Angel Unaware (24 page)

Mayfield’s chest puffed up like a peacock. “I can assure you that my client and her husband have a solid, loving marriage. Divorce is not even in their vocabulary.”

“I’m sure Elizabeth Taylor and her innumerable husbands said the same thing.”

“Your Honor,” Mayfield protested, “I object.”

“Mr. Mayfield, we are not in a courtroom, so hold your objections.” She fought back a small smile. “However, Mr. Jenkins does have a point. I’m sure many marriages, Ms. Taylor’s notwithstanding, never began with divorce in their vocabulary, either.”

A complacent smile curved Henry’s lips. “Should it enter their vocabulary, the end result would be the same—a single parent home. Right now, Mr. Falcone and Miss DeAngelo provide as secure and loving environment for Penny as any married couple could.” He turned his attention to the Judge. “Your Honor, it’s my hope that you’ll judge my client on his present circumstances and not on what could be.” He laughed. “Hell, the courthouse might explode in the next five minutes, and we’d all be dead. That doesn’t mean the wheels of justice should grind to a halt today … just in case.”

“Your Honor,” Mayfield demanded, a vein in his neck pulsing wildly.

The judge smirked. “As crudely as it may have been stated, Mr. Jenkins has another valid point. Let’s stick to the here and now, Mr. Mayfield, and Mr. Jenkins, please confine your arguments to the case at hand and not the imminent demise of the courthouse.”

“Very well, Your Honor. The here and now is this. My client lives in a large house in a good neighborhood. Her husband has a lucrative business that provides a steady income, substantial enough to provide the girl with all the amenities to make her life more than comfortable. And they can offer the girl the benefits of having both a mother and father.”

Tony’s blood boiled. Mayfield referring to Penny as
the girl
infuriated him.

“Dammit!
The girl
has a name. Penny! Her name is Penny!” The judge started at Tony’s angry voice. No sooner had he allowed his anger release than regret filled him. “I’m sorry, Your Honor, but she’s a real, flesh-and- blood little girl, and she does have a name.”

“So noted, Mr. Falcone.” She turned to Mayfield. “Since you’ve stated your client’s case, I’d like to hear from the other side.” Henry opened his mouth, but she shook her head and nodded at Tony. “Tell me about Penny, Mr. Falcone.”

All eyes turned to him. He hadn’t planned on having to say anything. Henry had cautioned him to hold his tongue and said he would do all the talking. Fear froze his vocal cords. “I … uh … I …”

Dora leaned close to his ear. “Let your heart talk for you,” she whispered, then smiled at him. Suddenly, he felt as though he could do anything.

He cleared his throat. “When I was just three, my mom and dad died. My sister, Rosalie, raised me—”

“Your Honor,” Mayfield interrupted, his voice impatient.

“Mr. Mayfield, you had your say without interruption. Kindly afford the same courtesy to the others. If you find it impossible and interrupt again, I’ll have you removed from the room.” Mayfield shrank back in his chair. “Go on, Mr. Falcone.”

“We didn’t have a lot. Rosalie worked and kept a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and food in our bellies. No, we didn’t have all the things that some of the other families had, but we had each other. We had determination. But most of all, we had love. I may have wanted for a special toy, but I never wanted for someone to talk to, to confide in, to be there for me. That’s what I try to give Penny.”

He lowered his head for moment. “I don’t always do things right, and I didn’t know that much about being a parent when I came into this. But Penny was my sister’s first and only child, so neither did Rosalie. I’m learning just like she did. Every day gets easier.” He turned to Dora and smiled. “And with Dora’s help, I’m getting there. I know how my sister would want her daughter raised—with the same values she instilled in me. Nothing would make me happier than to be the one who watches over Penny as she grows up.

“I may not have a big bank account, but I have a business that’s doing well and growing every day. No, we don’t have a college fund yet for Penny, but when the time comes, if we don’t have the money, I’ll make sure she goes even if I have to borrow against everything I own to make it happen.

