Chapter 5 - The first temporary order
Julian and I had already consulted divorce lawyers separately.
Neither of us had filed.
That changed Monday morning.
My attorney was Rebecca Sloan.
Forty-eight.
Family-law specialist.
Unsparing.
I said:
“I want sole custody.”
She asked:
“Temporary or permanently?”
“Both.”
“Those are different legal questions.”
“He told someone to put our daughter on a leash after she got slapped.”
“Yes.”
“He did nothing.”
“Yes.”
“How does he get custody after that?”
“Because one horrifying sentence is evidence, not an automatic lifetime termination of parenthood.”
I hated her immediately.
Useful.
We sought temporary orders.
Lily remained with me.
Julian’s contact was temporarily supervised pending evaluation and safety planning.
Not because he had physically injured her.
Because he had:
Failed to respond protectively to an assault.
Verbally endorsed punitive treatment immediately afterward.
Allowed his romantic partner to occupy a parental-adjacent role during marital separation.
Potentially exposed Lily to an unstable adult conflict.
The judge did not call Julian evil.
She said:
“This child’s immediate emotional and physical safety requires structure while the adults’ judgment is assessed.”
Good.
Julian looked humiliated.
May you like
I did not enjoy it as much as I expected.
Mostly I watched Lily color at counsel table with a blue crayon.
