He said nothing, and she didn’t need him to. His actions were enough, and she liked the fact that he always seemed to read her, relax her, and calm her down with slight gestures.
They got out of the vehicle, and a moment later, so did the occupant of the rental. Jalen didn’t know what she’d imagined, but this woman was gorgeous. Her skin was the color of rich coffee beans, and she had this aura about her that told Jalen if someone were to get on her bad side, they wouldn’t like it and probably wouldn’t get back on her good side.
“Baby, this is Meila. Meila, this is my girlfriend, Jalen,” Rohan introduced.
“It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for coming here,” Jalen said, shaking the other woman’s hand.
“You as well. Don’t worry about it. Let’s just see what we can do to make this come out in your favor.”
Jalen took the box of donuts from Rohan so that he could unlock the front door. He deactivated the alarm and held the door open for both of them to walk in. He attempted to take the box away from her, but Jalen moved it out of his reach. She was fine carrying it while he carried the bag with the drinks.
Once he’d locked the door back, she followed Rohan down the hall, Meila behind her, to a conference room. He turned on the lights, and she set the box down in the middle of the table. She took a seat, eager to get down to business. She wanted to know how good a chance her mother actually had of taking the twins from her.
She also knew they had some information to look over that Vega sent to Rohan. He’d been a big help over the last week and an additional support system. He’d called or texted Jalen every day since he’d found out what Valerie was attempting to do, and she appreciated it.
Meila sat across from her, pulling out a tablet from her bag, along with a pen and a pair of glasses. Rohan joined them at the table a few minutes later with plates, cups, and a laptop.
Reaching into her purse, Jalen pulled out the custody documentation that she had, along with the timeline she’d started with the help of Ms. Ella, a neighbor she used to have, of her mother’s infrequent visits when she first petitioned for legal custody.
“Okay, let’s get started,” Meila said once they were all seated. “I have a few questions I’d like to ask to begin with.”
“Okay, that’s fine,” Jalen responded.
“First, when did the summons say you were supposed to appear in court?”
“April twenty-fourth.”
“That’s exactly thirty days, and she didn’t even attemptmediation,” Meila spoke, and Jalen figured she was speaking more to herself. “They aren’t wasting any time. Alright, how many children do you currently have custody of?”
“All five of my sisters. But my little sister Kodi will be eighteen this summer and going off to college.” Jalen didn’t know if that was relevant, but figured it couldn’t hurt for Meila to know.
“Okay, and Rohan said you were fighting another woman for custody. I’m assuming it’s your mother,” Meila said.
“It is. She’s decided that she wants to separate us to fulfill some sort of fantasy family she wants.”
“So, she doesn’t want custody of all the children?”
Jalen shook her head. “No, just the youngest two. Nathan and Omari.”
“And how long have you had custody of your sisters?”
“Over five years.”
This caused Meila to look up at Jalen from where she was taking notes on her tablet. “I’m sorry, but I have to ask. How old are you?”
“I’m twenty-four.”
Meila placed her pen down. “So, you’ve had custody since you were what, nineteen?” Jalen nodded. “Wow. That isn’t an easy thing to do. Especially when you’re petitioning for so many kids.”
“I had some help. We used to have a neighbor, Ms. Ella. She’d retired from child services by the time we moved into the apartment next to her. She saw the way my mother was, and when I told her I wanted to gain custody of my sisters, she helped me with everything, even advocated to the court for me, and told them she’d be there to help me with whatever I needed.”
“That was nice of her,” Meila stated. “We may need to call her as a character witness.”
“You can’t,” Jalen responded. “She passed away two years ago.”
Jalen felt Rohan place his hand on her knee and rub circles on it with his thumb. She didn’t talk about Ms. Ella often. Not even with her sisters unless it was Christmas, Ms. Ella’s birthday, or Mother’s Day. The latter of the two, they would place flowers on her grave.
“I have all the timelines of Valerie, my egg donor’s, pop-ins, and how long she’d be gone. We started getting it together the year before my eighteenth birthday and continued to do so as we went through the custody process. Though she didn’t bother to show up for it.”
