“And you let the paper do the work.

That’s all.

You’ve carried this alone for a year.

Today you get to set it down on the table and let it speak for itself.”

The hearing opened with an assessment of David’s present circumstances, and it was, thanks to six months of careful rebuilding, unrecognizable from the broken man of the first hearing: stable employment, a suitable three-bedroom home a few blocks from the boys’ school, ongoing voluntary therapy, and a flawless, unbroken record of attendance at every single scheduled visitation.

Selina’s counsel tried, immediately, to turn my support against him.