Growing Season (MxM) Complete

Ch. 27 Legalities

CH 27

As much as Phillip's legal troubles seemed to resolve fairly easily, Gareth's were not as straightforward. The day Bill and Abby stopped by to have Phillip sign his settlement, there was also some upsetting news from Andrea. As much as she was good at family law, it seemed Leeann was really pushing to gain custody and the date for their mediated hearing was looming large. Gareth had the meeting at the family centre in the courthouse the very next day.

"I'm so sorry, Gareth, she's doing her best, but there's only so much that can be done. Most of it will fall to the justice to decide," Bill explained as he sipped the coffee Phillip made for them while they sat at the kitchen table.

"Well, we can still hope, can't we," Abby offered in support. "After all, Leeann is a complete c--"

"Hi, Abby! Hi Bill!" Franny popped into the kitchen, effectively silencing the adult talk for a minute or two.

"Hey, Franny! What are you guys up to?" Abby asked, giving the little girl a hug.

"We're putting rocks in the cracks, wanna see?"

"Uh, sure." Abby gave a puzzled look while allowing Franny to drag her out to the back patio, where the Lewis children were, in fact, putting more gravel between the cracks of the pieces slate.

The men remained in the kitchen and Bill handed over a large envelope to Phillip. "It's all there..." Bill began, as Phillip pulled papers out. "There's a card for your account at the store, credited with five thousand dollars, the bank draft for thirty thousand from his financial institution, the letter of apology--signed by Brian--and a bunch of legal documents you need to sign. I also got the trespass notice lifted, so you can actually enter the store." Bill chuckled at the last part.

Phillip and Gareth read everything over, including the rather insincere letter of apology from Brian, basically saying he was sorry he got in trouble for everything, not that he had said or done anything wrong. Phillip wasn't completely thrilled by the apology, but at least got the money, too. Then Bill pointed out all the places where Phillip needed to sign.

The paperwork took about twenty minutes or so, and by the end, Phillip was far better off financially.

"Now I just have to do your garden and determine how to get a living wall going. I'm quite excited by the opportunity. Is it okay that I won't get to it until November or December?" Phillip asked.

"That's completely fine, Phillip." Bill patted the man on the back, and Phillip tried not to flinch. "Abby and I have dinner reservations and need to get going, but I'm sure we'll see you again, soon."

"Thank you so much for everything, Bill!" Gareth said, with more enthusiasm than he felt. He was still thinking about what Bill had said about his case in the morning, and he had an ominous feeling.

...................................................

Andrea was dressed for battle in a powersuit and blood red nails that made Gareth cringe,  reminding him too much of Leeann, who he was going to face in just an hour. Last time he saw her Phillip had to step up and defend Gareth because she just made him feel so small and defeated. He really hoped that today, when fighting to keep his kids, all his kids, that he'd be up to the challenge. Andrea met Gareth in her law office, just down the street from the historic stone courthouse where they would be having their day in court, so they say. It was one of those buildings that had been around for over a hundred years with fancy stone pillars and impressive brickwork; built to last. Located just next door to it was the even larger, more imposing, modern courthouse, where all the trials take place. The older building had been repurposed into meeting rooms and offices, once the new state of the art building had been constructed.