Original subtitles

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Did you guys have breakfast?

We'll get something at school.

Mom gave us money for the machines.

What kind of breakfast do you get out of a machine?

Junk. We have it all the time.

Oh, great.

Can we go now?

Yeah.

Bye.

You going to make breakfast for the kids?

I think he's the other way around.

I'll try and get home early tonight.

What's tonight?

I'm having dinner with Jay, remember?

No.

No?

I'll get out of it.

No.

I'm all sweaty.

I know. I like that.

I can't be late again today.

So go take a shower.

Wet hair, wicked smile, and an hour late.

All of a sudden.

What'd I miss? 70 ,000 in business and all your clients screaming for you. Hope

it was worth it.

Really? Yeah.

So this is what with you and Diana? Fourth time around?

It's the third.

Why are you coming?

It's like I'm watching this nightmare episode of The Love Connection and they

keep sending you on this bad date over and over.

It's not that bad.

Every time you let her move back in, she starts running your life.

She's not running my life.

Are we still out for dinner tonight?

Yeah, tonight. Oh, wait.

No, I can't make it.

I rest my case.

Larry.

Hold on.

The broker's meeting's been canceled. Okay, thanks, Linda.

$48 ,000?

Oh.

McClendon, hello?

Hey, are you busy?

Kind of.

I'll leave him on hold.

I need to talk to you.

What's the matter?

I'm pregnant.

Is it

mine?

How could you even ask me that? You son of a bitch.

What am I supposed to do, dump her?

Skip town?

She's pregnant.

It's my kid.

You're not thinking of marrying her, are you?

Oh, you can't be serious.

What is it about this woman?

I don't know.

Am I the only one that remembers the history here?

The last time you were going to marry her, you caught her with another guy.

You can't trust this woman. End of discussion.

So what are you going to do?

I mean,

when you called me today, I... I went in a shock.

The rest of the day, I've just been trying to figure out what it all means.

If you don't want me to have this baby, I don't have to have it.

How pregnant are you?

Four months.

Wow.

The night I came over here, remember, I...

Right after Halloween?

That's when it happened.

I just don't know if I'm ready for this.

Come here.

You'd make a great daddy.

I know it's going to be a boy.

How do you know?

I just do.

I love you.

You've always been so good to me and the kids.

All I wanted for us to have this baby and to be like a family.

It's a boy.

It's a boy.

God, that was hard work.

I am so exhausted.

Oh, please.

Is he all right?

He's kind of small.

He's going to be fine. He's going to be fine.

I told you he'd be a boy.

What would it even, Larry Jr.? Larry Jr.

has a nice ring to it.

Dr.

Einstein, please call the page operator.

Dr. Einstein, please call the page operator.

How's he

doing?

It's hurting like a fine.

It's a good time for a baby that's six weeks premature.

Can I hold him?

As soon as he's stable, maybe tomorrow.

Can I at least go in there?

Mr. McLennan, we're going to take good care of your baby, won't you? Just go

home, okay?

Did you get any shut -eye last night?

Oh, about an hour.

But I'm not tired.

I couldn't sleep.

You know, I know it's the world's biggest cliche, but it was the most

thing watching being born.

I mean, Diane was just, she was incredible.

I'm happy for you. I mean it.

I got these cigars. Why don't you hand them out?

Sure. And about a million.

It's a boy.

How do you tell?

Larry McClendon?

Yeah. My name's Todd Fuller. I'm with the County Department of Social

May I speak with you privately, please?

I'll catch you later. Okay.

I'm afraid I have some bad news.

What do you mean?

Traces of cocaine were found in your baby's blood during a routine

What? And we've been brought in to protect the child.

What does that mean, protect the child?

Well, it means if the mother's using cocaine, we can take whatever steps we

necessary to protect the baby from further abuse.

If we feel the situation warrants it, we can take the child.

Dr. Stone?

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. Please just don't be angry at me.

How could you do something so incredibly stupid?

I promise I swear I'll never do it again. You promise?

Why do I believe anything you ever tell me? Stop picking on her. Claudia, would

you mind letting me alone with your sister for a second? I'm staying here.

out now. Get out.

It's okay. Go ahead.

I can understand if you don't want this baby.

I'll move out.

Oh, that's great, Diane. That'll just solve everything.

Seems like every time...

We start to get things to go right. You've got to find some way to just

up. I said I was sorry. What do you want? I want this baby to be okay.

What's hard for us to believe is that you were living with her and you didn't

have any indication, erratic behavior, whatever, that she was using drugs.

When we first met, she might have been a casual user, but not

in the last couple of years.

You know the one persistent fact about this job?

Everybody lies to us.

I'm not lying.

So you'd be willing to take a blood test?

I'm willing to do whatever it takes to keep from losing my son.

Just name it.

You and Diane planning to get married?

Well, that's really hard to say.

It must have come up in conversation.

I know what child needs. Two parents.

The first thing is to get the baby through this.

And then we'll see.

Mr. McClendon, since this is a private hospital, we've got a little leeway.

So we're going to let you keep the baby for the time being.

Thank you.

Can I give you some advice? I'm just totally off the record.

Go home and take a hard look at your situation.

I know you have good intentions, but we see a lot of people doing the wrong

thing for the right reasons.

Okay?

Larry Gerard McClendon Jr., I baptize you in the name of the Father and the

and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

Thanks,

Claudia. Thanks, Jay.

Larry, Springfield on line two. Not now.

Yeah, I can't.

Now, there's nothing to... We won't know till Monday.

