Chapter 1
Passing the Bar
Colin puffed out a breath as he yanked a tie from the closet and wound it around his neck. “Does this one go?” he asked Joshua who lounged on the bed watching him dress.
“Don’t think you have to wear a tie.”
“Has to be court attire,” Colin grumbled in reply. “They made it crystal clear. Show up in sweatpants and a T-shirt and you’ll be sent homewithouthaving taken the bar exam.”
Joshua picked up a packet of papers and examined them. “Nope,” he said, pointing to a page. “Says right here that because of COVID, ties aren’t mandatory.”
Colin turned to peer at his husband. “Really?” He walked to the bed and read the paper Joshua held out, then pressed his lips together and stuffed the tie into his pocket. “Just in case,” he muttered.
Colin had spent weeks getting ready for this day. He’d taken numerous practice tests, worked with a tutor specifically hired to prepare him for the bar exam, and studied until his eyes were dark-circled with fatigue. The next two days would be the culmination, the reason for all the training and groundwork. The time when his years of hard work and mind-numbing study would finally pay off. For the next two days, Colin would be taking the Virginia Bar Exam, his ticket of admission to the practice of law.
He wheeled and strode to their full-length mirror, and for a long time he stood in silence, studying his image with a critical eye. “Does that guy look like alawyer?” he asked finally.
“Absolutely.”
Colin turned to face Joshua. “You’re biased!” he accused.
Joshua nodded, grinning. “Undoubtedly true. But I’m also someone who would not let you go off to take the bar exam looking scruffy and unprofessional.”
Colin shook himself, then reached for a clear plastic bag that lay on the bed. “Jesus, I’m nervous!” He peered at the items in the see-through bag. “Do I have everything?”
Joshua held out another paper. “Here’s the list of everything you’re allowed to take in with you.” He shook his head as Colin took the paper. “Everything has to be in a clear plastic bag? They’re strict!”
Colin huffed out an ironic laugh, looking from the list to the items in his plastic bag. “Yep. I’ve got everything.” He turned to face Joshua. “Christ, Josh!”
“You’re going to do fine,” Joshua assured him.
“I hope,” Colin replied. He blew out another long breath and moved out of the bedroom and down the stairs to their living room with Joshua following close behind.
At the door, Colin turned to face him.
“Will you call me when you get a break?” Joshua asked, brushing non-existent dust from Colin’s lapels.
“I’ll call you during lunch,” Colin promised, then bent to kiss him. “I’d better scoot. It’s almost a two-hour drive to Richmond.”
“Jeez, baby, maybe youshouldhave spent the night,” Joshua worried.
“We went through all that, Josh. I want to come home after the test.” He tugged Joshua close and kissed him several times. “Send good thoughts.”
“Every single minute,” Joshua told him. He grabbed both Colin’s shoulders and stared into his honeyed-green eyes. “You’re ready, Counselor,” he assured his husband. “Kick ass!”
“You got it, bud,” Colin said, then wheeled and strode out the door.
The Virginia Bar Exam is well-known as one of the toughest in the country. The exam is held twice a year on two consecutive days. Today’s exam would consist of two three-hour sessions with an hour for lunch in between. During the morning session Colin would answer five essay questions, and in the afternoon session he would answer another four essay questions and ten to twenty short answer questions, all focusing on various aspects of Virginia law.
On day two he would take the Multistate Bar Examination. The MBE consists of two hundred multiple-choice questions. Of the two hundred questions, one hundred and seventy-five are scored questions and twenty-five are unscored pre-test questions. The pre-test questions are indistinguishable from the scored questions, and applicants are advised to answer all of them.
Colin understood that he was facing one of the toughest examinations of his academic career. He and his study mate, Dan Wilson, had pushed themselves to the brink of exhaustion to get ready for this day. But now it was here. No more prep. No more study. No more practice tests. This was it.
An applicant is able to take the bar exam again if they fail. In fact, they are allowed to fail and retake the test five times. But even thethoughtof such an occurrence froze the blood in Colin’s veins. Hewouldpass the bar exam. And he would pass it on hisfirstattempt. No other outcome was possible.
Dan was meeting him at the Greater Richmond Convention Center where testing would take place. They’d agreed to take separate cars because Dan was spending the night in Richmond, while Colin chose to return to Charlottesville after completing the first day of examination. “Why not spend the night?” Dan had asked him. “Save you having to drive home through rush hour traffic.”
Colin gave no response other than a brief shrug but inside himself he knew the answer. He wanted—needed—a respite, a moment of peace between two pressure-filled days of striving to pass the bar exam. And he knew the surest pathway to finding that peace would be to spend the night at his husband’s side. Joshua’s steady, loving presence would sustain him, revitalize him, enable him to face the final day of testing: he’d be ready to perform at his absolute best.
