Tarnished Armor
Part 151

The park.

Judge Carson sits on the bench next to Liza, who is holding Colby.

Liza continues to rub Colby’s back. Colby plays with Liza’s hair.

Judge Carson: Very complicated legally. I’m not even sure how it happened. I am sure that I don’t want to know. What did Ms. Keefer suggest?

Liza: Belinda was conducting the case in a straightforward manner. She would never --

Judge Carson: No. No, of course not. Because she didn’t know. I see that now.

Judge Carson looks Liza in the eye.

Judge Carson: What did Ms. Keefer tell you about me?

Liza sits Colby upright in her lap.

Liza: She said... she said you made things easier when people were on the right side. She said your father was a judge and that you knew all the convoluted turns the law could take.

Judge Carson: What else?

Liza: She said ...

Liza hesitates.

Liza: She said that you never let anyone get away with anything. That’s why it was good when people were on the right side.

Judge Carson: I guess we’ll never know exactly what she meant. Things get a little more cryptic and full of dimension when the person who has said them is no longer around to explain them. But that’s fine. You haven’t said anything yet to acknowledge any of my deductions. So maybe it would be better if I spoke and you listened. And we’ll make it all hypothetical. Let’s suppose that a woman thought she had lost the love of her life. And she desperately wanted a child. So she went to a fertility clinic and arranged for insemination. She absolutely knew that she wanted to raise this child alone. But the matter was complicated by the fact that she lived in a small town. A truly anonymous donor seemed out of the question in the end. And the woman did not want to wait. So she took the most seemingly straightforward route. She accepted a good friend’s offer to be the donor, since the donor promised to honor her wishes that his donation would only be a clinical procedure. Am I making sense?

Liza: Yes.

Judge Carson: Remarkably, and against all of the odds and predictions, the woman then reunited with the love of her life. After the insemination. My conjecturing gets a little sketchy here. Somehow, the child was actually the child of her partner, rather than her friend. And the woman did not know. And I have no desire to delve into the whys and wherefores. Then the friend began asserting his rights, which he should never have had in the first place. And everything became complicated. She’s asleep.

Liza: What?

Judge Carson: Colby is asleep.

Liza looks at Colby. Colby is fast asleep.

Liza: Come on, pumpkin. Let’s get you settled.

Liza places Colby in the stroller. Then she turns to Judge Carson.

Liza: Would you excuse us for a moment? Just a moment.

Judge Carson gets up and moves a short distance from the bench.

Liza leans over the stroller and whispers.

Liza: A blessing on your pillow and your head. I love you, Colby.

Liza kisses Colby’s brow. Then she turns towards Judge Carson and nods.

Judge Carson comes back to the bench and sits down. She faces Liza.

Judge Carson: This all would have been much easier if Mr.Martin -- I mean the donor -- had kept his word. But any person, even the most honorable, can be quite unpredictable. The law has taught me that. We know that the biological father will come through for the child in the end. We know that he will do what is best for the child. I’m fairly certain the mother will as well. But what’s questionable is what is best for the child. No one can be sure. I can’t say what either parent should do about the relationship between themselves. But I have a few suggestions about the child. If the woman in question wishes to make the child’s true paternity known, the means by which it was accomplished must remain hidden. Because I strongly doubt that they would speak well of either biological parent. Paternity must be revealed as soon as possible, before the ostensible donor can lay further claim to the child. Time is a very important factor in issues of custody and paternity. There’s something else you should know, Mrs. Chandler.

Liza: What?

Judge Carson: The mother has the strongest rights. In almost any court of law. I’m pretty sure that the child in question -- barring any divulgement of unseemly acts -- will remain with his or her mother no matter what. And that is the end of me speaking hypothetically. I know you love your husband dearly. I know that he loves you dearly, too. The question is whether the kind of love you share is something that you can live with. But I see you already know that.

Judge Carson rises.

Judge Carson: It was a pleasure meeting Colby. Although I hope that there is never any need for another Chandler custody case to be decided by any Carson. Good night, Mrs. Chandler.

Liza: Good night.

Judge Carson leaves the park.

Liza shudders. Then she gazes at Colby.

 
Tarnished Armor Index
Part One Hundred and Fifty
Part One Hundred and Fifty Two