I decided to continue this story now, as I am making some fairly major changes to my life recently.
That being said, this is based off a true story, though dramatized and exaggerated at times for laughs and also excitement... I guess?
Chapter One - Custody is a Dry Business for Drug Addicts:
Marital Spat
Denny and Robbin eventually had a child together, and Denny was back to working in construction and maintenance. He had his own Maintenance company at the time, but he rarely had calls from customers, so he had to do work as a subcontractor most of the time.
Robbin, on the other hand, was still doing drugs, heroin and meth in particular. This troubled Denny greatly, and after a few years of uphill battles trying to get her to quit her addiction, he finally decided to take their family in a different direction.
"Robbin, I want a divorce. Sign these papers," Denny demanded, slamming a stack of divorce papers on their filthy kitchen table, littered with drugs.
"If we divorce, I'm taking Jimbo," Robbin threatened.
"Do NOT use our son as leverage in this conversation. If I really need to, I will take it to court,"
"Why are you doing this all of a sudden?"
"You haven't quit drugs for even a week since before Jimbo was born, how can I trust anything you say?"
"Do you still think I'm cheating on you? Is that what this is about?"
"Yes, I think you're cheating on me with that loser Joseppi. But this is about your drug problems, not him," Denny replied, throwing a gallon ziplock bag on the table. It was filled with meth from the bottom all the way to the seal.
"Did you know you left your meth out front for the whole world to see? Do you want DHS to come and take away our kid? Are you TRYING to get arrested?"
Robbin shook her head. "I don't know how that got there, it's not mine,"
"Don't play games with me, Robbin. We're through, sign these papers," Denny commanded, pushing the papers toward Robbin.
She clicked her tongue but began signing them anyway.
"You'll regret this, Denny,"
"No, I won't,"
Day of the Trial
A few months passed, and the divorce case was taken to court. However, there was a bit of an issue.
"The defendant, Robbin M. Jackson is absent to this case. As I see it--,"
Before the judge could finish, the doors flung open and a woman came rushing in, stopped by the security guard.
"Miss, you can NOT just barge in here. I need to escort you out," the guard stated.
"But, I'm the defendant of this case! At least let me take the stand in my own defense," the woman shouted.
The judge placed his hand over his face, rubbing his forehead in frustration. They slammed their wooden hammer on the pedestal, causing attention to turn to the judge instead.
"Alright, let her pass. She is the defendant in this case. If you make a similar outburst again, you will be held in contempt, Robbin M. Jackson. Do I make myself clear?" The judge replied.
"Yes, your grace-- I mean honor, yes, your honor," Robbin replied.
The guard looked at her with suspicion. "Your honor, with all due respect, it appears to me that the defendant is high on drugs. Is it even safe to let her come in here?"
The judge shook their head, and turned to the woman. "The defendant will need to pass a preliminary drug test to enter the courtroom. Have her submit a urine sample and test it immediately," the judge replied.
The woman glared at the judge angrily. "So what if I do meth, or heroin, do you think that automatically makes me a bad parent?! Who are you to judge me?"
The judge was not amused by this, and stood up, slamming their hammer on the table rather than the pedestal.
"Robbin M. Jackson, I hereby find you guilty of contempt in the courtroom. You are sentenced to 30 days, and your bail is set to 2,500 dollars. Case dismissed, judgment for the plaintiff in the full amount and the divorce conditions requested by them will be approved," the judge shouted. "You should have kept your mouth shut. Who am I to judge you? I am a judge, it's my job to judge you," they continued. "Get her out of my courtroom," they demanded.
The woman shrieked and shouted in unintelligible obscenities and gibberish, restrained by several guards as they dragged her out of the courtroom. At the end of the day, Denny won the case, received 100% custody with no visitation privileges for the mother, and the mother was ordered to pay the full amount of child support allowed by law.
However, they would not be seeing these child support payments, not now, not ever... but that is a story for another day.