“Thank you for doing this, guys. I knew that I could trust and count on you.”
Kyle left the meeting with Christine and Michael feeling good because he knew that he had not only two of Genoa City’s top lawyers but also two of Wisconsin’s top lawyers on his case. He had no idea that after their meeting, his lawyers had gotten straight to work and had filed the motion. They had asked him where he wanted Lola to be served and he said that he wanted her served at her apartment because he didn’t want to cause her any more pain by having her served in a public place. “Are you Lola Rosales?” the process server asked Lola after knocking on her apartment door.
“Yes, I’m Lola Rosales. How may I help you?” Lola answered.
“Miss Rosales? You’ve been served.”
After the process server left and handed her the envelope, Lola realized that she had been handed divorce papers. What shocked Lola was that Kyle had requested his lawyers not allow her to have sole physical and legal custody of his daughter which made sense to her since she wasn’t the mother. She wondered why Kyle had finally served her now. “Are you OK, Lola?” Rey asked her.
“No, I’m not OK. Kyle finally had me served with divorce papers after all this time. I don’t know why he finally did it now but he has requested that he have sole physical and legal custody of his daughter who I’ve never seen a picture of or met.” Lola told him.
“Who is his lawyer?”
“He has two lawyers representing him: Michael Baldwin and Christine Blair.”
“They are both cutthroat lawyers who have a habit of making sure their clients get exactly what they want.”
“Who was your lawyer when you divorced Mia? I was wondering that maybe your lawyer that you used could represent me.”
“I didn’t use a lawyer. Do you feel like you need one?”
“I think I do. Do you know anyone who has one that we could call to see if they could represent me in my divorce from Kyle?”
“Sharon has one that she’s used a couple of times for different reasons. I’ll ask her for his name and number.”
“Thank you, Rey. I understand why he would full custody of his daughter and it makes sense since I’m not her mother.”
After leaving Lola, Rey felt his heart break for her even more because he had been in the exact same situation as her when Mia had left him for another man who just happened to be his own brother. He got the card from Sharon and then decided to give it to Lola. “Lola? I have the name and number of a lawyer for you to call to see about representing you in your divorce.”
“Thank you. What is the name and number so I can give them a call?”
“His name is David Sherman and this is his number. Sharon’s used him several times for different reasons.”
Lola dialed the number and waited for someone to answer. “This is David Sherman. Who are you and why are you calling?”
“Mr. Sherman? My name is Lola Rosales and I received your card from Sharon Newman. I need a lawyer to represent me in my divorce against my husband Kyle Abbott. He has two lawyers representing him and had me served with divorce papers.” Lola told him.
“OK. If I’m going to represent you, I need the name of his attorneys and then we’ll need to meet so you can give me everything that you know in regards to your marriage and how a divorce ended up being the result.”
“His lawyers are Christine Blair and Michael Baldwin. I’m head chef at a restaurant called Society and I’m busy every day non-stop so the only free hours that I have are when we close.”
“That’s fine. We could always meet before you have to report to work if you wanted. It’s up to you, Miss Rosales.”
“Please call me Lola. We can always meet before I have to report to work.”
“That sounds fine, Lola. You can come by in the morning before you have to report to work.”
Lola was feeling great after the phone call and had no idea that Kyle and his attorneys had already prepared for what would happen if she chose to get herself a lawyer and counter file for divorce from Kyle. The following morning, Lola headed to David Sherman’s office where they started preparing for a case. “Do you have the papers that your husband’s lawyers had drawn up?” David asked.
“They’re right here.”
Lola handed him the divorce papers that Michael and Christine had drawn up for Kyle to serve her with. He looked them over for a while and was trying to figure out what to tell her before he spoke next. “We have two options here that I can think of. Our first option is that we could go ahead and settle this if that’s what you want. Our second option is that we could go ahead and counter file and seek a court date. Which option do you prefer, Lola?” David told her. “Before we discuss the options that I’ve given you, I need to know everything about your marriage and how you ended up in my office today with divorce papers.”
As Lola explained how she met Kyle and everything in between, she noticed him taking notes about everything that she had said. “The reason why I’m here in your office today with divorce papers is because I found out that Kyle told me that he has always loved another woman and never got over her. I thought there was a possibility that he did still love her but he always told me no. Recently, I overheard them tell their families that they’re engaged and have a daughter.”
