by Londyn Skye
James suddenly burst out in a fit of hysterical laughter. In his mind, the comedy show had just reached its pinnacle. He was leaned over holding his stomach, laughing until he damn near depleted himself of oxygen. The entire courtroom turned toward him, looking perplexed at the way he was doubled over in the throes unrelenting laughter.
“I didn’t hear any jokes Dr. Adams!” the judge scorned.
When James’s laughter subsided, he looked directly at the judge. “Oh, I’m surrounded by jokes, your honor.” He glanced at Mason. “My attorney’s a joke!” He turned to the jury box. “The fact that these old racist bastards are s’pposed to be a jury of my peers is a joke!” His tone began to escalate when he turned toward Mary Jo. “The fact that I’d eva’ wanna marry that spoiled, pale, self-centered, lyin’, bitch is a joke!” He then stood up and turned toward the crowd. “This town is a joke!” He turned back to the judge. “THIS WHOLE FUCKING TRIAL IS A JOKE!”
“DR. ADAMS SIT DOWN!” the judge yelled, banging his gavel.
“THIS IS ALL ONE! BIG! FUCKING! JOKE!” he yelled, suddenly knocking Mason’s papers onto the floor.
The bailiff and two deputies rushed over and subdued James just before he flipped the table over. The crowd loudly reacted to his sudden insanity, as they watched the deputies struggle to shackle him by the hands and wrestle him back into his seat. James was huffing and puffing and disheveled by the time they managed to calm him down.
Mary Jo glanced over at James, silently thanking him with a half-second smirk for an over-the-top outburst that helped validate her lies. “That’s the exact same monsta’ I’d see when everybody’s back was turned,” Mary Jo stated once her testimony resumed.
James caught sight of Mary Jo’s evil glance and then could not bring himself to look at her during the remainder of her testimony. He turned his head and quietly listened to her tearfully succeed at being the character-crushing hero of the case. Mason got up to cross-examine Mary Jo when Tobias was finished, but James just grabbed him by the arm before he could take a step. “Don’t botha’,” James told him.
“Why not?” Mason asked.
“What’s the goddamn point?” James glanced over at the jury and then back at Mason. “You’re just delayin’ the inevitable.”
Mason glanced down into the face of a man who was clearly defeated. Knowing the crimes that he had committed, though, Mason felt not one ounce of sympathy. He snatched his arm away from James and turned to address the judge. “No questions for this witness, your honor.”
Jacob testified after Mary Jo, regurgitating the same lies as J.R. and his father. Again, James stopped Mason from cross-examining him. Duke was next, further destroying James’s character by retelling the humiliating story of how and why James had stabbed him in the scrotum. He then went on to detail his skewed version of why and how James had shot Willard, Jeb, and Jethro. Despite the outrageous lies in Duke’s version of events, James still requested for Mason not to utter a word in his defense. James knew that it did not matter how cunningly Mason ripped each witness’s testimony apart and collected mounds of reasonable doubt. Every time he glanced into the jury box full of his father’s cowardly brethren, he was reminded that reasonable doubt was irrelevant in the final stages of their witch-hunt to legally hang a white man who loved a slave. James had, therefore, accepted his fate. He could no longer go on actively listening to the charade that was supposed to be a fair trial in front of a jury of his peers. So as Duke and Jacob helped drag him closer to the pits of hell, James had escaped into his fantasies. He closed his eyes envisioning Lily at the piano, soothing his troubled mind. As the trial of the century sieged on around him, he was listening to the beautiful song that Lily had written for him. But before the town of Fayetteville gave him the final boot into the eternal pits of hell, James Adams wanted to sit in the confessional to clear his conscious.
When Tobias rested his case, James slid a piece of paper over to Mason. “Ask me these questions,” he leaned over and said quietly.
“What?” Mason replied, looking confused.
“Put me on the stand and ask me all those questions,” James explained, pointing to the paper.
Mason glossed over what James had written. “I’ll have to advise you against taking the stand to address any of this. You’ll be vulnerable to Tobias’s cross-examination.”
“I don’t care.”
