened with Emmy.”
“He’s defending his client. He states this was an isolated incident that will not be repeated.”
Jon grew more frustrated. “Things have escalated to this,” he pointed out.
“Have you seen Steph hit or grab her hard like that before? Have you seen bruises on Emmy that can’t be easily explained by normal child mishaps while playing?”
“I saw her grab her arm once before, but otherwise, no.” The admission made him feel deflated. “But Emmy doesn’t want to be with her anymore.”
“We have to prove that it is because Steph hurts her, not because they don’t get along and end up arguing with each other.”
“Emmy gets sassy with her because of the way Steph treats her.”
“Steph’s position is clear. If you don’t like the way she disciplines Emmy, she’s happy to have a discussion with you about it, and come to an agreement about how you will both handle future incidents.”
“What about her leaving Emmy alone?”
“It’s in Beth’s report. According to the document, Steph was only gone for a short time and felt Emmy was safe in the locked apartment watching TV. She said it only happened once, and like I said, she promised it won’t happen again.”
“Bullshit,” he snapped. “Emmy said she’d done it more than once.”
“You can only prove the one time because your friend found Emmy alone. Emmy’s testimony would help your case, but because she is so against being with her mother, it’s likely Steph’s attorney would argue that you coached Emmy to say that and you’ve turned Emmy against Steph.”
“Seriously? I’ve never badmouthed Steph to Emmy. Ever. I don’t have to. Emmy sees her mother’s bad behavior. She feels how little Steph cares about her.”
His cell phone rang beside him. He sucked in a calming breath and checked caller ID, thankful to see Trinity’s number and not Steph’s. He couldn’t deal with Steph right now. He’d probably chew her out again and make things worse.
“Do you need to take that?” Elijah asked.
“No.” He hated to ignore Trinity’s call, especially when their relationship seemed rocky right now. How could he blame her? Their dates got ruined because of Steph. She left work to help him with Emmy because of Steph. They constantly had to change plans or alter them because he had Emmy on days she should be with Steph.
Not that Trinity minded those things. She never complained. But it had to be wearing on her the way it was on him.
He wanted some normalcy. A routine that worked for them, and especially Emmy.
“We have a good case to go to court, but we could use more than what we’ve got. It’s your word against Steph about the pot smoking, drinking, and neglect. If you can get pictures of that, then we’d have absolute proof she’s being a bad influence. The school records help with the neglect, but the other things, like not feeding her properly, bathing her, and taking care of her the way you want her to do it . . . well, that’s up to the judge to decide if he agrees with you or Steph. Beth reported that Emmy’s basic needs are met when she’s with her mother.”
Emmy deserved better than that.
“The judge will most likely begin by instructing you to try to come to a new custody agreement, though Steph’s attorney made it clear they are not giving you full custody.”
“Let me guess—she likes things the way they are.”
“She wants to keep the current arrangement. She’s made a good faith effort to do as you asked and have the apartment in order and food for Emmy when she has her. She’s proven that on your video calls, so you can’t dispute that.”
No, he couldn’t. But that didn’t mean Emmy was safe with her mom.