If I Were Your Boyfriend (12 page)

  "Do you realize that in this state that is considered to be child endangerment?" asked Judge Hill.

  "Come on, it's just a sip of wine from time to time. It's nothing serious." My mom downplayed the significance of her error in judgment.

  "I have no further questions," said Judge Hill as she be gan jotting down some notes. "Mr. Waters, do you have any questions?"

  "Yes, Your Honor, I do," said Mr. Waters. "First, I'd like to state that the problems between Wesley and his mother go back several years. Now, Ms. Carter, would you like for Wesley to go home with you today?"

  "Yes, Wesley needs to be at home with me. His dad is too irresponsible to take good care of him like I do."

  "Do you feel that providing a minor with alcohol is a good standard of parental care?"

  "Look, it's not as if I gave my son a bottle of Jack Daniel's after school and said 'drink up.' It was just a few sips of wine every now and again."

  "Ms. Carter, do you keep alcohol in your home?"

  "Of course I do. Everyone does," my mom answered.

  "Ms. Carter, are you aware that when Wesley was picked up by the police, he had a blood-alcohol level that was above the legal driving limit?"

  "Yes, I know about that."

  "Where do you think Wesley got the alcohol from?"

  "I don't know, out in the streets somewhere. He probably got it from one of his older friends. Now, that's who you should be after. The one who gave him the hard stuff." My mother wanted to get the focus off of her.

  "Ms. Carter, is it fair to say that your protection of Wesley from drinking outside of the home has failed and that, in fact, you have been encouraging your son to drink with you other than on special occasions?"

  "No, that's not true!" my mom howled out. "Listen, mister! Don't you go trying to twist my words around! I'm a good mother and I love my son. He's all I've got. I can't be with him everywhere. If he gets alcohol out there in the streets, that's not my fault! You need to go out and find the criminals who got him intoxicated. If I knew who did it, I'd go and make a citizen's arrest myself!"

  "Your Honor, I have no further questions," said Mr. Waters.

  "Okay, I want to hear from Wesley," said Judge Hill. "Please approach the bench."

  I stood up from my seat and approached the bench near Judge Hill. I was nervous but happy because I was finally going to get a chance to tell my side of the story.

  "Wesley." Judge Hill looked at me.

  "Yes, ma'am," I answered.

  "Who would you like to be released to today?" she asked.

  "If I had a choice, I'd really like to go and live with my dad."

  "Why is that?" she asked.

  "Because." I paused to select the right words. I had wanted to be fearless with my criticism of my mother, but when I looked at her I began to feel sorry for her. "I mean—my dad and I get along well and me and my mom don't. We haven't gotten along in a very long time. My life was great until I turned thirteen." I sniffled. "Aw, man." I felt myself tearing up as I was about to speak the truth and bare my soul to Judge Hill. "As far as I know, the reason my parents got a divorce is because my mom accused him of physically abusing me. And that just wasn't true. When she divorced him, she forced me to sit down and have a drink with her to celebrate their separation. She was happy about it, but I was miserable. My heart was so torn up over the divorce."

  I stopped talking so that I could wipe the tears away from my eyes. "Man, this is harder than I thought it would be." I swallowed hard and took a few deep breaths to calm my nerves and manage the adrenaline that was flowing through me. "The first time I got drunk was that day with my mom. Once I recovered from being sick and managing my hangover, I made a vow to myself to try and get them back together so that we could be a happy family again. But that all changed when her boyfriend moved into the house just one week after my parents' divorce. That hurt me so badly that I just didn't know what to do." I stopped talking because my words were imprisoned in my chest.

  "Wesley, why are you telling these lies on me?" my mother blurted out from the rear of the courtroom. I looked into her eyes and saw nothing but defiance in them. At that moment, I sucked up my emotions, got angry and barked back at her.

  "What I'm saying is not a lie! It's the truth and you know it! You ruined everything! You ruined a great home and a great life all for some jerk that was cheating on you. My dad is a good man and you treated him like scum. You made it seem as if everything was his fault. But it wasn't his fault at all! You wanted a divorce from my dad so that you could be with some jerk. You're a big liar and you're a drunk, Mom!"

  Judge Hill slammed down her gavel.

  "Okay, that's enough," she said, and I calmed myself down. There was a long moment of silence. I noticed that Judge Hill was scribbling down something on a notepad.

  "Wesley, has your dad ever abused you?" asked Judge Hill.

  "No, ma'am, never," I answered.

  "Okay, I have no further questions of you. I'd like to hear from your dad now. Mr. Morris, would you please have a seat up here on the bench next to me?" Judge Hill pointed to the seat beside her. My dad got up from his seat and did as Judge Hill asked.

  "Mr. Morris, do you live in Illinois?" asked Judge Hill.

  "Yes," answered my dad. "I live about eight miles away from Wesley."

  "Mr. Morris, what do you do for living?"

  "Right now I work as a claims adjuster for an insurance company."

  "And how long have you had that job?" she asked.

  "I've been an adjuster now for about six years," answered my dad.

  "Do you have room for your son?" asked Judge Hill.

  "Yes, I do. I've always had room for him and he knows that he can come and stay with me anytime."

  "Would you like to have primary custody of your son?" asked Judge Hill.

  "Yes, I would," answered my dad.

  "Is there anything additional you'd like to tell the court?"

  "I'd just like to stay that I know that Wesley has been struggling with a lot of things and that I know he hasn't had any peace since the divorce. I have really made an effort to be a part of his life, but at times his mom has alienated me from him and has done a lot of things to keep us apart. If Wesley were to come home with me, we'd work out whatever problems he's having. There will be ground rules that he'll have to follow in order to keep him out of trouble, but honestly, Wesley isn't a bad kid. He's just a kid in a crisis situation."

  "Do you have any questions of Mr. Morris, Mr. Waters?" Judge Hill looked at the attorney my dad hired.

  "Mr. Morris, are you behind on your child-support payments?"

  "No. I'm actually three months ahead," answered my dad.

  "I have no further questions, Your Honor," said Mr. Waters.

  "Okay, you may step down and go back to your seat," Judge Hill instructed my dad. Once he sat down, Judge Hill began to speak.

  "Okay, let's cut to the chase here. Today this court is going to reduce the charge of auto theft down to joyriding. This court is also going to find probable cause that Wesley needs crisis intervention to address his addiction to alcohol. I am mandating that he get treatment at the Mayville Rehab Facility. This court is also going to order that this child be released from the custody of this facility into the custody of his father." Judge Hill slammed down her gavel, indicating that her decision was final.

  I leaned back in my seat and exhaled a big sigh of relief.
That was intense,
I thought as I closed my eyes for a brief moment. When I opened them back up, Officer Sanchez was standing next to me.

  "Come with me," he said. I followed Officer Sanchez past Judge Hill.

  "Wait a minute," I said, stopping. "I just want to say thank you. I am so glad you listened to me."

  "You make sure that you do right by your father, stay sober and don't let me see you in here again or else." Judge Hill glanced at me for a brief moment before opening up the file folder to her next case. I walked out of the courtroom feeling a sense of relief.