Selling the Drama

by Theresa Smith

  "Yes! Yes, that's what I want. This week. With only us, you, me, and the kids. Just us. Surely you can pull a few strings? You have to know someone who can make this happen for us."

  "I can't make it happen this week. The minimum would be a month."

  "No sooner?"

  "Sorry. But I can organise it all for us and keep it confidential. Are you sure this is the way you want to do it?"

  "Positive," she replied, firm in her response.

  "Why?"

  "Because we seem to be the only ones considering everyone else all the time. We should just please ourselves for a change." It sounded a little shallow, voiced out loud like that, but it was the best explanation she could come up with.

  "What about Iris? She'll be upset she's missed out."

  "Fuck her!"

  Toby's eyes widened, clearly taken aback not only by her words, but the tone of them also.

  She raised her eyebrows at him, challenging him to disagree with her. "She thinks of no one but herself, she always has. You know it. I know what she's going to do next, I don't need you to tell me. She'll go after Dad, and she won't care what that does to anyone else in the process. What it might do to me. What it might do to our kids. So, I'm making the decision to do this for us. Only for us. And everyone else can just go and get over it."

  Toby grinned at her then. "They can all just go and fuck themselves."

  She smirked at that. "Yes. They can."

  "We still all going to get dressed up?"

  "Definitely. I spent a fortune on the girls' dresses."

  He threaded his hand up into her hair, his gaze softening. "You are an incredible woman and I love you. Will you marry me in a month?"

  She smiled at him, so happy in this moment she was almost deliriously so. "Yes. I will."

  "Awesome. Can we get started on the honeymoon sex tonight?" He tugged at her shirt, sliding his hand up the inside of it, a mischievous look coming over his face. "You know you want to," he teased as his hand fumbled to undo her bra.

  "Absolutely not! I'm saving myself for my husband."

  "Regrowing your virginity back?" He pulled her bra out from underneath her shirt, tossing it onto the coffee table, his hands then returning back to her, sliding up under the thin fabric until they found the place they were seeking and he grinned at her. "Don't worry, your husband won't begrudge you one final month of wild, explosive sex, before you tie yourself down for the rest of your life." He whipped her shirt off over her head then, dropping it to the floor.

  "Toby, we're in the lounge room!" She looked around wildly, as though expecting a child to pop up at any moment.

  "I know," Toby drawled, pulling off his own shirt. "And the lights are even on. It doesn't get much wilder than this."

  "Just make sure there's no exploding onto the couch. It's still new."

  Toby groaned at her. "You just ruined the moment!"

  She stood, rolling her eyes as she gathered up their discarded clothes. "We have four and a half kids. I'm sure we can salvage the moment once we get into the bedroom. We should be well practiced at experiencing everything in moments here and there by now." She headed up the hall, smiling to herself as she listened to him grumble about having to get up when he was so comfortable already. Halfway up the hall, she paused, her eyes zeroing in on a photo of her parents, framed and hanging in a central place within the arrangement of family photos Charlotte had put up onto the wall. She stared at it for a long moment before taking it down. She slid it into the hall cupboard, in under the towels they never used.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  "Congratulations. With the powers invested unto me by the Commonwealth of Australia, I now pronounce you, husband and wife." The registrar smiled at them both, his role in the ceremony, now done.

  "Please, do not kiss the bride." Justice Hale's voice held a note of amusement as she elbowed Toby in his side. She had graciously offered him the use of her chambers for their ceremony, along with herself and her associate as witnesses. Toby could not help but think she might have a little bit of the romantic in her. Buried deep. Real deep, but still there to tap into.

  He turned to her with a wide smile. "Thank you. We really appreciate this."

  "Yes, thank you so much. You're all just amazing to do this for us at such short notice. And thanks also for the Whiz Fizz." Charlotte looked over at the kids, sitting side by side on the judge's floor, furiously working their way through packets of sherbet. "I don't think they've ever been this quiet," she remarked, looking back at Justice Hale, with amusement.

