“Governor Blackwell. I’ve been hearing some great things about you down there. That you went above and beyond to make sure justice was done. That’s exactly that kind of person I’m looking to put on the bench. I understand you ran, but didn’t make it. Still interested?”
Jo tensed up and started blinking rapidly. “Yes,” she responded tentatively, unsure if this was a hoax or real.
“Great. Get on my website and fill out the forms to request a judicial appointment right away. I’ll get your review fast-tracked and appoint you on Monday. If we get this done fast enough, you should be able to go to judicial college with all the first-time judges who won earlier this month.”
“Thank you, Governor.” Jo watched Dzuy perk up even further with interest at the name.
“You’re welcome, Joanna. Night.”
“Goodnight.” Jo held the phone to her ear and listened to the dial tone, a sweet smile spreading across her face.
“The hell?” Dzuy asked.
“You know how I was dreaming about losing my law license?” Jo jumped up excitement as she asked.
“Uh huh,” Dzuy said, rising with her.
“That was the Governor of California. He’s going to make me give up my law license,” Jo said, hopping up and down in uncontained excitement.
“And this is good news?” Dzuy asked while trying to mimic her excitement by bouncing up and down with her.
She nodded quickly. “Judges can’t practice law!” she exclaimed, as she bounced into Dzuy to hug him.
“You’re going to be a Judge?” Dzuy asked, as they bounced around her crappy office.
“Judge Joanna P. Channing!”
Dzuy stopped bouncing and pushed her back far enough to kiss her. Jo kissed back and they made out like teenagers. Between kisses, Dzuy asked, “Should we go back to my place?”
Between kisses she said, “I need to fill out forms.” She pulled back, pushing against Dzuy’s chest. She straightened her shirt. “I’m sorry. But can we pick up dinner for my family tonight? So much just happened that I want to see them and fill out the forms right away.”
Dzuy groaned at the thought of holding off his desire. “Of course.” He adjusted his pants. “This is big news.”
Jo flashed her eyebrows. “This weekend. All weekend. Your place for Netflix and chill?”
“Can’t wait,” he said biting his lower lip.
“I’ll text-” Jo was going to say ‘Mom’ but cut herself off when she saw the bulge of Omar’s money in the big yellow envelope. With a flat, subdued tone, she finished, “Omar.”
She fished her work phone from her purse. [Hi Omar. Incredible news. I’m going to be appointed judge. Since a judge can’t practice law, I must return your fees. All of them. Plus pay for any inconvenience I caused when I have more money. I hope you understand.]
She sent a text to Mom from her main phone. [Great news! Can I pick up dinner for everyone tonight?]
Jo pulled out her wallet and packed the money in her purse. “Until I give it to Omar, I don’t want to risk the office getting robbed.”
Her main cell beeped. [Who is this?]
Rather than yell with frustration, Jo laughed with frustration, texting back. [It’s Jo. Remember, I got a new phone number?]
With her purse over her shoulder and hands full with phones, keys, and wallet, Jo turned to the suddenly sullen-looking Dzuy.
“What’s wrong?”
“In all our excitement I forgot the funeral is Saturday. I took the week off for Stacey and her family, but then, everything happened.”
“You were here for me.” Jo put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m here for you. After dinner and my application, I’m completely and totally yours. If you need time alone, I’ll keep busy and be ready to join you wherever.”
“Thanks. Where we doing for dinner?”
Jo’s phone buzzed. [Hi Jo. Happy to eat whatever you want. See you soon.] She looked up. “Anything.”
“Chinese?”
“Sure. Let me see if Jami and Anthony can come.” Jo fired off another text. Five minutes later the office was shut down, an order for pickup at Spicy City was placed, and they were on their way.
With the smell of Szechuan filling the car as they approached Jo’s parents’ house, the peace was interrupted by the buzz of Jo’s work phone. She picked it up and read the message. [Congrats. No refund needed. Just repay small favor later.]
She read it to Dzuy. Then read it aloud again, stressing different words. Then read it aloud a third time. “What do you think it means?”
Dzuy pulled over to park. “That you owe Omar one.”
“A big one. But I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” Jo gathered up her things and one bag of food. Dzuy helped carry the rest. Ten minutes later, the dining room table was set and found Jo, Dzuy, Mom, and Dad sitting and waiting for Jami and Anthony to arrive.
“While we have a minute,” Jo looked at Mom, “I’m expecting you’ll tell Jami tonight about Dad’s health issue.” Jo turned to her Dad, “And you’ll let her know that it might cause money to get tight.”
Mom cleared her throat. “Excuse me? Who made you boss of the family?”
“You wouldn’t believe the last two weeks I’ve had. I’d like to think I’ve learned a few lessons.”
“Like what?” Mom asked.
Jo was about to start when she heard Jami and Anthony open the front door. “In here,” Jo called out.
Jami bounced into the dining room. “Picking up dinner, Jo. It’s almost like you cooked.”
