“Lindsay, Gus is your biological child, correct?”
“Yes. Mine and Brian’s.”
“Your partner, Melanie Marcus, stated that you insisted on Mr. Kinney being the father, even above her objections. Why is that?”
“Brian and I have known each other since college. He was one of my best friends. He’s intelligent. Handsome. He’s always been there when I needed him. He was everything that I wanted for the father of my child.”
“But the only role you wanted him to have was for Mr. Kinney to be a sperm donor, correct? “
“Yes.”
“Why did you wait until after Gus was born before having Mr. Kinney sign over his parental rights?”
“We didn’t think it would be a problem, having him sign it. Brian had never shown any interest in being a father to our child so Melanie and I didn’t think there would be a problem.”
“What finally prompted you and Ms. Marcus to have the papers drawn up negating Mr. Kinney’s parental rights?”
“Like Melanie said, Gus had gotten sick and we had taken him to the hospital. The nurse in the emergency room wouldn’t let Melanie come back with us because she wasn’t related to him. We decided at that point that it was time that we went ahead with the paperwork, but Brian refused to sign.”
“What was your reaction to Mr. Kinney’s refusal?”
“I wasn’t happy about it, but I wasn’t as angry as Melanie was. She felt like I betrayed her when I didn’t push Brian into signing the papers, while I just wanted everyone to get along for Gus’ sake.”
“Why weren’t you as angry as Ms. Marcus? Didn’t you want Ms. Marcus to have rights to your son?”
“Of course I did, but I also could see how torn Brian was at that point in regards to his feelings towards Gus. I could see how much he loved him and I understood why he didn’t sign, but that didn’t mean that I was happy about him refusing to do what he had promised. Melanie and I had asked Brian to father our child with the intention of being his parents. Brian was only to have a small role in raising his son. His refusal to sign over his parental rights meant that Melanie wouldn’t be able to have a say in treating Gus is something happened to him.”
“Do you believe that Ms. Kinney’s refusal to sign over his parental rights lead to the troubles you and Ms. Marcus had? The problems that eventually lead her to moving out?”
“Yes, I think they were the main problem between us. Melanie was angry that Brian had reneged on our deal and we fought over it a lot. I think that was one of the reasons she slept with that other woman.”
“In previous testimony it was stated that Mr. Kinney eventually signed over his parental rights to prevent you from marrying a man by the name of Gui DePruie. Can you tell the court your version of events?”
“Melanie and I were living apart and I had to go back to work so that I could support Gus and myself. Gui agreed to move into our house to help me out with the bills and taking care of Gus. I decided to help him out of a problem he was having by marrying him. I knew Brian and Mel, along with our other friends, wouldn’t approve of the marriage so I didn’t tell them about it. When they found out about Gui they tried to talk me out of going through with the marriage.”
“Is the previous testimony stating that you were marrying Mr. DePruie to allow him to obtain his green card accurate?”
“Yes. Gui was going to be deported so we thought that if we got married that it would allow him to stay. I needed the help with the bills and I wanted to help my friend. He even loved Gus so I didn’t see a problem with it. We didn’t mean to harm anyone.”
“Why didn’t you go through with the arrangements?”
“Brian told Melanie and me that he would sign over his rights to Gus if we would get back together. He said that he wanted Gus to be raised in a household with two loving parents. I had never stopped loving Melanie and Brian was offering us everything that we wanted so I took him up on his offer.”
“During the time you and Ms. Marcus were apart you had left your son with Mr. Kinney. During that time, Ms. Marcus removed him from his father’s care saying that Mr. Kinney was unfit to take care of his son. Did you agree with Ms. Marcus’ removal of your son?”
“When she told me what happened, about how Brian had left Gus with Justin while he went to the Leather Ball, yes I agreed with her taking Gus. I couldn’t believe that Brian had left his son with someone he barely knew.”
“Mr. Taylor testified that he had offered to baby-sit Gus and that both you and Ms. Marcus told him that you would probably take him up on that offer. If that was the case, why did you have a problem with Mr. Kinney asking Mr. Taylor to do just that?”
