Meadow

Chatper 37

“Seeing her step in that courtroom tore me apart. I am sorry, I couldn’t be still.” My lawyer was standing over me. His eyes and demeanor was beginning to relax.

“I hope no one else noticed your emotions. But somehow, I doubt that very seriously.” He said sarcastically.

I noticed how young my lawyer looked. He was a tall black man with dark skin. He was bald with dark eyes and a small goatee. He stood maybe six feet tall and was very lean. I imagined him being a nerd in school, probably no sports at all. He didn’t were a ring so he probably wasn’t married.

“Are you dating anyone?”

I sat forward and watched the shock of the question roll over him. He had an expression on his face like I was just trying to pass the tortuous time, but I had a point.

“Yes.” He said simply and ran his eyes over some papers in front of him.

“Do you love her?” His eyes cut to me and he starred at me for a moment. He put his papers down and leaned back in his chair, now curious.

“I do.”

“No, I mean do you love her? Like you want to spend the rest of your life with her. You want her to have your babies, and would do anything you could to protect her and make everyday of her life happy? I mean that kind of love her.”

His knowing eyes slowly searched each of my eyes as I waited for him to speak. Instead I watched as he nodded.

“I get your point, kid. I see how upsetting seeing her like that had to be for you. Sometimes, as a lawyer, I only think about business.”

I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes. Tears threatened to fall again as the memory of Meadow on that stand, the look of her swollen, pale face came flooding back to view.  I would never be able to repay her for what she had done for me. If I won this, I knew it was because of her and Dakota. 

One thing was for certain. The surprise I had planned for her on our anniversary was more than definite now. I was going to ask Meadow to marry me as soon as this was over.

~~

Medow

I waited with so much anticipation my stomach hurt. I had my parents on my left and Dyson’s parents on my right. It felt like the heat was on and I was dangerously close to passing out or having a heat stroke.

I had decided, before coming here that I would testify and then go back to the hospital. That is what I had told the administrators. Now, there was no way I would leave without knowing what was going to happen to Dyson.

Minutes turned into hours.

I woke up when the bailiffs voice boomed over the courtroom. I wiped the spit off of my mouth and tried to get it off of Daddy’s shirt. I looked at him apologetically. He looked at it and winced jokingly. He knew I couldn’t help it.

My eyes shot to Dyson as they walked him in the room. My heart sped up as the fear of what could happen flood me. Mrs. Knight grabbed my hand and her husbands hand and held them tightly as she prayed under her breath.

Kota and Shawn were sitting in front of us and I saw him put his arm around Kota’s shoulders.

“I have made my decision in this case. After several phone calls and documents faxed to my chambers, along with reviewing the witnesses testimonies and evidence, I decided Dyson Knight NOT guilty.”

The room burst into claps and yells. Dyson’s mom stood to her feet and began to praise God at the top of her lungs. Her husband stood and joined her as he hugged her tightly. My dad pulled me into a hug while Kota and Shawn were trying to hug me as well. My mom was crying as she rubbed the hand wrapped around my dad’s neck.