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“I’ll take lots of pictures.”
Wednesday morning, I’m nervous. I don’t usually get nervous before court because I do what I can to be as prepared as possible. I realize I’m nervous because Link might be there. He’s never been in court with me before. I try to shake it off. I have no reason to be nervous in front of him. I’m good at what I do. And today, I’m going to come out on top. I smile.And he’s going to be the loser.
When I get to my office, there’s a box on my desk. There’s no return address, which has me curious. I take a pair of scissors and slice through the tape. When I open the box, I sit down in my chair.
“Link.” The box contains two pom-poms in our school colors. I take them out and find a note at the bottom of the box.
“I wouldn’t normally hope for you to lose a case. But in this instance, I hope your client goes down. Not your fiancé, Link.”
I take the pom-poms and put them on my bookcase, then fold the box up and set it next to my trash can. I look at his gift. “I hope you’re there today, Link. I can’t wait to see your face when my client walks.”
Billy shows up at noon as promised and he goes to the men’s room to change into his suit. Once again, I’m impressed by how good he looks. He even combed his hair and shaved the few whiskers on his chin.
I smile at him. “You look great, Billy. The judge will be impressed.”
“I’m a little nervous.”
“You’re going to do fine.”
Since my office is just a few blocks from the courthouse, we walk and get there twenty minutes before we’re due to go in. Billy starts pacing and I tell him to sit and take some calming breaths.
When I spot Link, I tell Billy to stay put and I walk to Link.
“You made it.”
“Yeah. There’s no way I was going to miss this.” He motions toward Billy. “He cleans up pretty well.”
“He’s really nervous, but I think he’ll be fine once we get inside.” I look at Link. “Sit in the back.”
“Why?”
“Because you make me nervous.”
He cocks his head. “Why?”
“Just please. Sit in the back.”
He nods. “Sure. No problem.”
I take a breath. “Thank you.”
He smiles at me. “You look good, by the way. Very professional.”
“Don’t I always?”
“Yes. I’m just…take the compliment, Lyssie.”
“Thank you.” I feel warmth rising to my cheeks then quickly glance at Billy. “I should get back to him. He’s probably freaked out that I’m talking to a police officer.”
Link sticks out his hand and I put mine in his. He just holds it, though, and looks at me for a moment. “Good luck.”
I smile. “May the best man win.”
The afternoon court session starts, and Billy and I take a seat in the front row. There are two other cases before ours. During the first one, I glance back and see Link standing at the back of the court. Him standing there is almost more intimidating than if he was sitting next to me. He gives me a nod and I turn back around.
When our case is announced, Billy and I take our places and I do my best to present a case of a young man who has made some bad choices, but in this instance, he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The judge asks Billy some questions, and he answers them in a manner that seems to impress the judge.
The judge takes a few minutes to go over the testimony and Billy’s written statement then picks up his gavel. To say I’m nervous is an understatement. I think I presented his case pretty well, but with his past, I’m not sure what the final decision will be. At this point, it’s not even about the bet—although I do want Link to go to the reunion with me and not have to be “Cheerleader Alyssa” in front of my coworkers. This is about giving this young man a chance to make better decisions and get a second chance at life.
