All You Need is Love

Mom came over and gave me another hug. Dad put his hand over my arm and squeezed.

"I know where Haley and Tina are and want your help in re-establishing contact with Tina. I have a few thousand saved up to go down to El Paso and do whatever necessary to at least get visitation rights. Will you come down with me and help?"

Dad answered first, "What do you plan to do? Nothing violent again, is it?" It hurt me, because of my past actions, this is the first thing he asked.

"No. My intention is to first consult an attorney down there. I did my time; I'm not a parolee, so I can go down there and try to get a court order for visitation. But, let's be real; I'm an ex-con convicted of assault. I think it might help if my parents went down with me and we three made the appeal."

Dad looked over at Mom and I could see the pleading in her eyes. She didn't have to say a word; Dad agreed. "When do we go?"

"Can you be ready in a week? I need to give notice at work and take care of a few odds and ends. Can we take your car down there? We'll need wheels while we're down there."

"Yea, I'll take it into the shop tomorrow and make certain it's ready for a road trip. We'll leave next Monday, OK?"

With that agreed I had another cup of coffee and got caught up on family gossip. It felt good to be here again.

I used my free time over the next few days to research the best family lawyers in the El Paso area. When I found one with excellent reviews, I called and made an appointment for the following Thursday. That would give us three full days of driving to get to El Paso. I hoped Dad and Mom were up to the journey; Dad was almost seventy and Mom sixty-six. Dad's Lincoln Continental (it turns out dear old mom is a big Matthew McConaughey groupie) would be the perfect vehicle for a road trip; but when Dad found out about the Thursday appointment, we all agreed to leave Sunday and have an extra day to cover the fifteen hundred miles.

That Sunday, here I was, a thirty-six-year-old man, on a road trip with his mother and father. We headed out of town, it's all freeways now; but years ago, this was Route 66. Before we hit St. Louis, Dad told us how, when he was just three years old, his parents took this road on their way to Los Angeles. It was all two-lane roads back then. A decent day's travel was four hundred miles or less. It took the family seven days to make it to Los Angeles.

It seems my grandfather, a man who died before I was born, had a job waiting for him in California. One of his Army buddies had a painting business, with all the new construction going up after the war, it was bound to be a gold mine.

Unfortunately, said Dad, his mom, my grandmother, was homesick the entire year they lived in Pasadena. My grandfather packed up the family and drove back to Racine. It turned out best all round, my grandfather ended up the general manager of an aluminum plant. He was doing great until they found him slumped over his desk, dead from a heart attack at the age of fifty-eight. I was born a year later and named after him.

During those four days in the car; Mom and Dad told more stories of the old days. Stories I either had forgotten or was too busy to listen when growing up. I moved out at eighteen, this was the longest we'd been together since our last vacation together when I was fourteen and we went to Washington, D.C.

Thursday afternoon, we were in Gladys Harper's law office. Unlike all my previous dealings with the law, this was a positive experience. I gave the attorney the unvarnished truth. My conviction, time in prison, how I had been denied any contact with Tina, how my parents were also denied contact, my divorce from Haley, her subsequent marriage and divorce from Trent (my attorney's eyes lit up when she heard Trent filed for adultery and abandonment). It didn't paint a great picture of me; but didn't make Haley out to be an angel, either.

Any reluctance the attorney had in taking our case melted away when my mother practically crumbled as she cried and told how she wasn't able to hold her granddaughter.

I gave the attorney a deposit and she went to work on the filings. Now, all we could do was wait. We decided not to spend the weekend in El Paso, so we took another drive and headed into Big Bend National Park. Although our thoughts were on the events back in El Paso, it was an incredible weekend enjoying the sights in this quiet and stunning Park on the Rio Grande River.

Four days later I received a call from Ms. Harper's admin. We were to meet in her office Tuesday morning to prepare for a hearing Tuesday afternoon before a judge.

Gladys Harper had been busy. She even had a signed statement from Trent Miller attesting to how Haley had left him and completely severed any relations between him and Tina. (I later found out Trent did this on one condition; Tina was to be told Trent did not abandon her and that he loved her.)

