Sister's Forgiveness

by Anna Schmidt

  Emma was dumbfounded at the change in Jeannie. She barely recognized her anymore. “Jeannie, it’s just that Geoff seems to want some kind of revenge…”

  “Justice, Emma. He wants justice.”

  “Okay, but his kind of justice is not our way, not your way.”

  “Don’t be so sure about that. Let God take your child—your only child—and we’ll see how much forgiveness you can summon up.”

  “You blame Sadie like Geoff does,” Emma whispered.

  “Like you once said to me, Emma, there’s enough blame to share all around. If you and Lars had put a stop to Sadie seeing Dan, much less getting into a car with him…”

  Emma thought she might explode from the sudden thrust of pure anger that pierced her like a sword, releasing the venom of her temper. “Maybe if you’d thought for five seconds before going behind our backs—knowing that Lars and I were not ready for Sadie to drive…”

  As soon as the words spewed forth, Emma covered her mouth with both hands to stop them. The sisters were facing each other on a public street, their anger crystal clear to anyone who happened to be passing. Fortunately, no one was.

  “Oh Jeannie, I didn’t mean…”

  “Yes you did. “Jeannie let her breath drain out slowly. “I can’t do this, Emma. Maybe one day, but for now the only thing that I have left is my marriage. I don’t expect you to understand that, but that’s really not my problem.”

  Emma reached out for her, but Jeannie brushed her hands away and then held up both palms defensively. “Go away,” she growled. “If you care at all for me, then go away and leave us in peace.”

  And not knowing what else to do, Emma let her walk away.

  Chapter 33

  Geoff

  The second time Geoff was called to the stand, he was ready. He did not look either left or right as he walked to the front of the courtroom.

  That morning Jeannie had announced her intention to be there with him. She was seated alone in the last row on the side behind the girl who had recklessly taken the life of their only child. On the other hand, he could not suppress his surprise that she was sitting alone—not with Emma and Lars, although there was certainly room in their row. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Jeannie was sitting up very straight with her head bowed and her hands folded in her lap as he passed by. Was she praying? For him? For them?

  The night before, Geoff had slept in his office at school. After the whole VORP fiasco, things at home had gotten so bad that he had to get away—even if it was just for one night. So, knowing that Jeannie was probably out, he’d left her a voice mail saying he had a meeting that would keep him out late. She had not returned his call but when he’d gone into their voice mail later that night, the message was no longer there, so he knew she’d heard it.

  And done nothing.

  Well, what had he expected? That she would seek him out, come to the school looking for him? By what means? He had their only car, after all. He’d pulled a childish stunt intended solely to make her come around to his way of thinking. He wanted her to stop thinking so much about Sadie. He wanted her to forget about Rachel and her stupid VORP thing. He wanted his wife back on his side, fighting with him to find their way through this horror show. It wasn’t her presence in the courtroom that was confusing; it was her choice to sit alone.

  He took the oath the bailiff administered and then sat down in a hard wooden chair as Mr. Johnson, the state’s attorney, approached.

  Geoff stared straight at the lawyer as he gave his full name, residence, occupation, and relation to the defendant.

  “I… she is my wife’s niece.”

  “And yours as well by marriage?” Johnson asked.

  “Yes,” Geoff admitted, aware that Sadie had looked up at him.

  “And what is your relationship to the victim, Tessa Messner?” Johnson had softened his tone.

  “She’s—was—my daughter.”

  “Sir, tell the court what you were doing on the morning of August 28th.”

  “Getting ready to go to work,” Geoff replied.

  Johnson gave him a look that encouraged him to go on.

  “I was starting a new position at the school as vice principal, and I was running late.” He didn’t know what the man wanted him to say. Why didn’t he just ask him yes and no questions?

  “Go on.”

  Geoff closed his eyes, forcing himself to remember the day he wanted only to forget. “It was raining. I went outside. My wife had handed me an umbrella.” He opened his eyes and glanced at Jeannie, who was watching him intently now.

  “I don’t… Why did I have the umbrella? I was going to drive to school.” He realized that he was asking Jeannie.

  Johnson glanced at Jeannie and then positioned himself to block Geoff’s view of her. “Mr. Messner, you went outside, and then what happened?”

  “I was trying to open the stupid umbrella, and Tessa was laughing at me.”

  “Your daughter was also outside?”

  “Yes.” He was irritated by the attorney’s interruption. “Of course she was. She was waiting for her ride. It was raining. We were both going to be late.” Then he remembered. “I was bringing the umbrella out for Tessa.”

  “Why didn’t you drive her to school?”

  “She wanted to ride with our niece and Dan Kline.”

  Johnson picked up the photograph of Dan’s car. “This has been identified as Dan Kline’s car. Was this the car your daughter was to ride to school in that morning?”

  “Yes.”

  Johnson replaced the photograph on his table. “So, you were opening the umbrella to shelter Tessa from the rain while she waited. Then what?”

  “Tessa was teasing me. I can never seem to get those automatic umbrellas to work. She came to help me, and that was when I saw Dan’s car coming straight for us.”

  “And who was behind the wheel of that car, sir?”

  “Her.” He pointed at Sadie.

