Innis Harbor

by Patricia Evans Cox

  Loch laughed and just managed to get out a sentence before Skye disappeared out the door. “Tell her I want to meet her!”

  Skye stopped in her tracks and stuck her head back in the door. “Fine, but I’m telling her I’m related to Amir. No offense, but this relationship is a little too new to introduce her to my supermodel sister.”

  “Hey!” Amir said as she disappeared down the hall. “I could totally be a supermodel!”

  They listened to Skye’s laugh disappear down the hall, and Amir turned back to Loch.

  “Okay,” Amir squeezed Loch’s hand. “Ask me anything.”

  Loch waited as a nurse came in at that moment, changed her IV bag, and checked the readings on the machines. She finally left the room quietly and shut the door behind her.

  “I need to know the truth about your previous conviction for rape.”

  “First of all,” Amir said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “I was charged with statutory rape, and it happened when I was in high school. I had no idea something like that even existed. It blew up my life completely.”

  “So, that was fourteen years ago?”

  Amir nodded. “I was a junior in high school, and my girlfriend was a sophomore.”

  Loch let Amir’s words sink in. The fact that the legal issue was age, not consent, hadn’t occurred to her. The word “rape” was so horrible that she’d just tried not to think about it at all.

  “I’m so sorry, Amir, that must have been awful for both of you,” Loch said, tangling her fingers into Amir’s. “What happened?”

  “Her name was Elizabeth, and we’d been dating secretly for over a year. Her dad was a lawyer and active in Innis Harbor politics. They were super conservative, so coming out as a couple just wasn’t an option.”

  Loch nodded and pulled at a corner of the tape holding the IV on the back of her hand until Amir put her hand over hers.

  “I’m just loosening it,” Loch said, her bottom lip making an appearance in a near pout. “It’s itchy.”

  “Tough.” Amir lifted her hand and kissed it. “We’ll get them to look at it next time they come in, but leave it for now. You getting better is the only thing that matters, itchy tape or no itchy tape.”

  Loch smiled and smoothed the edges back down. “So, how did they find out?”

  Amir sat back in her chair, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand. “Her father came home early from work one day and caught us in bed together. He shoved me out the door naked and threw my clothes on the lawn after me. The police came to my house later that night.”

  “Amir, I’m so sorry,” Loch said. “Did you have any idea that law even existed? I wouldn’t have when I was in high school.”

  “I didn’t have a clue. Now they have what they call a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ clause that provides an exception if the individuals are within five years of each other in age. We were just eighteen months apart. But back then, there was nothing like that. Elizabeth was technically underage in Maine, and I wasn’t, so her father made sure I was arrested for statutory rape.”

  “Did you have to go to trial?”

  “Somehow, I managed to just get probation, but I had to register as a sex offender for the next ten years. Elizabeth told everyone who’d listen that it was consensual, but after that, I barely graduated high school, and I got beat up like every other day. My dad didn’t talk to me for over a year.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Loch lay back against her pillow and stared at the ceiling. “Why didn’t I just let you explain?”

  “Loch,” Amir said, “I don’t blame you. Anyone would have thought the same thing. And if I would have told you sooner, this wouldn’t have happened at all.”

  Later that morning, Loch’s doctor came in to go over the results of her preliminary tests.

  Loch had been a patient of Dr. Benidorm since she was a child. He was shaped like a beanbag, wore a white lab coat three sizes too big, and was constantly pushing up the sleeves to be able to write. His belly stuck out of the coat farther than his legs, but in fairness to his skills, he was the undisputed master of the comb-over.

  “Loch,” he said, pausing as he turned over the first page on his clipboard. “I’ve gotten the results back from the tests we’ve done so far, and it looks like you may have somehow dodged a bullet. Your heart muscle has been compromised because of your severe calorie restriction, but your heart attack was mild, and there doesn’t seem to be anything at play here that can’t be reversed.”

  “Great. How soon can I go back to work?”