Anthony followed and sat next to Dzuy, Jami next to Mom, with Jo and Dad at opposite ends of the table. “Let’s dig in,” Jo said, starting the action of passing cartons around and scooping out food onto her plate.
Jami asked, “Haven’t heard much from you in a while. How’s things?”
“A lot’s happened. A little good, a lot bad.”
“What’s wrong?” Jami asked.
“I’ll let Dad tell you the first part.”
He set his fork down. “I wasn’t going to tell you before the wedding. But a week after, I’m going to have surgery to remove part of my prostate and have some radiation. Prostate cancer. Caught it early. I’m not worried.”
“Oh, Dad!” Jami jumped up and went to hug her father.
Anthony asked, “What’s the Gleason score?”
“Grade one,” Dad responded, as he tapped Jami’s shoulder. “Caught it with an elevated PSA. Once you guys hit fifty, make sure you get a PSA done so you can compare it.”
“Will do, sir,” Dzuy responded.
“Of course,” Anthony said.
Jami gave Dad a kiss on his balding forehead. “Anything we can do.”
Jo stood up and brought her purse to the table. She pulled out the Omar envelope and stacked money from it on the dining room table.
All eyes focused on the display.
“What’s that?” Jami asked.
“I’ve had a really interesting past two weeks.”
“Understatement of the year,” Dzuy added.
Jo looked at Jami. “I’m guessing that our parents here, the stoics, could use a hand financially when Dad takes time off work. I came into a bit of money and I’m chipping in.”
All eyes shifted between Mom and Dad.
“Thank you, Jo,” Dad said. “Things are a bit tighter than we would like.”
Jami’s head snapped back to Jo. “You knew, but didn’t tell me?”
“I recently found out.”
“Stop,” Mom said. “We are not airing our embarrassing shortfall in front of company.”
“No, Mom,” Jo said, as she stood, “they aren’t company.” She gestured to Anthony and Dzuy. “They’re family too.”
“So soon?” Mom asked, looking at Dzuy.
Jo nodded. “I’ve been able to learn more about his character in the past two weeks than most people I’ve known for years. Even if we never get married, Dzuy is family.” Jo started to choke up.
Dzuy smiled up at Jo, his eyes glistening.
“My work means I have secrets I have to keep. It sucks,” Jo paused, blinking away tears at the thought of Dzuy. “But we’re family. If money is tight, we tell each other. If someone’s sick, we tell each other.”
“Jo,” Dad said softly. “You’re right. I’m sorry we didn’t let you guys know sooner. But we’ll be just fine. We won’t take your money until your campaign debt is paid first.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll throw a debt retirement party next weekend and lawyers will be happy to contribute to close it out.”
“I thought lawyers liked to contribute to debt retirement for judges on the bench. What changed?” Dad asked.
“I got a call from the Governor. He’s going to appoint me to the bench on Monday,” Jo said with excitement in her voice. Feeling overwhelmed with everything she felt her eyes filling up.
“Does that mean you’re going to become a judge?” Mom asked.
“Yeah.” Jo sat down, picked up a napkin and blotted at her face.
“And you met your Chip. Your Anthony?” Mom asked with disbelief.
Jo reached for Dzuy’s hand. “I think so.”
Mom scooted her chair closer to Dad and pressed her face against him. She sobbed into his shirt. Dad put his arm around her.
“What’s wrong?” Jo asked.
“You okay?” Jami asked.
Mom nodded as she sobbed.
“She’s happy for you,” Dad said. “She’s seen how Jami and Anthony have been for years. She knows how they feel about each other, what kind of partnership they have.” He paused.
“Uh huh,” Mom agreed.
“And she sees that you two have it, too. You both have the careers you wanted. You both have the partner you wanted. And you both love and support us.”
Mom waved for her children to come hug her. Jo and Jami walked over to her and squeezed her. Mom’s hands shot between the daughters and waved to Anthony and Dzuy. Between sobs, she said, “There’s two more.”
Dzuy and Anthony joined the Channing family group hug, jostling Jami’s left hand right in front of Jo’s face. She couldn’t help but stare at Jami’s watch, no, Jo’s watch that Jami was still wearing.
Someday I’ll get it back. Jo closed her eyes and squeezed her family tighter.
If you enjoyed this book, please post a review on Amazon to encourage Adam to keep writing. Each and every review, no matter how brief, is important.
The sequel to this novel, Gangster’s Court, will be released in the winter of 2019. Follow Adam Van Susteren on Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads for more information about his upcoming novels or to say hello.
Adam Van Susteren has written the Aaron Baker series, available at Amazon:
Wounded By Her Guardian
Sunshine or Lead
The Dinosaur Lawyer
Thinking about writing a novel yourself, be on the lookout for Adam Van Susteren’s upcoming:
How to Write a Novel in 20 Steps
Blanket Immunity Page 23