First Street

Chapter 5

Nobody Panic

Catherine McKenzie

 

Sundays were Charlotte’s favorite day at the Court. The hustle and bustle of the week receded. The phones stopped ringing. Email was minimal. She could wear her weekend outfit—comfortable yoga pants that she bought in bulk at Lululemon when they were on sale and a long soft sweater over a cotton T-shirt. She could listen to music through proper speakers, not just the noise-canceling headphones that pinched her head and made her feel like she was in an aquarium. And since Jack usually stayed away on weekends, she could work without interruption. She could think.

This Sunday in mid-October, she was doing exactly that. Justice Russo had asked her to write the bench memo for the embryo case. Flaherty v. Dunbar. A woman fighting over embryos with her ex-in-laws. They’d been joined when her husband and their son Leo had died, but along the way their grief had pushed them in different directions. Patricia had done the sensible thing, finding someone else to love and moving on with her life. Leo’s parents were stuck, trying to recapture the past by bringing a new version of their son into the world. And now, everyone knew about their anguish, their private fight. Then, once the case was decided, their personal facts would fade away, and only the principles would remain.

Charlotte wondered if most litigants knew how lawyers bandied their names around as if they were weapons. Did they know, for instance, that Griswold v. Connecticut, the case that had decriminalized birth control, had started when Estelle Griswold, the executive director of Planned Parenthood in Connecticut, and her husband, a doctor, were tried in the early 1960s for being accessories to providing illegal contraception?

“What’cha working on?” Odessa asked, rapping on the door. Odessa’s clothes resembled hers, only the sweater was a soft ballet pink and she had on matching ballet flats.

“Flaherty.”

“You’ll be interested in this, then,” Odessa said, brandishing her phone. “Patricia Dunbar is pregnant.”

“The owner of the embryos? Why is that relevant?”

“I guess you’re taking a property angle?”

“It is one of several angles I’m considering.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell Maximus.”

“I wasn’t worried. Why does it matter that she’s pregnant?”

Odessa cocked her head to the side. “The media is going nuts for one. Plus, isn’t one of the Flahertys’ arguments that Patricia promised she’d use the embryos herself when she was ready?”

“First of all, who cares about the media. Second, that’s not an enforceable promise.”

“Hey now, come on. No need to make lists at me like I’m Gabriel or Jack. It’s just us.”

Charlotte felt the heat rise in her cheeks. Her tone had been too loud for this small space. “Sorry.”

“Forget it.”

“You think the Flahertys should win?”

Odessa stretched her arms above her head. “I’m not sure, to be honest.”

“But what if the surrogacy works?” Charlotte said, working to keep her voice in a conversational tone. “Patricia Dunbar would be forced to have a child when she didn’t want to.”

“She wants a child,” Odessa said, “just not this child.”

“Isn’t that her choice to make?”

“That’s what I thought at first, but now, I don’t know … There’s no case that establishes a right not to have a child, right? All the precedents are about a woman’s right to control her own body.”

“A child is a part of you whether you birthed it or not.”

“But that’s the argument the men’s rights groups make.” Odessa pointed toward the window. “All those guys who’ve been standing out there since we granted cert, waving their signs and screaming about ‘their rights.’ You don’t side with them, do you?”

“It’s not the same thing,” Charlotte said lamely. She felt as if her brain wasn’t working properly. There must be a precedent she could use to shut this argument down, but it wasn’t coming to her.

“I think—”

“—And there’s no precedent establishing a right to custody for the Flahertys,” Charlotte rushed in.

“What if they establish that the parents are unfit?” Odessa asked.

“Patricia Dunbar’s not an unfit mother.”

“Wanting to destroy the embryos could be considered as being unfit.”

Charlotte’s voice rose. “That’s a slippery slope, what if—”

Odessa threw her hands up. “No, no, not the slippery slope …” She made a flailing gesture with her arms, as if she was sliding down a slippery slope herself, then started to laugh.

Charlotte forced herself to laugh along with her, but it took a lot of effort. Charlotte didn’t like to lose an argument, especially one she believed in to her core. But she’d lost this one, even though she was sure Odessa agreed with her about choice, and it left her feeling unsure in a way she couldn’t make sense of.

She turned back to her work, hoping to find the answers where they’d always lain: in the judgments this Court had already written.

#

An hour later, Charlotte printed off her memo and took it to Justice Russo’s office. She was dressed casually, too. Well, casually for Justice Russo. Her hair was in her signature chignon, but she was wearing slacks and a black cable-knit sweater. She was sitting at her desk, which had a neat row of case files organized by order of priority across the left-hand side, but she wasn’t reading through any of them. Instead, she’d tipped the paper clips out of the receptacle they usually sat in, and was in the process of making a long, linked chain.

“Justice Russo?” Charlotte asked from the doorway.

“Yes, Ada?”

Charlotte’s heart stopped. She’d called Gabriel “Andrew” recently. And now she was getting her name wrong. What was happening? “It’s Charlotte.”

Justice Russo frowned. “Yes?”

“I have the bench memo for you on the Flaherty case.”

“Come in.”

Charlotte walked in and handed the memo over. Justice Russo started to read it. She liked her clerks to wait while she did so, so she could give them immediate feedback. It was always a nervous few minutes where it wasn’t clear what she should be doing. Charlotte fixed her eyes on one piece of art, memorizing it. So far this year, she’d committed eight to memory.

