A Verdict for Love

by Monica Conti

  Chiara called her mechanic and asked him to go and fetch Grace’s car and repair it for her. Grace accepted this kindness gladly.

  “And you just laze around here until he delivers it.” Chiara said.

  “But...”

  “No buts! Call you a little later.” As Chiara left she gave Grace a long, lingering kiss.

  Grace smiled as she closed the door, putting her back against it and smelling her fingers, noticing the sublime perfume of Chiara’s pussy still on them. There was more than sex in the air. There was love.

  Around noon Grace’s phone rang, she jumped with excitement seeing Chiara’s number appear on the Caller I.D. As she answered, Chiara murmured,

  “Ciao, mi amore.”

  “Ciao.” Grace responded enthusiastically.

  “How about I come over with my mechanic, Andrew? He’s got your car fixed and needs me to show him the way.”

  “Yes. Just give me a bit to tidy up the place.”

  “No problem. And Grace…”

  “Yes?”

  “I’ve missed you and it’s only been a handful of hours since I saw you last.” Chiara admitted and chuckled softly at herself, feeling like a giddy schoolgirl.

  “Oh Chiara.”

  They both hung up with anticipation. It was true. They had been together the day before and last night. But this was the weekend and a beautiful and sunny one at that. Up until now weekends had meant two-day separations. Both women were profoundly happy that this one could be different.

  Chiara arrived followed by Andrew in Grace’s Chevy. His partner in the tow truck brought up the rear. She pointed him to a parking slot. He followed her motion, cut the motor and opened the door.

  “Purring now, Chiara,” he said with pride.

  “You’re the best, Andy.”

  She gave him a hug and took the keys, walking quickly up the walkway to Grace’s apartment.

  Grace heard Chiara’s light step approaching and opened the door before she even had a chance to knock.

  They both giggled as she moved inside, Grace shutting the door behind her.

  Kissing each other slowly and embracing as if they’d been apart days rather than mere hours. They felt that happy to touch again.

  “Shall we go to Piedmont Park?” Chiara suggested.

  “Oh that sounds wonderful. Let’s go pick up some wings and iced tea to go and have a picnic.” Grace suggested enthusiastically.

  Grace wanted to drive her little blue car to the park, and since Chiara was happy to have been able to help her get it fixed and it seemed to please the girl so much, she agreed.

  They stopped off at Dugan’s on the way for wings and tea and easily found a nice spot to leave the car just across from Piedmont Park.

  They walked slowly over the sun drenched lawn to a beautiful patch of shade under a large weeping willow tree. They sat together happily nibbling the hot wings, enjoying a rare moment of bliss and pure simplicity.

  This was something Chiara had not experienced since her own college days and she felt freed by it. She felt younger in Grace’s presence and she was able to relax in a way that had long eluded her…even with Helen.

  They laughed together quietly and watched all the couples, gay and straight, parading around the park with their dogs.

  It was a lazy afternoon and after they finished eating, Chiara lay back and put her head in Grace’s lap. Grace stroked Chiara’s long dark hair and sang to her softly as she did so. The moment was so beautiful for them both.

  At last, Grace felt something like peace within herself. It was as though she had found the missing piece to the puzzle of her life. She now understood what she had wanted all those years. That the missing piece had turned out to be another woman amazed her but she was way past questioning it.

  If this certainty was a relief to Grace, it was also one to Chiara. She felt that she was able to truly be herself with this young, accepting and gentle woman. And she was nearing the point where she might not care who knew it.

  As they made their way back toward Grace’s place, Chiara suggested,

  “Let’s go to my house tonight, Grace. You haven’t seen it yet. We can stop off at your place, switch cars, and pick up some of your things and you can spend the night with me tonight.”

  “That would be fantastic! I’d love to see your home.” Grace enthused.

  Neither of them stopped to consider what might happen if a partner or anyone at the firm saw them arrive together in Chiara’s car for work Monday. The thought flickered in Chiara’s mind for a millisecond as she turned into Grace’s place but she thought to herself, ‘What the hell. If anyone mentions it, I can just say Grace’s car broke down and I gave her a ride to work.’

  Chiara enjoyed showing Grace her home. The big place no longer seemed empty. It echoed with laughter instead of silence.

  They ordered in some Chinese food and sat at the table enjoying some Kung Pao chicken and shrimp as they watched one another eating each bite with pleasure.

  On impulse, Chiara said

  “Grace, would you consider moving in with me here? The place is huge. Yours is tiny and far from the office. And…well….if you haven’t guessed it already…” she hesitated for an instant, gauging Grace’s response with her dark sensitive eyes and then went on…

  “I’m in love with you too.”

  Grace dropped her fork in her little carton of Kung Pao shrimp and stood up with a huge smile on her face.

  “Are you kidding me, Chiara? Yes. Yes. Totally yes!!!”

  She ran around to the other side of the table for a hug of appreciation. They kissed almost as a game, planting a shower of tiny but intense pecks over each other’s faces. Their hands in each other’s hair. The happiness that had appeared was completely real for all its suddenness. They were in love. They were set free. They were together. Life was good.

