by Rob Edwards
He walked over with a big smile. “Judith Higgins?”
“Yes?”
He threw his notebook under his arm and held out his hand. “I’m Muki Matek, from Channel 12. Let’s talk about what you’re doing out here today.”
Chapter Forty-Eight
Waking early the next day, Judith made a second sign. If Jack showed up again she was prepared to give him real work to do.
She dropped Noah off at Keener and headed to the prison in good spirits. The segment on Channel 12 had done her social media accounts a world of good. The followers had nearly doubled on all three accounts overnight. And people were now leaving comments like “You go girl!” and “Give ’em HELL!”
But what surprised her most, was the fact that there were already three people in front of the prison marching when she got there. There was an elderly man and woman in windbreakers and Hawaiian shirts, and Jennifer Hall, one of the other parents from the program. They had made their own signs as well. Jennifer had made one similar to Judith’s that read “Free Delton Hayes,” but the older couple were a little more creative; theirs read “Hayes’d and Confused,” and “Blue Hayes.”
They all cheered for Judith when she got out of her car, and she hugged and thanked each of them for being there.
“My son didn’t do as well as yours did,” Jennifer said to her. “But he did fairly well. And when you have the successes that your son had, it’s worth the fight to try to get it going again.”
Judith hugged her once more, touched by the kindred spirit she had found.
“I know how hard it is to try to raise a special needs child. It seems like the whole world is against you,” Jennifer said. “So, I just felt we needed to stick together.”
“Thank you so much,” Judith said.
“It’s my pleasure,” Jennifer waved her sign and yelled, “Free Delton Hayes!”
Judith turned to see what appeared to be a husband and wife, walking past them toward the entrance to the building. The man looked at them and shook his head.
“Once this is over, we should get our kids together for play dates.”
Judith couldn’t help but smile. “I would like that very much.”
“Excuse me,” came a meek voice from behind her. “Miss Higgins?”
Judith turned to see Danna Hayes standing there, hands clasped nervously behind her. “Danna? How did you get here?”
“The bus stop’s a couple miles up the road,” Danna said, pointing. “I just walked from there.”
“What are you doing here, and not in school?”
“I saw you on TV last night and…” Danna looked at the other people walking with their signs, then back up to Judith. “I gotta help with this.”
Judith was running through her mind all the things wrong with encouraging a young girl to skip school. “Danna, I know this is important to you, but I can’t have you stay here. You need to be in school.”
“Miss Higgins, this is my brother we’re talkin’ ‘bout here.” Her eyes teared up and she wiped them quickly.
“Let me ask you something,” Judith said. “What do you think Delton would say to me right now if I were to tell you it’s okay to be here and not in school?”
Danna looked at the ground.
“You know the answer, don’t you?”
Danna nodded, begrudgingly.
“Then you have to promise me that you will catch the noon bus back to school.”
Danna’s head snapped up excitedly.
Judith smiled down at her and handed over her sign. “Do we have a deal?”
“Deal.” Danna grabbed the sign from Judith and waved it in the air. “Free Delton Hayes! Free Delton Hayes!”
An SUV pulled up and two middle-aged women got out, holding Starbucks cups. They sauntered around to the back and grabbed a “Free Delton” sign each. Then they walked up to the sidewalk, toasted Judith, and sipped on their coffees. “We got caramel mochas today,” one woman said. “Looks like we’ll need to walk them off.”
Judith ran to her car and grabbed the other sign she’d made. She ran back, grabbed Danna and took a selfie with her to post later.
“Miss Higgins. A word?”
Judith looked up to see Warden Luzynski standing near the doorway, looking less than pleased.
When she walked over to him, he shook his head. “Miss Higgins, this simply can’t go on.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Judith replied.
The warden looked relieved. “So we’re on the same page then?”
“Yes. Just as soon as the injustice is taken care of.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You just said it, Warden.” Judith said. “Delton’s unfair incarceration simply can’t go on. Once he’s released, we’ll stop picketing.”
The warden scowled. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
“Warden, all I’m doing is making your job easier.”
“And just how are you going to spin that?”
“You said you couldn’t let Delton work with Noah because of public opinion.” She gestured toward the picketers. I’m changing public opinion for you so you won’t have to worry about that anymore.” She smiled at him.
Warden Luzynski did not smile back. He held up a finger to her. “I want you all out of here within one hour, or I will have you forcibly removed. Do you understand?”
“Oh, so you’re willing to help us out?” Judith said, still smiling brightly. “Because if you do that, you will turn public opinion a whole lot faster for us all. I thank you very much, sir.”
Warden Luzynski’s face grew red. He scoffed, spun on his heels, slammed open the door and stormed back in the building.
Judith turned back to see a white GMC van with the words, Channel 3 News Now, pull into the parking lot. “This is really getting fun.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
The following morning, when she pulled into the Keener School parking lot, Principal Phil Bria met Judith as she stepped out of her car.
“Miss Higgins, I wanted to let you know…the teachers had a meeting last night and we’ve decided that it’s probably best that you find a different school for Noah.”
“What do you mean, a different school?” Judith stammered. “Why?”