Justice Russo lowered the memo and took off her glasses. “An excellent piece of work as usual, Charlotte.”

Charlotte felt relief, though the name mistake still niggled. “Thank you.”

“Please start drafting my opinion.”

“Your opinion?”

“Yes, the opinion I’ll render in this case.”

“But we haven’t heard the case yet. It’s set down for December. And doesn’t the Chief usually assign the opinions after oral argument?”

Justice Russo waved her hand. “No matter, we know how this is going to go.”

“We do?”

“They’ve been looking for a chance to find that the mother doesn’t have the right to decide what to do with her body for years, and this case is the perfect venue.”

Charlotte wasn’t entirely sure who “they” were, but she could guess. The right-wing faction of the Court, who were looking for a chance to overturn Roe v. Wade.

“But …” Charlotte said.

“Yes?”

“The embryos aren’t in her body.”

“Precisely,” Justice Russo said. “You can go.”

#

Back in her office, Charlotte wasn’t quite sure what to do. She had a plan for each day, each hour mapped out with goals; there was no room in the plan for trying to determine whether there was something cognitively wrong with her justice. Maybe she should email Ada or Benjamin? Was this what they’d been warning her about in July?

She took her phone out of her purse to write them an email from her personal account. It started to ring. Charlotte almost dropped it, surprised, then realized it was her mother.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Are you okay?”

Charlotte sat back in her chair. “Of course. Why?”

“We haven’t heard from you for three days.”

“I’m busy.”

She heard her mother give a large sniff.

“Are you crying?” Charlotte asked.

“Maybe. Maybe a little.”

“It’s normal for an adult child not to be in contact with their parents for several days at a time, Mom. Sometimes weeks even. I don’t think Jack is even on speaking terms with his parents.”

Charlotte’s mother started to laugh. “Oh, honey. It’s not that. I’m happy.”

Charlotte felt muddled. Who cried when they were happy? “Why?”

“Because you’re finally pushing away,” her mother said. “That’s a good thing.”

“You’re being very confusing today.”

“I know. That’s all right. We love you very much.”

She glanced at the picture of her parents and sisters on her desk. She was the only one not looking directly at the camera, but it captured everyone else perfectly, so it was the photo she’d chosen. “I love you too.”

“Good, good. And you don’t have to write us every day if you don’t want to.”

“I know,” Charlotte said.

“Just one thing?”

“What?”

“Don’t start calling me ‘mother’ in that tone your sisters use, okay?”

#

Ten minutes later, Jack walked into the office.

“Hey, Charmin.”

“Stop it,” Charlotte said with every ounce of frustration she hadn’t directed at her mother. “My name is Charlotte.”

Jack grinned. He was wearing basketball shorts and a long tank top with a name on it she didn’t recognize. “I would’ve thought you’d appreciate the time I take to come up with these.”

“Not really.”

“Sorry.”

“Why are you dressed like that?”

“Because it’s time for our inaugural game. Russo v. Maxwell. And you’re playing.”

“I am?”

“Yes, it’s mandatory.”

“But I have work to do.”

“That can wait till tomorrow, surely,” Justice Russo said.

Jack stepped aside to give her room, looking flustered. “I didn’t know you were in today, Boss.”

Charlotte supressed a laugh. Jack was now as red as his shirt.

“I could say the same for you,” Justice Russo said. “What’s this about a basketball game?”

“We want Charlotte to play.”

Justice Russo nodded. “Of course, she will be good tactically.”

“What about the … what you wanted me to work on?” Charlotte asked.

“That can wait. Go, have fun.”

“Did you want to play, Boss?” Jack asked.

“I have a headache. But otherwise, I would.”

Neither Charlotte nor Jack could tell if she was joking. They exchanged a glance, then Jack grinned again. “Next time?”

“Definitely,” Justice Russo said, then winked.

#

Thirty minutes later, the clerks were gathered on the basketball court. The highest court in the land, Charlotte thought, remembering their tour in July. It was right above the hearing room, which was definitely not in session.

Jack had gathered Hanna and Michael from their office. Maxwell’s clerks were also on the court. Odessa and Gabriel, of course, and then Julia and Robert.

Their eyes met. Most of their communication was through their daily Boggle games, but occasionally they’d text, mostly about nothing. Nothing of significance, anyway, though it was always interesting to Charlotte. She loved his wry observations about the Court and the news and cataloged each of the facts he told her about himself. He had two sisters, too, for instance, though his parents weren’t hoverers like hers.

She supposed they were flirting, but Charlotte didn’t really know how to flirt. She’d tried to watch movies to learn, but other than the “meet cute”—whatever contrived way the writers had thought up for the two eventual lovers to meet—the actual flirting was usually covered over by a musical montage, she’d noticed. And even when it wasn’t, it wasn’t something instructional. The one time she’d tried to flip her hair while watching herself in the mirror, she’d ended up looking insane. Today she’d beaten him with TRAIN, RAIN, RAN, NAIR, TRIN, AIR.

“Hey, Charlotte,” Robert said simply as he walked by in a pair of shorts and a tight T-shirt that showed that he still had enough time to go to the gym. He smiled at her as he spoke, and Charlotte started to forget her worry about Russo, and all the thoughts racing around in her head.

“Okay, everyone! Huddle up.” Jack quickly took command. “Canada-Hanna, you and Michael are with me and Charlotte. Chambers on chambers folks. Sound good, Gabriel?”

