by Lynn Faye
“I tried,” Mark whispered.
“Call your first witness, Mr. Brown,” Judge Lorde instructed.
He called Helen, who took the court oath. Kristen tried to concentrate on the questions asked by her lawyer, but they seemed to just be babbling on about how great her son was. According to Helen, her son was happy before he met Kristen and he only married her because she trapped him.
Apparently, Helen and her lawyer did not prepare well for such a lawsuit. There was no evidence to back up her story except for the coroner’s report, stating the cause of death and a report from his psychologist talking about how depressed he was.
It was time for Kristen to answer questions from Mr. Brown and she took her place in the witness box.
“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth. And nothing but the truth. So help you God?”
“I do,” Kristen clearly stated, staring pointedly at Helen.
After the primary stating of the name and that she had been Andrew’s wife, Mr. Brown commenced his questioning.
“Miss Kristen, could you please tell the court when you met your current husband?”
“I met Ethan a little over ten years ago.”
“And when did you meet your late husband, Andrew?”
“Almost a year later.”
“And you were engaged and married to Andrew within three months of meeting him, is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Your Honor, I fail to see the relevance in this line of questioning,” Mark objected.
“Your Honor, I have a point. If I may continue…”
“Go ahead, Mr. Brown.”
“Mrs. Broderick, is it correct to say that when you met Ethan, he seemed like an ordinary kind of guy? He didn’t drive a nice car, he lived in motels and couldn’t take you out to nice places?”
“Ethan was never an ordinary man, Mr. Brown,” Kristen replied.
“Let me rephrase. Didn’t it bother you that he had no money?”
“No.”
“Why is that?”
“I had my own money and the times we dated, Ethan never made me feel like I wasn’t special.”
“Remember you’re under oath, Mrs. Broderick.”
Mark stood once more, he sounded exasperated as he objected. “Your Honor, Mr. Brown clearly did not prepare for this farce of a lawsuit and has failed to provide one shred of evidence that my client was responsible for Andrew Broderick’s death. He is badgering my client.”
“Sustained. Mr. Brown. Where is your evidence that Mrs. Broderick is responsible for her husband’s death?”
“Your Honor, we have proven by the report from the psychologist that the deceased was depressed. He’d only started seeing a therapist after he married her.”
“Sit down, Mr. Brown. I’m tempted to dismiss this lawsuit but I’m curious about Mrs. Broderick’s counter-claim. Mr. Rickards, do you have anything to say on behalf of your client?”
Mark walked to the front of the courtroom and turned to the twelve-member jury panel. Their faces showed their amusement as they thought this was some kind of mock trial. “I don’t have much to say. I will allow my client to speak for herself. She’s already on the stand. May as well end this farce of a lawsuit!”
“Tone it down, Mr. Rickards, this isn’t television court,” Judge Lorde scolded.
Mark beamed and focused his attention on Kristen. Since she entered the courtroom she’d been confident. Now, her stomach quivered and her heart raced.
“Mrs. Broderick, your husband died of a stroke, did it not?”
“Yes.” Her voice came out a hoarse whisper. She cleared her throat and repeated. “Yes.”
“We all know that, but was there something else wrong with your husband? Please tell us.”
She looked at Ethan who was staring at her. She shifted her gaze to Helen. If looks could kill, she’d surely be dead by now.
“Andrew was diagnosed as HIV positive before we met. I didn’t know he’d been living with the virus. In his last month, he stopped taking the medication and was trying something new which he didn’t tell me about.”
“Objection,” Mr. Brown yelled. “My client’s son never disclosed that. His autopsy never showed anything of the sort, your honor.”
“Your Honor, if I may,” Mark picked up a file from the desk and walked to the judge’s rostrum. “We have the medical records from Mr. Broderick’s private physician.”
Judge Lorde scanned the file and nodded for Mark to proceed.
“Tell the court, Mrs. Broderick, how did your husband contract HIV?”