“Well, when he questions you just deny everything. They have no true evidence against you,” Mason said softly.
“Don’t tell me what to do. Just put me on the goddamn stand!” James replied in a harsh but hushed tone.
“You’re just as insane as you are stupid, boy!” Mason whispered back in an equally harsh tone.
“And you’re just as crooked as this bullshit justice system. The eight ghost rida’s you colluded with the prosecution to get in that damn jury box is proof of that! I’m obviously the only person in this room who gives a shit about my own defense or true justice for that matta’ … so just put me on the goddamn stand and shut the hell up!”
Mason leaned over and whispered in James’s ear. “Have fun hanging yourself … nigger lover.”
“The ghost ridin’ racist bastards you put in that jury box had my noose ready long before I eva’ walked through these doors,” James replied smugly.
Mason finally snatched the list of questions and rose from his seat while still glaring harshly at James. “Your honor, my client here would like to take the stand in his own defense.”
“Dr. Adams, have you conferred with your counsel about that?” the judge asked, looking at him a bit puzzled.
“He has, your honor.”
“Fine then.” The judge turned to the bailiff. “Remove his shackles and escort ’em up here.” The bailiff nodded and did as he was told. After being sworn in, James took his seat in the witness box.
Mason stepped to the podium and looked over James’s list of questions again. He then approached James in the witness box and stared at him harshly for a moment before proceeding. “April seventeenth of this year, where were you that Tuesday afternoon?”
“Workin’ at Gideon’s clinic, did some shoppin’, and then got an unwanted visit by MJ.”
“Who is MJ?” Mason asked, genuinely looking confused.
“Mary Jo Parker.”
“Do you call her MJ as a term of endearment?” Mason asked, veering from James’s line of questioning.
“Endearment? There’s not a damn thing endearin’ about that lyin’, connivin’ whore!” James fired back, turning to look directly at Mary Jo.
The crowd gasped at his harsh terminology.
“Strong words, Dr. Adams.”
“True words,” James quickly fired back.
“Are you calling Ms. Parker a liar because you feel as though there is no truth to any of the claims she’s made here today?”
James scoffed. “Yes! Nearly every word from her mouth on this stand unda’ oath was a damn lie! The one thing in her testimony that Mary Jo and I can both agree on, though, is wishin’ that we neva’ had to spend a single minute with each otha’ … eva’!”
“Well, let’s decipher the portions of her testimony that you felt she lied about. Let’s start with her claim that you raped her as a teenager.”
“A despicable lie!” James answered quickly, still looking dead at Mary Jo. “The mere thought of her nude body would deflate my erection in a heartbeat!”
His explicit honesty garnered another round of loud gasps from the audience.
“How about the second allegation of rape?”
“An even more despicable lie! That whore couldn’t pay my penis to be erect in her presence!”
This time the audience’s gasps were blended with an eruption of laughter. Mary Jo’s face darkened into a deep red as she sneered at James. James reciprocated with an evil smirk as he continued to glare coldly at her.
“QUIET DOWN!” Judge Lucifer yelled to the audience.
“How about the claims that
she found incriminating letters in your room?” Mason continued.
“That part is true. Mary Jo was trespassin’ in my bedroom. She dug through my personal belongings without my permission and found them.”
“Were the letters written by you and Lily?”
“Yes,” James stated boldly.
Tobias suddenly stopped taking notes, pushed his spectacles up, and looked at James. Mason paused and looked at James oddly, annoyed that he had wasted his time proving that there was no proof of any letters exchanged between the pair. “And did you threaten to harm Mary Jo’s father if she didn’t marry you and keep the secrets divulged in those letters?”
James looked right at Mary Jo. “I’d ratha’ shoot myself than marry that woman. It was Mary Jo who threatened me with those letta’s. She said she’d divulge all the information in them if I didn’t do what she wanted.”
“And what is it that Mary Jo wanted?”
“For me to marry her.”
“And so, you admit that there were incriminating secrets in those letters?”
“Secrets? Somewhat. Incriminatin’? No.”
“What do you mean?”
