Yakima Ch. 03-04

"Sometimes, all the pieces fall right into place," he said to me with smile.

I hoped that he was right because, like Reese, I was nervous.

We entered the courtroom and found it quite different that the ones you see on television. This was family court and while it was still a legal court, it was much more informal than the criminal court. The judge, a woman in her sixties I guessed, was not wearing a robe and there was no witness box, simply a slightly raised chair near the judge's desk. There was a court recorder and a man in a suit who acted as bailiff.

Miles and I were seated at a table on the left side, while Reese and her lawyer were seated on the right at a similar table. I looked behind us and saw a number of people scattered throughout the small area for spectators. I saw Gordon Winters sitting directly behind Reese, but there was no one else I recognized. If Matt and Jess were to be interviewed, it would be later in the judge's chambers. They would not be questioned by either lawyer.

Since Reese was the petitioner, she was called first to explain why she wanted the divorce. She looked and acted very nervous and several times the judge asked her to speak up. She was asked why she wanted the divorce and simply stated that she had fallen in love with another man and wished to marry him. Her lawyer, James Huggins, did not ask her any more questions.

Now it was our turn. Miles approached Reese and smiled.

"How long have you been married to Graham Rideout, Mrs. Rideout?"

"Almost eighteen years."

"Where they happy years?" he asked.

"For the most part."

"Only for the most part. Which part wasn't happy?"

"I didn't mean it that way. We had a good marriage."

"If that's the case, what caused you to fall in love with another man?"

"I ... I just did. I didn't set out to fall in love ... it just happened."

"When this divorce is granted, will you and this other man marry?"

"Yes."

"And will you live together?"

"Yes, of course."

"Where will you live, Mrs. Rideout?"

"In our house ... the one I'm living in now."

"Is the man you intend to marry in this courtroom?"

"Yes."

"Would you identify him, please?"

"Objection, your honor. Relevance," Huggins interrupted.

"Your honor, the gentleman in question is Mr. Gordon Winters and has been subpoenaed to testify. I am only asking to confirm his identity."

"Objection overruled," the judge said.

"Is Mr. Gordon Winters the man you intend to marry?" Miles asked Reese.

"Yes."

"Thank you, that will be all for now," Miles said, returning to our desk.

"I assume that is all that is planned for introduction," the judge said. "If so, I'll ask the petitioner to state their claim."

Huggins rose and walked to the judge, handing her some paperwork. He began to outline their demands for the settlement. Within fifteen seconds, Miles rose from his chair and said, "Objection, you honor. This statement of claim bears no resemblance to the statement handed to my client on August 3 of this year. I have here a copy of that document. You will see that it in no way mirrors the document you have been given by the petitioner."

I watched as the judge read the two papers and compared them. She then looked up and addressed Miles.

"Counselor, is this the only document that your client has received from the petitioner?"

"No, your honor. On August 10 of this year, he was served with a court order to vacate the premises where he had been living, the family home. Other than those two documents, no other legal items have been presented to him."

"I see. Mr. Huggins, would you care to explain yourself?"

"Ah, your honor, we ... the petitioner and I ... had attempted to open negotiations with Mr. Rideout. The original petition was just an opening position."

"Really," the judge said with a suspicious look. "Just a cursory glance at your demands from Mr. Rideout and he'd be answering any questions from the poor house. This document, on the surface of it, is outrageous in its demands. Small wonder they chose to ignore it."

"I apologize, your honor. It was not my intention to deceive the court."

"Yes ... I'm sure," she said with a hard look at Huggins. "Would you like to present your position, Counselor Hoffman?"

"Yes, thank you, your honor. As you are aware, we have subpoenaed Mr. Gordon Winters to testify in this matter. I would like to call him to the stand."

"Very well," the judge nodded. "Step forward, Mr. Winters."

Gordon Winters had a confused look on his face as he stood and worked his way to the witness chair. The clerk read him the oath and Miles stepped in front of our desk to begin his questioning.

"Mr. Winters, did you and Mrs. Clarissa Rideout indulge in an adulterous affair, bringing about this action for divorce."

Gordon looked around, hoping he didn't have to answer the question, but found no relief anywhere.

"Answer the question, Mr. Winters," the judge said quietly.

"Uhhm ... yes, we did."

"Whose idea was it for Mrs. Rideout to seek a divorce?" he asked in a strong voice.

"Uhhm, I guess it was mine."

"You guess?"

"It was mine," he admitted.

