By the Authority that was given to me by the state, custody of the child Molly Stills. Will remain with the Mother of the child Margery Stills.
"Margery Stills" echoed in the head of Jessica Hartman.
Her heart broke at that moment, her dream of raising Molly was crushed forever.
Molly Stills survived an auto crash her father didn't, with her Mother "missing" she became a ward of the state. Two weeks later a sweet three old girl with a precocious vocabulary came into the lives of the Hartman's. Molly stayed in the Hartman's custody for a year before they filed for adoption.
Margery Stills was thrown from the car during the accident that killed her husband and walked away from the scene in a fugue state before she was hospitalized. She was treated for a head injury and diagnosed with amnesia. With no knowledge of her identity, She remained in the protective care of the state for ten months.
Margery regained her memory.
Child protective services called the Hartman's a week later, Margery Stills wanted Molly back.
Jessica fought for custody of Molly even though she knew and felt it was wrong.
-
Peter Hartman was a Northville high football star, handsome with a quick smile, Pete was easy to like. He was popular not only in high school but also in the community. Northville just like many other smaller cities in the region loved its high school football.
Jessica Ackerman was Northville High's "good girl" a pretty girl with large eyes and womanly figure, she had the attention of most of the boys at school. She made the Dean's list her first year and every year after, achieving many academic awards along the way. She helped or organized all the high school events and many of her family's church events, she made a reputation in the community as an aspiring public figure.
Peter Hartman was Jessica Ackerman high school love even before he knew it himself, on Pete's very first date he asked Jessica it is was a yes waiting to happen. They stayed an exclusive couple though High School and on prom night they took each other's virginity. Jessica Ackerman married Peter Hartman straight out of high school, the couple had the approval of both families and friends.
After graduating Pete's minor celebrity afforded him a nice position as a manager, his career was going strong in a not so new "New tech" company.
Jessica made many network connections with her community work after graduating she had a promising position waiting in city government.
Working hard and very carefully budgeting their money they bought their first home.
-
Everything was lining up for the Hartman's until they decided to have children, two years of planned and unprotected sex resulted in no pregnancies.
Jessica and Pete knew something was wrong, on a referral of a friend they went to the best fertility clinic in the region and paid a small fortune for the privilege.
Dr.Patel "I'm sorry you had to wait so long, I hope my nurse went over the remaining options with you."
"What options!", Pete thought.
Dr.Patel "The tests have confirmed that you suffer a rare disease Mr.Hartman. I'm sorry to have to tell you that your sperm has no transferable DNA."
The Hartman's were devastated with artificial fertilization an impossibly. They decided on adoption.
-
A month passed after the court hearing and Jessica was still deeply depressed mourning the loss of Molly.
Pete was worried, he could see the marriage falling apart.
He decided to act after he overheard a conversation between Jessica and her mother.
Jessica "No, I won't go through that again."
Jessica "Yes."
Jessica "No, I told you before."
Jessica "Nothing is wrong with me, it's all on him."
Jessica "I don't know, we're not talking much."
After dinner, Pete asked Jessica to talk with him in the living room.
Pete "I can see you hurting, what can I do"
Jessica "There's nothing you or we can do."
Jessica "I'm having a real difficulty coping with the fact that we won't have any children."
Pete "That's not true we can adopt."
Jessica "Hell no! I just had my heart ripped out because of CPS, I'm not going through that again."
Pete "That was a unique occurrence, children are adopted all the time."
Jessica "I said NO."
Jessica "Any child we adopt won't be good as my Molly, I'll always compare them to her, and that wouldn't be fair."
"If I don't come up with a solution she'll leave me." Pete thought.
That Friday after work Pete went to the animal shelter and picked out a puppy.
"Jessica, look who came over.", Pete called out.
Pete brought the puppy in to show Jessica.
Jessica "NO! NO! NO!"
Jessica "A dog is not a child! Pete, get it out of here. NOW!"
When Pete returned from the shelter Jessica had her bags packed.
Jessica "I waited for you to return before I left."
Jessica "There is no future for us, if we stay together I'll be miserable without children and I'll make you miserable in return."
Pete "Wait!"
Pete was in a panic.
Pete "We could do the artificial insemination option!"
Jessica "No, we can't Pete. It's too expensive and it has a low success rate."
Pete "We can buy the sperm online and do the insemination at home."
Jessica's demeanor changed.