Will you please call this guy? He's been driving me crazy all week.

Okay, I'll take care of it.

Larry, phone call.

I'll call back.

It's your mother, line four.

Hello?

Am I calling at a bad time?

I hear you've been pretty busy.

Swamped, but that's okay. How are you?

Oh, fine.

I won't keep you.

I just wanted to tell you we're sorry you couldn't make it back.

So, what do you think of your new grandson?

Oh, I think he's just a living doll.

And Diane is very nice.

You can't for the life of us understand why you've been hiding her all this

time.

And when were you going to get around to telling me about your wedding?

Mom, believe me, if we set a date, you'll be the first to know.

Okay.

And there is Miss Aunt Mary.

Hi.

Larry says to say hi to everybody.

Hi. I think we're going to have to have your wedding here in Iowa.

We're going to get him to come back for a visit.

We'd have to kidnap him to get him to come back to Iowa.

Okay, Diane, hold up the baby book. Okay.

Here you go. Put it in bed.

Yes, it's the baby book time.

Who they said you looked like.

What did he get from Larry?

His eyes. He definitely has his daddy's eyes.

His eyes and his mouth.

Out came the rain and wiped the spider out.

through the family albums.

Now I know all your secrets.

I

think

they really liked me.

We found this baby picture that we thought looked just like Larry Jr. So I

framed it for you.

That's great. Thanks.

I'll put it here.

You know, they kept asking me when we were getting married.

That's who I heard.

And you didn't say anything to encourage them.

Well, we have a baby.

We're living together. I mean, why wouldn't they think we were getting

What do you want me to say?

I don't know.

Why don't you tell me why you don't want to get married, and then we'll both

know.

Do we have to go through this again?

You've never gotten over the cocaine thing, have you?

It's not just that. Well, then what is it?

I just want to know where I stand.

I can't keep living in this limbo of unhappiness. Do you really think that

getting married is going to make everything better?

You don't trust me, do you?

Well, you know, if you don't trust me, then maybe we should start talking about

the alternative.

What's that?

Well, maybe we just need to spend some time apart.

All right.

You want to spend time apart? That's fine.

But you're not taking the baby with you.

Since she's with the baby, they were in a car accident.

The baby isn't seriously injured, but your wife has multiple fractures.

prepping her for surgery down the hall.

It's okay. You're going to be fine.

The baby?

He's not hurt. Don't worry.

Don't leave me.

I promise you won't leave me.

I promise.

Now listen to the clown, okay, kids?

Hold on to that for me, Larry.

Oh, no!

That's my fault.

I forgot to tie a knot in it.

There we go. That's better.

Come on up, Larry, and take the balloon off me, and then maybe you could help me

with the magic.

Come and stand over there.

Now, say hi, everybody. Welcome to my party.

Hi, everybody. Welcome to my party.

This is great.

We should send a picture home.

Diane did a great job, didn't she?

She deserves all the credit.

Are things okay with you two?

We have our good days and our not -so -good days.

Why?

I don't know.

Maybe it's just the party, but it seems a little tense around here.

Well, we almost split before the accident, and there's been time since

What am I supposed to do, abandon her?

I think she'll be fine, Larry.

Hi, we're leaving.

Nikki, did you meet my sister Mary? She moved out from Iowa. She's staying with

us for a while.

Hi. Nice to meet you. Hi.

And you know Diane's kids?

Hi.

Can we go?

All right.

See you later. Nice to meet you. Bye -bye. Bye, guys.

Stepmother.

She's cute. What grade is she in? Yeah, she's a little young, isn't she?

You know, Diane's got custody of those kids.

But they spend most of their time with her and their dad.

Oh, cool!

I want to open one.

My birthday's next month.

Hey. What are you doing?

Maybe. What

do

you think you're doing?

What? You know exactly what I'm talking about. Is that for me?

Whose birthday is it?

Mine. Yours?

Okay. Mine must be for you.

for a few days and then in about a week you'll make some sarcastic remarks.

I've got a report to finish. Well, I want to talk about this now.

Come on, Larry.

Okay.

I don't appreciate you letting some guy put his hands all over you in front of

our son at his birthday party.

You are crazy, you know that? He's just an old friend.

I'm tired of your friends.

You're tired of my friends or you're tired of me?

of this thing where i just feel like i'm being punished for i don't even know

why would you keep it down you know maybe i should go to miami and visit my

by yourself it's not a trick question diane i take larry with me

for how long i don't know a few weeks maybe he's not going anywhere until we

talk about it hey i don't need your permission i'm his mother and you're not

husband

I found an apartment.

You did?

Yeah. It's your basic one bedroom in a quiet neighborhood.

I should be out of here by the first.

You can stay as long as you want.

Don't worry about it. Thanks.

You know, I had a completely different impression of Diane when I met her back

in Iowa.

Well, that's probably because I wasn't there.

Look, um, I don't want to rock the boat or anything, but...

I overheard her talking to her sister on the phone, saying how she couldn't wait

to get out of California, quote -unquote.

Yeah, I know.

She's planning on taking a trip to Miami.

This didn't sound to me like she was talking about a vacation.

And it didn't sound like just Miami.

Maybe I'm being paranoid, but my attorney doesn't practice family law,

suggested I speak with you.

I don't know. Sometimes I think a little paranoia can be helpful in situations

like this.

Okay, well, I have this paranoid suspicion that the woman I'm living

whom I've had a son, is getting ready to leave the state and take him with her.

And my question is, can she do that?

The short answer is, yes, she can.

As long as she doesn't hide him from you.