“What’s the name of this other woman that your husband is in love with and engaged to not to mention the mother of his child?”
“Her name is Summer Ann Newman.”
“Unfortunately, Wisconsin doesn’t have the alienation of affection act where jilted lovers can sue their significant other’s lovers. While we may not be able to sue Miss Newman for stealing your husband from you, we can name her as a co-respondent in your divorce case if you prefer. You also do not have a claim to his daughter.”
“I think that I do want us to do the second option that you mentioned earlier and counter file but name my soon-to-be ex-husband’s fiancée as a co-respondent. Also, I understand that I don’t have a right to his daughter.”
“I’ll get started on the paperwork and then send it to his attorneys. Whose office do you want me to send them to?”
“I want you to send it to the office of Michael Baldwin since he’s the one whose name comes first.”
After filing Lola’s response to Kyle’s divorce petition, David had their response sent to Michael’s office like Lola had requested. “Mr. Baldwin? This package came for you today from David Sherman’s office.”
“Why would David Sherman send me a package?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
“Thank you.”
Michael opened the package and saw that David Sherman was representing Lola in the divorce and knew that he had to call Christine and Kyle immediately to set up a meeting. “Get me Christine Blair and Kyle Abbott immediately. Tell them that I need to talk to them ASAP.”
“Of course.”
Michael heard dial tones and then he heard Christine and Kyle’s voices after they were connected. “We have a problem that came up in the matter of your divorce, Kyle. Since Christine and I are your lawyers, we told you to be prepared for the possibility that Lola could get herself a lawyer of her own and counter file.”
“Yes, Michael. You did tell me that.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Lola’s attorney just sent me her petition for divorce to my office as a response to ours. She’s counter filed and is naming Summer as a co-respondent. They’ve also requested a court date.”
“Who is her lawyer and our opponent?” Christine asked.
“It’s David Sherman. He’s the lawyer that is representing Lola while the two of us are representing Kyle.”
“I’ll tell Summer and let her know that she needs to find herself a lawyer now.”
After hanging up with Michael and Christine, Kyle knew that he needed to alert Summer know about the latest development. “We have a problem, Summer.”
“What is it, Kyle?”
“Michael just told Christine and I that Lola and her lawyer have named you as a co-respondent in the divorce. You need to get a lawyer.”
“OK. My dad knows a lawyer and I’ll ask him for her number.”
Summer left Jabot and immediately headed to Nick’s home where she asked her father for the number of his lawyer that he used. “Dad? Can I have the name and number of the lawyer you’ve used several times?”
“What do you need her name and number for?” Nick asked.
After Summer explained what Michael and Christine had told Kyle, Nick gave her the card. “Is this Brittany Hodges? My name is Summer Ann Newman and I’m in need of a lawyer. My father Nicholas Newman gave me your card.” Summer explained.
“How can I help you, Summer?” Brittany asked her.
“My fiancé has found out from his lawyers that his soon-to-be ex-wife counter filed for divorce and named me as a co-respondent simply because of the fact that he was still in love with me and had never gotten over me while in a relationship and marriage to her. He’s also told me that there is a court date.”
“Who are the lawyers representing your fiancé?”
“His lawyers are Michael Baldwin and Christine Blair while I have no idea who the attorney representing his soon-to-be ex-wife is.”
“I’ll call Michael and Christine so I can meet with them as well as your fiancé and we can come up with a plan in regards to you.”
“My fiance's name is Kyle Abbott and we have a six year-old daughter named Nicole Alexandra Abbott.”
While Summer was talking to Brittney and explaining what was going on, she knew that the two of them needed to be strong for Nicole and not let their daughter deal with the drama they were involved with. “Mommy? I have a question for you.”
“What is it, Nicole?”
“Why aren’t you planning your wedding to Daddy?”
“Daddy and I haven’t started planning our wedding because there is a problem that we have to deal with before we can.”
“I want to put on a play and be a princess with Daddy playing a king and you playing a queen. Daddy says that I’m his princess and you’re his queen.”
“I’ll talk to your father and let you know what he says.”