We met again in the lobby of the court house and headed into a judge's chambers. I'm not naïve, within the first ten minutes it was apparent the judge and our attorney enjoyed a great working relationship. We answered the judge's questions, then Ms. Harper made it clear that at this time we were only seeking a preliminary meeting with Tina to re-establish contact and were more than willing to have a court appointed social worker accompany us to the meeting.

Ms. Harper said to the judge, "Given Ms. Turner's past actions, denying the Kline's any contact with Tina and later doing the same to Trent Miller, we request that Haley Turner not be given any prior knowledge of the meeting since she would most likely use that time to delay the meeting and further poison Tina's mind against the Kline's."

Here's where that working relationship and all the money we were paying Harper paid off; you could have knocked me over with a feather when the judge granted the request and set the meeting for the following afternoon. We were to pick up Tina at her school with the judge's order in hand and would be accompanied by Ms. Harper and a social worker. We'd be given three hours to take Tina out to a local café and talk with her and then take Tina home.

As I walked out of the courthouse into the warm Texas sunshine, I couldn't remember ever feeling as light and happy as I did that moment. It took all my willpower not to hug Ms. Harper right there. She said she was already working on the subsequent paperwork to establish visitation rights for me and my parents.

"We'll meet tomorrow at one-forty-five in my office. The social worker will drive to the school with you. Once we have Tina, I'll be leaving you; the social worker will stay with you until you drop Tina off at her home. Do not do anything between now and tomorrow to screw this up. Stay sober, stay cool.

"No matter what is said or done, especially when Tina's mom over-reacts, stay calm. We're counting on her to do or say something in front of the social worker which will only help us when we petition for visitation. Treat the social worker like she's your friend; because she can be when this goes back to court. The judge just handed us a precious gift, treat it that way."

With that said, she was gone. I hugged Mom and Dad and thanked them one more time for helping me.

The next twenty-two hours dragged. We stayed close to the hotel and had a light meal in the diner across the street. A part of me expected something bad to happen. Would we show up at Tina's school tomorrow and find she wasn't there? My parents did their best to calm me down; but I could see the apprehension in their faces.

We arrived at Gladys Harper's office at one-thirty. Five minutes later a short stout Hispanic woman walked into the office. Ms. Marie Hernandez introduced herself and spent a few minutes giving us the run-down on how she would observe; but try not to be intrusive. She obviously read our attorney's motions because she was very kind to my mother; one grandmother to another. Mrs. Hernandez was also kind enough to give us some hints on how best to approach Tina after such a long and traumatic separation. Later, we were glad to have the advice given; I was racked with anxiety over how Tina would react to my appearance.

We walked into the school's administration office thirty minutes before school let out; the principal and vice-principal read the court order, called the district office and talked to their legal office before agreeing to allow Tina to leave with us.

Tina was removed from her class ten minutes prior to dismissal bell and led into the office by the vice-principal. The first person she saw was my mother, Tina's eyes lit up when she recognized her grandmother.

"Nanna!" Tina ran into her grandmother's arms as Mom bent down on one knee to accept and return the embrace; crying openly. Tina looked up when she saw my father walking toward them.

"Dad!" Tina called out; when Tina learned to talk, she couldn't get all of 'Granddad' out and began to call him 'Dad'; the name just stuck - we all thought it was cute.

Dad picked Tina up and gave her a hug and their special nose kiss.

Tina looked over at me standing off to the side.

"Daddy?" My appearance was so different from the last time we saw each other, the hesitation in her question was understandable. This was one of the hints Mrs. Hernandez gave us; let Tina see her grandparents first, as they looked the same as they did five years ago and grandparents always have that special connection.

I dropped to my knees and held out my arms; saying a special prayer that my hug would be welcomed and recipicated. Tina ran into my arms.

Our reunion was interrupted when the vice-principal came into the office with Haley, who had been in the school parking lot waiting to pick Tina up. Haley took one look around the room and exploded.

"What the hell is going on? What are you all doing here? Leave Tina alone!"

Ms. Harper stepped in with Mrs. Hernandez beside her. Ms. Harper handed Haley a copy of the court order.

"Ms. Turner; this is a court order which allows Tina's father and grandparents a three-hour visitation today. They will be escorted by Mrs. Hernandez of County Child Services to assure Tina's safety and their compliance with the order to return Tina to you within the three hours, starting immediately."

