“It’s a summons to court, ma’am.”
Stunned, she looked up at her antagonist.
“Judge Theodore J. Bellamy. It’s an informal hearing.” He touched the bill of his cap. “You have a good day, ma’am.”
He walked out, leaving her with her jaw hanging.
She quickly recovered and began to read. She was ordered to appear in court with Waffle accompanying her at one o’clock exactly one week from today. Oh. My. God.
On trembly knees she walked to the back room, sat down at the table and began to read the document again.
“Are you okay?” Betty Ann asked.
“Not quite. Can you bring me a cup of coffee?”
Betty Ann reappeared with a mug of steaming coffee and set it on the table.
“Thank you, Betty Ann.”
“Mind if I sit down?” Without waiting for an answer, the employee seated herself opposite Sandi and nodded toward the document. “What is that?”
“It’s a summons. I can’t believe it. Nick Conway is trying to take Waffle away from me through the court system.”
“Can he do that? I mean, I never heard of anybody suing somebody over a dog. And on such short notice. Nick must know the judge. Is it an official paper?”
Sandi turned the document over, but the back was blank. “It looks official.” She continued to read, barely hearing Betty Ann. “Oh, my God. He’s saying I stole Waffle and that I’m using him as a guinea pig for my weird pet food. What an asshole.”
Betty Ann made a dismissive gesture with her hand. “Oh, don’t worry about that. Those lawyers make up crap to make you look bad.”
Sandi sighed and sat back in her chair. “I know only one thing. I cannot afford to hire a lawyer.”
“Can’t you represent yourself?”
“I don’t know the first thing about doing that, but I guess I’ll have to.”
That afternoon, a frantic Richard called. “Sandi,” he blurted without even saying hello. “I saw your name on Judge Bellamy’s court docket. What is going on?”
Sandi walked to the back room and took a seat at the table. “You’re overexcited, Richard. Nick Conway is suing me for custody of Waffle.”
“This is insane. I know Judge Bellamy. He’s a tough judge. Hardline all the way. Just give that guy the damn dog and be done with this.”
Richard had never had a pet, not even as a boy. He couldn’t relate to her affection for Waffle or any animal. She gasped. “I will not. Not unless I have to. I have rights, too, you know.”
“I swear, Sandi, I’ve never seen this...this intransigent side of you.”
“How well I know. Well, you know what? Being some guy’s doormat has been one of my shortcomings for years. Good ol’ good sport Sandi. Just go along to get along. Well... no more.”
“Even if I had the time to help you, frankly, I don’t know if I want to be seen defending a dog. That’s a moot issue anyway because I’m tied up in court myself. I’ll see if I can find someone who’ll represent you on short notice.”
“No. I can’t afford a lawyer.”
“Sandi, I’ll find someone who’ll do it pro bono. As a favor to me.”
“You mean for free? No, Richard. I don’t want someone you know to represent me for free. I don’t want to owe you or your friends. You’re embarrassed by my animals. You don’t like Waffle. And half the time, I wonder if you like me. I want you to stay out of it and mind your own business.”
“Those are some nasty allegations, Sandi. I care about you. I feel obligated to help you. If you’ll just do as I tell you—”
“And if I don’t follow orders, will you still care about me, Richard?”
“All I’ve ever wanted you to do is being reasonable about those animals. But no. You’ve just kept taking on more.”
“You’re heartless, Richard. At least my animals haven’t robbed an elderly woman and cut her throat or carjacked any cars. All they want is a decent place to live out their lives. They have unconditional love for me. Do thieves and murderers do that for you?”
Big sigh on the line. “Okay, so we’re back to John Wilson again and what I do for a living. I think we’d better end this conversation. I’ll just leave you with this, babydoll. If you go before Judge Bellamy without a good attorney, you’ll lose.”
“If I do, it’ll be because it was meant to be. I have to go. I’ve got a million things to do. I’m going to hang up. And one more thing, Richard. Do not ever call me babydoll again.”
Sandi disconnected, then sat at the table for a few minutes, thinking. Her relationship with Richard was toxic. He annoyed her more often than he pleased her. They no longer had anything in common. Maybe they never had. Lately, he brought more stress than good times into her life. She should end it.
Six o’clock came. As she prepared to close, though Richard rarely came to her shop, he appeared. “Richard. What are you doing here? I don’t want to continue our earlier argument.”
“I didn’t like the way our phone conversation ended. Let’s go to dinner. I want to clear the air.” He bent down to kiss her, but she turned her face away. He straightened and stepped back, glaring down at her. “Oh, so it’s that way, is it?”
“I’ve been thinking all afternoon, Richard. I think we should end it. We don’t seem to have much going for us as a couple. You don’t have the time to put into a relationship and you don’t like my animals.”
“We’ve been together a year, Sandi. How can you say that? You just need to meet me halfway.”
“By doing what? Surrendering my animals to be euthanized? Giving up my work with WLA? I’ll never be able to do that, Richard. Now that I’ve seen how many unwanted creatures there are and how needy they are, I’m called to do this. I couldn’t live with myself if I threw it to the wind.