Gabriel puffed out his chest. He was wearing running shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. He didn’t have an ounce of fat on him. “We’re ready.”

“Did you know that basketball was invented in Canada?” Hanna said.

“You don’t say,” Jack drawled. “That must be why you’ve filled up the NBA.”

“There’s plenty of Canadians in the NBA. Andrew Wiggins, Jamal Murray … Oh, all right, all right …” Hanna started to laugh at herself as Jack rolled his eyes. “But it’s true about who invented basketball. Right, Charlotte?”

Charlotte knew she was just trying to be nice, but Hanna was also using her as Google, which was a tendency that people had that got on her nerves. Couldn’t they just take out their phones and check themselves?

“I don’t know,” Charlotte lied. Fibbing felt strangely good.

“Okay, let’s get going.” Jack passed the basketball to Gabriel with force. “You can start.”

Gabriel reacted a moment too late and the ball slapped against his flat stomach. “A nice, friendly game, right, Jack?”

“Nothing but.”

Gabriel looked over at Julia, whose blonde hair was up in a high ponytail and who looked like she probably did when she played for her high school basketball team, all laser-focus and energy. He tossed her the ball and they executed a perfect play with Gabriel going for an alley-oop. 2-0.

“What are we playing to, by the way?” Gabriel bounced the ball to Jack.

“Twenty-one,” Jack said between gritted teeth.

It got rough pretty quickly after that. Charlotte was enjoying herself anyway, though she took care to stay away from the scrums Jack and Gabriel got into, throwing elbows and once almost wrestling for the ball. Odessa didn’t seem to be having as much fun. She wasn’t running up and down the court like the others, hanging out at center court instead.

“You okay?” Charlotte asked after Jack scored a basket. It was 12-8 in favor of the Chief’s chambers.

“I’m having a flare-up,” Odessa said.

“I’m sure you could sit out.”

“Come with me?”

Charlotte hesitated. The others weren’t passing much to her, but she wanted to keep playing anyway.

“Please?” Odessa said. “It will be less of a thing that way.”

They made their way to the side of the court, standing next to the pile of bags and clothes that had been tossed there.

“Odessa and I are subbing out!” Charlotte yelled.

Jack flapped his hand at her, giving Gabriel the opportunity to steal the ball.

“Those guys are going to kill each other,” Odessa said as she leaned against the wall.

Charlotte imitated her. “It’s just good fun.”

“You think so?”

“Sure. Why not?”

Odessa looked out at the court. Jack was waving his arms in front of Robert, trying to distract him from executing a pass to Julia.

“What do you think of him?” Odessa asked.

“Robert?”

“No, Jack.” Odessa punched her lightly in the arm. “How are things going with Boggle Robert, by the way? Did you finally ask him out?”

Charlotte felt shy, even though Odessa had given her a whole plan for how to turn their relationship romantic. She was supposed to ignore him for a few days, then ask him out, so he’d be kept off-balance. It seemed unnecessarily complicated to her. “He’s still very good at Boggle.”

“Is that some kind of metaphor?”

“I don’t follow.”

Odessa laughed. “It’s fine. I was just making a joke.”

Charlotte watched Robert dribble the ball. “He’s very good-looking, don’t you think?”

Odessa watched him for a moment. “Yes. I can see it. Go, Charlotte.”

Charlotte looked down at her shoes. She wasn’t sure she was ready to “go.” She hadn’t been with someone in a couple of years. Not since her second year of law school when she’d had a summer thing with the other clerk who was working with her for a circuit judge.

“We’ll see. He’s probably not interested.”

“I bet he is.”

Charlotte shrugged. “So, you’re into Jack?”

It was Odessa’s turn to look at the floor. “That would be stupid of me, right? I mean, he’s a player.”

“Maybe not. He was with Emily for a long time.”

“You knew them, yes? At Yale?”

“A bit.”

“What was she like?”

Charlotte thought back. “I think you’d call her a total bitch.”

“Ha!” Odessa laughed. “So, he likes bitchy women?”

“I don’t know what kind of woman he likes. I only knew him with Emily.”

“That’s something, anyway. We’re having breakfast tomorrow.”

Charlotte pumped her fist. “Go, Odessa!”

Jack looked over.

“I think he heard that,” Odessa said.

“So what?” Charlotte said. “He’d be a good change for you after David.”

“Based on?”

“His Netflix preferences, for one.”

#

The game ended in bruised egos. Everyone cleaned themselves up and made their way to First Street Bar for an after-game drink. It was pretty deserted for a Sunday; a few die-hard hockey fans were watching the Capitals play the Montreal Canadiens.

Hanna’s eyes traveled to the screen and lit up, but Jack headed her off before she could get started.

“Oh, no. No hockey stats, please.”

“Don’t be mean, Jack,” Odessa said. “You a Canadiens fan, Hanna?”

“I used to be. They’ve sucked pretty bad for a while now.”

“See, Jack. You’re so quick to jump to conclusions.”

“You’re right.” He held out at a chair. “Hanna, this chair is for you.”

Hanna took the chair but didn’t look mollified. She turned her back on Jack and began talking to Julie.

“Oh, well,” Jack said to Odessa. “Can’t win ‘em all.”

“Or any of them,” Odessa replied.

“Ouch,” Jack said. “True. But there’s one good thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Winners pay.”

