Bittersweet Irish Cream Ch. 19

The judge indeed was skeptical. "Mr. Reedlin by your own statement you had not seen your daughter in over two years. And you hadn't spoken to her for months before the call in November of 2017, is that not correct?"

Tim frowned. "Yes, that is correct. But-"

"And it is now almost five months later and you had not heard from your daughter. Not a peep. Does that sound like someone who is close to her parents?"

He said to her, "Well she has a substance abuse problem so unfortunately it is not uncommon for to disappear for a while, then come back when she is ready to talk. I'm sure she had fallen out of grace these last few years."

"Mr. Reedlin, I have your daughter's medical history." She held up a paper. "There was absolutely no sign of drug use throughout her entire pregnancy. She did not appear to be under the influence all of last year. She simply did not want to talk to either of you."

"That doesn't mean we don't love our daughter or our daughter doesn't love us!" he said loudly and aggressively.

The judge gave him the same look she gave Ethan moments before. "She did not come to you in the first place with the knowledge of her pregnancy. Instead she sought the confidence of her ex-husband and his family. There was no relationship between the two of you, none that constitutes a positive one. So why would she want her parents, that she was not close to, to raise her child?"

Tim stayed quiet, while Jack and Ethan both smirked at him, now feeling triumphant. She continued, "Mr. Reedlin did you willfully submit a false statement to the police that Mr. Starling kidnapped Timothy Jamison Starling with a further accusation that he might have done harm to your daughter and/or your grandson?"

Another of his attorneys spoke, "Judge Frye those charges were dropped and have no bearing-"

"Yes Counselor, I understand the charges were dropped. I am asking if the incident happened in the first place and more importantly, why he would do that. And it has bearings on these proceedings because I say it does," she snapped.

Jack and Ethan exchanged glances, happy that Judge Frye turned her frustration to the Reedlins.

All was quiet until Mallory stood up and bursted out, "We were scared, your honor! We're sorry that we did it, but we thought that it was the only way to get our grandson back. Ethan was so upset at EJ's confirmation, all because we asked to take Little Timothy off his hands. He wasn't going to let us have our own daughter's son."

"But you didn't ask, Mallory," Ethan responded angrily at her directly. "You spent a few hours with him and then decided to take him from me, without even talking to me about it first."

"So if we would have asked a little nicer, you would have given us our grandson?" Tim growled at him.

"Hell no, he's my son! I'm not giving you my son!" Ethan yelled.

"Ethan," Jack murmured and touched his arm.

"He's not your son!" Tim yelled and stood up.

Ethan also began to rise in anger but Jack pulled on his arm to keep him seated. "Ethan!" he whispered harshly.

The judge banged on her gavel. "Counselors, please control your clients. This is a court of law."

The lawyers for the Reedlins made them both sit and they conferred together. Cindy turned to her clients and said, "Show emotion, that's good. But try not to have outbursts. Respect the court."

"We will," Jack answered for the two of them. He took Ethan's hand again.

The judge began again. "Mr. and Mrs. Reedlin, your behavior, in a word, was simply deplorable. It is no wonder that your own daughter didn't have any dealings with you nor ever intended for you to have custody of her child. That much is clear."

"Well, that doesn't matter," Tim said haughtily. "She is not here and we are Timothy's closest living relatives, not them." He pointed at the other table. "So we should be granted sole rights over our own grandchild."

"Well, Mr. Reedlin, you may have been able to dictate things to go your way in other circumstances, but not this one. I make the decision around here, not you. You would do well to humble yourself and remember that," she said as she looked at him over her glasses.

The courtroom was quiet. Ethan and Jack squeezed hands as they waited for what was going to happen next. Judge Frye eventually looked down at her papers again.

"Now, I read all the motions on the docket. First motion to grant temporary custody to the Reedlins forthwith is denied. I see no reason to upset the boy's current living arrangement and schedule. Timothy Jamison will stay in the physical custody of Mr. Starling and Mr. Frazier." Ethan and Jack both let out sighs of relief.

"Your honor, if I may-" Tim began.

"No, you may not speak," she snapped without looking up. Tim sat back fuming. She continued, "I'm ordering a home investigation for the Starling-Frazier household. A court appointed social worker will do a homestudy and safety check, and interview every member of your family, including your three children, privately from you."

Cindy spoke, "Thank you, your honor. My clients welcome the home assessment."