“Objection,” Mr. Brown called. “Hearsay.”
“Sir down, Mr. Brown. This is not a criminal trial,” the judge said. “Continue, Mrs. Broderick.”
Kristen chewed her lips and rubbed her palm on her wool skirt. “Andrew was a homosexual.”
A clatter of voices rang through the court as people started speaking at the same time.
Helen shot to her feet, her eyes wide. “That’s preposterous! Andrew wasn’t gay!”
Judge Lord smacked the wooden block with his gavel. “Quiet. This is not a circus! Calm your client, Mr. Brown.”
It took a few minutes for the room to be quiet. Helen was shaking her head and glaring at Kristen. Ethan had a smirk on his face.
“Mrs. Broderick, are you telling the court that you married a man knowing he was homosexual?” Judge Lorde asked her.
“No, your honor. I had no idea. I found out later.”
Mark stepped closer to her box. “Tell us what happened.”
“I found out Andrew was gay a few months after we got married. On our wedding night, we didn’t do anything much. I was disappointed. As the months went by and he showed less interest in the bedroom, I thought that he was impotent. I searched for a doctor that specialized in erectile dysfunction.”
A few people laughed, resulting in the judge’s sharp eyes glancing over the room. She waited until all was quiet again, before continuing.
“I wanted my marriage to work, but something told me that something wasn’t right. I thought perhaps he was cheating since he’d wake up most mornings with an erection. One afternoon while doing the laundry, I found a receipt from a club downtown. The following evening, I waited until he left work and followed him. He went to the club…” she swallowed and inhaled a shaky breath. “When I followed him inside I was shocked. To see him all cozy with a man… I stood there for what seemed like an eternity staring at them fondling and kissing. Then he saw me and I bolted.”
“What happened next,” was Mark’s next question.
“I went home to pack and he followed me home. I was ready to walk out and he confessed that he married me to keep his secret. He begged me to stay and talk it over, at least to stay a couple of days and think about it before leaving. I don’t know what made me stay in the first place, but I did and three days later we talked. We made a contract that we would remain married.”
Mark held up a piece of paper. “Is this the contract?”
Kristen took it and looked it over. “Yes, that’s it.”
“Your Honor, if I may present you with another piece of evidence, that the deceased not only married my client under false pretenses but his wish was to remain married to her.”
Judge Lorde read from the piece of paper, “It says here that you two agree to remain celibate until such time when you either divorce or one should pass away. It also states that each party should wait at least three years before marrying someone else.”
“Your Honor, hence the reluctance of my client to get married by your order. She wanted to honor the contract but you forced her hand,” Mark stated.
Mr. Brown stood and walked to the front of the room. “Your Honor, all this is utter nonsense. The couple has a child together. Miss Broderick, are you telling me that your daughter is not the child of your late husband?”
Kristen glanced at Ethan. She never imagined they would question Hailey’s paternity.
“Yes, she
is not Andrew’s daughter.”
Mr. Brown gave a sly smile. “So, you broke the contract and slept with another man.”
“No! It was Andrew’s doing, he drugged us and had us have sex.”
The courtroom erupted into another cackle of voices speaking together. Kristen imagined them looking at her like an idiot. Who allows their husband to drug them to sleep with another man? They must have wondered why she stayed. She couldn’t answer that, except, she was already married and she felt that she needed to protect him.
“ORDER!” Judge Lorde shouted. “Order, or I will remove all of you.”
Slowly, the noise died and Kristen felt the sting of tears. She’d bottled her feelings towards Andrew and what her marriage was for so long that she now felt a sense of relief.
“Kristen, can I call you that?” Mr. Brown asked. She nodded. “We are confused. Are you telling this court that Andrew Broderick drugged you and forced you to have sex with another man?”
“No, he didn’t force us. He drugged me and I went to bed. Next thing I knew someone was making love to me in the dark and… I thought it was my husband. When I realized it wasn’t, it was too late.”
