Thicker Than Water - 60. Chapter 60

“Just to remind you, Mr. Padilla,” Judge Arthur said, as Diego took his seat on the witness stand, “you're still under oath.”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Diego replied.

“Mr. Clarke, your witness.”

Mr. Clarke stood and said, “Thank you, Your Honor.” He grabbed his notepad and took a couple of seconds before asking, “Mr. Padilla, you claimed earlier that you denied my client contact with Bryan and Caleb, is that correct?”

“Could you be more specific?” Diego asked. He and Billy discussed some of the tactics that Clarke might utilize, such as asking vague or open-ended questions. Billy said that the best defense was to ask for clarification, which would force Clarke to specify.

“I'm speaking of when the boys were in your care.”

“Could you tell me which time you're referencing, so I know how to correctly answer your question?”

“Objection, Your Honor. The witness is intentionally refusing to answer my question.”

“Mr. Padilla, is there a reason you're not directly answering Mr. Clarke's question?”

“Yes, Your Honor. I testified that the boys were in my 'care' on three separate occurrences: When Calvin moved to Pennsylvania and before his mother took custody, when I was allowed visits with the boys, and after I gained custody after their grandmother died. I'm trying to figure out which occurrence Mr. Clarke was referencing, so I could properly answer the question.”

Judge Arthur nodded and said, “Clarify your question, Mr. Clarke, so we can move on.”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Clarke said, sounding a little annoyed. “How about we start with the first time they were in your care?”

“I never denied Calvin access to the boys during that time. I asked him repeatedly to call during reasonable hours, since Bryan had school and I had work, but he refused to be amenable. Eventually, he stopped calling.”

“So you didn't wake either Bryan or Caleb to have a phone visit with their father?”

“No.”

“So you did deny the visits?”

“No.”

“You just testified--”

“Objection, Your Honor," Billy called out. "Badgering the witness. Mr. Padilla has answered this question already. Because it's not the answer Mr. Clarke wants, it doesn't give him the right to keep harping on it till he gets it.”

“Overruled,” Judge Arthur said. “Mr. Padilla, how can you say that you didn't deny the calls yet refused to let Mr. Johnson to speak to the children?”

Diego looked at the judge and said, “As I said before. Calvin was calling at three in the morning on average. It's unrealistic for me to have woken up two preschoolers, because he couldn't be bothered to call at a reasonable time. It wasn't my responsibility as their caretaker to disturb two sleeping children to accommodate him. It was his responsibility as their parent to call when they were awake. So, no, I didn't deny his access to the boys, I set limits on when he could have access.”

Judge Arthur nodded and said to Mr. Clarke, “Does that satisfy your answer?”

“To that specific question, yes, Your Honor, thank you. Mr. Padilla, how about when the boys were in your care while their grandmother had custody?”

“Objection, Your Honor? Mr. Padilla has already answered this question and if Mr. Clarke wants clarification, he can have the Court Reporter read back Mr. Padilla's statements.”

“Sustained. Mr. Clarke, either get to your point or move on to something else.”

“Your Honor, the central issue to this case is whether or not my client was denied access to the children, and thus, had his parental rights illegally taken from him. It seems clear that my client's mother decided to deny my client access and conspired with Mr. Padilla to do the same.”

“Objection, lack of evidence.”

“Your Honor,” Mr. Clarke said, “Mr. Padilla has already testified that Mrs. Johnson asked him to not let my client to not have contact with the children and he complied. I'm merely clarifying these actions and getting more information that Mr. Parker didn't touch on.”

“Mr. Parker, your objection is sustained. Mr. Clarke, this is your last warning to get to your point or move on.”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Mr. Clarke said. “Now, Mr. Padilla, when you were babysitting the boys, you said that you were asked by their grandmother to not let my client have contact with them and you agreed to that request, is that correct?”

“Yes,” Diego said.

“Why did you comply? You just stated that you were okay with my client having access to his children while they were in your custody, so why not let him have access at the time in question?”

“As I said, I didn't want their grandmother keeping me from the boys by betraying her request.”

“Is that all it was? Simply complying with her request or was there more to it than that?”

“I don't know what you mean.”

“Did you and Mrs. Johnson make a deal that, should something happen to her, you'd get custody of the boys, so long as my client lost his parental rights to them?”

“That's absurd,” Diego scoffed.