The judge rifled through the papers and said, "The motion by the Reedlins for a DNA test forthwith is granted. Although we are all aware that you are not the biological father by your own admission, Mr. Starling, the Reedlins want it on record that Ethan Thomas Starling is not the biological father of Timothy Jamison Starling."

"We're in agreement with that, your honor," Cindy spoke for them again.

"Thank you. Mr. Starling, please present yourself to the 8th floor for DNA swab testing today. The third motion is for scheduled visitation rights. Mr. Starling and Mr. Frazier, do you have any objection to the motion of visitation?"

"No, your honor," Jack answered. "We would be happy to ensure that Jamie, sorry, Jamison, get to know his grandparents."

"With shared transportation," Ethan spoke up. "With my first son it was not specified in the court document so all transportation was on me, and as a single father it was a lot."

"Your honor," one of Tim's lawyers began, "Mr. Starling is no longer a single father and owns two successful businesses. There is no reason for him not to be able to provide transportation to and from the Reedlin household. My clients are elderly and unemployed."

She looked at them skeptically again. "Nice try, Counselor, but your clients are retired and have five times the net worth of Mr. Starling and Mr. Frazier. I'm sure they can figure out a transportation schedule for bi-weekly visitation, two weekends a month."

Cindy spoke up, "Your honor, that wasn't what we verbally agreed upon. We agreed to once a month weekend visits."

The judge turned to her. "In the chance that I rule in favor of the Reedlins, I want to make sure we are setting them up for success. The more time the child spends with his grandparents, the smoother the transition." Ethan squeezed Jack's hand, again not liking how the hearing was going.

"The other motion by Ethan Starling for a stay away order is denied. You are all family. Work it out without resorting to threats against each other, getting the police involved or actual violence toward each other."

The judge looked at both tables over her glasses again. "You all love Timothy Jamison, so you should act in his best interest. And if you can't, I will be happy to step in. Any police incident, no matter who it was initiated by, will result in the child being taken into physical custody of the state until this hearing concludes."

"That won't be necessary, your honor," Tim spoke up.

"Yes, your honor, we will certainly act in Jamison's best interest moving forward," Jack said. "And we'll agree to twice monthly visits." Ethan frowned but stayed quiet.

"Thank you," she replied. "But I'm not done with the two of you. Mr. Starling, Mr. Frazier, I am ordering you to conduct the investigation into the whereabouts of Patricia Ann Reedlin and the birth father. I am holding you personally responsible for the full and complete investigation. You have 120 days."

She turned to the court reporter. "Next court hearing date?"

The reporter said, "Tuesday August 1st at 11:35am."

"So noted. The judgment will be sent out forthwith." The judge banged her gavel.

Ethan turned to Cindy. "So what now?"

"It went as expected," she replied. "Except I did not think she would order you to be responsible for the investigation. Usually the courts handle that. She must be really annoyed with you that you didn't do it right away. All the fees around it will fall to you."

Ethan sighed. "How much?"

Well if you do it through our law firm, we have a private investigator who charges $200 an hour, but he gets results."

"$200 an hour!?" Ethan exclaimed.

"And $1200 for the court report and to appear in court."

Ethan sat back in his chair fuming. "So thousands of dollars spent on a woman who doesn't want to be found. Because he's not going to find her. Unless he's looking into every meth house from here to Vegas, he's not going to find her."

"That's okay," Cindy assured him. "We just need to show reasonable effort. We-"

She stopped talking as Mallory came close to them. "Ethan, can we talk?"

He sat up straighter. "Not without my lawyer present. Or Jack."

She looked at all the faces and then nodded. "I would like us to start all over. Would we be able to begin visitation this weekend? Have Little Timmy stay with us? I would love to see him again."

Ethan glared at her, already annoyed that she called him little Timmy. Jack interjected, "Sure, Mallory. We'll bring him out to you. And you'll bring him back."

She looked relieved. "Thank you, Jack."

She turned to walk away when Ethan called out to her, "Mallory." She turned back to face him. "His name is Jamie, not Timmy. And the moment the courts give me full custody, I'm changing his name completely to Jamison and taking Timothy all the way off the birth certificate. He doesn't deserve to have a child named after him."

"You don't have to be cruel, Ethan," she said to him.

"Oh you haven't seen cruel yet, Mallory," Ethan threatened. "Just wait."

She huffed and walked back over to her husband, telling him what Ethan said. Jack sighed and turned to him. "Ethan-" Jack began.

