“Oh,” the judge stands up. “The happy couple.”
“G-good morning, Your Honour,” Seth stutters in greeting.
“Judge,” I nod in greeting. The judge motions for us to sit down and we obey.
“Shall we get this farce over with?”
“I beg your pardon?” Seth asks.
I instinctively put a hand on his thigh to stop him from saying anything else.
“Judge McDonald…”
“Spare me the bullshit, Mr Kennedy. We are not in my courtroom in an official capacity.”
“OK.”
“I’m here to offer you a way out before this disaster blows up in your faces.”
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
The judge leans back in his chair, elbows on the armrests, fingers crossed in front of his face.
“We know very well that you two are not a couple, that you are not getting married, and that you will never be a part of these children’s lives except during this brief court hearing.”
“Judge…”
He raises his hand to silence me.
“I will not allow you to offend my courtroom.”
“Offend?” Seth asks, his hand on his chest.
The judge looks at Seth. “That’s not how you get custody of your niblings, Mr Graham. And it is certainly not the way to impress this court in a positive way.”
The judge straightens up, then stands and walks to the window of his office.
“There is no way to say this.” He turns to us. “I will not grant you custody of your niblings, Mr Graham.”
“But they… But I…” I brush against Seth’s arm and look at him. He quickly realises he has to let me handle it.
“With all due respect, Judge, I think you’re wrong.”
“Really?” He raises both eyebrows.
“My client is perfectly capable of looking after his niblings. He has everything those children need.”
“Save those speeches for my courtroom.” The judge walks back to us and sits down on his desk. “We can get on with the case and you, Mr Kennedy, can explain your client’s situation to me as you see fit, but I think even you know that entrusting these children to Mr Graham would be the wrong decision for them.”
“If I am here to defend Mr Graham, Judge, it is because I believe in this case.”
“Do you believe in it enough to become part of it?”
I will not answer his question. At this point, it might be best not to be too direct.
The judge rubs his chin with two fingers. “I have a proposal for your consideration.”
“A proposal? What proposal?” Seth asks immediately.