  “Let the record show that the witness has identified the defendant, Sadie Keller.” Next, Johnson held up a kind of floor plan that showed their house and the garage and the driveway and street. “Show us where you were standing,” Johnson asked.

  Geoff pointed, and Johnson drew a blue circle to indicate the spot. “And Tessa?”

  Geoff pointed again. “But I pushed her back—I told her to get out of the way when I saw the car coming toward us.” He tried to control the shudder that memory sent coursing through his body but failed.

  “Now, Mr. Messner, I know this is difficult, and we’re almost finished here, but please tell the court what you saw then.”

  Geoff closed his eyes again, squeezing them shut against the sight of his wife, his niece, his sister, and his brother-in-law, who in many ways had lost a child of their own that day. He thought about Matt and how when he’d gone to the kid’s school to invite him to come back to football practice, Matt had looked away and muttered something about having something else he had to do.

  “Mr. Messner?”

  “Tessa stumbled away, and the car suddenly changed directions and went into a spin. The back end of it caught Tessa and flung her up and then down again, and then she was just lying there… not a mark on her.”

  “And once again, Mr. Messner, who was operating the vehicle that struck your child?”

  “Objection,” Sadie’s lawyer said in a fairly normal tone. “Asked and answered.”

  “No further questions,” Johnson murmured and sat down.

  Sadie’s lawyer took his time rising and approaching the stand. He smiled in a polite, friendly way that immediately put Geoff on alert. He sat up a little straighter.

  “Sadie Keller is your niece, is that right?”

  “By marriage, yes.”

  “Your wife and Sadie’s mother are sisters, is that right?”

  “Yes.”

  “How long have you known your niece?”

  “All her life.”

  “So sixteen years. Your family and hers
are close then?”

  “We were until…”

  “Would you say that Sadie is a girl who gets into trouble?”

  “No.”

  “Is she a good student?”

  “Yes.”

  “Were you ever concerned about her influence on Tessa?”

  “No.”

  “Your daughter and Sadie were not only cousins, they were best friends—is that right?”

  “Yes.”

  “In fact, you and your wife had agreed to Sadie’s plan to have Tessa arrive for her first day at this new school with Dan Kline and Sadie because they were very popular with the other students, is that right?”

  “Yes, but…”

  “Dan Kline is the quarterback on the football team that you coach, is that right?”

  Geoff’s head was beginning to ache. The questions were delivered in a completely conversational way, but they were coming so fast. “That’s right.”

  “Would it be fair to say that you’ve gotten to know Dan Kline fairly well in the four years he’s played on your football and basketball teams?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is Dan a good student?”

  Geoff relaxed slightly. “Top of his class,” he replied.

  “Do you consider him to be a responsible young man?”

  “Yes.”

  “And yet on the rainy morning of August 28th, he willingly allowed Sadie to drive his car from her house to yours, is that right?”

  “Objection,” Johnson snapped. “The witness has no way of knowing…”

  “Withdrawn,” Sadie’s lawyer said, and Geoff thought that maybe it was finally over. But the rumpled young attorney only paused to glance at a note on his legal pad. “Mr. Messner, I’m going to ask you to think carefully now. When you saw the car come toward you and then swerve away, you’ve testified that your niece was behind the wheel.”

  “That’s right.”

  “And did you see Dan Kline at that same moment?”

  “Yes. He was in the passenger seat.”

  “Go on.”

  Geoff was confused. The barrage of questions answerable with a simple yes or no had changed.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You’ve testified that Sadie was driving and that at the last second the car swerved, missing you and hitting your daughter. In that split second, what do you remember about Dan Kline’s reaction to the situation?”

  It was as if a veil had been lifted and Geoff saw clearly for the first time what had really happened that morning. “He grabbed the steering wheel and turned it hard to the right,” Geoff said, his voice almost drowned out by the audible gasp that rippled through the courtroom.

  Geoff sat frozen in the witness chair, his mind replaying the detail that had escaped him every time he had allowed himself to think about that morning. Dan had grabbed the wheel.

  If he hadn’t, would Tessa be alive today?

  Chapter 34

  Sadie

  It felt odd seeing her uncle Geoff and aunt Jeannie in the courtroom—not exactly together, it appeared. Jeannie had come in and sat down alone in the last row, even though there were at least three empty chairs in the row where Sadie’s parents were sitting. Then Geoff had come in when called to testify, but he’d barely looked at anyone other than the lawyers the whole time he was on the stand.

  She hadn’t been sure where Mr. Cotter was going with his questions, but when he’d asked her uncle about her—what kind of kid she was, Uncle Geoff had said she was a good person, a smart student, and Tessa’s best friend. She wasn’t sure why that gave her some hope, but it did. Surely the opinions of a man of her uncle’s position in the community—a coach and vice principal—carried some weight, even if they were related.

  “By marriage,” she remembered Geoff saying at least twice. It was like he didn’t want to admit to being family with her unless he absolutely had to. When she considered that, all hope flew out the window. Geoff was making it clear—under oath—that their relationship as uncle and niece was over.

