Junk Love, page 25
“Your Honor,” Renata said.
“I am not ordering a psychological evaluation. I am ordering Mother and grandparents to cooperate with the safety plan.” He surveyed everyone. “I thank the attorneys for their advocacy and presentation of the case. Cooperation is the key to getting this little family back on its feet. Best of luck to you, Miss Martin. And thank you, grandparents, for making this in-home plan possible. The agency needs to do its job.” He flashed his Hollywood Santa smile.
Renata stood. “Your Honor.”
His smile fell off like a mask. “Mrs. Ochoa?”
“We should be able to gather information helpful to the Court by early next week. I would request a review shelter hearing as soon as the Court has availability.”
Recovering his preferred magnanimity, he said, “I won’t be here. You’ll have Judge Hager or Judge Bronski.”
Renata stood stiff.
“What is the first opening for a review hearing next week?” he asked the assistant.
Reading her monitor, she whispered to him, “If parties are available, the Court could hear this on Monday at 11:00 a.m. with new shelter hearings.”
“No, I’m sure that won’t give Mother’s attorney enough time for her investigation. How about Wednesday? Would a week from today be too soon, Mrs. Ochoa?”
“Monday would be sufficient, Your Honor.”
His brow furrowed. “Wednesday, November 9th. 11:00 a.m. Court is adjourned.” He stood.
While his black robe billowed behind him, Cora stood with the others, and a chill flowed over her. The man who had judged her was leaving: the white sheep of the Death family.
* * *
Back in the small conference room, her dad pulled out a chair for her mom, holding Naomi. Unable to pick a chair, Cora had a pinched, spinning headache; she was probably dehydrated on top of everything else. Renata opened her mouth as the door closed behind her, but it sprang open before she could speak.
It was Vanessa, waving papers like a white flag—for Cora’s surrender, not hers. Her smile looked sincere for once. Blocked at the doorway, her face soured.
“Now that Ms. Martin is represented,” Renata said, standing in her way, “you will need to go through me.” Tugging the forms from Vanessa’s grip, she pushed the door wider. “You can go.”
“Failure to cooperate with the safety plan—”
“Right,” the lawyer smiled. “We need a copy of the new safety plan.”
“They already have a copy, so you can get that from your client. The terms are the same other than the conditions the judge ordered.”
“Exactly.” She adjusted her foot, bracing open the door. “I am sure you will update the plan with the judge’s modifications when you get back to your office. If you could email the updated plan to Ms. Martin and me by the end of the day, I would appreciate that.” Lifting the forms, she said, “You have one in here for the UA, right?”
“Yes.”
“Perfect. I will email you scanned copies. Have a good day.”
“The UA needs to be done today, or it will be considered dirty.”
“I know.”
“And those releases need to be signed immediately, or your client is in contempt.”
Renata smiled. “Are you trying to give me legal advice? Unlawful practice of law is frowned on by the Utah State Bar, unless you have a law degree?”
“I do not.” Vanessa’s eyes narrowed to almost nothing behind her cat eye glasses.
“That’s my pro bono tip of the day for you: don’t give legal advice. You can go.”
The caseworker leaned around her to Cora’s parents. “I would strongly recommend—”
“Vanessa!” Renata’s volume startled Cora and her mom. Naomi stirred.
The wide-eyed caseworker arched back like an affronted house cat who had found a she-wolf occupying her favorite couch.
Renata’s smile was gone. “As I said, you are not to speak to my client without my permission. Do you have a question for me?”
“I was speaking,” she sneered, “to the safety service providers.”
“Now is not a good time. Thank you.”
A smirk oozed over her face. “Tell your client that unless I have those releases today, that baby will be in foster care tonight. You have a nice day, Ms. Ochoa. Let’s hope your client can, too.” The door started to close behind her.
But Renata jerked it open and called through the hallway, “Lindsay! I’ll email you the releases next week, okay? I need an office appointment with my client.”
“Okay,” Vanessa’s lawyer called.
Back in the conference room, Renata shoved the door, but the soft-close hinge wouldn’t allow it to slam.
“Sorry about that,” she sighed. “I will give you the address for the treatment center so you can get the UA done when you leave.”
Naomi fussed.
“Here, Mom, I’ll take her. Dad, can you hand me that blanket?”
“Here?”
“Yes, Mom, here.” Cora turned to Renata. “You don’t mind if I—”
“Please, go ahead.”
“Thanks.” She spread the swaddling cloth over her shoulder and helped Naomi latch on.
Renata shook her head. “What the judge did is not legal, ordering you to sign releases for your mental health records. If we can get your case before one of our regular judges, they can undo this.”
“If I don’t sign them, aren’t I risking Naomi going into foster care?”
Her mom patted her arm. “She’d be with us for a few days. We could make it work.”
“We don’t know that.” Her dad glowered. “They only have to say we’re uncooperative to take her. We can’t even keep our private life private.”
