Cracks in the Sidewalk(73)

“No, I don’t. I don’t have to defend somebody who blatantly defies a court order. But I want to get this thing over, so I’ll tell you this. Your story might be more believable if you said the kids were sick.”

“Well, they were,” he said immediately.

Noreen rolled her eyes. “And do you have a reason for missing the phone calls?”

“Uh, yeah.” Jeffrey waited for Noreen to give him a good excuse.

“Well, what is it?”

“Um, the kids were too sick to talk. So I unplugged the telephone because I didn’t want it to disturb their sleep.”

“If Judge Brill goes along with that lame-brained excuse, he’s gonna want some sort of assurance that this is not going to happen again.”

“I’ll give him my word it won’t.”

Noreen gave a cynical sneer. “Your word?”

“Yeah. What else can I do?”

“Your word is as good as nothing.”

“If you say that, for sure he’s not gonna believe me.”

“I’m not going to repeat it in front of Judge Brill, but let me give you fair warning. You’d better be on time, and you’d better look extremely contrite.”

“Oh, I will. I will.”



The following morning Jeffrey was already at the courthouse when Noreen arrived. He wore the same suit and tie he’d worn at the trial. “How do I look?”

“Fine,” Noreen answered. “I hope you’ve given some thought to what you’re going to say.”

Before he had the chance to run through it, they were called into the judge’s chambers.

Judge Brill’s eyes were narrow and he impatiently shuffled papers from one side of his desk to the other. Almost three minutes passed before he looked at Jeffrey.

“You have willfully defied the court order pertaining to your wife’s visitation rights. Is there any reason why I should not remove those children from your custody and have you incarcerated for the next thirty days?”

Jeffrey swallowed hard, and his voice came out high-pitched and squeaky. “I’m sorry. My children were all sick with colds, and I was beside myself. I had thought about calling Elizabeth earlier in the day, but with David throwing up and Kimberly running a fever, I got busy taking care of them and forgot. By the time I got all three kids in bed, I figured it was rather late to be telephoning.”

Judge Brill shook his head. “Mister Caruthers, you are a test of a man’s patience. I find it extremely difficult to believe that in each of these twenty-seven instances you experienced such dire circumstances that you could not perform your court-ordered responsibilities.”

“Judge, you’ve gotta believe me, that’s exactly what happened. And Elizabeth, she’s just looking for me to do something wrong so that she—”

“Stop right there. I would suggest you carefully consider what you say, since I already have affidavits attesting to the negative aspects of your behavior.”

“Your Honor,” Noreen said sweetly, “I apologize for my client’s behavior. Unfortunately, he sometimes allows his emotions to cloud his judgment. But he does earnestly care for his children and has given his word that going forward he will comply with all aspects of the court’s ruling.”

Jeffrey simply nodded.

“Very well, Counselor. I will allow Mister Caruthers one more chance. But be advised, if I am forced to address this issue again, he will go to jail regardless of what hardships it causes his family.”

“Thank you, Your Honor.”

~

Once outside the courthouse, Jeffrey grinned at Noreen. “Good work.”

“Wipe that stupid smile off your face and listen up,” she replied. “You may think because I’m a woman I’m a pushover, but you’d better think again. You remember Walt Petrecca, the criminal lawyer who suggested you call me?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, Walt owes me, and he’s got some pretty rough friends. If I have any more trouble with you, one of Walt’s friends is gonna pay you a visit, and trust me, his friend won’t stand on the stoop waiting until you get ready to open the door.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Warning,” Noreen replied. “I’m warning you.”





December 1985


Four weeks passed without incident. Jeffrey came every Sunday, sometimes at nine, sometimes nine-thirty, but never later. Every week he brought all three children. In the fifth week, he showed up with only Kimberly and Christian. David, he claimed, was attending a playmate’s birthday party.

“If this is gonna cause you to go off the deep end,” he told Charlie, “I’ll get him and drag him over here.”

Charlie told Jeffrey not to bother but to make certain David telephoned Elizabeth the next day.

The living room floor became Elizabeth’s playground. Whenever the children arrived she’d be settled in place, her back braced against the sofa and a collection of books and toys within easy reach. The floor acted as a level playing field, where she did not have to rise or stand or walk. The children scooted back and forth across her stretched out legs, vying for the closest position but not questioning the strange arrangement.

The two weeks before Christmas filled Elizabeth with such great happiness that she could almost forget the pounding in her head and the constant ache in her lower back. Although she could no longer make trips to the toy store, she made a list and allowed either Claire or Charlie to do the shopping.