“I s’ppose you could consida’ them secret, but only because they were meant to be privately shared intimate thoughts between Lily and me. But I don’t agree with them bein’ incriminatin’ because that would imply that I was doin’ somethin’ wrong. I don’t give a damn what the backwards laws state. There was nothin’ wrong about any of the intimate experiences I shared with Lily. So, while you say those letta’s were incriminatin’ secrets. I say they were private and sentimental.”
Mason paused again. He had never looked at a client with such aggravation easily readable on his face. “Well, did these so-called sentimental private letters mention anything about you teaching Lily to read or write?”
“Yes, they sure did,” James replied proudly.
There was a slight murmuring from the crowd over the ease of James’s confession.
Mason slowly lowered his eyelids and huffed, beyond annoyed by his client’s honesty. Despite how Mason was scolding him with his eyes, James’s facial expression softened as he thought of Lily. “Teachin’ Lily to read and write is one of the accomplishments I’m most proud of in my life, actually,” he admitted, as a faint smile emerged on his face. “Lily’s first letta’ to me was beautiful. I still rememba’ every word. Mary Jo was right. Lily thanked me for helpin’ ’er to read. She told me she was excited to read a new book she’d found … Oliva’ Twist. She sat in my arms out by a lake and read it aloud to me lata’ that week. It’s one of my fondest memories,” James said, the lost look on his face proving he was reliving the moment in his mind.
Mason stared at James with his mouth partially agape along with the rest of the crowd. “So, you’re openly admitting that you taught a slave to read?” Mason asked, a look of disbelief still firmly planted on his face.
“Are you dense?” James asked, finally returning from his memory and glaring at Mason. “I think I was just very clear about that!”
Mason shook his head and scoffed. “So, did any of the letters you exchanged with Lily prove that you impregnated her?”
“No. Definitely not. Mary Jo lied about that part. Lily neva’ divulged that in any letta’s.” James suddenly paused again while recalling the day Lily had accidentally confessed. “She told me herself.”
The gasp from the crowd was much louder this time around. Everyone suddenly began looking oddly at each other, unsure what to think. Mason furrowed his eyebrows and pinched the bridge of his nose. “So, you’re openly admitting that you impregnated a slave?”
“A slave?” James scoffed. He slowly let his eyes sweep across everyone in the crowd. “That’s all Lily is to any of you, isn’t she? Just a piece of property?” he asked, as he continued to stare at the audience. “A slave … beneath you, menial, transparent, some meaningless animal not worthy of love or respect … or even the simple right to learn to read? I wonda’ if there’s a soul in this audience who eva’ thought to view Lily as human.” He slowly looked into some of the eyes that stared unblinking at him. “Lily’s human … by far the most beautiful I’ve eva’ known, inside and out. She’s intelligent, funny, charismatic, courageous … and fast! Damn fast! I could neva’ beat ’er in foot races as a kid! She made me feel like a damn cripple! And she’s one hell of a fisherman … I mean, fisher-woman! I can hear Lily in my head correctin’ my choice of words. She always wanted to make it clear that a woman could reel in more fish than a man. And she wasn’t lyin’! She could catch enough fish to feed a family of five while I’d probably die of starvation on the damn boat!”
The audience could not help but chuckle.
“And gifted,” James smiled. “Lily is a truly gifted brilliant pianist. You could play the most challengin’ song for her just one time and she could play it back flawlessly on the piano. Hell, forget human. Her unique abilities would make you think she was not of this world. She’s composed hundreds of beautiful songs inspired by unforgettable moments in her life. Her music was unlike any I’ve eva’ heard before. Her music and ’er talent made a world renowned composa’ believe she was deservin’ of her own show. He, in turn, made Lily believe in herself … until she built the strength and courage to share her musical brilliance with an audience. With her newfound bravery and ’er incredible creativity, she indeed created a theatrical masta’piece. Every song, every dance, every magical scene in the show was inspired by her dreams and the unforgettable moments of her life. She called it the Dream Symphony. Her show became an ova’night sensation. It gained a level of popularity that none of us could eva’ have anticipated. I’ve neva’ seen a phenomenon like it eva’ before in my life … doubt I eva’ will again. There was such demand to see ’er show that Lily began tourin’ around the country, playin’ one sold out show afta’ anotha’. Hordes and hordes of people lined the streets hopin’ to get tickets to see ’er perform. Every single person who was lucky enough to buy tickets would tell you the money and the wait to see Lily was well worth it. You’d neva’ get an argument outta me about that … every minute of ’er show was mystifyin’. I have great respect for composa’s like Mozart, Beethoven, and William Werthington. But Lily will be the beloved musical legend who’s talked about for centuries to come … she’s just that phenomenal.”