  "You're welcome. You know what?" The judge looked at both of them, a smile widening on her own face. "It was a real pleasure." Focusing her attention back onto Toby, her face turned serious. Walking over to her desk, she opened a draw, pulling out a thick official looking envelope, which she passed over to him. "Sorry to turn this all serious and work related, but while I have you here."

  Toby looked down at the envelope within his hand, sealed officially by the Queensland Government, and then across to Charlotte, his heart thumping within, more rapidly by the second.

  "Should I leave?" Charlotte dropped his hand and made a move to collect up her bag. Toby sought her out, but she had moved just out of his reach.

  "No." Justice Hale gestured to Charlotte with a wave of her hand. "You need to stay. This is not about a case." She looked at Toby, a smile playing about her lips. "Hurry up and open it. I have to get going."

  "I have to open it here?" He swallowed roughly, his mouth suddenly dry, nerves clenching his stomach.

  "Yes," Justice Hale insisted. "I want to see your face when you read it."

  Toby dropped his gaze back down to the envelope, his hands shaking slightly as he lifted the seal. Unfolding the heavy paper, he began to read the contents, his nerves transforming into a heady sense of excitement. Glancing up at the judge, he announced: "I got silk."

  Charlotte gasped, her hands flying up to cover her mouth.

  "What is silk?" Ashley asked, looking up from his place on the floor.

  "I know what silk is!" Bree answered, jumping up. "It's what you use for fancy dresses! Can I have it?"

  Justice Hale turned her gaze down onto the children, her smile widening. "It's a term we use, to describe becoming a Senior Counsel. What it means, is that your daddy has just become the youngest barrister to ever be invited to join the Senior Counsel. This is a moment of history, and we all just became a part of it by being here together this morning." Justice Hale looked up over at Toby again, laughter erupting out of her at the look on his face. "What did you think was in the envelope?" she asked, surmising by his stunned appearance that he'd had no inkling at all about the contents. "Actually, don't answer that. I'd rather not know. Congratulations."

  Toby met the Justice Hale's gaze, nodding as he passed the letter across to Charlotte, who was standing there with tears in her eyes and the widest of smiles. He held out his hand to the judge, shaking warmly as their palms connected. "Thank you. I am completely overwhelmed."

  "You shouldn't be surprised. You are an incredibly talented barrister. You'd make a very good judge one day. I have to go now. I will now doubt see you later in court." She turned once more to face the children, looking down at them with a warm joyful expression upon her face. "Bye kids. Have a nice day."

  Danielle and Courtney gave her a wave. Ashley got to his feet and stuck his little hand out. Justice Hale took hold of it, despite how sticky with sherbet it appeared to be. With pride, Toby watched as Ashley addressed the judge with such a serious expression on his little face, and the utmost politeness within his voice. "Thank you for the sherbet. It was very good to meet you. I hope you have a nice day."

  Justice Hale smiled widely at him, shaking his hand firmly. "It was very good to meet you too. Thank you for helping me get rid of all this sherbet. I had far too much sitting in my drawer." She turned to Bree, who was waiting for attention patiently beside Ashley.

  "Thank you for the sherbet! Are you the Prime
Minister?" Bree asked her, a wide eyed look upon her face as she took in Justice Hale's polished appearance and her long judge's robes.

  The judge's mouth twitched as she resisted the urge to laugh. "No. I am not. I am only a judge."

  Bree's eyes widened further. "A judge? Well, that's way more important! I think you might be even more important than my daddy!"

  Justice Hale touched Bree on the cheek lightly, her smile even wider now. "I think you might be my favourite little girl."

  Bree beamed at that, her back straightening with pride at the judge's praise. Justice Hale stepped back then and turned towards the door, pausing with her hand on the knob, throwing over her shoulder, "You can kiss the bride now." She opened the door, slipped out and closed it behind her.

  The registrar and judge's associate both laughed, taking their turn at congratulating Toby before bidding Charlotte and the children farewell. Once they were alone, Toby looked over at Charlotte who was reading his letter, her fingers tracing lightly over the embossed paper. When she looked up at him, he was struck by the pride in her face.

