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“Thank you, Mr. Levine. Did you also hear that she was being forced to be in that situation?” he asked, dropping his brows at me.
Scratching my brow, I shook my head. “Not exactly. It was shocking for the person who came upon such a sight, and it was shocking for me when they said it. I couldn’t imagine Tiffany chose to do that, and I assumed that it must not have been her choice,” I said. A pain sliced through my head out of nowhere. “The statement I made really came from a place of fear and concern for my daughter,” I added.
“So, you rushed to the news station to put a claim out there that you had no proof of and hadn’t even spoken to your daughter about?” he asked.
“I didn’t exactly rush. The news people were out there, and I was so angry. I didn’t think,” I confessed.
My wife’s gasp was audible; the whole reason the news people were outside our firm was because she called them to make her statement. And when I looked at her, she was twisting her mouth up as if she wanted to rip me apart. My cheeks reddened apologetically, but I sighed in resignation. I was just being honest.
“In my defense, I assumed that even if she were in trouble, she probably wouldn’t admit it,” I responded.
He smiled. He smiled? Why did he smile?
“With all due respect, Mr. Levine, that statement did nothing for your defense. But let’s continue. A few days ago, you somehow were able to get a search warrant authorized for our properties. Many things of ours were seized as a result of your assumptions. Tell me, Mr. Levine, did you find any proof whatsoever that your daughter was in any danger in our presence?” he asked.
“In all honesty, there hasn’t been enough time for the police to come back with a report on what they might have found since it’s still early days,” I said.
“Well, I for one, appreciate your need for honesty. It’s honestly refreshing, and I’d like to seize the opportunity to dive into some more of that honesty of yours,” he said.
My mind spun with the number of times he said the word, mocking me.
“Just a moment ago, you said ‘even if she were in trouble’, why did you say that?” he asked.
“Is that what I said?” I asked. “I don’t recall exactly what I said,” I responded. It wasn’t a lie. Heat was building beneath my collar, and the room was getting smaller with the pressure. It was hard to keep track of every single word leaving my mouth.
“You don’t remember what you said less than five minutes ago?” he said, incredulously.
“No, I don’t. I can’t be sure.” I shrugged. It felt like I was lying even when I wasn’t, and the need to prove myself was going off inside me like a smoke alarm preceding an explosion. The truth needed to get out of my body.
“Well, isn’t that convenient. Have you and your wife been tested for dementia recently?” Mario asked.
“Objection!” My wife jumped up, unamused. “Relevance?” she asked.
“Sustained. Please move on to the next question, Mr. Sharpe,” the judge said.
As Mario looked down, presumably to find his next question, I stared at the top of his gelled, swirly coif on his head, as my heart beat out an impatient rhythm. My conscience howled like a wolf in the night. It must have only been a second or two that he was standing, facing his papers before him, but it felt like everything was happening in slow motion. My mouth went dry, and my tongue went heavy, but the words rolled off it, nonetheless.
“Mario, you’re right. This has been a magnificent waste of time,” I started, looking over to apologize to my wife, who looked so pale, I might have thought she’d just died on the spot with her mouth frozen wide. But her heavy panting gave it away.
“Aww, come on, Val. Pick your mouth up off the ground. I know it. You know it. We all know it,” I said, and there was a collective gasp in the room as I held my heavy head down, stroked my forehead, and raised it again.
Getting up out of my seat, I turned to face the judge. “Your Honor, I’d like to apologize for this enormous waste of time.”
She was also not amused, tightening her face until her nose and mouth were as narrow as a mouse’s snout. “Mr. Levine,” she started and turned to face my wife. “Mrs. Levine! There are consequences for wasting the court’s time!” she said.
“Yes, Your Honor, I understand, and we will deal with those consequences,” I started.
“Your Honor, I do not understand what has gotten into my husband, but I do not stand for…” My wife jumped up from her seat and hurried to approach the bench.
“Valerie, enough. Give it up,” I grunted, shocking myself. I shocked Val as well because she stood, frozen, staring at me,
“What the hell? Way to go, Dad.” I heard Tiffany’s voice in the background but couldn’t bring myself to face her yet.
“Your Honor, when I first made the statement, I genuinely believed it. It was out of fear and concern as I said. But it became clear after Tiffany poured her heart out to us, we’d made a big mistake that we were too proud to take back. Coming to court was a bad idea with all the doubts but deep down, I was hoping for something to stick. Nothing did and after hearing Tiffany, Mr. Sharpe, and Mr. Crawford’s testimonies, I knew for sure that I’d messed up. I couldn’t keep up this charade any longer. The truth had to come out. I apologize, Your Honor, for wasting the court’s time. I apologize to my wife Val for letting her down and most of all… whoo!” I said, turning around and bracing myself for the guilt that was about to race through me as I faced my daughter.
Taking a few deep breaths didn’t help, and my body shook with emotion. Choked up, I raised my head to look her in the eyes as she deserved. “I’m sorry, Tiffany, for joining in on the parade of your personal life, disgracing you in public, and for hurting the people you care about. I’ll never be able to forgive myself for that.” My chest shook as I breathed and pulled my eyes away from hers.
Nodding toward Mario and Jared, I could only bring myself to utter a couple of words. “Apologies, gentlemen,” I said, turning toward the judge and my wife for my ultimate judgment.
