Monthly Prompt: It Happened
Word Count: 1,000
Deadline: January 24, 2021
published online at deadlinesforwriters.com
Premonition
Sitting at the table, we are silent because there are no words to comfort each other. Mom pours me another cup of black coffee. I can only stare at the clock, the hands ticking by interminably.
“We’ll find them.” Mom whispers.
“You’ve seen the movies.”
“This is not a script. The police are searching and will find them.”
“It’s been five days. My gut tells me he is gone. Marco will brainwash Luca and raise him in another country. I should have been more careful.”
“Don’t the divorce papers say Marco can’t leave the state, let alone the country? Not without your consent.”
“It has finally happened. All those signs were a premonition. Why didn’t I pay attention?”
“It’s not your fault, honey, you couldn’t have known.”
“Mom. Listen. Even as a child, it was my turtle, out of five, who wandered off from the pen. Tippy, the baby male. I felt at the time it was a glimpse of something bigger, something more important I would lose one day.
“Later, it was my cat who died. Our boy kitty, Maynard. Again I had that feeling.
“Then it was Marco. My husband. He left me for another woman, leaving me to wonder where he was, fearing for his life when he didn’t come home. And then that hollow, aching sensation of loss, of that feeling that this was just an omen.”
“None of these events are your fault. You know that.”
“Yes, but now it is my baby boy who has vanished. Everything has led up to this point. I’ve lost my child.”
“I never knew you carried those thoughts. Honey, I don’t believe you’ve lost Luca. Marco will come to his senses. But, he must miss his family in Italy. And now that you’ve had a baby, he probably wants Luca to meet his grandparents and uncles and cousins. His intentions are stupid, but not malicious.”
“Mom, Marco has asked me numerous times if he could take Luca to Italy and I always said ‘no’ because he’s just a baby. Marco doesn’t challenge me, but last month, after Luca’s second birthday, Marco acted different.”
“How do you mean?”
“He stopped being friendly when he picked up Luca for his visits. He told me to stop packing clothes because he has all new things at his place. And he has been picking him up early and bringing him home late, without explanation.”
“Oh, dear.”
“He’s been planning this, I feel it.”
“Let’s think this through. If, in fact, Marco decided to start a new life in Italy with Luca, you will just have to go there. We will go and we will fight for custody.”
“In Italy? We don’t even have passports let alone the money it will take to hash this out in court in a foreign land. Oh, my God.”
“What do you want to do?”
“Let’s look this up. Mom, turn on your laptop.”
“Okay, let me get my password notes. Will you make us a couple of ham sandwiches?”
“Can you hear me from in there? Italy’s laws are probably different than ours, but family is family.”
“Yes, I’m in. I’m doing a search about family law right now for when one parent leaves the country with the child.”
“Do you want mustard or mayo?”
“Mustard, always. Thank you.”
“Look up rules about passports and kids.”
“That’s what I’m doing.”
“Okay, here’s your plate. It’s just ham and cheese with lettuce and mustard. Do you want chips?”
“No, thanks. Listen to this.”
“In order to be granted a passport, the US State Department requires all children under the age of 16 to have permission from both parents. … Parents with sole custody are granted permission to travel out of country with their children without permission from the child’s other parent.”
“He doesn’t have sole custody. We have shared custody – it’s joint.”
“If he is traveling with Luca, then he must have forged your signature.”
“How could he do that? I think that has to be done in person, at the Post Office.”
“Have you considered that he isn’t alone?”
“You mean – Lolita. Ah, of course. She pretended to be me.”
“We’ll let the police know of this possibility. They will be able to find out what has been done here. If Marco has indeed, traveled to Italy with your son, without your permission, and has obtained a passport without your consent, or using another person as proxy, Marco is in a world of trouble.”
“I just want Luca back. Now I’m picturing him growing up over there calling Miss Tramp ‘Mommy’ and never knowing I’m over here dying.”
“All right. Let’s look at Italian laws.”
“Give it to me straight.”
“‘Can I fight for custody from another country?’ Let’s see here:
When a parent wants to move the child to another state, or even another country, they must request the judge to modify the child custody order and get the court’s approval before doing so. However, many foreign countries will not enforce United States custody orders when a parent moves to another country.”
“Oh my God. How can they not enforce custody orders? Find out what it says about Italy, specifically.”
“Try calling Marco’s cell phone again. Maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves.”
“’Ahead of ourselves’? Mom, the police told us he deserted the apartment, his car is at the airport, he quit his job the day before taking Luca, and all signs point to Marco leaving the country.”
“No, it appears that he got on a plane. We don’t know where he went. It might be in the U.S. If that’s the case, then he wouldn’t need a passport to travel with Luca and the police will find them.”
“Or, Marco has been planning this for a very long time. With Lolita. They have taken Luca, maybe have created new identities, and are starting a new life together in a new land. While I am frantic back home not knowing what the hell to do.”