Don led him into a lecture hall with built-in chairs on risers that angled down to a flat floor with a table, a podium, and a blackboard along the back wall. Tonight three people were seated around the table. Don introduced Jeremy to Professor Parker, who in turn introduced them both to the younger man and woman beside him. “This is Fran Beckner and Jacob Steiner, two fourth-year students and two of my brightest and best.”
Jeremy’s nervousness was calmed by the friendly smiles of the dark-haired Fran and the frizzy-haired Jacob. “Jake,” the man said. “I prefer that people call me Jake.”
Professor Parker offered Jeremy a chair at the table opposite them. “Don says you work at your father’s law firm, but you have some legal questions.”
“Yes,” Jeremy said, taking a seat. Jessica’s father settled next to him.
“Isn’t there anyone at his firm who could help you?”
“No one.”
“Travino …” Fran turned the name over thoughtfully. “Is your father the—”
“Yes,” Jeremy said, cutting her off. “He is.”
The two students exchanged glances.
“How can we help you?” Professor Parker asked.
Jeremy took a deep breath. “I want to be free of my parents’ legal hold on my life. I want you to help me declare my emancipation.”
Chapter
12
“Emancipation?” Professor Parker asked, sounding surprised. “Declaring independence from your parents is both serious and complicated.”
“I know, but there’s plenty of legal precedent for it.” Jeremy reached into the portfolio he was carrying and removed a manila folder. He opened it, saying, “An eleven-year-old Florida boy filed to ‘divorce’ his biological parents and be adopted by his foster family. He won the case. Other kids have also been granted legal freedom from their biological families. I have some examples here.” He handed Professor Parker several sheets of paper documenting his findings in legal books.
The professor skimmed Jeremy’s notes. “These cases all involved abuse. Have your parents abused you?”
“No.”
“Then on what grounds do you plan to petition the court?”
“Constitutional grounds.”
Jake and Fran leaned forward. “Tell us.”
“I believe that I should have the free will to decide what I want to do with my own body. And I believe that the Constitution of the United States grants me that privilege.”
“Why do you want to take such a drastic action?” Jake asked.
Jeremy told them about Jessica, glancing at Don McMillan while he spoke. He kept his speech factual, trying not to color it with his emotions. “I passed every test the hospital gave me,” he concluded. “Including mental competency. I was judged to be fully capable of making the decision to give away my kidney. I know exactly what I’m doing. And I know why I’m doing it. Without me, Jessica may die. I don’t believe my parents should dictate to me what I do with my own body. But the only way I can donate my kidney and help save Jessica’s life is to remove myself from my parents’ jurisdiction. I can’t do that without your help.”
Jessica’s father touched Jeremy’s arm. “Jeremy, are you certain?” His face looked pale. “It’s such a drastic step.”
Fran drummed her fingers on the scarred tabletop. “So you’re asking the courts to decide what constitutional right a minor has over his own body? And when this right overrides parental authority?”
He was amazed at her quick evaluation of a situation it had taken him weeks to define. “Exactly,” he answered.
She exchanged glances with Jake, and Jeremy could see that they were intrigued.
“Legal maneuvers cost money,” Professor Parker said. “Even if your attorneys work pro bono—for free—there are court costs, filing fees, things like that.”
“Jessie’s mother and I will pay all the costs,” Don McMillan said quietly. “She’s our daughter. And if Jeremy’s willing to go to these lengths to help her, we will aid him.”
“You have a vested interest,” Professor Parker warned. “The courts may not like your offering financial assistance.”
“I’ll take my chances,” Jessica’s father said.
“I have a trust fund set up by my grandfather for college,” Jeremy said.
“There may be restrictions on it.”
“I’ll check.” Jeremy started to hope that the law students might be willing to take up his cause.
Jake cleared his throat. “Your father’s a powerful attorney with lots of connections. He won’t take this lying down.”
“I know.” Jeremy held his breath.
Professor Parker stood up. “Let us take a few days to study this and talk it over. Your case is intriguing, but my law students may not be able to take it on. We’ll call you.”
“Not too long,” Jeremy said. “Jessica’s getting sicker every day.” He shook hands with each of them, then headed for the door with Jessica’s father. He still felt hopeful. They hadn’t rejected him outright. And more encouragingly, the expressions on Jake’s and Fran’s faces had been downright predatory. He said to Don, “I think they’ll take the case.”
Don chuckled. “They certainly looked eager.”
“Yeah,” Jeremy said with a relieved grin. “Kind of like lions circling for the kill.”