  “That said…” He drew out the words and peered at her over his glasses. “…I need to talk to you about whether we need to get a psych evaluation here. We’ve talked about and monitored your BMI for years, but this is a new low, and you’re on the way to doing some serious, irreversible damage to your organs if you don’t knock it off.”

  Loch met his gaze. “I don’t need a psych evaluation, Dr. Benidorm, I promise.”

  His gaze didn’t waver as he waited for her to go on.

  “I hate having to be this skinny.” She paused, balling up the edge of the sheet in her hand. “I hate what it takes to get this thin. I took some time off recently and gained weight, so I had a lot to lose in a short amount of time.” She glanced up at Amir, who raised an eyebrow and said nothing. “I just took it too far without realizing it.”

  “I’ll tell you what,” he said, making a note on her chart. “I know your job requires you to be thin, but you’re emaciated, and it’s affecting your health. I’ll let you off this time without calling in the shrinks, but I want you to come into the office and weigh in every month for six months. I need you to have a BMI of over nineteen in three months.”

  “I have to weigh in at work, too. They want to see under fifteen.”

  “Loch, I’ve known you and your family a long time.” He paused and touched her hand. “You’ve been working yourself to death since you were a kid. Maybe it’s time to slow down and breathe.”

  Loch’s eyes filled with tears and she nodded.

  “I’ll leave it with you, but I’m going to call you personally if I don’t get those monthly reports. I know you travel for work, but you can have any doctor’s office call me with the results, okay?”

  Dr. Benidorm’s pager went off, and he quickly finished up with a promise to release her the next day and scurried out, leaving the room suddenly quiet.

  “How do you feel about what he said?”

  “I don’t know,” Loch replied. “I feel torn, I guess, like every choice I make is wrong for someone.”

  A cellphone rang, and Amir pulled Loch’s phone from her pocket. “Your sister gave me this when you were still asleep.”

  “Great.” Loch was instantly nervous and stared at the flashing screen. “It’s Harvey Goldberg, my agent.”

  She hit the speaker phone icon and waited.

  “Loch?” His voice was rushed, and Loch heard papers being shuffled on his desk as he spoke. “I heard what happened. How are you doing?”

  “I’m still in the hospital.” Loch picked at the tape on the back of her hand. “The doctor thinks I—”

  “I’ve seen this before,” Harvey said. “And you should be out in no time. You have that shoot for Lancôme coming up in three days. It was on that list I gave you when you were in the office the last time.”

  “I don’t think I’m going to be able to do that, Harvey. I’m not even home yet, and I’m sure I’ll have doctor’s orders to rest.”

  There was a long pause, then Harvey spoke again, his words slow and deliberate. “I understand that you think you need to rest, but you have contracts going through the end of the year that you can’t just pull out of like you did last time.” He paused, letting his words sink in. “I’m not doing that for you again.”

  Amir shook her head and walked over to the window, trying to keep her composure and let Loch handle it.

  “Actually, I don’t have even one signed contract,” Loch said, her neck painti
ng itself with red splotches of anger. Her voice was low and controlled. “You have contracts. You were so concerned about weighing me when I came into your office that you never gave them to me to sign. I’m not legally obligated to do anything for anyone at this point.”

  There was a long silence on the other end of the line.

  “Loch, you need to pull your head out of your ass. It’s like you’re trying to flush your career down the toilet.”

  Loch closed her eyes and took a breath, the red patches slowly rising from her neck to her face. Amir came back over and stood beside her, her gaze on the heart monitor that was suddenly beeping much more rapidly.

  “Do they have you on an IV drip?” Harvey asked.

  Loch paused, looking at Amir in confusion. “Yes…why?”

  “What do you mean, ‘why’?” He didn’t try to hide the frustration in his voice. “Look at the writing on the bag, can you see it?”

  “I can.” She glanced above her head at the IV stand. “I think it just lists what’s in it.”

  “Read it carefully. Take it down if you have to. Does it say it contains glucose or any other form of sugar?” He paused, then went on when she didn’t answer. “If it does, take your IV out now. You can’t afford the calories.”

