Page 61 of Echoes of a Southern Song

When Aunt Aggie has thoughts, she doesn’t hold back.

Aggie pauses. “I didn’t like him,” she says flatly. “He gave me bad vibes from the start. Controlling. Possessive. He never let Jinnie just be herself. I pointed it out once, gently, and she brushed it off. But I saw the signs.”

Sam’s lawyer, a sleek-looking woman with perfect posture and a slightly-too-sweet voice, stands up. “Objection, Your Honor. Speculation.”

“Ms. Greenfield is testifying to her observations,” Mr. Langley counters. “They’re relevant to character.”

Judge Walker looks between them and nods. “Sustained in part. Ms. Greenfield, please stick to direct observations.”

Aggie continues without missing a beat. “I saw how uncomfortable Jinnie looked when Sam was around. She didn’t laugh as much. She wasn’t as free. I know my niece. Something was off. And when she finally told me what had happened—what he did—I wasn’t surprised.”

“Did she tell you about the wedding?”

“As I said, I only learned about the marriage in the last week.”

“And what was her emotional state when she told you?”

“Embarrassed. Anxious. Ashamed. Like she knew it had been a mistake and was afraid we’d think less of her.”

I swallow hard. That last part hits too close. Aggie isn’t wrong.

Sam’s lawyer doesn’t object again, but I can feel Sam fuming. His jaw twitches slightly. He shifts in his seat.

Aggie wraps up her testimony with a direct statement aimed right at Sam. “She’s not trying to scam anyone. She’s just trying to fix a mistake. And he’s the one trying to drag this out for his own benefit.”

When she steps down, she shoots me a glance. I mouth the words “thank you,” but I don’t know if they’re enough.

Mr. Langley turns to me. “Jinnie, you ready?”

I’m not. Not even a little bit. But I nod anyway.

He warned me Sam’s lawyer is a pit bull with rabies. I got the impression he was a little intimidated by her. He said she was really good, but he’s just going to be better. I hope manifesting his abilities to kick this chick’s ass are working. Because I cannot be married to Sam another minute. And I will not let him take an inch of my family’s land. This whole thing will turn into a criminal trial if that happens. Sam has never seen me mad, but I have it in me. I might come from parents who very literally wouldn’t hurt a fly, but when it comes to protecting them and their home, it’ll get ugly.