Dreams of Destiny Pt. 12

The breakfast was ready and Destiny started dishing out portions of omelet and hash browns. She poured a couple of cups of coffee and put the carton of orange juice on the kitchen table.

“I don’t know,” Destiny said sadly. “The adoptions I’ve seen are the patch work kind of adoptions they put together in the neglect system here in DC. I wouldn’t want anything like that. And I wouldn’t want to buy a baby either.” She sniffed and rummaged around for a tissue in her shorts pocket.

“Well , we don’t have to decide anything now, anyway. Like I said. I never thought much about children. Let’s deal with one thing at a time, okay.”

“Okay.” They sat down to eat.

Breakfast looks terrific. You’ve been busy. Were you out running earlier?”

“No, I worked out a little and took my bicycle out for a little while. It’s a lot more fun than running.”

“I agree with you there. What do you do as a workout.”

Tai Chi.”

“Hey, we really are compatible.”

“I’m only a rank amateur.” Destiny said shyly. “I haven’t had many lessons. I probably butcher the form, but I do what I can with what I know and it seems to help center me and keep me on balance, physically and emotionally.”

I’ve been at it for a long time. I can probably help you with you form and to advance to a higher level. Ah, you really to know how to cool after all. This is wonderful.”

“Thanks. I’d really like to learn more Ti Chi. I can’t wait to practice on the beach at San Angeles.”

“Wait until you see my back yard. You’re going to be in heaven.”

“Do you live near the beach?” Destiny asked hopefully?

“I live on a cliff over a beach.”

“With a stone fence and steps down to the beach?”

“Good guess,” Juan said with surprise.

“That wasn’t a guess. I’m sure I’ve been there in a few dreams.”

“You know, I think you have been.”

“With the dog,” they said at the same time.

“You have a barbecue on a patio,” Destiny said, envisioning the place.

“Yes.”

All of a sudden Destiny realized that the morning was slipping away. She’d be late for Court if she didn’t hurry.

She finished her share of the omelet in a bug gulp. “Save the mango for when I get back,” she told Juan. She bolted down her coffee and dashed for the shower. She wrapped her hair around her head and put on an ugly shower cap. There was no time today to fiddle with her hair. She was out of the shower in a flash.

Destiny dressed in a light violet print dress that was short and efficient although a little shorter than she liked. She put on panty hose so her legs wouldn’t seem so exposed. She wore white shoes with neat little ankle straps. She braided her hair and decided to save some time by putting her makeup on when she got to court.

She packed her briefcase and was out the door with a quick kiss for Juan. “I’ll be back as soon as possible,” she promised. “I could be all day if this trial goes forward,” she warned, “but with any luck I ‘I’ll be back in time to go to John’s place with you and Maria. It depends on whether or not the government’s ready for trial.”

Oh please let them not be ready, she prayed silently. If the government wasn’t ready the case would probably be dismissed, which would be a good break for her client. Although she had a stronger case than usual, she didn’t have a lot of confidence that she would prevail if it went to trial. The odds of wining a juvenile trial were usually pretty slim despite the well touted presumption of innocence. Juveniles didn’t have a right to a jury. Most of the judges were pretty jaded when it came to juvenile cases.

Destiny flagged down the first taxi cab she saw and was at the Courthouse in ten minutes. 9:00 on the dot, she noted, relieved that she was on time. The prosecutor on the case, Robert Blake, corralled her even before she could check in with the courtroom clerk. “Are you ready for trial?” he asked nervously. “He can still take a plea, you know,” he added hopefully.

“I haven’t even had a chance to look for my client yet.” But he’ll be here, she said with false bravado. We talked about the plea last night,” she added. He wasn’t interested. “What about the government. Are you ready?”

“You’ll find out when the case is called,” he said as he walked away.

“You can tell me now, or let me stew. It’s not going to change my position on the plea,” Destiny said with exasperation in her voice. My chances at trial are better than 50/50. I’m glad I’m not in your shoes,” she said with a smile as she went to check in with the clerk.

Destiny had the usual pre-trial jitters but she’d be damned if she’d reveal them to Blake. She decided to go to the cafeteria for a diet Pepsi. Her client and her witness were complacently eating breakfast at a table in the rear of the cafeteria.

“What are you doing here?” Destiny asked. Didn’t I tell you to meet me in Courtroom 114?”

“We forgot where you told us to go,” the kid explained. We figured you’d find us here eventually.”

