Page 5 of Christy

CHAPTER TWO

I know you said you’re going to try to work on balancing work and life. Just remember, not one eulogy at a funeral for someone has ever uttered the words, "If they only spent more time at work."

~Text from Pa to Max~

Max

I wake up and stretch. I know I should get ready and go into work, but I’m gonna work from home for a couple of hours and play hooky the rest of the day. I haven’t taken a day off in…fuck, I don’t even remember the last day I didn’t work at least a few hours. It’s Friday, and after this week, I think I’ve earned this partial day.

I’m living in the cottage that Jane had when she met my brothers. I would like to find and buy a place for myself, butlike everything else in life, that takes time, and there are never enough hours in the fucking day.

I get my ass up, do my morning routine, and start the coffee. I don’t bother getting dressed in my usual business attire, but slip on some comfy, worn jeans and a Henley. I love my work, I really do, but I feel like it’s become my whole existence. I knew going into law it was going to be more than forty hours a week, but I want… no, I need to be able to spend time with my family, the club, and if I’m being fucking honest with myself, I want to get to know Christy, and not just as her legal counsel.

The coffee machine makes the noise that lets me know it’s got some of its liquid gold ready for me. I doctor up my cup and grab a seat at the table. I open my laptop and get to work on my emails. There’s never an end to them, I swear. When I decided to go into criminal justice, I knew there would be cases where I would take on clients I believed were guilty but still deserved a proper defense. What I didn’t count on was how many people deserved appeals because their original counsel, often a public defender, did such a poor job. The number of inquiries I get a week about cases like that borders on ridiculous.

I really do need to hire a paralegal and another lawyer. My last assistant, who was also a paralegal, left when she realized I was not looking for someone to become a girlfriend or a wife. That’s the second one to do that. I mean, do these women watchmovies and think all of us are looking for that? I think keeping work and my personal life separate works best for me, plus I’ve never been attracted to aggressive women like that. Thankfully, I think Haley is going to work out just fine. Logan was great to recommend her. She’s not a paralegal, but she’s getting my calendar straight, and my filing system has never been so up to date. Right now, she’s only part-time because her little boy, Benji, has a lot of doctor appointments. That reminds me, I need to talk to Kierstie about what playpen to buy for the office so she can have him with her sometimes.

I get lost in my emails, responding to some that I can help with and referring others to different attorneys closer to the defendant. I also sent a few emails seeking guidance on how to help Christy and Mary get some identifying paperwork. I did some preliminary searching yesterday, and from what I found, Mary might have an easier time because she has the legal name of her father and paternal grandparents, thanks to Anna. She could also take a DNA test and prove her relationship to Anna. I’ve looked into the name Christy knew her father by, and there’s no trace of anyone with that name. I’m gonna talk to Ma. To see if Christy describes him to her, she might remember him if he was there when she was. Christy is also trying to remember if she knows her mother’s maiden name, but since she says she only heard it once or twice, I’m not counting on it.

My phone buzzes on the table next to me with an incoming text. I glance at the time and realize I’ve been at this for over three hours. I open my phone and see I’ve got two text messages.

Pa: I was thinking you and I could grab some lunch. What do you say?

Pa: You’re not at your office. You okay, Son?

Me: Yeah, I’m fine. I decided to work from home for a couple of hours and then take the rest of the day off. Wanna come by here and go for a ride on the way to lunch? It’s been too long since I went for a ride.

Pa: Get your boots on. I’ll be there in a few minutes.

Me: I’ll wait for you outside.

Pa doesn’t respond, but I shut my computer down, put on my boots, and grab my jacket. There ain’t much that some wind therapy can’t solve.

Pa pulls up a few minutes later, and he barely slows down, so I pull out behind him. We ride for almost an hour. About forty-five minutes into the ride, Jon pulls up next to me. Pa pulls into Lefty’s. Jon and I park next to him.

When I get off my bike, I look at Jon, and my face must show my surprise. He shrugs his shoulders. “I saw y’all ride past the shop. My mind wasn’t on work, so I decided to take a long lunch. Shandy’s working the front desk today and doing inventory. I don’t have the patience to deal with that today.” Pa has joined us and looks at Jon. “That’s because you’ve got your head up your ass about your sister and haven’t gone to talk to her since everything happened up on the mountain. You and Kierstie are the last two stubborn ones.” Jon looks like he’s gonna say something, but Pa holds up his hand. “That’s between you and Madison. I’m not getting involved, and we’re not here to talk about that. We’re here to get lunch and let your brother talk through some shit I can see swirlin’ around in his mind.” Jon nods, but I swear the tall fucker studies me the whole time we’re walking into Lefty’s and finding a table.

We sit, and the waitress comes over and takes our drink order. When she leaves, Pa leans back in his chair and looks over at me. “Son, now you know I try not to intervene in how my kids are living their lives, but other than the wedding last weekend, we’ve hardly seen you in months. You come in just in time forSunday dinner and usually duck out almost before dessert is done. You’ve not come to many family days at the clubhouse. I know you’re setting up your practice and getting it established, but, Son, this ain’t healthy. Your Ma is worried about you.” Pa never says he’s worried. He has always said, just Ma is, when we know it’s both of them.

The waitress brings our drinks and takes our orders, not one of us needing a menu here. Once she’s done, Jon speaks up before I can say anything. “I know you went into law to save those who didn’t get a chance for a fair trial and to help those others who won’t, but you can’t fucking drown yourself in that. I think I saw you more often when you were away at law school than I do now when you live just minutes away from us.”