Haley looked at the paperwork; but didn't read it. She threw the papers back at Ms. Harper.

"I don't give a fuck what these papers say! You can't just march in here and take my daughter." Haley pointed at my folks and me, "These people have no business here. She's my daughter." Haley grabbed for Tina and Tina hid behind my Mom. The dynamics were not lost on Mrs. Hernandez, who stepped in front of Haley.

"Ms. Turner," Before another word came out, Haley screamed at her, using language disparaging of Mrs. Hernandez's ethnic background, physique, and where she could stick certain things.

"Ms. Turner, would you like me to call the police? If so, keep this up and I guarantee you'll be placed in jail until you can calm down and refrain from threatening people."

At this point the vice-principal stepped in and did her best to calm Haley down. They walked into her office and we used the opportunity to escape with Tina and Mrs. Hernandez.

The four of us sat in the little café a few blocks from the school. Mrs. Hernandez sat at a table close by. One of the other bits of advice Mrs. Hernandez gave us was how to open the conversation with Tina after so many years apart. Again, we followed her advice and I believe it made a big difference. Tina didn't seem frightened by our presence; but my heart broke when my little girl had tears in her eyes and asked, "Daddy, how come you never called me or wrote? Why didn't I get a card on my birthdays?"

Fortunately, I was ready for this. I pulled out a large, stuffed manila envelope out of Mom's purse.

"Tina. I thought of you every day we were apart. Here are all the letters I sent, all the cards I sent. Every card and letter was returned to me. Your mother sent them all back; she didn't want me or your grandparents in your life. Twice I hired lawyers to make her let me talk to you."

I showed Tina the envelops, each one with Haley's hand-written scroll, "Return to Sender".

"But, why would she do that, Daddy?"

I wanted to answer, "Because your mother is a bitch!" but I didn't. I held her hand and said, "You'll have to ask your mother that someday; but not today. Today, let's just talk together - you, me and your grandparents. We all love you and want to know how you are doing in school, the names of your friends, are you playing sports?"

The three hours flew by. The five of us got into Dad's Lincoln and drove to Haley's home, getting there within the prescribed time. Haley was standing on their front porch smoking a cigarette, looking pissed. I parked the car at the curb when Tina asked from the back seat, "I want to show you my room!"

I looked at Haley on the porch and replied, "I don't know if that's such a good idea today, Tina. It looks like your mom doesn't want us in your house."

"But; it's my home and I should be able to invite people to my room."

Tina looked so hurt that Mom said, "Why don't you show me your room today, Tina? On our next visit, maybe we can all see it."

Tina agreed with this. Mrs. Hernandez said she'd need to be with them. Mom, Mrs. Hernandez and Tina stepped out of the back seat and walked up to the porch. Dad and I couldn't hear the words clearly; but the exchange was heated. As intimidating as Haley looked, Mrs. Hernandez was more so. After a few minutes, Mom, Mrs. Hernandez and Tina walked into the house. Haley stayed on the porch and shot daggers with her eyes at Dad and me. She even flipped us the bird. To this day I don't understand why Haley hates me so much.

We were there for ten minutes when two squad cars pulled up; one in front of our car and one behind. I admit, a moment of panic almost overwhelmed me; did my hit on Ronald Young come to light? Did someone figure out it was me behind the phony Internet fraud? I was so close to getting back together with my little girl and then this?

As four cops piled out of the two squad cars, Barry Stuart pulled into the drive and ran to the porch. Mrs. Hernandez met them all at the front door. Dad and I watched as the cops hand-cuffed Haley and Barry. What the hell was happening? I wanted to jump out of the car; but Dad held me back.

"I'll go and see, Charlie. You stay here." It wasn't a request, it was an order.

Before dad could get out of the car, Mom came out of the house, walked quickly to the car and got in the back. Barry and Haley were being placed into one of the squad cars by two of the cops. One cop from the second squad car stayed on the porch, the other went into the house with Mrs. Hernandez, they returned with Tina.

"Mom, what the hell is going on?"

