"Are you insane? We can't go to her." Alice protested.
"We ended on good terms, Alice. It's worth a shot to bring this all to her and see what her opinion is. Even if she's busy with another case or doesn't want to help, she might refer us to someone just as good as her." Tom explained.
"We're not going to her, Tom. We'll just find someone else."
"I'm trying to offer a solution to this problem."
"And we're not taking that solution."
"Alice, this is serious. You know we don't have the money they're asking for. We need her opinion to know what are the next steps," Tom argued. "What do you think, George?"
"George, you don't have to answer," Alice interjected. "Leave him out of this."
"What? He's also in this case. I want his opinion."
"I mean... it wouldn't hurt. The worst thing she could do is not offer any help." George replied quietly.
Alice snapped her head in George's direction before pushing her chair back and storming out of the kitchen. Tom clenched his jaw as he stood from his seat.
"Hey, just let her have a few moments to herself. I think she just needs some time alone." George commented.
Tom stopped in his tracks as George wrapped his hand around his forearm. George gasped as Tom pulled his arm back, glaring down at George.
"Please, stay out of my marriage. You have no clue what she needs." Tom seethed.
George furrowed his brow as he stood from the table. He watched as Tom paced out of the kitchen and down the hall. George took a few breaths before sitting back at the kitchen table. Tom made his way to their bedroom and shut the door behind him. Alice was sitting on the edge of the bed with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Alice, you need to think about this rationally. We just need an opinion." Tom argued.
"Are you crazy? We can't involve her in this." Alice protested.
"Why not? She's a good lawyer."
"Tom, we can't. She knows our history. She's involved in our history."
"We ended on good terms with her, Alice. You don't really think she'd actually use our relationship to get back at us in court?"
"If she's as good as you say she is, who's to say she won't?" Alice retorted.
Tom exhaled sharply as he ran his hands over his face.
"Let's just go talk to her and see what her opinion is. We don't have to hire her."
"I don't want her knowing about our business." Alice replied.
Tom quickly seated himself next to Alice and took her hand in his. He took a moment to just caress the skin as he thought of what to say next.
"I know we ended on good terms with her... but I don't want her in my life in any way. I thought you'd want the same thing too." Alice spoke softly.
"I do. I don't want her in our lives but this is serious, Alice. If we can't get a good lawyer who knows what they're doing... we could lose everything we have. We have two small children and another on the way. I'm thinking about them when I'm telling you that we need her and her opinion. I'm not doing this because I want her in our lives. I'm saying we need her so she can help us and then we go our separate ways. It's strictly business, Alice." Tom explained passionately.
Alice swallowed the lump in her throat as she squeezed Tom's hand. She bit down on her bottom lip as she glanced up at him, smiling weakly.
"If it's strictly business... and nothing else... I guess we can ask for her opinion on all of this." Alice told him.
Tom smiled brightly and kissed the corner of her mouth. Before Tom could say anything else, there was a knock at the door. Alice called out to them and George peeked his head in through the doorway.
"You guys alright in here?"
"Yeah, we decided we're going to get her help." Alice replied.
"Now... should we wait to tell the others about this until we potentially have Diane as our lawyer or just pull the trigger?" Tom inquired.
"We should wait. Pierre and Cory are still on their honeymoon. I don't want to disrupt that, and the season at the theater is almost over so Esther is stressing pretty hard right about now."
"Okay. I'll call her tomorrow and set everything up." Tom said.
"I also think I'm going to head out now." George spoke up.
"I'm sorry, George, about all this." Alice sighed.
"No, don't apologize. It's not your fault. Just keep me in the loop and tell me where to meet you when Diane answers you."
"Will do." Tom nodded his head.
Alice walked George out to his car, for the second time, and the two embraced. When they pulled back George placed his hands on her upper arms and squeezed them lightly.
"Will you be alright?"
"Of course, I will. I got Tom."
"Alice, he just-"
"I know... but you have to understand that there's history here that you don't know about," Alice interjected. "I'll be alright. Just keep in touch, George."
George nodded his head quickly before placing a kiss to her cheek and getting into his car. When he was out of her sight, Alice went back inside the house to find Tom holding Emma on his hip as he went pacing after Daniel in the living room. Standing by the front door, she just watched them taking in the sight before her. For a moment, all the worries running through her head seemingly vanished seeing the smiles and glances of adoration between her children and Tom.
Alice was taken from her thoughts hearing Daniel laugh loudly as Tom finally caught up to him. Tom brought Daniel up onto his other hip and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. Alice smiled brightly as Tom caught her eye. He placed the two down on the ground and ushered them towards the toy bin in the corner of the living room. He crossed towards Alice and took her hands in his.
"I'm sorry about before." Tom whispered.
"It's okay. Let's just worry about the mess those two are going to make." Alice retorted.