“Fair enough,” Robert said. Gabriel looked pissed, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He and Robert took everyone’s orders and went up to the bar, coming back a few minutes later with a few pitchers and a waitress trailing behind with the mixed drinks Odessa and Hanna had ordered.

Charlotte checked her watch. It was a little after five. She could eat something quickly, then get back to the Court to start working on that memo. She also wanted to review the bench memos that had been prepared by the other clerks for tomorrow’s hearing—a case involving redistricting in Iowa.

“You got somewhere you need to be?” Michael asked, catching her checking the time. He was seated to her right and still smelled of sweat from the basketball game. Michael had also been at Yale Law, but they’d never spoken until he arrived at the Court.

“I have some work to do on the embryo case,” Charlotte said.

“Good times.”

“I think it’s very interesting,” Robert said, smiling at Charlotte shyly. She smiled back. Maybe she should ask him for a date. “Especially the property angle.”

“What about it?” Odessa asked.

“Well, the will for one. He left everything to his parents.”

“There’s no way he thought that would include embryos,” Odessa said. “He was only twenty when he made that will.”

“But he didn’t specify ownership in case of death in the fertility forms, either. Or change his will. Maybe that was what he wanted?”

“Patricia Dunbar testified that they never discussed it,” Charlotte said. “She thought he’d forgotten he’d even made that will.”

“So, they didn’t give any thought to who would get the eggs if they died?” Robert asked. “Like should they be donated or destroyed?”

“No,” Charlotte said. “I—”

“What I don’t get,” Michael said in a slightly pompous tone, “is why anyone would donate their eggs to someone else. Then you have a kid wandering around who’s yours, but you don’t even know?”

“I assume you’d say the same about sperm donation, then?” Odessa said.

“Not necessarily.”

“What?”

Michael picked up his beer. “Men are historically programmed to spread their seed—”

“Dude,” Jack said, shaking his head. “Bad idea.”

Michael wiped the foam off his upper lip. “It’s true. Plus, women care more about this shit. Biological connection and all that. Come on, Odessa. There’s no way you’d donate your eggs, right?”

“I might.”

“Please.”

“Do you know how much my eggs are worth?”

“Twenty-three thousand dollars,” Charlotte said. “Given everything.”

“How the hell do you know that?” Michael asked.

“Didn’t you ever notice those ads in the Yale Daily News?” Charlotte said. “There’s a lot of companies looking for Ivy Leaguers with good SAT scores. Extra bonus points for law degrees, clerkships, etc.”

“Sounds like you looked into it pretty thoroughly,” Michael said. “Which I assume means that you donated yourself.”

“That’s so rude,” Odessa said. “How’d you like if I asked you if you’d donated sperm?”

“I have,” Gabriel said.

“Dude.” Jack clinked his glass against Gabriel’s. “Well done.” Odessa glared at him. Jack lowered his glass quickly. “What? Isn’t it nice to help someone have a kid if they can’t?”

“I didn’t think about that, actually,” Gabriel said. “I just needed the money.”

“How much for a load?” Michael asked.

“Ew, gross,” Hanna said. “Did you know that in Quebec, you aren’t allowed to sell reproductive items? Or any body parts, really.”

“You don’t say …” Jack said.

“Jack,” Odessa warned.

“I think it’s a perfectly respectable way to earn money,” Charlotte said. “And to answer your earlier question, no, I did not donate my eggs, though I did consider it. In fact …” Charlotte glanced at Robert, then looked away. “My plan is to freeze my eggs at thirty if I’m not in a committed relationship.”

“You’d be a single mom?” Michael said. “Even with your—”

“Honestly, dude,” Jack said. “What the fuck is wrong with you today?”

“What? I—”

Jack leaned toward Michael with a menacing look on his face. “I mean it, buddy. Quit talking before I make you regret it.”

Charlotte looked at the floor. She wasn’t someone who usually had many regrets, but this one time she wished she’d kept her mouth shut.

Under the table, Odessa reached out and squeezed her hand. Charlotte looked up to thank her, but Odessa was gazing at Jack.

Maybe speaking out wasn’t such a bad thing, after all.

#

Monday morning. Charlotte went through her morning routine by rote. It was an argument day, which she was growing to love. It was the moment when she most felt as if she was a part of creating the future. Watching the lawyers argue. Knowing how her justice felt about the case. Hearing the questions she’d helped craft get asked and answered, sometimes well, sometimes badly. It was like watching a big clock from the inside, all the gears meshing.

It was a damp fall day, not raining yet, but threatening. Charlotte walked by the usual pack of protestors. Frank waved his sign at her: THE CHIEF IS THE BABY DADY! it said. Wouldn’t that be something.

She left her coat and bag in her office before heading in to say good morning to Justice Russo. But Charlotte could tell by the way the floors echoed that she was the only one in the office. She knocked on Russo’s door anyway, then pushed open the door. Everything was in order, but Justice Russo wasn’t there. Unease settled into Charlotte’s shoulders.

She had a bad feeling about this.

#

Jack shuffled nervously at the counter of Le Bon Café, waiting to place his order. He glanced over his shoulder at Odessa, who was sitting at a table near the window. They were finally doing it, their date. Breakfast. Casual, though Jack felt anything but. He was strangely nervous. Despite his playboy image, he hadn’t been on a date in years. And given his reaction to the news that Emily was dating again, he probably wasn’t over her. This was probably a bad idea. He and Odessa shared a house—

“Order, sir?”

“Oh, right. Two croissants and two café au laits, please.”

