Lily drew in a shuttered breath as she stood in the hallway of the large courthouse. Her hands shook and her heart was racing, partly from nervousness and partly from the anticipation of seeing Kevin again after so much time.
"Lily." She heard and turned toward the voice. She saw Hannah rushing down the hallway toward her.
"Hannah, I thought I told you not to come." She had felt confident that she could handle the entire situation by herself.
"I know, Lil, but you need me here for support."
"Thanks, Han." she said, admitting to herself that she felt better with her bestfriend by her side.
"I don't know how I'm going to do this, Hannah. He probably has this big group of powerful lawyers. What if he takes Jeremy away from me?" Tears stung Lily's eyes and Hannah reached out for her, hugging her close. It pained Hannah to see Lily in so much pain, as she knew she was. The incredible hurt she felt at Kevin's betrayal hung over Lily like a dark cloud and Hannah knew that she was hurt beyond belief.
"We won't let him do that, Lil. I promise." Hannah said, yet wasn't completly confident of it. Kevin could have the world's most powerful lawyers at his disposal. No matter how good Lily's case was, they couldn't fight that.
Lily pulled away from Hannah and smiled at her while wiping the tears from her cheeks. She took a deep breath and turned toward her lawyer who was coming down the hallway in her direction. They exchanged greetings and he began to explain to her about what would happen.
"It's going to be a really simple thing, Mrs. Richardson. Mr. Richardson will tell the judge why he should be granted custody. Then I will explain to the judge why he shouldn't be granted custody."
"What will you say?" Lily asked.
"Well, I'll begin by telling the judge about how your husband wasn't present for the first year of Jeremy's life. Then I'll explain about his career and how it can't possibly be suitable for raising a child."
Lily bit her lip to keep from defending Kevin and begging the lawyer not to be too rough on him. Hannah seemed to have read her mind and frowned fiercly at her.
Before any of them could say anything else, they all three turned toward a comotion at the end of the hall. There, a door opened and through flashes of cameras and the callings of the reporters, Kevin made his way through the crowd accompanied by a team of powerful looking attorneys.
Lily's first glimpse of her husband after such a long time set off such a sense of yearning within her. She momentarily forgot their problems and realized how much she'd missed him. Her heart cried out to him and she nearly cried. Her eyes met his for a brief moment and Lily saw in his eyes the same desperation and yearning she herself felt for a moment before he once again covered his feelings and looked away from her. Lily lowered her eyes so that no one could see the tears that had quickly gathered there.
After Kevin and his lawyers entered the court room, Lily, her attorney and Hannah followed them in.
The procedings started quickly and were under way. Kevin sat quietly in his chair, his face betraying no emotion, while his lawyers made their speeches. When they were finally done, Lily let out a small sob as she tried not to cry. Hannah, sitting in the chair behind her, reached up and embraced her. Neither of them said what they both knew to be true. Jeremy was as good as Kevin's.
His lawyers had called on every peice of knowledge that they could think of to incriminate her and show Kevin as the better parent. They spoke about how Lily had kept the knowledge of Jeremy a secret from Kevin for more than a year. They also critisized her occupation, saying that her job as an author of romance novels couldn't possibly support her and Jeremy as he got older and they'd be on welfare within five years. Kevin had a steady income and could provide his son with more than he could ever want. Lily bit down on her fist to keep from yelling out that Jeremy didn't need material things, he needed his mother.
As Lily's lawyer stood up to begin his speech, a man came in the court room from a side door and whispered something to the judge.
"I deeply apoligize for this everyone." he was saying "But an emergency has come up and I must leave." He picked up his gavel and slammed it down. "This court is in recess for thirty minutes." He then left the courtroom through the door the man had just entered from.
Lily, as well as everyone else in the room, stood and slowly excited the room.
She had finally shooed everyone away from her, getting a much needed moment to herself when she heard a voice behind her.
"Mrs. Richardson?" She turned toward the voice and sucked in a sharp voice.
Standing before her was a face she could never forget. It was a face that haunted her dreams. A face that wrecked her marriage.
It was the face of the woman who she'd found in bed with Kevin.