  Sunday evening they made dinner together and had more lovemaking for dessert. Afterward, they enjoyed a sublime bath in Chiara’s large porcelain tub with candles strewn around the edges of the room. They bathed each other with soft sponges to the sensual sounds of Morcheeba’s version of “Summertime.” It was all liquid, slow, warm and erotic….

  Summertime and the livin’ is easy

  The fish are jumpin’

  And the cotton is high…

  They slept peacefully together nestled in one another’s arms. Tired kids after a day of play.

  That they began arriving and leaving work together was noticed. That Chiara no longer came in early or very often stayed late was also noticed. The pair of them rapidly became an item of winks and whispered conversations. They did nothing blatant or untoward but given the slightest excuse, nasty minds always invent nasty scenarios.

  Sheila advised Chiara that tongues had started to wag. The warning had given her another moment’s pause but she had already made up her mind. The happiness she was finally allowing herself with Grace was too important. Screw them and their petty little minds! She had worked hard and had denied herself a full life long enough. If anything her private doings were above reproach compared to some of the wilder activities what went on behind closed doors elsewhere in Atlanta.

  When the ball dropped and Peter Smith called her into his office it was not entirely unexpected. She went up to the inner sanctum expecting the worst. Just outside his door she paused and switched on the small voice activated recorder in the breast pocket of her blazer.

  As she entered, old Smith motioned for her to sit. His desk was massive and intentionally intimidating.

  “You are probably a bit curious as to why I asked to see you alone, Chiara.”

  “More than a bit.”

  “We rewarded you handsomely after the stunning manner in which you handled that impossible case. He was guilty as hell but you saved his business and his future.” He smiled as if he had just awarded a star to a bright pupil.

  “There must be some point here beyond another pat on the back.” Her piercing brown eyes became chall
enging.

  “The point is that even though the firm values your skills…and we accept that one’s personal life is a private matter…still a certain amount of circumspection …”

  Chiara interrupted impatiently, “Please cut to the chase here.”

  “We have an image to protect. You are going have to let your new assistant go. And now that your name is on the door with ours, the other partners have asked that I get a guarantee that you will be very discreet in the future conduct of your personal life.”

  Every fiber of her being filled with anger and resentment but there was also a sudden feeling of release. Her long seething disgust with the firm and with herself for having played along with their hypocrisy could now be vented. The true lawyer in her rose up. She paused and let her gaze hone in on him with her eyes like a laser beam.

  “Are you threatening me?” she demanded.

  “Let’s just say you have a lot invested here, Chiara. It would be a shame if we came to a parting of the ways. If that happened…well…you know our firm is very influential. Despite the warmth you’ve been enjoying from your recent success you might find that Atlanta can turn frosty very quickly.”

  “You want me to choose the firm over my feelings for Grace or you’ll blackball me?”

  Peter Smith merely smiled and shrugged.

  “I’ll take that silly shrug as a yes. You don’t need to worry. I resign right now. But you should know that I expect to be compensated for leaving and for the trouble you’re causing me.”

  “How much?” The question came so quickly that it was obvious her reaction had been anticipated.

  “Oh, let’s see….I had planned on suffering through five more years here…so something in the neighborhood of five million should do.”

  “Ridiculous!” He snorted derisively.

  “You think so? You are on the verge of a joint suit for discrimination and sexual harassment. Five million will be cheaper and far less embarrassing.”

  He cleared his throat and laughed. “You are acting way too big for your tight little britches, missy. You drag us into court for a pissing contest and you’ll find out right off that Atlanta is still an old boy’s club.”

  “It will cost you to prove it to me, Pete old boy.”

  “See you in court then.” He grunted, “Now, get out.”

  “With pleasure.” she responded.

  Within five minutes of Chiara’s departure Smith had called in the other senior partners. Saul Weinstein and James Rutherford Brooks II looked at him expectantly.

  “I tried to give her an out but she wouldn’t take it. She’s leaving.” he told them.

  “Good riddance.” Brooks said quickly, “I was against making that ice queen a partner in the first place, Peter.”

  Weinstein laughed. “You just never got over the fact that she wouldn’t let you get in her pants.”

  “Never mind all that. The bitch plans to take us to court!” Smith said sourly.

  “Is she nuts? She can’t beat us up in our own town. We’ll have her guts for garters.” Brooks declared.

  “We’d better not take this too lightly, Jimmy. Hell hath no fury and all that rot. I want you to get with Barnes, Lee and Stuart. We do a lot of horse tradin’ with them. Get us their best litigator and have him start getting ready as of now. And you, Saul…you still play golf at the club with Judge Kirkpatrick?”

  “Yes. We have a foursome set for this coming weekend.”

  “Be sure and nudge him on this. See if when the suit is filed he can get it passed to someone sympathetic. For my part I’ll get an investigator digging into her past and that of the Butrell girl. We’re gonna need some nice stinky, sticky mud to sling.”

  “Maybe we should have just ignored this, Peter.” Weinstein ventured, “I mean after all it wasn’t as though she was out marching with the Rainbow Coalition. Even the military is reconsidering ‘Don’t ask. Don’t tell’ and some states are legalizing same sex marriage.”

