Page 25 of Fever: Love In Scrubs

F ull custody granted.

I walked out of the court room with a heavy heart because I never wanted it to come to this for my baby. She needed her mother, but Amandela proved time and time again why she couldn’t be trusted with her. She didn’t even seem to want her around when she was around.

First of all, she came in there with no lawyer, just a public defender who she clearly obtained last minute.

The woman got up on that stand and told the judge that I was trying to turn our daughter against her.

She went on and on about how she had to practically raise our child alone while I worked because I never had time for either of them.

Lie number one. Yes, I was busy, but every free moment I had, I was with my family.

At one point, she was acting like this was a divorce hearing instead of a custody hearing. All of her points were about me and not about Jamari. There wasn’t one bad thing she could say about my parenting because no matter what, I always showed up for my child. She couldn’t say the same.

She was loud, hysterical, was almost held in contempt.

I remained calm while she tried to slander my name.

My blood was boiling as she spewed lies about me not being present and that I drop Jamari off with my parents to spend time with my girlfriend.

She then went on to say that I had my sister jump her.

The judge was about as over her as I was and it showed on her face.

I had my ducks in a row with my character witnesses.

I wished I could have snapped a picture of her face when my lawyer presented statements from one of her former friends, siding with me.

Stacey had ended her friendship with Amandela in the midst of our divorce when she found out what really happened.

She was the only one of her friends that I actually liked because she was nothing like them.

To this day, she and I were friendly with each other.

She always sent Jamari birthday and Christmas gifts and showed up to celebrate her accomplishments.

When I told her I was seeking full custody, she didn’t hesitate to write a statement.

When the lawyer read the statement from Jamari, I wanted to cross the court room and strangle my ex-wife.

My baby admitted things in that statement that she’d neglected to tell me.

She said sometimes her mother would leave her at the apartment alone to go out with her friends.

She’d get drunk and Jamari had to help her into the shower and to bed.

In order to keep her from telling me what was going on, she gave her money or bought her things to keep her quiet.

The bitch made my baby believe that it was okay to keep secrets from me because she was her mother and didn’t have to tell me everything.

She ended her statement by saying she thought having secrets with her mother would make them closer and make Amandela love her.

All my baby wanted was love from her mother.

She was so desperate for it that she would have rather endured her pain in silence.

I understood now why she was acting out.

It wasn’t just her approaching those teenaged years.

I felt like shit hearing her statement.

How didn’t I know? Why didn’t I probe deeper? Every time she came home from her mother’s, I asked her how it was and all she ever gave me was it was fine.

Dela had the nerve to sit there and cry like she was sorry, yet the moment the issue was brought up about her boyfriend, she became irate.

Those tears dried up real fast and she started yelling.

If the judge hadn’t threatened to throw her in jail, I think she would have tried to fight me.

The look on her face when I was granted full custody and she had to pay me child support was priceless.

Truthfully, I didn’t need her money. It would go to Jamari’s account for her to do with it as she pleased. The only thing she got out of this hearing was embarrassment and supervised visitation once a week.

Walking out of the court room, I shook my lawyer’s hand, thanking him for his services. As I headed out of the courthouse, I could hear the angry clicking of heels behind me and knew it was my ex-wife.

“Jaxson!” she yelled as I headed down the front steps.

“Walk away, Amandela,” I said, never breaking my stride.

She jumped in front of me, shoving her finger in my face. “You son of a bitch. How am I supposed to afford child support? I have real bills to pay!”

“So taking care of your child isn’t a priority? If the tables were turned, you’d tell me to figure it out, so figure it out.”

“You don’t even need my money!”

“No, I don’t. That money isn’t coming to me. It’s going to our child. I let you slide for years, Dela. Years. No more. I suggest you pick up some extra shifts.”

I tried to walk around her, but she shoved me.

“Fuck you! You think you won, don’t you? You took my child from me so you can have that fat bitch playing mommy to her.”

“Watch your fucking mouth when you speak on my woman. Wynter doesn’t have to play anything. She’s around Jamari because, unlike you, she wants to be.”

