“It’s not what you think. I can’t explain what happened, and it didn’t mean anything. I’m sorry.”
“Get your shit and go.”
Casey hurried into the bedroom and threw some work clothes and shoes into the suitcase she’d used for her trip to Vermont.
When she was done, she stood by the front door with her bag. “I’m sorry, Unu.”
“Just go. Please.”
Casey left her keys on the console and closed the door gently.
Seventy-second Street was empty of people. Most were gone for the weekend. Frank asked if she needed a cab, and she said no. Casey looked up at the building windows. There were more darkened ones than lit.
10 ADJUSTMENT
ASKING FOR JOINT CUSTODY IS CERTAINLY NOT an unreasonable request,” said Chet Stenor. Ted nodded in agreement with his lawyer, unwilling to meet Ella’s gaze. She sat at the opposite side of the conference table. Ted focused on the neat stack of papers in front of his lawyer.
“You don’t even know what she looks like,” Ella mumbled, staring at Ted. She hadn’t meant to say this right then, but she couldn’t help it. Ronald Coverdale, seated beside her, touched her forearm. She ignored him. “You haven’t seen her in weeks. Hardly at all. Why are you asking for half the time, Ted? I don’t understand you. You’re too busy anyway—” Ronald Coverdale touched her arm again, then picked up his pen.
“What Ella is saying is perfectly reasonable, too. The father has a doubtlessly demanding job. Ella is not criticizing his parenting. That’s not it at all. But he may not be able to manage the daily needs of a small child, and in her best interest we should consider—”
“You know that’s not true, Ronald,” Chet said. “And I trust that you will not be sexist about this. It goes without saying that a father plays a significant role in the healthy development of his child, equal to the mother’s role, and should therefore have equal access.”
Ella’s lawyer stared blankly at opposing counsel. Chet Stenor was a class A prick. Ronald would play the nice card for a little while longer.
“Ted works exceptionally hard at his job, but he is also passionately interested in being involved in his daughter’s life. All the studies indicate the essential benefits of having two parents in a child’s life, and in Irene’s best interest. . .” Chet paused when he saw Ronald opening his mouth, having anticipated the interruption, but Ella jumped in, beating her lawyer.
“But you don’t visit her, Ted. Since she was born, you’ve seen her maybe half a dozen times. You’re just negotiating this because you want to win. Ted, this isn’t some game. It’s our daughter’s life.”
“Ella, you’re being unfair.” Ted finally looked at her face. “I want to know Irene better. I even rented a three-bedroom apartment not five blocks from the house just so I can see her more. I’ve been settling into my new job at Lally, and—”
“Don’t tell me about fair, Ted—”
“Good grief. . .” Ted sighed, then picked up the coffee carafe and tipped it toward his cup, but the pot was empty. “Is there more?”
Chet nodded. His colleague Kimberly Heath got up and called reception to send up more coffee. Then she handed the crying wife a tissue. Kimberly was a senior associate in her mid-forties who’d gone to law school as a second act after teaching Latin at a private school for a dozen years. She served as a soft touch at these meetings. Chet hated female histrionics. Women cried too damn much, especially if they were ambivalent. From his experience, Chet knew that the judge would take the existing custodial arrangements seriously, but it didn’t help the wife’s case that she had a full-time job as well, albeit her job was more like 40 hours a week maximum, whereas Ted could work anywhere from 60 to 120 hours a week, especially clocking travel time. But it would be easy to argue that the wife relied on baby-sitting for 60 hours a week, which was likely the case since she’d have to incorporate transit time as well as work time. So it could be easy to establish that there was no full-time parent in either household. Why people who had no time for kids bothered having any was a mystery to him.
Kimberly gave the wife the rest of the tissue box, and the wife blew her nose. The young woman was beautiful in a portrait kind of way, he thought, but the fiancée was definitely hotter. Second wives uniformly were that. Sex was not a negotiable for men who could financially afford a second or third marriage. Chet had advised a prenuptial for Ted, but he had refused. Moron.