Last Friday's Exchange

Brownorangestripe, his gnarled orangutan fingers shuffling along a supporting branch, ascended with his two doe eyed charges. The exchange had been brief and for the most part pleasant, despite the unexplained presence of Loudfartsmallturd, one of his brood mates.

Still, Speaksoffood lingered a moment watching the two little ones fade into the treetop greenery. Finally, placing a hand on her belly, swollen with a sibling for the adventuring youths, she began shuffling over the stony ground towards the river and the rest of her clan.

With a glance towards the canopy where Brownorangestripe had disappeared, Loudfartsmallturd brought himself to his full height and let loose a staccato series of grunts at Speaksoffood, ending in a jungle stilling shriek.




“Lupatria!” The interloper cried, stepping from the pillared courtyard, his toga flaring as he exited the arch’s shadow into the wind of the street.




The plain was empty, Jude’s yell having vacated it of even bird song. Marion braced on the wooden bench and held what grip she had on the horses, muttering in soothing tones as Penny worked at lashing their harnesses. Thomas turned a fierce eye on Jude, but at a word from Penny, kept his position in the wagon.

After a moment Jude moved forward and once again began his trumpeting.

“Ya’ll figure you can run this show?”

“I have no interest in this conversation, Jude.”

“You think you can just get what you want!?”

Penny’s hands goaded the rawhide into place.

“You hear me, harlot?”

“This ain’t going to make the judge see any different, Jude, and this sure ain’t helping Joseph in the least.”

“You keep this up, Harlot, and somethin’s gonna happen!” Jude shouted.

The horses bucked and a rag doll, which Elizabeth must have left on the wooden bench, tumbled to the ground. Jude moved forward, but Thomas, with a calming word to Penny, stood down from the wagon.





I step from the car and BabyDaddy’s brother slams the door.

“Thanks?” I say, bending over to retrieve the spilled Yu-Gi-Oh! cards.

Having collected them, I pull the door open against the resistance of the interloper’s thigh. Opopanax, having finished depositing the kid’s car seats in the trunk, returns and props herself within the door’s arc to prevent its closing.

“You think you’re so smart, you won’t get away with this, things are going to get a lot harder from here on, things are going to happen.” He rants.

Opopanax waves me into the car, but for a moment I beg off.

“What? What exactly is going to happen?” I ask.
After a moment without an answer, I re-ask.
Still no response, and at a second coaxing from Opopanax I take my place in the backseat of our two-door hatchback.

Opopanax settled in and closed the door while BD’s brother assailed us with a storm of “cunts”, still unable to come up with any sort of meaningful dialogue beyond shouting down a pregnant woman through her car window.

It is then that he realized that May had located Opop’s phone and was capturing the altercation on video. His hand shot through the gap, clutching for the phone, even managing to briefly ensnare it. Opopanax moved quickly though, snatched back the phone before it cleared the car and transfered it to her distant hand. Eventually she was forced to toss it into the back seat.

Realizing his losing battle, BD’s brother changed tact. Locking his fingers around Opop's wrist he attempted to drag her out the half-open window.

Wrenching free of his grip, she urged May to exit the driveway. Reversing to the outer most cusp, we were held by oncoming traffic. BD’s brother took position in front of the car, a chorus of adjectives stapled to his repeated mantra of “cunt” breaking up long verses of threat against our persons and property.



For a moment Marion considers cracking the reins.



Finally, there’s a break and we slide into the flow of traffic. Taking stock, we regroup and make our appeal to the authorities.

Baby Daddy Debacle '08

We saw the first glimpses from our lawyer, laywering. Our experience so far has been hours of waiting for the appointment long past, in a waiting room. Followed by being invited into his office only to be accosted if we try to ask too many question or heaven forbid, interrupt. He has high moments, where we are all friends and he is patient and kind. Giggling, ordering food, all is well with the world. And those low times where he can't understand why we don't know the legal system and the relevance of each component of our case.

