I left off at almost the end of March. At that point, my wife Jill, our son Steven and her lover Jane were living at Ann's, Jill's mother's, house. My fraternal twin Amy and son Tom were living with her husband Alex. Ann and I were busy trying to destroy my bed with our lovemaking. It's now the end of April. Much has changed.
First, Jill's and my divorce is in process. Just waiting for a judge to sign off on it. After our son Steven was born my lawyer and I proposed a settlement to Jill which included what I consider reasonable child support, shared custody with Jill as primary, no alimony and we each keep only what we had when we married. The custody agreement has Steven living with Jill but I can arrange with her to see him as often as I want. Travel with Steven by either of us requires the other's consent.
Jill accepted the settlement immediately. No arguments, no counter offers, no stalling. Jill teaches at a local elementary school and, after maternity leave, will go back to teaching. So she'll stay local. We won't fight over who gets Steven on Thanksgiving or Christmas because we'll probably all spend those holidays together with Ann, my parents, Amy, Alex and Tom and my uncle Jake. I figured Jill signed the agreement without any fuss because it was a no brainer. It turns out she signed it without any changes because she had no intention to abide by it.
Ann and I spend as much time as we can with each other. I work nine to five and I'm off on Saturday and Sunday. Ann works 11am to 8pm and has changed her days off to Monday and Tuesday. We spend as many nights together as possible but we always spend Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights together.
Monday's, Ann is off so she usually hangs around my place. Watches me to get ready for work and then does some cleaning. Washes our clothes, does vacuuming, cleans the kitchen and the bathrooms. I tell her I'll do it or to wait and we'll do it together but, because of our work schedules, we don't see each other during the day. Ann says that she doesn't want us to spend our nights together cleaning.
Also, because of her schedule, she doesn't spend as much time as she'd like to with her grandson Steven and her daughter Jill, still at home on maternity leave. I had done some cleaning Saturday, when I was off work, so there wasn't much to do. It was a nice day so Ann decided she'd spend some of the day with Steven, Jill and Jane. Maybe see if they wanted to go to the park. Maybe a picknick. She needed to pick up some clothes more appropriate for the Spring weather anyway. So she drove to her house.
I was almost at work when Ann called, "Jill and Jane are taking Steven on a trip. Do you know about this?"
"No. Where are they taking him?"
"I came home to find them all packed up. A lot of suitcases. Steven's things too. When I got home Jill and Jane were very surprised to see me. And very upset. They didn't expect me. I was supposed to be at your place like usual on Mondays. I asked her what's going on and they told me they're taking Steven on a two-week trip to visit Jane's family in South Carolina. That you know all about it and you're OK with them taking Steven."
"First I'm hearing about this."
"They've packed way more than they'd need for two weeks. I haven't been in their room but from the suitcases it looks like they packed everything. Also, Jane told me before she hasn't talked to her parents in years. They don't approve of her lifestyle. I don't think they're going to South Carolina."
"Let me call you back." We got off and I called Sharon, my attorney, but I had to leave a message, "Jill is taking off with Steven without my consent. She says she's going to South Carolina but that's fishy. We need to stop them."
When Jill got her work visa for Guadalupe, Sharon informed the court and requested a court order preventing her from taking Steven anywhere. But Jill agreed to our divorce and custody settlement shortly afterward and our custody arrangement was already in effect. The agreement specified that Jill can't do what she's apparently now doing. Jill agreed to everything so we thought a court order was no longer needed.
When I gave her the agreement paperwork, I asked Jill about why she got the work visa. She said she applied for it because Jane got Jill the employment letter from the resort and was bugging her to get the visa. Jane filled out all the paperwork and it was easier just to sign the papers than listen to Jane's nagging. She said she has no plans to go to Guadalupe. Since she can't get Steven into Guadalupe without a passport, I wasn't worried. He's not getting a passport without my signature.
But now they're packed up and taking Steven somewhere. I called Jill to ask what the fuck she thinks she's doing. She didn't answer the phone.
I decided to call Amy. If anyone knew Jill's plans, Amy would. I called her. No hello, just, "Where is Jill taking Steven?"
A long silence from Amy and, finally, "You'll have to talk to Jill about that. I don't want to get in the middle."
Trying not to reach through the phone to strangle her, I said, "Amy, what you did to Alex is despicable. It's worse than what Jill did to me and that's saying something. I won't defend you, justify what you did, or excuse it. You don't deserve Alex. But you're my sister and I haven't abandoned you. Amy, If you don't tell me what Jill's up to you will no longer be my sister. I will never talk to you again."
Amy started crying and I waited. Finally, she said, "They're taking Steven to Guadalupe. They're flying to Miami this morning and then taking the afternoon plane to Guadalupe."
"They can't do that. Steven needs a passport to enter a foreign country. How are they planning to get him into Guadalupe? How are they even going to get him on a plane?"
"They have Steven's birth certificate and they think that will get him on the flight to Miami and the one to Guadalupe. When they get to Guadalupe, Jane knows someone who's either ground crew or customs at the airport. I forget which it is but it's an old lover of Jane's. Jane said this woman has helped her get stuff around customs in the past. They plan to pass Steven to her, go through customs and then retrieve him once they're in. Jill and Jane are planning to live there with Steven."
"When's their flight?"
"Mid-morning, I think. Around ten or eleven." After a long pause, Amy continued, "I know I've done some very bad things but tell Alex again I'm sorry and that I love him. And thank you for not abandoning me."
This time I texted Sharon, my attorney, thinking if she wasn't in the office, she'd see the text before she got her messages, "They're taking him to Guadalupe via Miami. Ten or eleven AM flight to Miami. Afternoon flight from Miami to Guadalupe. Can we get a judge to stop them?"
Sharon called me, "Never a dull moment. I contacted the clerk of the court. I'm leaving to see a judge now. If you can get more details: airlines, flight numbers, exact times, that would help with the judge. Makes it more than just our suspicions. How are they planning to get him through immigration?"
"Jane, Jill's girlfriend, knows someone."
Ann called, "They just left. Piled everything into an Uber. I looked in their room and the baby's room. Their summer clothes, all the baby's clothes and most of his stuff are gone. The just left his crib and changing table. They didn't pack for a two-week trip. Wherever they're going, they're going for good."
I said, "They're going to Guadalupe. They think they can sneak Steven in. My lawyer will try to get a judge to stop them. But she needs their flight information. Did you hear them say anything about flights?"
Ann said, "Jane left her phone charging on the kitchen counter and I saw a pop up of a text from the airline telling her that their flight to Miami is on time. I saw the airline, time and flight number. Their flight is at 11:10. I'm going to text you the information."