“Kristen, are you that easy?” Mr. Brown began.
“Enough!” A thundering voice echoed through the room. All eyes turned to the speaker. Ethan was on his feet, his face twisted in anger. “I will not have you speak to my wife that way.”
The judge pounded the gavel on the block for order. There was a commotion up front, which drew everyone’s attention. Helen was gripping her chest while leaning precariously off the chair. Mr. Brown and Ethan moved at the same time as she was about to topple.
“Mother!” Ethan rushed to assist Helen before she fell face down on the courtroom floor.
Judge hit the block once more. “Given that Mrs. Broderick looks like she’s not feeling well, we’ll adjourn for today. I’m dismissing the lawsuit of wrongful death. We’ll reconvene to hear the case of negligence seven days from today. Court is adjourned.”
Chapter 34
Helen was rushed to the hospital. Ethan went in the ambulance with her. Kristen didn’t expect differently. Helen was still his mother. That was one of the reasons she loved him.
Love? The thought hit her like a ton of bricks. It was true. She’d loved him long before Andrew and now they had formed a new relationship, that love had grown.
She met Ethan in the lounge at the hospital. They’d already taken Helen in and were examining her. Helen got what she wanted, whenever she wanted. With her status, she never had to wait long for anything, including medical care.
“She is going to be fine,” Kristen told Ethan.
“I know she’s done some terrible things to you. How can you be so nice?”
“Ethan, she’s still your mother and the grandmother of our daughter. I would never wish anything bad for her.”
About forty minutes later a doctor came out. He was dressed in the usual white coat with a stethoscope hanging from his neck. Kristen knew him from when she was treated there.
“Dr. Peters, how is she?” Ethan asked.
“Our tests show that it was not a heart attack. We’re having some more tests done to be sure, but it appears to be angina,” Dr. Peters told them. “But angina means there’s an underlying heart condition, so we need to find what caused this.”
“Can we see her?” Ethan asked.
“Yes.”
The doctor turned away and Ethan looked questioningly at Kristen.
“You go ahead. I’ll wait for you here.”
*
Ethan wanted Kristen with him when he went in to see Helen, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen. He hoped that this would be a wake-up call for his mother.
Helen was given a room on the private ward. She was propped on a few pillows with her eyes closed. She looked like she was sleeping, so Ethan crept in and sat on the chair.
“You’re here,” she said, her eyes still closed. Her voice was a clear and strong as it had always been.
“How are you feeling?”
Helen opened her eyes. “Shouldn’t you be out somewhere defending the honor of your wife? What is it about that girl that makes you dishonor you own mother?”
“How did I dishonor you, Mother?”
“You embarrassed me. I thought you were on my side, but clearly, you’re with her.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened. “Mother, this isn’t about sides. It’s about right and wrong and what you’re doing is wrong.”
“Wrong? Did you hear how she sullied my son’s name today? My Andrew was not a…a…a…” she could not get the words out.
“A homosexual?”
Helen winced when Ethan said the word. “Stop it! Andrew was all man. He would never dishonor his family by indulging in such crass behavior.”
“Being gay isn’t crass, Mother. It’s a sexual preference and there is nothing wrong with it.”
Helen scowled deeply. “Shut up!” she barked. “You will not utter such rubbish about your brother.”
“It time you accept that Andrew wasn’t the son you thought he was, Mother.”
Helen glowered fiercely at him. “Look at you. She’s even convinced you to go against your own brother. When I’m done with that witch, she’ll regret ever attaching herself to my family.”
Ethan reached for his mother’s hand and she snatched it away.
“Mother, please take care of your health. Drop this lawsuit of yours.”
“Not on your life. That’s what she’s hoping when she told the court that Hailey wasn’t my grandchild.”
“She didn’t say that,” Ethan blurted out.
“You’re still defending her? Of course, she said that Andrew wasn’t Hailey’s father. Where have you been?”