"I don't want to hear it," he said standing up and grabbing his suit jacket. "Fuck them. They are entitled, arrogant and pompous, and they will have to drag Jamie out of my cold, dead hands before they ever take custody of my son." He walked out of the courtroom without a glance back.

Jack stood up and sighed again. He turned to Cindy. "We'll call you later."

"Keep him calm and out of trouble, or he will lose Jamie to them," she warned. "Because quite honestly I don't think the judge wants to give custody to the Reedlins. He's right. They are arrogant and pompous and Tim displayed that today. And did you notice she didn't ask for a home assessment of their house, only yours? All good signs. But you have to play nice if you want this to go your way. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

Jack nodded. "I know. I'll handle it." He shook her hand and walked out of the courthouse, walking around the block to the parking lot where Ethan's BMW X5 was sitting.

Ethan was pacing in front of the car. "I need a fucking drink," he said angrily.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "You need to go to the 8th floor and take your DNA test. Then we're driving over to your parents' house, because they're going to want to know the outcome of today's hearing. Then tomorrow I'll call Mallory and figure out a transportation arrangement for this weekend. Because clearly all dealings with the Reedlins and Jamie are going to have to go through me, just like all dealings with the McIntyres and EJ go through you."

Ethan pushed out all the air from his nose in frustration. "Fine. But I'm having a couple of drinks with my dad when we get there, and you can't stop me."

Jack raised up both hands. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Ethan looked at him, tapped his lips roughly on Jack's twice, then went back into the courthouse building. Jack leaned against the car and sighed, thinking, It's gonna be a long 120 days.

~~~~~~

After Jack's jog on Saturday morning he took a shower and began to pack a small bag for Jamie. Ethan barely spoke and was sullen. Jack let Ethan take care of all of Jamie's needs that morning. He knew it was going to be hard for him to be away from his infant son for the first time.

EJ had asked the day before if he could take a ride with them up to Greenwich and Jack agreed, knowing they were going to stop by his other grandparents on the way too. He asked Jamel to keep Ethan company that Saturday, so Jamel and Ethan were going to take the girls out for the afternoon after dance class while Jack and EJ were away.

When there was nothing left to do but gather Jamie, Jack approached Ethan cautiously. "Hey E."

Ethan looked up as he held Jamie to his chest while sitting on the couch. Jamie also stared at Jack with his bright hazel eyes while clinging tightly to his father. "We're ready to go," Jack said.

Ethan said, "This is going to mess up his nap schedule."

Jack said back patiently, "It won't. It will be fine." He held out his hands. Ethan did not move and neither did Jamie. Jack smiled at both of them and sat down next to Ethan on the couch. He waited for Ethan to talk.

After a long moment, Ethan said, "He's only 5-months-old. Too small to be passed back and forth like this." Jack nodded in understanding. "And he's not gonna know where he is. He's gonna cry all night, because he's not used to waking up and one of us not being there." Jack nodded again.

"They aren't gonna know all his favorite songs or how to wrap him up in his favorite blanket or when to give him his wubby," Ethan bemoaned.

"I packed his blanket and his wubby," Jack said gently. "He'll be fine." He reached his hands out again.

Ethan stared at Jack's hands, then back at the boy. He put a gentle kiss on his head. "Now, you be a good boy, Jamie," he said softly. "On second thought, be a bad boy. Give them hell, so they'll never want to do this again, okay?" The boy responded with a blink of his eyes, still watching Jack.

Ethan lifted up the baby and Jamie turned to him. He blew raspberries in his neck and Jamie gave him a gummy smile, making Jack smile too. EJ walked into the room and said, "Ugh, Dad, are you still sulking?"

He reached over the couch and took the boy from Ethan's hands. "Let's go, Pop," EJ said and turned around to buckle Jamie into the carseat.

Ethan pouted while Jack giggled. He pulled Ethan in for a hug and Ethan wrapped his arms around Jack and held onto him. Jack patted his back. "You have a playdate today. You'll be fine too."

"Hmmm...." Ethan moaned.

EJ finished strapping him in and said, "Okay, we're ready."

Jack kissed Ethan's head and said, "We'll be back early tonight."

"You better be," Ethan mumbled. "And you're going to do all the things I want you to do in bed to keep me occupied. All night."

Jack smiled his sideways smile. "I'll make sure I stretch beforehand."

