“No. We still have a chance to clear this up. The judge said he would make his final decision at the hearing next month,” Mrs. Daniels explained.
“I just don’t see how he could believe him! The judge saw the pictures, and he knows Michael’s history. It doesn’t make any sense for him to take his side, now,” I cried. I never dreamed that things would turn out the way they had. I felt so defeated, and my heart ached as I listened to Mrs. Daniels tell me everything that happened during their meeting.
“You know better than anyone how good Michael is at turning the blame around. He’s never admitted that he was at fault for anything he’s done. Why would he start now?”
“The whole thing is absurd. How could he blame me, especially with those bruises on Wyatt’s arm?” I snapped.
“His lawyer is really good. He twisted everything around and told the judge that Michael was trying to protect him when he grabbed Wyatt. He said that he was trying to stop him from running out the door.”
“That’s bullshit. Michael didn’t even care that Wyatt had ran away.”
“I told him all that, but his lawyer told the judge that you taught Wyatt to leave. He convinced him that you encouraged Wyatt to run away from him,” she continued.
“I did, but it was only for emergencies. I told him only to leave if something went wrong,” I explained.
“I know that, dear. It’s just that Michael’s trying to make it out like you’ve been trying to turn Wyatt against him, using his Asperger’s to your advantage,” she explained softly. I knew it was difficult for her to break the news to me, and she hated that she couldn’t help me. “Wren, I know this is hard, but we’ll get this all sorted.”
“I hate him,” I confessed.
“Don’t blame yourself, dear. No one would.”
“What now?” I asked.
“Talk to your lawyer and make sure she knows what is going on. Has Jenny made any leeway with Wyatt?”
“She’s tried everything during their sessions, but he hasn’t told her anything.” I felt my frustration building to an all-time high as I told her, “I don’t know what else to do.”
“It will be several weeks before the hearing. Hopefully, she will be able to get through to him before then.”
“God willing. Thank you for letting me know what happened. I appreciate all of your hard work. Please call if you hear anything else,” I told her.
“You know I will. We’ll get through this,” she promised.
When I hung up the phone, I was tempted to call Rachel to cancel our plans to go to the movies. With everything that had happened, I wasn’t in the mood for company, but Wyatt had been looking forward to going for days.
Just as I was reaching for my purse, Wyatt came to my doorway smiling and said, “It’s 11:11, Momma. Are we going to do this thing or what?”
“Yeah, buddy. Let’s roll,” I answered as I grabbed my keys. “We’ll get there in time to grab some popcorn before the movie starts.”
“With butter?” he asked with a pleading look.
“Yeah, with butter.”
“Awesome,” he answered as he bolted towards the door. “I want a soda with mine, too!”
When we got in the car, I motioned to Wyatt to fasten his seatbelt. As soon as it locked into place, Wyatt turned to me and said, “Did you know when Charles Schulz was a kid, he had a terrier named Spike? The dog understood over fifty words, and that’s how he got his idea for Snoopy.”
“Fifty words? That’s pretty incredible,” I laughed. “I’d like to have a dog like that someday.”
Wyatt continued to tell me one fact after the other about the Peanut’s characters, only stopping when we pulled up into the movie theater’s parking lot. Rachel and Annalise, dressed in their most fashionable fall outfits, were already waiting for us at the front door. I couldn’t help but smile when I noticed that they were wearing matching boots. Rachel always made the effort to look her best, even when she was just going to a kid’s movie, and she made sure that her daughter did the same. They both started waving when they saw us park the car. As I turned off the engine and started to gather my things, Rachel pointed to her watch and motioned for us to hurry.
When we finally reached them, Annalise greeted Wyatt with a big smile and said, “I’m gonna get chocolate covered peanuts!” She was a year younger than Wyatt, but acted so much older. Her wavy blonde hair was twisted into a loose bun that bobbed back and forth when she spoke.
Wyatt instantly turned to me and asked, “Can I get some, too?”
“Sure, now let’s get moving,” I told them as I nudged Wyatt towards the ticket counter. After we got our tickets and snacks, Wyatt and Annalise raced to the theatre. They fussed back and forth until they found the perfect spot to sit. Rachel and I trailed closely behind and managed to find two seats directly behind our two little chatterboxes.
Once the kids were settled, Rachel turned to me and said, “So, what’s with the look?”