“Penny has spent a year adjusting to her parents’ death. She’s finally becoming a happy child again. If you tear her away from the only home she’s ever known and the people who love her, there’s no telling how she’ll react.”

“Thank you,” the judge said. For a time, she stared down at the file and pushed her glasses around on the papers. Then she looked at Lisa. “Why exactly do you want this little girl, Mrs. Randall?” She glanced at the papers again. “According to Mr. Falcone, you never saw this child, Penny, until a few days ago.”

“I think I can answer that, Your Honor.” A man’s voice came from the rear of the room.

CHAPTER 19

Everyone in the conference room was instantly alert. In unison, they turned toward the well-dressed man at the back of the room. Well over six feet tall, his shoulders strained at the material of his dark blue business suit. His dark hair lay neat and sleek against his head, and patches of white at his temples declared he was not as young as Dora had first thought. As he closed the distance between them, she could make out fine lines around his mouth and across his forehead. But in his eyes she saw kindness and wisdom.

Lisa’s mouth fell open. “Leon? What are you doing here?”

Dora’s gaze swiveled back and forth between Lisa and the man. Lisa seemed to know him, but who was he?

The judge frowned. “And you are...?”

He came forward and stopped behind Lisa. Resting his hands on her shoulders, he said, “I’m Leon Randall, Lisa’s husband.”

A tense, expectant silence fell over the room. Tony’s fingers gripped Dora’s hand with such force she was sure her bones would snap.

“Well, Mr. Randall, please join us.” The judge gestured for Mayfield to move over and make room for Lisa’s husband. After he was seated, she continued, “Now, I believe you said you could tell us why Mrs. Randall wants custody of Penny Stevens.”

He nodded. “For medical reasons, my wife is not able to have children.” He took Lisa’s hand and held it to his chest. “We both want children very much. A few months ago, Lisa went to visit her parents, whom she hadn’t seen in some time. They told her her brother and his wife had a child. They also told her her brother and his wife had been killed last year in a traffic accident. When Lisa came home, she could talk of nothing else but this child, Penny.”

Judge Collier stopped him. “Mr. Randall, why was your wife estranged from her family?”

Leon Randall glanced around the table. Dora’s heart went out to him. The worry in his eyes told her that he feared losing Lisa if he said too much. Yet, he knew, if he was to make everyone understand, he had to tell the entire story to the judge.

“Until six years ago, Lisa was a drug addict. She put herself into rehab and spent a year and a half there. I met her after she got out. Six months later, we were married. She’s been clean ever since.”

The judge nodded. “Go on.”

“She tried to get pregnant and, when we didn’t have any luck, we went to talk to a doctor. That’s when we learned that the chances of Lisa conceiving a child were slim.” He looked at his wife, and Dora could see the love shining in his eyes.

“We don’t want your pity,” he said. “I just want you to understand what drove her to come here and try to win custody of Penny.”

“There are other ways to get a child, Mr. Randall,” Henry said, his voice gentle. “Artificial insemination.”

Leon shook his head. “You don’t understand. Lisa’s reproductive system is too fragile to carry a child. Even if she had conceived our child, she would have miscarried within weeks of becoming pregnant.”

“Adoption? Surrogacy?” Henry offered.

Again, Leon shook his head. “I’d even offered to use a surrogate, but she refused. Lisa wanted a child of my blood and hers, not another woman’s, and she’d lost all hope of that ever happening. Adoption can take years, and she wanted a child right away. She became depressed and I worried that … well, that she’d revert to some of her old habits. But she didn’t. She fought her way through it and came out stronger than before. When she found out about Penny, it seemed like a miracle to both of us.”

Dora had been studying Lisa while her husband spoke. She seemed to have shrunk in size, and the arrogant woman who had occupied her seat before Leon showed up had vanished. Instead she had turned into a fragile child herself. She clung to Leon as though he were her lifeline, as though if she let go, she’d disappear.

