Despite Judge Russell’s firm demand that her clerks clear the room after an hour, Laurie noticed that when seven-thirty rolled around the judge appeared to be enjoying herself. She had spent most of the evening talking to Leo, and Laurie couldn’t help but notice that Leo seemed to be enjoying the conversation, too. She also noticed that Leo turned back to look at the judge as they were all saying their good-byes when the party died down.
She’s really very attractive, Laurie thought. She guessed the judge was about sixty. Her white hair and youthful face belied her stern expression when she smiled.
“A new friend?” Laurie asked when she and Leo found each other in the hallway outside the courtroom. “A little bird tells me she’s formidable.”
“Stop it.”
“Now you know how I’ve felt for the last year.” It seemed as if he had asked her about Alex nearly every day.
“But I turned out to be right, didn’t I?”
“And who says I’m not right about this?”
“Stop it,” he said again, but she made a mental note of his small grin.
She spotted Alex walking toward them, Timmy at his side.
“Where to next?” Alex asked, rubbing his palms together. She could tell he was energized from the induction.
“This one still has homework to do.” Laurie grabbed Timmy and gave him a little tickle on his shoulder.
“Now that Alex is a judge, he can write my teachers a letter telling them to go easy on me.”
“Better to save that for when you’re in really big trouble,” Leo joked.
Timmy nodded his agreement. “Good thinking, Grandpa.”
Andrew could not join them for dinner because he had a case going to trial the next morning. Leo offered to take Timmy back to the apartment to finish his homework so Laurie could go out to dinner with Alex. As she watched them get into a cab, Laurie realized how eager she was to find an apartment suitable for their entire family. Alex’s Beekman Place apartment was large enough for her and Timmy to move in, but it would be a thirty-minute commute each way to Timmy’s school, and her father would need to relocate, too, if he wanted to continue to live a few blocks away. Besides, she liked the idea of them starting their new life together in an entirely new place.
Once they were in the car, Alex asked where she wanted to go for dinner, noting that Ramon also had plenty of food waiting back at the apartment. Ramon quickly nixed the latter option. “I’m afraid that the Marshals Office didn’t finish installing the security equipment today. It’s a bit of a mess with all the wires and cameras.”
As a federal judge, Alex was now required to have a top-grade security system that was connected directly to federal law enforcement. He had told them to save their money and wait since he’d be moving in a few months anyway, but that apparently wasn’t how the system worked.
“How about Gotham then,” he suggested.
“Whatever the judge desires,” Laurie said as Ramon started the engine. “You have a lifetime appointment to your dream job. Does it feel different now that it’s official?”
“Honestly?” He reached over for her hand and touched the ring on her finger. “I already have the lifetime appointment that really matters.”