Well, okay.

Um, what are my rights?

Well, you have the right to seek custody of your child.

But first you have to file a paternity suit.

You have to establish that you're the father, only because there's no

But I'm the father. I mean, my name's on the birth certificate. Yes, I know, but

you see, paternity situations are unique. Now, when you're married, it's

presumed in the eyes of the law that the child is of the husband.

When you're not married, there aren't any presumptions to protect you.

It's just a formality, but it's something that needs to be filed right

Okay. Keep an eye out.

If something else happens... Anything that makes you think she's definitely

leaving, just call me.

Just try one.

Come on.

I love lima beans.

Good. You can have mine.

Where the hell are you?

What? I can't hear you.

When are you coming home?

I'm having a drink with some friends.

Sure, Diane.

Two more beers, please.

You know what, sport?

I think it's getting past your bedtime.

Hmm?

You're getting too heavy for this.

Will you make me walk?

Sure. Which one?

The stinky cheese man. Oh, no.

No, please.

No, no, no. I ain't talking about the stinky cheese man. Come on.

I've run away from a little old lady and a little old man.

and a cow, and I can run away from you too, I can, run, run, run, as fast as

can, you can't catch me, I'm the stinky cheese man, a little boy looked up,

sniffed the air, and said, if we catch him, our teacher will probably make us,

They were hidden in her dresser drawer.

They were still there when she went to work this morning, but I get the feeling

she could be leaving anytime.

And where's the child right now?

He's at preschool.

How soon can you get over there?

I can get there right away. You really think I... Don't endanger the child.

Don't threaten anyone.

But I think you should go immediately and pick him up.

Where's Larry Jr.? Your wife picked him up this morning.

No one's seen her or talked to her all day.

Yes, I'm calling about your flights to Miami.

Oh, you don't. Thank you.

I knew she was going to do something like this. I mean, I knew it. Why didn't

do something about it? Listen, once she was going, nothing was going to make a

bit of difference. Hello? They won't give out passenger information. I

tried. Yes, I wonder if you can help me. I'm on one of your afternoon flights to

Miami, and I can't remember the departure time.

All right, no problem. I'll meet your name, please. Yes, my name's Diane

Middleton.

Gate 14B, there you go, sir. Have a nice flight. ...in the final boarding

process at gate 23.

Miami bound passengers to gate 23.

This is the last call for flight 866 to Miami, folks.

Flight 720 will stop in Chicago, New York, and now boarding at 821.

Flight 720 will stop in Chicago.

I have to get on that plane. Do you have a ticket? No, I'm not... I'm sorry,

sir. The gate's closed. You don't have a ticket. No, I don't want a ticket. You

have to understand. My son is on that plane.

Excuse me. My son's on that plane. If you don't do something right now to stop

that plane from taking off, I'm not going to see him again. So please try to

understand my situation.

I've got to get on that plane. What's the problem here?

My son's being kidnapped. Did you call the police? No, there wasn't enough...

You just thought you'd come out here by yourself and try to stop him.

Counsel for the petitioner, would you approach?

What's going on with this case?

We filed an ex parte application for custody.

We can't find the respondent. We believe she left the state.

Let's do it.

Let the record reflect that the petitioner is present with no appearance

respondent. We'll set this matter for hearing.

and the respondent is ordered to appear with the child before this court at 9 a

.m. on March the 16th.

Now it's Diane's responsibility. She's got to convince the judge that you

shouldn't have custody. It's on her.

Well, that's good.

We're still not even sure where she is.

Well, if she doesn't show up, she'll be in contempt, and she'll get the message

that she comes back voluntarily or she comes back in handcuffs.

Really? Oh, yeah.

In the meantime, I'm going to send more telegrams to her relatives. Oh, I almost

forgot. I got some of the stuff you asked for.

I got the address of relatives and friends of hers that I could find.

Good.

Birth certificate, hospital records.

And I found these bad checks and collection agency letters.

Strange.

It felt like I was going through the papers of somebody I don't know.

Hi, Nikki.

What are you doing here?

Are the kids here? I'd like to speak to Tina.

She's at a friend's house.

Do you know if they've heard from their mother?

No, and they're both pretty busted up about it, too, especially Andy.

So you guys have no idea where she went?

I told you on the phone. If we heard anything, I'd give you a call.

Okay, well, I just... Do you want to tell me why you drove all the way out

Well, we're going to court to get custody of Larry Jr., so we really need

find Diane.

Well, she disappeared.

Look, I don't know what you did to her or anything.

I didn't do anything to her. Whatever it was... You know, Nikki, before she

left, I found passports in her drawer, and she had them for Tina and Andy, too.

Do you get it? She was planning on taking all three kids with her. You're

lucky that this didn't happen to you, too.

He died. Definitely his daddy died.

His eyes and his mouth.

You know what else?

His fingers and his toes.

You know what the biggest thing that he gets from Larry?

Temperament.

Little guy is so good.

He hasn't even cried.

And he already sleeps through the night.

And he sure doesn't get that from my family.

Don't you ever go home.

Haven't you heard? I live here now.

Come on in.

So, I was just wondering, is everything all right?

Oh, yeah.

The paperwork.

Just trying to catch up.

How are you doing?

Well, I'm, uh... It's been...

I'm doing fine.

I want you to know, I went through the exact same thing with my husband.

About 15 years ago, he took our daughter and just disappeared.

What happened?

I hired private.

detectives and everything, but we never found them.

I lost our whole childhood.

And though I'll never stop searching, the truth is I may never find you.

And there's something I need you to know.