“Well, that was smart,” Destiny conceded. Where’s you mother? she asked her client.”

“She’s in the bathroom.”

All right. I’m going to go get a Coke. Finish you breakfast while we wait for your mother. We have to get upstairs soon.”

Her client’s mother reappeared while Destiny was in line to pay for her soda. “Are you guys ready for trial?” Destiny asked the kids when she returned to their table. She noted that Ronald’s mother smelled vaguely of vodka. Destiny came to the conclusion that the mother had slipped into the bathroom for a quick drink.

The kids were ready they assured her as they all made their way to the escalator. Destiny instructed them to wait outside the Courtroom until the case was called and went inside to wait. Juvenile matters were closed to the public.

Three other trial matters were called a head of Destiny’s case. Destiny realized that the chances of getting a judge to hear the case today were slim even if the government was ready for trial. She started to relax. The case was called.

Ronald and his mother filed into the courtroom and everyone identified themselves for the record. The judge asked the prosecutor if the government was ready for trial. Blake looked uncomfortable.

I knew it! Destiny thought.

“We would be ready,” Blake said unhappily, “but I just learned yesterday that a key witness is on maternity leave. The government is asking for a continuance.

“On the respondent’s behalf,” Destiny said, “I move for dismissal for want of prosecution.” She opened her mouth to say more but the Judge cut her short.

“How pregnant is your witness?” the judge asked Blake.”

“Eight and a half months, Your Honor,” he replied.

“This isn’t the government’s first request for a continuance. The case was before me for trial six weeks ago. As I recall, you were missing a witness last time too. Was it that the same witness?”

“No Your Honor.”

“Then you must have noticed that you had a pregnant witness. Didn’t you run the trial date by her before you agreed to it?”

“I’m not exactly sure how this happened,” Blake said.

“Were you the prosecutor on the case the last time it was up for trial?”

“Yes Your Honor, But....”

“Your Honor,” Destiny chimed in, “the Court has rules for requests for continuance. The government shouldn’t be allowed to come in the day of trial for a continuance that it could have requested weeks in advance. In addition, the Court jacket reflects that there should be no further government continuances.”

Blake wasn’t quite ready to give up. “The respondent’s not locked up and the continuance would be a short one. I don’t see how he would be prejudiced by a continuance.”

“That’s not the point,” said Destiny.

“The government can re-petition the case if its so important to them” said Ruiz with exasperation in his voice. Case dismissed. “Young man,” the judge turned to Destiny’s client. “You are free to go. Stay out of cars if you don’t know the owner. I don’t want to see you back here again.”

Another triumph for justice, Destiny thought sardonically. Destiny had a childish urge to stick her tongue out at Blake on her way out. She wished her client well as they walked out the door of the courtroom and reminded him that there was a slight chance that the case would be re-petitioned. It was 11:35.Not a bad morning’s work, Destiny thought.

Playing chicken was what she called today’s defense tactic. It was often a fruitful strategy in juvenile cases. Sentencing options are very limited in juvenile cases. Even if Destiny’s client had lost at trial he most likely would have been given probation. So Destiny figured the kid had little to lose and much, possibly, to gain by waiting to see if the government could get its ducks in a row for trial. Her bet had paid off, and the kid got to walk away without a juvenile record.

Feeling great, Destiny headed for home. When she arrived she found Juan in her garden, pulling weeds. Top Cat had attached himself to Juan again and was rolling around in the little patch of catnip Destiny had planted that spring.

“What a sight the two of you are,” she said cheerily. I’ve never seen Top Cat take to anyone like he’s taken to you. He doesn’t even like me anymore now that you’re here.”

“Ah. That’s not true,” Juan comforted her. “I just shared your last can of tuna fish with him. He’s a pushover.”

“So that’s your secret. Offering bribes. I just may have to report you to the SPCA.”

“You got back early. How’d your case go?” Juan asked.

“The government wasn’t ready for trial. I can add another win to my resume.”

“Just like that?” That doesn’t make any sense. “It’d never happen like that on San Angeles.” Juan looked disgusted.

“It’s not a bad result,” Destiny said. “Blake knew he wasn’t going to be ready for trial. He was banking on me folding at the last minute, and taking a plea. But in this case the kid didn’t have much to lose if he was convicted at trial. It was a first offense. Unless he really screwed up he was going to get probation whether he plead guilty or went to trial and lost. So I played the odds and won. It’s that simple.”

“Is that justice?” Juan asked.

“In this case, yes.”

“Because he’s your client?”