Obviously, more than one of Lisa’s facades was a fake. Because of her apparent need to cling to her husband for support, Dora had to believe the arrogant woman they’d met upon entering the hearing room was a front she’d put on for them. The fragile woman who occupied that same chair was the real Lisa Randall.

“I tried to talk her out of it,” Leon went on, “but she wouldn’t hear of it. When I learned she’d flown here, I immediately understood why and followed as quickly as I could.”

Lisa began to sob quietly. Leon gathered her in his arms. “I just wanted to give you a child,” she choked out. “It’s okay, sweetheart.” Leon held the broken woman close.

Silence enveloped the room. Dora watched Judge Collier. She seemed deep in thought. Finally she spoke.

“I’m going to look over the information I have here.” She gestured to the file. “I will also take into consideration everything everyone has told me. Your lawyers will notify you of my decision as soon as I’ve rendered it.”

Tony leaned forward. “Your Honor, Christmas is only a few days away. Is there any way we could get your decision before then?”

Dora wasn’t sure why he’d made the request, but if the judge agreed, it would mean they’d be out from under the unbearable strain of waiting for weeks for a decision. “I understand your reasoning for wanting this settled quickly, but there are other cases ahead of yours.” Judge Collier consulted a small black book she’d pulled from a pocket in her robe. “You’re lucky, Mr. Falcone. This is a small jurisdiction. Evidently most of the attorneys are busy Christmas shopping instead of filing cases, which makes my schedule for this month pretty light.” Once more, she consulted the book. “I’ll see you all again on Friday morning at nine.”

Supper that night was eaten in almost total silence. Dora’s heart bled for Tony. Though he had managed to get the judge to agree to act quickly, the wait for Judge Collier’s decision was driving her crazy, and she could only imagine what Tony was going through. She’d tried very hard to read the judge’s face, but had no luck, so she couldn’t even make an educated guess what her final decision would be. Because the decision fell under the heading of free will, Dora couldn’t even consult Gracie.

Tony laid his fork down, his food barely touched. Dora frowned. “You really should eat, Tony.”

He raised a worried face to her, then pushed his plate away. “I’m not hungry.”

Truth be told, neither was she. For the first time since coming to the mortal world, Dora’s passionate interest in their food was absent. She, too, pushed her plate back. Thank goodness Penny was eating supper with Millie and wasn’t around to witness the scene. Dora wasn’t sure she would have been able to put on a happy face for the little girl.

The phone rang, breaking the silence. “I’ll get it,” Dora said, making her way to the wall phone. “Hello.”

“Dora,” Millie said, “I have a little girl here who is jumping up and down in fear of missing the Winter Carnival. She wants to know when you’ll be leaving.”

Dora’s mouth fell open. In all the excitement of the custody hearing, she’d forgotten about Penny’s essay reading tonight. “Let me check with Tony,” she said, playing for time. Slipping her hand over the mouth-piece, she turned to Tony. “Penny’s reading her essay tonight. What time are we leaving?”

From the look of total surprise on Tony’s face, she knew he hadn’t remembered, either. “Damn! What time is the carnival?”

Dora checked the flyer on the refrigerator. “Seven o’clock.”

He looked at his watch. Five thirty. “She has to change, and we need to get dressed. Tell Millie to send her over now, and we’ll leave in about an hour.”

The school was decked out in Christmas finery. Artificial trees covered in fake snow, lights, and shiny balls of every color flanked the stage at the front of the room where a snowman resembling the one standing in the Falcones’ front yard stood sentinel. Piles of what looked like sheets draped over boxes to simulate snowbanks formed a perimeter around the stage. Scattered among them were brightly wrapped boxes of all shapes and sizes.

To Dora’s intense delight, Christmas seemed to be everywhere in the room. Even the programs, decorated with a child’s drawing of Santa and his reindeer, told of the holiday. Penny’s teacher, who had greeted them at the auditorium doors, wore a bright red dress and a Christmas corsage made of pine, holly, and white carnations, all held together with a shiny green ribbon.