  “Harvey,” Loch said as she wove her fingers into Amir’s. “Go fuck yourself.”

  Monday morning, Amir shifted in her seat behind the defense table, bracing herself for the next day of Charlotte’s testimony. It was small comfort, but at least it was the defense’s turn for rebuttal.

  Jason started with some easy questions about school and Charlotte’s plans for the summer. Charlotte looked cool and confident in white skinny jeans and a chambray shirt, her blond hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail and the courtroom lights glinting off her candy pink lip gloss.

  “Is it true that your parents have known the Farzaneh family for several years?”

  “Yes,” Charlotte said, glancing over at the jury. “My dad and Amir’s father have bought and sold a few houses together. I’ve known the Farzanehs since I was in middle school.”

  “And did you know that Amir Farzaneh was coming over to do some repairs on your family’s home the morning that the alleged incident occurred?”

  “Yes,” Charlotte said. “My dad told me she would be working outside on the back deck, so I was surprised to see her in my room when I came out of the shower.”

  “Did she tell you what she was doing there?”

  “She said she was there to fix something in the bathroom, but I asked her to leave so I could get dressed.”

  Jason walked to the front of the defense table and looked Charlotte in the eyes. “And what happened next?”

  “Objection!” Charlotte’s attorney stood and addressed the judge. “Is it really necessary to make this young girl go through the details of this brutal attack again?”

  The judge overruled, saying that the defense had the right to ask a witness about her previous testimony in detail, and Charlotte’s attorney reluctantly sat back down, glaring at Jason from the prosecution table.

  “I was afraid of her. She’s as tall as a guy and bigger than me.” Charlotte’s voice shook as she visibly recalled the memory. “So, when she came into the bedroom and told me to get on the bed, I did.”

  Jason walked back around to the defense table and looked through the transcripts of her previous testimony.

  “Let me make sure I have this right.” He paused, highlighting a passage on the transcript before he looked back up at Charlotte. “Amir refused to leave your room, then told you to get on the bed where you say she attacked you?”

  “That’s right.” Charlotte’s voice was faint, and she pulled a tissue out of the box on the witness stand.

  “Then why did you say Friday in court that she pushed you into the bathroom and locked the door behind her when she came into the room?”

  “I didn’t!” Charlotte faltered, then clarified when Jason showed her the highlighted passage. “That’s right, I forgot. She did push me into the bathroom and rip my towel off me.” She paused, her voice dropping to almost a whisper. “It just all happened so fast. It seems like this really horrible blur.”

  “But is it still your assertion today that the defendant forced herself on you that morning in your room?” Jason walked to the witness box and met Charlotte’s gaze. “Or are those details fuzzy now, too?”

  Charlotte straightened her shoulders and spoke clearly. “There is nothing fuzzy about my recollection of being attacked.” Her voice cracked, and she looked toward the jury. “It’s hard to forget something that ruined your life.”

  Jason walked over to the jury box and ran his hand over the railing, his face composed and thoughtful.

  “One more thing,” he said slowly. “You’re the president of the drama club at your boarding school, are you not?”

  The prosecutor objected, and Jason withdrew the question, giving Charlotte, then the jury a pointed look as the court broke for a recess.

  “That was good, right?” Amir whispered as Jason stacked his files and put them back in the briefcase.

  “That was a drop in the bucket.” Jason met Amir’s gaze and flipped the metal clasps shut on his briefcase with an audible snap. “What we need is an open tap.”

  Amir was on her way to her truck that evening when she got a call from Hamid.

  “Hey, brother, what’s up?”

  “What are you doing tonight?” Hamid said over the kids playing in the background. “We’re grilling out if you want to come over. The little beasts have friends over, and they’ve already eaten, but Anna and I haven’t had the chance.”

  He paused, and Amir held the phone away from her ear while he yelled for Hameen to stop running on the patio.

  “Sorry about that,” he said, coming back to the phone. “I have some of your grass dogs, so I can throw those on now. They take about an hour to grill, right? Just leave them on there till they’re shriveled up and black?”