Maybe somehow, someday, this will reach you.

One Saturday, when I was about your age, my father drove past me while I was out

playing baseball in the street.

I can still see the black Buick and the woman next to him.

I remember the color of her hair.

It was red.

Good luck.

I was seven years old.

That was the last I ever heard from him.

No birthday cards.

No phone calls.

He was just out of my life for good.

It was hard growing up that way.

Especially in those days.

Everybody else had a dad.

I was the only kid like me I knew.

I promise I'll do everything I can to keep you from having to grow up with the

same pain I went through.

The hearing's in four days. What if she doesn't show up?

What then?

We'll ask the judge to hold a hearing ex parte and grant you custody of Larry

Jr.

I sent another round of telegrams to her relatives about the court order.

Let's just see what happens.

Larry, I'm worried about you.

You don't look healthy.

I'm fine.

I filed kidnapping charges with the police.

They couldn't care less. They're not going to do a damn thing.

And how much weight have you lost?

I don't know.

I needed to lose a few pounds anyway.

Hello, this is Bobby Mallory.

Coincidentally, I have Mr. McClendon right here in my office. Do you mind if

put you on speaker?

Great.

So for the $100 ,000 question, do you know where Diane is?

In Miami, but she'll be returning to California soon.

And is the child with her?

Yes, the boy's fine.

My client wants to inform you that she's acting completely within her rights.

because the kid might not be his in the first place.

Excuse me?

My client says that maybe Mr. McClendon isn't the father.

What is that about?

Listen, he believes the child is his, and we're moving forward with the court

action. If she fails to appear, we'll go for ex parte and immediate custody.

We'll be in touch.

That would be in your client's best interest.

Goodbye.

I can't believe this. What's that about?

Don't panic, okay?

This is just a lawyer talking.

I'm positive he's mine.

If this were true, they would demand a blood test so fast it would make your

head spin. This is good news.

Not knowing is the hardest part. It's over.

Larry, they're coming home.

Just remember, emphasize to the council that you've been a hands -on father from

day one who did all the dirty work, not just the fun stuff.

What if she gets in there and starts saying I'm not the father? She can't get

away with it. She filed a paternity claim. She didn't contest it. She didn't

for a blood test. It's just a smoke screen. Don't worry about it.

Yeah, daddy.

Your daddy's here.

Why'd you go away?

I thought you went away.

I didn't go anywhere.

You didn't? No, I'm here.

Your daddy's here.

I am not a judge, I'm a counselor.

If we do reach an agreement, then we'll write it down, a judge will sign it.

Fair enough?

Oh, so far so good.

Let's see.

Larry, let's start with you.

I'd seen my son every day of his life until she took him away from me.

I want full custody.

Uh, Diane, I want full custody.

Okay.

pick him up at preschool on Tuesday.

Then that works out to almost exactly 50 -50. Is that okay with the two of you?

Yeah.

Fine.

Dad, one more.

Keep your eye on the ball.

Ready?

Okay, nice and easy.

Keep the bat even with the ball. Ready?

Swing through.

You try.

Here's the grip.

Bring the bat back.

Keep the bat even with the ball. Keep your eye on the ball.

Ready? Here we go.

Like that.

That's the way.

Ready?

Yeah.

No more balls.

You go get the balls.

You get the balls.

No, you get the balls.

No, you get the balls.

You get the balls. You get the balls. Oh, you get the balls. You get the

You get the balls. You get the balls. You get the balls. You get the balls. I

get the balls. Dad's got to get the balls.

Never the kids that get the balls. How come the dad always gets the balls?

Who am I?

The ball monster.

And what does the ball monster do? He gets the balls. No, he gets the kids and

eats them up.

Your mom's here.

Hey.

You look great.

I just came from church.

I've been getting some counseling and... Actually, I wanted to talk to you about

it.

I've been trying to...

think less about myself and what I want and more about what's best for Larry Jr.

And I really think that he needs family with two parents.

He has two parents.

Larry, come on down. It's time to go.

Look, I admit I made some mistakes.

But, you know, I've really given this a lot of thought. Don't do this.

Well, why not?

we've gotten back together before

don't

you think we owe it to our son no

Hey, what's going on?

What's the matter?

I don't want to go there.

I want to stay here.

She could stay, too.

But it's not our call.

You know you have to go with your mom.

Now be a good boy.

Go on down the stairs.

I'll see you next weekend.

Hi, guys.

Hi. Hey.

Hi,

Mom. Hey.

When I picked him up... at school, I noticed that someone had signed him in

named Diane Meadows.

I got married last weekend.

Well, nice of you to tell me.

What I do with my personal life is none of your damn business.

It is when it affects him.

I don't even know this guy's name.

His name is David.

Wait a second. You tell him I want to meet him.

Why don't you tell him yourself? He's in the car.

Howdy. David Meadows.

Larry McLendon. Heard a lot about you.

Wish I could say the same.

This marriage, it sort of came out of nowhere, didn't it?

Well, we went to Vegas for the weekend. You know how that goes.

Tell you the truth, I've never been to Las Vegas.

Now, look, I know what's running through your mind.

I'm a father myself.

I've got two daughters from my first marriage.

But, you know, rest assured, your boy will be fine with us. I take good care

my kids.

Wait a minute.

Larry is my son.

Of course he is. Look, I'm not trying to step in... I mean, I appreciate the

offer, but I'm responsible for my son. I intend to keep it that way.

Sure thing.

Good to meet you, Larry.

I'll pick him up on Friday.

