Chapter 2
The bailiff's keys jingled once and then went quiet. I heard the second lock turn on the back doors and the soft scrape of the window shade being pulled down. Outside, Nashville traffic kept moving on Charlotte Avenue, but inside the room the daylight went flat and the tungsten bulbs over the bench seemed warmer.
Daniel stood halfway up before his attorney tugged his sleeve. He was still trying to hold the smirk, but his jaw had gone tight and a faint shine of sweat showed at his temple. The blonde woman — I knew her name now, because Patel had whispered it while the judge was reading — was named Kelsey, and her mouth was open just enough I could see she had forgotten to close it. She had been satisfied five minutes earlier. Now she looked like someone who had walked into the wrong courtroom.
Judge Whitaker didn't look at either of them. She looked at me and then at Patel. "Ms. Carter, I am not approving a settlement that leaves a pregnant mother and an eight-year-old with no equity and no support in exchange for a custody line," she said. Her voice was even, like she was reading a grocery list, but the words landed hard. "This court has concerns. We will not do this on paper today."
Patel slid the envelope an inch forward. No one touched the clasp. Judge Whitaker opened a desk drawer and pulled out a small paper seal, the kind with the county emblem.
"Mr. Carter," she said, and Daniel flinched when his name came out of her mouth. "You will remain seated. Ms. Patel, approach with the exhibit."
I didn't move. I was supposed to be the narrator of my own life and I suddenly couldn't remember where to put my hands. One stayed on my belly. The other found the edge of the table and gripped it. I felt Lexi before I saw her — the soft pat of her sneakers in the hallway, the way the advocate always said "we're going to peek in for a minute, okay, honey?"
Patel carried the envelope to the bench. Judge Whitaker lifted the clasp with two fingers and tilted it so only she could see inside. I saw white borders, a kitchen floor, a small hand. She didn't pull them out. She closed it again and pressed the seal across the clasp.
"Sealed as Exhibit One for in-camera review," she said to the court reporter. "No copies."
Daniel's attorney tried. "Your Honor, we haven't—"
"You'll have your turn," Whitaker said, not unkindly, but final. She adjusted her glasses with her right hand and glanced at the clock. Ten past ten. "I will speak with Lexi Carter in chambers with the guardian's office present. No parents. No recording beyond the court's record."
Kelsey's hand found Daniel's forearm and squeezed. He didn't look at her. He stared at the sealed envelope like he could see through the paper.
The side door opened. Lexi stepped in wearing her blue puffy coat even though it was warm inside, her hair in the ponytail I'd done that morning, a little crooked because my hands were shaking. She saw me and her whole face lifted, but the bailiff gently steered her toward the judge's side.
"Hi, Mama," she whispered, and I had to bite my lip to keep from answering too loud.
May you like
Judge Whitaker smiled for the first time, small and real. "Hi, Lexi. We're going to talk just you and me for a few minutes in my office, okay? There's hot chocolate."
Lexi looked back once as the chamber door closed behind her, and the envelope on the bench sat sealed between me and Daniel, finally impossible to ignore.