Anywho, we were in his office for another one of our session with Manic Depressive LL. B. when BD 's lawyer phones him. She just recieved some of our documentation and is responding to it. He did a great job, I was impressed. And this is the deal, she says the only thing her client has to go on is that our relationship is unconventional. She doesn't want this to go to court. Her case is thin and BD has always been delivered his daughter prompty and regularly since he agreed to do so. BD would rather not put through his weak emergency motion, he wants a representative of the children's lawyer to come visit us. And compare the interaction with the child and the parents.

We didn't know what to do. We can go through with the motion leaving it to a judge. But what if you get the wrong kind of judge. And hope because BD is unprepared, we would look like a much more suitable party. The other option, this rep of the children's lawyer, also has pros and cons to that as well. What if what may have been not such a big deal in court, is wide out in the open in our home. Our bed is giant, we have pictures of all of us around. It is very apparent. What if they aren't in agreement with that and they don't decide in our favor?

We decided to go with the rep coming over. They only come 50% of the time anyway if they believe it is unnecessary. And the process of getting a visit takes months and months. Further the status quo and bettering our case. Our lawyer doubts that they would come. And if so, BD's lawyer says she will advise her client to drop this business all together. It really is a question of the childs best interest. And that means staying with how things are if it is a good, sound place to be. She is in no physical harm etc... but there are those ya know, who get really really wigged out when you tell them what your family looks like.

We are still in court on the 20th to decide how much access BD will receive until the final discussion. BD wants to ensure he gets 4 weekends a month. Opop has been very kind in the past providing him so much time with the littlin', but it is not with in her best interest anymore. Now she is at school, all of the time she has for recreation is with him. And he believes that time to be his own so he will not put her in activities so as not to enter in his time. That, and he has no money. *coughcough*

In October last year, he agreed to let Opop have her for the week as per usual and 1 weekend. That was so great, time in pj's together :) But he wants to renege on that promise.

So what are we asking for? What the law deems appropriate as a general guideline, and that is every other weekend. So boo to that. Really hope we get that!!

Peace and love my Compoundians :)

So there's that

Apologies for the silence lately, today is our last day to get supporting documentation in and most of our time recently has been spent collecting pictures, driving for signatures and conferencing with our lawyer. After today we have a week of relative silence, and then the first day with a judge (assuming nothing else comes up from Baby Daddy's end.) The first time up will be to determine where the lil'un will be staying for the duration of the proceedings.

I feel like this time is the canary-in-the-coal-mine for us... I hope this will be handled quickly, quietly and in our favour.

I have no interest in becoming case history to some future proceeding. I just want my family together.

BD decided not to play our relationship situation too heavily in his application, there's that at least, and we've blown his application out of the water in terms of quality and substance. As Opopanax said yesterday while browsing a stack of legal documentation: "I want to believe it's enough. I want to believe this isn't all for nothing." and as the ever present Gaunt said: "... I would like to think that people just aren't THAT stupid."

We all really appreciate the comments on May's first post on the topic, knowing people see it our way helps to take a lot of the wind out of the sails of the black galleon of doom.

Canadian Charter of Rights And Freedoms:

2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
a) freedom of conscience and religion;
b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and
d) freedom of association.

or even:

7. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.

Here's hoping.

It Shall Set You Free?

Much has happened around here this last little while. We haven't spoken about it. But I got the o.k. tonight and I thought I would post a note.

Baby Daddy is taking us to court. He doesn't want his little one around us Poly's. We have nothing to fear we are told by our lawyer. But this is scary business. Our babies have the best care here. We are first and foremost parents. And fucking great ones at that. It would be a great loss.

He liked us at first. Until they wanted to move in. We live a little ways out of the city and he is convinced this will fall apart. He's never been denied access and we have always been responsible for pick up and drop off. We have offered visits and tours but he is disinterested.

Arg!

We are preparing the best defense we can and hope that our truth prevails. We are getting support letters, records, pictures, anything we can together that will help.

Court is on the 20th. It isn't the final say, just a decision where she should stay before trial proceedings. Usually things stay status quo I hear.

So scary.