42

Lauren Hart
The day we all had been waiting for had finally arrived. The day of the trial.
Sean, Ryan, and I stood outside the court, waiting for grandma and our rivals to arrive. Yes, we were early since Sean couldn’t wait to get this over with. While waiting, I observed Sean. He had an impatient look on his face was glancing at his watch from time to time. While Ryan kicked the small stones, probably in boredom, totally unfazed by the gravity of the situation. How would he know? He’s just five years old kid.
And my eyes longed to see Sean’s parents. Behind my peaceful and calm expressions were a chaos of unsettling thoughts. Would they come, or would they again neglect their family?
What would it cost them to be their family? I would be very disappointed if they did not show up.
Within a while, a luxury white car stopped and Samantha and Levi stepped out. Samantha eyed Ryan, who now hid at my back, not wanting to see her.
Samantha stepped towards him and I blocked her way. She smirked at me then peered at Ryan by tilting her head. “Don’t hide from me, Ryan. I am your mother, the court will decide in our favor today.”
“Don’t have high hopes,” Sean exclaimed, coming and standing in front of me. “Don’t forget who you are competing with.”
“I don’t know what you have against me which is making you confident about your win. Do remember that no one can separate a mother from her child.” She glared at him. “See you inside the court.” With that, she walked past us not before shooting daggers at me. Levi too flashed a smirk in our direction and followed the bitch.
“I don’t want to be with her.” Ryan’s broken voice caused me to look down at him. Sean turned towards us and looked at Ryan. “You will not Ryan, I promise.” He promised him. I didn’t miss the exchange of smiles between them.
Within a while, a luxurious white car stopped near us. One of the backdoors of the car opened revealing grandma’s face. She stepped out and stood by the car. Ryan rushed to her and Sean and I was about to approach her when the door of another side opened, halting us from moving, and Mrs. Peterson stepped out.
A broad smile of relief appeared on my face after the shock which I concealed effortlessly.
Finally, someone has got the sense! Guess, Mr. Peterson required to be given more classes. Hmpf… will do that!
I saw Sean who had gone stiff and was staring at his mother in surprise, not believe what he was watching. “M…mom?”
With a smile, Mrs. Peterson approached Sean and stood before him. “What? Weren’t expecting me to be here?” She grinned and tilted her head to look at me. I nervously waved at her with a smile, she responded with a sweet smile and mouthed ‘thank you’. I held my chuckle for not making a scene there.
Sean shifted uncomfortably on his feet, glancing back at me and gave me a confused look, I shrugged at him, giving him the same confused look while holding my smile.
I did not know anything about it, did I? I was equally surprised as Sean. Period.
My impishness died down and an actual intense shock of high voltage struck me when I saw Mr. Peterson stepping out of the car. No freaking way!
“D…dad?!” Sean too couldn’t hold his surprise.
“Yes, it’s me. Let’s go inside and get this over with.” Mr. Peterson responded, having a hint of gentleness in his voice.
He acknowledged me by giving me a nod and I became a jellyfish. I mentally squealed and imagined myself jumping in the pool of balloons. Aaaa, Mission Accomplished!
Mr. And Mrs. Peterson went inside along with grandma and Ryan. I approached Sean who had been standing still in bewilderment. I tapped his shoulder to bring him back to the present.
“Trial is about to start, Sean,” I said and he turned to me.
“I am not dreaming, am I?” He blinked his eyes, his face still held shock. Smiling, I shook my head muttering a ‘no’.
“I…I…I thought it wouldn’t affect them. I thought they wouldn’t come.” He sounded surprised. “How come they are here? What brought them here?”
I huffed. “It doesn’t matter what and who brought them here! You must acknowledge that they are here to support you. This is all you have always wanted, so stop running your mind, and let’s go inside.” I grasped his hand and dragged him inside the court.

The trial began and the judge heard both the parties. To prove Sean’s point that Samantha wasn’t an ideal mother, his lawyer put forward all the information Sean had gathered about her past and what she had been doing after leaving her son behind for five years. Proofs in the form of pictures of her drinking wildly, bank transaction data, number of men she had been with, whom she contacted in the last five years, and where she had been was presented before the court.
All of it proved that she never tried to contact her in-laws to know about well being of her son and tried to reach for him, instead, she had been rejoicing her again single life with different men, roaming around the world. This all pulled her in a bad light in front of the court. We thought we won when the judge announced that her lifestyle could bring a bad influence on the kid, but being the vile bitch she is, she flooded the courtroom with her fake tears.
She argued that she had changed and was now a decent woman, having no relation with men, and had given up on drinking. She wanted another chance for her son. According to her, she suddenly realized her love for her only memory of her late husband and couldn’t live without him.
And how would she live up to her name if she did not play dirty? Yep, she played a trick by bringing Sean in a bad light. She barked pure filth. She accused Sean of having eyes on Ryan’s property that’s why he had suddenly gained interest in her son. She questioned him before the court where he had been for five years and why he never acknowledged Ryan before, why now?
