by Ward, Vivian
§
I was startled from my sleep when I heard pounding on the front door. Still hazy and disoriented from my deep sleep, I threw on a robe and went to see who was outside. A sigh of relief escaped my lips when I realized it was Jeff. I glanced at the living room clock as I unlocked the door. It was almost 8:30; I couldn’t believe I’d slept that late.
“Hey sleepy head,” he kissed me as he came inside. “I tried calling you but you didn’t answer,” he looked me over. “I guess I know why now,” he teased.
“Yesterday wore me out. I’ll go start some coffee and we can wake Nat up. I’m surprised she’s still sleeping, too.”
Jeff followed me into the kitchen and then into Nat’s room to help me wake her up. She smiled when she opened her eyes and saw both of us standing over her.
“Good morning,” she signed as she stretched out on her bed.
“Morning, baby. Are you hungry for some breakfast?” I asked as she got out of bed.
“Will you make pancakes?” she asked.
“Sure will! Anything my baby wants.” I turned to Jeff, “Pancakes sound good to you?”
“They sound great.”
Jeff and Nat followed me into the kitchen as I took a skillet out of the cupboard and started to collect all the ingredients to make breakfast. They sat at the table, trying to communicate, but Nat kept laughing at Jeff as he mis-signed quite a bit.
“He’s still getting used to it, baby,” I stuck up for him.
He grinned at me and thanked me for being in his corner. As I sat down at the table to eat with them, Jeff was having a hard time making out what Nat was trying to tell him. I watched as she continued signing, and my jaw dropped when I realized what she was attempting to tell him. I spoke the words out loud to Jeff as I interpreted her sign language to him.
“Last night,” she started. “I had a dream. My daddy was in it, and he said that you’re a good man.” I looked at Jeff, who was grinning like a fool. “He said that he misses us, but he knows how much you love us. My Daddy said it was okay for us to love you, too. He says you make my mommy very happy.”
“That sounds like a good dream,” Jeff smiled at her as he dug into his breakfast.
“Jeff! You have no idea what her dream means,” I was flabbergasted.
“What? Her dad talked to her in a dream,” he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.
“Yeah, but it was what she said he told her. I didn’t tell anyone this, but I prayed to God and asked him to help guide me and asked Thomas to give me a sign that it was all right to move on.”
“Yeah?”
“That’s it! That’s the sign!”
“What? That she said you’re happy?”
“No, he said we should love you, too. Jeff, he’s speaking from the grave to Natalie and giving me permission to move on and marry you.”
Chapter 12
A court date was scheduled for Mayor Goodwin’s plea and sentencing. We were only two days away from it, and I was a ball of nerves. We’d hired a lawyer to represent me, and he informed me that I may be called upon to testify. The last thing I wanted to do was get on the stand and give testimony in front of him. It was bad enough that I had to be in the same room as him, but I certainly didn’t want to come face to face with him while I relived the assault.
“What are you going to do if you have to get up on the stand?” Jeff asked as we were discussing the upcoming court date.
“I don’t know. I hope to God I don’t have to. That man is pure evil.”
“But won’t you feel better once he’s behind bars for good?”
“In a way I will, but I won’t be at the same time.” He cocked his head to the side as if I didn’t make any sense. “What I mean is that I’ll be glad once I know he can no longer hurt me, but I hate to see anyone locked up like an animal.”
“Judy, he is an animal. He deserves to get locked up, and whatever else might happen to him, for what he did to you.”
“I know that, but two wrongs don’t make a right,” I said to him.
“That’s your church-talk talking. It’s not wrong to put a criminal behind bars. Doesn’t the Bible say something in there about punishing others?”
I shook my head, “Jeff, I know you’ve gone to a lot of Sunday services with me, but you still have a lot of learning to do. You know, they have a men’s Bible study that meets on Thursday nights if you’re interested.”
“I don’t know about all that,” he became defensive.
“Why? Don’t you want to learn more about God and grow closer to Him?”
“I do, but…I don’t want to sound like everyone else, but it’s one thing when I go with you. I don’t think the men would like a white man coming along to their weekly group meets.”
“Are you crazy? Everyone from the church loves you! And it’s a little weird that you’re the one worried about going to my church. I thought you were some tough guy, and everyone is the same.”
“Judy, we are the same. I just didn’t think the black men would like a white guy coming to a private meeting that they have, but if you don’t think they’ll mind, maybe I’ll go.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s not a private meeting; anyone is welcome to it. Black or white. Doesn’t matter. The members of our church only see people of faith.”