“No. Destiny was getting annoyed. “Because there are rules and the government didn’t follow them. And there’s also a right to a speedy trial. So the kid got a break. Now it’s up to him. End of story. Are you hungry? There’s left over chicken and potato salad. And there’s that wine you brought last night. Are you interested?”

“Sure,” he said. “But I still think your system of justice is screwy.”

Destiny pulled the food out the of the refrigerator and uncorked the wine. They went out to the deck to eat.

“Looks like we’re in for some rain,” Juan noticed as he sat down. Dark clouds were starting to pile up on the horizon. “We could use a break from the humidity, but I hope it doesn’t rain until after we get a chance to run Aristotle. I’ll bet he’s feeling pretty cooped up.”

“No. Maria was going to leave the back door open for him. John’s back yard is fenced in.”

“They sat and ate and sipped their wine in comfortable silence as clouds scurried across the sky. Thunder started to roll in the background and the wind picked up.

At about a quarter of two Destiny went inside to change her clothes. She donned a pair of blue jean shorts and a white Italian tee shirt. She asked Juan to answer the door when the bell rang as she scooped up Top Cat and put him in her bedroom.

“I figured I’d let Aristotle get the smell of the place first when we bring him in here. Then I’ll switch them and let Top Cat get a sniff of Aristotle. After about an hour I’ll put the two of them together and see what happens..”

“That makes a lot of sense,” Juan said, impressed. “You have a way with animals, don’t you?.

“Yeah, I guess. I always had a dog or a cat, or both when I was a kid. It made up for not having a mother or siblings.”

Were you a lonely child?” Juan asked, wanting to know everything about her.

“Sometimes. My father tried, but... .Anyway, I had a parakeet, too for a few years. But one day he became dinner for my cat.”

“That’s terrible,” Juan said, ”How did that happen?

“I was only about seven years old. I let chirpy out for some exercise. He flew right into a mirror, knocking himself out. Puss was on him before I could do a thing. I felt so guilty I wanted to die. I cried for hours.”

“What about the cat?”

“I wanted to smack him but my father’s cleaning lady who was baby sitting me intervened. She talked to me about the balance of nature and explained that the cat was only following its nature.”

She was about say more, but the door bell rang. Juan went downstairs to let Maria in. Maria was astonished at Juan’s resemblance to John, but said nothing.

“Would you like some wine before we go? Or some lunch. She realized Maria probably had come here straight from work.

Both would be great,” Maria admitted. I just left Court. I haven’t eaten since 4:00 a.m. It was a busy night at youth division. I’m lucky I could get free”

“You must be exhausted” Juan said.

“Nah, I’m used to the hours. But I’m starved.”

Destiny put some potato salad and chicken on a plate and poured the remainder of the wine into three glasses.

“Sante,” said Juan. “Thank you for taking care of Aristotle and for being such a friend to John.”

Maria blinked back tears. “How well did you know him?” she asked.

“Not that well. We were just getting to know each other and then he was killed,” Juan said truthfully. I do know you meant a lot to him. He was kind of a loner, but he took great comfort in his friendship with you.”

“Did he tell you that?” Maria wanted to know.

“Yes. He did. It was when we talked about my coming here for a visit this week.”

“Why did you come?”

“John wanted to get to know me better., and learn about his San Angeles relations. He’d never met any of them except me.” Juan was making this up as he went along. He hoped it was a convincing story.

“You didn’t get to see him before he died, did you?”

“No”

“I started going through his papers,” Maria said, a little timidly. She found Juan to be a little bigger than life and somewhat intimidating. He was so sure of himself. Not like John at all she thought. “I hope you don’t mind. I haven’t been able to find a will. Maybe his letter to you will shed some light on things. You seem to be next of kin, so I’ll leave the rest it to you. It really wasn’t my business,” she said apologetically. “But there didn’t seem to be anyone else to do it until I realized who you were.”

“No need to apologize. I appreciate all you’ve done. I know you are grieving.”

He thought for a moment. “Was Juan renting the house. His land lord should be contacted.”

“Oh no, he was buying it. And he had a lot of equity in it already. He told me he made a bundle when he sold his house in West Palm Beach.”

“Ah....,” Juan said thoughtfully. Whatever will I do with a house in DC? Do you want it? he asked Maria generously.”

“No. I can’t afford a mortgage.”

“I mean, you canhave it if you want it”

Maria was nonplused. The generosity of the offer floored her.”