Honestly, I was stunned. Everyone was. I had never thought that Sean’s plan could ever backfire at him. I wondered what would Sean do now? I even looked at Sean in worry but he seemed to be completely unfazed by Samantha’s accusations. He had a strange and mysterious glint in his eyes as if he knew something like this would come up. And he was ready for that!
The next proofs that were brought before the judge were his last shot that stunned everyone present in the court, including Samantha, who couldn’t bring her wide eyes to normal.
A video of her in the parking lot of XDS Autotech where Sean met her for the first time in five years was played in which she had confessed that she was back for money and not her son. Even the phone call recordings between Sean and her were played, showing the same thing… her hunger for money!
At this time Ryan was involved in the hearing. The judge asked him who he wanted to be with and Ryan’s answer was just one, Uncle Sean.
Not being changed over the years and misleading the court by faking decency, the judge reprimanded Samantha and called her acts shameful.
Looking at Ryan’s perspective, his future, and his love for his uncle, his custody was given to Sean. Court announced Sean as Ryan’s father.
Samantha couldn’t accept that. She yelled and threw tantrums inside the court but the judge was in command and had her kicked out of the courtroom for disturbing the decorum of the court.
Sean Peterson
The worry and the heaviness in my heart flew in the air when the judge announced his decision. I knew it! I knew I would win!
When the judge left the courtroom, I dropped on my knees before Ryan and held his shoulder.
“You heard what the judge said?” I asked him in a heavy voice.
He nodded his head. “He said you are now my father.”
A tear slipped from my eyes. “I am. Now I am officially your father. Now you can call me dad.”
“I can?” His blue eyes glistened with tears and his voice too became heavy.
“Yes, my son, you have all the right now. Say it, I want to hear you call me dad.” I prodded.
Now, the tears flowed down his face and his chin trembled as he looked at me with pure love.
“D…Dad.”
As if this is what I had been dying to hear, my body relaxed, my racing heart calmed down and my tears flowed like a waterfall. I didn’t wait for long to embrace him in my arms, giving him a fatherly hug.
Father… I had become a father.
“Hey champ, stop crying.” I patted his back soothingly while he cried against my neck. He pulled away and looked at me with teary eyes.
“You will take me to the park and play with me like other dads? You will drop me at school and attend the events at school, will you?” He sobbed, his eyes filled with high hopes. “You will not send me back to grandpa’s house, right?”
“I will do everything a dad does. And no, I will not send you back.” I promised him sincerely while wiping his tears with my thumb.
“I love you, dad!” He jumped onto me again and hugged him tighter.
“I love you too, my son,” I muttered, kissing his hair. I held him for long until a tap on my shoulder jerked me to look up. It was grandma with tears in her eyes. Letting go of Ryan, I stood up. Lauren held Ryan for the time being.
“It seems like a dream to me.” Her tears flowed down as she cupped my face giving me a loving teary-eyed look. “You fulfilled your promise of taking care of Ryan in the best way possible. I honestly never imagined you would come up with this idea, but here you are, being the best version of yourself.”
I embraced her in my arms. My eyes landed on my mother who was approaching me. Grandma felt her presence and stepped away.
“Sean, seeing that you have taken the responsibility of Shane’s son, your brother must have completely rested in peace now.” Her misty eyes stunned me. I had never seen her cry except for the day my brother died.
She stepped closer to me and cupped my face, making me wince suddenly. I honestly never expected she would do something like that. S
Her eyes held something I had never seen her show. Pride.
Had I been imagining things?
But her next request opened my eyes wide. “Can I get a hug from my son?”
Okay, It was surely a dream. My mother had never asked or done something like that. It was weird.
An abrupt low gasp escaped my throat when she patted my cheek. “Can I, Sean?”
No, it wasn’t a dream. She certainly asked me that.
I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat and unconsciously I nodded my head. She didn’t waste time to wrap her arms around me. A strange feeling flowed inside me. I was not used to this-my mother hugging me. I had never experienced what a mother’s hug felt like.
But if it feels like an embrace of warmth that takes away your uneasiness and gives you a sense of relief then it is surely the best thing in the world.
I didn’t know when my throat became heavy and my arms involuntarily moved up and encircled her. It was overwhelming. It was new. And it felt good.
“I am sure you will become an incredible father.” She patted my back before pulling away. I gave her a nod of understanding and looked at Lauren who was looking at us lovingly.
I took a step to approach her but my dad’s voice halted my steps.
“Sean.”
Stiffly, I turned to face him and raised my eyebrows in question. I had no idea what brought him here, but somewhere I had an intuition that it was a political agenda. He never cared for his family.
He approached my placed his hand on my shoulder. His eyes held something unfamiliar to me. He opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t form words and shut it. I saw him gulp when he drummed his fingers on my shoulder. I was sure of one thing, he was hesitant…but why? It’s not like he was going to acknowledge what I did.
But when he opened his mouth again, my heart stopped and my legs trembled. It felt like a thunderstorm had struck me.
“You have become what your father failed to become. A responsible man. I am proud of you, son.”
I was lost for words. I just kept staring at him in shock. Did I hear him right? God, what was happening? First my mom then my dad?