“Why?” Principal Bria gave her a smug smile. “Do you really have to ask? You go on the news, two nights in a row, and slam our school and the work they’ve done with your son. You put it out over and over again on all your social media sites that we have done nothing good for your son. Is it really that difficult to believe the teachers might have some hard feelings?”
Judith looked past the principal to the school. Several teachers were watching the interaction, either from the front entrance or a window. She fought the urge to scream at them. To tell them to grow up. Why was it whenever she took one small step forward, everyone else in the world tried to push her back three steps? Was Noah ever going to be a priority to anyone but her? But logic got the better of her, and she spoke calmly. “Principal Bria, I wasn’t trying to put your school, or your teachers down. I was fighting for my son. Surely you and your teachers can understand that.”
Principal Bria shrugged. “All the same…it still would be a good idea to take Noah someplace else.”
Judith took a deep breath. It was important to breathe when your instincts were telling you to reach up and choke somebody. “Well, then I guess I can leave here grateful,” she said, as coldly as she could make it sound. “I was beginning to sound like a broken record on the news and my social media pages. But you’ve just given me a whole new rant, now that you’re the latest to turn your back on Noah. And just when he needed you the most.”
She opened her car door to get in, but Principal Bria stepped up to stop her. “Now, hold on. There’s no need to be like that.”
“Are you kidding me?” Judith snapped at him. “What do you expect? You and all of your poor little teachers. Crying, because I didn’t make them sound m
agnificent.” Judith wagged her knuckles by her eyes. “You’re just the next names on the ever-growing list of people who have let Noah down.” She jumped into her car and sped out of the parking lot, leaving Principal Bria, hands on his hips, growing smaller in her rearview mirror.
Her phone buzzed. She picked it out of her purse to see “Dr. F.” lit on the screen. “All right. Be good news,” she said, and tapped on the call, “Hello, Dr. Fitzpatrick.”
“Miss Higgins, I’m so glad I got hold of you.”
“What’s going on?”
“I’m afraid I’m calling to ask you to put an end to your crusade. It’s creating a bit of an untenable situation here at the college.”
“Untenable?” Judith’s blood had just been starting to cool, when the utterance of that word brought the heat back.
“Yes. The president, our board members, and I, have all been getting a great deal of email and phone calls regarding your situation.”
“Oh my goodness,” Judith feigned sympathy. “That must me terrible for you all.”
“Well, it is a bit uncomfortable, as you might imagine. Thank you for understanding.”
“Dr. Fitzpatrick, I owe you a debt of gratitude for getting Noah into your program,” Judith said. “So I’m going to use proper language, and not the string of expletives that really want to fly out of my mouth right now.” She took a breath. “I am in a fight, Doctor, literally for my son’s future. Your program showed me what was possible. And now that it’s ended, Noah has slipped away from me. That doesn’t make me uncomfortable, Doctor. That terrifies me. So I am going to fight for my son. I am going to fight as hard as it takes. Do you understand? And I don’t care if it’s uncomfortable for you, your president, or your fucking board.”
There was silence on the other end.
“Sorry about that ‘fucking board’ part. Have a nice day, Dr. Fitzpatrick.”
“Miss Higgins…”
Judith tapped off the call and tossed the phone onto the seat next to her. She looked at her son in the rearview mirror. He was in rider-mode and stared blankly at the farmland as it passed by the window. “All our friends are turning against us, Noah. But don’t worry, Mommy’s just begun to fight.”
Pulling into the Two Rivers parking lot, Judith noticed many more parked cars than there had been either of the two previous days. When her little yellow Kia rounded the long line of SUVs, she realized it was because there were close to 50 people already picketing. She parked one row from the front so Noah could stay in the car but never be out of her eyesight. And this way he wouldn’t be so close that all the noise would get him upset. “Look at this, Noah. All of these people are here for you.” She reached into the glove box and pulled out a deck of barnyard flashcards, took the rubber band off and handed them to her son. “No school today, Noah. We’re just going to sit here for a little while. But mommy’s gotta go be with all these people.” Noah reached up and grabbed the cards, set them down in his lap, then leaned his head against the car door, and watched the people walking back and forth, waving their signs. Judith threw the rubber band onto the seat next to her and then looked at it. It was a nice thick rubber band. She picked it up. “Hey, Noah, look.” He glanced her way and she stretched the rubber band with her hands. Noah reached for it and she let him have it. He stretched it over and over again while looking out the window. It could work well as a stimming tool while he waited. Judith carefully extracted her sign out of the car without clunking her son in the head. “I’ll be right out there if you need me, Noah.”
As soon as she stepped out of the car, the picketers cheered. Danna ran out of the crowd and gave her a hug. “You’re here again?” Judith said.
“Uh huh,” Danna said. She let go of Judith and walked to the car, looking through the side window. “Is that him?”
“Yes. Come with me.” She took Danna’s hand and ran around to Noah’s side of the car and knelt outside the door. “Hey, Noah, I want you to meet someone special.” Noah looked down at the rubber band he was stretching. “This is Danna. She’s Delton’s sister.” Noah looked up at the mention of Delton’s name. He glanced at Danna briefly, then looked back at his hands. Then he uttered, in a whisper. “Hi.”