  “Why didn’t I hear any of this liberal bullshit when the two of you demanded I take her to task? I’ve already burned the bridge.”

  “Now I’m having second thoughts is all.”

  “Well second think this, Saul…she wants five million!”

  “Fuck that noise!” Weinstein retorted adamantly, “I’ll have the Judge over to dinner and twist his arm tonight.”

  Chiara had left the confrontation feeling a kind of bliss. She didn’t care anymore. She had finally said what she truly felt about this whole sordid business. She was sick of trying to please Peter Smith and his pals.

  She patted her breast pocket and congratulated herself on having walked in prepared. The recording was made surreptitiously so they would seek to have it excluded but there might be a way to get around that. She also anticipated that they would mount an all out assault on both herself and Grace. As far as she knew there was nothing really damaging for them to find but she was sure they would invent something. She was not overly disturbed though.

  The old adage was that anyone representing themselves had a fool for a client. It held true even for a capable attorney. She was going to need someone else out front. Someone who wouldn’t be afraid of the good old boys. Tamika Brown came immediately to mind. She was a black civil rights lawyer. Chiara had seen her in action and been impressed.

  Chiara smiled again. She would fix their wagon, take their money and leave Atlanta. She had secretly wanted something different and fuller for a long time anyway.

  Now, she only needed to talk to Grace. This might be rough because she had no doubt the girl would be upset and possibly frightened. It would be up to her to be the strong shoulder.

  Could it be possible that they might come out of this mess whole and together somehow and be happy? This would be the dream she really wanted but had repressed: true love and true living.

  Grace was at Sheila’s outer desk poring over a brief with her when Chiara whipped in.

  “Grab your stuff so we can get out of here, Grace.”

  “But…I mean lunch is still a couple of hours away. Where are we going?” Grace asked in confusion.

  Grace had been unaware that anything odd was afoot but Sheila’s questioning expression registered immediately that something drastic had occurred during her boss’s meeting upstairs.

  “Just get your purse and whatever, honey. I’ll explain everything on the way home.”

  As Grace hurried off to comply, Chiara turned to Sheila.

  “I resigned.”

  “Damn it all!” Sheila couldn’t avoid the outburst.

  “I don’t have time to fill you in right now so just listen. I want you to get some movers in here. All of my personal files and anything else that the firm does not have a legal claim to retain needs to get boxed, put under seal and sent to storage.”

  “Gotcha.”

  “Until that is done no one comes in here. I know this puts you in a bind as well but when the dust settles I will make sure you aren’t left out in the cold. If anyone gives you any grief you call me.”

  “Gotcha. Go on and don’t worry about a thing.”

  “You’re the best, Sheila.” Chiara gave her a hug as Grace reappeared. The girl had all she could do to match Chiara’s long strides to the elevator.

  As they stepped off the elevator onto the fifth floor of the parking deck, they hurried toward the car. Grace was looking intently at Chiara, having never seen this level of intensity or anger on her beautiful face.

  When they got in, Chiara gunned the engine and tore out of the parking deck like a wild thing. Grace was more than a little worried, though on some odd level, Chiara’s vigorous attitude aroused her. She wasn’t quite sure why.

  When they finally arrived at the house and parked the car in the garage, Chiara sighed and let out a deep breath as though relieved. Grace understood somehow that it might be wise to remain quiet and allow Chiara to tell her what the hell was going on in her own good time.

  Inside the large living room, Chiara sat d
own exhaustedly in the big blue leather chair. Grace sat across from her on the sofa.

  “Breathe, Chiara.” Grace said softly.

  Chiara smiled at her and took a good deep breath before sharing what was going to be some tough news.

  “Grace, our affair was noticed and frowned upon. Smith called me into his office to tell me that I should fire you because you’re gay and that I should climb back into the closet again or they would shut me out.” Chiara cleared her throat slightly before going on in an even clearer voice, “I resigned. I also told him I would be suing them for discrimination. They have absolutely nothing on us in terms of impropriety or anything else. So you’ve nothing to worry about in terms of your future or your reputation. But with regard to the firm, you may as well face the fact that you’re finished there…and so am I.”

  “Oh my God,” Grace said with a shock. “It’s my fault, Chiara. I shouldn’t have pushed you to be open about us. I should have been more circumspect about the whole thing. I’m so sorry.”

  Grace began to cry softly, burying her face in her hands. She trembled slightly.

  “No, Grace. No. It’s really not your fault. A lot of them were looking for a reason, any reason they could find, to fault me. I almost think they hated promoting me. They really like having total control of everyone under them. I played along for years but always held something back. They never liked that.” She continued, “I could have laid down for them and played dead again. But today I said no to it all! I’m taking my life back. What you and I have found together could never be replaced by big yearly bonuses and that view of the skyline”

  “What do you mean?” Grace asked, wiping away her tears.

  “What I mean is that I am going to sue the hell out of them. This is a civil rights violation as plain as day. They were ready to fire you and me for being gay. That, my dear, though still being fought through the courts on a case by case basis, is illegal.”

  Grace sat back, feeling proud of Chiara for being so brave in the face of this kind of Philistine behavior on the part of people who had disguised themselves as her friends.