“Please answer the question, Mr. Padilla. Did you get custody of the boys by denying my client access to them?”

“No.”

“Objection, Your Honor,” Billy called out. “Again, lack of evidence. Unless Mr. Clarke has a document or recording of this alleged deal, his entire line of questioning is speculative at best and should be stricken from the record.”

“Do you have any evidence to back this claim up, Mr. Clarke?” Judge Arthur asked, not too bothered to hide his mounting anger.

*     *     *

Bryan sat with Terra and Kenny at lunch. All three were quiet.

Terra was annoyed at the tension between her friends but was trying hard to not say anything. So much was going on in her life that she was afraid something would spill out once her floodgates opened.

Kenny had overheard Billy and Trevor talking about Bryan attacking Calvin in court the day before. Kenny was pissed that Bryan was constantly getting in trouble and didn't seem to care how it was affecting everyone else.

Bryan, for his part, was dreading the coming appointment at the sheriff's office. Steve had already sent him a text to be ready after school, as Steve managed to get off work early. Uncle Luis had also sent a text giving advice on what not to do and say at the appointment, since Luis learned the hard way when he was Bryan's age.

“So,” Terra said, no longer able to handle the tension, “what are you guys doing this weekend?”

“I wanna break up!” Kenny blurted loudly, shocking everyone around, including himself.

“What?!” Bryan said, uncertain he heard Kenny correctly.

“I want to break up,” Kenny repeated, with a lot less volume, while trying to ignore all the eyes turned their way. “I don't think I can be your boyfriend anymore.”

“Why? What did I do?”

Kenny's whole body was shaking. He hadn't meant to say it out loud. It was just a thought that kept running through his head ever since he heard Trevor and Billy talking. “You've changed since Calvin came back into your life--”

“--That piece of shit isn't in my life, Kenny, and you know that!”

“See! That's what I'm talking about! You're getting mad quicker and quicker!”

“Yeah, at Calvin. Not you!”

“That's not true! You yelled at me for asking if you were okay.”

“I was stressed because of Calvin and wasn't getting space to deal with it. I said I was sorry for being mad and being mean to you. Why are you bringing that up again? I thought we were past that?”

“So did I...but I guess I'm really not over it.” Tears started to fall down Kenny's cheeks. He had been in love with Bryan for years but only recently realized for how long and how intensely, which only broke his heart more.

“Please, don't do this,” Bryan said, trying to fight back his own tears. “We can figure something out. Please don't leave me.”

“It everything alright?” Mr. Campbell, the 7^th grade science teacher, asked.

Without another word, Kenny got up and ran from the cafeteria.

Terra noted that no one person witnessing what happened made a sound. If it hadn't been her two best friends, she would've been happy that nobody said anything homophobic. She reached over and took Bryan's hand in hers and just held it, as Bryan silently and unabashedly wept.

*     *     *

“Mr. Clarke, do you or do you not have physical evidence that proves your claim? I'm getting rather impatient,” Judge Arthur said, his tone matching his irritation.

“The witness's own statements, Your Honor. He admitted to denying my client access to the children during phone calls and agreed with Mrs. Johnson's plan to deny further access.”

“Your Honor,” Billy interjected, “This is speculative and argumentative, not to mention bordering on hearsay. First, Mr. Johnson had no right to disturb the sleep of the children for the sake of his own convenience, and that shouldn't even be an effective argument. Second, my client had no legal right nor moral obligation to deny the request of the children's legal guardian, during or after the custody case between Mr. Johnson and his mother. And last, this was already hashed out and ruled on in the previous custody hearings by this Court. Mr. Clarke cannot bring things up outside of an appeal, which he can only get if he can present new evidence to the State Court of Appeals and not this lower Court.”

“Mr. Parker makes a strong case, Mr. Clarke, do you have anything to add?”

“Your Honor, anyone can see that Mr. Padilla and the late Mrs. Johnson colluded to keep my client from having access to the children, in exchange for Mr. Padilla gaining custody once Mrs. Johnson passed away. Mr. Padilla's statements should be enough evidence as they stand.”

“Judge, my client did not once admit to collusion nor conspiracy, and yet again, Mr. Clarke has not provided a shred of physical evidence to substantiate his bogus claims. He's desperate and reaching, which you've already held him in contempt.”