Judith caught her breath. She put her hand on her heart to make sure it was still beating.
Danna smiled. “Hi, Noah. It’s nice to meet you.”
Noah said no more, nor did he look up. “Let’s leave him alone,” Judith said. She and Danna backed away and walked toward the picketers. When they reached the sidewalk, many of the people hugged and high-fived Judith, shouting things like, “Give ‘em hell, Judith,” and “We’re with you, girl.”
Judith couldn’t stop smiling. With the morning she’d had, she thought everyone was bailing on her. But now there was hope Noah would make a comeback, and she had a small army of complete strangers standing with her in this fight. She quickly got in step with her new foxhole buddies. They had new signs too. One read “Delton’s been hazed,” and another read, “Noah needs Delton!”
The group walked back and forth in front of the building, once in a while shouting chants of “Free Delton!” Whenever someone parked and walked into the facility, they were fed an earful of “Free Delton.”
Thirty minutes into the morning, two police cars pulled into the parking lot. Judith stopped in her tracks, and watched them as they slowly circled around and parked, not too far from her car. Two officers from each car got out, each holding a Starbucks cup. They walked to the front of their cruisers and leaned against them while they sipped their coffee. Judith sighed, relieved. It appeared they were there to just monitor the situation.
She turned to get back in line when she noticed the front doors of the facility open up. Three men in suits walked out followed by Taysha Williams. They spoke to Taysha, pointing in Judith’s direction, and then angrily gestured, as if shooing Taysha toward Judith. Taysha nodded and walked over. “Hey, Judith. Can I have a word with you over here?” She pointed to the grass area next to the sidewalk.
“What now?” Judith said under her breath, and she walked over to meet Taysha.
Taysha stood with her back to the men and spoke softly. “Those men behind me sent me out to have a conversation with you to end this whole thing.”
Judith shook her head. “Taysha. I’m…”
But Taysha held up her hand to cut her off. “No, no, not to worry, girl. I have no intention of asking you to stop. I just need you to help me.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“Well, you see, I still work for the prison system. They sign my checks. So I have to at least give the appearance that I’m trying to do what they ask.” She gestured toward the picketers. “So I’m going to point this way and that, to make it look like I’m working really hard to get you to change your mind on this.” She touched Judith’s arm lightly. “But honestly, dear, I am so happy you’re out here sticking up for what’s right. I’d be out here myself if they weren’t paying my bills. I hope you understand.”
Judith smiled and nodded. “I do.”
“Oh, please don’t look so agreeable,” Taysha said. “You’ll give the men behind me hope that I don’t want them to have.”
“Oh,” Judith looked stern. “How’s this?”
“Much better,” Taysha said. “Don’t ever let anyone know what I really said to you, and don’t let them know that my husband is out here picketing with you today.”
“He is?”
“Yes, he is. He’s the big strapping, handsome thing, with the ‘Free Delton’ sign written in bold purple letters.”
Judith looked up and saw the man coming in their direction. He was working at not looking at them.
“Now here’s the part where you look angry, tell me off, and send me on my way,” Taysha said.
“Oh, yes. Okay.” Judith rested her sign on the ground and leaned on it. She furrowed her brows and pointed heatedly at the picketers. “Tell your husband thank you for me. I appreciate you coming out
here and talking to me.” She wagged her finger at Taysha. “Thank you for all you’ve done. And thanks for believing in Delton.” She pointed back to the door of the facility. “Good luck with selling this inside.”
Taysha nodded. “That was excellent. Keep up the fight, girl.” She turned and walked back to the men, shaking her head as she walked. Their shoulders slumped and they stormed back inside. Taysha disappeared through the doors after them.
“Miss Higgins.”
Judith turned to see one of the police officers walking toward her. He pointed to her car. “Is that the boy that we’ve all been hearing so much about, sitting all alone in your car?”
“Yes, sir. It is,” Judith said, clearing her heart out of her throat. “His school kicked him out today, so I brought him here with me.”
“And you’re just leaving him in the car? The mother who cares so much for her child is leaving him abandoned in a car?”
“He’s not abandoned,” Judith said. “Thirty feet from me. I can see him the entire time I’m here.”
The officer pointed to the building. “Ma’am, I just saw you in a conversation with a woman from this facility. You did not have your eye on your boy at any time during that conversation. There was plenty of time for anyone to grab your son and be off before you could take three steps.”
Judith stammered. He had her on that one. “But…I felt safe, I guess…because there were four police officers standing fifteen feet from the car.”
The officer frowned. “Ma’am, we are here to keep the peace, not to babysit your son.”
Danna walked up. “Miss Higgins, if you go get him, I’ll sit with him in the grass.”
Judith nodded to the officer. “Okay.” She handed Danna her sign and ran over to the car. “Come, Noah. We’re going to spend some time outside.” She unbuckled him, took him by the hand, and helped him out of the car. Noah dropped the rubber band and began to moan. Judith quickly snatched it up and handed it back. She walked him toward the sidewalk around the police cars, to avoid the loud crowd of boisterous people. Then she set him down on the grass with his rubber band, and Danna sat down next to him.