“Yes, we did tell Justin not to make the offer if he didn’t mean it and Melanie and I had talked about having Justin watch Gus eventually, but we also knew that Justin was inexperienced with infants and planned on talking to him about what needed to be done if Gus got hungry or something. Brian didn’t do that. Instead he left Justin alone with Gus with no instructions and Gus almost got hurt because of that.”
“After that, how often did you leave Gus alone with his father?”
“I didn’t. Not until Melanie was pregnant with Annie. He wanted to become more involved with his son and Melanie and I were having problems so it worked out for all of us.”
“Your son stayed with Mr. Kinney for a couple of weeks after your daughter was born. Why was this?”
“Melanie had had problems with her pregnancy and had been told to take it easy. To limit her stress. Like I said, Mel and I were having some problems. After Annie was born, I thought it might be easier if Gus stayed with Brian so that I could concentrate on making sure that Mel and Annie were okay.”
“Mr. Kinney is saying that you and Ms. Marcus have been ignoring Gus and his needs in favor of Annie. Do you think this is true?”
“Brian kept trying to tell me that Gus was feeling like we didn’t love him. Melanie and I thought it was sibling rivalry at first. That Gus just didn’t like the fact that he had to now share his mothers’ attentions with someone else. Then, after Gus’ birthday party, and seeing how he acted towards us, I knew something was going on and I began to make sure that Gus knew how much I loved him.”
“What about Ms. Marcus?”
“I’ll admit it, Mel still does favor Annie a bit, just like I might favor Gus, but that’s just because she’s her natural daughter, but we are taking steps to work everything out.”
“What do you mean?”
“Melanie and I have been going to counseling to work out our problems, hoping to figure out what to do to make sure that what has happened in the past doesn’t reoccur.”
“Ms. Peterson, what happened the afternoon you and Ms. Marcus had a luncheon for your parents? To show them that you were just as much a couple as your sister?”
“My parents told me that they decided not to come. They don’t feel that my relationship with Melanie is as acceptable as my sister’s marriage. I was upstairs, crying, when Brian joined me. We were talking for awhile and he had brought up something that had happened when we were in college.”
“And what was that incident?”
“We had been at a party that wasn’t that much fun and he had spiked the punch with drugs.”
“And why did Mr. Kinney bring up this particular incident?”
“Because he had just done the same thing to the punch at the luncheon.”
“Isn’t it true that as that because of the drugs that Mr. Kinney had giving to the guests, without their knowledge, that the party became to include nudity?”
“Yes.”
“And isn’t it also true that your parents arrived at this point?”
“Yes.”
“And what was their reaction to what was going on at your home?”
“They left immediately and didn’t speak to me for a month. They refused my calls and wouldn’t open the door when I went to their home.”
“So because of Mr. Kinney’s spiking the drinks with an illegal substance, your relationship with your parents became even more stressed than it had been before?”
“Yes.”
“What do you think of Mr. Kinney’s claims that he has been monogamous the past six months? Do you believe him?”
“I’m not sure if I believe him or not. Brian has never made it a secret to anyone who knew him how he felt about monogamy. He always said that monogamy was only for straight people and lesbians. He has never believed in marriage, especially for gay people because, he says, it doesn’t mean anything.”
“So you don’t think that Mr. Kinney and Mr. Taylor’s relationship is monogamous? That Mr. Kinney is still having sex with other men?”
“I believe that Justin is probably monogamous. I know that’s what he’s always wanted. I also believe that Brian may be trying to be monogamous. How successful he has actually been, on the other hand, I can’t say.”
“You said that Mr. Kinney doesn’t believe in marriage in gay people, can you provide an example?”
“When Melanie and I were planning our wedding, Brian made no secret of the fact that he thought we were making a mistake. He asked me why we even bothered planning a wedding ceremony when it wouldn’t be legal in anyone’s eyes. He said that we were already living together, why did we need anything else.”
“Did Mr. Kinney come to your wedding?”
“No. He won tickets to the White Party in Miami and he went there instead.”
“And what did he do at the White Party?”
“Your Honor, Ms. Peterson wasn’t with Mr. Kinney in Miami,” Mark interrupted, “how can she testify to what my client did there?”
“Let me rephrase my question. Ms. Peterson, what do you think Mr. Kinney did in Miami?”
