By the time she pulled the front door closed behind her, she was sweating. As a broker, Ginny was obligated to disclose any and all issues with a property she was handling. It was the law. If there was some kind of report that had any bearing on the property, and if she knew about it, she was obligated to disclose that information to the buyer. On the other hand, if she didn’t know anything about it, there would be nothing to disclose. God, she hated the moral compass her parents had instilled in her. The thought of her parents caused her more angst. They needed this sale!
She hurried down the driveway. She was in her car before the next awful thought came. It wasn’t about what Candace and Geoffrey Banks were trying to conceal. It was about Wendell. She’d already made so many mistakes with him. Should she tell him?
Twenty-EightJulia
The morning of the hearing, Julia dressed carefully. She’d known exactly what she would wear from the date the hearing was announced. It was the mint sundress her mother had bought her for the gala. Until then, she’d been unable to look at it hanging in her closet. It had not been to the dry cleaner, but she didn’t care; wearing it to court seemed fitting.
She studied herself in the mirror, thinking of all that had changed since she last pulled this dress over her head. There were hollows under her eyes, and despite their bright blue color, they looked flat. Anyone else might see a young blond girl in a summery dress, but she may as well have dressed herself in grief. So much wrong had happened. Today was her chance to right some of it.
She was about to turn away from her reflection when she noticed something stuck to the bottom of the hem. It was a tiny spiky twig with one dried green leaf. She examined it; it must’ve come from a prickle bush that she’d passed in the woods that night as she sneaked out to meet Sam. A single thorn, curved like a hawk’s talon, poked sharply from the stem. She pressed the tip of her thumb against it until the pain pierced. When she jerked her hand back, a satisfying drop of red bubbled at the tip of her thumb.There,she thought.This is happening.
Jamie Aldeen picked Julia up an hour beforehand. “Remember, the judge is going to ask you a number of questions. Just answer them as honestly and thoroughly as you can.” They’d gone over this the day before. But now the thought of speaking before a judge made her mouth dry and her stomach flutter.
Candace drove separately with Pippa. When they arrived, Candace sat in the opposite corner of the probate court. She did not speak one word to Julia on the way in. To Pippa she said, “This is the meeting I was telling you about, Pippa. Your sister and I will be going into a room to talk with a judge. There’s a nice lady who will wait with you.” She thrust a coloring book and a packet of crayons in to Pippa’s hands.
The clerk checked them in. “Is Wendell Combs here yet?” Julia asked, glancing around nervously.
“Not yet.” Wendell was never late to work. He wouldn’t be late for this.
Julia took a seat beside Pippa. The courthouse smelled familiar, much like her middle school hallway: the recirculated air, the linoleum floors. It felt like it, too. Serious. Echoey. A place where adults ran the show. Beside her, Pippa squiggled on the bench impatiently. “When can we go?” she asked.
Julia had packed snacks for her in a lunch box. She handed it to her and lowered her voice to a whisper. “I need you to be really good and patient, today, Pips. Okay? I’m trying to work on plans for us. Remember what we talked about?” She glanced at Candace, who was staring at them.
“Okay, but hurry,” Pippa said. She dug into the bag and pulled out some pretzels. The door leading outside swung open and Julia’s chest gave. Wendell! But it was Geoffrey Banks, who nodded at them all and joined her aunt on a bench.
Moments later, the chamber doors opened. A young woman in a suit addressed them. “Are you here for the Lancaster hearing?”
Jamie stood and motioned for her to come. Julia’s heart began to pound. “Be good, Pippa,” she said.
Judge Eliot Bartlett looked far friendlier than Julia had pictured. He was somewhat older than her father and had a neatly trimmed dark beard. He smiled at her as soon as he saw her. “Good afternoon!” Then he adjusted his glasses and glanced at a clock on the wall. “Rather, good morning. Goodness. I don’t even know what time it is!”
The clerk laughed, as did the judge, and Julia felt her insides relax. This was a good sign. But where was Wendell?
“Please, have a seat while I review your file.” This was not the courthouse Julia had seen on television and in movies. It was much less formal, like an office. The judge sat behind a separate desk, facing them. Julia followed Candace’s cue and sat opposite her aunt. Both turned to face the judge, who opened a manila file and began looking through the documents inside it without comment. As he did, the clerk offered water to both Julia and Candace, which Julia didn’t really want; she just wanted to get started. It seemed forever that he read through the file before he looked up. Gone was his smile.
“Ms. Aldeen, you are the counsel representing Julia Lancaster in this petition?”
“I am, Your Honor.”
“And I see we have two Ms. Lancaster’s here.” He looked up at Candace. “You are Candace, custodial guardian and aunt to Julia and Pippa.”
“Yes, your honor. This is the family attorney, Geoffrey Banks.”
The judge nodded. “And I see we are also expecting a Mr. Wendell Combs?”
There was a pause, and Jamie stood. “Mr. Combs is an interested party, and I wonder if we might give him five minutes, please?”
The judge did not look pleased, but suddenly, there was a noise at the doors. The clerk poked her head in. “Mr. Combs is here.”
“Send him in.”
Julia’s insides flushed with relief. Greetings were made, Wendell sat down in the corner, and then Judge Bartlett turned sharply to Julia. “So, you are Julia Lancaster?”
Julia nodded. “Yes, sir. I mean, Your Honor.”
The judge pushed the file to the side, clasped his hands, and leaned in as though prepared for an intimate conversation. “Let’s talk about what we have going on here. Julia, I know Ms. Aldeen is representing you, but I would like to hear from you first. In your own words.”
Julia cleared her throat nervously. “Well, Your Honor, I filed for emancipation.”
