"Your Honor, all I want is to be able to see my kids and to keep my job. That's all. I don't care about alimony. As long as I have my job, I won't have to worry about money." Alice paused, glaring at her soon-to-be ex husband at the table beside her across the courtroom. "You know what....my job at the Register....THAT'S my alimony." She received a glare from Hal Cooper and she sent one right back to him before looking back to the female judge on the large bench ahead of her.
Judge Sharon Bailey squinted to both journalists below her before looking down at the divorce papers in her hands. She took a while to make her decision as she read up on their plans for the kids and the Cooper's property. With a long awaited sigh, Judge Bailey took off her glasses, setting down the papers. "I want you two to follow this plan to the 'T.' No whining about lack of time with the kids or who gets what from the house. Mr. Cooper, you said you found a new place?"
"Yes, Your Honor." Hal responded, ignoring the fact that he could see Alice in the corner of his eye, watching him. "Moved in last Monday."
"And Mrs. Cooper, you may keep your job at the Register IF....you stop throwing bricks through windows."
"Yes, Your Honor." Alice swore she heard Hal chuckling across from her and she immediately wanted to throw a brick right there.
"You two cooperate with each other and play nice." The judge picked up another sheet of their divorce papers, looking down at it with a shake of her head. "You're not the first divorced couple to come in here who owned a business together. I know how you people work. You work cordially for about a month and then all of a sudden, something sets you off and you're both right back here in my courtroom, begging for a better bargain or for me to allow one of you to be fired." She stared them both down. "I want none of that from you two."
"Yes, Your Honor." Hal said.
"Yes, Your Honor." Alice spoke at the same time as him.
"Good." The judge picked up her gavel hammer, holding it over its coaster. "Congratulations, Mr. Cooper, Miss Smith. You two are now officially divorced." She pounded the gavel and Hal and Alice turned to look at each other with blazing eyes.
"I'm taking Betty to Pop's for a milkshake." Hal demanded the moment they mulled things over with their lawyers.
"That's fine, Hal." Alice responded, grabbing her purse.
"What? No argument about wanting to take her somewhere with Chic or something?" Hal wondered with an attitude.
"No, Hal. Chic is working all day today and Betty IS your daughter, so..."
"You sure about that?" He mumbled, hoping Betty in a courtroom seat near them wouldn't hear.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey." Alice's lawyer spoke up, having heard it himself. "What did the judge just say?" He asked quietly, hoping Judge Bailey couldn't hear the tift. "Play nice." He demanded of Hal and Mr. Cooper squinted at Alice again, who crossed her arms over her chest.
"Goodbye, Hal." Alice said with a tone of 'good riddance' in the back of her throat.
Her, now, ex husband sighed. "See you at the Register on Monday." When Alice nodded with an eye roll, Hal rolled his own eyes and walked over to Betty. "Hey. How'd you like to go to Pop's for a milkshake?"
Alice sighed, watching them walk away from her and she almost didn't hear her lawyer speaking beside her. "You sure you're gonna be okay? You said you've never been alone in that house since the day Polly was born."
"Yeah, I'll be fine." She faked a smile at him and headed for the exit.
Later on that night, Alice stopped by a grocery store, grabbing herself and Chic a TV dinner, too lazy to make a full meal. Chic wouldn't be home until around midnight, so she knew it would just be her anyway. She sighed, missing Polly and longing to meet the twins, but she knew she'd miss Betty as well, never having been away from her before. She always wondered why mothers felt so much more protective over their youngest than the others. And knowing she was extremely protective over Polly and Chic, she measured her protectiveness over Betty to be out of this world.
