Circumstances 52

“Keith, when answering questions, please do so out loud.  The stenographer cannot record a nod.”

“Sorry, your honor.”  My voice wasn’t shaking any longer; I refused to let it.  “No, I don’t want either a lawyer or a continuance.”

The judge smiled and told the stenographer to note my remarks.  It appeared to me she already had.

The rest of us were asked the same questions, even Gary, and they all said no.  I figured my mother might say yes, and so did she, but when the judge said I would be held in the court’s jurisdiction as a ward of the court during whatever delay she was granted, she got red in the face and said she’d represent herself then and no continuance was necessary.

So, we proceeded.

I thought it was going to be a big deal, and was surprised that it went as quickly as it did.  The judge read the applicable law.  It said emancipation in California depended on four factors:

1.   The minor petitioning the court had to be at least 14.

2.  The minor must be willingly living apart from his/her

           parents or legal guardians with their consent.

3.  The minor must be handing his/her own financial  

          affairs.  He must provide a statement of income and

          expenses, and show his ability to continue to meet

          expenses without parental help.   

4.  The minor’s financial well-being must come from  

           income or resources that were legal in California.

The judge asked me to tell him about my situation with regard to each of these four points.  I’d spoken to Mr. Jenks about this; we’d gone over each one of the items in detail.  He’d decided, and I’d unhappily been convinced, that it would be more impressive and show my maturity if I answered the judge’s questions and did all the talking on my own behalf.

I hadn’t done it all myself, the prep work I mean.  Forms had had to be filled out, some financial documents prepared, and I’d been coached on what to say.  Mr. Jenks had had one of his lawyers come to the house to do that.  All I had to do was the talking.  Of course, that was one of my worst things.

Anyway, I showed the judge my birth certificate which proved I was 14.  I wasn’t much past 14, but this wasn’t horseshoes; close didn’t matter.

I told the judge I was living with the Jenks with my mother’s permission.  The judge looked at her, and she started to speak, but then she looked at Mr. Jenks, and he smiled at her, and she realized she had given her approval for me to stay with them.  She’d given it to Mrs. Jenks over the phone, and she was there to testify to that fact. 

I guessed my mother was wondering if she could lie about that.  But, she’d told me when I’d phoned her in San Diego that she’d given me permission to live with them, so that was corroborating testimony, too.  If she lied, I could testify, and Mrs. Jenks could testify and it would be two to one.  The really important fact, however, was that I was indeed living with the Jenks right then, and my mother hadn’t contested that.  That certainly supported the reasonable conjecture than she had given her permission.  She could lie, but to me it seemed very unlikely the judge would rule in her favor.  There was really nothing she could do but agree that she actually had given her permission.

The third point was easy.  I had $75,000 in the bank, in my name.  My mother opened her eyes really wide when that fact was stated, and then supported with documentation.  My expenses were larger than I imagined.  All those clothes we’d bought, my allowance, my razor, everything was listed.  However, there was also a statement saying they were paid for by the Jenks and there was also a notarized statement saying future expenses would also be paid for by them.  Nothing was said about whether I was mature enough to handle my own finances.  I guess they assumed, as all expenses were going to be paid, and as I got an allowance and had money in the bank, it wasn’t going to be a problem.  It wasn’t likely it actually would be a problem in the near future, either, and if it ever was, it probably wouldn’t be until I was no longer a minor.

As for my finances being from legal sources, Mr. Jenks spoke to that point.  I sat back in my chair and hoped my part of this was done.

When Mr. Jenks finished, the judge asked my mother what she had to say.  She’d heard everything that had gone before.  She looked at the judge, then at me, and said, “Keith.  I’m your mother.  We should be together.  I love you.  This was all unnecessary.  You can tell them it was a mistake, and we can start over.  You’re all I’ve got.”

Damn!  I hadn’t really wanted to face her, to stand up to her, but she was making it necessary.  I was supposed to stay seated, but this didn’t feel right to say sitting down, so I stood, and faced her.

“Mom,” I said, and tried hard to stand tall, “maybe you do love me.  But you’ve never shown that love to me.  Mr. and Mrs. Jenks show me what love is every day.  Gary does, too.  All this, today, a court hearing, we didn’t need to do this.  If you’d just said I could go on living with them, that would have ended it.  You forced this, and are forcing me to say what I’m saying now.  You made me choose, and I choose to be free from you so I can live with the Jenks.  You say you love me, but those are only words.  I know deep in my heart that the Jenks love me.  They show me they do.  You never did.”

She slumped back into her chair.  It was hard to look at her, but I did.  I couldn’t help thinking back to growing up with her.  Not everything had been bad.  But while thinking of the good times, even then, I realized love hadn’t been much in evidence.  Now, I had people who loved me, and that made all the difference. 

Seeing her defeated like she was, hurting with what I’d said to her, made me sad, made me realize our times together were over. Those memories, however, didn’t make me want to change my mind.

Eventually, she looked up at the judge and said, “I withdraw my objection to his emancipation.”

 

The judge smiled at her.  “Very good, Ms. Stuart.  By my authority, Mr. Keith Perryman is hereby granted emancipation.”

And that was it.  Mr. Jenks told me, driving home, that there were many legal entanglements that came with emancipation, but it was very unlikely I’d ever get snarled up in any of them.  All I had to know about it was, until I went off to college, I’d be living with them.

When we got home, after I’d hugged them and then hugged them again, Mr. Jenks went on, saying that if after college I didn’t still treat them like the parents they were going to be for the next few years, if I tried to go it alone without them, I’d better go back to being invisible again, because they’d come hunting for me, and they wouldn’t give up easily.