Daddy

He tried to make small talk with Benjamin on the way down Highway 5, but the boy was too nervous. He and Aggie had set up a crib in his room, and he had bought six boxes of Pampers. He wanted to stop at Mrs. Carter's to get Alex's clothes, but Oliver had thought it would be better to do it on the way back. He was still afraid something might go wrong, and they wouldn't give Alex to them. They hadn't been able to reach Sandra on Maui, but the lawyer said there was a good chance they'd give him to Benjamin anyway, since she had signed the papers giving him up for adoption before she left for Hawaii.

The courthouse in Bakersfield was on Truxton Avenue, and Ollie left the car in the parking lot, and followed his son inside. It was the last week of August and the weather was blazing.

The lawyer was waiting for them inside, and Benjamin looked frightened as they took their places in the courtroom. He was wearing a navy jacket and khaki pants, a blue button-down shirt, and navy school tie. He looked like the student he might have been at Harvard. His hair was neatly combed, and Oliver smiled at him as the bailiff ordered them to rise.

“It's going to be all right, Son.” Ollie pressed his hand and Benjamin smiled weakly at him.

“Thanks, Dad.” But they both knew that nothing was ever certain, and the lawyer had warned them that something could go wrong. Nothing was ever guaranteed to anyone in a courtroom, and the judge looked serious as he addressed them from the bench.

The matter was set out before the court, Mrs. Carter's statement was read, and both Watsons were relieved not to see her. The papers Sandra had signed were introduced as evidence, and a probation report explained the circumstances the child would live in. He was to live in the Watson family's rented Bel Air home with Benjamin's father, sister, and younger brother, with a housekeeper to assist with the care of the child, while the father attended school at UCLA. He was to start summer school the following week, and he still had his part-time job at the bookstore. The judge looked nonplussed, and asked their attorney to approach the bench. They held a whispered conference for several minutes while the judge nodded, and then he addressed Benjamin and asked him to approach the bench as well. He told him to take the witness stand, and be sworn in, that there were some things he wanted to ask him, and Benjamin walked up the few steps with trembling knees and sat down staring at his father.

“I want you to understand, Mr. Watson, this is not a formal hearing, but this is a serious matter before the court, and a child's life hangs in the balance. Do you understand that?”

Benjamin looked pale but calm as he nodded. “Yes, sir, I do.”

“The child in question, Alexander William Carter, is your son? Do you acknowledge that fact?”

“Yes, sir, I do.”

“Do you currently reside with the child's mother?”

“No, sir, I don't.”

“Did you ever reside with her, at any time?”

“Yes, for a year.”

“And were you ever married?”

“No, we weren't.”

“Have you ever supported the child, or his mother?”

“Yes, sir. For six months before Alex was born, and after that, until we broke up in March. And since then I've … my dad and I have been sending her money every month. Six hundred dollars.” The judge nodded and then went on with his questions.

“And are you aware of the kind of care necessary to a child his age?”

“Yes, sir, I took care of him myself until March. Sandra was … well, she was out a lot, and she didn't really know how to take care of a baby.”

“And you did?” The judge looked skeptical, but Benjamin seemed in control of the situation.

“No, I didn't. But I had to learn. I took care of him at night after work, and sometimes I took him with me. I had two jobs then, to pay for … well, everything … Sandra quit work before the baby.”

“But you took the baby to work with you?”

“Sometimes, when she was out. I didn't have anyone else to leave him with and we couldn't afford a sitter.” Nothing showed on the judge's face, and no matter what happened, Oliver had never been as proud of his son as he was at that moment. He was a fine man, a boy no longer, and a hell of a good father. He deserved to have the child in his custody. He hoped now that the judge would see it that way too.

“And now, you and the baby would live with your father?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Is that amenable to him? Has he agreed to this?” From where he sat Oliver nodded, and Benjamin said yes he had. “And what if you choose to leave your father's home, if, for instance, you drop out of school again, or find another girlfriend?”

“I'll take Alex with me. He's more important to me than anything. And if I drop out of school, I'll get a job to support him, just like I did before.”

“You may step down, Mr. Watson. The court calls a brief recess. We will reconvene in fifteen minutes.” He rapped the gavel and was gone, as Benjamin left the stand, outwardly calm, but soaked to the skin with perspiration.

“You did great,” the attorney whispered. “Just hang in there.”