On the day of the court hearing, we took Nat over to Ann’s house so the kids could play. In no way did I want my daughter in that courtroom. Jeff picked us up early so we could get to the courthouse before any of the media started lining up outside. My case had gained quite a bit of popularity since everything came out on the local news. No public official in our area had ever been charged with such a heinous crime. We ducked into the courthouse without a hitch and met with the attorney.
Mr. Gibbs was a quiet older man with a receding hairline. He didn’t speak much but when he did, his voice boomed and commanded attention. I liked him a lot and was hopeful that he’d serve my case the justice it deserved. While it was true that I didn’t want Mayor Goodwin locked up, I also didn’t want him on the streets either. We waited in the courtroom for almost an hour before the bailiff entered with Mayor Goodwin chained in shackles, sporting an orange county jumpsuit and a pair of flip flops. I almost felt sorry for him for a moment—almost. A few minutes after he sat down, his attorney appeared beside him as they went over the case.
The pews in the courtroom began to fill as many of the people in the town were interested in hearing the case. Some were there to support the mayor, but to my surprise, most were there to support me. Almost half of my church congregation took seats directly behind me, and many of the white families who came waved and smiled at me. I’d never felt so supported in my entire life. It’s amazing how much the community is standing behind me. My sense of pride helped me hold back the lump that was forming in my throat as I willed myself not to cry.
After everyone had been seated, the bailiff asked us to all rise before the judge entered the room. As the proceeding went underway, I found it difficult to breathe. I started to sweat profusely as I dwelled on the worst-case scenarios. What if he gets up there and claims he didn’t attack me? What if everyone believes him instead of me? It was difficult to pay attention to what was going on around me in the courtroom as negative thoughts continued to cloud my thoughts. I felt like everyone was judging me and watching me, even though a moment ago, I’d just felt as though most everyone was on my side. I wanted to climb under the table and hide until it was over. Maybe some of them were pretending to support me when they’re actually here for him?
When they called Mayor Goodwin to take the stand, my eyes darted to the floor as I bit the inside of my cheek. There was no way I could look at him, not after what he’d done to me.
“Are you doing okay?” Mr. Gibbs whispered to me.
I shrugged as I kept my eyes fixed on the wooden floor beneath my feet. My hands felt like ice and my stomach felt heavy. I thought I was going to pass out or vomit. Mr. Gibbs poured me a glass of wate
r as the defense attorney began to question Mayor Goodwin.
“Mayor Goodwin, can you tell the court where you were on or about the said night of the attack against Ms. Clay?”
“I can’t recall my exact whereabouts on that specific day. Around that time, I’d been running a lot of errands and going all over town to try to legalize the eminent domain petition and having various luncheons and dinners with some of the investors.”
“So it’s possible that you were out with a business associate on the night in question?” his defense attorney asked.
“Yes, it is,” the mayor’s face lit up. That weasel! Don’t give him any bright ideas.
“And can you tell the courtroom about your relationship with Ms. Clay?”
“Yes, she and her late husband, Thomas, supplied firewood for the town for the last 15 years or so. Before that, Thomas’s father and grandfather ran the company. I only know Ms. Clay on a professional level.”
“So you’d have no personal reasons to attack her?”
“No,” he shook his head, “I do not.”
Some of the men and women in the audience gasped as he claimed his innocence. In shock, I turned around to look at them. They actually are on my side!
“Order! Order in the courtroom,” the judge slammed his gavel.
“Your Honor,” Mr. Gibbs spoke up, “I’d like to cross-examine the respondent.”
The judge asked the defense attorney if he had any further questions for his client before allowing my attorney to proceed. Mr. Gibbs stood tall as he cleared his throat and straightened his tie on his way up to the witness stand.
“Mayor Goodwin, I would like to remind you that you are under oath today.”
“Yes, I’m aware.”
“Good. Now you said that you can’t recall where you were on the night of the attack, is that correct?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“So it’s plausible to say that you could have been near the Clay’s property that night?”
“I, um…I…”
“And isn’t it also possible that even though you never had a personal relationship with Ms. Clay, you did have a business vendetta that would have motivated you to attack the victim?”
“I object!” his attorney intervened.
“Objection overruled.”
“Mayor Goodwin, did you assault Ms. Clay?”
The courtroom fell silent as everyone listened for his response.
He looked around the courtroom as he snarled his upper lip, “The only crime I’m guilty of is protecting my town.”