CORA
Monday, November 7, 2016
“Have a seat wherever,” Renata said, sweeping her hand from two chairs at her desk to a couch beneath a wall of windows. The top blinds stayed wide open, letting in the blue sky and the tips of power poles, but the lower ones were slanted.
Grateful for the privacy considering the sidewalk right outside, Cora rolled out a chair at the mahogany laminate desk. “I like your office.”
“One of the perks of staying at Franklin County Public Defender for eleven years.” On the credenza behind her sat an upright black block with white flowing script:
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with GOOD
“Isn’t that a Bible verse?”
Nodding, Renata asked, “How are things going?” and lowered her standing desk attachment with her computer.
“Fine. No drama. No sleep,” Cora laughed, “but no drama.”
“I remember those days when my daughter was a baby. And I had my husband to help. Can your parents help with night duty? The first night I got 8 hours, I woke up a new woman.”
“I’m sure they would.” But the sleeplessness wasn’t about that. “I hate to bug them.”
A photo behind Renata showed a preteen girl in a basketball uniform standing beside a handsome man, probably Renata’s husband. He appeared happy and confident with one arm around the grinning girl and one arm pinning a basketball to his hip.
“Is that your daughter?” Wait a minute. Scrutinizing Renata’s face, she imagined her without her thick glasses, with her hair in a ponytail… “I have seen you before! You do yoga, right? With your daughter?”
“Oh! Do you go to Alchemy, too?”
She shook her head. “I just saw you and your daughter on a walk.” Nodding at the photo, she asked, “Is that your husband?”
“Mm-hm.”
“Is he her coach?”
“He was.”
“How cool!” Cora smiled. “He doesn’t like hot yoga?”
“I only started this year. Hugo passed away in 2015.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“We miss him.” Sighing, Renata refocused. “How much time do you have? I am sorry my hearing took longer than expected.”
“As long as my mom is doing okay with Naomi—I’m sure she is—I don’t have any time limitations. But don’t you close at 5:00?”
“I can stay past 5:00 if we need to.” Flipping open a pale green legal file, she made a note. “Dr. Fairbanks has not faxed me records regarding your Effexor prescription and your work with him, or the hospital in Sego. But I only sent those releases Wednesday, so not surprising.”
“Those are still confidential with you, right, since you’re my lawyer?”
“Certainly. We will decide together whether to share them with DCFS.”
“Can we just send parts of it? There’s information I need to keep private—about someone else.”
“That might be possible, if we can limit their release to the assessment and a summary from the doctor. Who are you protecting, if you don’t mind?”
“Aiden.” Cora sighed. “I’ve forgiven him, but the sex wasn’t consensual. Dr. Fairbanks knows. Date rape. He recommended I have no contact with him.”
“I am so sorry.”
“Aiden’s sorry, too. He had—this is confidential, right?”
Renata nodded.
“He said he’d done some cocaine with his brother, and that’s why he lost control and took things too far. After their mom died, he said he and his brother started partying. He mostly drank and smoked pot, but Neil got into cocaine and Aiden would do it with him sometimes, like a bonding thing.” Cora shook her head. “But he did drug treatment on his own, after he… after we broke up. He’s still doing 12-step groups. He’s even leading a meeting up in Seattle.” She shrugged. “That’s what he told me anyway.”
“Wonderful.” The kindness in Renata’s face reminded Cora of how she pictured Jesus: seeing evil clearly like the tar pit it was, having the merciful discernment to spot stuck souls, and having the strength to help them out. “If you like, we could wait on the releases until Wednesday. It is very likely our regular judges will fix the illegal order so you would not have to sign them.”
“That’s safest, I think. Would Naomi stay with my parents if I got in trouble?”
Renata nodded. “Can you tell me more about what the Sego psychiatrist said? Your father mentioned folie à deux.”
“That’s when one person develops a mental illness and someone close to them gets wrapped up in their craziness because of the relationship. They said my sister, Julie, and I shouldn’t be alone together.”
Holly
Monday, November 7, 2016
“Beetlejuice? Like the movie?” Holly crossed her arms over her tan moto jacket.
The moon was the brightest thing in the night sky, almost half-full and waxing. They hadn’t reached the crest of the hill yet, but the break in the trees allowed for stargazing.
“Different spelling.” In the semi-dark, Jacob’s black leather coat and the yellow leaves were cast blue. He came behind her, pulling her close and pointing up. “Look down and right. See that blue star?”
She followed the trajectory of his finger. One star looked a bit bluer than the rest.
“I think so.” It was utterly unfair, asking her to use her brain when his inviting body pressed behind her.
“That’s Rigel. Orion’s left foot.”
“Huh.”
“You’re hiking. You’re lost. It’s nighttime. Where’s North?”
“The North Star.”
“Right. Where’s that?”
“North.”
Jacob’s chuckle rumbled onto her back. “I’m getting you a compass for Christmas.”
“I’d rather night hike with you anyway.”
“You can do this.” He patted her hip. “I’m pinned under a tree—”
“Ouch.”
“Hurts like hell. Find help. North.” Turning her hips, he pointed her in a different direction.