  "I am so proud of you. This is amazing. Really incredible. I don't know what else to say. It's so important and profound, and I am just completely thrilled to bits for you because I know what an achievement this is." She put the letter down onto the judge's desk, stepping forward before throwing her arms around him. "What an amazing day."

  He held her tightly, closing his eyes so that he could concentrate exclusively on this moment with her. She was his wife now. After so long, she was at last his wife. As if one significant milestone was not enough, he had also achieved the very thing he had been working towards within his career, years before he had expected it to happen. Opening his eyes, he looked over Charlotte's shoulder, to his children chattering with each other on the floor. He imagined he could feel his fifth child against his body while holding Charlotte this close. It was a moment, a single moment of perfection, and as he absorbed it, he realised he no longer feared the risk of it shattering.

  "So," Jenna said, adjusting a sleeping Bailey on her lap, "You just went in and got married after breakfast?"

  "Pretty much. Are you disappointed we left you out?"

  "No. Not at all. At least now I don't have to buy you a present."

  "You still have to buy me a present."

  "No, I don't," Jenna countered. "A present is usually given in exchange for a meal at the reception. No meal, no present."

  "That philosophy doesn't count when it involves someone you love."

  "I'm sorry, I am still not seeing the reason why I need to give you a present." Jenna grinned at her, giving a mock gasp a moment later. "Did you just give me the finger in front of my son? You are such a bad influence, you may need supervised visitation."

  "Your son is asleep."

  "So you think, but I guarantee that if I put him down anywhere other than on my lap, he'll be awake and hollering in less than sixty seconds. He could have potentially seen you if I'd been about to shift him, so keep your naughty finger to yourself."

  Charlotte laughed at her. "You're an idiot."

  "Whatever." Jenna flipped her the middle finger with a cheeky grin that belied her age.

  Charlotte sat quietly, wanting to get this over and done with, move right past the awkward so they could get on with the rest of their lives. "So," she began carefully, "You heard about my dad?"

  Jenna stared at her for a beat too long. "Yeah, only five hundred and eighty six times though over the last few weeks, so if you'd like to give me a refresher, I'm up for it."

  Charlotte shook her head. "No, that's not what I really wanted to talk to you about."

  "What do you want to talk to me about?"

  "Us. You and me."

  "Ah," Jenna replied. "Our mutual favourite topic. This could go on for a while, we are pretty spectacular."

  Charlotte stared at Jenna, examining her, cataloguing their similarities within a new light, seeing Toby in their differences. Taking a deep breath, she let it out in a rush before launching into it, blurting with no further thought, "We are sisters."

  Jenna's gaze met her own, no look of surprise crossing her face, no outraged cry of injustice at being the last to know; just a smile that told Charlotte she had already known this for quite some time.

  "You already know?"

  Jenna nodded. "I've known since I was a teenager. Grandma told me. She thought I needed to know, just in case there was ever, I don't know, some kind of family emergency where someone needed a kidney or something, whatever. Anyway, she told me. And that was that. I got on with the rest of my life."

  Charlotte was the one shocked now, funnily enough, more shocked at hearing about this than she had been at finding out the initial family secret. "Does Mum know you know?" Toby had been adamant that Iris had not wanted him to tell Jenna.

  Jenna sighed wearily at that. "She pretends she doesn't, but Grandma told her that she'd told me. So she knows. We just perpetuate the farce. It makes her feel better to keep regarding me as her sister and to be honest, I don't really care. I had a happy upbringing Charlotte. I didn't miss out on not being raised by my own mother. She was just fifteen when she had me. I was better off with Grandma and Grandpa. It's never bothered me."

  "She treats you like shit," Charlotte couldn't help but point out.

  "She kind of treats everyone like that," Jenna countered, a wry grin playing about her mouth.

  Charlotte nodded at that, the truth of it hard to argue against.

  "But when the chips are down, she loves fiercely. And I feel that too. She's never excluded me from that. It may not appear so to you, but me and her, we're good." Jenna looked down at Bailey, her hand trailing softly along his arm. "Chad and I couldn't do this without her."

