The Separation
James got angry and started to yell. Tracy and Jerry came into the house. Tracy stood by Delilah while Jerry stood in front of the women. He spoke to James and tried to control the situation. He said, "James, calm down. We are taking the kids. Tracy doesn't feel like they are safe with you anymore and she got a temporary custody order today." James got mad and threatened to call his cop friends. Delilah said, "You can call him if you want. I will take his badge number and make an official complaint about him abusing his authority." James looked shocked that Delilah stood up for herself. She usually went along with what he said to avoid a fight.
At that time her dad pulled up outside with his work tuck. He talked to Jasmine, and she told him her mom was inside with James and she heard him yelling. Grandpa Frank hurried inside to help his daughter. He said, "James, I think you should leave. We don't want this situation to get out of hand. If you leave now, we can keep this as peaceful as necessary." James said, "I'm not leaving, this is my house. You all should leave!" Delilah said, "This is MY house! I bought it before we were married and it's under my name." James couldn't argue with that. He got frustrated and went to the bedroom to pack his stuff. He was trying to think about where he was going to stay.
He could stay with some friends. He had his pride and didn't want to admit that he was wrong. It was all those kids' fault! If they didn't make him mad, he wouldn't hit them. Why didn't they just listen to him and obey everything he said? He was trying to think of a way to calm Delilah down. He didn't want to lose her. He loved her even if it meant he had to put up with her bratty children. He packed a few sets of clothes and took his favorite gold guitar. It was a classic signed by a rock star. He bought it at a pawn shop and got a good deal. He didn't want to leave it here in case one of the kids did something to it.
He left in the van and was so mad he didn't even say goodbye to the kids. He was mad at them and anything he said to them would only make it worse. He went to his friend's house. They were both in the church band. His friend played bass guitar. He had a nice 2 story house with extra bedrooms. His friend looked worried but invited him in. He consoled him and said, "Don't worry. She will calm down and I'm sure she will come back to you soon." James thought he was right, and they played their guitars all night to comfort James.
Back at Delilah's house, she invited her dad inside and helped him get set up in the guest bedroom. It was originally a 2-bedroom house, but after she turned the den into the girl's room, she had a guest bedroom. Tracy and Jerry introduced themselves to Frank and they all talked for a little bit. It was a school night and they both had work in the morning, so they left with her kids. Jasmine hugged her stepsister and stepbrother and told them, "Whatever happens, we will still be family. You guys are still my little sister and brother. You can call me or write to me whenever you want." They hugged and smiled. They were still too young to understand what was going on. She said to Amber, "I know you will take good care of them." Amber nodded and they hugged.
The three of them left with Tracy and Jerry. They all waved at each other. Christopher asked, "What is going on? Why are they going to stay with their mom?" Amber May said, "They are going to stay with their mom because James is mean. Grandpa Frank is here. Let's go say hi!" The three of them went inside to greet Grandpa Frank. He was happy to see his grandbabies. He gave them all hugs.
Delilah was exhausted from the emotional rollercoaster she went through today. She went to bed early and gave them all hugs and kisses. The kids wanted to stay up with Grandpa Frank, but he was tired from his long drive. He said, "You all have school tomorrow. Go get ready for bed and I will pick you up from school tomorrow and take you to have some fun!" They all cheered and went to get ready for bed. Christopher now had his room, and the bunk bed felt a little lonely without Jimmy on the bottom bunk. He put a teddy bear on the bottom bunk and said, "Good night teddy bear Jimmy." He would never admit that he missed Jimmy, but it made him feel comforted to have the teddy bear watching over him while he slept.
Jasmine and Amber both got ready for bed and talked as they fell asleep. Amber asked, "Is mom going to get a divorce?" Jasmine said, "Yes, I hope it is not too long and drawn out, but she will fight for us." Amber asked, "Is it my fault? Mom asked me about James hitting me on the head. I didn't want to lie, but I didn't want James to get mad." Jasmine hugged her sister close and said, "It's not your fault. James is an adult and should control his anger. He should not abuse his power as a father figure. He also hit Christopher and Caitlyn. He needs Anger Management Counseling. I just hope he gets help and can learn to change his behavior. Don't worry. It will all work out in the end."
Amber felt comforted and fell asleep. Once she was softly snoring, Jasmine rolled her over and gave her a teddy bear to hold while she slept. She turned to her side and fell asleep. They had all three have been blessed to be able to sleep through anything. Her Uncle Darren said it was maybe a bad thing because they might sleep through a fire and burn to death. He had babysat them enough to know how hard it was to wake them up once they fell asleep. He could carry them to the car, hit their head on the door on the way and they still wouldn't wake up until the next morning. Then we would be confused about how we got there.
The next day we went to school as usual. Christopher saw Caitlyn and Jimmy at school, and they seemed happier. They liked staying at their mom's house. Jerry was less angry than their dad and they felt like they didn't have to walk on eggshells around him. Christopher was happy for them. He never liked James and not after James beat him up. He wanted to grow up quickly to be able to fight back and protect his mom and his sisters. Sometimes being the youngest was not good. Now he was the man of the house. He had to grow up quickly.
Delilah talked to her boss when she got to work and told him about what happened yesterday. He said he would support her and help her however he could. He was married with 2 daughters, and he would never dream of hitting his little princesses. He couldn't imagine how a father would harm an innocent child. Frank met his daughter at work for her lunch break and met her boss. Bob and Frank got along, and both were on Delilah's side. Frank took Delilah to a quiet Italian restaurant for lunch so they could have a nice talk together. Delilah ordered parmesan chicken, while Frank ordered lasagna.
They discussed what would happen next and how Delilah was feeling. She said, "I'm glad you are here to help me. I don't want to keep you away too long. You have your own business to deal with." He said, "Don't worry, I got my best guy looking after the business. I can stay as long as you need me to." She felt comforted by her dad's support. They were making up for lost time. She realized it wasn't too late to have a good relationship with her father.
They needed to figure out what to do with the joint assets including the ice cream store. James was still working there during the day, so she thought about selling it to him. She knew he didn't have any money in savings, but maybe he could get a loan. Otherwise, she would have to hire someone else or sell the store. She didn't have any time to run it and her kids were still too young. She wanted them to focus on school.
She needed to talk to the lawyer again. She told her dad about the appointment later in the week. He agreed and was happy to help her.