Just Perfection by Heather Guimond

Author:Heather Guimond [Guimond, Heather]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-12-11T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Justin made an urgent call to Alan, who had also been served with the documents. While he had yet to review the specific allegations made against us, he wasn’t immediately concerned. He explained non-parent custody petitions were rarely granted, and to even be considered, they had to show substantial evidence Sammy was in danger of immediate harm by remaining in our care. He told us to relax and continue with life as usual. He would contact us soon to discuss his evaluation of their case and begin formulating our defense against their filing. It wasn’t easy to put aside, both of us were on edge for the next two days. For Sammy’s sake though, we tried to hide our anxiety as much as possible by maintaining his schedule. I also immersed myself in the remaining details of Justin’s upcoming surprise party. Seeing how miserable he was, I eventually let the cat out of the bag, so he could have something else to focus on. Together, we went shopping for all the supplies we needed and made last-minute phone calls to anyone I may have overlooked on the guest list.

That Saturday, his birthday went forward without any major meltdowns from anyone or some unforeseen disaster. There was one small hiccup, however, when Marina showed up in the backyard where we were all gathered, present in hand. I instantly wanted to chase her out and down the block or better yet, sic Snowflake on her, but I managed to control myself. I was pushing Sammy on his swing set and I knew if I stopped, he’d be one very unhappy boy. I played silent observer to the scene about to unfold instead.

Justin had had his back to Marina while he was cooking burgers and hot dogs on the barbecue. Even though it was his birthday, he refused to let anyone near his precious gas grill. After placing her present on the table where we’d collected the gifts, she sidled up behind him and pressed a little kiss to his cheek. At first, he turned with a smile, but when he saw it was her, his face hardened. He put his spatula down and grabbed her arm, marching her toward the house.

I absently pushed Sammy a few beats more before my burning curiosity kicked in. Fortunately, Sammy had finally lost interest in the swings and wanted to go play with Snowflake. I set him down, and he quickly toddled off. I went over to Justin’s mom and asked her to keep an eye on him while I went to the kitchen to ‘check on the cake’ even though we’d gotten a store-bought one. We hadn’t told anyone of Mrs. Ortega’s attempt to take Sammy away, so Audrey didn’t have the first clue as to the offense Marina was committing by showing up. If she had, she probably would have been the first person to attack Marina. Instead, she winked and pushed me in the direction of the house.

I crept into the kitchen quietly, not knowing where they were and not wanting to draw any attention to myself.

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