Chapter 7: The Boys Speak
The custody evaluation took place two weeks later.
A court-appointed psychologist met with Nolan and Parker separately and then together. I waited in the hallway with my attorney, trying not to pace. The boys had asked to speak honestly. I had told them they could say whatever they felt.
Nolan came out first. He climbed into my lap and whispered, “I told her I want to live with you, Mommy. Daddy is always busy, and he gets mad when we ask about you.”
Parker followed a few minutes later. He held my hand tightly.
“I said I don’t want to live with Sloane. She doesn’t like it when we make noise.”
The psychologist’s report was filed the next day. It recommended primary physical custody with me, with Gavin receiving supervised visitation until he completed parenting classes and anger management.
Gavin’s attorney tried to challenge the report. The judge upheld it.
When the temporary custody order was issued, Gavin looked at me across the courtroom with something I had never seen in his eyes before—defeat.
I did not feel triumph.
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I felt relief.
My sons would sleep in their own beds every night. They would not have to navigate the tension of a household where they were secondary to an affair. They would grow up knowing their mother had fought for them without ever raising her voice in anger.