Mr. Gibbs walked back to the prosecution table and picked up a copy of my police report. “Let the record show that my client recognized the hands of her attacker,” he paraded my statement in front of the crowded courtroom. “While the assailant wore a black body suit with a masked face, she identified her attacker as Mayor Goodwin.”
I noticed the defense attorney sitting at his table with his hands massaging his temples as my lawyer continued. “I will ask you again. Mayor Goodwin, did you or did you not attack my client? Sending her to the emergency room with a broken nose, busted teeth, a cranial fracture, and bruised ribs?”
His eyes glassed over as if he were possessed; a wicked expression cast over his face. “All I wanted was to keep this town free of niggers and make it grow!” his voice roared across the courtroom.
Everyone gasped again as they began talking amongst themselves. The judge called for order in the courtroom as he hammered his gavel repeatedly. When everyone settled down and the judge had order within the room, he dished out the mayor’s punishment.
“Mayor Goodwin, I sentence you to one year in the county jail with three years’ probation upon successful complete of your sentence. You will also pay all of the victim’s medical bills that were a result of the attack.”
The mayor spit on the floor of the courtroom as he listened to the judge hash out the terms of his sentence.
“And furthermore,” the judge continued, “I hereby order you to pay Ms. Judy Clay for pain and suffering in the amount of $50,000. The court is adjourned!”
After the judge had pounded his gavel, the courtroom was filled with cheering and clapping as the bailiff walked the mayor out of the room. My mouth fell open as my ears deceived me. Did he really just say what I think he said? He admitted to doing it and is going to jail? Jeff reached over and wrapped his arms around me as Mr. Gibbs patted my back. Members of the church came by to congratulate me as they made their way out. Speechless, I smiled with wide eyes as the surreal moment took me by surprise.
“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Jeff said to me as he grabbed my arm and led me out of the courtroom. “I think we’ve got some celebrating to do.”
Mr. Gibbs had stopped us before we made it out of the courthouse. “Ms. Clay, it was a pleasure representing you in this case. To be honest, we didn’t have enough evidence to convict him, but his hatred for your race sealed his fate. I think Mayor Goodwin is exactly where he belongs.”
“Thank you so much, Mr. Gibbs,” I shook his hand. “I was grateful that I didn’t have to take the stand.”
“Like I said, his hatred is what got him. If he would’ve denied everything, he may have walked away a free man but he couldn’t do it.”
“I’m happy knowing that everyone believed that I was right and that I was telling the truth. At one point, I thought I was going to vomit as we were sitting there.”
“You did an excellent job.” He reached into the breast pocket of his pinstriped suit, “Here are some of my business cards. Feel free to pass them along.”
§
We went back to Ann’s house to pick up Nat after court was over before we headed to Jeff’s house for a celebration dinner. As we were sitting down to eat, I noticed that he was acting strangely.
“Excuse me, I have to go check on something,” he said.
When he returned, he was carrying two glasses of Champaign. Handing me my drink, he got down on one knee.
“Judy, I love you and Natalie with every fiber of my being. Will you please be my wife?”
My eyes widened in shock as he dug into his pocket and opened a ring box. It was the most beautiful ring I’d ever seen. I looked over at Natalie, who was equally stunned. Smiling at me, she nodded her head.
“Yes, I will,” he slipped the ring on my finger and kissed me.
“Now we still have one thing left to settle,” he started. “Natalie will need to pick out which room she wants before you two move in.”
I signed what he’d said to her. Her eyes lit up with excitement and delight as she dashed away from the kitchen table. We followed her and watched as she went from room to room. After examining every room, she went back to them once more.
“Which one would you like?” Jeff signed to her.
“I don’t know. I really like this room,” she pointed to her left, “but I also like that room,” she looked down the hallway.
“Hmmm,” he scratched his chin. “Why don’t you take both of them? We can make one of them your bedroom and the other one your art room.”
She jumped up and down at the idea of having two rooms all to herself. “I’d really like that,” she said as she spun around in the hallway.
We headed back downstairs to finish the rest of our dinner while we discussed our future.
“You really made her happy,” I told him.
“She deserves to have her own art room as talented as she is. We need to talk about when you’re moving in. What do you think?”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I hate to leave our house, though. But the truth is, we only have about two months left in there anyway. Right?”
“Yep, two months, but you take your time. There’s no rush on things. I understand what you’re giving up.”
“You mean gave up,” I corrected him. “But I didn’t have a choice in the matter, not with the development. But I did have a choice with you, and I’m glad I made the right one.”
As we cleaned
up the kitchen, we reminisced about our first meetings.
“I thought you were such a jackass.”