My Dusk My Dawn

by Henrietta Georgia

  Never said anything about drama, he said.

  You are drama, I said.

  Please, he begged, after a slight pause.

  Okay, see you at home, tonight, I replied.

  Okay. See you then, he replied. I love you.

  I love you too, I wanted to type back, but I didn’t. Being stubborn got the better of me, and I knew my not replying in kind would cut him. I loved him dearly, but I hated his short temperedness, directed at me.

  In my heart, I knew we’d be back together in no time. I’d break the news that I was expecting, and we’d straighten things out, get back to where we both belonged.

  I showered quickly and decided to check out of the hotel by midday. I still had clothes at my apartment which I could quickly get. I called Jude, and he came up to meet me at the hotel in a hurry.

  “You could’ve stayed at mine,” he stated. “Were things that bad last night?”

  “In retrospect, no,” I replied. “Daniel’s a bit of a hothead, and I just needed a moment alone to collect myself,” I told him.

  “Didn’t you know Mr. Brennan was a bit of a hothead?”

  “No,” I told him. “I guess you’d know all about it, given you guys initiated further proceedings against him. He was pretty annoyed last night, mentioned something about you all being out for blood.”

  “You all used to be you as well, yes? You used to be part of the same team?”

  “Used to be is the operative phrase,” I reminded him.

  “Okay,” Jude acknowledged. “If it’ll make you happy, I’ll wash my hands clean of his matter, though in doing so, I can’t guarantee Jensen won’t get involved,” he said. “In fact, I can almost guarantee that she will get involved now, since she’s pretty peeved you’ve left.”

  “She won’t win,” I replied. “Daniel hasn’t said much at all about what happened, but the truth will prevail. You know I’m right.”

  Jude nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing with me.

  “Truth doesn’t pick sides,” I added.

  “True that,” he replied, walking around the hotel room as though he would notice anything of note. “On another note, apart from the argument you two had last night, you’ve been happy?”

  “Very,” I told him. “You know we haven’t spent a night apart since we met.

  “Awe, that’s sweet,” he said sarcastically. “I’m sure he was missing you,” he assumed. “So, where to now?” he asked.

  “My apartment,” I requested. I hadn’t been there since Daniel had been shot.

  “I thought you’d given back your keys and all?” he asked, surprised.

  “I’d planned to, but Daniel got shot and all…”

  “Sure,” he replied. “Ernesto’s got carriage of that matter,” he advised. “Seems like something Duayne would do.”

  I nodded in agreement.

  “Anyhow, the sooner you’re out of there, the better.”

  “Yep,” I agreed, he was completely right about that.

  We got there in no time. The apartment was no longer cordoned off and marked. Inside, it seemed cold, empty and soul-less. Everything was as we’d left it last.

  “How about we organize a removalist today, get everything out?”

  “Okay.” I liked his thinking. For as long as I’d known him, Jude made things happen. Quickly. He didn’t waste any time.

  “I’ll call up some guys now, everything you own here will be out by this afternoon,” he promised. “Time to move on,” he added, before pulling me in for a hug. “Duayne will be sorry he hurt you. Anyone who messes with you, messes with me. Mr. Brennan included,” he said, surprisingly. As we walked out of the apartment and back to his car, he asked bluntly, “I gather you’re going to work for him now?”

  “I’ve considered it,” I replied.

  He nodded again before stating, “Just don’t forget I’m not the enemy. Neither is Ernesto. No matter where you are, you can call on us, and you can always come back,” he assured me.

  “Thank you Jude.”

  “Jensen’s not going to be D.A. for long,” he predicted.

  “Oh?”

  “You didn’t hear it from me,” he stated, going before me, opening the passenger door of his Saab and sliding my duffle bag with clothes onto the back seat. “Ernesto wants you back on board when she’s gone,” he announced.

  “Interesting,” was all I could say.

  “Once a prosecutor, always a prosecutor.” Jude said with finality.