"I don't know. Mrs. Hernandez was looking around Tina's room when she spotted a toy on her shelf; she picked it up and then asked Tina a couple questions that I couldn't quite hear. After Tina responded to the questions, Mrs. Hernandez took out her phone and called the police; told them to come with two squad cars and make it quick. That's all I know."

Just then Mrs. Hernandez walked up to our car.

"I'm sorry; but Tina is going to come down to the station with me. We have to ask her some questions. Call Ms. Harper; have her meet us there. Tina will most likely stay with a social services family until this all gets sorted out."

I had to ask, "All what gets sorted out? What's going on?"

"We don't know just yet. I don't think Tina has been molested; but some suspicious things were found in her room and the police need to investigate. In the meantime, Tina will be safe with me. Please be patient. Please trust me; I only have Tina's welfare in mind. Call Mrs. Harper."

It took three weeks; but in the end, we found out the entire story and, with Gladys Harper's skills, things turned out for us.

When Mrs. Hernandez found the stuffed animal on Tina's shelf, she instantly recognized it as a remote camera. She said it was fortunate she recently attended a seminar on surveillance; a toy similar to the one found in Tina's room was used in the demonstration put on by Child Services as a camera used by perverts to spy on children. The question Mrs. Hernandez had asked Tina that afternoon was whether Barry ever 'accidently' entered her room while she was undressed. When Tina answered, "all the time", that's when Mrs. Hernandez called the police.

The camera was enough to obtain a search warrant. Barry's computer was found; it contained over a hundred images of Tina. There was also some additional child pornography Barry had purchased. Fortunately, there was nothing suggesting Tina had been molested. Barry hadn't done much more than look before he was caught. Tina said he often had her sit on his lap; but so far hadn't touched her or had Tina touch him. Thank goodness! We did learn that Barry was a classic sexual molester; he was grooming Tina for what was to come, most likely waiting for her first menstrual cycle.

It turned out Haley didn't know about Barry's perversion or his spying. She did ignore Tina's complaints about Barry coming into her room and refused when Tina asked if she could have a lock on the door. When Ms. Harper filed our papers for custody of Tina; Haley's ranting at the police station, in front of witnesses, that "The little shit was trying to seduce my boyfriend. Always walking around in shorts and t-shirts." didn't help her case to prevent our motion.

I also don't think it helped when Mrs. Hernandez repeated Haley's rant at the school when she called Mrs. Hernandez a "fat, ugly, spic wetback that belongs back in Mexico." Judge Torres tried to look unfazed by the words; but it couldn't have helped Haley. Ms. Harper stacked the deck so high that Haley wasn't even given visitation rights.

Two months after we arrived in Texas, we were leaving in Dad's car with Tina strapped into her seat next to Mom. Tina and I moved into my folk's house. We had to put Tina in therapy for almost that entire first year. At the advice of the therapist, we even let Trent attend Tina's eleventh birthday party. Forgiveness was part of the therapist's recommendation; which meant allowing Haley's mother limited access to Tina as well. These two things stuck in my craw; but after a half hour of conversation with Tina's therapist, I agreed it was for Tina's sake and just had to buck up.

The toughest part was when Haley moved back to town. We allowed Tina to visit her mother at her grandmother's house a few times before Mom received a call from Margaret Turner.

"I hate to do this; but I have to tell you. Haley is saying awful things about you, Charlie, and Hank. I just can't believe I raised such an awful person. It breaks my heart; but I don't want you keeping me away from my granddaughter. I don't think Haley should be with Tina anymore."

That's all I needed to hear. Haley was cut off from Tina and when she went to court, lost all rights to Tina. It was ugly, to say the least. Haley was swearing and threatened all of us, including Tina and Margaret, before being led out of the courtroom by her embarrassed attorney. Our family life was turning out to resemble a bad episode of the Jerry Springer show.

Haley refused to obey the judge's ruling and made a nuisance of herself; showing up at our door at odd hours, ignoring the restraining order we eventually served her with, banging on our door any time we didn't answer it. Even after she spent a weekend in jail, nothing changed. When the police proved to be a poor deterrent, I decided to resort to a different tactic.

Once again, I was seated across from Juwann Price at a downtown diner.

"It's a grand to lean on her, two grand gets physical, ten it gets permanent."