Summer entered Jabot and told Kyle that she had found herself a lawyer who thought it would be a good idea if the five of them met so her attorney could be caught up before court. She also wanted to let him know about Nicole and her questions. “Nicole asked me a question that came out of left field, Kyle.”
“What did she ask you, Summer?”
“She asked me why we haven’t started planning our wedding yet and I told her there was a problem we had to deal with before we could.”
“Is that all she wanted to know?”
“She also said that she wanted to put on a play where she could be a princess, I could be a queen, and you could be a king since you say that she’s your princess and I’m your queen.”
“We could do that. In fact, I have an idea.”
“What is your idea?”
“Wasn’t there a play that we put on as children where I played a prince and you played a princess?”
“Cinderella was the play.”
“Was there another play where we played a prince and princess?”
“Yes, there was. Why are you asking?”
“We could do a sequel of that play where our characters are now king and queen and Nicole can play our daughter so she can be a princess.”
“That is a good idea. I feel like we need to explain the situation we’re in as a fairytale so Nicole can understand better.”
“I agree with you. It’s better if we tell her like this since she is a little girl and we’re her parents. We will refer to Lola as a fairy and then when she’s older, we’ll tell her the truth if she wants to know.”
“You’re right. We should ask our lawyers if it’s a good idea to have Nicole in the court room since she doesn’t want to be away from us ever since we got her back.”
Being with Nicole was like a dream come true for Kyle and Summer because the three of them were finally a family. They knew that they needed to make decisions that benefited not only them but her as well and that was the reason why Kyle and Summer decided to ask their lawyers if it was a good idea to have Nicole there in the court room with them as they explained that she didn’t want to be away from them ever since they had gotten her back.
“Michael? Christine? Brittany? With the three of you as our lawyers, we have a question that we wanted to ask you. All three of you are aware that we have a six year old daughter named Nicole. We were wondering if the three of you thought it was a good idea for us to have her in the court room with us since she doesn’t want to be away from us ever since we got her back. We’ve told Nicole that she has to be away from us while she’s at school but the other times we’re always with her.” Summer mentioned.
“We need to discuss this amongst ourselves but we’ll get back to you before we have to report to court. Give us some time to discuss this through and then we’ll give you our thoughts and opinions since we are your lawyers.” Brittany told them.
“That sounds like a good plan.”
After leaving their meeting with their attorneys, Kyle and Summer headed back to Jabot but not before stopping to get some lunch. They decided that they would discuss how they would proceed once they heard back from their lawyers. “Kyle? I just want you to know that I love you and that I’m going to support you all throughout this situation that you’re in because it’s my job not only as your fiancée and soon-to-be wife but also as the mother of your child.”
“Thank you for giving me your loyalty, Summer. I know that I’ve done several things to hurt you in the past that have made not only you but everyone around us question our relationship and my feelings. You’ve always been in my heart and you always will be. I’m just sorry that it took me this long to realize that you’re the only woman for me.”
While Kyle and Summer were talking, Lola had received word from her lawyer David Sherman that Summer had hired a lawyer and that he was planning on calling her to testify and to give him a list of people close to her that she would want to testify on her behalf but to warn them that there would be three attorneys who could cross examine them if they wished. “What is the name of Summer’s lawyer so I can be aware just in case her lawyer decides to cross examine me?” Lola asked.
“Summer’s lawyer is named Brittany Hodges and she’s number four on the list of Wisconsin’s top lawyers besides Michael, Christine, and myself. I just found out that Summer had hired her to represent her. Just like their lawyers are preparing for the possibility that I might put you on the witness stand, we need to prepare for the possibility that they might be put on the witness stand as well.” David told Lola.
As David and Lola were preparing their case as well as the list of witnesses, so were Michael, Christine, and Brittney while at the same time they were pondering the request made by their clients as to whether or not it was a good idea to have their daughter present in the court room while her parents were busy. “What do you guys really think about the requests made by our clients?” Christine asked.
“I think that we should grant their request because it would show that they’re good people. It would also show that they’re just trying to do what is best for their daughter and finally give her a proper family. Although, we would need to have both Kyle and Summer do DNA testing to prove without a doubt that Nicole is their daughter.” Michael answered.
