Anger Management
Delilah met with the Attorney later that week with her dad. Her dad liked Jessie and agreed to help Delilah pay for the divorce. He had been divorced a couple of times before and knew the procedure could be expensive. He had savings set up specifically for divorce fees. Either his own or his daughter's. He never really liked James but didn't feel right butting into their relationship before. He was an estranged father and felt like he didn't have the right to give his daughter advice, especially since he had divorced her mother. He had another son with his next wife, and they divorced after a few years. He was in his third marriage, and they were both too old to have more kids. He knew the divorce was messier when kids were involved.
When Delilah divorced her first husband he wrote on a napkin, "Do whatever you have to!" He thought she was bluffing about the divorce because she was so young when they got together. He thought she was dependent on him. She was stronger than he thought! She had some friends help her with her young children. She would always offer to pay them, but they refused because they knew her situation. She ended up dating a Hispanic guy named Paul. He loved her and her kids like they were his own. The only downside was his drinking. When she threatened to leave him unless he stopped drinking, he threatened to kill her and himself. The only thing that stopped him was thinking about the kids growing up without their mom. He reluctantly let her leave.
She was a single mom for years until she met James at church. Her brother did the Audio Visual for the church broadcast on TV. He introduced her to James after she expressed her interest. He seemed like a fun guy. He was very charismatic when he played his guitar and was a handsome Asian man. He had muscled arms and legs and was tall for an Asian man. He was also a single dad. She felt like he was a perfect catch. Little did she know about his anger problems.
Grandpa Frank stayed for the week and took the kids to the beach and the park. He tried to help Delilah as much as he could, and he knew she was worried about the kids' mental well-being. The kids loved spending time with their Grandpa Frank. He didn't do drugs and hardly drank. He was the most well-adjusted Grandfather they had. Jasmine's dad's dad was an alcoholic when he was younger and smoked cigarettes. Now he had an oxygen tank, and you could barely understand a word he said. Jasmine learned not to do drugs or smoke from watching the effects it had on her family members. She would have to make sure her younger siblings learned it as well.
Jasmine told her Grandpa Frank about her idea to make non-dairy ice cream. He was interested! As an entrepreneur himself, he encouraged his children and grandchildren to try new things. He has an adventurous spirit and wants to give his grandchildren advice to make their lives better. They went to the ice cream store on the weekend when James was not there. Jasmine and Amber shared the non-dairy ice cream they made with their Grandpa Frank and Christopher. They both liked it and couldn't believe it was made with coconut milk instead of regular milk.
Jasmine told him about her idea to sell the recipe to the franchise owners after she got a patent on it. He was impressed and asked how she came up with the idea. She told him about how milk would upset her stomach and she tried different types of milk alternatives. Coconut milk was thick and creamy and didn't upset her stomach. He knew the girls had been working at the ice cream store for years since Delilah bought it. He encouraged a good work ethic in the children but knew James wasn't doing it right.
He told her, "How about I take you tomorrow to go to the patent office? Then we can go to the bank and start our bank account." Jasmine was happy her grandfather was willing to help her. She thought it was a lot easier since she was still technically a minor. She had planned to ask her uncle, but he was always busy. Might as well take advantage of the help her grandfather was offering. He had experience with his own business, so he could give her great advice. This time she would gladly take all the help he offered!
Jasmine firmly believed in learning from others' mistakes and listening to those that were wiser than herself. In her past life, her grandfather had tried to tell her about opening a savings account and how to save money. She thought she was too poor to have a savings account and even ended up with a lot of credit card debt. She only paid the minimum balance for years and accrued a lot of interest. It took her years to finally pay it off and it was only possible because of her dad's inheritance. It was nice to be debt free, but this time she will use the money for better things than paying interest.
She would rather use the money to help her family or give it to charity. Hopefully, they won't need it this time. She planned to use her future knowledge to make some wise investments and hopefully, she wouldn't go into debt. She could also try to make money from her inventions. Who knows, she could become famous with her sister and boyfriend in their band. The future was full of possibilities. She already knew what not to do. Knowing is half the battle, the other half is setting the plan into motion.
For now, she would focus on her family and help her mom through this difficult phase in their lives. She told her mom about trying a new church that was close to their house. She knew her mom needed spiritual comfort from a nice church. They went to the Baptist church and her mom liked it. Jasmine remembered fond memories from her past life. She was even married to Thomas in that church. She felt at peace there and quickly made friends. She asked her mom if she could invite Thomas and her mom agreed. She was hesitant at first but liked Thomas. He was a nice boy.
It was a few weeks before the custody hearing. It took place first before the divorce settlement because James was still making things difficult. He didn't want to agree to a fair settlement, so he was dragging it out. At least Delilah didn't have kids with him, so they were only fighting over money and the assets they had together.
Tracy got her Custody hearing first because the kids were involved and currently living with her. The judge made cases that involved children a priority to help the kids adjust quickly. She talked to the kids individually and had them do some play therapy with a child therapist to get a better understanding of the kids' mental well-being. The kids all said they feared James because he got angry and would hit them. She listened to the reports from all the children and therapists.
The judge ultimately agreed to Tracy getting full custody after listening to the kid's testimonies. She ordered James to take Anger Management classes before he could get his visitation rights. He was mad and said, "Why do I need Anger Management classes? They are my kids. I should be able to discipline them when they are bad." The judge said, " As a parent, you are allowed to discipline them, but there are certain ways you are allowed and not allowed to discipline them. Hitting them on the head or stomach because you are angry is not an acceptable punishment for children. Your anger right now proves how much you need those classes. They will help you find a healthy way to deal with your anger."
He still disagreed and thought he was right. He was raised in a strict culture, and he didn't see anything wrong with it. When he was a child, he had to kneel on uncooked rice when he misspoke. He got whipped with a bamboo stick if he was late for school. This was all part of his cultural differences, and he thought America was too soft on disciplining their children.
He wondered how his life would be if his mom never came to America. But then he wouldn't have met Delilah or had his kids with Tracy. Maybe he needed to find a submissive girlfriend. Now he still had to deal with the Divorce from Delilah. They were 2 separate court dates. Maybe if he had done the Anger Management classes before then he could convince Delilah not to go through with the divorce. He didn't know she had already made up her mind. The Anger Management classes would still benefit him the most.