Judge Arthur sat for a moment in silence. Everyone was anxious for his ruling on the matter, since it could make or break Calvin's case; as the lawyers both knew, if Judge Arthur found that Diego did conspire to deny Calvin access, it would lead to an appeal of the original ruling, but if the judge upheld Billy's argument and objections, then Calvin's whole argument was invalid and could cost him the entire case.

“I need some time to review Mr. Padilla's full testimony and the case notes from the previous decision. We'll recess and return in two hours.” Judge Arthur said, banging his gavel and leaving for his chambers.

*     *     *

Steve tapped on the steering wheel of his car as he watched the kids move about. Some of those kids would be his students next year, and he wasn't sure how to take it, especially since one of them was going to be his son...well, stepson, but he never liked that term. Although his parents never divorced, their marriage was a far cry from perfect; in fact, it was down right abusive. What most people didn't know, except maybe Ry, was that Steve's parents were addicts. They were friends with Ry's biological parents, who were also heavy drug users, and that's how Ry and Steve became friends.

Once Ry, Billy (then known as Kyle) and Charlie moved from Franklin to Washington, Steve's only escape from his family was through sports and extracurricular activities after school, and that's how he started becoming friends with Trevor...until Trevor also moved to Washington before their junior year of high school.

The friends he made playing Dungeons and Dragons with Ry and Billy drifted apart, some even losing their lives for various reasons he didn't like to recall. Watching the young teens move about their lives without considering the future brought back a ton of memories that opened old scars, while also shining light on fun times long forgotten.

The car door opening brought Steve back to reality, but it was Bryan's arms around him that caught him off guard the most. “Hey, Buddy, what's wrong?”

It took a bit for Steve to translate the mumbling through the sobbing and ranting, but he figured out that Kenny had broken up with Bryan. Steve held the crying boy but didn't know quite what to say. There were always the cliché lines about there being plenty of fish in the sea, or it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, but even he knew most of that was bullshit. Bryan's first relationship was with his best friend.... There were no one-liners to make that pain go away any time soon.

“Dad.” Bryan managed to choke out between sobs.

“Yeah, Buddy?” Steve whispered his reply.

“Are you going to leave me, too?”

“Fuck no!” Steve said, firmly, lifting Bryan's tear streaked face up to his. “I will never leave you, ever! Do you understand me?” Bryan didn't respond as more tears fell. “I love you, Bryan, and I'm never going to leave you, your brother or your other dad, ever. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I will fight tooth and nail to keep you guys in my life. I'm sorry about Kenny, but I'm not him nor am I Calvin. You're stuck with me kiddo, whether you like it or not, okay?”

“Okay,” Bryan replied meekly.

“Goddamnit, Bryan,” Steve said, sternly. “Look me in the fucking eyes. I...will...never...ever...leave...you. No matter how you behave, no matter what kind of person you grow up to be, I will always love you, and I will always be your dad...well, unless you grow up voting for bitches like Trump, then we might have some words....”

Bryan couldn't help but chuckle. “I love you, too, Dad. It just hurts so bad.”

“I know, Buddy, and it sucks. I wish I could make it all go away for you, but as dumb and useless as it sounds, you have to give it time. Maybe you and Kenny can just be friends again after a while?”

“I don't know. He wouldn't talk to me after it happened.”

“Just give it some time, okay? I'm always here if and when you need me.”

“I know,” Bryan said, as fresh tears fell down his face, though they were mixed with happy tears.

Steve hugged Bryan again before starting the car. As they pulled away from the school, Steve hoped the appointment at the sheriff's office would be better.

*     *     *

Bryan sat awkwardly in a small, nondescript lobby, while Steve checked him in. There were several adults, mostly men, sitting in generic, plastic chairs, the kind that are often found in laundromats. There were two receptionists sitting behind what looked like bulletproof glass forcing Steve to almost yell, so they could hear him.

When Steve returned, he had a clipboard and a form he was starting to fill-out. The form asked for all kinds of personal information.

“You know my birthday?” Bryan asked.

Steve chuckled, “Of course, I know your birthday. Why wouldn't I?”

“I don't know. It just never crossed my mind that you would.”

“I know your birthday, Caleb's birthday and your dad's birthday. I also know your social security number, though, I learned that last night just in case I need it today.”

“Why?”

“I don't know. It's the government. You don't know what these people are going to ask for.”

“No. I mean why do you know all that?”

