CHAPTER 55: WHAT A WEEK…GREAT FOR SOME NOT FOR OTHERS…HE-HE-HE

QUBE HOUSE – FRIDAY MID-MORNING

KITCHEN

ZEE

Mom has been gone for 2 weeks and we’re all missing her.  Brian was saying that finally he could eat without her loading up his plate and watching him finish it but nobody has mentioned that he has loaded his plate just the same and cleared it.  He’s put on weight and at first, he was appalled but with the exercise regime it’s not turned to the dreaded fat but honed muscle, much to his delight and Justin’s appreciation.

They are all trooping back from their run and as per usual Brian and Justin are bringing up the rear.  I hold up my hand and yell to the rest of the family that they’re all back.

“Okay where?”  I ask, starting to plate up breakfast with Emmy and Debs.

“Where what?”  Brian asks, trying to keep his smirk off his face and failing.

“Babies to get fed.  Where?”  Daph orders.

“4th corner of the maze.”  Justin grins.

“Who had maze?”  Ted asks.

“Yes!  Finally, I thought I would never win another pot again!”  Debs crows.

Breakfast was its usual raucous, lovely event.  Francine has Aaron and Emily has Cara. They are two of the most beautiful babies and so good.

The boys start to troop upstairs to get changed and I load the dishwasher and try to stop grinning when Brian sniffs both Cara and Aaron’s heads before he goes up.

“God they’re going to be so spoilt by those two.”  Francine grins, burping Aaron.  “Have you seen the outfits that they have?  They’re going to be better dressed than me in a year.”

“In a year?”  I frown.

“Yes some of the clothes that they’ve bought for them are for a year ahead.”  She replies while putting Aaron in his bassinet within the nook.  I just shake my head, making my way to the lounge.

“This is Zaden.  Oh hey mom how you doing?”  I plonk on the sofa and grab my Groomzilla folder.  “You are much missed up here.  Brian has been griping about the standard of the bread, Tom has not been happy.  Told you should’ve left the recipe.”

I flick through the file, listening to her chat about what’s been happening with Uncle Luc and Aunt Dee.

“So what’s really up?  What? Are you fucking with me?”  I want to scream.  “So she’s back there? Where?  Ah well at least she’s still in jail.  Wait, what? She’s going to do what?”  By the time she’s finished telling me what’s going on with the stroppy little strumpet, I’m slightly calmer but still pissed she’s manipulated her way there.

“Mel!  Sol!”  I bellow and close my eyes, taking calming breaths and rubbing my temples to stave off the headache I can feel starting to pulse.

“Who’s done what?”  Carl asks, startling me. He’s not the only addition; everyone’s here.

“Uh.  Hang on sweetheart.  Talon come on!”  Debs bellows.

“Sorry had to let Rocky out and then Bullwinkle…”  She breathlessly explains.

“Those names.”  Zeph snickers, earning a glare from both Ralph and Talon.  “Sorry, I’m sure they’ll grow into them.”

“Anyway, what were you bellowing for the attorneys for?”  Carl prompts.

“Lindsay is back in Pittsburgh…wait, she’s not free but at the correctional facility.”

“What the fuck for?”  Brian growls.

“According to mom, she’s going to testify for Michael.”

“What on earth for?”  Leda sighs crossly.

“And why are we hearing this from you and not Ephraim?”  Mel snatches out her phone and starts pacing.  “Ephie, it’s Mel.  Lindsay is back in Pittsburgh.”

“Um, okay…and this is my concern because?”

“According to sources, she’s going to testify for Michael.”

“Aah fuck!”  Ephie sighs.

“Why weren’t you told about this? What kind of lawyer has he…”

“He’s representing himself, remember?  Most likely he’s thinking he’s Perry fucking Mason.” he sighs heavily. “Let me make some calls!  Give me an hour.”

“Fine.  Thanks and sorry to have…”

“No, it was deserved.  Sorry we fucked up.”

“Yes we did.  I’m coming back.”  Charles decides.  “I could’ve caught this.”

“Great.  When do you think you’ll be back?”  The relief in Ephie’s voice is palpable.

“Let’s decide when you call back.  I think there are other folks that want to go back too.  Am I right?”  I look round and there’s nodding.  “And besides, we’re going to have to leave the parents alone at some point. It might as well be sooner rather than later.”

“Let me call Mac.”  Faal pauses and grins.  “Actually Zan, can you call Mac and get her over with the big plane?”

I sigh.  “Sorry guys, I freaked and…”

“Stop that right now!”  Debs orders.  “You, as usual, gave us somewhere to regroup and we have... so let’s start packing up.  We’ll be back the Saturday before the wedding and blessing, okay?  Actually, no you tell us when you want us back but that’s the earliest we will be back.  Alright?”

“Thank you.”  Emily smiles tearfully.  “We will let you know.”

“Vince you’re still on paternity leave but we need you back for the trial.”

“Thanks Mr T, Mr K…”

“First FaceTime session is next weekend.”  Jenny asserts.  “We’re at grandma and grandpa’s, but this weekend everyone is at their own home.”

