“Or,” Ronald continued, “he could have a sincere desire to be with Irene half the time of her life.” What he didn’t say was that many accomplished men saw children as assets and were unwilling to part with possessions they viewed as hard-won. Some men who left their wives flat had a difficult time even when their ex-wives remarried. “It could be a good thing for Irene to know her father well.”
“Of course. I didn’t expect her not to know him well. I just. . . I just can’t let him. . . raise Irene.” Ella couldn’t mention Delia, the woman Ted was now living with.
Seated on the edge of his chair, Ronald leaned his body forward. “You are worried about him raising the child?”
“And. . .”
“The girlfriend?” Ronald just said it.
“They’re going to get married.”
Ronald didn’t avert his gaze from her face. Ella was still obviously smarting from the adultery. Women didn’t get over that one easily, though in his line of work, he’d noticed that men never got over it, while women somehow sifted through the humiliation and carried on.
“If they do get married, the woman will be in Irene’s life. I suggest whatever happens with the custody issues that you will find it in your daughter’s best interest to get along with this person. It will not be easy, but you will see that it will help Irene, even though it might be killing you.” That was his standard speech about the second wife if there were kids involved.
Ella nodded. He was telling her to be nice.
“So, going back to the joint custody issue. . .” Ronald resisted looking at his watch. He had another client waiting outside for him. His assistant had already buzzed him once.
“I won’t. . . I won’t agree to it,” she said. “He can see her for sure, but he can’t, he can’t live with the baby.” She kept herself from tears. How could God let this happen? Why would Ted do this to her? How could he expect her to agree? Her world had been taken over by maybes and anything-could-happens. But God had disappointed her before. He had taken her mother away. She’d never thought that the loss of her mother could be matched, but that wasn’t true. Life just kept threatening you, pushing you into harder corners, and you had to resist, otherwise hell would take over. No, she would fight for Irene. She would kill for Irene.
“I don’t care about anything else. Don’t you see?”
“Then do you see how effective he is? You’ve just given up everything except for your one issue.”
“She’s not an issue. She’s my baby.”
“Yes. Of course,” Ronald said in a reassuring voice.
“I don’t care about anything else. I really don’t.”
“All right, then. Now I know your limits. And mine.” In his own divorce from his first wife, Ronald had given her full custody, because it was better for the children. Meghan was without a doubt the better parent. If he’d gotten joint custody, he would’ve ruined four lives, not just two. His first set of children were now well-functioning college graduates. His daughter was getting a master’s in art history, and his son was in Colorado working for an environmental defense fund. He’d seen them every weekend, and he and Meghan had alternated holidays. His second wife, Jeannine, a painter, was a very good stepmother to them—approachable and never intrusive. His son and daughter got along well with Robert, the only child from his second marriage, who was as sweet-natured as his mother. He credited the success of his second marriage to the fact that he had given his first wife every term she’d asked for and more.
“Could you agree to shared decision-making powers—”
“This man had sex with a woman at an investment bank, and it is on video,” she sputtered. “How can a person like this raise my child?” Ella’s contempt was unhidden.
“How could you have married a person like this?” Ronald asked. The question was risky, but he decided to go with it.
“I didn’t know he could be this way.”
“I’m willing to bet he didn’t know he could be this way, either, Ella. We are all full of surprises. The courts will not let the video influence the custody issues hardly at all. He had an affair. A lot of people have affairs. The child’s need for both of her parents will supersede our conventional notions of sexual propriety.”
None of us are perfect, was what Ella was hearing.
“He is still legally your husband and the legal and biological father of your child.”