Steve smiled while rolling his eyes. “Bryan, how many times do we need to go over this before it finally clicks?”

“I'm confused.”

“Clearly. I know your birthday, because I love you. If I'm going to be your stepdad, I need to know things about you. I know that you claim to be allergic to foods you don't like, so people won't make you eat them. I know you love to sing, even though you can't. I know you're a good student, even if you're lazy at times. You don't like letting people into your life, but when you do, you love them with everything you have. And, I know you're easily embarrassed, especially when you're caught off guard.

“My point is, when you love someone, you pay attention to the big things and little things about that person. It shows that you care about them. If I didn't care about you and your brother, or planned to leave your dad, I wouldn't be sitting here with you.”

Bryan smiled, leaned into Steve and laid his head on Steve's arm. He would've opted for Steve's shoulder, but he was way too short to pull that off without having to sit on his knees first.

“I love you, Dad.”

“I love you, too, Buddy. Hopefully, we don't get an asshole.”

“Padilla!” a voice called out.

“Uncle Luis!” Bryan said, practically running to the man. However, when he got up to his uncle, Luis's expression was stern.

“You'll address me as either 'Deputy Padilla,' 'Officer Padilla,' or 'Sir.' Is that understood?”

Bryan swallowed hard and sheepishly said, “Yes, Sir.”

“Good,” Luis said, softening his stance a bit. “You're going to walk down the hall and turn left.”

Bryan did as he was told. Steve walked with him, as Luis stood behind them both, giving directions. Soon, they were in a small cubicle that all three could barely fit into due to Steve's size. Steve wasn't fat by any means but was rather muscular and tall. Luis took the form from Steve and looked it over, filling in some of the blanks Steve didn't have time to fill out in the lobby.

“So,” Luis said, as he looked at his computer screen, “You're here for community service related to an assault against someone in Court. From what I was sent, it's part of a contempt charge and an arrangement with the judge. Is that correct?”

“Yes, Sir,” Bryan replied.

Luis had to fight from smiling at his nephew's changed tone. “You're technically not on probation, but we're going to treat it that way for now. You've been assigned to me because nobody else knew what to do with you. I talked to my bosses, and I think we've arranged something that will be both productive and educational, which will hopefully detour any further incidents and appearances before the Court.”

“Kind of like a Scared Straight program?” Steve asked.

“I don't want to be straight!” Bryan said in a panic.

The adults suddenly felt like they were Bryan's age again, as they stifled their laughs. Steve said, “That's not what that means, Buddy. Scared Straight is a program that keeps kids out of prison. It has nothing to do with your sexuality.”

“Oh,” Bryan said, feeling both relieved and stupid. He had heard about gay conversion camps, which was the first thing that popped into his head.

“Anyway,” Luis said, returning to his serious demeanor, “You'll be working with me and an associate of mine. We lead a counseling group for at risk kids. Your job will be setting up, cleaning and doing whatever else we tell you to do. You have 80 hours to complete, and we meet every Tuesday and Thursday night for two hours each session.”

Bryan wasn't good at math, but this equation wasn't difficult to figure out in his head. “That's 20 weeks.”

“Yes,” Luis said unbothered by the look on Bryan's face. “20 weeks. It's either that or Judge Arthur will contact the District Attorney about the assault, and you're looking at a lot more than that in jail. I think it's a fair trade, don't you?”

“Yes, Sir,” Bryan said, resigned to his plight.

“Good. We have some paperwork to fill-out, figure prints and a photo to be taken for your file. You'll be starting tonight.”

*     *     *

“All rise,” The Court Clerk called out as Judge Arthur entered the courtroom.

“You may be seated,” said the judge as he took his seat. Everyone sat, except for Billy and Clarke, who remained standing, awaiting the judge's ruling.

“After some review of the transcripts of this hearing and the previous custody case, I'm almost at a loss. On one hand, Mr. Padilla did, technically, deny access to Mr. Johnson prior to Mrs. Johnson gaining custody; however, as pointed out in the previous decision, it wasn't either Mrs. Johnson's nor Mr. Padilla's place to facilitate visitation during times would normally be considered unreasonable, such as between sunset and sunrise local time.

“As far as any potential collusion between Mr. Padilla and Mrs. Johnson during the time that Mrs. Johnson had custody, the Court finds that it wasn't Mr. Padilla's place to go against the custodial parent's wishes, as he had no legal authority to do so.