The two laughed as they kissed and walked over to the couch to join Daniel and Emma. The following morning, after dropping Daniel off at school, Tom went to work. During his lunch break, he sat in his office with his phone in hand. He went scrolling through his contacts and inhaled sharply seeing Diane's name appear on the screen. His finger hovered over her name as he gathered the courage to click on her number. When he did, he groaned putting the phone up to his ear, silently hoping that she would not answer. Each dial tone sent his heart into a panic, feeling it beat in his throat. Just when he thought the last dial tone was going to ring, he heard a click and his breath hitched in his throat hearing Diane's voice.
"Tom? Hey! How are you doing?"
"Hello, Diane. I'm alright. How are you?" Tom replied, furrowing his brow at the sound of her perky voice.
"I'm great," Diane chuckled. "You sound a bit hesitant. What's up?"
"Um... are you busy at the moment?"
"Not right now. I do have a meeting with a client in thirty minutes."
"Oh, alright. I might as well just say it. Alice and I need your help." Tom announced.
He waited for a moment for Diane's response but furrowed his brow when she did not reply.
"Hello?"
"And when you say 'help,' do you mean something personal or legal?"
"Legal."
"Oh... alright. I can set up a meeting with the three of us on Wednesday during my lunch." Diane answered.
"That works for me. Do you still work at the old firm or..."
"I'm at a new place. I'll text you the address when we're done talking."
"New place?" Tom grinned.
"Yeah, after I left Jack, I decided I needed a completely new start. So I quit and found a job here and worked my way through and all that." Diane explained.
"Well, I'm happy for you. I'll see you Wednesday."
"Goodbye, Tom."
"Bye."
Tom was the one to hang up and let out a deep breath, placing his phone on his desk. As the days passed by, Alice was helping Emma into her shoes by the front door as Tom walked over to them. He helped Alice onto her feet and kissed her cheek.
"Ready for the meeting?"
"Yeah. I feel like I want to throw up, but yeah." Alice replied, earning a quick laugh from Tom.
Tom got Emma into her car seat before getting into the car and following the GPS to Diane's law firm. On the way there, Tom held Alice's hand, tenderly running his thumb over the skin. In the corner of his eye, he watched the quick rise and fall of her chest.
"It'll be okay, Alice."
"I know." She replied shakily.
Tom decided to slow the car down a little bit more and let out a sigh of relief seeing Alice's muscle relax. Once they were there, Alice got Emma out of her carseat and held her hand as they all walked up to the front of the building. They walked up to the front desk and checked in for their appointment.
"Mrs. Cohen will be right out." The receptionist smiled.
Alice furrowed her brow as she glanced up at Tom. He raised his brow, shrugging his shoulders as he smiled. The three seated themselves in the waiting area. Tom picked Emma up into his arms and sat her down in his lap to try and keep her from running about and getting lost. Just as they were getting settled, George walked through the doors and sat down next to them. He placed a kiss on Alice's cheek and waved at Emma.
"Sorry I'm late. Had a last minute customer." George told them.
"No problem. As long as you're here now."
After a moment, the sound of heels against the tiled floor caught their attention. As they turned their heads, Diane had walked around the corner and smiled brightly seeing Alice and Tom. Her eyes then glanced down at Tom's lap to see Emma leaning into Tom's chest to hide her face. Diane felt her face flush as she ushered them into her office. She took her seat at her desk as the three sat across from her. Tom sat Emma down in his lap and softly bounced her.
"Well, it's lovely to see you two again. This is?"
Diane glanced at George as she held her hand out to him. He took it and the two shook hands as he smiled.
"I'm George. Alice's brother."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Diane beamed. "Now, let's get down to business."
"Right. So, the legal issue is with George and Alice." Tom replied.
Alice handed her the documents she and George received. Diane looked over them as she listened to them speak.
"Long story short, our parents are suing the both of us for negligent infliction of emotional distress. Neither of us can afford the settlement they want." Alice explained.
"Okay. How long ago have you seen them?" Diane inquired.
"Twelve years for me and eight years for George."
"That's odd. Cases like this usually don't have a gap as large as that. Do you mind me asking what you think they might be talking about in terms of the emotional distress they endured?"
"Basically, they kicked Alice out of the family when she got a job at a cabaret show and a few years later, I dropped out of college to pursue what I wanted and they kicked me out as well." George told her.
"Cabaret show? That sounds exciting." Diane chuckled.
"Yeah, got me through college." Alice spoke jokingly.
Diane went to speak but felt her breath hitch in her throat. She glanced over at Tom and cleared her throat before looking back over the papers.
"But they had been abusing us for years." George finished.
"Anyway," She continued. "It says here that the settlement is to cover their therapy and medical bills. Your father says he suffered a heart attack from the..."
Alice furrowed her brow as she saw the color drain from Diane's face.
"What is it?" George inquired.
"Alice what's your maiden name?"
"Sherbrooke." Alice responded.
"George and Alice Sherbrooke?" Diane asked.
"Yeah." They both replied.
