On the morning of the hearing, I dressed her in her favorite pale blue “sky dress.” She held her stuffed rabbit tightly as we drove to the courthouse.
“Mommy,” she said suddenly, “if the judge asks me something, can I answer honestly?”
“Of course,” I replied, glancing at her in the mirror. “Why do you ask?”
She turned back to the window. “No reason.”
But there was a reason. I just didn’t see it yet.
The courtroom felt cold and heavy, filled with the scent of paper and old wood. Mark sat across from us—and beside him was Kelly, a woman from his office. Blonde, polished, always a little too friendly.
In that moment, everything became clear.
The affair. The distance. The sudden divorce.
It all made sense.
Judge William H. Tanner entered—calm, serious, the kind of man who commanded quiet without effort. The hearing began.
