An Accidental Mother Read Online Free

she is just a few years away from retiring, and to get caught committing perjury could threaten her certification. Although I am not with Jim during every interaction, I have been present during the majority of their exchanges and am privy to most of their correspondence. Therefore, I have firsthand knowledge that she has filed court documents containing lies, made false statements in order to obtain a protective injunction, and perjured herself in the courtroom. She has also called Jim’s employer to file complaints against him and has reported to the city that our swimming pool has no fence.
    Jim hires an attorney, and court documents are filed refuting her complaints. He fights the injunction in court, and it is overturned. His employer rejects her complaints as the unfounded attacks of a bitter ex-wife. The city inspector comes and sees that wehave a motorized pool cover in compliance with city codes.
    The injunction, although eventually dismissed, interferes with several weeks of Jim’s parenting time, but Elizabeth’s mother finds an abundance of other excuses to justify her failure to make the child available to her father. After moving forty miles away from Jim, she demands that he continue to pick up the child at day care in accordance with the court-ordered parenting plan—even though she has violated it herself by moving without prior notification and the required plan modification. Jim’s work schedule and the long drive now make it impossible to pick up Elizabeth before day care closes.
    Jim files pleadings to modify the parenting plan, and by the time the court date arrives he has missed several more weeks of parenting time. Elizabeth’s mother suffers no consequences for violating the court orders, which is akin to dumping fuel on an open flame. Little do we know these are just the first in a long series of attacks.
    These battles take their toll—on Jim, on me, on our relationship, and surely on the children. We don’t discuss the court case or demean his ex-wife in front of either child, but no matter how much we try to mask our stress, the children sense it.
    On this night we drop Elizabeth off, and I know Jim feels the strain of wondering whether his daughter will be delivered at the next scheduled time or whether his ex-wife will come up with a new method of interference. Although I am unsure whether Michael is upset because his sister has left again or because he senses his father’s angst, what I do know is that I desperately want to stop Michael’s pain.
    On our way home we pull into a shopping plaza to pick up pool supplies, and I tell Jim I want to take Michael to the nearby department store. Michael holds my hand during the walk, and I ask if his stomach is feeling any better. He says it is not. I pretend I am there to shop for clothing, but I take him to the backof the store, where there is a very small toy department. I am hoping a new toy will distract him, as the paper dolls did me.
    â€œWhy don’t you look around, pick something out?”
    I am drawn to a row of stuffed animals—all soft, fluffy, adorable, and cuddly. Just looking at them makes
me
feel better. Michael is still young enough that he adores the stuffed animals he has at home. But I peer around the corner and see him holding a miniature treasure chest.
    â€œCan I have this?” he asks.
    I look at the tiny trunk and think that he will become bored with it quickly; once he hides something inside it, it will be cast aside.
    â€œThat’s cool,” I reply. I look around at the shelves near him and search for something I think will hold his interest for more than a few minutes. But the toy section is so small that there is little to choose from. I turn back to the stuffed animals. I grab a small but soft and floppy cat. I hold its head between my thumb andforefinger and its paws with my other hand. I step into the aisle, stretch it out toward Michael, and turn its head in his