Chapter 47

It was really hard to sit in the judge's chambers and listen to Nico's parents talk shit about my sister. Miguel, Tino, and I were sitting on one side of the room while Nico's parents were on the other side. Cody was with a court guardian, likely because they didn't want him to hear all the shit-talk from Nico's parents.

Tino had advised us to let them go first because it put us in a stronger position. But man, I wanted to punch his father in the mouth. First, they accused Allie of keeping Cody from them. Then they implied that Allie slept around, and it was her reckless behavior that got her killed. "She would be alive now if she wasn't such a whore," Mr. Galinas spat, glaring at me.

I nearly leaped out of my seat. It was only Tino's hand on my shoulder that stopped me. Luckily, Cody wasn't in the room because I wasn't sure even Tino could have stopped me from pile-driving the guy into the ground at that point.

The judge rapped on his desk. "That's enough, Mr. Galinas." He glanced up at their lawyer. "Mr. Warner, I'd advise you to counsel your client to be respectful of the child's mother, especially as the child is going to be present soon." He then turned to Tino. "Mr. D'Angelo, please present your client's case."

"Certainly, your honor," he said. He handed a file folder to the clerk in attendance. "I've included the relevant documents, including Allison Kelley's will, the evaluation from Dr. Jansen, and character references from Zachary Kelley's employers and his former commanding officer in the Army National Guard." He pulled another sheet of paper out of his briefcase. "In regard to the accusation that Allison Kelley refused to allow Mr. and Mrs. Galinas to see their grandson, I have a printed screenshot of the text conversation between Ms. Kelley and Mrs. Galinas in which Ms. Kelley asked for support after Nicolas went to prison. Mrs. Galinas wrote back, and I quote, ‘I want nothing to do with your half-breed spawn.'" He then handed the sheet of paper to the judge.

The judge nodded. "Yes, I've already read the evaluation from Dr. Jansen." He looked over the other documents, including the damning text screenshots.

"That's a lie," Mrs. Galinas objected. "Those are fake. Made up to make us look bad."

Tino went back into his briefcase, producing Allie's phone. "Here's Ms. Kelley's cell phone, your honor. The text messages are still there from four years ago."

I silently thanked the entire D'Angelo family for being such wonderful people. If Michael hadn't fixed Allie's phone, Nico's parents might have been able to convince the judge that she had stopped them from seeing Cody.

Another clerk came in and spoke to the judge. He nodded and said, "Please bring Cody in."

The clerk left and came back a few minutes later, holding Cody's hand. As soon as he saw me, he broke away and ran to me. "Uncle Zach, I got to play with lots of toys. But they didn't have any movies," he added sadly.

I let him climb into my lap. "That's okay," I said. "We can watch movies when we get home."

The judge directed our attention to a TV screen with a webcam attached to it on the other side of the room. A video window appeared, and a moment later, Nico moved into view. Cody jumped off my lap and ran toward the television. "Daddy!"

Nico smiled at his son. "Hey, buddy. It's good to see you again."

"Daddy, why are you on TV?"

Miguel, Tino, and I chuckled. Nico's parents scowled. "I'm just here to answer a few questions, so I'll only be on for a few minutes. Okay?"

"Okay," Cody said glumly. "But can I come visit you again?"

"You sure can, buddy."

The judge cleared his throat. "Mr. Galinas, thank you for joining us. I just have a few questions for you."

"Sure, your honor," Nico replied.

The judge nodded. "Regardless of your current status, you have retained your parental rights with Cody."

"Yes, your honor."

"As such," the judge went on, "you have a say in who is appointed guardian of your son, Cody."

Nico's parents started to object, but the judge silenced them. He glared at Mr. and Mrs. Galinas. "One more interruption, and you will be removed from these chambers."

I saw him clench his jaw before he went back to Nico. "Mr. Galinas, are you in agreement with Allison Kelley's decision to make Zachary Kelley Cody's guardian?"

"Yes, I am, your honor. Zach has been in Cody's life since he was born. I can't think of anyone better qualified to take care of my son."

"Fair enough," the judge replied. I could have sworn I detected a small smile on his lips. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Galinas."

"Can I just say goodbye to Cody?" Nico asked.

"Of course," the judge replied.

"I have to go, Cody," Nico said. "But you can come see me again, okay?"

"Okay," Cody replied. "Uncle Zach said two weeks. But that's a really long time."

"It'll pass by before you know it." He looked toward someone standing off-camera and nodded. "Gotta go, buddy. I'll see you soon." Then the screen went dark.

"Bye, Daddy," Cody said sadly.

All of our attention went back to the judge. He settled back in his large leather chair and steepled his fingers. "Given everything I've heard and read today, my ruling is that Zachary Kelley will retain guardianship of Cody Galinas."

A wave of relief washed over me. I turned to Miguel and kissed him. Then I stood and shook Tino's hand. I strode over to Cody and scooped him up in my arms.

Mr. Galinas leaped to his feet. "But he's a…" He stopped speaking when he remembered where he was. "He is a homosexual," he ground out, his lip curling in disgust.

"Bisexual, actually," I said with a smile.

"I'm a homosexual," Miguel chimed in with a wicked grin.

The judge rapped on his desk again. "Mr. Warner, please escort your clients out before I have the bailiff remove them."

The judge rose from his seat and came around to the front of his desk. He held out his hand. "Congratulations, Mr. Kelley. I can see Cody is in good hands with you."

"Thank you, your honor."

He shook Miguel's and Tino's hands and patted Cody on the head. Then we were done. Finally, finally, done.

"Come on, let's get some ice cream," I said as we walked out to the parking lot.

"At ten-thirty in the morning?" Miguel questioned.

"We're celebrating," I countered. "And celebrations need ice cream."

"Yay, ice cream!" Cody shouted.