Episode 786: You Had Your Chance

He checked his phone, still turned on, still no message from her.

How could this keep happening? How could he keep making this appointment while she kept ducking out on it?

“I'm sorry I keep wasting your time,” he said, shifting uncomfortably in the seat opposite the lawyer. “She's normally much more reliable than this.”

“It's not my time I'm concerned about,” the lawyer, Rita Davenport said as she closed several files on her desk and arranged them into a tidy stack. “Her no shows give me an opportunity to catch up on paperwork for my other cases, that works out fine for me, but not so fine for you if you're interested in having contact with your child while she still is a child.”

“Not just contact,” Paul said, moving to the edge of his seat to ensure he get his point across. “At worst, I want contact, at best, I'm after full custody, as soon as possible, the fewer minutes I miss with her the better. I made a mistake and I want the chance to make up for it. Shouldn't I have that chance?”

Ms. Davenport nodded. “I'd very much like to help you with that, it's the biological mother who doesn't seem overly keen on co-operating.”

“She's… very conflicted. Every time I start to think she's with me on this, she bails, like today. I – I don't know if she'll ever… I don't know.” Paul scrubbed his hands over his face before he once more looked to the lawyer. “I'm so sick of waiting. What if I pursue this on my own?”

The lawyer sighed. “It would be better if Lucy was by your side in this.”

“I realize that,” Paul said. “but what if she's not on my side. Is it that impossible for me to get custody of my daughter on my own?”

Episode 787: The Whisper