"Did Mrs. Rideout agree to divorce her husband right away? As soon as you suggested it?"

"No. I had to do some convincing," Winters admitted.

"How long did it take to convince her?" Miles asked.

"A month, maybe more," he answered in a nervous voice.

"How long had the affair been going on?"

"About six months."

"So, you knew Mrs. Rideout was married. I assume you knew she had two children at home, and that you were breaking up what once was a happy family."

"We fell in love. It just happened and we decided that we wanted to be together permanently," Winters said, this time a little more forcefully.

"Are you aware of the settlement demands Mrs. Rideout's lawyer placed on Mr. Rideout?"

"Yes. He ... Mr. Huggins ... went over it with us. He said it was just a starting position. It would force Graham ... Mr. Rideout ... to negotiate."

"How much money do you earn annually, Mr. Winters?"

"Objection, your honor. Relevance?" Huggins said quickly.

"Your honor, if Mrs. Rideout intends to marry and live with Mr. Winters after the divorce is final, then his income has a direct bearing on division of assets and spousal support."

"Agreed, Mr. Hoffman. Objection overruled."

"What is your annual income?" Miles asked once more.

"Uhhm ... I'm not sure. About a hundred thousand," he said uncertainly.

"Your honor, we subpoenaed Mr. Winters' employment compensation for the previous year. I have that here, authenticated by Ms. A. Bledsoe of Kimble Motors, Mr. Winters' employer."

Miles walked to the judge's desk and presented her with the relevant paper, then proceeded to Huggins, handing him a copy as well. When the judge read the statement, I saw her eyebrows raise and she took a quick look at Reese and her lawyer.

"Mr. Winters," the judge began, "your employer says you earned $128,254.00 in the past year, not including a taxable bonus of $18,493.00. Do you dispute this claim?"

Gordon Winters was looking decidedly green. "No, your honor."

"Any other questions, Mr. Hoffman?"

"No, your honor. I think that's sufficient," Miles said, sitting down with a satisfied look at me.

The judge addressed the clerk. "Mr. Bagnall, would you bring the two Rideout children to my chambers please."

I turned back to watch my children enter, escorted by the bailiff. Jess saw me first and waved, followed by Matt. They ignored their mother.

Miles turned to me. "I think we have this well in hand, Mr. Rideout," he whispered.

"You know, I think you've earned the right to call me Graham," I replied in a subdued tone. "I hope you don't mind me calling you Miles."

"Not at all," he smiled. "I suspect your wife and her friend are in for a rather rude conclusion to this procedure. I'm also thinking that Mr. Huggins might be in for some discipline as well. At least a stern lecture."

"I wonder what they thought they were doing?" I asked, more to myself than anyone.

"As I said before, it was a very old and tired technique. However, your description of Mr. Winters and your wife's decision to dispossess you gave me the idea that they had something to hide. Your wife is a very greedy woman, Graham. She wanted what Gordon Winters could provide and a good portion of what she already had from you. That's just plain greed."

"I never would have imagined she could be that mercenary. I don't ever recall her being anything like that. Maybe this was Winters' idea."

"Possibly. We may never know. However, I have a good feeling that you will emerge from this without too many scars."

A half hour later, the children were escorted out of the judge's chambers and out of the courtroom. They smiled at me and again, Jess gave me a little wave. Matt signalled thumbs-up with a grin. Again, they didn't acknowledge their mother.

The clerk returned and came to our table.

"The judge would like to see you in chambers, Mr. Rideout. You may accompany him if you wish, Mr. Hoffman."

I nodded, looked at Miles, and got a smile. We both stood and followed the clerk into the judge's chambers. I cast a glance at Reese and saw the look of worry on her face.

We were welcomed by Judge Patriquin and invited to sit. I wondered what this was about, but the look on the face of the woman facing us was very friendly and open.

"How are you holding up, Mr. Rideout?" she asked.

"As well as can be expected, I guess," I admitted. "I've never been through anything like this before."

"No, I can well understand that. I had a chance to talk to your children and I must say you have raised two very nice youngsters. I was quite taken with Jessica. She is very outspoken," the judge chuckled.

"I'm almost afraid to ask what she said," I admitted.

"Nothing I didn't expect, I assure you," she smiled. "They have a very high opinion of you and, unfortunately, a very low one of their mother. They assure me that you have been telling them to go easy on her. I have a feeling it's going to be some time before they reconcile with her. Where are you living, Mr. Rideout?"

"I'm currently living in a two room cabin up near Ellensburg."

