COUNTY COURTHOUSE
"Thank you, Mr. Thompson," says the
judge, a middle-aged lady whose compassionate voice and kind smile keep
sparking jolts of hope in Claire.
"We'll have a short recess now while
I consider what I've just heard and come to a decision," the judge announces.
Claire rises mechanically when everyone else does, and they watch the judge
file out of the courtroom.
"What'd you think?" Diane says to
Eric almost as soon as the judge disappears. "How'd they do?"
"He made a strong case," Eric says
with a slight shrug. That fact doesn't appear to worry him much.
"I thought you sounded better. He
spent a lot of time trying to fight what we said."
"Yeah. Of course, Claire is the one
being challenged for custody, so she's more on the defensive than we are."
Diane leans back in her chair, soaking
up what he has said, and then suddenly rockets forward again. "Do you think
I'm gonna win?"
"I'm not the judge," Eric says defensively,
as if washing his hands of the matter by trying to show that there is nothing
he can do about it.
A wistful look sweeps over Diane.
"It'll be so nice to have my daughter back with me ... I've waited so long
for this."
Before Eric can respond, her look
turns devious. "And besides, you know you'll be amply rewarded, right?"
Eric accepts the promise with an
uneasy grin. "I do know that much."
"Good, you're getting to know me
well." Diane runs a teasing finger down his cheek.
"Don't worry," he says after a flash
of strange silence. He leans forward, his elbows propped up on the table
and his chin resting in his hands. "Things are going to turn out for the
best today."
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