I looked for Foster in the crowd as I joined the line to collect my diploma. Foster usually stood out in a crowd, but the hall was packed and I couldn’t see him anywhere.
As the dean called my name a loud cheer went up from near the front of the crowd to my right hand side. I looked over and saw Foster standing there banging his hands together loud enough that most people in the hall were turning to look at him.
I collected my diploma and got shuffled back into the audience after taking the mandatory cheesy photo with the law school’s photographer.
The ceremony took another thirty minutes, but at least now I had Foster to look at while I daydreamed about what we would do when I finally got these God-damned robes off. Well, first I would have a shower, but after that we could have some fun and make the most of the last week in my apartment before we moved into our new place near Capitol Hill.
It had cost a small fortune and taken a chunk out of Mom’s money, but it would be worth it to have somewhere to live with Foster.
I couldn’t wait to get out of the robes, but after the ceremony, everyone wanted to have their picture taken with the graduates. I hung out with law school friends for a bit. They all wanted to meet Foster, but Kathleen and Dad had to hide the fact they were a couple. Law students were a judgmental bunch and I didn’t need that information flying around before I’d even got off the campus.
“Want to go for a walk?” Foster asked. “I’m starting to remember why I didn’t enjoy law school. Do these people ever stop? I heard one of them talking about how he’s going to go home and start studying for the bar exam this evening.”
I laughed. “Actually, I was thinking—”
“Oh hell no. I want two whole days with you before you become a stressed-out nightmare to be around.”
“One day,” I bargained.
“One day, but two nights.”
“Deal. Where do you want to go?”
“Let’s just walk down to the National Mall and hang out by the Washington Monument.”
“Trust you to pick the phallus shaped object,” I pointed out.
“Hey, it’s the only ‘phallus shaped object’ in this city bigger than the one in my pants. I feel inadequate around it, which must be how normal men feel around me.”
“Sometimes I wonder how I ever fell in love with someone so arrogant.”
“Yeah, but then I get you in bed and you remember.”
I couldn’t argue with that. We strolled down to the Washington Monument, and somehow Foster managed to get tickets to go up to the top even though it was always sold out well in advance.
The view from the top was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. You got a good view of D.C. coming in on a plane to Reagan Airport, but that didn’t compare to standing in the middle of the Mall and looking around at the nation’s capital where all the magic happened. Or sometimes happened when people could agree on things. For a budding young lawyer, it was an absolute inspiration.
Foster stood behind me and wrapped his arms around me. Even up here his mind was only on one thing, so I had to slap his hand away as it crept down between my legs.
“Give it ten years and you’ll be a famous name in this town,” he whispered in my ear.
“I don’t want to be famous. I want to make a difference.”
“You’ll do both. I’m sure of it.”
“What about you?” I asked. “Are you going back to work soon?”
I hadn’t told Foster this, but I didn’t want him rushing back to being a full-time lawyer again. I didn’t want him working late, and being stressed out all the time. That was my job, especially while I studied for the bar exam.
“Not yet,” he replied. “I figure you’ll need some support while you study, so I want to be around to cook you meals and remind you to get some fresh air occasionally. Besides, planning for the wedding will keep me busy.”
“Mmm,” I murmured, sinking back into his chest as he held me tightly in his arms. Then I snapped out of it. “Wait, what wedding?”
“Hopefully ours,” Foster said. “Assuming you say yes.”
A small box appeared in front of me, which Foster flicked open to reveal a large diamond. The sun shone through the opening in front of us and illuminated it perfectly, letting me appreciate the rock in all its natural beauty.
Is this real? I’d accepted that being with Foster meant I wouldn’t get a romantic proposal, or a big white wedding. Foster wasn’t the type for grand gestures and romance. Or so I’d thought.
“I know it’s soon,” Foster said, breaking the uneasy silence. “But I do not have a single doubt in my mind about this. I’ve never wanted anything this much.”
“I can’t believe we’re going to do this.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Dad’s going to go nuts.”
“April? Answer the damn question.”
“Of course it’s a yes.”
I threw my arms around him and pulled him towards me for a kiss. We held each other tightly, our lips not parting, until the guide politely coughed and informed us that we need to make our way back down.
I was still staring at the ring on my finger when we made it back outside where Kathleen and Dad were waiting for us.
“I’m going to assume from the smile on your face and that massive rock on your finger, that you said yes?” Dad asked.
“Did you know?”
“Foster is apparently more traditional than I gave him credit for. He asked for my permission.”
“Good Lord, my son is growing up,” Kathleen joked.
“Don’t get carried away,” Foster said. “If Pierce had said no, I’d still have asked her anyway.”
We held hands as we walked off to find somewhere to eat. I didn’t make important decisions just to make Mom proud anymore, but I had a feeling she would be pretty damn pleased with how things had turned out.