“The same thing he does here. He had sex with as many men as he possibly could.”
“And did Mr. Taylor join his partner in Miami?”
“He had originally planned to, but changed his mind. Justin told me that he wanted to be with the family to celebrate our wedding.”
“Ms. Peterson, what outcome would you like to see come from today’s proceedings?”
“I want to see Gus come home with Melanie and me. I want us to be a family again. I want everyone to get along like we used to.”
“And what of Mr. Kinney’s role in his son’s life?”
“I wouldn’t mind Brian and Justin being in Gus’ life. Gus loves his father and I know Brian loves Gus. I just don’t think it would be the right thing for anyone if Gus went to live with Brian full time.”
“What do you think would happen if Mr. Kinney was given full custody of his son?”
“I think that Brian will do the best that he can but that eventually having to take care of Gus will become harder and harder for him. Brian’s business is taking off and Justin will be going to Los Angeles for a month next summer to work on a movie. Later Justin will have to be gone for a couple of months once they decide where they are going to film it and I’m afraid that Gus will get pushed aside because of their work commitments. If anything, Brian will have Mel and I or Debbie Novotny take care of Gus while they take care of things.”
“Thanks you, Ms. Peterson. I have no further questions, you honor.”
“Your witness, Mr. Cavanaugh.”
“Thank you, Your Honor. Mr. Peterson, why did you insist on Mr. Kinney being the father of your child?”
“I already said. It was because he’s intelligent and handsome. He’s everything that I would want for Gus’ father.”
“And it had nothing to do with the fact that you had feelings for my client?”
“Of course I had feelings for Brian. I consider him one of my best friends.”
“Isn’t it true that you told Mr. Kinney that you often thought of what it might have been like if the two of you had gotten married and raised a family?”
“I might have,” Lindsay squirmed, looking over at Melanie who did not appear to be happy.
“Ms. Peterson, if my client was only going to be a sperm donor, why were you and Ms. Marcus so upset that you couldn’t contact him when you went into labor?”
“I wanted Brian to be there for the birth of his son.”
“And the life insurance policy? Why did you ask him to sign that if he wasn’t to be involved with Gus?”
“Melanie and I thought it would be a good idea if we made sure that Gus would be taken care of if something happened to Brian.”
“So you expected Mr. Kinney to help care for your son, including giving you money to help raise Gus.”
“Of course not. I never expected Brian to help us pay for the things we would need for Gus.”
“Then why the life insurance policy?”
“I already answered that. Melanie and I just wanted to make sure that Gus would be okay if something happened to Brian.”
“Now, Ms. Peterson, you stated earlier that the reason you were so upset with my client for leaving his son in Mr. Taylor’s care was because Mr. Kinney didn’t know Mr. Taylor that well, correct?”
“Yes, I said that.”
“But isn’t it true that, at that time, my client and Mr. Taylor had been involved for quite a few months? That Mr. Taylor had, in fact, lived with Mr. Kinney for a short time before going to live with Ms. Novotny? That the two of them had spent quite a bit of time together and knew each other well?”
“They were only together for the sex. The only difference between Justin and any one of Brian’s other tricks back then was the frequency they were together.”
“How do you know what their relationship was at that time, Ms. Peterson? Did my client or Mr. Taylor confide in you what was happening between the two of them?”
“No, but I know how Brian is and there was no way that he and Justin were that close back then.”
“So it would surprise you to know that Mr. Taylor spent, on average, three to four nights a week at my client’s home. That my client and Mr. Taylor often talked to each other.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“So it’s possible that Misterrs. Taylor and Kinney did know each other and well? That it was you and Ms. Marcus that didn’t know Mr. Taylor that well?”
“Yes, I guess you could say that.”
“In that case, would it seem strange for Mr. Kinney to ask Mr. Taylor to watch his son?”
“No.”
“Now you also said that, at the time, you didn’t want to leave Gus with Mr. Taylor because you didn’t believe that he had much experience with young children, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And what did you base this assumption on?”
“Justin was only teenager at the time and I didn’t think that he had been around a lot of young children.”
“What about his sister, Molly? Isn’t it true that Mr. Taylor often helped his mother take care of his younger sister, even when she was an infant?”