“Oh please. You can’t be that stupid. She wants you. Of course, she’s gonna play nice with the kid.”

“And what about you? You want me too. It kills you that you can’t have me, doesn’t it?

I can admit that you had me blinded in the beginning.

You did everything a good wife was supposed to do and the minute you were able to reap the benefits, you switched up on me.

You thought you had a sucker that would just give you whatever you wanted in this life.

You thought you could guilt trip me into staying with you after you fucked another nigga in my house.

“I guess Jamari was supposed to be your meal ticket, huh? She was the one thing that would keep me tied to you forever. That’s why you wanted her in the divorce.

You thought for sure you were gonna get alimony and child support and be set for life.

Funny how that worked out. You don’t want to be a parent, Dela.

It shows in every move you make when it comes to our child.

Like I told you before, if you don’t want her, let me know that and we can solve that problem by terminating your rights. ”

“I would never give you that satisfaction. You’re stuck with me for the rest of her life, Jaxson.”

“Unfortunately. Is that all? I have somewhere to be.”

I walked around her and headed for my car.

“I should have taken you for everything you’re worth!” she yelled at my back.

I chuckled. “Instead, you were stupid enough to steal money from me to give to your side nigga. Should have kept it for yourself.”

“You’ll be sorry!”

“Not more sorry than you!”

I climbed in my car and cranked up before pulling out of the parking lot. Amandela wasn’t going to ruffle my feathers today.

“So I only have to see her once a week?” Jamari asked.

I’d picked her up from school today and taken her out to eat so we could talk about court. This morning had been tough on her. When I went to wake her up, she was sitting in the middle of the bed crying.

“What’s wrong, baby?” I asked, going over to her.

“I don’t wanna leave you, Daddy.”

I motioned for her to scoot over so I could sit next to her. Pulling her in, I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her forehead.

“I would never let that happen, Mari.”

“But what if the judge sides with Mama? What if I have to go live with her?”

“I promise you, everything is gonna be fine. Nothing is about to change.”

“How do you know that?”

“I’m your father. I know everything.”

“You didn’t know Mama was cheating.”

I looked down at her. “Dang, Jamari. Just go for the jugular.”

She sniffled. “I’m sorry. I just… I’m upset. She doesn’t like me. I can feel it. I’ve heard her tell her friends that she wished she didn’t have responsibilities and I know she was talking about me. She doesn’t want me, Daddy.”

“I want you,” I said, cupping her chin. “I love you and I want you. You are the best thing to ever happen to me, Jamari. I might not get it right every single time, but as long as I have breath in my body, I’m always gonna show up for you.

You always have a place in this home and in my heart.

No matter what happens today, Daddy is always stepping behind his baby. ”

“Even when I’m grown with kids of my own?”

“Even then. Your grandparents step behind me and your aunt to this day. You think Grams won’t put hands on somebody about us?”

She giggled. “Grandma is a little spicy.”

“Very spicy. We might be grown, but we’re still her babies and nobody messes with her babies. Nobody is gonna mess with you either. I’ll smile in my mugshot about you, baby girl. Just make sure you put money on my books and come visit me.”

“I got you, Daddy.”

Hopefully, I’d never be put in a position for her to have to do that.

“Once a week,” I confirmed.

“What if I don’t wanna see her?”

“Right now, we need to comply with the court order. Johnathan will be right there to make sure everything goes smoothly.”

My brother-in-law had graciously volunteered to be the neutral party. He didn’t have a relationship with Amandela, so he was the perfect person for the job. I knew he would protect his niece the same as I would.

“I don’t like this, Daddy. Maybe she won’t show up and we can say we tried.”

I ran my hand down my face. It broke my heart that she was even thinking like this. She wasn’t a kid that didn’t know any better anymore. She was a young woman that could pick up on feelings and read the room.

“Let’s just try it this way and see what happens, okay, baby?”

She sighed. “Okay.”

“Jamari… your statement. Why didn’t you come to me, baby girl?”

Her eyes filled with tears. “I was scared. I thought if I told you, she would hate me even more than it feels like she does.”