“Mr. Clarke, do you have any documentation that supports your conspiracy and/or collusion claims?”

Mr. Clarke looked bitter and said, “No, Your Honor.”

“Then the Court sustains Mr. Parker's objections. References and questions regarding any collusion or conspiracy to withhold visitation from Mr. Johnson are to be stricken from the record.” Diego smiled at Calvin who looked as angry as his attorney. “Mr. Clarke, do you have any more questions for the witness?”

“No, Your Honor,” Mr. Clarke said.

Diego was pleased to see Ashley, Calvin and Mr. Clarke arguing. From the witness stand, Diego couldn't hear anything that was being said, but it was clear to him that Calvin and his wife thought there were questions Mr. Clarke could still ask.

Judge Arthur banged his gavel and called out, “Order in the Court. Mr. Clarke, what's the meaning of this?”

Ashley stood up and practically yelled, “He's refusing to ask questions my husband wants answers to!”

Once again, Judge Arthur called for order. “Mrs. Johnson, you will be quiet in my courtroom unless called upon. One more outburst from you, and I'll hold you in contempt; furthermore, I was addressing Mr. Clarke and not you.”

Mr. Clarke stood and said, “I'm sorry, Your Honor. If I could have five minutes to concur with my client, we'll be ready to proceed, I think.”

“Your Honor,” Billy said, smiling, having overheard most of Calvin and Ashley's objections, “I would like to redirect, which should give Mr. Clarke the time he needs with his client.”

“Any objection, Mr. Clarke?”

“None, Your Honor.”

“Very well. Proceed, Mr. Parker.”

“Thank you, Your Honor. Mr. Padilla, did you ever have a conversation with Mrs. Johnson about adopting Bryan and Caleb after her death?”

“Yes. We discussed it after we found out that her cancer was terminal. By that point, all three of them were living with me, and Caleb had started calling me 'Dad.'” Diego intentionally added that slight to get on Calvin's nerves, since he knew Calvin hated the idea of the boys calling over men "Dad."

“Why were they all living with you?”

“Calvin's mother was in no shape to take care of herself, let alone the boys. Calvin had long lost the custody battle when he failed to show up to court and stopped talking to anyone. I slept on the couch, while Mrs. Johnson took my room; the boys were back in their room, which had been theirs from the day Calvin moved in.”

“Do you remember the conversation about adoption and custody?”

“Yes. She told me that she had already put it in her will that I was to get custody of the boys. To the best of my knowledge, none of Calvin's or Donna's family members wanted them, and she didn't want them to end up in foster care. I happily accepted and told her I'd look out for the boys, as if they were my own, which I had been doing anyway.”

“Was there any talk about you stopping Mr. Johnson from ever getting custody?”

“No. By that point, nobody, including the Court, could find him, anyway, so the adoption went forward without issue.”

“Thank you. No further questions.”

“You may be excused, Mr. Padilla.”

As Diego crossed the gallery, Judge Arthur called out. “Mr. Clarke, are you and your client done holding up my proceedings?”

“Yes, Your Honor. My apologies. There will be no further questions from the Petitioner.”

“Very well. Given the time, we'll pick everything up tomorrow morning with Mr. Parker's next witness. Court is adjourned till 10am tomorrow morning.”

“Move it!” Clarke ordered his clients. Diego was very pleased with how red the man's face was.

Billy chuckled and said, “Apparently, Ashley demanded that Clarke ask you questions about the sexual abuse, while Clarke and Calvin were flat-out against it.”

“I'm surprised Clarke didn't ask, to be honest.”

“He couldn't, really. It could've made things worse for Calvin, and I'm sure Calvin thinks he can still go to prison for molesting you.”

“So, Calvin was pissed at Ashley then?”

“No. Calvin was mad at Clarke for bringing up how obsessed you are with him.”

Diego rolled his eyes. “If anyone is obsessed, it's him.”

“Agreed. I got a text from Steve while you were on the stand. Bryan made it to his meeting and Kenny dumped him.”

“Oh God. Poor kids,” Diego said, taking out his own phone to text his fiancé.

“I'll talk to Kenny when I get home, and you're free to come over and do the same. You can even bring Bryan if you think it will help.”

“We'll see. Bryan doesn't handle rejection well.”

Billy chuckled and said, “Yeah, the scar on Calvin's face is evidence of that.”