Chapter Six

Charlotte, North Carolina Tuesday, Early Evening

C hris waited patiently in the reception area of Evan Houston's law office. He glanced around the room. There were several people ahead of him, or perhaps a better way of putting it was that they were behind him in the long, agonizing journey of divorce. He flipped through a few of the magazines, but he was too distracted and nervous to focus on anything. He practically jumped out of his seat when he heard a woman screaming from the conference room.

"You're a lying creep! I never slept with Scott, or anyone else for that matter! You're the one who cheated on me!" A door swung open, and a woman in her mid-fifties stormed down the hall with a furious expression. She shouted back over her shoulder, "I'll take you and your teenage girlfriend to the cleaners!"

A man's voice could be heard coming from the room. "She's twenty-two!"

She turned for one last quip. "Yes, one-third your age. How unoriginal."

When she realized she had an audience, she straightened her skirt, tossed her Hermès scarf around her neck, and announced, "Get ready for the fight of your lives, folks. Divorce ain't pretty." Then she marched out of the office.

Chris stifled a smile. It was like watching his own preliminary separation meeting with Lucinda. Except she was the one who cheated, but she also felt the need to make a scene. She blamed Chris. It was his fault she found herself in the arms of another man. But thanks to Evan's calm demeanor, he was able to still the waters and remind them they had a son to think about, and having an acrimonious relationship wasn't going to help anyone. After all, getting a divorce was what they both really wanted.

It was over an hour before the reception area emptied out. Chris had purposely made his appointment for the end of the day so he and Evan could have dinner after and catch up. Even though Evan wasn't going to charge Chris for his time, there were a lot of other people involved preparing documents, follow-up, fees, and a lot of administrative work at the courthouse.

Evan appeared at the end of the hallway. "Come on down!" He waved Chris into his office. "Sorry about the commotion," he said as he motioned Chris to take a seat.

Chris snickered. "It reminded me of the first meeting we had. I guess Lucinda thought drama was necessary during divorce proceedings, but thanks to you, she turned down the noise."

"I do my best, but sometimes I just want to hit all of them over the head with one of my law books." Evan chortled. "That couple? I really can't blame her. He's involved with a woman thirty-eight years younger than he is." He shook his head. "It's so cliché."

"I totally agree with you. Plus, I think men are dense when it comes to women. At one point or another, we manage to get involved with the wrong people. I mean seriously wrong. So many women want a man to rescue them, and men want to feel they've still got the juice."

"I believe it's called a midlife crisis."

"Swell. I hope I can skip that part of adulthood," Chris said wryly.

"You and me both. But we still have a couple of years to mess things up." He laughed.

Evan opened his leather portfolio. "Alright, let's get down to business. I recommended you start keeping track of Dr. Tooth's involvement with Carter."

"Yes, and I asked him if Bruce was helping him with his science project. Carter looked at me and said, ‘You're not serious, are you?' It took me aback, but that spoke volumes. He told me Bruce didn't even know he had a science project."

"Good. I mean, that's good for your case. It's a shame Carter does not have any support at home. Do you think Carter has any psychological issues with it?"

"Psychological issues?" Chris frowned and wrinkled his brow. "It never occurred to me. He never complains about Bruce, and he always seems fine when he's with me."

"Do you think there's any chance he may feel neglected?"

"Neglected?" Chris didn't know where this conversation was going.

"I'm trying to build a case for you—and against them. If Carter is experiencing any angst, depression, resentment, or disassociation, it could help. Help you, I mean."

"Geez, I hope he's not." Chris was beginning to feel concern. "He's never expressed it to me."

"Most kids don't," Evan replied.

"Wow. It never occurred to me. He's usually in a good mood when we're together. He rarely discusses his mother or Bruce."

"Maybe the reason he's in a good mood with you is because that's where he feels the most comfortable."

Chris nodded. "I suppose if there was something bothering him, he might not want to bring it up. He's a little self-conscious. You know that puberty thing."

Evan laughed. "I try to forget those days." He started writing on his pad. "When is Lucinda planning on moving?"

"She said six months."

"We need an exact date," Evan noted.

"I'll try to get it out of her."

"Have they found suitable housing?"

"I really have no information except the very loose time frame. The conversation was short. She really threw me for a loop, and then I had a work meeting. All sorts of thoughts were running through my head." Chris looked up at Evan. "If I share them, we have attorney-client privilege, correct?" Chris rubbed the back of his neck. "I could choke her."

Evan let out a snort. "Well, yes, unless you are divulging information of intentionally doing something criminal. But you didn't say you were planning on doing it. It's a fantasy." Evan looked up. "But do try to refrain from such comments. Please."

"Roger that." Chris gave him an assured look.

"We're going to have to meet with her and nail some of this information down."

"I know that is going to set her off, for sure."

"Well, she can't simply do whatever she wants when it comes to your son."

"True."

"I'll have Monica, my paralegal, call Lucinda tomorrow to set up a conference. If they are leaving in six months, we really don't have that much time." He scribbled something else. "I also want Carter to have a psych evaluation."

"Is it necessary?" Chris's concern was growing by the minute.

Evan looked up from his desk. "We need an impartial assessment as to what Carter's homelife is like. Do you think he'd have a problem speaking with a total stranger?"

"Not if I explain the situation."

"Is he aware of the move?"

"He hasn't mentioned it, but I haven't seen him since Lucinda dropped the bomb. I'll talk to him about it after practice, either at Jack's Bar-B-Que or at home, depending on whether or not we're alone."

"Does he seem comfortable living in two separate homes?"

