Dictionary.com defines
paramour as: A lover, especially one in an adulterous relationship.
This was an interesting term to hear used in a courtroom. The adultery aspect doesn't seem to necessarily apply every time from what I heard, but it's fair enough to say that it means someone of romantic interest to a person in the courtroom.
The hearing regarding my niece was on Friday. I took the day off from work to go, only to get there and have it be postponed. This case is very complex and no less than 7 lawyers will be involved. It was for that reason that the hearing was postponed until May. However, some good things did come of it. Most importantly, my niece will remain with my in-laws under the current visitation agreement (one night a week, 2 hours on Saturday). My niece's father's parents (her other set of grandparents) wanted visitation on Saturdays from 9am to 6pm. Thank goodness the judge shot that down. We have little doubt that any time my niece would spend with her other grandparents would most likely be time spent unsupervised with her father and likely his
paramour.
You could almost see the hairs stand up on everyone's neck (at least on our side of the situation) when my niece's father's lawyer said that there was no danger in returning my niece home. He and his paramour were taking parenting classes and that made everything better, so it was Ok to return her home. Thank goodness the judge wasn't buying that argument. I wanted her to hold up the report and say to the lawyer, "Are you kidding me???"
So, at the end of the hearing nothing had really changed, which was a win for us. After the hearing, my in-law's lawyer seemed excited that my niece's father's lawyer (I'd love to use names here to make it less confusing, I really would, but I don't want to jeopardize anything, so bear with me.) played a few cards that show that he (niece's father) is lying to his own lawyer about the situation.
The laugher of the whole situation was when my niece's other grandparents tried to claim that my in-laws were refusing to let them visit with my niece. Couldn't be further from the truth, they only called my niece twice the whole time since she was removed from her father's home, and never made any attempt to visit with her at all.
It was difficult for me to control myself while at the courthouse. I wanted so badly just to break the jerk's kneecaps. I can't begin to tell you the level of contempt I have for this piece of garbage. Any trace of respect I had for him just as my niece's father is completely gone and I hope he gets the legal equivalent of a kick to the balls once a minute (so it doesn't get numb) for the rest of his life for what he's done.
The social worker on this case seems to carry a lot of clout with the court system, and she is not recommeding that my niece be returned to her father's home. Let's hope that's how it all works out.
Thanks for reading, everyone.
Dave