“My granddaughter has spoken.”  Carl chuckles.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON – BRITIN

MASTER BEDROOM

JUSTIN

Our eyes are locked on each other. His eyes are so expressive right now and they’re saying let me fucking move but I’m determined to keep him locked still for as long as I can.  I clench and wrap my legs tighter.

“Pl-please Justin, please.”

“Kiss me then you can move.”  I whisper and he swoops down to claim my mouth.  With each thrust, he nails my prostate in slow motion.  My cock is throbbing so hard and I know it’s going to be intense, even more so because we are home.

I tear my mouth from his so I can scream my orgasm out.  “Ohohoho!  Yes!”  I squeal.

“Fuck oh fuck!  Oh fuck me!”  He yells and slams his hips twice and I don’t remember a thing after that.

TREEHOUSE

MASTER BEDROOM

ZEE

“Christ I needed that!”  I groan and prop myself up on my elbows.  “You give the best back massages ever.  I was a mass of knots.”

“You were indeed.”  Faal chuckles.  “It’s so good to be home.  So do we need to do something about your mom and her ability to find out information?”

“Nah, pretty sure Uncle Luc will have covered the legalities of it all.  Now I love my family but I’m so glad we get this weekend to ourselves.”

“Hmm, I think everyone is.”  He kisses my shoulder.  “Jenny is just adorable!”

PENNSYLVANIA UPSTATE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY – TUESDAY MORNING

INTERVIEW ROOM

MICHAEL

Well I can’t wait for this meeting to start!  I am absolutely fucking furious.

“Where are they?”  I demand of the guard, who just shrugs.

After another 10 minutes they come in.

“Defence lawyers Williams, Maatje and Phelps-Brown have entered the interview room…”

“Late.”  I snipe.

“Novotny.”  The guard warns.

“Well they are.”

“Yeah the traffic was a bitch…”  David’s bitch sneers.  “Oh wait, you wouldn’t know about that because you’re in here.”

“I want to…”

“Before you start.  Do you have anything for us this time?”

“No.  But I want to sue Taylor for harassment.”  I announce smugly.

“Harassment?”  His bitch remarks.  “How is he harassing you?  Bear in mind if you’re going down the whirling dervish eye rolling route, it’s not going to work as we’ve already said.”

I throw the envelope on the table.  “This!”  I hiss.  “He sent this!  I don’t want to see that!”

They nod at the guard and he takes out the card.  “Corrections Officer Mount has taken out the Christmas card that Novotny has received allegedly from Taylor.”  His bitch says.

“They don’t look anything like either of them.”  I scoff.  “But you can tell who the mother is.”

“Aww can I see?”  Williams coos and takes the card.  “Wait, is that Gucci?”  He laughs.  “So how is this harassment?”  He asks.

“He’s rubbing it in my face that he has kids with Brian now.”

“No he’s not.  Besides he already has a child with Brian.”  Judge Bitch takes the picture and smiles.

“Huh?”

“Gus is also their son, remember?”  She hands the card back to me.

“Gus is Brian and Lindsay’s son.”  I point out.

“No he’s Brian and Justin’s son.  You were at the emancipation hearing… as was I.”  Judge Bitch smirks.

“Fuck you.  You were most likely on the rag at the time.  And most probably just took it out on us because Lindsay’s a better woman than you and I…”

“Novotny up!”  Officer Mount barks.

“No, it’s fine.”

“Are you sure ma’am?”

“Quite sure.”  She smiles at him and then turns to me.  “We need your witness list now.”

“I don’t have it.”  I smirk.  “I’m not sure who to call yet.”

“Here.”  She slides a piece of paper to me and I open it up.

“What’s this?”

“Oh sorry Perry, don’t you know a court order when you see one?”  She leans back and looks coldly at me.  “Witness list now.”  She shoves a pad and pen at me and I start to write.

Fifteen minutes later, I slide the pad back to her with a slight smirk.

Judge Bitch reads down the list and raises her eyebrow.  “Interesting.  Zaden is on your list but Lindsay isn’t?”

“Oh in that case, we can call her instead.”  Williams looks at them and they both nod.

My mind starts to race.  “I missed her off, that’s all.”

“You need to put if they are character or evidentiary witnesses.”  She adds.

Sighing, I make the notes.  “Is that it?  Where’s your list for me?”

“You already have it. We gave it to you the first meeting.  You can’t have Zaden as an evidentiary witness since we have proof she wasn’t there at the time.”

“But she most likely gave Hunter the money to buy the garage company.”  I snap and sit back, smugly.

“Which makes her, at worse, an over-indulgent mother so she should come off entirely.  You don’t want her to be a witness to your character after you tried to attack her twice. You may have forgotten that but nobody else has.”

I glare at Officer Mount when he snickers and shakes his head.

“Same goes for Hunter and Jenny. They can’t be evidentiary, as again, we can prove that they weren’t there…you know, by their birth certificates amongst other things.”  His bitch smirks and crosses out evidentiary.  “Shall we put character, just for laughs?”

“Fine.  Is that all?”

“The harassment thing you want to do to Justin.  You can’t.”

