As It Should Be

 As It Should Be, Shawna James, Drummond Martin Publishing, 2021

This novel is about Andrew and Stephanie, your average married couple who are trying to deal with Roberta, Andrew's extremely greedy ex-wife.

Andrew and Stephanie, and their two daughters, have moved from Canada to Norway, Andrew's homeland, to get away from Roberta's constant demands for more and more child support money. The two children involved, Kevin and Muffy, may not even be Andrew's children, but Roberta absolutely refuses to allow a paternity test.

In Norway, life is good. That is, until a large envelope of legal documents forces them to move back to Canada. Roberta alleges that Andrew has not paid any of his child support obligations for the past several years, despite the fact that he has paid them. After moving back to Canada, Andrew and Stephanie move back to Canada, they meet privately with Kevin, now in college. He shows them a brand-new truck, and property, that he has bought (with Andrew's money). He attends college on a government program that pays all of his expenses. He knows that Andrew is not his real father; they look nothing like each other. Roberta's constant demands for money reach the point where Andrew is handing over more than half of his salary to the Court. 

On the good side, except for the Roberta-caused stress, the family is happy and healthy. Full scholarships for the daughters to a private dance school help a lot. Does Kevin help Andrew and Stephanie to stop Roberta, once and for all? Is there a big courtroom confrontation between them?

This novel certainly shows another side to the world of divorce and child support. Sometimes, the ex-wife is the "bad guy." It's a very good tale, and is well worth checking out.