After Before and After

Conclusion: Chapter 7

February 9, 1994. 10:52 AM.

There was no pressing desire to be between the walls of another courthouse so soon after the year-long trial concluded, but Jack and Paige Merridew found themselves there anyway. The Fulton County Superior Courthouse in East Point had a different layout than the Chatham County Juvenile Courthouse back in Savannah, but the contents of both buildings were the same. Several front check-in desks, brown walls that smelled like paint, and people walking past in formal business attire.

Jack hated every second of it.

Today was the day of Paige's custody hearing. She called Parkview Public High School to inform them that Jack had taken ill and wouldn't be in until tomorrow at the earliest. She knew that Jack was going through a lot at school with his name being in the press and all, though Jack seemed to never want to talk to her about school.

This custody hearing, Paige's personally hired lawyer told her, wouldn't be anything like the days she and Jack spent in court last year. There would be no defense or prosecution. There would be no fight at all because Evan wasn't fighting her for custody. This hearing was simply procedural. Paige had to declare in front of a judge that she wanted to petition the court for custody of Jack, and Jack was there to ensure the judge that he wanted that too. Evan would be there to stand in front of the judge and declare he wanted to relinquish his parental rights.

"You're also going to have to prove that you have the means to provide for Jack in order for the judge to grant you legal guardianship. We're in a really tight position here if you can't because your father is surrendering his rights either way. If the court doesn't deem you fit to be Jack's guardian, he will be placed into custody of the state and will likely end up in a group home. Do you understand the risk you're taking in pursuing this?" Paige's lawyer, Donna Lien, explained to her back in December when Paige first reached out to her.

Paige said nothing as she pulled a large, overstuffed folder from her excessively large designer purse. She pushed it across the table to Donna Lien, her blue eyes intently on the older woman. Donna Lien opened the folder and began sifting through its contents, briefly scanning each page.

A lease application for a house. Registration forms for the nearby public school. Yellow pages ads for safe vehicles for sale. Bank statements for accounts in Paige's first name and a different last name, an everyday one and a substantial savings one. Medical forms for updating an emergency contact. All the legal paperwork the court would ask Paige to fill out in her petition for legal guardianship.

"I thought your last name was Merridew" the attorney broke the silence as she continued to page through the paperwork.

"It is" Paige confirmed, "but for safety reasons, I've assumed the last name Brenner, my absent mother's maiden name, to protect us from my father in the event that he... Look, my dad's a dangerous person. And whenever he seriously hurts Jack, he has my brother making up fake stories about accidents to cover the whole thing up. I just don't want him to use the magic of excessive wealth to get access to us if he were to ever wake up one day and decide he wants revenge for everything he blames us for... everything he blames Jack for. I'm just trying to keep my brother safe, ma'am."

Donna Lien smiled at her then, the wrinkled lines on her face more pronounced as she did. "Okay, I think we have a good case here. I'll take you on, and prepare you for the possibility that your father may petition against you to uphold his custody. If you can provide evidence of the physical abuse, I think this will be an easy win."

"My dad won't fight for custody. I haven't talked to him about it yet, but he'll sign the abandonment papers. I understand if you want to be prepared in case he doesn't, but he will. He hasn't loved Jack in a very long time, if he ever did" Paige explained.