Mary, Mary

enunciation.
    “Your Honor, we will discuss the
many dangers
encountered by Ms. Johnson’s son and also by Ms. Johnson herself, during a
brief, tumultuous
relationship with Mr. Cross, who has a long history of involvement with the most extreme homicide cases. And a long history of putting those around him in jeopardy.”
    It went on and on from there, one loaded statement after another.
    I glanced briefly in Christine’s direction, but she just stared straight ahead. Was this really what she wanted? How she wanted it to go? I couldn’t interpret her flat expression, no matter how I tried.
    When Ms. Billingsley was through assassinating my character, she stopped her manic pacing and sat down.
    Ben stood up immediately, but he stayed right next to me throughout his opening speech.
    “Your Honor, I needn’t take up a lot of the court’s time at this point. You’ve seen the trial brief, and you know the key factors in this case. You already know that the first seeds of this arbitration were planted on the day that Ms. Johnson abandoned her newborn son.
    “You also know that Doctor Cross provided Alex Junior with the kind of loving home any child would want during the first year and a half of his life. And you know that the longest bond, as they call it, the one we share with our siblings, exists for Little Alex at home in Washington, D.C., with the only family he knew up until last year.
    “Finally, we all know that structure and opportunity for success are key issues in determining what is best for a child in the unfortunate circumstance of separated parents. I will say right now, and I believe you will agree, that a home with a father, great-grandmother, brother, sister, and numerous cousins and aunts nearby would provide a more thoroughly supportive experience for a child than to be raised by a mother who lives three thousand miles from what little family she does have, and who thus far has changed her mind twice about her own commitment to the child in question.
    “Having said that much, I am not here to malign Ms. Johnson. She is, by all accounts, a perfectly decent parent when she chooses to be one. What I am here to do is illuminate the common-sense conclusion that my client’s son, and any child, is better off with a parent whose commitment has never wavered, and shows no sign of doing so in the future.”
    In our pretrial meetings, Ben and I had agreed to keep everything civil, if we could. I knew ahead of time what he was going to say, but here in the courtroom, and in front of Christine, it sounded different to my ears. It now seemed depressingly combative, not unlike what Anne Billingsley had just done to me in her opening.
    I felt a little guilty. No matter what kind of mud Christine’s lawyer wanted to fling, at the end of the day I was still responsible for my own actions, and even my lawyer’s. That was something Nana had hardwired into me a long time ago.
    One thing hadn’t changed, though. My resolve was still strong; I was here to bring my youngest son back home to Washington. But listening to Ben Abajian’s statement, I had the feeling that this case would have no winners. It was only a matter of who lost less.
    Hopefully, it wouldn’t be Little Alex who lost.

Chapter 34
    “MS. JOHNSON, can you please tell us in your own words why you are here today?”
    I wondered if anyone else could see how nervous Christine was on the stand. She grasped the fingers of one hand with the other, stopping all but the tiniest bit of shaking. I couldn’t help grimacing, and my stomach was tightening up. I hated to see her like this, even now, under the circumstances that she had created for herself.
    When Christine answered Anne Billingsley’s questions, her voice was steady, though, and she seemed perfectly at ease.
    “It’s time for my son to have a permanent arrangement and stability in his homelife. I want to ensure him the kind of consistency I know he should have. And most of all, I want him to be safe.”
    Billingsley stayed in her chair, feigning—or maybe feeling—supreme confidence. “Could you please tell us about the events leading up to your separation from Mr. Cross?”
    Christine looked down and took a moment to gather herself. I couldn’t imagine that she was acting right now. Her integrity had been one of the reasons I fell in love with her, in that previous lifetime of ours.
    “Just after I became pregnant, I was kidnapped and held hostage for ten months,” she said,