  “Try three minutes, asshole,” Amir said affectionately. “And turn them this time. I’ve got some news anyway, so that’d be great. I can head over now.”

  “Oh, and Kiran called this morning to ask if you were going to be there for some reason, so brace yourself. She’s been acting squirrelly lately.”

  “What’s wrong with her?”

  “Nothing really, just being moody. She’s not talking much lately, and I think she might be getting some flak about the trial at school.”

  “Shit, that’s all she needs.” Amir pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward Hamid’s house. “Okay, I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

  An hour later, Amir had rescued her veggie dogs in the nick of time, and they sat to eat on the back patio, surrounded by beer, drippy bottles of mustard and ketchup, and the half-eaten strawberry cupcakes the kids had abandoned when the backyard sprinklers came on. The yard had just been mowed, so the scent of summer, fresh air and cut grass, drifted in with the late afternoon sun.

  “So,” Anna said, pouring a lake of ruffled barbecue chips onto Amir’s plate. “How are you holding up? Anyone I need to beat up for you?”

  “I’m hanging in there.” Amir looked up and smiled, reaching over and finishing one of the abandoned strawberry cupcakes in one bite. “But it does make it easier that Loch and I are back together.”

  “What?” Hamid broke into a wide grin, and he shoved her playfully on the shoulder. “I knew it! When did that happen?”

  “I’ll let her tell you the whole story, but she had some stuff going on, so somehow Jason got the judge to sign off on letting me leave the state, and I flew to Manhattan last weekend.”

  “It’s about time you got your ass to New York.” Anna pulled her into a hug and raised an eyebrow at Hamid. “Have you two learned nothing from romantic comedies we make you watch? I knew she’d understand if you just got the chance to explain.”

  Hamid shook his head as he counted the kids jumping through the sprinklers. “Anna, h
ow many are we supposed to have out there?”

  Anna looked over her shoulders at Hameen chasing his buddies with the garden hose. “Seven.”

  “Seriously? Because there’s only five out there counting the ones we can’t give back.”

  “That’s close enough.” Anna flashed a smile and rolled her eyes in his direction. “I’m kidding. Yasmin and her friend went in to play house a few minutes ago.”

  “God, woman, sometimes I think you want me to die of a heart attack.” He leaned over and pulled her to him on the bench, kissing her cheek.

  “Anyway,” Hamid said, picking up his beer. “What I can’t figure out is why this Charlotte chick is lying about this.” He dipped his chip into Anna’s onion dip. “It just doesn’t make any sense. Is she that desperate for attention?”

  “I don’t know, but I feel like the whole town looks at me differently.” Amir reached out and caught a ball flying toward the table with one hand and tossed it back to Hameen. “I feel them staring me down everywhere I go, and I can’t say I blame them.”

  Anna’s phone pinged, and she picked it up and read a text, smacking Hamid’s hand when he reached for her onion dip again. “Hey, Kiran and her girlfriend are on their way over. And evidently,” she looked up at Amir, “you’re not supposed to leave until they get here.”

  “Oh, good, I still haven’t met her girlfriend.” Amir finished the last of her beer and tossed the can into recycling. “How do you like her?”

  “She’s a sweetheart,” Anna said. “And she loves Kiran to bits. They’re adorable.”

  A few minutes later, they heard the front door open, and Kiran and Amy came out to the back deck, holding hands. Anna introduced Amy to Amir and asked the girls if they wanted to stay for dinner.

  “Yeah, you’re gonna have to beat off the crowd trying to get to Amir’s fake hot dogs, though,” Hamid interrupted, talking around the huge bite of hot dog in his mouth. “Those things are just flyin’ off the grill. Everybody wants ’em.”

  Kiran laughed, and she and Amy settled into chairs across the table from Amir, then Amy pulled her iPad out of her backpack and set it up in the middle of the table where everyone could see it. There was an undercurrent of nervous energy that Amir couldn’t quite put her finger on.