It was absolutely freezing on the walk to the courthouse.
Held in the afternoon and the only case on the docket, the
courtroom was empty for our hearing, with the exception of Mr. Attorney Man,
myself, a friend, my ex, his attorney, the judge, and the bailiff.
Intimate in a strange kind of way, it was both comforting, and
unnerving.
Mr. Attorney Man had prepared a binder of documents that was no
less than five inches thick and marked with exhibits.
I myself had brought a four inch file folder of well gone through
evidence; copies of everything from bills that I had incurred, to photographs of my ex, his wife, and their children, provided
to me by someone they believe is their friend, and proving that his lifestyle isn't quite as homeless as he has claimed.
I was ready, and utterly sick to my stomach. But, in a twist of
fortune, the judge that had spent years letting my ex bluff his way through
court, had retired, and a new judge now reigned over our case; giving me a
glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, this time would be different.
My ex was called first, and as he sat there on the witness stand,
I was taken aback at his appearance. A gaunt face with dark circles under his
eyes, his hair has gone almost completely gray. Repeatedly clenching his jaw in
anxiety, just as he had done throughout our marriage, only a couple teeth were now
left on his bottom jaw, and a damaged partial denture that was supposed to be a
temporary fix from work started nearly a decade ago, clung to the top and cause him
to appear even older than he is.
Mr. Attorney Man wasted no time in getting down to business, and
in an effort to condense what ended up being almost four hours of testimony,
I’ll tell you that my ex’s answers were filled almost completely with perjury,
and fake tears that dripped of manipulation, and desperation.
“Mr. Ex, were you not ordered to log into the website Talking
Parents once a week (our only mode of communication), to converse regularly with
Ms. Strong about the children and finances?” Mr. Attorney Man asked.