  Jude dropped me off at home, and I quickly jumped into my car without going inside the house. Daniel didn’t appear to be home, but just in case he was, I wanted to avoid talking to him until that evening.

  With Jude having to return back to work, I called on Shania to accompany me to the doctor’s to confirm my pregnancy via ultrasound. She left the beauty shop in a hurry, agreeing to meet me there.

  The quick trip to the doctor revealed that I was indeed pregnant – 6 weeks along, and not with just one, but with two babies. Shania burst into excited chatter. “Omg, Omg, Omg!!!” she started. “I knew you would get pregnant just by looking at each other! Twins, wow, you must’ve been doin’ a lot of looking!”

  The technician and I burst into laughter. “Any twins in the family?” he asked, mid chuckle.

  “My husband’s an only child, and from my side, no twins.”

  “Interesting,” he said, wiping the gel off the Doppler, and writing a few notes down. “Please book in to see an obstetrician and look at managing the pregnancy that way.” I rolled my shirt down over my belly, elated at the fact that Daniel and I were going to be parents.

  I drove to Daniel’s firm afterwards, in hopes I could catch up with Craig. I caught him on his way out, he met me at the door.

  “How are we?” he asked, reaching out to shake my hand. I shook his hand, immediately noticing the strength behind him. “Sorry, busy afternoon and I’m on my way out now,” he said, casting a contemplative glance my way before looking at his wristwatch. “It’s 5.30 pm now. How about we discuss this over dinner?” he offered.

  “Sure.” If I can stomach it, I thought.

  “There’s a brilliant Japanese restaurant just down the road…,” he started then stopped suddenly. “You expecting? When are you due?” he asked.

  Craig caught me unawares with his abruptness and awareness. “Not a lot gets past me,” he said, smiling. “I can see it in your face. You’ve got a secret.” He noted. “Or two. But don’t we all.”

  “Only a few weeks now,” I responded, despite hoping I could keep it a secret for much longer.

  “Congrats to you and yours,” he said heartily. “So, no Sushi tonight, but there is Teppanyaki,” he said.

  I felt a tinge of sadness. I’d wanted to share the news with Daniel first, but after the way we left things last night, he wouldn’t be the first to know.

  “Let’s do this,” Craig said, interrupting my thoughts.

  “Try some ginger and lemon tea,” he suggested. “The nausea should ease up in a few weeks, by the end of your first trimester.”

  I stopped, for a moment. “Is it that obvious I’m pregnant?”

  “Not obvious, no,” he confirmed. “Though not a lot gets past me,” he stated as a matter of factly. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

  “Who says I’m keeping secrets?”

  “Not a lot gets past me,” he repeated.

  Changing topic he asked, “Tell me about the moment you decided you no longer wanted to be a prosecutor.”

  I did. I had been so proud of being a prosecutor until that day. I never would forget the day the former attorney was being led from the docks to spend five years in prison for misappropriating a client’s funds whilst he was in the throes of depression. Since that day, my work as a prosecutor had a lacklustre tinge. It was no longer us against them. I started to feel as though there was no humanity in the work I did as a prosecutor. No middle ground.

  “You’d make a brilliant defence lawyer,” he declared. “Are
you prepared to have your former colleagues see you as the enemy? Are you prepared to lose your good standing with the bench? You won’t be one of their favourite prosecutors anymore. You’ll likely be a thorn in the side of a lot of people.”

  “I’m prepared. It’s either all in or all out, and I’m all in.”

  “Great,” Craig stated, adjusting his glasses. Steely blue eyes gazed into me and I looked away.

  “There isn’t much point in avoiding Daniel,” he advised. “He loves you deeply.”

  I shrugged in response. “He needs to cool off,” I stated.

  “He’s only human,” Craig reminded me, talking a large swig of water from his tumbler. “He’s bound to make mistakes.”

  I placed a hand on my belly, thinking of the fact that I hadn’t even told Daniel that I was expecting.