~~~

After back and forth negotiation, Jack agreed to let Ethan Junior sit in the front seat instead of the back of his white Acadia Denali, but he wasn't allowed to touch the music. Jamie fell asleep quickly as EJ talked about six grade problems and middle school gossip.

When he brought up the many times he had to save Freddie from getting into trouble because of his smart mouth, Jack said, "Sounds just like me and my best friend."

"Uncle Connor?" he asked.

"Actually, no. Your Uncle Liam. He was the one who kept me out of trouble. Your uncle Connor and I didn't become friends until high school. And even then we didn't start out as friends, we were..." Jack stopped talking.

"You were what?" EJ asked curiously.

Jack hesitated, then told him, "Your uncle Connor and I were... kind of messing around. Experimenting."

"Oh I know that," EJ said nonchalantly. "Freddie told me. Uncle Connor told him you guys were lovers."

"Jesus, EJ," Jack mumbled as the heat rose underneath his skin. "What do you know about being lovers?"

"I know lots of things," EJ said confidently. "Freddie and I already Googled sex. But I didn't watch any of the videos. Okay, well maybe I watched one. Freddie watched all of them though, and gave me the play by play."

"Shit," Jack mumbled again, thinking about his 12-year-old son watching porn. He breathed out air and said, "Okay. What do you want to know?"

"I told you, I already know everything," EJ said smugly.

"I promise you, you do not know everything," Jack said, glancing at him and glancing back at the road. "You've told me everything about middle school except if you like someone. Do you?" EJ rolled his eyes and looked away, but his pink cheeks gave him away.

Jack laughed. "So that's a yes."

Pooooppppp!" EJ whined.

"So who is she? Or he? Or they?"

"Sheeee doesn't go to my school," EJ emphasized.

Now Jack was curious. "Someone from church?"

"No," EJ simply said.

Jack let a couple of moments pass, then asked, "You're not going to tell me?"

"You're just gonna make fun of me if I tell you," his son mumbled.

"Promise I won't. Scouts honor." Jack lifted his three fingers in the air.

EJ hesitated then said, "Imani."

Jack's eyes went wide. "Really? Afia's niece? You guys have known each other since forever."

"I know, it's weird, right?" EJ agreed. "But... I don't know. She's like my best friend next to Freddie. And we have a lot of fun together. And she always smells nice, like strawberries and-" Jack began to chuckle. "Seeeee I knew you were going to make fun of me!"

Jack laughed out loud but said, "I promise you I am not making fun of you. I'm just happy for you, isall. It feels good to have a crush on someone, doesn't it?"

EJ smirked. "Yea. It kinda does."

"Does she like you back?" Jack asked. EJ shrugged. "You haven't told her yet?"

"Nah. I kinda thought it would go away but... it's not so... I don't know."

Jack said, "I think you should tell her." EJ scoffed. "No, I'm serious. Listen... Back in high school I didn't know Connor had feelings for me until he went for it. If he never made a move, if he never kissed me on my porch-"

"Ew, don't tell me!" EJ yelled.

Jack laughed. "So you don't want to kiss Imani?" EJ shifted in his seat and looked away with a smile. "Yea, I thought so."

EJ groaned and put his hands over his face. "This is embarrassing."

Jack reached over and took one hand off his face. "It's okay, EJ. It's okay to have a crush and fall in love."

"Who said anything about being in love!?" EJ yelled, horrified at his father's assertion. Jack tried not to laugh again.

"Fine, not love, not yet at least. But when you do fall in love, especially for the first time, it's... magical. And it's even better when it's with your best friend, because you know each other so well and have fun together. I've done it twice, as a teenager with your Uncle Connor and then again with your dad. I'm still in love with my best friend and it's the best feeling ever being married to him."

EJ stayed quiet for a few minutes. Then he said, "Ima tell her. Not today or anything. But ima tell her. Soon."

"Good." Then Jack said, "One step at a time though. When you're ready. You don't want to rush anything with her, you want the timing to be just right for everything. From the first kiss to the first time you have sex, which won't be any time soon."

"Eww, Pop, no!" EJ exclaimed again.

Jack laughed again. "Okay bud. No sex talk. I'll leave that to your dad."

But then EJ asked, "When was your first time, Pop?"

Jack didn't know how Ethan would feel about this conversation but he quite enjoyed having EJ talk to him about love interests and sex. "The truth? I was 15."