  But then out of the blue Mr. Cotter had asked him about Dan, and Sadie had gone on instant alert. Even though Dan had technically lied about her pleading with him to let her drive, Sadie had decided to forgive him. He’d been under a lot of stress, and maybe he hadn’t thought he was lying at all.

  Then Mr. Cotter had started to present her defense. He began by entering into evidence the depositions of a string of people who knew her well enough to talk about what a good student and all-around good person she was. Several of those very people were sitting behind her. Pastor Detlef had given her a kind smile as she entered the courtroom. Two of her teachers had also looked at her with sympathy. Sadie noticed that Mr. Johnson did not seem especially interested in what these folks might have said, and she began to have some hope that maybe he—like everyone else—just wanted to get this over with.

  “The defense calls Sadie Keller,” Mr. Cotter was saying, and Sadie realized that it was her turn to take the stand.

  She stood up and went to the place where all the other witnesses had stood when they took the oath. But she couldn’t take such an oath. It was against her religion to do so.

  Mr. Cotter was explaining this to the judge, and then Mr. Johnson said that the state was all right with Sadie simply affirming her intention to tell the truth as their church traditions had taught them.

  “All right,” the judge said, turning to speak to Sadie directly. “You understand that you are agreeing to tell the truth here? That this court is relying on you to honor the teachings of your Mennonite faith and tell this court only the truth when you answer these questions?”

  “Yes sir.” Sadie’s mouth had gone dry, and she cleared her throat. “I’ll tell the truth,” she assured the man in the black robe. “It would be a sin to tell a lie.”

  “Even if telling the truth may seem to get you into more trouble?”

  Sadie swallowed. “I will not lie, sir.”

  The judge peered at her over the rims of his glasses. “And do you also understand that you do not have to testify at all, and that if you choose to remain silent, that cannot be used against you?”

  “Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Cotter explained all of that to me.”

  “Very well. Get on with it, Counselor.”

  Joseph asked her to state her name, age, and address for the record. He asked her what school she attended. He asked her why Tessa was only that year starting to attend the academy. He asked her how she knew Dan Kline.

  When Mr. Cotter had come to the detention center the day before, he had warned her that the easy questions would be the ones he asked first. The more difficult ones would come later. And then he had gone through the questions, making notes when she gave her answers and sometimes reminding her to answer each question in the simplest way possible without adding any further comment or observation.

  When Mr. Cotter approached her, Sadie sat up straight and looked directly at the judge when she gave her answers, as Joseph had instructed. She was a good student normally, and she had caught on quickly to the rhythm of the give-and-take of the process of testifying.

  “In your own words, Sadie, begin with the moment you got into the car with Dan Kline at your home, and take us through exactly what happened.”

  Mr. Cotter had prepared her for this. He had gone over and over the way she would tell what had happened. She wanted to be sure she got it right. She took in a deep breath as Mr. Cotter had instructed and slowly let it out. And then she began, talking only to the judge as Mr. Cotter had coached her. “He is the person trying the case, hearing the facts. In an adult case, there would be a jury and I would tell you to talk to them, but here it’s the judge you need to convince.” She closed her eyes for a moment, reliving for what seemed the thousandth time every tiny detail of that morning. And then she opened her eyes and told the judge everything she recalled about that day. And even though she was interrupted numerous times by Mr. Johnson’s objections and Mr. Cotter’s gentle questions, she p
ressed on. It all came back to her as vividly as if it were happening again, and although she tried to give the judge just the facts, in her mind she couldn’t help but go all the way back to that day last spring when Dan Kline had first noticed her.

  Dan Kline was undoubtedly the world’s best-looking guy. A year earlier, Sadie would have done almost anything to catch his attention. He was tall—just under six feet—with broad shoulders and a slim muscular build. He moved with grace, and when he smiled, he had this dimple that made him appear boyish and almost shy. His eyes were an impossible shade of blue-green, and his blond hair had a way of falling over his forehead that just begged for a girl to brush it back with her fingers.

  Sadie could still remember the exact moment when he had focused those eyes and that smile on her. It had been a rainy day much like this one, only it had been last April. Like some dork, she had actually looked behind her to see who the lucky recipient of his attention might be. He had chuckled—a sound that came from somewhere deep in his chest. “Yes, I’m talking to you, Sadie Keller.”

  He had known her name. She thought she must have misheard him, but he was calling her by name and telling her that he had heard that she was helping out at the fruit co-op that her mom’s friend Hester Steiner had started. He wanted to do a term paper on the project, and maybe she could introduce him to some people there whom he could interview for his paper.

  Sadie was sure that once she got him to the people he needed to meet, he would forget all about her. But how wrong she had been. Dan had continued to sit with her at lunch, and the day he got an A on his paper, he had caught up with her as she walked home from school and walked the rest of the way with her. That was the day she had introduced him to her father. That was the day that her father had pronounced him a “nice young man.”

  On the day of the accident, they were starting a new school year—his senior year. Sadie could not help but worry that as a senior he might want to rethink hanging out with a lowly sophomore. There were plenty of girls in his class who were pretty and smart and far more worldly than she was. She had to make sure that she looked her best and that she did nothing that would give him cause to view her as too young or immature for him.