He paid and took the number the waitress gave him and brought it to their table.

“Should be a couple minutes,” he said.

“Great, I’m starving.”

Jack sat down and picked up a spoon. He tapped it against the table, then stopped himself.

“Jack?”

He looked at Odessa. She smiled at him. “It’s just me.”

“Right.”

“Is this weird, us doing this?”

“A bit. It’s been a while.”

“Me too.”

“Oh,” Jack said. He’d picked up over the last couple months that Odessa had an ex, but he didn’t know anything about him. Other than he was an idiot, obviously, if he let Odessa go. “When did you and … David break up?”

“At the interviews. Well, after, technically. But yeah. The day you and I met.”

“That feels like a long time ago.”

Odessa smiled. “Right?”

“What happened, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“I got the job. He didn’t.”

“That simple?”

“In the end, yeah.”

A waitress brought their order over. Odessa picked up her croissant and bit into it. “Oh my God, so good.”

Jack grinned.

“What?” Odessa asked.

“I’m just appreciating the way you eat.”

“Emily not an eater?”

Jack’s nerves were back. “Not so much.”

“What happened there?” Odessa echoed him.

“You think I cheated on her, don’t you?”

Odessa took a sip of her coffee. “Did you?”

“No. I— I don’t know what happened, to be honest.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right,” Jack said. “Probably for the best. I mean, I’m definitely happy to be here with you right now.”

Odessa smiled. “Good.”

“You?”

“Yes.”

#

Charlotte worked on the memo for the next hour. Drafting was something she was still finding her way into. She never worried about getting the law right, that was like a clock to her, too, a big system that fit together. But she didn’t quite have the knack of writing with ease. The best opinions were stories, Justice Russo had said, and she wasn’t a natural storyteller.

She checked the time. Eight. Surely, Justice Russo was in by now?

“She’s not in yet,” Jessica said when Charlotte went to check. She was Justice Russo’s first assistant. Fifty and serious, she ran the chambers well.

“Have you heard from her?” Charlotte asked.

“I’m sure she’s just stuck in traffic.” Jessica’s tone seemed neutral, but Charlotte couldn’t be sure. The touch of anxiety she felt could be hers alone. She didn’t feel as if she could ask.

She went back to her office and wrote Justice Russo a quick email. Unlike some of the other justices, the Boss wasn’t a technophobe. She usually answered emails quickly, but not this time.

Charlotte tried to concentrate on the memo, but she couldn’t. 8:15 and still no answer from Russo. Arguments started at 10.

She left her office, intending to ask Jessica to do something. Instead, she ran into Jack.

“What’s up?” Jack bounced on his toes like a puppy. He was always positive, but he seemed extra bouncy this morning.

“Have you seen the Boss?” Charlotte asked.

“Nope. Why?”

“She’s not here.”

“Really? That’s odd.”

“Yes.”

“Did you speak to Jessica?”

“She hasn’t heard from her.”

“Why don’t you call her?” Jack said.

“I don’t have her number.”

Jack pulled out his phone. He scrolled through his contacts and made a call.

“How do you have her number?” Charlotte asked.

He shrugged and raised a finger to his lips. Charlotte could hear the phone ringing and ringing and ringing on the other end. Jack hung up.

“Maybe she’s in the car?” Jack said.

“She has hands free.” Charlotte had even seen her use it when they’d gone to lunch one day. “We should call the Marshals’ Service. They can go check her house.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Jack said.

“Only …”

“What?” Jack asked.

Charlotte spoke quietly. “If I do that then they’ll know.”

“Know what?”

Charlotte sucked on her teeth, stopping the words from flying out. “I can’t say.”

“If you don’t want the marshals to find her, you’d better go yourself.”

Charlotte felt relieved. Yes, she could do that. She could go herself. She could go to her house and find her and then …

She didn’t know what then.

Charlotte spent an anxious twenty minutes in an Uber trying not to stalker-dial Justice Russo on the way to her house in Georgetown. When she got there, she nearly tripped out of the car and rushed up the steps of the redbrick three-story. She rang the doorbell, fearful that she wouldn’t get an answer, but then she heard someone shuffling to the door.

“Ada, what are you doing here?” Justice Russo asked. She was wearing a robe and her hair was down and tousled. She looked so different, her eyes unfocused, her poise absent.

“Are you okay?” Charlotte said.

“Why do you ask, dear?”

“You need to be at the Court in an hour.”

Justice Russo’s face creased. “Why?”

“The redistricting case? It’s being heard today.”

Justice Russo turned away from her and walked into the house. Charlotte followed, closing the door behind her. Most of the lights were off and it was gloomy in the hall.

“Justice Russo?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Did you forget?”

Justice Russo stopped in front of a family photograph that hung on her wall. Her nieces, Charlotte thought, young and carefree on a beach.

“Why are we having a hearing on a Sunday? Is someone about to die?”

Charlotte felt as if she was going to cry. She should’ve brought Jack with her. Someone who was good at improvising. But Jack was back at the Court. She was the one who was going to have to deal with this.

She took at her phone and Googled “signs of a stroke.” A series of questions popped up.

“Justice Russo, can you show me your teeth?”

“What, dear?”

“Can you smile for me?”

Justice Russo smiled. Both ends were even, and she looked more like herself.

“Can you close your eyes and raise your arms?” Charlotte asked.

“Why?”

“Please, just do it?”