You were supposed to have him here three days ago. I have been calling all

weekend. The phone was out of order. You're right.

This is the seventh time you have violated the agreement.

Well, I want him to spend more time with his father.

Diane, I'm his father. Not anymore.

You were only his father since birth, but you're not... You know what? There

a custody order in effect which I think you should abide by. I am supposed to

get him on Tuesday nights. I expect him to be there.

Well, I'll think about it.

How much longer do we have to wait?

I think we should let them make the next move.

The more time, the better off you are down the road.

Why? You want enough violations to accrue to show a pattern of

How many is enough?

I mean, every time she takes him, I feel like I am never going to see him again.

And I don't know how much longer I can handle that.

Okay.

I'll file the contempt charges.

It's only been two hours.

So I hand it to her, right? Yeah, I'm not allowed to. Are you McQuendon? Yes.

This is my sister. She's here to serve the contempt papers.

Okay, let's do it.

Diane, I've got the sheriff's department with me. I want to see Larry Jr.

Hi, Diane.

What's this?

I was supposed to have Larry tonight. Would you get him, please?

Second, Diane, I'll take care of it.

Get off my property. I don't want any trouble. We've got no business here.

I'm supposed to have my son at my house at 5 o 'clock. What, so you show up here

with a rent -a -cop, 9 .30 at night? Hey, watch your mouth. I want to see my

son. He's already in bed. Well, then go wake him up and bring him down here. No.

Don't tell me no. I've got a court order. I'm taking him home. You don't

him to me, you're breaking the law. Hey, you're not the law, man. Get out of

here. That's what I came for, to bring him home. The boy stays here tonight.

Officer, they are in violation of the custody agreement. I've got it right

I'm sure this is legal.

But we don't enforce custody matters.

Well, I am not leaving here without my son. You served your papers.

Now let's move it.

You

want

me to go to jail, is that it?

I think we should have this discussion someplace else. My lawyer said that I

have to go to jail if we can't work this out between the two of us.

You know what? I think I'm going to go back to work.

I'll see you later.

Diane, always nice to meet you.

You are turning this into a major thing. I will let you have him when you're

supposed to if you will just drop the contempt charges. You would have let me

have him when you were supposed to. You wouldn't be in this mess.

You see, you don't want to work with me. Work on what? We already have a custody

agreement. It's a temporary agreement. What does that mean? I made it before I

got married to David.

I don't know anything about this guy. I don't know how he is with my son. David

is great with Larry. He's the son he always wanted. Really? Yes. Well, I hope

we're not telling him that David's his father now.

Well, he will be soon enough.

Meaning what?

I've hired a new lawyer.

We've ordered blood tests, and after that we're going for full custody.

You know what? You can order blood tests until you drop dead. It's not going to

make a difference.

David wants to adopt Larry. Oh, he wants to adopt my son? Don't you get it? You

can't win.

You know what? I've had enough of this.

You know, the best thing that you can do for Larry would be to just turn him

over to us now.

He's not your son.

You are nothing more than my ex -boyfriend.

You are not going to take my son away from me.

You know what?

What?

My dad says you're pointless.

No, sweetie, that's not what I said. I meant these tests are pointless.

What's your name?

Mark.

Mark? Where do you get that?

Tell her your real name.

Larry.

Okay. Larry, look, I want you to look at your dad, because this is going to

sting just a bit.

Ow!

Damn!

Excuse me?

I was thinking.

How about next weekend we take a train ride up to Yosemite?

Where's that?

In the mountains.

What mountains?

Well, they're a long way from here. We'd have to take a train, stay there

overnight in a hotel.

I don't think I want to.

No?

I thought... Maybe some other time.

Just because I thought it was a good idea doesn't mean it always is.

Sometimes my ideas are pretty dumb.

When that happens, you just tell me. Really?

Well, it won't happen that often.

What boat is this?

It belongs to a friend of mine at work. He's letting us use it.

Why?

I thought it'd be fun for us.

Do we have to stay here?

No.

We can go back to our house.

Sure,

that's what you want.

I think staying here is a dumb idea.

I guess it must be confusing going back and forth from house to house all the

time, huh?

It's okay.

It's just that your mom and I both love you very, very much.

So if you just lived at my house, your mom would miss you.

And if you just lived at mom's house, well, then I'd miss you.

But we both want you just to be happy, okay?

Okay.

Did your dad ever take you to the mountains?

We didn't have any mountains where I grew up.

Then where did your dad take you?

My dad.

I guess we've never really talked about my dad, have we?

Well,

my dad... My

dad... He loved to

drive places.

He had this big white convertible.

It was about as big as this boat.

It was the most beautiful car you've ever seen.

He put the top down, and we'd drive around, pick up all my friends, and we'd

just go everywhere.

And when I was a little bit older, he'd take us camping.

All my friends.

We'd go a long, long way from home.

Way back in the woods.

And you'd sleep in tents and stuff? Mm -hmm.

Was it scary?

Well, it was scary for my friends, being so far away from home.

Not for me.

I wasn't scared.

Because I knew that when my dad was with me, nothing bad would ever happen.

Hey,

I got you some orange juice.

Stay away from the edge, okay?

Hello?

Hi. Hi, it's Bobby.

Larry, we got the results of the blood test back.

And it didn't come out like we thought it would come out.

What are you telling me?

You're not the biological father.

are you sure i'm sorry larry you know we'll have to get together and talk

what this means i know what it means

legal theory okay so bottom line what's this do to the case make it very

difficult define difficult meaning

right now under california law you have no legal connection to larry jr

you're telling me that because of this piece of paper you have no custody

larry you have to understand what you're up against

You're not the biological father.