  “I won’t say a thing, but please don’t delay in telling him,” he urged. “Life is short, time is fleeting.” Craig had a way of putting things that encouraged one to be spurred into action. “So, tomorrow, 9 am?” he suggested as a start time. “Daniel’s been a silent partner after the board’s determination, and I make most of the decisions around here, if not all of them.”

  Interesting. “I’ll be in a little after 9 am, I told him. “If that’s okay. I’ll be at the doctor’s.”

  “Not a problem at all,” he said. “As I mentioned, things are pretty relaxed around work, though communication is key.” Settling the bill, I noticed a concerned look on his face. “I think I need to go back to the office, I left a critical file there. Got distracted I guess.”

  “Oh okay.”

  “Yes, you’re quite the distraction,” he joked.

  I smiled in response, not knowing how to take him or where to place him.

  “I can show you around while we’re at it, just in case I’m not in first thing, though Johnny knows the deal, and can show you the ropes,” he said.

  I hoped I would fit into work as a defense attorney, and felt relieved and optimistic that I’d be working with Craig, and Johnny.

  Time was getting on, but I knew Daniel would be at home when I got back. I agreed to go back to the office with Craig.

  Johnny wasn’t around when I’d stopped by earlier on, which had me wondering at the time, whether he was with Daniel. He was there when Craig and I went back though, perusing a few files. Boxes of files filled one room. “Discovery,” he noted. “How are you Teme?” he asked. I could hear concern in his voice.

  “She’ll be working with us from tomorrow onwards,” Craig announced.

  “Right!” Johnny exclaimed, somewhat excited at the prospect. “Well, we could certainly use the help. “I gather you left prosecutions for good?”

  Craig answered for me. “Counsellor doesn’t plan to return to working for that office any time soon.”

  “Good o’,” Johnny stated, wanting to say more but Craig cut him off.

  “You had dinner?” Craig asked.

  “I had something earlier, with Daniel,” he said, casting a glance my way.

  “Good then. I’ll be here for a little longer, use the time to get through what you can then we’ll call it a day,” he proposed, turning on the TV.

  “Alright then,” Johnny replied.

  “A community housing project which served as a home for convicted sex offenders has been burnt down to the ground,” the news presenter announced.

  “All’s well ends well,” Craig stated.

  I raised a brow in response.

  “While no one was injured, the patron of the centre says it was a low blow, devastating a community that is already devastated,” the presenter continued.

  “They have nowhere else to go!” a patron of the community centre stated.

  Craig abruptly flipped channel. “Shouldn’t have been committing offences against children in the first place!” he remarked.

  “You alright there Craig?” I asked, wondering at his sudden outburst.

  “Yeah,” he replied. “Tell me you agree with me - they deserved what they got right?”

  “I can’t say that,” I replied. “Burning down the place where they were living isn’t right.”

  “I’m sure the neighbours would agree with me,” he said smugly.

  “Taking matters into one’s own hands isn’t justice,” I argued.

  He smirked in response. “Oh but it can be justice,” he said slyly. “What those men have done - they don’t deserve to breathe.”

  “That’s a bit extreme Craig. There is such a thing as redemption, right?”

  “Redemption, my eye. No one there was planning on redeeming themselves anytime soon,” he said.

  I rolled my eyes in response. “Not all human beings are bad news. Including convicted offenders.”

  “Whose side are you on anyway?” he questioned.

  “I’m on the right side of the law…”

  “Hey guys,” Johnny interrupted. “Lovers tiff?” he asked.

  “Ha ha very funny,” I said. Craig scowled at him.

  “It was so funny you forgot to laugh, ey?” he joked, jabbing me gently in the side. It was impossible to be serious where Johnny was concerned.

  Craig eyed him suspiciously before stating, “The right side of the law is the side that ensures justice is served all the time, every time. No exceptions.”

  “No need to be so self-righteous mate,” Johnny said, to Craig’s ire.

  “Yes, I’ll take that with a pinch of salt, given it’s coming from a two time convicted drug offender.”