"Honestly, he's never said anything to the contrary."

"Good." Evan wrote a few more notes. "As far as I can tell, Carter is well-adjusted. He has good grades, I assume."

"He certainly does. Otherwise, it's no ball games for him." Chris adjusted himself in his chair. "I try not to spoil him. His mother seems to think I'm too harsh."

"In what way?"

"Just like I said. He has to do his homework, get good grades, and play nice in the sandbox." Chris gave a nervous chuckle, but there was a serious expression on his face.

"Is Lucinda lax as far as discipline?"

"I have no idea. Carter is pretty tight-lipped about the goings-on at Lucinda's. My take is that he looks at it as an obligation to stay with her a few nights and every other weekend. I think he views it as a temporary situation. Honestly, sometimes I think I'm the only one who does any parenting, but Lucinda has never discussed any bad or moody behavior from Carter. Everything is always ‘fine' until she needs money for something."

"What does he do for fun when he's there?"

"Fortunately, his friends are nearby. I purposely bought my house so he could visit his friends, regardless of whose house he was staying at. We're less than two miles from each other. He could ride his bike, but I'm still uneasy about traffic. There are too many distracted drivers on the road, and kids don't always pay close enough attention." Chris paused. "He and his buddies often meet up at Wembley Park, a midway point."

"At least the town is starting to put bike lanes on the roads," Evan said.

"Do you really think anyone texting while driving is going to notice? I doubt it," Chris replied. "They're not even observing the signs that say, ‘Don't text and drive.'" He let out a huge sigh of annoyance.

Evan nodded in agreement. "So, let me ask you this: If the judge gives him the choice, do you think he'd decide to stay with you full time?"

"It would appear that way. I sure hope so." Chris furrowed his brow. "When we're together, he talks about school and his activities, and his friends. Oh, and apparently, he's discovered that not all girls have cooties, but he's still on the fence about most of them."

"What about Lucinda? What does he have to say about her?"

"The only time he mentions his mother is when it comes to transportation or switching days. As for Bruce, Carter will make a few jokes, like what a doofus he thinks Bruce is. But nothing malicious." Chris paused. "More like Bruce is a part of the furniture. Carter can be pretty funny at times." Chris smiled as thoughts of his son went through his head. "The other day he asked me if it was polite for someone to use dental floss in front of you, but before I could answer, he shrugged and said, ‘Must be an occupational hazard. '" Both men laughed.

"Carter is at that age when kids are discovering their sense of humor." Evan continued his questioning. "What about Luna?"

"What about her?" Chris cocked his head. "We've been seeing each other for about three years. Well, the first year really didn't count. We were pretending we were ‘just friends.'" He used air quotes.

"I've only met her a couple of times, but she seems right for you. I mean, in a yin and yang kind of way."

"Yin and yang?" Chris sounded confused. "You're starting to sound like her." He smiled.

"On purpose. I like her. She's a free spirit, but also grounded at the same time."

"True. Kind of an enigma," Chris said thoughtfully.

"They get along okay? Luna and Carter?"

"Yes. She's really good with kids. She worked in children's services for a while," Chris continued, as Evan took notes. "Carter's never stayed over when she's at my place, although I'm pretty sure he knows what's going on."

"So when you get together with Luna, and Carter is around, what do you normally do?"

"We'll take hikes. Canoeing. Movies. She's fixed early dinners for us a couple of times before I had to bring him back to his mother's. And he helps her with food prep. For some reason, he enjoys peeling potatoes."

"Maybe he simply enjoys her company."

"Luna has a knack for relating to kids. She says it's part of her sixth sense."

"Oh, don't let Lucinda hear you say anything that sounds woo-woo. She'll have her lawyers twist it into something weird or sinister."

"Good point." Chris pursed his lips.

"I assume Lucinda knows or is aware of Luna?"

"Yes, and thankfully, they've never met, but Lucinda knows about her. If Lucinda's said anything to Carter, he hasn't shared it."

"Anything else that comes to mind?" Evan looked up from his papers. "If the judge allows Carter to make his own decision, and you get full custody, Lucinda will no longer be entitled to child support."

"Boy, is she gonna hate that," Chris chortled. "Well, I think we have our work cut out for both of us. When I speak with Carter, I'll start by discussing Chicago, presuming Lucinda has told him about it." He hesitated for a moment. "Gee, I hope he doesn't say he's excited about moving to Chicago."

"Doubtful. Like you said, he's going through enough changes without any help from a moving company."

Chris let out a sigh of relief. "I'm sure you're right. Then I'll let him know I am filing for full custody." Chris had a thoughtful expression on his face. "I'll tell him he'll have to do an interview with a psychologist, because it's required. He's a smart kid. He knows there are lots of rules."

"I'm sure. His father is in law enforcement." Evan smiled as he tried to assuage Chris's trepidation.

"Let's get back to Monica calling Lucinda. She will have a cow if it comes out of the blue," Chris said.

"Most likely. If you want to give her a heads-up, that's fine. Just tell her Monica will be calling to set up a meeting this week. We're going to have to fast-track this if we want a resolution before she moves. Before you go, let me know when you're available so we're not wasting time playing phone tag."

Chris gave him the days and times while Evan continued writing. When he was finished, he stood and asked, "Ready for a beer?"

"Am I ever," Chris answered, and got up from his chair. Evan walked around and put his arm around Chris's shoulders. "You've got a good case. It will be grueling, annoying, and aggravating, but you have a lot going for you."

It dawned on Chris that he hadn't told Evan about his new position and the raise. "I have something else that will work in my favor. I'll catch you up over that beer."