Had earth began to rotate anticlockwise? Or was I in a parallel universe? Because I don’t think it could happen in reality. My parents praising me… It had never happened before.
He stepped back and brushed his suit jacket. I saw him sigh. “Your shocked expressions say that you don’t believe I said that, but I did and I am not taking it back.” He stuffed his hands in his pocket.
If all this was real, it must be hard for him. He didn’t try to embrace me as my mother did or showed any warmth, but praising coming out of his mouth did wonders. It was enough for me.
“Uh, the judge happened to be a person I know. I’ll just go and have a small talk with him.” He awkwardly responded and turned to leave, but stopped and faced me again.
“I am glad you did not commit the mistake your brother did by choosing a bitch as his life partner.” Then a saw a hint of a smile on his lips as he lightly bobbed his head while looking behind me. I glanced in his way to see him looking at… Lauren?
I flicked my eyes back to him. He chuckled lightly-again a new and strange thing.
“She’s sensible. She’s brave… and she’s fire. Hope you know how to handle her. Anyway, you have my blessings, son.”
With that, he walked away, leaving me standing there…stunned. Did he just give me his blessings? How did he know things about Lauren? Wait, when did he meet her? As far as I could remember, they never came face to face, not even at the party. Then when?
Blinking in shock I faced Lauren. She had been looking at me and when I faced her she immediately averted her eyes from me. Why did it feel like she had something to do with all that happened?
Mom had already left the room but grandma and Ryan were still there.
I briskly walked up to Lauren. Watching me walk towards her, she squeaked letting go of Ryan’s hand she looked here and there before rushing outside the room but I caught her.
“Where are you running to?” I cocked an eyebrow.
“Running? Me? Hehe, I wasn’t.” She chuckled nervously. “Oh, I…you won, yay! I am proud of you too.” She grinned, nervously brushing her hands over her dress.
“Why do I feel like whatever happened has something to do with you?” I crossed my arms across my chest.
“Oh, you are talking about the case. Oh, no, it’s not, it’s you.” She laughed, her face turning red. Yep, something was fishy!
“You very well know I am not talking about that Lauren.” I narrowed my eyes slightly.
Her eyes turned wide then she sighed dramatically. “Definitely not me! God, your father is so intimidating, I wouldn’t want to stand in front of him. Geez.”
“Fool someone who doesn’t know you,” I commented, giving her a tight-lipped smile. “I know you better than that. You can not be intimidated by anyone.”
She rolled her eyes. “You think so highly of me, not that I am complaining, but believe me it was trembling when I spoke to your father. Your mother was warm, but your father! God, so strict! But I didn’t give up, I-”
“So, you indeed met them without letting me know!” I exclaimed, cutting her off in between.
Her eyes lowered in guilt as she fidgeted with her fingers. She again looked at me and bit her lower lip. She let out a deep breath. “Okay, yes, I met them. I couldn’t see you drowning in sorrow and expecting them to come without talking to them. I knew you won’t talk to them, so I did it for you. And it worked! See, they came to support you and even praised you. I mean…yeah.” She paused when she saw my hard look.
“Okay, I am sorry. I shouldn’t have done that without informing you, but just to tell you, I don’t feel guilty about what I did because it was necessary. And, instead of questioning, how, when, why; you should cherish the moment. I mean, you have always wanted this and now when you are receiving their attention, their love, you seem unhappy. Why? You should ”
“Thank you.” I again cut her rambling.
“Huh?” She looked at me wide-eyed, not believing what I said.
I uncrossed my arms and cupped her face with one hand. “I said thank you. I appreciate whatever you did. I was just stunned because it happened all of a sudden.” I chuckled. “It’s strange, you know? A warning next time to save me from attack?”
She laughed and I embraced her in my arms. It was so bold of her to meet my parents when I myself hesitate. She did something extraordinary for me. A mere thank you wasn’t enough for what she did, but I had nothing more to say. I was overwhelmed. Because of her, I heard something from my parents that I had been dying to hear for. Because of her, they came to support me. All because of her.
“Why did you meet them?” I asked while stroking her hair. She pulled away and looked at me.
“Yesterday, uh, I lied to you about going out with Christy. Sorry.” She twisted her face in apology.
I shook my head and poked her forehead. “By the way, how did you convince them to spare time from their busy schedule?”
She wiggled her brows and flicked her hair. “I’d like to keep it under wraps.”
“Oh, I will let it out of you,” I smirked. “I know some tricks.”
“Challenge?” She raised her eyebrows.
“What do you think?” I asked back, smirking.
“You can’t.” She challenged. I laughed and pinched her cheeks and pecked her lips.
“Oh, my hulk, all I need is…you in my bed and you will speak out everything with this pretty mouth of yours.”
” can we go home if you both are done with your lovey-dovey moments?” Grandma interrupted.
Lauren pulled away quickly, hiding her red face from grandma.
“Don’t hide from me, Lauren. I have been there, experienced it.” Grandma laughed teasingly.
Shaking my head at my grandma, I lifted Ryan in my arms. “Let’s get you home, champ.”