  A flicker of shame flashed in Johnny’s eyes, and he cast me a quick look, seemingly embarrassed. “That wasn’t necessary, Craig. I’m doing my best. Addiction is addiction.”

  “So said the convicted sex offender,” Craig snarled. “Get your act together, mate,” he added, walking off, without giving Johnny a chance to respond.

  “That was a low blow,” I remarked, Johnny standing there stunned.

  “Yeah, well he’s gotten pretty good at hitting below the belt,” he replied.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I assured him. “I don’t think any less of you.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” he said. “But that’s not material,” he added, changing topic.

  “What is material is the fact that the District Attorney’s office is wanting to keep the suspension on Daniel’s licence for now or have him disbarred.”

  My heart sunk. “What?”

  “Well, he’s been accused of misleading the court, and failing to obey a court order. He’s also been accused of violating rules on ethics. An ethics investigation is underway,” Johnny informed me.

  “He hasn’t talked to me about any of that,” I advised.

  “Well, he needs to. Burying his head in the sand isn’t going to make this all go away.”

  “I’ll talk to him,” I vowed, immediately getting my phone out to call him.

  “You need to go see him. You need to go home. He’s lost without you,” Johnny stated. “Anyhow, let me know how you get on,” he said. “Craig doesn’t seem concerned.”

  “I figured that,” I added, noting it odd that Craig wasn’t concerned at all about Daniel, given he was a partner.

  “Hey, Johnny, before I go, just a quick question for you?”

  “Shoot,” he said, giving me his undivided attention.

  “This is off topic but, do you know anything about a fellow named David? David Davenport? He’s Aussie.”

  My question left him looking and feeling hot under the collar. He knew something. “David?” he asked. Johnny was an open book to me, which made it hard for him to lie or withhold things from me without me picking up on it.

  “Yes, David,” I replied.

  “Well, I know him as Davey D.”

  “Okay?” I said, half asking and curious to know more. “How do you know him?”

  “We grew up together,” he stated. “Orphan home for boys, in Tassie - Tasmania.”

  “Interesting,” was all I could say. Daniel would be even mo
re interested to know that.

  “Why do you ask?”

  “Daniel’s been receiving messages from him for quite some time now. Daniel didn’t know this at the time, but David engaged him to rescue me when I was in a tight spot because of Duayne. How he knew to rescue me then, I don’t know. Anyhow, I realised only recently that this guy that’s been quite literally harassing Daniel over him hooking up with me is David Davenport. Last message was a bit off. Seems like he’ll be heading here soon.”

  “Right,” Johnny stated, intrigued. “And you know him how?”

  “We met in Aus many years ago.”

  “Old flame?” Johnny enquired.

  “Not quite,” I replied.

  He smiled in response. “I wonder whether you’re “Miss Wonderful?” If you are, he’s talked about you over the years.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yep. At one stage he had some grand plan to win you over. Then military service happened and we lost touch for a bit. For a number of years.”

  “Military service?”

  “Yep.”

  “I never pictured him to be the kind that would join the army?”

  “He really wanted med school to happen for him, so that was part of the deal,” he explained. I silently wondered what David’s next move would be.

  It took a while for Daniel to open the door. His face was gaunt and pale. Curtains were drawn despite it being early afternoon. He flicked on another light. Files and papers cluttered the dining room table, despite being in an orderly pile. The house was otherwise meticulously clean.

  “We need to talk,” I said. “I don’t like the way we left things last night.”

  “I don’t either,” he replied. “We need to talk to each other.”

  “You didn’t even fight for me Daniel.”

  “Look. I was hurt. You said in no uncertain terms that you didn’t want me there. You left. You didn’t give me much choice. I’m here now, Teme. I’ve always been here. I always will be here, that’s if you still want me,” he said. “That’s if you still need me.” After a slight pause, he added, “I command you to come home now.”

  “You command me?” I questioned, in disbelief.

  “Look, I just need you to come home.”