You're not the adoptive father.

Not your son.

Am I supposed to

pretend the last five years never happened?

I don't know.

Maybe we could get the court to...

awards you rights as the natural parent.

But paternity law is such a specialized area, I... If

you want to keep going, I think you should meet with another attorney.

What, you want to quit my case? No, I want you to win.

I'm not passing you off to somebody, I'm passing you up.

To who?

Name's Glenn Schwartz, and he's a friend of mine.

He doesn't just...

practice paternity law. He's developing the law.

I can't guarantee anything.

As you already know, it's a long shot.

But what I'm saying is, I think there's a viable case here.

There's a way to try this case that's brand new in paternity law. It's called

estoppel. It's used in divorce cases.

Estoppel? It's really simple.

It boils down to whether Larry Jr.

believes that you're his natural father.

Well, there's no question about that.

He definitely believes I'm his father.

Right. Let's say Diane came after you for child support.

There'd be a good chance that the court would order you to pay.

Why? Because you've been acting like the father.

If that's true, aren't you entitled to the same rights as if you were the

natural father?

If you have the responsibilities, shouldn't you have the rights?

Have you tried this estoppel thing before?

No. But that's only because I didn't have a case with the facts like yours.

You know, we could be breaking new ground here.

Still, it's going to cost you some money.

Now, of course, if the fees mount, it means we're doing well.

If we lose, we lose fast.

How are you going to get around the blood tests?

The blood tests are definitely a problem.

Okay. Get the knees up.

Get the knees up like this. Up like that. Up like that. That's it. That's

All right. Don't want to give you too much of a lead.

Well, how about just up your waist, okay?

Okay.

I have a story to tell you.

It's kind of complicated.

You know how when babies are born, they come home from the hospital to live with

their mothers and fathers?

Look, my legs, they're gone.

Even before babies are born, they have a mother and father.

But sometimes they live with a different mother and father than who they were

born with.

Like Wayne.

Who's Wayne?

A kid at school.

He's adopted.

He's from Korea.

Okay.

You remember those blood tests we had?

Mm -hmm.

That's because some doctors wanted to see you.

If I was your father before you were born.

They think that before you were born, you had a different father.

I don't understand.

Does this mean you can't be my daddy anymore?

No, sweetie, I'm still going to be your daddy.

It's okay.

It doesn't matter if you had a different father before you were born.

I'm always going to be your daddy.

Nothing is going to change that.

Promise?

I promise.

Unless you want to trade me in. No way, Jose.

No way, Jose.

Is the attorney for the plaintiff ready?

Yes, we are, Your Honor. You may proceed.

The defendant, Diane Meadows, created an elaborate deception, which everyone

involved in this case believed, that Larry McClendon was the father of her

child. Your Honor, we intend to prove that the theory of estoppel applies to

facts in this case. The evidence will show that during the course of Diane and

Larry's live -in relationship, Diane became pregnant.

advised Larry that he was the father, and thereafter represented to friends,

family, to the child, and to the world that Larry McClendon was the father.

And we will show why blood tests and the entire issue of biology is completely

irrelevant in these proceedings.

But to me, the most compelling aspect of this case is that there

is no other identifiable father.

You will note by their absence, there are no other men coming forward claiming

to be the father. Therefore, if this court chooses to terminate Larry's

well, this child will be left fatherless.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Your Honor.

The single most significant piece of evidence in this case is the undisputed

fact that Larry McClendon... is not the biological father of Diane's child.

Because no court in California, or anywhere that I know of, has ever

paternity rights to a party in his circumstance.

What we have here is an unprecedented, and I might add, frivolous proceeding.

Thank you.

You may call your first witness.

Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,

help you God?

I do.

State your name.

Diane Middleton Meadows.

You first lived with Larry McClendon for a period of about a year in 1984 before

breaking up. Is that correct?

Yes.

And during this time, was there a pregnancy caused by your sexual

with Larry?

No, I've never gotten pregnant with Larry.

Diane.

Do you recognize this document?

Yes. Isn't this the document that you filled out when you went into the

to give birth to Larry Jr.? I guess.

Line one of this document states that you had five abortions.

Objection.

Mr. Schwartz, what is the relevancy of this document?

Your Honor, a prior pregnancy will serve to establish the fact that the

plaintiff had a good faith belief that the child was his.

Overruled.

When did you learn that you were pregnant with Larry Jr.? I think it was

January. So approximately about the same time as you moved back with Larry.

Yes. Now, when you first learned that you were pregnant with Larry Jr., who

you believe to be the father?

Randall Holt.

So when you introduced Larry Jr.

to Randall Holt, you told him that this was his father?

Yes. And now you're telling him that your husband is his father. Isn't that

right? No, that's not right.

One more father, you got a bridge club.

Your Honor.

Mr. Schwartz.

Isn't it true that your husband, David Meadows, filed a petition for adoption?

My husband, yes.

So in essence, what you're trying to do is exchange one non -biological father

for another.

Objection. Is that correct?

Objection. Argumentative.

Sustained. Isn't it a fact?

that Larry Jr.

was born with traces of cocaine in his bloodstream.

Objection irrelevant.

Sustained.

Did you supply all the information for the birth certificate?

Yes. And you put down that Larry McClendon was the father.

Yes. Because you intended to raise the baby as Larry's son.

Is that correct?

Was that your intention?

Yes.

Now, during the next year, you went with the baby on a trip to Iowa.

Why did you go to Iowa?

