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The judge slammed her files down in front of her and breathed into the mic, “What a load of cock shit!”
She didn’t seem to realize that her mouth was still that close to the mic and when everyone froze and stared at her, she blinked a couple of times in shock. “I mean, court is dismissed, and the case is thrown out. Mr. and Mrs. Levine, you need to come and see me after,” she said.
I nodded as my wife scowled at me. The judge’s assistants around her were younger interns, and they looked like they wanted to lose their minds laughing, as they exchanged glances with each other, holding it together. Like a bat in the night, the judge stood from her seat, her black gown flowing as she exited the room and left us all to deal with the aftermath.
Swallowing and groaning, I contemplated whether or not sleeping in a hotel tonight would be my best option as I watched my wife stomp off.
Chapter 30
Tiffany
Mario,Jared,andIturned to face each other when my father decided to shut it all down. All the weight Jared had been holding into those broad swimmer’s shoulders tumbled off him in a heavy, audible sigh. He played with his tie and with the way he swallowed, it was like he’d just been rescued from drowning.
Mario sat frozen in his chair with his mouth open in shock. His only movement was when he grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. My heart was beating so fast, it felt like my lungs would collapse with the pressure. It was hard to believe that my father did that, and that it was all over until the judge left the room, and we were all left to wake up out of our trance.
The first thing I did was jump into Jared’s arms without thinking. My being was enraptured with relief and when I kissed him with force, it was in celebration of our release from what seemed like a mental prison. Leaning into him, the room went silent for me. The kiss consisted of a lot of face grabbing before turning around to launch myself into Mario’s arms, all the while sobbing and laughing and kissing him.
“I can’t believe this,” we all kept repeating to each other until reality broke through for a solid minute in awareness of where we were. Camera lights flashed, bringing my attention to the journalists sitting in the gallery. Chris was nowhere to be found, and my mother was frozen in dismay, looking at us. My father was just frozen, period.
Feeling self-conscious with all the attention, knowing we were standing in the courtroom basically all over each other, I wondered whether it was too much. Perhaps, I should’ve saved the kiss for a more private moment. But my worries were soon put to rest as Mario reached for me with one hand around my head and the other around my waist, pulling me back in for the kiss of a lifetime.
“Let them watch,” he whispered with a smile, and I grinned. We all had already been through too much to care at this point. Our show of affection was a symbol of our strength and freedom. Jared came up next to us, pulling my lips away from Mario’s for a bit. Thinking he was about to get mad at me for kissing him like that in public and scolding Mario and me for continuing, my body froze. Instead of reprimanding us, he tucked a finger under my chin and raised my lips to his before giving me a smile that sent thrills down to my toes.
“Let’s get the hell out of here.” Jared nodded toward the door, and I jumped up and down as if there was a pogo stick under my feet, grinning and clapping my hands together like a seal. They grinned as well, and I felt like if we weren’t so exposed in public, they would have joined in and jumped up and down with me.
We shoved files in our briefcases as if we were all worried this was a fluke or a dream. That the judge would walk back out and yell, ‘sike! Gotch yo ass’ like some villain in a movie who thought themselves funnier than they were. Alas, she didn’t come back out, and my heart flipped over and over in my chest with pure joy as I held both Mario and Jared’s hand on our way out of the courtroom.
As soon as we stepped through the door, however, it swung open again just moments later, almost slapping my men in the back. My mother huffed and puffed, clapping her heels down the hall in pure rage. Not even an insincere apology. Wow.
We watched her dodge the news crew and their cameras as she barreled through the courthouse exit. The door to the courtroom opened again, this time a lot gentler, revealing my father who looked first at my hands holding Mario’s and Jared’s. Then up at us. He fixed his mouth to speak but closed it quickly again, turning red in the face and neck before dropping his head and continuing forward.
My feelings put me in a tricky situation. I was overcome with gratitude that this was finally over, and that was thanks to him. But at the same time, I was so angry that he didn’t do what he did earlier. As for my mother’s rejection, it still hurt, but it was like a soft pang, gently echoing amongst the joyful noise occurring within my mind and body.
Releasing a long sigh that felt like medicine to my bones, I looked up at my men. “So, what do we do now?”
They both mirrored me, releasing a breath of their own and looking up at the ceiling as if that was a loaded question. “Well, now, we celebrate and focus on all the good things we lost during this…” Jared started.
“Magnificent waste of time?” Mario added, and we all grinned.
“Yeah, now we focus on what makes us feel good,” Jared responded with a smile.
“Mm, I like the sound of that,” I said.
“Me too,” Mario said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me into his side for a hug.
Jared chuckled. “Hey, we can do that too, but I was thinking more along the lines of relaxation.”
Sighing and smiling, I nodded. “That sounds nice.” But soon, the high became a little muddied. Don’t get me wrong, happiness and relief still set off inside me like I’d just received the most wonderful gift, but there was also a numb sort of ache within my heart center. It didn’t take me long to figure out what that was about.
“Hey, did Anthony ever show up?” I asked, on our way out of the courthouse.
They both shook their heads with an apologetic smile.
“But I’m planning to go check on him later,” Jared said. “I’ll let you know if I hear from him.”
Smiling at him, I reached for my phone to check if Anthony had even tried to get in contact with me. No missed calls. No messages. No Anthony. And it wasn’t like I even knew where he lived; he'd never invited me over. So, my only option was to whisper a soft prayer in the echoes of my heart for his safety and trust that Jared would keep his word.
“Please.” I nodded at him.