"Well, as you can imagine, that wouldn't be suitable if you had custody of the children. Are you planning to stay there?"

"I guess that depends on how this divorce turns out. If I'm going to be scratching for every dime, then obviously I won't be able to care for the children properly."

"And if you were able to maintain your previous lifestyle?" she asked.

"I have my eye on a nice townhouse. Three bedrooms and in the same school district that my kids are in now."

I saw her nod and smile. "How would you feel about shared custody? Say, two weeks with you and two weeks with Mrs. Rideout."

"I could live with that," I said after some consideration. "I guess my main worry is how the children will be with both their mother and her new husband in the house. They don't have a very high opinion of either of them."

"So I gather. Your daughter was quite vocal about both her mother and Mr. Winters."

"Your honor, if I could have what you suggest with shared custody, you'd never hear a word of complaint from me. I don't want them to lose contact with their mother, but I would die if I couldn't see them regularly." I glanced at Miles as I finished my statement and he gave me a nod.

"Very well. Why don't you return to your seats and I'll follow you in and present my ruling."

I felt Miles's hand on my shoulder and it gave me some courage to wait for her decision. My lawyer gave me a feeling of confidence and I hoped it wasn't misplaced.

We returned to our seats and once again, I glanced at Reese and saw a very worried look on her face. I don't know why, but she looked more like she was awaiting sentencing rather than a civil decision. Whatever the judge ruled, she wasn't going to be impoverished with Gordon Winters' income.

The room was called to order by the bailiff as Judge Patriquin returned to her desk.

"In the matter of Rideout versus Rideout, I am ready to announce my ruling. To begin with, the original document offered by Mrs. Rideout as a proposed settlement was outlandish, to say the least. It would have left Mr. Rideout in a state a penury, despite the fact that it was the actions of Mrs. Rideout that brought about the divorce. I will not sit here and reward infidelity with a financial benefit.

"Mr. Winters' income is far in excess of Mr. Rideout's. If, as they claim, that Mr. Winters and Mrs. Rideout will marry on the execution of this divorce, then financial security will be a non-issue. Moreover, if they intend to live in the Rideout home, that further penalizes Mr. Rideout. If it were not for the children, I would deny the family home to Mrs. Rideout. However, the children's welfare is of paramount concern and I reluctantly award the home to Mrs. Rideout. All costs, including taxes, maintenance, mortgage payments and insurance will be the responsibility of Mrs. Rideout. If at any time the house is sold, the asset will be divided equally between Mr. and Mrs. Rideout.

"There will be no spousal support from Mr. Rideout, nor will there be any child support. In the matter of custody, I am ordering shared custody. The parents will share the children equally. I suggest two weeks each, but if you can find a more convenient arrangement, I will allow it. Do not use the children to settle your grievances. I will have very little patience with either of you if that happens. I won't hesitate to alter the custody agreement to something a good deal more restrictive. Finally, court costs will be assigned to the petitioner.

"I hope this is a lesson to you, Mrs. Rideout. Your willingness to betray your vows and forsake your family will not be rewarded in this courtroom. You received bad advice from your lawyer. I would have thought you would have had more compassion for someone you had lived happily with for many years, but I was wrong. These are my rulings."

I leaned back in my chair and let my breath out. I had been holding it for some time and now it was over. I wasn't going to be saddled with enormous debt, although I had yet to see a bill from Miles Hoffman. I turned to him, held out my hand, and we shook. This wasn't so much a victory as it was a tiny bit of justice. In the end, I had lost my home, my wife, and full contact with my children. But it could have been worse - much worse.

"You'd better let me know how much I owe you, Miles. I have to get some money together for you and for that townhouse I want. I just hope I can find enough for the down payment."

"Look after the house first, Graham. I know you'll meet your obligations. That's one thing I can take to the bank," he grinned.

"Thank you. I'm glad you were my lawyer and I'm glad I listened to your advice. I hope we never have to do this again, though."

"I hear that from every client, Graham. But it was a pleasure to represent you. You are an ideal client. We'll be in touch. I'd like to know how you make out in the future."

We shook hands as we walked out of the courtroom. Reese, Winters, and Huggins had preceded us. As we walked through the doors, I saw them with Matt and Jess. I almost went over to them to let them know what had been decided, but thought twice about it. I would talk to them on the phone later tonight as I often did. I was pretty sure they would be happier with the judgment than their mother or future step-father. I waved to them as I walked by and got a return acknowledgement from both of them.

To Be Continued