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AT LEAST I WASN’T SITTING alone in my apartment staring at the walls. Corey seemed to sense that I needed direction, so he put me in charge of driving the girls to and from school. He and his wife usually split the taxi duties, but somehow, miraculously, both of them were extremely busy as soon as I became available.
I didn’t mind. Actually, I loved it. Pulling into the car line behind what seemed like hundreds of other moms and dads picking up their children, I felt like there was still hope for me after all. I listened to music as the cars inched imperceptibly forward, until finally, two energetic young women bounced into my back seat.
“Can we go to McDonald’s?” Cassie asked immediately.
She was a sly old dog. I knew Sunny well enough to know that fast food was usually off the menu. But I was a fun aunt, and I didn’t have to play by their mom’s rules.
“Sure,” I said, pulling out of the school parking lot.
“Yay!” the girls cried, pumping their hands in the air.
I took them to McDonald’s and spent a small fortune on happy meals and milk shakes. They unwrapped their toys with an eagerness that I couldn’t remember ever having. We chatted about their classes and their little friends.
I texted Corey to let him know that we would be a little bit late, just so he wouldn’t worry. I have an errand to run, and the girls are going to help me, I wrote. Be back in half an hour.
Okay, Corey responded. Whether he knew what we were up to or not, I didn’t care. The trip was as much fun for me as it was for my nieces.
Getting back into the car, we wiped off all the evidence.
“You have ketchup on your nose,” Cassie told her sister.
“Where?” Chloe wiped at her face with one hand.
“It’s gone,” Cassie said.
“Okay.” I put the car in gear and started driving.
We arrived before Sunny did, allowing the girls to go inside and get started on their homework. Corey was still in the barn, working on his projects, so I took it upon myself to help Chloe and Cassie with their studies. It was yet another chore that I was happy to be a part of. They were so bubbly and talkative, I forgot all about my problems for a while.
When Sunny got home and Corey came in to get dinner ready, I rolled up my sleeves and pitched in. We went through all of the comfortable family rituals until it was time to put the girls to bed. I read them a story before turning out the light.
“Auntie Teddy?” Chloe said sleepily.
“Yes?” I paused at the door to listen to one last request.
“I’m glad you’re here. I had fun today.” The little girl’s words filled me with the kind of joy that I thought I would never experience again.
I walked downstairs to give Corey a hug. “Thank you so much for having children.”
Sunny laughed, pulling out three wine glasses. “They’re something special, aren’t they?”
“I think they’re the most amazing people in the whole world,” I gushed, feeling the tears begin to bubble up again.
“Corey put an air mattress in your old place,” Sunny said. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you want.”
“Thanks,” I responded, reaching for my glass.
I stayed up talking to my brother and sister-in-law until midnight. Walking across the driveway, I climbed the steps to my old apartment above the garage. Just as promised, Corey had set an air mattress out in the middle of the floor. The cupboards were bare, and there was no furniture. But there was a towel and soap in the bathroom and my suitcase in the entranceway. It was all the home I needed.
I got undressed, took a shower, and put on my pajamas. The horrors of the day came back to me as I lay down, not allowing me to sleep for a long time. I finally drifted off, listening to the sounds of the insects outside. It was the perfect nature hideaway, tucked deep inside Corey’s forested neighborhood. I felt blessed to have someone so close to me who could offer me shelter no matter what kind of storm I was dealing with. For the next few days, I focused on being a part of their family, and it was a lovely break in my otherwise dreary life.
Friday morning, my next court appointment was scheduled. I woke up, shook out my dress, and walked it over to Corey’s house to iron it. In the comfort of my brother’s bathroom, I got dressed and put up my hair.
I wasn’t looking forward to the meeting at all. In fact, I was nearly shaking in my shoes. But I had no choice, so I put one foot in front of the other and made it downtown with minutes to spare.
Parking in the garage, I locked my cell phone in the glove compartment. Grabbing my purse, I rode the elevator down to the ground floor. On the short walk between the parking garage and the courthouse, I could see that Christmas had struck the government as well. Festive lights were strung across the rooftop, and some oversized jingle bells were displayed in the courtyard.
Two children ran around the display, giggling and yelling to each other. Their mother sat on a bench nearby, watching distractedly. I couldn’t even guess what she was there for. Whatever it was, couldn’t be good. No one wanted to go to court, whether it was a traffic accident, a custody dispute, or just jury duty. I walked right by them without saying hello. There was a time and a place for friendly chit-chat, and it wasn’t outside the courthouse early in the morning.
I climbed the stairs and pushed through the door. Andrew Burke, my lawyer, was waiting for me inside. He held a briefcase in one hand and a paper coffee cup in the other. I nodded hello, following him toward the security station.
Slinging my purse into one of the gray plastic buckets, I walked through the metal detector. Andrew followed, and together, we collected our belongings on the other side.
“How have you been?” he asked.