“No, no, she demurred. I couldn’t live there. It would be ghoulish. I wouldn’t be able to stand it. I’d see him everywhere’.

Juan was disappointed. He had hoped for a simple solution. “Well, I’ll figure something out. But still... think about it. You might change you mind.”

“Maybe, but I don’t think so”

They drained their wine glasses and Maria finished her lunch. Then they piled into Maria’ Ford Taurus for the trip to Tacoma Park. The Ford had seen better days, but it suited Maria to a tee.

“What a pretty house,” Destiny declared as they pulled into the driveway. Juan recognized it at once.Of course he thought.I’ve been living here for two years. But it felt funny seeing it like this. It was like having two brains.

Maria opened the front door and a bundle of fur came running over to her. Aristotle was adorable. He was a great big puppy dog with boundless energy. Destiny fell in love for the second time that week.

Aristotle flopped his body down onto Maria’s feet and looked up with big eyes that were almost completely covered with fur. He gave a little “woof.”

“Hey fellow,” she said gently as she knelt and gave him a big hug. I promised I’d bring you some special people today and here they are.” She stood. Aristotle lay down with his chin flat on the floor.

“Come on baby, don’t sulk, its not that bad. You can at least say hi.” Maria had a real connection with the pup.

Juan walked over to Aristotle and kneeled down. “Hey boy. I’m not a stranger. Don’t you want to say hello?” H put his hand in front of Aristotle’s nose and ran his other hand through his beautiful, thick coat.

Aristotle sniffed. He perked up right away. He looked at Juan and batted his head against Juan’s thigh. Then he stood up. Destiny swore that the puppy smiled.

“It looks like you two are going to get along fine,” Maria said. She was relieved, but she was also kind of jealous. Aristotle had known her all his life but had never warmed up to her quite like he had in just two minutes to Juan. She narrowed her eyes and really looked at Juan. “Its like Aristotle’s always known you. You’re not John’s long lost twin or something, are you? You have a way about you.... some of your mannerisms are the same as John’s despite the Spanish accent. Did you spend a lot of time together when you were growing up”/

“No. Juan changed the subject.. “Hey, does Aristotle play Frisbee?. Let’s give him some exercise before the rain sets in.” Sure enough, the clouds were low and threatening. Thunder was rolling in the background.

Maria left the room for a minute and came back with a box of toys which she handed to Juan. “Take your pick,” she said.

“John didn’t spoil you, did he boy,” Juan said, amazed at the amount of toys the dog had.

All this time Destiny had been dying to make friends with the dog. She picked out a large bone and presented it to Aristotle. He cocked his head at her as if to say “Okay, what do you have in mind?”

“Come with me, fellow,” she said. She walked through the dining room and kitchen and out the back door onto the patio. Aristotle followed with a bouncy gait.

“Destiny’s in love,” Juan said to Maria.

“Who wouldn’t be,” Maria replied wistfully. She meant more than Aristotle. She’d seen the glances between Destiny and Juan. She was a bit envious. But even more, she was glad that something good had come of the tragedy.

Aristotle had been well trained. He caught the bone Destiny flung to the back of the yard in mid-air, and galloped over to Destiny with it between his teeth. Well, maybe not so perfectly trained: He jumped up on Destiny nearly knocking her over. She laughed with unrestrained pleasure, and ran towards the back fence, playing in impromptu game of keep away.

“How about some Frisbee, Juan yelled to Destiny as he and Maria walked out of the house. He threw the Frisbee in Aristotle’s general direction and the dog caught it neatly. He brought it back to Juan and bounded away. Juan tossed the Frisbee out to Destiny who threw it over Aristotle’s head to Maria. Aristotle didn’t know which way to run and ended up running around in circles for a minute. The three humans laughed at his plight. Everyone was happy for a while as the y threw the disk around and wrestled it away from Aristotle whenever he got stubborn and wanted to keep it. The dog was in puppy heaven.

The weather, though was uncooperative. All of a sudden the sky opened up and a deluge began. They all ran for the house, Aristotle in the lead. They ended up in the kitchen panting hard. Aristotle, acting true to form for a dog, shook the waster out of his fur and soaked everyone anew. They all laughed.

Then there was a loud crack of thunder and Aristotle yelped. He took off running and hid himself under the bed in John’s room. “What a sweetheart” Juan said of Aristotle. He was now excited at the thought of bringing the pup to San Angeles. He’d have quite a family, he realized.That is if Destiny and Top Cat join me for good. He loved the idea.