The days seemed to fly by. Tanya
had done an excellent job of keeping my mind occupied when I wasn’t at work,
and she even offered to go with me to court.
“You need someone there with
you,” she insisted on that Tuesday morning.
But I didn’t want her there. I
didn’t want anyone there, in all honesty.
No one really knew the whole story about that night, and I wasn’t
looking forward to reliving it. Nancy
had coached me on what could be asked, and to keep my answers simple and to the
point – no matter how angry or frustrated I may become. It unnerved me knowing that even though I was
the victim, the defense would do everything in their power to make me look like
the bad guy.
“You just be ready and waiting when I get back,” I told her. “I have a feeling I’ll need you when I’m
done.”
She smiled and gave me a hug.
“You got it.”
Tanya had become a good friend in the past few weeks, especially since
Kevin was so paranoid and quiet lately.
We had spent a lot of time talking and getting closer. Oddly enough, as much as she knew about my life, I still didn’t know too much
about hers. But she was a good listener , and I
considered myself lucky to have her around.
It had been getting far too lonely in Reno lately, even my coworkers
seemed to sense the stress I was under and had begun to keep their
distance.
Kevin suddenly walked out of the room and up to me and Tanya. “You ready?”
I nodded. Tanya turned and went
back to her room, and Kevin and I got into the car.
We were both quiet on the ride to the courthouse. Finally, Kevin broke the silence.
“I can still go with you, if you want,” he said, still staring straight
ahead.
I sighed. “Kev, I think Nancy is
right. You need to just wait. Outside.
Please. I know you want to be there, but it’s for
the best.”
He gave an irritated nod. “It
just sucks, is all.”
I chuckled. “The whole situation sucks. But hopefully it will be over soon.”
When we pulled up to the courthouse, he leaned over and gave me a
tender kiss. “I love you. And I’ll be right out here waiting.”
“I know. Thank you. I love you too.”
And with that, I smoothed out the black slacks and blazer Nancy had
instructed me to wear, bought specially for court, and walked into the
courthouse.
I looked around nervously, hoping I wouldn’t see him, at least not until the hearing began. Then I spotted Nancy walking briskly toward
me. I smiled hesitantly as she
approached.
“You look great,” she said, reaching out and touching my shoulder. “And you’ll be fine. Just remember what I told you. They’ll try to goad you, make you angry or
uncomfortable. Just stick with the
facts. Answer honestly, and be
yourself. And most importantly, remember
that none of this was your fault.”
“I know,” I responded. “I will.”
She directed me to the courtroom, and we sat at the prosecution’s table
waiting for the hearing to begin. Nancy
took out a legal pad and started making notes.
The courtroom was basically empty, and no one was seated at the defense
table.
Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw him, walking in with his
attorney.
I felt my gut clench up and I thought I was going to vomit. He was wearing a suit, for God’s sake, acting
like he was some respectable human being.
He looked my way and smiled. I
quickly faced forward again and began to shake.
Nancy looked up from her writing and directly at me. She glanced over at the defense table and
gave a small nod. Then she leaned over
to me and whispered, “You can do it.
Let’s put this bastard away.”
I took a deep breath and remembered all the pain he had caused me
already. I wanted this over. Now.
“I’m ready.”
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