"Arthur, honey, would you just relax?" Veronica asked her anxious husband as they sat together at the breakfast table.
"I don't like this. I wish Eileen had come home last night."
"Darling, she's an adult and she and Lawrence are engaged. You're going to have to get used to her being out of the house."
"I know, but I still don't think it's appropriate. She never stayed over night with Hector when they were engaged. Thank goodness."
"I think it's different this time. She and Lawrence are really in love and they're getting married soon. They're both good kids. Let them live their own lives."
"I know I should, but I'm her father and I always will be. I can't help it."
"And I think that's kind of sweet," Veronica said with an affectionate smile.
"Hello, I'm home," Eileen announced as she walked into the house. "And I brought a friend."
"Aw," Veronica cooed as she saw Eileen enter the kitchen with little Stuart in her arms. "Don't tell me that's Lucy's little boy. He's grown!"
"I know. I couldn't believe it either. I told Lucy I'd watch him today. The nanny has the day off and Lucy had to go to the courthouse for the divorce hearing."
"That's a shame," Arthur said. "It's always sad when a marriage breaks up, especially when there are children involved."
"Yeah, I know it's a really tough time for her right now. I feel so bad for her."
"It's nice that you can help her out this way," Veronica said. "I'm sure it's an ease on her mind to know that Stuart is being looked after."
"I'm glad I can do something to help her."
"I wish I could stay and help you babysit, but I've got to go to work. I'll see you tonight."
As Veronica left, Eileen asked her father, "Do you think you could watch him a minute? I'm going to go up to the attic and see if I can find any of my old toys for Stuart to play with."
Lucy walked into the courtroom, looking for a familiar face. She hoped Reese would be there already. If she could just talk to Reese and ask a few questions before the hearing started, she knew it would help ease her mind.
"Mrs. Sexton?"
Lucy turned around to see an older woman dressed in a suit standing behind her with her hand outstretched for a handshake.
"Hi, I'm with Gilscarbo, Tellerman, and Platz law firm. Ms. Boroughs couldn't come in today, so I'm going to be filling in for her."
"What?" Lucy asked, in disbelief. "Where is Reese? Why won't she be here?"
"She called in this morning and said there was some kind of emergency, but I have all of the notes on your case and I read it over this morning. I've handled many cases like this before and I have a good handle on your situation."
"But I was counting on Reese being here," Lucy objected. "She knows me and knows my situation better than someone who just read about me in a file this morning. No offense, but I don't want a replacement. I want to be represented by the lawyer that I hired and have been working with, not by someone I'd never seen in my life before this morning."
"I'm sorry Reese couldn't be here herself, but there's nothing I can do about that."
"You could try to get this thing postponed until Reese can be here. Surely they wouldn't make me go through this hearing without my lawyer."
"We could try asking the judge for a continuance, if that's what you want to do."
"Yes, I do. If you don't ask him, I will."
The two women went to the judge's chamber, where Lucy explained the situation and asked to reschedule the hearing.
"We could have it delayed," the judge said slowly. "But the courts are very busy right now. It could easily be six months or longer before we could reschedule your hearing. Do you really want to wait that long?"
"No," Lucy reluctantly admitted. She looked at her new lawyer for a second opinion. She seemed qualified and confident that she could fill in for Reese. Maybe it was best to trust her to take over. "Let's just get this over with."
"How are you doing?" the nurse asked Reese as she checked her vitals. "Feeling ok?"
"Fine," Reese answered wearily.
"Are you having any pain?"
"No, I'm ok."
"Well, everything looks good. Do you want to see your baby now? I can take you down to the NICU right now, if you'd like."
Reese hesitated. She wasn't sure if she really wanted to see the baby, but she felt weird saying no.
"It would probably be good for the both of you."
Reese gave in, "Ok."
The nurse helped Reese out of bed and into a wheelchair and then wheeled her into the NICU. They stopped in front of the first incubator where a tiny infant was hooked up to tubes and monitors. "There she is."
Reese just stared at the baby. Seeing her for the first time, so small and helpless, Reese was overcome with a sickening sense of guilt. All she could do now was hope that the baby would be alright.
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