“Mother…”
“Hailey’s father is probably some bum without a purpose or a job. I won’t let her sully Andrew’s memory. Andrew took that child as his own, he gave that child his name. I won’t let some scumbag walk in off the streets and claim her…”
“Mother!”
Helen paused at Ethan’s sharp tone.
“Hailey is still your granddaughter.”
“Of course, I’ll still accept her as my granddaughter. I won’t let some other man come in and take her. In heaven’s name, why didn’t she just marry Hailey’s father?”
“She did.”
Helen continued her chatter until she came to an abrupt halt midsentence. Her eyes snapped to Ethan’s, holding his gaze for a few seconds. “What did you say?” she squeaked.
Ethan leaned forward. “I said, she did marry Hailey’s father.”
Ethan watched his mother closely. She seemed to be taking shallow breaths. Her skin was turning purple and she seemed to be unable to breathe properly. He pressed the emergency button near the bed and within a few seconds, several nurses rushed in.
Ethan withdrew to one corner as one nurse placed an oxygen mask over Helen’s face. They lowered her head by removing a few of her pillows. Helen stared at the ceiling while remaining motionless.
Slowly, Helen’s eyes closed and her color began to return to normal.
Ethan left the room somewhat dismayed. He’d hoped that with a scare as this, she’d relent and give up on pursuing Kristen. On the contrary, she was now more determined than ever to take her daughter-in-law down. He couldn’t understand why she hated Kristen that much.
Kristen was sitting with her head in her hands. Ethan stopped a few feet away and watched her for a minute. As if sensing him, she raised her head. When she saw him she stood and hastened to meet him. “How is she?” Kristen asked, her face betraying her worry.
Ethan’s heart melted. The two women in his life were so different. One was filled with hate and the other with love. “She’s not in good shape.”
“What happened?”
Ethan rubbed the back of his neck as he glanced at the door to Helen’s room. “She stopped breathing, I think. They gave her oxygen.”
Kristen rubbed his arm. “I’m sorry. I know this must be hard for you.”
“Thanks for being here.”
“Ethan,” Kristen lowered her voice, but she sounded serious. “Let’s not go further with this.”
He cocked a brow as his heart galloped. Was she thinking of leaving him? “What?”
“This thing with Helen,” she replied and relief engulfed him. “Destroy the evidence you found.”
Apart from the fact that he couldn’t do that anymore, he didn’t think that was a good idea. As far as his mother was concerned, she was by no means finished with her vendetta.
“Kristen, my mother just told me she wants to pursue these lawsuits of hers, she’s not planning on backing down. It’s up to the police now.”
“You don’t agree with me, do you?” she said.
“If she continues, I’ve got to stop her,” was his reply.
“What’s the matter with you? She’s your mother for Christ’s sake!”
“You think I don’t know that? You think this is easy for me?”
“It appears that way, Ethan,” she retorted. “You seem eager to do this.”
“What are you so upset about?”
“She’s lying in a hospital bed. I just don’t want to be the one to make things worse for her. She’s been through enough.”
Disbelief riddled with confusion clouded his mind. “Are you kidding me? Look what she’s done to you. How can you defend her?”
“Because she’s still your mother.”
“And it’s up to me to deal with this thing.”
Closing her eyes, Kristen purse her lips and Ethan could tell she was trying to control the next words from her mouth. He couldn’t understand why she was so concerned about Helen.
“I can’t believe we’re arguing about my mother. The same person that’s dragged you through hell.”
“That’s just it. She’s dragged me through hell, not you, but you insist on continuing this feud. Why?”
“Because I can’t stand to see her hurt you anymore, that’s why!”
“And I don’t want to see you hurt by doing this. Don’t you understand that this will hurt you too? If your mother goes to prison, or God forbid, something should happen to her when she discovers what you’re trying to do…” Kristen shuffled closer, reached her hand up and caressed his cheek. “How would you forgive yourself, knowing you caused her more harm?” she asked, her voice almost a whisper.