Justice Russo closed her eyes and raised her arms. Both went to the same height. One more test to go.

Charlotte took a deep breath. “Can you say, ‘The sky is blue in Cincinnati’?”

“With my eyes closed?”

“You can open your eyes. And lower your arms.”

Justice Russo followed her instructions. Her eyes still looked vulnerable and confused. Charlotte knew that if Justice Russo was herself there was no way she’d do what Charlotte was asking so easily. Whatever the result of this test, something was very wrong.

“What’s the phrase again?” Justice Russo asked.

“The sky is blue in Cincinnati.”

“The sky is blue in Cincinnati.” She looked out the window. “But gray in Washington.”

#

Jack sat at his desk and watched the clock. It was 8:45. He knew from the lap he’d taken around the building that all of the justices were in. Jessica was openly fretting, talking to Cindy, the second assistant. He didn’t know what was going on, but whatever it was, he was in it with Charlotte now.

He went to speak to Jessica.

“She called. Justice Russo.”

“Oh, thank goodness. I was starting to get worried.”

“She was having car trouble.”

“Why didn’t she call me?”

“I think she was going to, but Charlotte called first, so …”

“Excellent. I’ll let the marshals know.”

“The marshals?” Jack asked, feeling nervous. This was exactly what Charlotte didn’t want.

“I called them when she wasn’t answering my calls. Standard protocol.”

“Got it. Well, you can call them off. Charlotte’s on it.”

He gave her the smile that had always gotten him out of trouble in the past, but he wasn’t sure it was going to work today.

He walked back to his office and made a call.

“Charlotte? We have a problem.”

#

Gabriel was feeling good that morning. He’d had a productive session with the Chief at seven-thirty, feeding him questions to ask the ACLU. Gabriel was particularly proud of the question he’d based around something the ACLU had argued in another case, which in his view squarely contradicted the position it was taking now. Not that he believed in gerrymandering voting districts to win elections, but he could get behind it being a state issue. He was pretty certain he knew where the Chief was going to land, already mentally updating his spreadsheet.

His plan was to stake out a good seat to watch the oral argument, but he still had plenty of time to do that, so he stopped in the cafeteria for a coffee.

Dana was there, standing with that watchful look she had, like she was ready to x-ray his brain.

“Hey, Dana.”

“Gabriel, great. Just the man I was looking for.”

“Oh?”

She took a step toward him and lowered her voice. “Rumor has it that Russo’s missing.”

“Missing? Like kidnapped?”

“More like AWOL.”

“Who told you that?”

“You know I can’t reveal my sources.”

Gabriel wondered who that was, and not for the first time. “Sure.”

“You heard anything?” Dana asked eagerly.

“I haven’t.”

She placed her hand lightly on his arm. “Let me know if you do?”

Gabriel shrugged her off. “You know I can’t.”

“Oh, that’s a shame. I guess you don’t mind if everyone knows.”

“Knows what?”

Dana narrowed her eyes. “About how you weren’t the Chief’s first choice for clerk. Must be awkward, living in a house with Jack and all.”

Anger rose in Gabriel’s chest. “Are you threatening me?”

“Of course not. I’m simply motivating you to help me out.” She turned and left the room. Gabriel watched her go, his heart thumping.

What was he supposed to do now?

#

Charlotte hung up the phone with Jack. They had a plan. Hopefully Jessica’s call would turn the marshals around. But if not, then she’d be ready for them. And Russo would be ready, too.

They were in Justice Russo’s bathroom. Thankfully, her clothes were as organized as her office, suits lined up perfectly in her large walk-in closet. She’d worked with Russo long enough to know what she wore together. This necklace, these earrings, those shoes. She was most nervous about getting her hair in place, but Russo seemed to come back to herself after a while, sitting in front of her makeup mirror. She smiled at Charlotte, then took the brush from Charlotte and began to shape her hair with a practiced hand.

Charlotte checked her watch. 9:15. They had to leave in ten minutes to have any chance of being there in time.

“Did you want me to do your makeup?” Charlotte asked.

“I can— Oh, dear. Who can that be?”

The raps on the front door matched the beats of Charlotte’s heart.

“I’ll go check. Maybe just a bit of mascara?” Charlotte pushed the wand toward her, then flew out of the room and downstairs to the front door.

Two marshals stood there in plain-clothes dark suits. “Charlotte Maine?”

“Yes. How can I help you, officers?”

“Where is Justice Russo?”

“She’s upstairs getting dressed.”

The taller one stared at her unblinking. “We need eyes on her.”

“Is that really necessary? She’s running late.”

“Car trouble, we understood?”

“No,” Charlotte said, repeating the lie she and Jack had worked on when they realized that the car trouble excuse wouldn’t hold up if the car was checked. “It was the alarm. She must have had a power blip last night.”

“We still need eyes on her.”

“Eyes on who?” Justice Russo asked behind her.

Charlotte nearly sank into the floor in relief. Justice Russo sounded fine. Normal.

“Everything okay here, ma’am?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Your assistant had trouble reaching you this morning.”

“I forgot to plug in my phone, silly me.” She smiled. “Thankfully, A … Charlotte here is quite resourceful.”

“Are you ready to go?” he asked.

“Go where?”

“To Court.”

Justice Russo straightened her shoulders. “I’ll drive myself, thank you very much.”

“Perhaps,” Charlotte started. “Perhaps it would be a good idea to take the lift? Given the time?” Justice Russo frowned. “You wouldn’t want to be late for the hearing.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“Give us five minutes?” Charlotte asked.