“Why not?”  I demand.

“You would need a DNA test and of course fingerprints.”  Williams says standing up and gathering his things.  “Oh wait... we need to leave him a copy of this or would you like to copy it out in your bestest handwriting again?  Once you’ve signed and dated it, of course.”

Officer Mount is now chuckling as he taps on the window and someone comes to the door. They wait for me to sign and date it then take it away.

“Why do I need a DNA test and fingerprints?  I mean I know why; I just need to make sure that you do.”

The slapping of Officer Mount’s hand on his forehead echoes round the room.  “Okay.  Excuse me, can I take this one?”

“Uh of course.”  Judge Bitch is taken aback…take that you uppity cow!

“This is a family Christmas card.  So you would need to DNA and fingerprint test everyone in that picture to find out who last touched the card and who licked the envelope.  Once you ascertain that then you can sue them for harassing you but that would not necessarily make it Taylor.”

I nod and smirk at them.  “See you on the 6th.”  I crow and they walk out, shaking their heads.

As we head back to my cell, I look up at him.  “Why did you help me?  I mean I knew that stuff but why did you do what you did?”

“You knew that…”  He comes to a halt, rubbing his face.  “Look I didn’t help you.  I was being sarcastic and handed you a crock of shit because you’re being an ass.  Do yourself a favour, stop playing Perry Mason and accept whatever deal they offer you to serve out your time.”

I’m livid but since I don’t want another revocation, I take a couple of breaths.  “Why would they offer me a deal, I know…”

“Shit... you know shit!”  He snaps, striding along and walking so quickly I have to run to catch up.  “Any prison sentence you get, which you will, will be a great deal shorter if you either take the deal or get an actual attorney to represent you.  Because if you represent yourself Matlock, the contempt charges will double your time!”

In no time, we’re back at my cell and I step in glaring at him.  “Fucking cunt.”  I mutter after the door closes. Two minutes later, the door opens again.  “Did you forget something?”  I ask.

“No but I had to calm down before I instigated the revocation.  Novotny out!”

PITTSBURGH WOMEN’S CORRECTIONAL FACILITY – TUESDAY AFTERNOON

LINDSAY’S CELL

LINDSAY

“Wow! You still crying over this Christmas card? Why is this so upsetting for you?” Martha, my cellmate asks.

“She shouldn’t have had kids for him.  I knew it was a lie that she had the kids for Emily!”  I wail.

“Why should it have been you?  You’re way too old and besides I hate to burst the Brian bubble you are living in but I found this under your bunk.”

She hands me a note.  Lindsay.  This is Cara and Aaron, pictured here with their godfathers Brian and Justin.  Jenny is their godmother.  As you can tell from their colouring and their noses, according to doting great grandma Jen, Daphne and Vince are their parents and all four of us are co-parenting but they will living with us in Portland.  Whenever you come out of prison the restraining order against you will come into effect as I don’t trust you.  I hope you take the time in jail to take a good hard look at yourself and start to become a better person.  Emily.

I scrunch up the letter and wipe my face.  “Oh that bitch!  I’m going to wipe that smug smirk she’s most likely sporting off her face…”

“Did you not read what she said?  You will have a restraining order against you and from what I hear of Kinney and what I heard about your previous trials, going up against them again would be a bad idea.”

“What do you mean?  What do you know about my previous trials?”  I frown at her.

“Honey, this is Pittsburgh and anytime a WASP comes in we want to know why.  Piece of advice, stay away from this Emily and more importantly keep your entitled nose clean and your mouth shut.  There are a lot of people in here who are mothers and don’t appreciate what you did.”

“I…”

“Should’ve stopped the moment you lost the first case.”  Martha glares at me.  “Nose clean and mouth shut, that’s all you need to do.”

She walks out and I feel shaken and as a guard comes over I burst into tears.  “Problem Peterson?”

“I just got a card from my ex and it was upsetting.”

“I see.”  He leans against the door.  “Listen to Martha, she knows what she’s talking about.  Oh and by the way, those tears aren’t going to work on me.”

I scowl at his retreating back but make my face blank when he turns back.  “Your attorney is on his way. I heard another guard talking.”

INTERVIEW ROOM – TWENTY MINUTES LATER

BIRCH

She’s glaring at me in what she thinks is an intimidating manner but I’ve faced down serial killers; she’s nothing.

“Problem?”  I ask, twirling my pen.

“Apparently, there is going to be a restraining order against me when I get out of prison for these two people.”

She slides the card towards me and points out two women.

“Not quite.”  I slide the card back.

“More bullshit from her?”  She shakes her head.  “She truly is pathetic.”

“Pathetic why?”  I ask and she unfurls the scrunched up note.  

“Is there anything I can do about this?”  She demands.

“Obey it.”  I reply, taking out a raft of papers.  “And these.”

“And they are?”  She looks at the stack with a bored expression.

“Restraining orders.  For each and every single person in that picture.  Which, as Emily says, comes into effect after your release.  Unless of course, you escape from here and try to approach them where you will either be arrested or shot on sight.”

That got your attention didn’t it!