I heard an audible sound of annoyance from Veronica’s side at the lawyer’s reminder that she’d been gone for a year.
“In light of the amicable relationship in the past, I wonder why this wasn’t taken to mediation first?”
“Ms. Tisdale is asking for sole custody,” the other attorney said. “In my experience, mediation wouldn’t work in a case like this.”
The judge stared at Veronica’s table. “Why sole? I don’t see anything here suggesting Mr. Hyatt is doing a bad job. What I do see is that Ms. Tisdale has had limited visits. A request for sole custody doesn’t make sense.”
I was glad that the judge was seeing reason. That had to bode well for Dylan.
“Ms. Tisdale is now remarried and settled. She’s ready to take on the responsibilities of being Maisie Hyatt’s mother,” the lawyer said.
“Again, I don’t see anything suggesting Mr. Hyatt isn't responsible. Why not joint custody?”
“Ms. Tisdale has some concerns about Mr. Hyatt’s lifestyle,” Veronica’s slick New York City lawyer said.
“What the hell?” Dylan hissed.
His lawyer pressed his hand on Dylan’s arm to keep him calm. “Your honor, if Ms. Tisdale has an issue with Mr. Hyatt, why isn’t it in the court documents? The truth is, she isn’t in a position to know Mr. Hyatt’s lifestyle, as she’s only seen him and the child a few times over the last three years.”
“It’s clear that Mr. Hyatt has been having an indiscrete affair with his babysitter while the child was in the home. They only married to cover it up and possibly to fool the court for this custody hearing,” the opposing lawyer said.
Anger seethed inside me. I fisted my hands, wishing I could use them on Veronica’s smug face.
“Single parents would never remarry if it was against the law to date,” Dylan’s lawyer said. “Maisie knows and loves Mrs. Tessa Hyatt. The truth is, Mr. Hyatt only followed his heart when it was clear that Mrs. Hyatt loved Maisie and that Maisie loved her. The fact that Maisie never talks about Mr. Baskin suggests there is no relationship there.”
“That’s a lie!” Veronica shouted.
“Ms. Tisdale—”
“Leo loves Maisie.”
The gavel sounded and the judge sighed. “Custody cases always bring out the worst in people, who often forget that the issue at hand is what is best for Maisie Hyatt.”
The courtroom remained quiet.
“In light of the fact that Mr. Hyatt and Ms. Tidsale—”
“I’m Mrs. Baskin,” Veronica said. “I just use Tisdale for work now.”
The judge gave her a hard stare, and Veronica’s lawyer leaned over to whisper something. I suspected it was to tell her to stop talking out of order.
“As I was saying, in light of the fact that Mr. Hyatt and Mrs. Baskin were able to negotiate custody and visitation terms in the past, I’m going to order that you try mediation. I don’t want to see two parents tear each other apart if they’ve been friendly in the past.”
We’d known that no decision would be made at that hearing, but it was a disappointment to not feel any closer to resolution. While theoretically I agreed that it would be better for Maisie if Dylan and Veronica could work out custody on their own, I didn’t see either of them giving in.
On the drive home, Dylan was quiet. Along with being forced to negotiate with Veronica, I imagined he was thinking that marrying me was a bad idea. I was supposed to help his case, but their lawyer had suggested that Dylan and my relationship was sordid.
“She has some nerve,” he finally said when he pulled into the driveway.
“The judge is right; disputes have a way of bringing out the worst in people.”
“Veronica wants the worst? I’ll show her the worst.”
I’d always had a sense that deep inside, Dylan was a man who could be angry and dark. He never talked much about his childhood, but there’d been enough comments to make me think it wasn’t great and that some residual emotional baggage remained. The fact that he was such a calm father and caring man was a testament to his character. I suspected that Maisie was the cause of his working to smooth out the rough edges.
But now, in his eyes, I saw true rage and a man who’d do anything to protect his daughter. There was something about it that unsettled me. I didn’t think he’d get violent or do something illegal, but I could see he’d push the boundaries of civil society.
He turned to me. “I need to get to work.”
“I’ll get Maisie from Corrine, and we’ll go to the park.”
“I’d rather you stay home with her.”
“Do you think Veronica will do something?”
“I don’t know. I’m glad we didn’t set up for her to take Maisie on a visit today.”
I had to agree on that. “Okay. We’ll find an activity at home.”
“Thank you.” His voice was distant.
“Dylan? Are you thinking that getting married was a bad idea?”
He looked at me for a second and then turned to look out the front window. “I don’t know. But it’s too late to change it now.”
I don’t know why his words hurt so much. I knew the score, and yet, hearing that he might regret having married me hit me at my core and something inside broke.
18
Dylan
I was an asshole. The truth was, asshole was part of my nature. I’d only covered it up because I didn’t want to be like the jerks my mother had brought home when I was growing up. When Maisie was born, somehow, not being an asshole had been easier. Looking into the precious face of my child, something had shifted inside me. I helped make this perfect being, so I couldn’t be all bad, could I?
But Veronica tapped into my inner beast. Instead of taking it out on her, I’d said something to hurt Tessa, a woman who was only trying to help me. But my rage was sitting too raw, too much on the surface to deal with it, so I left her to