“I didn’t know he had a sister at the time, so I had no idea that Justin had helped his mom with Molly.”
“Is this something that my client might have known?”
“Anything’s possible I guess.”
“Ms. Peterson, you stated that when you and Ms. Marcus were apart you were planning on marrying Gui DePruie in order to help him obtain his green card, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Even though it broke state and federal laws and you could have faced jail time if you were caught?” Lindsay squirmed in her seat.
“Yes.”
“Is that why you failed to inform Mr. Kinney of the new living arrangements in the home that his son was at?”
“I didn’t tell Brian or anyone else about what Gui and I had been planning because I didn’t think it concerned them. They didn’t have to be involved.”
“Even though Gus is Mr. Kinney’s son?”
“Yes.”
“You stated that you had agreed to marry Gui because you needed help with the bills. Was this because Ms. Marcus was no longer contributing since she was no longer living at the house?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t it true that you had already gone to Mr. Kinney and asked him for money even though he wasn’t working at the time?”
“Yes.”
“And how much money did Mr. Kinney give you at that time?”
“Two-thousand dollars.”
“Was that the first time Mr. Kinney had given you money to help out with Gus?”
“No.”
“Nor was it the last time, was it?”
“No.”
“How much money would you say Mr. Kinney has given you and Ms. Marcus to help raise his son?”
“I’m not sure. I’d say something along the lines of twenty to twenty-five thousand dollars since Gus was born.”
“And before that?”
“I don’t know what you mean?”
“Ms. Peterson, isn’t it true that Mr. Kinney helped pay the costs for the insemination?” Lindsay shot a look over to Melanie whose eyes were wide open. “Ms. Peterson?”
“Yes.”
“What about Michael Novotny?”
“What about him?”
“Well, if Mr. Kinney helped with the costs of the artificial insemination for you to have your son, did Mr. Novotny do the same when it came time for Ms. Marcus to have your daughter?”
“No. We didn’t go through the clinic to when it came time for Melanie to get pregnant. We took a chance and did it ourselves.”
“You didn’t go through a clinic, which would have tested Mr. Novotny’s sperm to make sure it was safe, where under sterile conditions your partner would have been impregnated? Why was this? Weren’t you concerned about health issues?”
“No. We knew Michael was safe. Besides we didn’t have the money to go to the clinic. Artificial insemination wasn’t covered by our insurance.”
“You said that you knew Mr. Novotny was safe when his partner, Benjamin Bruckner, is HIV positive. How did you know this without going through the clinic to have them test the sperm?”
“Michael assured us that he was. He assured both Melanie and I that he and Ben were safe. We didn’t feel that there was any worry. We knew they wouldn’t do anything that would risk the baby.”
“So you’re saying that if my client hadn’t helped with the money to help cover the costs, you wouldn’t have gone through the clinic that time either? Tell me, Ms. Peterson, if my client was only to be a sperm donor, why did you allow him to help with those costs?”
“Brian insisted on it. He said he didn’t want to take any chances that the insemination wouldn’t take on the first try”
“I see. Moving on. Ms. Peterson, you stated that Mr. Kinney does not believe in marriage, correct? That when you and Ms. Marcus were planning your wedding that he told you what a mistake you were making?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t it true that he was the one that had actually gotten your wedding to go off without a hitch after all of your own plans fell through?”
“Yes, but all he did was get the rest of our friends to help.”
“And the reason he didn’t attend was because he went to Miami, isn’t that what you said? Because he wanted to go have sex with as many people as he could?”
“Yes.”
“Ms. Peterson, isn’t it true that my client had offered you his tickets to Miami, stating he wanted to give you and Ms. Marcus a honeymoon, and you turned him down saying you didn’t want him doing something that went against his nature?”
“Yes.”
“So the truth is that you were the one that encouraged Mr. Kinney to go to Miami instead of staying at your wedding.”
“I guess so.”
“Ms. Peterson, you stated that you had Gus stay with my client after your daughter was born because you and Ms. Marcus were having problems. Wasn’t the problem the fact that you cheated on Ms. Marcus with a man by the name of Sam Auerbach, an artist whose work your gallery was showing?”
“Yes.”