Alice gasped as Diane shoved the documents back into her hands.
"I can't discuss this any further." Diane told them.
"Why not? We're not asking you to be our lawyer. We just need an opinion." Tom scoffed.
"I already have an ongoing case."
"How does that conflict with ours?" George inquired.
"I cannot discuss who they are due to client confidentiality, but all I can say in terms of my opinion is that you can counter sue if you have reasonable enough cause to, which you do," Diane explained. "You can counter sue for intentional infliction of emotional distress if you can support that claim."
"But why can't-"
"I can't say anything else." Diane cut Alice off.
Tom processed what Diane was saying and his eyes widened as his grip around Emma tightened.
"You're their lawyer." Tom stated.
"What?" Diane exhaled sharply.
"You're their lawyer... aren't you?" Tom asked softly.
Diane glanced back over at George and Alice seeing the confused looks on their faces. She leaned back in her chair, letting out a deep breath.
"Given that we'll potentially be seeing each other in court... and you didn't hear this from me... I am Connie and John Sherbrooke's lawyer for their personal injury case."
Alice felt her heart beat in her throat as she gripped onto George's hand. She felt her eyes well with tears and quickly glanced down at her lap.
"I'm sorry. I wish I could help you more but I can't discuss the case with you. I can reference you to a colleague of mine who specializes in these cases but he racks up a hefty sum of money." Diane told them.
"We can't. We don't have that kind of money." Alice's bottom lip quivered.
Emma began to whine as Tom hushed her, running his hand up and down her back.
"Daddy, I'm bored!"
"Just a few more minutes and then we'll be home, okay." Tom whispered.
He pressed a kiss to her forehead as he brushed her hair back behind her ear. Diane smiled at the interaction and when she caught Emma's gaze, she softly waved at her. Emma shyly waved back and Diane chuckled.
"And who is this?" Diane asked.
"Tell her your name." Tom whispered.
"Emma!"
"Emma? That's a pretty name," Diane beamed. "How old is she?"
"She just turned three." Alice replied.
"Your first?"
"We have a son, Daniel, who's five." Tom told her.
"And a third on the way."
Diane looked Alice up and down in her seat, noticing the small curve of her bump as Alice ran her hands over it.
"I never thought it would actually feel good to catch up with you two." Diane confessed.
"Us, too," Tom chuckled. "And you're now Mrs. Cohen?"
"Yes," Diane beamed, cheeks flushed. "We got married two years ago."
"What happened with Jack?" Alice inquired.
"Like I told Tom, I broke up with him after our... talk together and then I quit my job at the firm. I applied here and I focused on myself for a while. Then, I met Joe and the rest is history. In fact, he's really made me into a better person." Diane recounted.
"I'm glad you've found happiness." Tom spoke up.
George furrowed his brow feeling Alice squeeze his hand as she took a deep breath. After a moment, Alice gasped softly and swallowed the lump in her throat as she brought her hand to her head.
"Are you alright?" George asked softly.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Alice whispered back.
"You don't look fine."
"George... I'm good." Alice snapped at him.
"Now, I can say that after looking through those documents that you have some time before you have to send your answer to the Clerk of Courts office. You can also send your counterclaim to them with your answer but whoever you hire can tell you more about that." Diane explained.
In the parking lot, Alice said her goodbye to George and watched him drive off. In the car, Tom and Alice remained silent, listening to Emma's incoherent mumbling and observations on the sights that they passed. Back at home, Alice laid down on the couch as Tom ushered Emma into the kitchen. He quickly made her her lunch. As she ate, Tom walked back into the living room and lifted Alice's legs, laying them across his lap as he sat down beside her.
"I think we have to tell Esther." Alice spoke up.
"Why? I thought you didn't want to tell them yet."
"Esther knows some lawyers... good ones, too. Maybe she could do us a favor?"
"It seems like she's done us a lot of favors already," Tom chuckled lightly. "What if she says no?"
"Esther won't say no to helping us. Especially, if she knows exactly what's going on."
"I guess it wouldn't hurt."
"I'll call her and see if we can meet her on Monday in the evening. Then I can call Diana and see if she can watch the kids for a little bit." Alice told him.
"I can call my mum."
"Okay."
Tom ran his hand up and down her leg as he watched her place her arm over her eyes.
"Headache?"
"Yeah."
"Do you need anything?"
"I'll be fine." Alice sighed.
At that moment, Emma came running into the room and jumped up onto the couch onto Alice's legs. Tom was quick to pick her up as Alice bent her legs, giving him space to stand up.
"Did you finish your lunch?"
"Yeah."
"Well, if I go into the kitchen, will I see any empty plate?"
Tom and Alice chuckled as they saw Emma push against Tom's chest to try and run back into the kitchen.
"Ah, I got you now!" Tom pinched her sides.
Emma laughed loudly as Tom walked back into the kitchen. Alice smiled brightly as she closed her eyes, faintly listening to Tom and Emma.