The taller marshal nodded. “We’ll be in the car.”

#

We’re in the car, Charlotte’s text to Jack said. Jack slumped down in his chair as tension flooded out of him. It was going to be tight, but the marshals could always hit the sirens, Jack assumed, and make it on time.

“Hey.”

Jack almost fell out of his chair as he spun around and saw Odessa in the doorway. Some of his nervousness returned.

“Hey.”

“Thanks again for breakfast,” Odessa said.

“My pleasure,” he said, standing. “Maybe we could have dinner later this week?”

He tried to sound casual, but he was pretty sure he was blowing it.

“I’d like that.”

“Great. Thursday? I’ll pick a fun place.”

Odessa smiled. “Sounds good. Any idea why Gabriel would be sniffing around for information about Russo?”

“What?” Jack asked, his heart racing. “No. Why?”

“He said there was a rumor she’s missing.”

“Fucking Gabriel.”

“Is she?”

“Of course not. Her alarm failed or something. Charlotte’s with her.”

“You sure that’s all?”

Their eyes met. Jack didn’t want to keep anything from her, but what did he know? Nothing. Besides, whatever was going on, he didn’t want to get Charlotte in trouble, or Justice Russo either.

“I’m sure,” Jack said.

“All right. You coming down for the hearing?”

“In a few minutes. Save me a seat?”

Odessa nodded and left. Jack counted to ten in his head, waiting to be sure that Odessa was far enough away before he picked up his phone and called Charlotte.

“Some bad news,” he said when she picked up. “Gabriel knows.”

#

Charlotte sat with Justice Russo in the back of the black unmarked marshal’s vehicle. There wasn’t much she could say to her in the car without the marshals hearing, so she watched the road and thought about what Jack said. The traffic was amazingly light, and soon they were nearing the Court.

“Is there a back way?” Charlotte asked the marshal driving the car.

The marshal turned his head. “Ma’am?”

“Somewhere you can take us where people won’t notice that you drove her in.”

Their eyes met in the rear-view mirror. “The garage is underground.”

“And no one else is allowed down there, right?”

“Only the justices,” Justice Russo said.

“Perfect.” She picked up her phone. It was 9:38. “We have a plan.”

#

Jack felt better when he hung up with Charlotte. This—whatever this was—would work. He felt keyed up, full of energy.

He stood and stretched, leaving his office and nearly running into Gabriel in the hall.

“What are you doing here?” Jack asked, annoyed. Why couldn’t Gabriel stay out of it?

Gabriel looked stung by Jack’s tone. “Is Justice Russo in?”

“What’s it to you?” Jack asked.

“I heard she was missing.”

“From who?”

“Dana.”

Jack’s stomach churned. He should’ve known. “That Under Their Robes woman?”

“Is she right?” Gabriel pressed.

“No,” Jack said.

Gabriel looked around. “Where is she, then?”

“She’s two minutes away.”

“What’s going on? Why was she late?”

Jack balled his hand into a fist against his leg. He wasn’t going to fight Gabriel, but it felt good to imagine it. They’d gotten physical in their basketball game, and his ego still felt bruised. But anger wouldn’t help here. Truthful Charlotte had asked him to keep this to himself. He was going to do it.

“There’s no secret,” Jack said through clenched teeth. “She was running late, that’s all.”

“Where’s Charlotte?”

“What’s with all the questions? Don’t you have work to do?”

Gabriel made a dismissive motion. “I’m going to watch the hearing.”

“Go, then. And stop being such a gossip.”

Gabriel gave him a look, then spun on his heel. Jack texted Charlotte.

Heads up … Dana from Under Their Robes is investigating.

#

Jack met Charlotte and Russo in the hallway where the elevator from the garage was. He was carrying Justice Russo’s robe, and they ducked into an empty office to let her put it on.

“So, I was thinking you should ask the AG what the purpose was behind the redistricting,” Jack said in an animated tone while Charlotte helped Justice Russo get dressed for the hearing. “His submissions didn’t really address that point, even though it’s been squarely raised by the ACLU.”

“Yes, I’d noticed that,” Justice Russo said archly. “Such arrogance.”

Charlotte smiled. “I put a list of questions in your notebook.”

Justice Russo patted her hand. “Thank you, dear. Now, I suspect my brethren are wondering where I’ve been.”

“Alarm problems,” Jack said. “That’s what we told everyone.”

“Ah, yes.” Justice Russo nodded. “I slept right through my normal hour for waking, I believe. I slept badly two nights ago.”

Charlotte closed the top button on her robe. “Yes, but you’re feeling much better now.”

“I am.”

They opened the door and walked down the hall to the room where the other Justices gathered before taking the bench. The tradition was that they all shook hands before walking out, and they entered the room in an order of precedence that reminded Charlotte of the Elizabethan court.

Jack touched her elbow. “I’ll see you in the Courtroom?”

“Yes,” Justice Russo said. “Thank you.”

“No problem.”

Charlotte and Justice Russo continued down the hall. They stopped in front of the large oak door. Charlotte reached out and brushed a speck of lint off Justice Russo’s shoulder.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

Justice Russo smiled. “I’m fine. Thank you for your help today.”

“Anytime.”

“Let’s hope that’s not required.”

