by Kay Bigelow
“Do you mind if we sit down while I explain to you what I mean?”
“Oh, sorry. Yes.”
She removed a stack of books from one of the chairs in front of her desk and deposited them on an empty bookshelf. She did the same thing with the books piled on her desk chair.
“My client is a local woman with a highly successful business. A former employee is suing her for sexual harassment. He claims she came on to him. She denies it,” Lauren said.
Jane took notes and nodded a couple of times. When Lauren finished, Jane asked a series of questions about the case, some of which Lauren answered.
“So how do I fit in?”
“I’d like to be of counsel to your firm.”
“That’s bold. Why do I need you to do that?”
“I’ve got twenty-five years’ experience as an attorney, most of it spent at a top-tier firm in Manhattan. A few months ago, I retired as Senior Partner with my name on the door. I’m guessing my client will be your first.”
“You’d be guessing right. Why do you want to associate with a neophyte like myself?”
“Because a woman attorney took me under her wing when I first started, and I promised her I’d pay it forward someday. Plus, retirement is boring.”
Jane laughed. Lauren got the impression Jane knew what she was talking about. I like this woman. A lot. She’s intelligent, has good instincts, isn’t afraid to admit what she doesn’t know, and asks intelligent questions.
“Can I ask you a personal question?” Lauren asked.
“Yes.”
“Is this a second career for you? Or are you independently wealthy?” Lauren wanted to know how she was funding her own law firm right out of law school. Opening a law firm was an expensive venture. And if the books on her shelves were any indication, she had the money to do it right.
She laughed. “Hardly wealthy. I had to support myself from the time I graduated from high school to now. I didn’t go to an Ivy League university and certainly didn’t go to a top law school.”
“I noticed you didn’t answer my question about practicing law being a second career for you. What was your first career?” Lauren asked again.
Jane sat looking at Lauren as if she was trying to figure out how to answer her simple question.
Finally, she sighed. “I spent twenty-five years being a housewife. When my husband died, I became a wealthy woman. I’d always dreamt of being a lawyer but set aside my dreams to help him achieve his dreams. Then I became a mother, and like many other women kept telling myself that when my children entered school, I’d go to law school. Life, though, had a funny way of interfering with my plans once again. So to make a long story short, I am the mother of four who is making her own dreams come true.”
“Good for you. I’d like to help you keep your dreams alive.”
The two attorneys spent another half hour talking. They agreed to meet the next day so they could begin drawing up the required paperwork to make Lauren of counsel. It would also give Lauren a chance to research Jane, and vice versa. After that, they could begin building a case to defend Evita.
When Lauren reached the street again, Alex and Serena were turning the corner onto Main Street.
“How’d it go?” Alex asked when she was closer to her.
“It went well. I like her. I like her a lot. If she checks out, she’ll be part of Evita’s team. And I’ll be of counsel to her firm.”
“Good. It’s too early to have dinner, but I’d like to suggest we order a pizza this evening. We’ve got a great little pizzeria,” Alex said.
“Sounds good to me. What do you like on your pizza?”
“The usual—pepperoni, mushrooms, ham, pineapple, onions, Italian sausage—you know, the stuff everyone likes.”
“You want all that on a single pizza?” Lauren asked, surprised.
“No, silly. Those things are the toppings I like and will eat any pizza that has any of those on it,” Alex explained.
“Whew! I was worried I was going to have one of those pizzas,” Lauren said with a smile.
****
While Lauren was consulting with Jane Redkin, Alex and Serena were walking in a nearby neighborhood. Walking Serena turned out to be a most pleasant experience; the big dog stayed at her side, didn’t chase the occasional cat they saw, and didn’t return any of a trash-talking Beagle’s insults.
How easy it is to be with Lauren. As much as I want to make love to her again, I’m content just to be with her. Wanting to be with a woman a second time has not happened in a long time. She’s the first woman since Natalia I can say that about. The other women, I’m sad to say, either didn’t care about the niceties of afterward, or wanted to immediately move in with me.
As Serena and Alex continued to stroll through the neighborhood, she waved hello to the people she knew who were out in their yards. She felt a mantle of contentment settle over her like an old, soft T-shirt. She and Natalia had lived in the City and never had either the opportunity or the desire to walk through their neighborhood. They’d gone to Central Park a few times but enjoyed the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens more. She’d tried to get Natalia to go with her to Tanglewood, but Natalia didn’t like classical music. Natalia hadn’t been very adventurous in any area of her life—she’d eat the same thing every day if she lived alone. Alex couldn’t understand that. They lived in a city with world-class restaurants and Alex couldn’t get Natalia to go to any of them except for the neighborhood pizza joint.
She was finding Lauren to be more adventuresome, at least as far as the restaurants in their small town were concerned. She hoped Lauren would go with on her trip to Japan to visit her parents. Now that would be an adventure. Whoa! You are way ahead of yourself on this. Don’t be making long-term plans with Lauren until you’ve seen what her reaction is going to be to Lucia.