Her running shoes shuffled through the leaves. “This way?” she asked, gazing upward.
“Mm-hm.” His hands slipped beneath her jacket, back on her hips.
Holly wished his hands were under her sweater and her jeans, too. His warm mouth planted on the crown of her head. She tried to get into the spirit of the challenge, focusing on the cold sky instead of her hot date.
“The Big Dipper’s there, right?” She pointed.
“Mm-hm.” Jacob’s breath was steady on her scalp.
Holly spun around, breaking the connection between his lips and her head. “You’re not even looking!”
“I trust you.” His breathy laugh breezed through her hair as he docked her back against his heavenly body.
“You’re a horrible teacher.”
“Did you say something?”
“Whatever. Big Dipper’s there.” Her left cheek vibrated.
“Thought your ass of steel was lopsided.” He grabbed it. “Clang!”
She slipped her phone from her back pocket: Cora. “It’s my friend with the baby.”
Can you still foster?
“What’s wrong?” he asked, holding her shoulder.
“I need to make a call.” Stepping away to protect Cora’s privacy, she said, “You can tell me my horoscope when I get back.”
Click. A round patch of path lit up. “Not astrology.” The beam of light moved as Jacob held his stubby flashlight to her.
Holly shook her head and waved it off.
Click. Darkness again. While Jacob returned to looking at the stars, she held her phone to her ear and ambled up the path.
After a ring, Cora said, “Hi Holly.”
“Is everything okay?”
“We’re still with my parents, but we’re fine.”
“Oh thank god.”
“Sorry! Not for Naomi. Did your certifier get back to you today?”
Holly picked up her pace, heading up the wood-chipped trail. “I told her not to bother.”
“What?”
She shrugged. “Screw those jerks.”
“No! I feel terrible. You wanted to foster, and you’d be such a good mom. Some baby needs you.”
“You’re sweet. I’ll think about it.” She did need to think about it—and think about how much her hope in a family with Jacob had contributed to her faded interest in fostering. Gunshots or explosions were popping on Cora’s end. “Are you calling from a war zone?”
“It’s movie night.” Then her volume dipped as she told someone, “Go on without me.”
“I can let you go.” She stopped, gazing into the trees.
The noise faded. “I’m going to bed anyway.”
Holly meandered down the trail. “My mom and I used to watch old classics. Stayed up all night once. Doesn’t that sound fun? We could make popcorn…”
“I’d be lucky to stay awake for one,” Cora laughed.
“Hey, I should probably keep my big mouth shut, but are you and your ex back together?”
“We’re just friends. Co-parents, I guess.”
She frowned. “I couldn’t forgive someone who’d taken advantage of me like that. I get that he was high, but how fricking reckless is that? It’s like that movie with Denzel Washington as the cokehead pilot. They should both be in prison.”
The dark hillside was quiet.
“Sorry.”
“I was reckless, too. And I couldn’t forgive myself if I kept Naomi from knowing her father, so…”
“Can I mom you for a second?”
“Sure.”
“He looks at you like you’re a cheeseburger and he’s starving.”
Cora’s laugh sounded tight.
“I dated a guy like that once. He was intense—and hot! It was like junk food—fast and cheap, and I sort of wanted to puke afterward. Junk love. Your ex reminds me of him. Be careful, okay?”
“Aiden might be dating someone else now. Co-parenting is going well, actually.”
“That’s fantastic. And you’re amazing.”
“Hardly. I should let you get back to your night. Thanks again for everything. I owe you.”
“Movie night. Then we’ll be even.” She surveyed the spot where Jacob had been.
“That sounds fun. Maybe when Naomi’s older and I’m not so sleep-deprived. Have a good night!”
“G’night!” Jacob was not in sight, only trees and shadows. “Oy! Boyfriend!”
“Wow.”
Click. A spot of light came through a stand of pines, beaming to a fainter glow on the path before him. She smiled and followed the dim spotlight, which moved a step ahead of her until she found Jacob sitting on a stump like a sexy Lorax.
“Did I miss the conversation about this being an open relationship?”
“What?” Holly walked closer.
“Movie night?”
She stood beside him and stroked his silky head. “Are you jealous?
The flashlight clicked off. “No.”
“Darn.”
“Unless it’s a dude.” He clipped the tiny tool back on his belt.
“That friend I had to help on Halloween.”
Drawing her to his lap, he asked, “Can I do anything?”
She hesitated, shaking her head, and put her phone in her jacket pocket before she sat.
He patted her hip. “This zips, right? Don’t want to lose your phone.”
“Does it get old being right all the time?” Holly searched for the zipper until his hands were on hers.
He found the tab and pulled. She could hear it more than feel it, the itsy metal pieces threading together, uniting, bonding, holding fast. It sounded so fricking much like unzipping, which was really what she wanted… She tried to be content. Jacob’s warm lap under her ass was paradise. His gentle-giant arms surrounding her made everything right with the world. And even though the fallen autumnal leaves were on the downhill side of life, the air around Jacob was spring.