  "I know what you mean. Toby and I couldn't have done it all ourselves either. She carried me for years." Charlotte paused, biting her lip, considering the fallout of telling her mother she and Toby had eloped in secret. "She's going to be so pissed about the wedding."

  "She'll get over it. Just don't tell her if Bailey is asleep," Jenna replied, casting Charlotte a knowing look that set them both off to giggling.

  A few moments later, Charlotte felt brave enough to broach the other half of the secret that hung between them. "Do you know who your father is?"

  Jenna shook her head. "No. Grandma never said. I've never asked Iris. It doesn't really matter. I figured that with Iris getting pregnant at such a young age, it was hardly a relationship that had developed into anything that would result in my father wanting an attachment with me. And he's never come looking," she pointed out.

  "Do you want to know?"

  Jenna looked at Charlotte, her eyes narrowing. "You know?"

  "I do," she admitted.

  Jenna made no response. When it became clear to Charlotte that she was not going to, she decided to just spit it out. "It was Toby's father."

  This time Jenna's face did register shock, her eyes widening, her mouth dropping open slightly. "Holy shit. I have totally checked Toby out heaps of times!"

  Charlotte burst into laughter, the ridiculousness of their situation suddenly hilarious.

  Laughing herself, Jenna continued, "With me in the middle, you and Toby are like an incest sandwich."

  Charlotte snorted in between her giggles. "That is so wrong. Don't ever say that to Toby," she warned.

  "When we all go out together and I see someone I haven't seen for ages, I can be all, 'This is my brother and my sister. They're married!'" Jenna's giggles were reaching a higher pitch now, a tinge of hysteria within them.

  They laughed for ages, Bailey sleeping on throughout, tears streaming down both of their faces. Eventually, they were able to compose themselves, wiping their tears away on the backs of their hands, their movements so alike that to any casual observer, there would never have been any doubt that they were sisters, rather than aunt and niece.

  "My father was not a very good man, was he?" Jenna ventured after a period of si
lence between them.

  "No," Charlotte replied. "But as it turns out, neither was mine."

  Toby pulled up behind Jake's car, cursing under his breath. What the fuck? Looking around, he took in the neighbourhood, knowing instinctively what he was doing here, but hoping like hell he was wrong. His mind wandered to the photo Charlotte had shown him, of Jake's wall, and as his eyes roamed the street, they fell onto a familiar house. Gritting his teeth, he got out of his car, making sure to check the lock activated, before getting into passenger seat of Jake's car.

  "Do you ever wear anything other than a suit anymore?"

  Toby looked at him wearily. "I've come straight from work. What the fuck are we doing here?"

  Jake inhaled his cigarette, his window open just a crack so he could flick the ash out. Staring out of the front windscreen, he spoke to Toby without looking at him. "In that house over there, number nineteen, is the arsehole who murdered my wife. Probably inside cooking up his meth, risking the lives of his neighbours as he goes about his daily fucking business. I was going to walk in there, put a bullet into his fucking head, and then set fire to the place. But then, this little girl walked out about a half hour ago, played in the front yard for a while before going back inside." Jake turned to face Toby then, his face sombre. "You see my problem?"

  Toby felt the deep sadness emanating from his best friend, so thick it resembled misery, like nothing he had ever had the misfortune of having to endure. He could only in this moment be grateful for that little girl. That she existed. That Jake had seen her.

  "I don't believe in justice like you do," Jake continued, smoking all the while. "I see it all the time, people getting away with shit they shouldn't, getting off on technicalities, all the hard work we do, wasted, for nothing. We arrest them all over again and go through the same cycle, over and over, same people, same crimes. There is no justice, only luck and chance for the arseholes." He looked out of the front windscreen again, finishing his cigarette in silence.

  Toby did not believe in Jake's view, but he understood it. Being a cop was a tough gig; Jake saw things he did not, working at a different stage of the justice system. Generally, Toby did not deal with the petty shit, it never got as far as him, and the legal aid cases he did take were always of a particular nature, crimes associated with domestic violence. He passed all the other cases on, preferring to stick to what he was comfortable with, his time limited enough as it was.