Brodntiz’s claim?”
Sean rose. He was unruffled. He swivelled to look at Ginny, then turned back to the judge. “There was no way we could have anticipated this, Madam Justice. May I consult with my client?”
“Of course. I understand this sudden reversal must have come as a shock.”
Sean came over to Ginny. “Do you consent to Mr. Brodntiz’s withdrawal of his claim to pursue custody and access issues at this time?” His voice was loud, clearly intended to be heard publicly.
Ginny’s voice was low and urgent. “I don’t consent to anything, Sean. I don’t want this surfacing whenever Jason decides the time is convenient.”
“That won’t happen,” Sean said. Then he smiled. “Trust me. This is over.”
Ginny nodded, then looked past Sean to the court clerk. “I consent,” she said.
Susan Gorges directed her gaze at Sean. “Can you assure this court that you’ve done your job and your client understands exactly what it is she’s consenting to?
“Yes, Your Honour. I’ve done my job. Ms. Monaghan is fully aware of the implications of her decision.” And he added, “She is also fully aware of the gravity of her decision. No one wants to further waste the time and resources of this court.”
“That’s reassuring,” Susan Gorges said. “Court will now adjourn so the parties may formalize a consent judgment. We’ll meet in the conference room on the main floor. I assume Ms. Wright and Mr. Barton know the location.”
The court clerk said. “All rise.”
Madam Justice Gorges disappeared through the door at the back of the courtroom, and the room erupted. The media pressed towards Ginny. Sean stopped them. “We have nothing to say at this time. Nothing.” He turned to his client. “Ginny, this won’t take long. I’ve already started on the consent form.”
Ginny rose. Her face was tentative, like that of an accident victim who can’t quite believe she’s escaped without injury. She reached out her hands to Sean. “I don’t know how to thank you,” she said.
“It was a good win,” he said, smiling.
Ginny turned to Ed and me. “It’s over. Wow! This changes everything.” She scanned the area around us to make sure that she could speak privately. “Time to kick-start the campaign again.”
The juices were flowing. Ginny cocked her head and gave me an impish smile. “You disapprove,” she said. “If I were a man, would you be disapproving?”
“Yes,” I said. “But I’d be offering my hand. Congratulations, Ginny.”
“Thanks,” she said absently. Her mind was already occupied with the next move. “We only have two weeks, so we’ll have to move fast. We should have a strategy meeting tonight – I’ll have somebody call you about the time and place, Joanne.”
I touched her arm. “Ginny, I know I promised not to offer advice, but I think you should spend the evening with the twins – no politics. Your daughters are going to need you to help them understand what happened here today.”
Ginny slapped her forehead with her palm. “I’m an idiot.”
“There’s a lot coming at you at once.”
“And my job is to handle it,” Ginny said furiously. “Well, no more amateur mistakes.” She squared her shoulders and headed towards the side exit where Sean was waiting. Then the two of them disappeared.
“People are full of surprises, aren’t they?” Ed said. “Jason didn’t strike me as a man who would make that kind of sacrifice.”
“You think he withdrew because of Chloe?”
“Without a doubt.” Ed said. “When I was in the stall in the men’s room, Sean and Jason were quarrelling. They kept their voices down, but I heard one of them – it must have been Jason – say, ‘If that got out, it would destroy their lives.’ ”
“I guess Sean decided he had to go for broke.” I said.
Ed’s face was grim. “He wouldn’t have played that card without Ginny’s consent.”
“She must have known Jason would protect the girls.”
“So she called his bluff,” Ed said. “Well, good for Ginny. But the next time you see her, tell her she lost my vote.”
Willie was waiting just inside the door when I got home. I bent down to give him a nuzzle. “Where’s our big, sparkly, star-spangled top banana?” I whispered, and Willie roared towards the office we’d added to the back of the house. Pantera was, as always, lying across the threshold, protecting his master. Taylor’s cats were, in the weird way of cats, flopped over Pantera’s back, asleep. I stepped over them and went to kiss my husband. He was in jeans, an open-necked brown shirt, and an ancient blue sweatshirt.
“I take it court is adjourned,” I said.
Zack ran his hand over his head wearily. “I won my case.” He pointed to a worn and eyeless Care Bear on the couch by the window. “Francesca gave me our friend over there as a thank-you present.”
“She’s happy with the outcome, then.”
“She’s relieved,” Zack said. “I don’t think Francesca has been happy in a very long time.” He stroked his jaw. “Anyway, it’s over.”
“Sean’s case is over too,” I said.
“Whoa,” Zack said. “That’s a surprise. Susan Gorges must be taking the chief justice’s admonition to speed things through the courts seriously.”
“The case never got to the judge,” I said. “Jason decided not to go for custody.”
Zack’s eyes widened. “What happened?”
“Well, I gather the issue was resolved in the men’s room.”
“Issues often are,” Zack said. “God, I’ll bet Margot was pissed.”
“She was,” I said. “And judging from her demeanour in court this afternoon, I don’t think she knew what was coming.”
“Margo doesn’t often let herself get broadsided.”
“I guess today just wasn’t her day. Actually, I probably know more about what happened than Margot does. Ed Mariani was in the men’s room when Sean and Jason Brodnitz had it out. Ed says Jason backed down because he didn’t want his daughter Chloe’s personal life brought up in court.”
“That doesn’t mesh with what I’ve heard about Brodnitz, but I guess even selfish pricks can love their kids.” The corners of Zack’s mouth twitched. “Boy, I’ll bet Susan Gorges tore a strip off Margot: ‘A responsible barrister would have examined a client rigorously, exposing any ambivalence before this court’s time and money was wasted,’ et cetera, et cetera.”
I laughed. “That’s just about word for word.”
“I’ve appeared before Madam Justice Gorges more times than I care to remember,” Zack said. “Margot has my sympathy.”
“So you’re over the time Margot threw tacks in front of your chair?”
Zack chortled. “She told you that? Not her finest hour – or mine, to be fair. But it was nothing personal. Just lawyers butting horns – you know, like elks.”
“Female elk don’t have horns.”
“Margot has strap-ons,” Zack shook his head. “I usually have a pretty good feel for these things. I can’t believe the Monaghan-Brodnitz case just went away.”
“It didn’t just ‘go away,’ ” I said. “Chloe Brodnitz used the blade of a box cutter on herself last night.”
The fun went out of Zack’s face. “Was she trying to kill herself?”
“No. According to Ginny, Chloe was careful not to cut anything that would affect her game. The school has a charity basketball game coming up, and Chloe didn’t want to jeopardize her performance.”
“So she was letting the world know she needed help.”
“That’s what the ER doctor thought.”
Zack shook his head. “Poor kid.”
“Yes, especially because the other kids look at her and see a golden girl who just glides through life. Gracie Falconer thinks Chloe and Emma are robots: talented, no freckles, no weight problems, no self-doubts.”
“Does anybody ever get out of high school unscathed?”
“I take it that’s a rhetorical question.”