“Since Wisconsin doesn’t have alienation of affection laws, I don’t have to worry about Lola suing Summer for stealing Kyle’s affection even though she is the woman he has always loved. We should call witnesses who have known them their entire lives that can testify to their good character and their great love story. We just need to make sure that we have all of our basis covered as well as anything unexpected that could pop up while we’re in court with our clients.” Brittany replied.
“Do you guys think that we should also put our clients on the witness stand to testify on their own behalf?”
“Yes. Brittany? You can do Summer since you’re her lawyer while Michael and I will do Kyle since the two of us are his lawyers.”
Kyle and Summer had also made the decision that they would start going to see a couples therapist since they wanted to make sure that they maintained their relationship and avoid having to see one when their relationship hit rock bottom. Another problem that they dealt with as opposed to other couples was their need to be stuck in the middle every single time their families became involved in a war with each other. “There’s one issue that happens every so often in our relationship that is very hard for us because we always get stuck in the middle.” Kyle began.
“What is the issue that happens every so often in your relationship that puts the two of you in the middle?” their therapist asked.
“The issue that we face as a couple that a lot of couples don’t have to deal with is when our families are at war with each other over what is actually a stupid reason. I always find myself torn between my family-Newman and the love of my life which is Kyle. Kyle always finds himself torn between his family-Abbott and me since I’m the love of his life.” Summer told their therapist.
Unknown to both Kyle and Summer, their cellphones had inadvertently butt dialed their families who overheard their conversation with their therapist where they complained about being put in the middle every time they went to war. “I’ve told Kyle several times that if the time ever came where my family told me that I had to choose between them and him, I would choose him because he’s the love of my life.”
“I’ve told Summer several times that if the time ever came when my family told me that I had to choose between them and her, I would choose her because she’s the love of my life.”
“Are there any members of either family that supports your relationship and would understand why the two of you would choose each other?”
“Summer’s grandfather Victor Newman has supported us from the very beginning of our relationship as well as her older brothers Daniel and Noah and her younger sister Faith. Faith is the one that actually recorded the video of us getting engaged and played it for our families. As for mine, my older brother Keemo supports our relationship because he’s seen how much I love Summer all the times that we’ve gone to visit him.”
“Would the two of you be willing to have your families join us for a couple of sessions to explore how all of that impacts your relationship?”
“How would you suggest we do it if we would be willing to have them join us for a couple of sessions to explore how their war impacts our relationship? How would we tell them?”
“That would be up to the two of you. We have your sessions during the hours when your daughter is at school because you are parents in addition to being a couple and your main focus is on her. If they agree, we could figure out whether you want to do them either together or separate. Our time is up for today, guys. You know the drill about when to make your next appointment. Talk to your families and then give me a call so we can figure out together how you want to do it with them.”
“Thank you, Dr. Roberts. We’ll do that.”
After leaving Dr. Roberts’s office, Kyle and Summer made the decision to go to work at Jabot to check on the progress of projects they had been working on not to mention they had a staff meeting both of them had forgot about. They also made the decision to pick up Nicole whose school day had finished. “We’ll pick Nicole up and she can be in my office doing her school work that she can. If there is anything that she needs help on, we’ll help her before we go into the meeting.” Summer told him.
“That sounds like a good idea. As she gets older and we can’t help her with her homework, we’ll hire a tutor for her. We’re doing what good parents do especially what our parents did with us.”
After picking up Nicole and going to Jabot for what they thought would be a staff meeting, Kyle and Summer had no idea that they were about to be blindsided by their families since they had no idea their cellphones had accidentally butt dialed them while they were in their therapy session. “Daddy and I need to go to the boardroom for a staff meeting that your grandfather Abbott called. You can stay here in my office and work on your homework. Do everything that you can on your own and we’ll help you with the things that you need help with. We’ll be down the hall and leave the door open. Yell for us if you need us.” Summer told her.
“I’ll do that, Mommy. Are we going home after your meeting?”
“Yes, sweetie. We’re going home after our meeting.”
Once they left Summer’s office and headed to the boardroom, Kyle and Summer were shocked that their families were waiting for them instead of their fellow co-workers for what they thought was going to be a staff meeting. “What’s going on here, Dad? You told me it was important for Summer and I to get back because you had called a staff meeting that we needed to return for.”
“Your cellphones accidentally called us and all of us heard what the two of you were talking about at your appointment and we know that you’re seeing a therapist.” Jack started.
