Wedding Bell Blues - [55]

our future? Will they grow up to be criminals, drug users, moral degenerates—all because of the lack of asuitable family environment?

“Today we are here to determine the future of one child. The child in question, Mimi Maycomb, isnot yet two years old, still innocent, still reasonably untouched despite the circumstances into which shewas born.

“Children don’t ask to be born, after all. But some children are lucky. They are born to a motherand father who are married in the eyes of God and the state, a mother and father who have the spiritual,moral, and financial capability to properly care for them.” He stopped to sip from a paper cup of water,then looked up with sorrowful eyes. “Other children are not so lucky. They are born into impoverished,single-parent homes. They are born to irresponsible parents who neglect or abuse them. Or they are borninto homes that are so morally degenerate that they will never learn how to follow the correct moral andspiritual paths. This last breed of children suffers from the worst type of poverty of all—moral poverty.

Mimi Maycomb is one of these morally impoverished children.”

In her seat, Lily gripped the edge of the table as though it were the safety bar on a rapidlyplummeting roller coaster. She looked at Buzz Dobson sitting there in his stained and rumpled seersuckersuit, with a placid, bovine expression. It was all she could do to stop herself from biting her nails.

“Let me share with the court,” Hamilton continued, “the story of Mimi Maycomb’s birth.” Hesmiled, revealing a mouthful of perfectly white, capped teeth. “The story’s a little more complicated thanthe story of most births, so bear with me. Charles and Ida Maycomb, the fine folks sitting over there at thepetitioner’s table, are the parents of the now-deceased Charlotte Maycomb. I have no idea why thishappened, because I know Charles and Ida to be good parents.. . still, no matter how good a shepherd is,one of his sheep will stray. Charlotte Maycomb strayed from her parents’ guidance and entered into ahomosexual relationship with the respondent, Lily McGilly, nee Fox.”

Judge Sanders’ scowl might have been the same one he had been wearing, but Lily felt it was nowdirected at her. Just as she was about to resort to nail biting, she felt the comforting hand of JeanieMcGilly on her shoulder. Once again, she was overcome by the depth of the McGillys’ supportiveness.

Big Ben had taken his first day off in the history of the Confederate Sock Mill to be with them at the

“Miss Maycomb and Miss Fox,” Hamilton continued, “decided to do that which no two womencan do naturally: They decided to have a child.” Hamilton paused, Lily assumed, to let this scandalous bitof information sink in. “With the use of a sperm donation, they conceived the baby through completelyartificial means. And so this was the home into which Mimi Maycomb was born, a home in whichhomosex-yoo-ality” — he stretched the word out, making it sound extra nasty—“was the norm. A homein which both parents wore the pants in the family, and both parents were women. A home in which booksand films depicting homosexual acts could be found. A home where the only regular guests were otherhomosexuals. A home where no definition of normality could be found.”

Hamilton took another sip of water, then continued, “When Charlotte Maycomb died in the springof this year, she left a will that specified that custody of Mimi should be awarded to Lily Fox, herhomosexual lover. My clients, Mr. and Mrs. Maycomb, are suing Lily McGilly, née Fox, for the custodyof their granddaughter, Mimi Maycomb. They regret that their daughter strayed from their teachings andbelieve that by raising Mimi in a loving, Christian home, both they and Mimi can have a second chance.”

He glanced at the table where Lily, Buzz, and Ben sat. “According to Georgia state law, the courtmay terminate custody if the child is deprived and if the deprivation the child suffers will likely result inphysical, mental, moral, or emotional harm. Mimi Maycomb is not a physically deprived child. I have nodoubt that, as Mr. Dobson will tell you, her basic physical needs are provided for. But what of her moralneeds? What of the need to be raised in a morally fit home in which her guardians serve as good modelsfor her future behavior? Just as a child deprived of food lacks proper physical nourishment, MimiMaycomb lacks proper moral nourishment. She hungers for the court to do the right thing—to put her in ahome where she herself can grow up to do the right thing and to be a decent, normal young lady.

“You’ll hear a lot of things from the respondent today. Mr. Dobson is going to tell you that bymarrying Mr. Benny Jack McGilly, Lily Fox showed a desire to raise Miss Maycomb’s child in a normal,two-parent heterosexual home. He may also tell you that Mimi Maycomb is the biological child ofCharlotte Maycomb and Benny Jack McGilly— a claim for which no medical proof has been offered.

Through the testimony of Charlotte’s family and through the use of a piece of videotaped evidence, I