Charlotte slipped into the clerks’ section of the hearing room a few moments later. Most of the seats were taken, and Charlotte resigned herself to standing for the next several hours. Then a dark head turned around. It was Robert. He motioned to the empty seat next to him. She smiled and pushed her way past several other clerks and sat down.

“You haven’t played the game I sent you this morning,” Robert said.

“I’ve been busy,” Charlotte said impatiently.

“Last-minute questions for Russo?”

“Something like that.”

Robert looked at her. “I was … worried.”

Maybe Odessa’s advice was right? Men liked to be ignored? “Oh?”

“I’m not much of a challenge for you,” Robert said sheepishly. “I thought maybe … you’d moved onto another player.”

“You’ve almost beaten me twice.”

“So, you want to keep on playing?”

“Of course.” She paused. “We should have dinner.”

“We should?”

“If you want to.”

“Yes. Very much so.”

“Good.”

They smiled at one another. Charlotte felt as if she should say something else, but she couldn’t think of anything.

“Oyez, Oyez, Oyez!” the clerk said. “The Supreme Court of the United States is now in session.”

The room rose as one as the doors opened. Charlotte watched Russo take her seat, looking sharp and alert.

“Be seated,” the Chief said. “Now, we’ll hear argument in the State of Iowa v. American Civil Liberties Union. Ms. Price?”

The clerk called the case. The Attorney General for Iowa rose and walked to the podium.

“May it please the Court. The issue before us today is whether a state is free to draw its own boundary lines—”

“Tell me, Ms. Price,” Justice Russo said. “What is your response to the ACLU’s main argument that there is no proper purpose to the districts as drawn?”

Charlotte wanted to throw her fist in the air. Instead, she simply smiled at the floor.

#

When the argument was over, Charlotte went back to chambers. Jack was sitting in their office, stretching out a rubber band he’d picked up from the neat pile of them on her desk.

“You going to tell me what’s going on?” Jack asked in a low tone.

Charlotte looked over her shoulder. There wasn’t anybody there, but she felt like she needed to check anyway.

“Something’s wrong with the Boss,” Charlotte said.

Jack looked impatient. “That much I got. What is it?”

Charlotte sat down at her desk. “She’s making mistakes.”

“Like with that case last week? That citation that didn’t exist?”

“It existed, but it was wrong.”

“Whatever,” Jack said dismissively.

“Not whatever. She doesn’t make mistakes, Jack.”

“Everyone makes mistakes.”

Not me, Charlotte thought. “Not her. Not with basic things like case citations.”

“So, what? She has Alzheimer’s?”

“I don’t know.”

Jack stretched the rubber band until Charlotte thought it might pop. “This is pretty fucking serious!”

Charlotte’s throat constricted. “Please don’t yell at me.”

“I mean it, Charlotte. We have to do something.”

“I have been doing something.”

“Like what? Writing her opinions?”

“I—”

Jack fell back in his seat. “Oh my God. And what about today? What was going on?”

Charlotte’s voice shook. “She was so confused when I got there this morning. She thought it was Sunday. She called me Ada.”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Jack pounded Charlotte’s desk.

“Why are you so angry?” Charlotte asked, feeling scared.

“Because this is bad, Charlotte. Don’t you realize? You’ve been covering up a major medical problem of a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States … Ah, no, don’t do that.”

Charlotte felt tears splashing down her cheeks. “I didn’t … I didn’t mean to do anything wrong.”

“No, it’s okay.” Jack softened his voice. “Please don’t cry. Shit.”

Charlotte wiped away her tears, but they wouldn’t stop. Her dream was dissolving around her and there was no one to help her but Jack Kerridge. The guy who could barely make it into the office on time, most days.

“Come on, Charlotte. It’s okay. We’ll figure it out.”

Charlotte took a deep breath. She knew what this was. She’d seen it in those movies she’d studied. She was supposed to look up at Jack and ask him what they should do. But no. She wasn’t that girl. As Jack would say: fuck that.

“I’ve got it,” Charlotte said, wiping away the final tears, getting control of herself.

“I can help,” Jack said.

Charlotte waved him away. “It’s fine. Thank you for today. I appreciate it.”

“You don’t have to do this alone.”

“I have to do everything alone, Jack. But don’t worry about me.” She put on one of the fake smiles she learned from those movies, too. “I’m used to it.”

#

Odessa began backing away from Charlotte and Jack’s office once Charlotte started crying. She didn’t want to be caught there, listening in on Charlotte’s confession.

But what did it all mean? she wondered as she walked down the hall.

Justice Russo was having some kind of medical breakdown. That was serious. Important. People would notice. Gabriel was asking questions, and it wouldn’t surprise her if he was the one feeding Dana information for her too-on-point stories. Russo was probably going to have to leave the Court.

But if she did, that would upset the delicate balance the Chief worked so hard to keep. He was conservative generally, but when the big moments came, when it was time to recognize marriage equality, say, or preserve the core of Roe v. Wade, he’d cross the floor and do it to protect the integrity of the institution. To respect precedent. To keep the court from swinging this way and that just because of politics. That’s why she’d wanted to work for him so much. Because he believed more in the institution, in keeping it a meaningful third branch of government, than in letting it become simply another fully partisan place.

If Russo left, all of that would be lost. God only knew who this president would appoint to replace her. If his nominations to the lower courts were any kind of guide, it would be a white man with a singular point of view, and one thing on his mind.

This was too much responsibility for a bunch of clerks to handle.

This much, Odessa knew.