judge.
I tried to assure him that it was, but my voice cracked, and it took a couple of tries.
He looked down at his notes. ‘Joseph Elder, Buddy, is one of your students?’ I said that he was. The judge considered this fact for a moment. ‘You have any idea how the two of you can avoid another incident of this nature?’
‘I’d be surprised if he didn’t drop my class.’
‘And if he doesn’t?’
‘We’re not going to have any problems, Your Honour.’
‘Make sure you don’t, Dr Albo. You come into my court with another incident involving that young man and I’m going to feel like I made a mistake this morning.’
I felt a flutter of hope.
‘I don’t like to make mistakes. What is more, the voters don’t like it when I make mistakes. Are we clear on that?’
‘Yes, Your Honour.’
‘I’m going to ask you to make two promises to me this morning. First, that you’ll stay out of The Glass Slipper for as long as I sit on this bench. Second, that you’ll avoid any sort of confrontation with Mr Elder.
Can you do that?’
‘I can.’
‘Can you promise it?’
‘I promise, Your Honour.’
‘If you break your promise to me, son, if you so much as get in a shouting match with Mr Elder, I will spare no effort in attempting to ruin your life, in the legal sense of the word, of course.’
It occurred to me that I should attempt to explain to the judge that Buddy Elder had apparently decided to ruin my life, in an illegal sense of the word, and that I might not have much choice about how I dealt with the young man, but I very wisely followed my instinct and kept my mouth shut. I had made my promise and meant to keep it. At that moment I could not imagine ever going back to The Slipper or crossing paths with Buddy Elder again. I had the best intentions that morning, jail will do that, but as things turned out I would end up breaking both promises.
‘Ms Etheridge, kindly take your client out of my courtroom. All charges are dismissed.’
We had to wait for an escort back to the city jail so I could reclaim my property and return my orange jumpsuit, though I would have liked to keep it for a souvenir. While we waited, I ran through the incident for Gail’s benefit, beginning with the diary. I described everything I could recall reading. I omitted only the fact that my wife had very nearly unloaded her revolver before showing me the door.
A fairly good friend who also happened to be getting paid to listen, Gail appeared to accept everything I said. I had the feeling, though, that she didn’t really believe me. She was neither stupid nor naive. If a diary existed which described an affair, then no matter what I said she was going to assume there was an affair.
Why else would a young woman write twenty or thirty s in her diary about it? My wife, after all, who knew me better than anyone, believed it. Why shouldn’t my lawyer?
‘One thing,’ Gail said. ‘Do you think Leslie Blackwell will get a copy of this diary?’
I shrugged. ‘What if she does?’
Gail’s expression grew sombre. ‘That’s the question, isn’t it? The affair started last summer?’
‘There was no affair.’
‘Right.’ Gail tried hard not to roll her eyes. ‘The alleged affair allegedly started…’
‘Last summer. That’s the way I understood it anyway.’
‘According to her she takes a class with her lover.
The live-in boyfriend makes a fuss when he finds out.
He wants revenge, and maybe an insurance policy against the two of you getting back together again, so he has her file her bogus complaint of sexual harassment. Is that about how it works out?’
‘There are rules against vendetta complaints.’
‘If life were only so simple. Unfortunately, the affair, sorry, alleged affair, lends credibility to Johnna Masterson’s complaint.’
‘I don’t follow. What does Johnna Masterson have to do with it? You said yourself her complaint is groundless.’
‘Look at it from Leslie Blackwell’s point of
I tried to assure him that it was, but my voice cracked, and it took a couple of tries.
He looked down at his notes. ‘Joseph Elder, Buddy, is one of your students?’ I said that he was. The judge considered this fact for a moment. ‘You have any idea how the two of you can avoid another incident of this nature?’
‘I’d be surprised if he didn’t drop my class.’
‘And if he doesn’t?’
‘We’re not going to have any problems, Your Honour.’
‘Make sure you don’t, Dr Albo. You come into my court with another incident involving that young man and I’m going to feel like I made a mistake this morning.’
I felt a flutter of hope.
‘I don’t like to make mistakes. What is more, the voters don’t like it when I make mistakes. Are we clear on that?’
‘Yes, Your Honour.’
‘I’m going to ask you to make two promises to me this morning. First, that you’ll stay out of The Glass Slipper for as long as I sit on this bench. Second, that you’ll avoid any sort of confrontation with Mr Elder.
Can you do that?’
‘I can.’
‘Can you promise it?’
‘I promise, Your Honour.’
‘If you break your promise to me, son, if you so much as get in a shouting match with Mr Elder, I will spare no effort in attempting to ruin your life, in the legal sense of the word, of course.’
It occurred to me that I should attempt to explain to the judge that Buddy Elder had apparently decided to ruin my life, in an illegal sense of the word, and that I might not have much choice about how I dealt with the young man, but I very wisely followed my instinct and kept my mouth shut. I had made my promise and meant to keep it. At that moment I could not imagine ever going back to The Slipper or crossing paths with Buddy Elder again. I had the best intentions that morning, jail will do that, but as things turned out I would end up breaking both promises.
‘Ms Etheridge, kindly take your client out of my courtroom. All charges are dismissed.’
We had to wait for an escort back to the city jail so I could reclaim my property and return my orange jumpsuit, though I would have liked to keep it for a souvenir. While we waited, I ran through the incident for Gail’s benefit, beginning with the diary. I described everything I could recall reading. I omitted only the fact that my wife had very nearly unloaded her revolver before showing me the door.
A fairly good friend who also happened to be getting paid to listen, Gail appeared to accept everything I said. I had the feeling, though, that she didn’t really believe me. She was neither stupid nor naive. If a diary existed which described an affair, then no matter what I said she was going to assume there was an affair.
Why else would a young woman write twenty or thirty s in her diary about it? My wife, after all, who knew me better than anyone, believed it. Why shouldn’t my lawyer?
‘One thing,’ Gail said. ‘Do you think Leslie Blackwell will get a copy of this diary?’
I shrugged. ‘What if she does?’
Gail’s expression grew sombre. ‘That’s the question, isn’t it? The affair started last summer?’
‘There was no affair.’
‘Right.’ Gail tried hard not to roll her eyes. ‘The alleged affair allegedly started…’
‘Last summer. That’s the way I understood it anyway.’
‘According to her she takes a class with her lover.
The live-in boyfriend makes a fuss when he finds out.
He wants revenge, and maybe an insurance policy against the two of you getting back together again, so he has her file her bogus complaint of sexual harassment. Is that about how it works out?’
‘There are rules against vendetta complaints.’
‘If life were only so simple. Unfortunately, the affair, sorry, alleged affair, lends credibility to Johnna Masterson’s complaint.’
‘I don’t follow. What does Johnna Masterson have to do with it? You said yourself her complaint is groundless.’
‘Look at it from Leslie Blackwell’s point of
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