They found a small neighborhood park with a couple of swings and a slide. There were three moms sitting at a table chatting while they watched their preschoolers play on the slide. Alex sat on a bench that faced the play area and watched the kids frolic. She’d never felt the need to have kids, wondered why that was. Her best friend, Savannah, had told her she didn’t want kids because she was afraid she’d be as bad a mom as Savannah’s mother had been to her. Alex couldn’t blame her mother for her not wanting kids; both her parents had been kind, loving, fun people.
Alex wondered if Lauren had ever wanted kids. That thought led her to ask what other basic things she didn’t know about Lauren. Like, what is her favorite color? Does she like chocolate ice cream or prefer something more exotic? Who is her favorite author? I know she likes the author she’s reading, Louise Penny, but who else? What’s her favorite movie?
Alex hadn’t watched a lot of television when she was a kid because her parents wanted their children to think on their own and not be influenced by the opinions of those they saw on the TV. Their dinners were always interesting because they’d discuss current events, books, and anything else that came to their minds. She and her conservative father didn’t agree on much, so they had opposite opinions on most subjects. Alex finally realized that, for the most part, her father wanted to challenge her intellect by taking the opposite point of view to force Alex to argue her own. Damn, I miss them so much.
Alex pulled her phone out to find out how long she and Serena had been gone, and decided they should get back to Jane’s office to meet Lauren. She’d only been gone a half hour, but she missed Lauren. She also needed to stop by her loft, as she’d forgotten her messenger bag and she wanted to pick up some items, including a change of clothes in case Lauren invited her to stay the night again.
Chapter Sixteen
The next two weeks sped by in a flurry of activity. Jane and Lauren drew up several documents, including the answer to Evita’s lawsuit and a request to dismiss the suit with prejudice. They were hoping the judge would agree with them that the plaintiff’s attorney hadn’t met most of the requirements for sexual harassment and would dismiss the cas
e against Evita. If the judge dismissed the case with prejudice, the plaintiff and his attorney would not be able to file suit against Evita again. They also asked that the plaintiff pay their costs. Once they filed their answer, they got a court date set for the middle of the next month, October.
When Jane told her when the court date was, Lauren laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Jane asked.
“I’m sorry. I was surprised. I seldom went to trial in less than twelve months, and sometimes it was years before the cases were heard by a judge and jury. Because everything here seems to move at a slower pace, I expected our court date to be set for some time next year.”
“See what happens when you overthink things?” Jane asked.
“Very funny,” Lauren said.
Jane and Lauren worked well together. Lauren insisted Jane write the answer and only made a couple of suggested revisions. Jane was good—not just for a novice, but in general. When they sat down to discuss trial strategy, Jane thought Lauren should make the opening argument because of her courtroom experience. Lauren declined; Jane needed all the experience she could get. Lauren had told Jane she was the attorney of record, and as such Jane would be handling most of the workload.
One afternoon, Serena and Lauren were in the park taking a leisurely spin around the perimeter when her phone rang. “You’re never going to believe this,” Jane said without letting Lauren even say hello.
“What?”
“Johnson.” Jane paused for dramatic effect after saying Evita’s opposing counsel’s name. “He has asked the court to dismiss the case against Evita.”
“What? Why?”
“Don’t know, but the judge wants to see us this afternoon at three. Can you make it?”
Lauren glanced at the time on her phone: two o’clock. “Yes, if I hurry.” She would be presentable enough if she added a jacket to the outfit she’d had on when she met with Jane earlier that morning.
Lauren was at the courthouse in Rhinebeck with five minutes to spare. She climbed the stairs to the second floor and saw Jane, Evita, and April standing at the end of the hall. When she got to them, Jane said, “The bailiff has just called our case.”
“Don’t be nervous,” Lauren whispered to Jane.
“Easy for you to say, it’s not your first court appearance.”
She smiled, remembering her first appearance and how nervous she’d been.
The judge said he wanted to ensure the parties to the lawsuit were in agreement over the dismissal of the case. Of course, Lauren and Evita were. Opposing counsel didn’t seem nearly as convinced as they were, but since he’d asked the court to dismiss the suit, he had to agree, too.
Jane stood, and said, “Your honor, we move for costs.”
The judge agreed the plaintiff had to pay their costs to defend the frivolous lawsuit. Johnson jumped to his feet and started to object, but the judge glared him down to his seat. The judge said tersely, “Case dismissed with prejudice.”
“That’s it? The case is over?” Evita asked.
“It’s gone,” Jane told her.
“Thank God,” she whispered and turned to embrace April.
Jane and Lauren hugged, too.
“You’ve just won your first lawsuit, Counselor.”
“Well…”
“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, Jane. They won’t all be this easy.”
Jane laughed. “You’re right. Let’s celebrate by going to Starbucks.”
“Perfect,” Lauren said as she turned to get her briefcase.
Lauren saw Alex sitting in the back of the courtroom, smiling. Lauren’s heart did one of those happy dance things that make you think you’re either in love or having a heart attack.
“Who is she?” Jane asked. “She’s gorgeous.”
Lauren glanced at Jane and saw she was staring at Alex. Lauren hadn’t yet had a chance to introduce them. Lauren had remembered Alex’s comments about wanting to keep their relationship private for as long as possible. Plus, from long habit, Lauren wanted to keep her private life separate from her professional life.
