Circumstances 51

We had breakfast in the hotel’s coffee shop.  Gary wanted to fool around afterwards.  He said he was horny, we had the room till 11, it would take my mind off worrying, and, why not?

They were all really good arguments, and I was horny too, but I said no.

“I have a boyfriend, and if things work out, I’ll still have one tomorrow.  I don’t want to have to tell him I messed around with you.  He’ll want to know what we did here in the hotel, everything we did.  I want to be able to tell him the truth.”

Gary looked disgusted, as disgusted as he was able to look, but I knew Gary, and when he grinned, I was expecting it.  “What about another massage, then.  I’m surprised you’re still horny, after that one last night.”

“Hey, nothing happened.  Other than I got a little excited!”

“A little?  Even Erica was blushing, and I’m sure she’s seen all there is to see before.”

“Well, it was your idea to have the nude massage.  I’d never have done that in a hundred years without your whining at me how we should do it, and calling me chicken.”

He smiled.  “Well, it was fun, wasn’t it?”

I thought about it, and then smiled myself, and changed the subject.  “Let’s go swimming instead.”

So we rented suits and swam for an hour.  I swam as vigorously as I could, trying to work off my building nervousness, then got out, showered, dressed, and we called a cab.

We got home at ten after ten.  My mother’s crap car was in the driveway.  My heart started racing.

“Come on, let’s get the show on the road,” Gary grunted, and paid the driver.

I hesitated, and he grabbed my arm; we walked to the house and went in.

My mother was sitting in the living room, talking to the Jenks. “Keith,” she said when I came in.  He voice was flat, unemotional.  She didn’t get up.

I walked over to her, expecting her to stand up and hug me, but as she just sat there looking at me, I wasn’t sure what to do.  After a moment, I turned and sat down in one of the chairs there.

She had been watching me, and said, “You’re taller.  You look different.”

“I guess I’ve been growing some,” I replied.

She looked without speaking for a moment, then said, “Well, we’ve got a long way to drive.  Get your suitcase and we’ll go.”

Just like that.  She was going to tear up my life without giving it a second thought.

I didn’t get up.  Instead, I said, “I don’t want to go.  I love it here.  I’m happier than I’ve ever been.  Mr. and Mrs. Jenks told me they wanted me to stay.  May I?  Please?”

When she didn’t respond, and even turned her eyes away from mine, I continued.  “Why don’t you go where you’re going, Iowa I guess, get a job, get settled, and then we can talk about it?  I’m in the middle of the school year, I’ve been making friends, things are going really well for me now.  Why don’t you leave me here and go by yourself?  You don’t really want me with you anyway.  I’d just be a burden on you.”

She regarded me like she might be regarding an unwanted stain on her blouse.  Then she said, “Enough.  You’re my responsibility.  Get your suitcase.  We’re leaving.”

I looked at Mr. Jenks.  I’d tried.  If anything different from what she was asking was going to happen, it would be because of him now, not me.

“Ms. Stuart,” he said, “Keith’s found a home for himself here.  He wants to stay as badly as we want him to stay.  Won’t you please reconsider?”

“No.”  Then she turned to me, dismissing him.  “We’re leaving.  If you don’t have a suitcase packed, you’ll just have to come as you are, Keith.  But we need to go.  I’m getting very tired of all this.”

She stood up.  So did Mr. Jenks.  He handed her a piece of paper, folded, and said, “Mrs. Stuart, perhaps you should take a look at this.”

“What’s this?” she asked, opening it.

“It’s a subpoena for a court appearance this afternoon.  I was able to get the judge to grant it this morning.  If you take Keith now, I’ll have you followed, and when the time of the hearing comes and you’re not in court, I’ll tell the sheriff where you are, and quite soon after that you’ll be arrested.  You have no options here.  You must attend the hearing, along with Keith and the rest of our family.”

“A hearing?  Why?”

“This will all be settled a few hours from now.  At this time, I’d like you to leave our house.  Don’t worry about the car following you.  As long as you show up at the courthouse on time, no one will bother you at all.”

    ∫    ∫    ∫

 

I was sitting in a courtroom.  This wasn’t a regular trial or anything like that.  It was a hearing, and it was about me.  Go figure.

Mr. Jenks had spoken to his attorneys, and they said that if my mother wouldn’t allow me to be adopted, the only other options were to have her declared an unfit mother and me made a ward of the court, or for me to be emancipated.

Now that I had a proxy mother to compare her to, I could accept the fact that my own certainly was unfit, but Mr. Jenks said my opinion and the legal definition were a little different, and the chances of having her declared unfit were pretty small.  That left emancipation.

Which we were trying to achieve at the hearing. 

Gary was with us too, and Mrs. Jenks.  There weren’t any lawyers present, other than my mother.  The judge spoke once the bailiff had us all seated in a semicircle, facing him.

“This is a hearing on a petition from Keith Rogers Perryman, a minor, on the issue of his emancipation.  Is there anyone present who would oppose a decision for the petitioner?

My mother stood up and said, “I’m his mother, and I do.”

The judge nodded, then asked, “And your name is…?”

“Melissa Stuart.”

“Very well, Ms. Stuart, your objection to the petition is duly noted.  And may I ask you to sit down?  No one needs to stand to speak this afternoon.  This is a formal hearing, but there’s no need when there are so few of us involved for anyone to rise to speak.”

My mother sat down.  The court stenographer finished typing and sat with her fingers poised, ready for more.

The judge began when my mother was seated.  “We’re holding this hearing on a Saturday afternoon because of our informed understanding that the minor was about to be taken from where he’s now living, taken out of state and out of the court’s jurisdiction, and so convening this meeting at this time is warranted.  Due to the short notice, I am prepared to allow anyone to ask for a continuance to better prepare for the proceedings if necessary.  Or to secure an attorney, should anyone feel they would be better served that way.  Does anyone wish to request a continuance, or does anyone wish to secure counsel?”

The judge looked first at me.  I shook my head.  The judge said,  “You’re Mr. Perryman?  Keith Perryman?”

“Yes, you honor,” I said shakily, shrinking back into my seat, thoroughly intimidated.  What was I doing here?

And then I remembered.  I was here because I wanted to be here.  What happened here today meant everything to me.  And I’d better stand up for myself now!  Circumstances had brought me to this.  If there was anything I could to do make it all end up as I wanted it to, it was up to me to do it.

I sat up straighter in my chair.