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Gray
After I graduated top of my class from law school, I almost got fired from my first job. Losing the rhythms and structures of a classroom left me adrift, completely overwhelmed, and I woke up every morning afraid. But I tackled it the only way I knew how, obsessively practicing every possible situation, anticipating every variable, reducing life into a math problem with one right answer. I learned, day by day, to inhabit the skin of a successful lawyer, even if it never felt like mine. It still doesn’t, but I’m very good at wearing it now. On the worst days, I pull it on like a protective cloak.
This morning, I wear it as I meet with Oliver and Colson and a representative of the transit company to hammer out the terms of the settlement. With proof of Oliver’s verbal agreement, I can’t do much, but I claw back every last dollar I can for him.
After we shake hands, I wander outside to the curb and sit aimlessly on one of the bollards protecting the courthouse plaza. I suppose I have all the time in the world now, and nothing to do with it. The air smells like snow, clouds heavy and low enough to brush the tops of the skyscrapers. When my phone rings, I don’t recognize the number. “Calling to gloat, Colson?”
“Is this Gray Freeman?” a woman asks after a confused pause.
“Hello?”
“I’m calling from Manhattan General Hospital.”
They really are looking for a lawyer to deal with the mold in the ventilation shafts. I almost laugh.
“I have a Jonah Scott here—”
Then I’m on my feet, running for my car, like his name has the power to move my body before my mind even catches up. “Is he alright?”
“He’s just had a minor accident, sir, a wrist sprain and some bruising. He’ll be fine.”
I speed all the way to the hospital like she told me he’s on life support. When I find the front desk of the emergency room, they direct me through a set of double stainless steel doors to the non-admitted emergency care department.
Jonah looks up when I tug aside the pale blue curtain guarding his room. He’s perched on the edge of the bed, his wrist strapped into a large, black brace, his hand swollen like hell and slowly turning the color of a deep bruise. His sheepish grin doesn’t go anywhere near his eyes. “I told them not to call you. I could have taken a cab home.”
“What happened?”
“I dropped a transmission, and it caught my hand, that’s all. Rick said he’s really sorry; he even offered to pay for the bill.” He pops to his feet and steps around me, nudging the curtain out of the way with his stump. “Let’s go. They sent a pain prescription to the pharmacy if I need it.”
When I don’t move, he huffs impatiently, his arm cradled to his chest. “Can we please leave?”
“I don’t buy it.”
He goes still, watching me uneasily. “What do you mean?”
“Why were you handling a transmission by yourself? I don’t believe Rick would let you do that.”
A muscle in his jaw tics. “You saying I’m a liar?”
“Look at me and tell me you weren’t pushing yourself and being reckless.” He tries, but he’s a terrible liar, those eyes that go all the way down to his soul, so in the end he just stands there and stares at the velcro straps holding on his brace. “Jonah.Lookat me. What were you going to do if you destroyed your hand? You were willing to lose your only arm just to make a point to your parents?”
“Now you sound like them.”
“Maybe because you just proved them right.”
His breath catches, hurt bleeding into his face, but when I think about the crushing misery of a wild thing like him trapped and helpless, everything he’d lose, I’m too angry to apologize. “Let’s go.”
Halfway through the silent car ride home, I look over to where he’s leaning against the window. “Does it hurt?”
“No,” he mumbles.
“Lying isn’t going to fix anything now.”
He pulls in a slow breath. “Yes.”
We drive through the pharmacy and pick up his medications. When he tries to take the bag from me, he can’t even bend his fingers. He grits his teeth with the effort, but I shoot him a warning look and he sinks back into his seat, crossing his arms and glaring at his shoes.
“I’m going to call the garage,” I say as we pull into the underground parking. “To get the full story and make sure there are no legal ramifications.”