Dad was happy, and I was ecstatic. I couldn’t say my life was perfect—not without Mom—but life was damn good right now.
I had a feeling it would only get better.
Three Years Later
“You scared?” Foster asked.
I nodded. The nerves never went away.
“Come on, you know what to do,” Foster teased.
I smiled and placed my hand on his chest. I did this before every court appearance to calm my nerves. Something about feeling his heartbeat always helped me relax ever since that first courtroom appearance in the Doris case.
My one regret about not working for Arrington, Arrington, & Hedges was that I’d had to drop the hunt for Doris’ son. At least Foster was still working on it, and by some miracle Doris was still clinging on to life. There was hope for a happy ending yet.
“Okay, I’m good,” I said, picking up my materials and walking into the court. Foster took his usual seat in the audience.
This was my fifteenth appearance representing a client in a courtroom, and my third in front of Judge Whiteman. I still had the same butterflies in my stomach that had kept me awake the night before the first trial.
“Good to see you again, Mrs. Arrington,” Judge Whiteman said as I introduced myself to the court. “I enjoyed reading your brief, although not as much as that one you filed a few years ago.”
Every time. Every fucking time I saw Judge Whiteman he slipped in a little reminder of that brief. If I ever did become famous, he was going to make a fortune telling that story on the after-dinner circuit around D.C.
“I’ll try to spice it up a bit next time,” I replied.
Today was my first jury trial. I had to convince six people that my client had suffered severe discrimination in the workplace, such that she’d had to resign and had suffered a mental breakdown.
I’d practically had a panic attack when the case had first landed on my desk. We were going up against a large department store that had retained a law firm almost as big as Arrington, Arrington, & Hedges.
Fortunately, the big law firm had taken one look at me and figure
d this would be a walk in the park. They didn’t prepare properly and I locked the case down in jury selection. The actual trial would be a formality now.
Opposing counsel had been so obsessed with keeping women and minorities off the jury, who would supposedly be biased against the defendant, that they hadn’t bothered asking the jurors many questions.
That allowed me to slip through a juror whose wife had won a case for discrimination, a man who’d been fired from the department store a few months ago, and three other people who described themselves as staunchly in favor of increased protection for employees in the workplace.
I had this case in the bag.
In addition to having the jurors on my side, I also had my lucky charm in the audience. Foster had been to every single one of my court appearances, even though he was now a partner at Arrington, Arrington, & Hedges.
He’d been welcomed back into the fold once it became clear that PorTupe was a complete shambles. As Foster had predicted, Zach tried to bribe Bryan and other lawyers at the DOJ, which went down about as well as you can imagine.
The ensuing scandal nearly took Cooper & Cooper into bankruptcy, but at the last minute they merged with another firm in the corporate field. The competent attorneys from Cooper & Cooper stayed on at the new firm, but Zach got booted out within the month.
I had a feeling he’d worm his way out of the bribery prosecution, but he wouldn’t work as a lawyer again either way. I had zero sympathy for him. He’d made his bed, now he had to lie in it.
The trial went smoothly, even though I nearly lost my way during the closing argument. We won the case convincingly which hopefully meant opposing counsel wouldn’t bother trying to find grounds for an appeal. By the time the case made it to an appellate court, I would be on leave from work and wouldn’t be able to handle the case.
“Great work, baby,” Foster said, once we were outside the courtroom. He kissed me on the cheek and put his hand on the small of my back.
“Thanks.” I had to tell him the news today. I’d thrown up the last three mornings, but he’d already left for work each time. He’d catch me soon enough though.
“How about we go grab a drink?” Foster asked.
It would have to be non-alcoholic. “Sure. Where do you want to go?”
“How about we go back to the rooftop bar near my office?”
“Back to where it all began?” I asked.
“I have very fond memories from that night.”
“Me too. And I think after tonight you’ll have some more.”
“What does that mean?” he asked.
“You’ll find out soon enough.” I touched my stomach unconsciously, even though there was no bump to give away the secret just yet.
Foster and I argued a fair bit, but we always made up quickly and passionately. It came with the territory of being two busy lawyers. One argument we wouldn’t need to have was the baby name. If it was a boy, we would name him Steve after Foster’s dad. If it was a girl, we would name her Laura, after Mom.
Boy or girl, the baby was going to be spoiled rotten by Foster, and our parents. That kid would never want for a thing.
Neither would I. Not with Foster.
“I love you,” Foster said, out of the blue, as we walked to the bar.
“I love you too,” I replied. He was going to be a great dad.
Escape
Score
Redemption
Foster
Revenge
Jessica Ashe is a twenty-seven year old British woman currently enjoying the much nicer weather found in Northern California. She enjoys writing about sophisticated and intelligent women and the hot alpha males that lust after them.
You can contact Jessica at [email protected], follow her on Twitter at @AsheRomance, and on Facebook.
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