“I’ve been better,” I said.
“Don’t worry about this meeting,” he responded, seeing how stressed out I was. “The worst part is behind us.”
“Easy for you to say,” I grumbled.
He must have heard me, but he pretended not to. This was the day that the judge would hand down his decision. Nikki would be awarded with some amount of money, or the case would be dismissed entirely.
“Do you think he’ll rule in her favor?” I asked.
“I think there’s a chance,” Andrew replied. “But I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”
“There’s no danger of that,” I quipped.
We walked together down the hallway until the courtroom we were assigned to loomed large. We each took a seat on one of the benches outside and began the long wait. Again, I didn’t see Nikki or her team at all. Wherever she was, she wasn’t taking up space in the hallway.
The guard called us in when it was our time. I stood up, straightening my skirt. This was it. My whole life seemed to boil down to this one moment. All I had to do was not break down into tears for another hour and I would be home free. No matter what happened, whether I ended up owing Nikki a million dollars, or if I would be allowed to keep my pitiful bank account full, it would all be over soon.
I walked up to the defendant’s chair and set my purse down on the floor. Looking across the room, I saw Nikki with her team. None of them looked in my direction, which I supposed was an improvement over her previous ugly sneer. It looked like we were going to pretend that we didn’t know each other.
That was fine by me. It would be best to just hear the judgment and get it over with. I would be just as happy to continue communicating through lawyers for the rest of my life. But hopefully, our interaction wouldn’t last that long. With any luck, I could say goodbye to Nikki today and put this whole thing in the rearview mirror.
“Please rise for the Honorable Judge Marcus Christopher,” the bailiff announced.
Everyone stood and watched as the judge walked in. He took his seat at the bench and picked up his gavel. After bringing the court to order, he asked to review some testimony. I hadn’t been prepared for that, but I did my best to answer his questions without wavering. It was so much more painful to describe my failures in open court than it was to obsess about them in the privacy of my own home.
When I spoke out loud about what I had done, it seemed foolish. I tried to explain that I didn’t want to break into Retro’s offices, but that I hadn’t been thinking straight. It was a combination of alcohol and poor judgment that led me into the predicament, and I expressed how truly sorry I was that the whole thing went down.
When I was done, the judge called Nikki up to review her statement. She lied on the stand, but I kept my mouth shut. It was her word against mine, and the judge was the one who would have to decide who was telling the truth.
“It was all Teddy’s fault,” Nikki said.
“That is Theodora Prince?” the judge clarified.
“Yes,” Nikki responded. “It’s all her fault.”
Nikki’s lawyer walked her through the supposed events of the evening in question. I had heard it all before, but each time it hurt a little bit more. The picture she was painting of me was of an evil, vindictive bitch who had schemed to bring down an innocent young woman in the prime of her life.
I pressed my eyes closed, willing it all to be over.
Finally, the judge was satisfied with our testimony and offered his ruling.
“In the case of Nikki Bard vs. Theodora Prince, the court finds for the plaintiff. Damages in the amount of $350,000 will be paid in accordance with the court’s schedule. Please see the court clerk on the way out.” He banged his gavel, and the whole sordid affair came to an end.
I exhaled, sitting nailed to the spot even though I had been dismissed. Andrew leaned over to whisper in my ear, “Let’s talk outside.”
I nodded, even though my body wouldn’t respond. Three hundred fifty thousand was good. It wasn’t a million dollars. I didn’t owe her a million, and while three hundred fifty thousand was more than I could earn in five years, it seemed like a much more manageable sum than what Nikki had originally asked for.
“According to the court’s schedule,” I repeated, still clinging to my chair. “Does that mean I can pay over time?”
“Yes,” Andrew said, helping me to my feet. “Let’s go somewhere to talk.”
I followed him out into the hallway, still numb with relief. It wasn’t a great outcome, but it hadn’t been the worst one possible either. I couldn’t tell if the judge believed me or Nikki, or maybe a combination of both. It didn’t really matter. When it was all said and done, I was walking away from it a new woman.
“How do you think this will affect Brad’s case?” I asked suddenly.
Andrew turned around in the hallway, “I don’t think it will be good. While the judge didn’t award Nikki all of the damages, he clearly felt that she was entitled to some compensation. I’m thinking that ruling won’t reflect well in Brad’s case.”
I mulled the response over in my mind. Though things hadn’t gone exactly as planned, I was still optimistic. The lesser fine seemed to take a weight off my heart. For some reason, even though it was still an enormous amount, $350,000 didn’t carry the same soul-crushing resonance as a million dollars.
“Do you want me to call him?” Andrew asked.
“No,” I said, realizing that I wanted to deliver the information myself. It was time to talk to my boyfriend again. Maybe now that the lawsuit was behind me, I could find a way to forgive myself for the crime. Without even realizing what I was doing, I made a plan to go see Brad that evening. I hoped with every fiber of my being that he would be excited to see me.