Because Larry wanted me to meet his mom and his relatives. And to introduce the

baby to them.

Yes.

And while you were there, you compiled a baby book.

This page.

Would you read what you wrote here?

Fingers and toes like his dad's. So are you saying that the baby's physical

attributes were the same as Larry's? No, that means that his fingers and toes

were like his real dad, Randy Holtz.

Let's move ahead.

Let's move ahead to the period just after you came back from Florida.

Isn't it true that you relinquished custody of your two older children to

ex -husband?

Yes.

Do you love these two children?

Yes. But you love Larry Jr. more?

No.

Still, you kept him, Diane.

Why did you agree to give up your older kids and keep Larry Jr.? I don't know.

Isn't it true that you hate Larry McClendon and that you're fighting this

out of spite? No, that's not true.

kind of rough on her, weren't you?

Well, I told you it would get rough.

Did you have to bring up that abortion stuff?

Yeah, it's relevant to your state of mind or fitness of the mother.

Remember, even though there's no jury out there, we're still playing to an

audience of judges, and even if she strikes it, it has a prejudicial effect.

Where do you get off going through my medical records?

Diane, come on. You are scum, and you deserve each other. Wait a minute. Who

us in this mess? Wait till she hears my side of the story.

Diane. Did you ever tell Larry McClendon he was the father of your child?

No.

Then why did you agree to tell everyone else that the baby was his?

Well, we had just started living together again when I found out that I

pregnant.

And we both knew that he wasn't the father.

But he felt that it would be embarrassing and just easier if we just

it was our baby.

So the two of you agreed.

You made a deal not to tell anyone the truth.

Yes. And for his part of the deal, he promised to marry you and support you

your child. Is that correct?

Yes. But then he started acting real moody and hostile.

And I could tell that he resented that I was pregnant and that it wasn't his.

Yet even under this kind of emotional stress, you stuck with the story.

Why?

Because, um, I hoped that things would get better after the birth.

And for a while there, they did.

And I loved him.

And I wanted us to have a family.

Can you explain to the court why you went with your son to Florida?

Well, I was very depressed living with Larry. I mean, very unhappy.

And I felt trapped in the relationship.

And I was tired of living this lie.

And we were fighting all the time, and I didn't think that it was a very good

environment for my son to be in.

Why did you decide to turn over custody of your other children to your ex

-husband?

Well, at the time, I didn't have a job.

So, I mean, there was no way that I could afford two trials.

So how I decided was my two oldest kids would at least be living with their

father. I mean, this child didn't have a real father.

I mean, I'm his only parent.

I'm his mother.

I mean, I gave birth to him.

I love him very much.

Larry was not interested in him until after I left him.

And I don't think that... I don't think that he wants him as much as he wants to

take him away from me.

No more questions, Your Honor.

I don't think she hurt us that much on Cross. I don't understand. How can she

get up there and just lie like that? Relax.

Larry, don't worry about it. We'll prove our case.

Just don't forget Larry Jr.'s appointment with the shrink tomorrow.

A psychiatric evaluation is crucial.

Phone, Mr. Schwartz.

Thank you.

Yellow.

You're kidding.

He's the guy she claims is the biological father.

I'll be back in the office about an hour.

Bad news.

What? Diane's attorney just called.

Randy Holt showed up from out of nowhere. Says he wants custody.

He's going to testify tomorrow.

We have to leave or we're going to be late.

Oh, come on. You promised me you'd be dressed.

I'm not going.

Put that game away.

I thought you liked Dr. Baldwin. I don't like his clothes.

They are what you picked out last night.

I don't want to wear that. Okay, I'm not going to play the clothing game with

you. Get dressed now. No!

Listen, you are leaving this house now. Whether you're dressed or not, it's up

to you. Let's go, now.

No! Listen, I don't have any patience this morning. And get dressed now. I

do it the hard way.

You get dressed. I don't want to hear another word out of you the rest of the

way there. Get in the damn car.

Mr. Holt, if you're determined to be the biological father of Larry Jr., and

your rights are superior to that of Mr.

McClendon's, do you realize that you're obligated to support your child?

Yes, ma 'am.

Proceed.

Mr. Holt.

I go by Randy.

Okay.

Randy. About how long have you known Diane?

About seven years.

And did you have sexual relations with her immediately before her last

pregnancy? That is, in the fall of 1985?

Yes, many times.

Do you need an exact number? No, that's fine.

Were you still seeing each other while she was pregnant?

No, not until after the baby was born, when she called and told me it's mine.

Did you become romantically involved with Diane again?

Yeah. Right away?

Uh, no.

Almost right away.

And how old was Larry Jr.

when you first saw him?

About eight months old.

What took place during this first meeting?

Diane brought the baby over to my apartment.

It was just hanging out, having dinner, watching movies.

So then you saw the baby several times between eight months of age and the time

that Diane went to Florida, correct?

Yeah.

Now, on the occasion that you saw the baby, what kind of things did you do?

Just normal things a father would do.

You know, uh... Try to get him to... You know, try to get him to talk and not

cry. Let's move on.

After Diane came back from Florida, about how many times have you seen Larry

Jr.? Fifty?

Fifty times?

And in this year and a half that you've seen the boy, fifty times, have you

established a father and son relationship with him?

I definitely have.

So school's really fun, huh?

Yeah.

What do you do that's fun after school?

Hi, Larry.

I thought you said you're my mom's friend.

I'm everybody's friend. Why?

It's just...

After all, you and I are friends, too.

Well, you said Larry.

