Last Friday Night (ManxMan) ✔️

Chapter 35

"Did he tell you why he wanted to meet here?" she asked, turning into the parking lot. Two cars surrounded the spot and Daureen had to work to fit her car inside. Nia sighed at the question, running slender fingers through her hair.

"No, he just said we could pick Melodie up from this coffee shop," she repeated. She'd told her mom this three times before but Daureen was a stickler for details. It took her mom another five minutes to park the car and by the time she finished, Daureen was muttering angrily under her breath. Nia wished she could spend days with Melodie without her mother, but Daureen insisted.

The two women walked through the front door. It only took Nia a moment to find River sitting at a long booth.

With Hunter beside him.

"What is this?" Daureen asked, briskly walking up to the pair of men. "Where's my granddaughter?"

"With a babysitter," River answered simply, arms crossed over his chest. "I told her we were having a grown up conversation. She understood."

The older woman's mouth twisted sharply. He'd caught her off guard. And she hated surprises.

"Well who is he?" Daureen asked, pointing boldly at the tall white man. Hunter was unfazed by her disdain, which only angered her further. "I don't understand what place he has in this conversation."

Hunter had prepared for this. He couldn't lie and say he was River's lawyer in case Daureen kept proof of it, but explaining he was a close friend would do. But before he could lie, River grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together.

"My boyfriend, Mrs. Benjamin," he said. Her full mouth fell open and she looked back and forth between the two men frantically. "Why don't you take a seat."

Nia slid into the empty side of the booth first. Daureen was much slower to sit, more concerned with staring at the two men across from her. As she did so, her mouth remained set into a harsh line. Nia watched her reaction with a sigh.

She'd known River's sexuality from the beginning–he was always upfront about it. But, she never told her mother because the woman wasn't exactly an ally. Nia felt no need to bring it up when River was in a faithful, straight marriage with her. Now, this was just another thing to keep Daureen on edge for the duration of this conversation.

The second the older Benjamin settled, River pulled out a briefcase. Nia felt a touch of deja vu when he threw down a thick, manila folder. Her mother reached for it first. When it opened, she paused.

Typically, Nia waited for her mother to explain what she'd read. Patience was a necessity for dealing with her. But when the minutes passed and Daureen still hadn't said a word, Nia leaned in. She began reading the words herself and became similarly frozen.

Hunter had to stifle his smile. He knew the woman would be surprised, but total silence was even better than he'd imagined.

"I need to handle this," River had told him a few hours ago when they talked about it. "They need to know that they can't walk all over me anymore. No matter who's beside me."

So Hunter crossed his arms and waited for River to take the lead.

"It's true that mothers get full custody 80% of the time," River began, pointing to the top of the paper. "But that's usually because the fathers don't try. Most custody cases are settled without going to trial."

"But I'm not most fathers," he emphasized, wearing a little smirk that Hunter loved. "Statistically speaking, women struggle to win if men show interest in getting custody."