The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangement

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As they walked out of the courthouse together, Maria's mind was reeling. The Judge had made it pretty clear that without Ritchie's intervention, Joey would have been on his way to a juvenile detention center.

He'd talked to a judge about Tito, too. But in that case, his words had been more along the lines of lock him up and throw away the key. Tito had no college degree, no job experience, and a felony criminal record. When he finally got out of prison, who would hire him? His future had been destroyed. Destroyed by the man who couldn't see – or hadn't bothered to try to see – that Tito was different from the gang members he'd associated with.

She'd hated Ritchie Perez for seven years without even knowing his name. Hated him because he wouldn't give Tito a chance. And she'd be indebted to him forever because he did get Joey that chance. They were outside on the courthouse steps now, and Joey was staring up at him as if was a god. What was she supposed to say?

"I – I want to thank you for coming here today, Ritchie," she said. "I don't know how we'll ever repay you." She knew her words sounded stiff and formal, and she saw his eyes narrow.

"You don't need to 'repay' anything, Maria," he said.

God, her hands were shaking. She had to get out of here. Get Joey out of here. Go someplace where she could think.

"So," she faltered, "I guess we'll be going home now. Thank you, again. I'll– "

"Not so fast, Maria," Ritchie said, putting a hand on her arm."We're going to go someplace right now and discuss this."

Oh, God, did he know he was the one who put her brother away? Did he realize that she now knew? Tito must have been just one of so many nameless, faceless defendants he'd processed through the system, she realized. That was probably how he looked at it. He wouldn't even remember Tito's name.

She shook his hand off and turned to face him.

"There's nothing to discuss." Her words sounded sharper than she'd intended.

Ritchie raised his eyebrows, giving her a sardonic look that made him look like a dark angel.

"Oh, so it's drop everything, Ritchie and come save us, after a month of not bothering to return my phone calls. Then it's thanks and goodbye, on the courthouse steps, before we even have a chance to discuss what happens next with Joey."

"No, I mean, I'm sorry, I didn't call you, but..."

He interrupted her. "Look, this isn't about you not calling me. I shouldn't even have said that. You don't want to see me again socially, that's fine. But you called me today to help Joey, and that's what I intend to do. And the first thing we need to discuss is Joey's living situation."

She felt her mouth drop open. "Our living situation is none of your business."

"The Judge just made it my business. When he put me in charge of overseeing Joey's conduct and made me personally responsible for keeping him out of trouble. For the next six months until this case is dismissed, it makes the most sense for Joey to live with me."

"I'm moving in with you?" Joey looked awestruck. "Cool. Do I get my own room?"

Maria turned to Joey. "You are not moving in with Ritchie. I'm your legal guardian, in case you've forgotten." She turned to look at Ritchie. "This is absolutely ridiculous."

"I'm offering to help you out, Maria. Look, I might as well be blunt. You saw how close the Judge was to bringing in Social Services. What do you think some caseworker would put in their report about a kid whose already been in trouble sleeping on the couch in a one-bedroom apartment while the only adult works two jobs and is hardly ever home?"