I nod my head. “Believe it or not, you’re both telling me shit I know. I’ve hired Haley, and she’s working out great, but she’s not a paralegal or a lawyer. I need to hire one of each. Even with the caseload I’ve got, which I know is too much, I’m still turning down work because I don’t have enough time. Just today, I referred six cases to other attorneys because they’re closer to Walla Walla. That’s not a commute I’m looking to make, nor do I have time to do it. I love my work, but I don’t want it to be everything.” I take a sip of my beer and rub my face before I continue unloading on Pa and my big brother. “I’ve been wanting to find a place of my own to buy and haven’t even hada moment to look. Then there’s the whole dating thing…I don’t think I’ve even had dinner with someone in over a fucking year, and I’d really like to get to know—” Jon interrupts me. “Do you have someone you’re interested in, or do you want to be set up, because Jane has—” I hold up my hand. “Brother, I don’t need to be set up on a date. I can find a date. It’s the free time that I need to work on first.”

Pa nods. “Well, you got a whole family here to help you with whatever we can, but I’m glad to hear you’re gonna be getting some help in your office. Your Ma will be happy to hear. She should be seeing you more often. Does her heart good to see her kids as often as she can.” I glance over at Jon fast enough to see him roll his eyes. We both know Pa likes it just as much as Ma does, even though he never admits it.

The waitress brings our food, and we eat in silence for a few minutes before Jon gets a look on his face, telling me he’s remembering something. The only question is whether it’s gonna be something I want him to remember. Fucker has gotten me in trouble for shit years later thanks to his memory. “You’ve always been one to argue on someone else’s behalf. I remember you were maybe five, and Juan had gotten in trouble in school. We were like freshmen or something. Anyway, he got suspended for fighting, and Ma had to come and bring him home. You were home already since it was afternoon. I remember Juan sayingyou were stubborn and that he had to tell you why he was in trouble. I guess he fought some asshole who was picking on a girl in class. I don’t know what all was said then, but I remember Ror and I had just gotten home. You pushed a stool up next to Ma in the kitchen and climbed up it, pulling on her apron to get her attention. You then told her that you were mad at her because she was mad at Juan. You told her that she and Pa always told us to stand up to meanies, and that’s what Juan did. You shook your head at her, hopped off the stool, and stomped out of the room, yelling that maybe she was a meanie too. Ror and I laughed our asses off at that and at Ma’s expression. It was worth the smack from the lefse stick, watching her get schooled by a fucking kindergartener.”

“I don’t remember that, but it does sound like somethin’ I would’ve fucking done.” Pa nods. “I remember that, because when I got home from the shop that day, your Ma had a look on her face that I’d never seen. She told me what you did and that you were right, but she couldn’t let a five-year-old know that. She said none of the parenting books ever prepared her for a five-year-old lawyer. After that, I think she was always prepared for you to have some argument to defend your siblings.”

I lean back from my almost finished burger and decide to share with Pa and Jon something that’s been weighing on my mind. “So, what I’m about to tell you stays between us, alright?” BothPa and Jon give me a look. “I’m serious. I’m not their attorney, so I’m not breaking the law, but… I haven’t decided how to handle it, and I think some people in our family aren’t quite ready to hear it just yet.”

Jon looks around and back to me. “This ain’t something we need privacy to discuss, is it?” I shake my head. “No, nothing like that. I got a letter from Tyson a couple of days ago. His sentence is almost up. He’s gotta live in a halfway house for thirty days as part of his plea agreement, but he’s wondering if he’d be welcome to move back here, maybe even prospect for the club.” Both Pa and Jon look a little stunned, but Pa gets it together quicker. “That wasn’t even in the top twenty things I thought you might bring up.” He plays with his beard for a moment, then asks me the million-dollar question. “Do you think he’s clean or that he’s gonna stay clean?” I shrug. “Where he’s at? He’s most likely clean now. Will he stay clean once he’s out? That’s the million-dollar question. I was gonna show the letter I got to Mayson and Jeremiah since they know him as well as I do.” Jon looks at me. “What about Shane? I mean, he is Tyson’s big brother. What about Grant?” I shake my head. “I think Tyson is embarrassed and still working through shit when it comes to them. This is, I think, the third or fourth letter he’s sent me, but it’s the first one he’s mentioned moving back here once he’s out.”

Pa looks like he’s studying me. “You’re thinking of going and visiting him, aren’t you?” I nod. “Yeah, I mean, I was thinking of seeing if Mayson and Jer or even Kinsley or Hanna wanted to go. We’re the ones who were closest to him before…before everything. I was thinking if one of them went with me that we could both observe him and make sure he’s not looking to come back here just to use again.”

Jon takes a moment before he makes a decision. “I’m not making any promises about his being able to join the club. He’s family, but I’ve got to protect all of us. Shane, Kierstie, and their little ones could get attached, and then if he relapses, it would cause some serious pain. I think he needs to do his time at that place when he gets out, come out here, find regular meetings, and get a job. See how that goes for a while, and then we might talk about him joining the club.”

Pa nods but throws in some words for thought for both Jon and me. “No one knows what’s going to happen in the future. Tomorrow’s not promised to any of us, and it wouldn’t be fair to make Tyson wait forever. I think most things in recovery are measured with one year of sobriety. Maybe he needs to be out and living here for a year, clean and sober, and we can have him prospect if he wants. We’re family, and we shouldn’t expect perfection, just progress and patience to let individuals work on bettering themselves for their best life.”