“Come on, let’s get to Starbucks,” Lauren said. Jane was too engrossed with Alex to notice Lauren hadn’t answered her question.
From the door to the courtroom, Evita said, “Jane, Lauren, come to Mamacita’s. Margaritas are on the house.”
Jane looked at Lauren.
“Margaritas beat Starbucks any day,” Lauren said.
“They do,” Jane said as she hurried after Evita and April.
Lauren went to Alex.
“Want to come with us and have a margarita? We’d have to come out, of course. Are you ready for that?”
“I’m not sure.”
Lauren was surprised by Alex’s answer. The only person who didn’t know about her and Alex was Jane. The townspeople likely wouldn’t be surprised, either, since Alex would be having a drink with her grandmother.
I wonder if there’s another reason why Alex wants to keep our relationship in the closet. It is, of course, as much her decision as mine to stay in the closet as a couple. But it’s something we need to talk about.
After Alex said she’d pass on the margaritas, Lauren met their little group at Mamacita’s. It was early enough that the restaurant only had a few diners, so they sat in the bar and toasted Jane and Evita. Alex didn’t change her mind about joining them. Lauren was, nevertheless, disappointed since they were celebrating Evita winning a spurious lawsuit brought against her.
During the second pitcher of margaritas, Jane asked, “Does anyone know who that arresting woman at the back of the courtroom today was?”
“Why do you ask?” Evita asked.
“She’s gorgeous. Who wouldn’t want to know her?”
April looked at Lauren and raised her eyebrow as if asking permission to tell Jane. Lauren gave her a little shrug to let her know she had no idea what the protocol might be.
“She’s my granddaughter,” April said.
“Oh,” Jane said, looking very flustered. “Is she seeing someone?”
“Yes, she is.”
“Is it serious?”
“What do you mean?”
“Just wondering if she’s taken.”
“It is serious, so I don’t think you’ve got a chance there,” April told her.
“Damn. The good ones are always taken,” Jane mumbled into her margarita.
“And, on that note, I need to get going,” Lauren said.
“I’ll walk you out,” Evita said.
When they were beside Lauren’s car, Evita pulled her into a hug. “Thank you so much for taking my case.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad the matter was dismissed.”
“I noticed you didn’t even finish your first margarita. Was there something wrong with it?”
“Oh, no. I don’t drink, but I didn’t want to make the others self-conscious by being the only one who wasn’t imbibing.”
“That was very considerate of you.”
“Thanks,” Lauren said.
“I better get back inside or there will be rumors about you and me spreading around town by the morning.”
Lauren laughed. “That bad?”
“Worse,” Evita said with a smile.
Later that evening, Lauren wondered what Alex was doing. She wished she were with Alex and that the prospect of going to bed with her was guaranteed. I want to feel my hands on Alex’s body and her mouth on me again.
Her ringing phone ended the trip down Fantasy Lane. Thank goodness. When she answered the phone, the voice on the other end was the same voice she wanted whispering in her ear while they made love.
“Lauren?”
“Alex?”
“What are you doing?” Alex’s voice sounded strained.
Lauren laughed. They’d been thinking the same thing.
“Not much. Actually, I’ve been sitting here staring at my new television.”
The cable company had hooked up both her cable and internet days ea
rlier, but Lauren hadn’t turned on the television since the cable guy had left.
“What’s on?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t turned it on. What are you doing?”
Alex laughed and said, “Nothing as exciting as what you’re doing.”
“We’re a pair, aren’t we?”
“We should be. I mean, we could do nothing together. Why don’t I bring dinner over?”
“Sounds good to me.”
“I’ll see you in about thirty minutes.”
“That works,” Lauren said.
She got up and headed upstairs to make sure she looked presentable for Alex. She wondered if she and Alex would end up in bed together again. God, I hope so.
On that note, she headed downstairs to wait for Alex with a big grin on her face.
Chapter Seventeen
Alex decided to make dinner for Lauren instead of going to Panda or Mamacita’s. She wanted to begin getting used to having to cook again because she knew from experience that by January they’d be staying in most nights. It would be too cold and the roads too slick to go out to pick up dinner. It would be much easier to stay in and cook dinner at home, then sit and cuddle in front of the fireplace. And later do the fastest striptease ever and jump into bed beneath the down comforters.
You have got to get your imagination under control. For all you know, Lauren is the hearty outdoor type who would strap on a pair of cross-country skis and jet over to Panda to pick dinner up for us. Alex laughed out loud at that image. Nah! She might go with me to the Panda if I drove, but she definitely would not ski to the restaurant. She’s a city girl where food is delivered, taxis go to the restaurants that don’t deliver, and streets are plowed all day starting before sunrise.
Alex was still smiling about Lauren snow-shoeing to a restaurant when she approached the checkout counter in the grocery store.
“Hey, Alex,” Gracie Donovan said. “How’re you doin’? You look happy!”
“I’m doing well, Gracie. How about you?”
“Oh, you know how it is. Dougie wants to join the Marines like his dad, Marnie wants to be a rock star today, and Tom just wants some peace and quiet,” Gracie said, laughing.