“You moved out of your home because of this correct?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you take Gus with you at the time? Why did you prefer to leave him with his father?”
“I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was trying to make things work with Melanie plus work, and I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to give Gus the attention that he needed.”
“So once again, because of one of his mothers cheating on her spouse, Gus’ home life was upturned. Do you think this is the kind of nurturing environment that he needs?”
“No.”
“Now, Ms. Peterson, you and Ms. Marcus are currently going to counseling because of the problems the two of you have been having in regards to raising Gus. Can you please tell the court what finally led the two of you to seek counseling?”
“There was an incident involving Gus that made us realize that what Brian had been telling us was the truth.”
“Can you please tell the court about the incident?”
“Umm..about a month ago I had arrived home from work and told Melanie about a major sale I had made at the gallery. We decided to go away for the evening and had made arrangements to leave Annie with a neighbor of ours.”
“What about arrangements for Gus?”
“Gus was supposed to be staying at a friend’s house so we didn’t think we had to do anything about that.”
“But isn’t it true that Gus had come home earlier in the day and was upstairs in his room asleep? That Ms. Marcus had, in fact, completely forgotten that he was there so the two of you left him alone?”
“Yes.”
“And when did you realize that you had your son at home alone?”
“We didn’t realize what had happened until we were on the road. As soon as we did, we turned around at the next exit.”
“And what did you find when you had arrived home?”
“We found Brian and Justin with you and the social worker already at our home. We found out that Gus had called Brian’s cell phone when he woke up and realized he was by himself.”
“And this is why you now only have limited, supervised visitation with your son at this time, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Ms. Peterson, you said that you believed that if my client was given full custody of your son, he would eventually end up ignoring him in favor of his business, correct? That he and Mr. Taylor would end up having you or Debbie Novotny watch over Gus while they did whatever might come up?”
“Yes, that’s what I think will eventually happen. Brian isn’t capable of thinking of someone else for an extended period.”
“Really. If that was the case, then why did you feel that you could trust him to take care of Gus for the weeks it took Ms. Marcus to recover from the pregnancy and for the two of you to work out the problems in your relationship?”
“Brian volunteered to take care of Gus. Apparently he had decided that he wanted to be more of a hands on father. And Gus loves Brian so I thought that it would work out for everyone.”
“So you trusted that my client would put his son’s needs above his own, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And Mr. Kinney did put his son’s needs ahead of his own. In fact, wouldn’t you say that Gus actually thrived during the time he was living at my client’s home?”
“I don’t know that I would go so far as to say that Gus thrived, but he was happy there. He loved spending so much time with his father and Justin.”
“And during this period, how much time did you spend with Gus?”
“I don’t know. I was so busy taking care of Melanie, and then Annie. Plus we were trying to work things out.”
“Could you give the court an estimate?”
“I tried to see Gus at least two or three times a week, but there were some weeks where I could only get there once a week.”
“And how long would you visit at those times?”
“As much as I could, but sometimes I could only be there for a couple of minutes, but I still had work and I was trying to work out things with Melanie and we were both taking care of Annie, but there have been some evening where we would go over to Debbie’s while she was watching Gus and spend time with him there.”
“And how many times has Ms. Marcus seen Gus?”
“I’m not sure. I think she’s only had a chance to see him on those nights at Debbie’s.”
“So, what you are saying is, if it wasn’t for my client giving you and Ms. Marcus to spend the time with your son while Ms. Debbie Novotny was watching, Ms. Marcus wouldn’t have seen him at all since he was taken from your home? Tell me, Ms. Peterson, whose idea was it for you to spend the time with Gus at Ms. Novotny’s home?”
“Brian’s. He told Melanie and me that he thought that it might be a good idea that Gus spend some time with us outside of their home. It turned out that was one of the reasons that Brian had Debbie watching Gus when he and Justin went out.”
“And other than those times at Ms. Novotny’s, how often had Ms. Marcus seen Gus?”
“I think those were the only times.”
“So, with Gus out of your home, it became out of sight, out of mind. That doesn’t sound like something a good parent does.”
“I love my son and I would do anything for him.”
“Except let him interfere in your social life. I have no more questions for this witness, Your Honor.”