Chloe blinked.
Her attorney stood.
“Relevance?”
“Your Honor, the petitioner is seeking reunification with two minor children after twelve years of no documented contact. Her knowledge of those children is directly relevant.”
The judge allowed it.
Chloe answered correctly.
I wasn’t surprised.
Birth certificate information.
Then Mara asked, “What grade is Noah in?”
Chloe guessed.
Wrong.
“What subject does Mia struggle with?”
“I don’t know.”
“What medication does Noah take for seasonal allergies?”
“I don’t know.”
“What happened to Mia when she was seven that required emergency care?”
Chloe looked at me.
I knew exactly what she was doing.
Searching my face.
“She fell?”
No.
Appendicitis.
Three nights in the hospital.
I slept sitting upright beside her bed because she refused to let go of my sleeve.
“What instrument does Sophie play?”
“Piano.”
Sophie inhaled sharply.
Guitar.
“What was Leo’s first job?”
“I don’t know.”
Mara nodded.
“No further questions at this time.”
My mother testified next.
That was worse.
She said she had always believed the children should know their mother.
True.
She said I was controlling.
Sometimes true.
She said I had “taken over.”
Also true, if you removed every reason I had done it.
Then Chloe’s lawyer asked whether my parents believed I had discouraged contact.
My mother said yes.
Mara cross-examined.
“Mrs. Hayes, when your son called you the night Chloe left the children, did you go to his home?”
My mother stiffened.
“No.”
“Did your husband?”
“No.”
“Did you take the children the following morning?”
“No.”
“Did you offer financial support?”
“Occasionally.”
“During the first year?”
“I don’t recall.”
I recalled.
Zero dollars.
Mara asked, “Did you know where your daughter was?”
My mother’s eyes moved toward Chloe.
“No.”
“Did you make efforts to locate her?”
“We respected that she needed space.”
Mara let the silence sit there.
“How much space?”
My mother’s mouth tightened.
Mara returned to her seat.
Then it was my turn.
I hated testifying.
I hated speaking about the children’s worst years while Chloe sat ten feet away.
I described the storm.
The porch.
The diaper bag.
The calls.
The schools.
The doctors.
The guardianship process.