But with my mom, I have my other name.

What's your other name?

Mark David Meadows.

I'm only Larry at my dad's house.

Gee, I bet that can get pretty confusing, huh?

Yeah.

Now,

Randy, how old was Larry Jr.

when Diane left for Florida?

He was eight months old.

When she left for Florida?

Right. But earlier you testified that Diane brought the baby to your apartment

for the first time when he was eight months old.

Eight months? Nine months?

Somewhere in there.

No. It must have been after she returned from Florida.

Before she went to Florida.

Forgive me, I'm confused.

What you're saying is that when Diane took the baby to Florida, he was less

one year old.

Well, uh... This is the reason I wanted to have a lawyer present. You're here

today because you were subpoenaed by the defendant's attorney, Mr. Fields.

Isn't that correct?

Now, Randy, have you spoken with Larry Jr.

within the last two weeks?

Yeah. And what did you talk about?

Since I got subpoenaed, I was kind of curious if he even had a hunch who I

So Diane says, your dad's on the phone.

And he comes right over the phone and says, hi, Dad.

You think the boy knew who he was talking to?

Objection. Sustained.

Can I say something?

I didn't understand I was being called as a witness.

I thought the subpoena was for a blood test.

Can I speak to you privately?

Man, what a nightmare they make that guy Larry Jr.'s father.

I got news for you, and there he is, the father. You told me this was only going

to be a blood test, Diane.

It was supposed to answer the question that I gave you. Yeah, yeah, you gave me

the right questions. I'm in there dying in my seat. I gave you what you needed.

I'm going to tell that judge, and I'm telling you, I'm out of here.

Now what?

Looks like we've lost the biological father.

I interviewed Diane and Larry individually on three occasions and

twice and conducted family observation sessions with both parties.

And I conducted psychiatric tests on Larry, Diane, and Larry Jr.

And Dr. Baldwin, what were your findings?

I found that Larry and Larry Jr.

have a very close and affectionate father -son relationship.

Larry is very clearly recognized by Larry Jr. as his father.

To terminate their relationship would be a profound loss.

which may very likely result in adverse psychological consequences for the

child.

And what about the mother -child relationship?

I found the family sessions at Diane's house to be characterized by

and subtle, possibly unconscious, hostility towards the child.

Could you be more specific?

Well, I was disturbed to find that for a year, the boy's been living under two

separate identities.

Diane and David have renamed him Mark David Meadows, which has resulted in

unnecessary stress and confusion for the child.

So, in your opinion, Dr. Baldwin, would Larry Jr.'s best interest be promoted by

maintaining his relationship with Larry McClendon? Without a doubt.

Thank you.

Mr. Fields?

Counselor?

Dr. Baldwin.

When you refer to the best interest of the child, are you aware that the court

cannot take a child away from his mother unless you can prove that the child

would be detrimentally harmed if left with the mother?

Yes, I am.

And if you were to use that standard, then I would have to say that to leave

Larry Jr. solely in the care of Diane would be detrimental.

A toast.

To Dr. Baldwin.

Bless her heart.

This is a good day for our side.

I just can't stop thinking about how they've been brainwashing Larry Jr.

How can anyone do that to a little boy?

You can't think about that now, Larry.

Tomorrow's your big day.

Now, you and I may know what a terrific father you are, but Diane still has the

weight of the law on her side.

And you only get one shot to convince this judge how much his son means to

So when Diane informed you that she was pregnant, you had been living together

in your house for approximately two months.

Is that correct?

Yes.

Now, at that time, did she or anyone give you any indication that you were

the father of this child?

No.

So you had no doubt in your mind that she was carrying your child?

No doubt.

When did you learn for the first time that there was a possibility that you

not the biological father of this child?

The first time was in my attorney's office, Miss Mallory, about March of

And between the birth and March 92, had Diane or anyone

ever told you that you were not the father of Larry Jr.? No.

Now, when the blood test confirmed the fact that you were not the biological

father, did that change your feelings?

Or the way that you related to your son?

No.

At first I was devastated.

But then I realized it didn't matter.

I don't feel any different about him today, knowing he's not my biological

than I did when I thought he was.

I just love him as if he were my flesh and blood.

To lose my son this way would be very difficult.

Because I know that I have a son out there I love very much and who loves me.

And we would have been separated unfairly.

I don't know how you define fatherhood.

But I do know that this boy is my son.

And that you can't convince him I am not his father.

And that's why I'm here.

Thank you.

I'll make my ruling tomorrow.

The court is in recess.

Keep the bat level.

That's it.

You keep hitting like that, you're going to be better than me.

You want to hit some?

Nah.

If I have to move to my mom's house, does this mean you can't play baseball

me anymore?

You get the balls.

You get the balls.

You get the balls.

The Honorable Judge, Lara Parks, presiding.

The issues presented here

are complex and difficult.

Yet the important facts are absolutely clear.

Whether or not Larry McClendon knew he was the father, a strong psychological

bond exists between Larry McClendon and Larry Jr.

that demonstrates that Larry is the psychological parent.

Larry Jr.

clearly identifies Larry as the father, and the child's best interest would be

served by maintaining his relationship with Larry.

Larry Jr.

has never known any other father.

To not recognize Larry as an equitable parent would be to denigrate the basic

philosophy of family law.

Larry McClendon is hereby declared to be the father of Larry Jr.

and will be accorded all rights of a natural parent.

In addition, on the question of custody, I believe that Larry McClendon will

afford Larry Jr.

a more stable environment.

Therefore, Larry McClendon will be awarded primary custody.