Recently I finally worked up the courage to ask Tom a few questions that have been bugging me for a while now.
I asked him what he would do if I found him a lawyer.
I was so afraid to ask that question. It took me weeks to muster up enough nerve to even think about asking him.
I suppose I have to do a little explaining about that question. As it stands right now, Tom has no legal rights over Robert. Technically, even though Robert lives at Tom's house with Tom's family a majority of the time, Faye has complete custody. When Robert was born, Tom decided that was the best thing to do since her parents hated him and the baby and because he was going away to school. He gave her complete control to avoid any problems with her or her family. Robert even has her last name instead of Tom's.
The fact that she has custody of Robert bothers me for a few reasons. Because of this, it means Faye has Tom by the balls. The moment she slips into another psychotic rampage, Tom's life could be over. She could take Robert away from him forever and Tom would be left completely heartbroken. I absolutely hate HATE HATE the fact that she has so much control over Tom. It also bothers me because it puts the kid in a horrible position. I know both of Roberts parents love him dearly. But again, if Tom does one thing wrong in her eyes, Robert could be used against Tom in negotiations.
I'm sure it sounds like I'm being paranoid about all this, but I'm really not. She really would do these things to Tom and Robert just to get her way. I can't even count the number of times Tom has told me she threatened to take Robert away from him. She would rather leave the kid with her horrible family or with some family friend than have his father watch him.
It also bothers me because Friend of the Court takes money out of every single paycheck and sends her the money. Every paycheck I have to listen to Tom complain about how many deductions are being taken out of his check...between taxes, benefits, and Friend of the Court.
So, with all of this in mind, I have seriously been considering finding Tom a real lawyer. A friend of his family has been doing a little pro bono work for him, but nothing was ever resolved with that. I want things to be resolved, so Tom doesn't have to worry about any of this ever again. I also know that if it were left to him to find a lawyer, he never will. He'd rather live with the fear in the back of his head than take a few hours out of his day to find a family lawyer and put an end to this.
When I asked him about it, he seemed rather surprised that I brought it up. But, he also seemed kind of receptive to the idea. Less work for him if I found one. He says all he has to do is get his original paperwork from the other lawyer and he'll be able to start with a new one.
Why do I get the feeling that nothing is really going to change? He'll find some way to drag his feet about this...