“Of course it’s just my opinion! And everything you’ve said today is just your opinion. Everybody here’s got an opinion — that’s what we need a judge for!”
Lily and Ben were both subdued on the stand. They answered Buzz’s gentle questions as rehearsed, and when the time for cross-examination came, they each followed Buzz’s instructions: “No matter how much that sonuvabitch tries to provoke you, don’t say anything but that you both love Mimi and that you plan to raise her in a healthy, supportive environment.”
When all the testimony had been given, it was nearly four o’clock. Judge Sanders took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. With his glasses back in place, he said, “We’ve heard some very persuasive evidence from both sides today,” he began, “but it seems to me that there is one factor that has been overlooked —or intentionally ignored— by both Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Dobson, the claim that Mr. Benny Jack McGilly is Mimi Maycomb’s biological father. If Mr. McGilly is indeed the child’s father, it is only fitting that I give custody to Mr. McGilly, and, of course, his wife.”
Judge Sanders sucked in his breath, then exhaled. “however, Mr. McGilly’s claim to paternity is unproven. If Mr. McGilly is not the child’s father, certain evidence — particularly the video evidence presented by Mr. Hamilton — persuades me that the Maycombs could provide Mimi Maycomb with a healthier, more morally sound home environment.”
He took off his glasses to rub his eyes again. Lily wished his eyeballs would fall out into his hands. “Mr. Benny Jack McGilly,” the judge intoned, “I order you to submit to a DNA test to determine paternity. If you are Mimi’s father, in the interest of the rights of biological fathers, I will award custody to you and your wife, Lily McGilly. In the event that you have deceived this court and are not Mimi Maycomb’s father, custody will be awarded to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Maycomb.”
The judge looked at Ben. “Mr. McGilly, I’ve already talked to the folks at the lab over at Faulkner County Hospital. I explained the rather urgent nature of this case, and they said if you come in at eight A.M. tomorrow and bring Mimi, they can rush the blood samples down to Atlanta and have the results by Monday morning. Is that agreeable to you, Mr. McGilly?”
“Yes, sir.” Ben’s face was as white as a sheet of paper. Lily remembered what he had said when they were hatching this ill-fated scheme: “Nobody in Faulkner County is gonna make a McGilly submit to a DNA test.”
“All right, then,” Judge Sanders said. “Court will reconvene Monday at ten A.M., at which time the test results will be revealed and custody will be determined.”
Jeanie hugged Lily, and Ben clapped his son on the back. “Looks like y’all are about outta the woods!” Big Ben said, grinning.
“I can’t believe Jake Sanders would make a McGilly take a DNA test!” Ben was clearly incensed.
Lily, however, didn’t have enough fight in her to be incensed. The judge’s decision had made it official: She had lost everything.
“Well, now,” Big Ben said to his son, “a judge is an elected official. If he came across like he was giving custody to a couple homos without there being any scientific reason for it, he’d get voted outta office before he knew what hit him. This way, he can make it seem like the DNA test made the decision, not him. I know you don’t wanna have to go through the rigmarole of getting tested, but after the results get back, you’ve got no worries.”
“Right,” Ben muttered. “No worries.”
CHAPTER 21
It was awful, hearing Mimi wail as the lab technician pricked her to collect the blood sample. But it was even more awful knowing that this fleeting bit of pain was the least of Mimi’s problems.
What kind of woman would Mimi grow up to be, being raised by the Maycombs? Would she rebel like her mother, by becoming a radical intellectual? Or would she rebel in a more reactionary and self-destructive way, by turning to drugs and promiscuous sex at an early age? Or, Lily worried, would she not rebel at all? Would she swallow every idea that the Maycombs spoon-fed her and grow up to be a self-righteous fundamentalist housewife who thanked the good Lord that Ida and Charles
