Courage & Resolve
1.8 - A Man Scorned
It was another bland day at The Dancing Crab, the diner Amelia had been working at since she started her sophomore year of high school. She was then a sophomore in college, and almost nothing had changed other than her level of stress. Didn’t help that this job was how she was both paying her way through college and supporting herself financially.
She wiped up the sticky remains of a spilled lemonade from a particular noisy family, and sighed loudly to herself.
“Hey, could I help you with that?” a man asked from behind her.
Amelia whirled around, and saw Samson, one of her coworkers.
“Oh, Samson,” Amelia laughed. “You startled me! But yes, I would appreciate your help.”
Samson held out the rag he’d brought over from the kitchen and smiled at her as he started wiping up the spill.
“They sure were one nightmare family, huh?” he said casually.
“Not the worst I’ve ever seen, but they’re definitely the worst I’ve seen since you started working here,” Amelia said.
“Yeah…” Samson muttered, stopping wiping to look her in the eyes. “You’ve been working here for like… forever, haven’t you?
“Four years,” Amelia sighed. “Not forever, but sure feels like it.”
“Four years, huh… I’ve been here a month and I already hate it. I can’t imagine spending an entire four years here.”
“You’d be surprised,” Amelia chuckled. “I thought this was going to be a summer job when I first started here, but time passes way too quickly, and before I knew it, I was in college and this job was the only thing that let me afford food.”
“I’m here because of college too,” Samson smiled. “Can’t afford my cheap apartment without it.”
“Life is tough, that’s for sure. But I firmly believe that as long as someone works hard enough, they can achieve the world.”
Amelia finished up wiping up the mess, and headed off to the kitchen to put the dishrag away. Samson followed her. They put their dishrags beside the sink, for the kitchen staff to take care of.
“Well, I’m headed out for the day,” Amelia said. “Catch you later, Samson.”
“Actually!” Samson said nervously. “Would you want to grab dinner sometime?”
Amelia turned back around. “Why, Samson, are you asking me out?”
“Just to dinner for now! I… I just really need some new friends out here, you know? I moved here from Magnolia Promenade, and you’re by far the nicest person I’ve met out here.”
“Alright then, Samson. Date or not, dinner sounds amazing,” Amelia smiled.
Samson woke up in his hotel room with a jolt. He groaned, and rolled back over. The last thing he needed right now was to remember his first meeting with Amelia. But he guessed it made sense. This was the first time he’d been near her in years. The last few years had been him living alone, drunk, the only visitor being a friend he and Amelia had made in college that showed up less and less frequently.
That friend had also woken him to how he’d screwed up.
In one of his rare sober moments, his friend had shown him a picture of Cory and Jamira that Amelia had sent him. It was then that it had hit him. He’d never been a father to them. The two people he’d brought into the world were growing up without a father, he was probably nothing more than a faint memory in their mind now.
He knew then that he had to be involved in their lives. He didn’t know how, but Samson swore that he’d get it done somehow. He’d found a man that specialized in legal knowledge online, and had scheduled a meeting for that day in the hotel lobby.
The meeting happened before he knew it.
Samson walked downstairs, and found a man waiting for him downstairs. He looked professional enough, minus his stark white hair.
“Stefan?” Samson asked, approaching the man.
“Yeah, that’s me,” Stefan said. “Great to meet you, Samson. Shall we take a seat?”
Samson nodded, and the two sat down.
“In your email, you said you were looking into gaining custody of your children, correct?”
“Yeah.”
“And have you contacted anyone about this other than me?”
“Yeah, I reached out to Beauchamp Law. They’re supposed to be the best out here, right?”
Stefan shook his head. “Bad choice, Samson, bad choice. Felix and Genevieve Beauchamp are entirely dedicated to improving their image in the eye of the public. Don’t know why- but that’s besides the point. Taking on a simple child custody case wouldn’t do much for them, so they’re going to sweep your case under the rug.”
Samson gave Stefan an incredulous look, then stared off into space. “Well? What am I supposed to do then? I need to be a father to my children, you need to understand-“
“I do understand, Samson. Just for my own research purposes, what’s the name of the woman you’re trying to take custody from?”
“Amelia Brown.”
Stefan smiled. “Just as I thought. You see, I used to work at Beauchamp Law. Then, I tried speaking my mind, and it hurt their image just a little much. So, they fired me. And you know who’s to blame? Amelia. But, lucky for you, after working with her for years, I know her.”
“Alright. Amelia screwed both of us over, cool. But how does that help me gain custody of Cory and Jamira?”
“When it comes to Amelia, there’s two things that make her tick. Rising in level in the company, and her children. Because you sent in your case to Beauchamp Law, Amelia’s probably going to take control of the case because her children are involved. There’s no winning there. However, what we can do is approach her, and you can talk to her about how much you want to be a father to her children to improve their lives. That’s the key. Talk about helping them. I guarantee, she’ll meet with you then.”
“You’re a legal guy, right?” Samson asked.
Stefan nodded.
“Sure doesn’t seem like the legal solution, but if it works, it works. I’ll try.”
“Hey, if it doesn’t work- which I doubt, by the way- there’s always less conventional methods. Neither of us care all that much for Amelia, right?”
“She left me drunk and in debt,” Samson said. “She can choke. As far as I’m concerned, the only good thing that came out of that relationship is Cory and Jamira, and she took them from me too.”
“Then it seems we’re both prepared to do whatever is nessacary to get them back to you,” Stefan smiled. “Perfect.”
“You seem like a good guy, Stefan. I’m glad we met.”
“This is going to be an incredible partnership, Samson, I’m sure of it.”