James’s elegant words about Lily’s show alone seemed to have mystified his current audience. As James briefly paused, they sat in respectful silence, looking completely entranced, begging with their eyes to hear more.
“But Lily will be loved and talked about by me for far more sentimental reasons,” James continued. “In the midst of a tumultuous childhood, she was the one I escaped with on fantastical adventures. As a teenaga’, she always managed to make my hellish surroundin’s feel like paradise. Lily’s the one whose shoulda’ I literally cried on when my motha’ died. It was Lily’s arms that comforted me in the darkest days of mournin’ my motha’s loss. Lily’s the only reason I didn’t put a bullet through my brain afta’ I found my motha’ dead. In my eyes, Lily’s neva’ been just a slave or a pianist. She’s the one and only beautiful reason I felt my life was still worth livin’. She motivates every single thing I do … even breathin’. She’s my greatest confidant, the love of my life, and my very best friend. Quite simply … she’s the best thing that’s eva’ happened to me.” James glanced over at his father and brothers. “Lily was more family to me than any of you eva’ were.” He turned to look at Mary Jo. “And she’s more of a lovin’ and loyal wife to me than you could eva’ dream of bein’.”
“Wife?” Mason suddenly spat, his annoyance escalating. “So, you’re also openly admitting that you married her too?”
“For the beautiful childhood that Lily gave me, for all the times that she made me laugh when I didn’t feel like I had any reason to, for comfortin’ me in my desolate moments, for givin’ me hope when I felt hopeless, for all the times that she’s inspired me, for the uncondition
al way that she loved me durin’ times when I didn’t even love myself … yes!” James looked straight at Mason. “You’re damn right I married her.
“Lily naturally motivated me to be the best man that I could be for her. I wanted to provide for her and protect ’er with every ounce of strength in my body.” James looked directly at his father and lowered his eyes. “The way a real man should for the woman he claims to love.” He turned back toward Mason. “I wanted to fight to give Lily an extraordinary life. I wanted to vow to spend the rest of my life lovin’ her the way a beautiful, charismatic woman like her deserves. And so, in a sentimental ceremony, I did just that. Beneath the stars of a midnight sky, unda’ God’s watchful eyes, standin’ in the very place where I first fell in love with ’er, I committed myself to Lily for an eternity.”
Staring into nothing in particular, James smiled at the memory. He was so lost in thought that he was completely unaware of the stunned look on every patron’s face as they stared at him. Tobias finally dropped his pen after realizing that he wasn’t even going to need to cross-examine a man who was so easily divulging the sort of things that he would normally need to torture out of him.
Mason’s narcissism had now led his annoyance to escalate into anger after the abysmal waste of his defense strategies were now blatantly evident. “So, I suppose now you’ll even proudly admit that conceiving an illegitimate child with a slave was intentional?” he asked with malicious disrespect.
“Illegitimate?”
“Yes! Your marriage isn’t legal, so your baby is indeed illegitimate!”
“Why is the marriage illegal?”
“Are you dense?” Mason replied smugly. “There’s a law on the books against it.”
“I unda’stand that … but why? You’re such a brilliant legal scholar,” James replied just as smugly. “So, explain to me the logical reason why a law was eva’ created that makes it illegal for me to marry the woman I love? Am I hurtin’ Lily? Will she die? Will I die? Get sick? In fact, will anybody in this room be adversely affected or suffa’ an ounce because of who I vow to spend the rest of my life with? Give me just one logical explanation, oh wise counsel,” James stated, sarcasm heavy in his tone.