Don put his arm around Jeremy’s shoulder. “Come to the house with me. I want you to break the news to Ruth and Jessica. We’ll be with you, Jeremy. Every step of the way.”
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” she asked.
Jessica had very mixed feelings when she heard the news about what Jeremy was planning to do. Her mother had been ecstatic, but once Jessica was alone with Jeremy, she took him out to the swing and sat with him under the stars.
“How can you ask that? I know what I’m doing. It’s the only way, Jessie, believe me.”
“It’s going to drive a wedge the size of a truck between you and your parents.”
“They’ll get over it. Once the operation is over and it’s a success, they’ll forgive me.”
“But what if your father’s right? What if something does go wrong?”
He placed his fingers across her lips. “Don’t say such things. Nothing’s going to go wrong. That hospital transplants organs every day, and ours isn’t even that complicated a procedure.”
“But—”
“Then it will have been my choice,” he said, interrupting her. “They won’t ever have to blame themselves. Which in one way makes it far easier on them, if you know what I mean.”
She understood, but she still felt scared. He was doing so much for her sake. She didn’t deserve it. “How will I repay you?”
“By not rejecting me,” he said, deadpan.
She giggled. “That’s a sick joke.”
“It made you laugh.” He hugged her. “I’ve missed hearing you laugh.”
“I’ve missed my former life—my LBD: Life Before Dialysis.” She leaned back against his shoulder and stared up at the stars. “I missed the best half of my senior year. No prom. No senior skip day. No class prank. I hardly remember my graduation ceremony. It’s all a blur. And this summer … well, my friends call and tell me all about shopping for college. About their vacations. Sara and Joanie got a place together down in Panama Beach, Florida, for a week. If I were well, I’d be going with them.”
“You’ll have it again,” Jeremy said, hearing the longing in her voice. “Once the transplant is over and you adjust to the medications, you’ll be healthy and happy.”
“So if I have your kidney, does that mean we’ll be related?”
“Kissin’ kin,” he joked. “I like that idea.”
She pointed to the stars above. “I’ve wished on many a star. I’ve wished that I was normal again. Can I tell you a secret?”
“I can keep a secret.”
“It’s a serious one.”
“I can keep a serious secret.”
She paused; she
was about to tell him something she’d never told anyone else. “I’ve thought long and hard about this, so I know what I’m saying. If I can’t have a transplant, I don’t want to go on living. You see, I don’t think it’s much of a life on dialysis. Maybe if things were better for me on the machine, I’d feel different. But I don’t think so.”
Jeremy nodded. “I don’t blame you. I’d feel the same way if it were happening to me.”
“You would?”
He cradled her face in his hands. “That’s why I’m trying so hard to give you my kidney. Neither of us would want to spend the rest of our lives married to a machine. No matter what, Jessie, I want you to know that I’m doing this for both of us.”
She kissed him. “Win or lose,” she whispered, “you’re the best friend I’ll ever have.”
Two days later Jake Steiner called. Jeremy ducked into a vacant office and took the call. “Well, will you take my case?” he asked, getting right to the point.
“We’ll take it.”
Jubilant, Jeremy shouted, “Thanks!”
“It’s going to be a dogfight when your father is served with the suit.”
“I can fight. What’s next?”
“Fran and I met for strategy planning, and we think the first course of action is to try and go through the juvenile courts.”
“Why juvie court?”
“We can get our case heard more quickly. The docket isn’t as full. And who knows? We just might get a sympathetic judge who’ll grant us our request with no hassle.”
Jeremy had never imagined it could be that simple. “How long?”
“First we serve the suit. Your father will have a week or so to respond to it. With a little luck, we can push for a quick hearing.”
“How quick?”
“Thirty days. Maybe forty-five.”
Dismayed, Jeremy said, “That’s over a month! I don’t know if Jessica can wait that long.”
“We’ve checked with her doctor. He seems to think it will be all right.”
“What did Dr. Witherspoon say about the suit?”
“He said that the hospital will support you in court if need be.”
Jeremy’s pulse raced. Having the hospital jump into the fray was more than he’d hoped for. And asking them was more than he would have thought about. It gave him confidence in his attorneys. They were young, but they knew how to fight. He began to think that he might have a chance of winning after all. “All right,” he said. “Start the process.”
“Keep us informed about what happens when the suit is served on your father.”
“I won’t have to,” Jeremy said ruefully. “You’ll be able to hear the explosion all over Washington.”
Chapter
13
Jeremy thought he’d be prepared for his father’s reaction when the suit was served. He wasn’t. His father threw open the door of the mailroom where Jeremy was working. His face was livid, and for a moment Jeremy feared that his father might have a heart attack on the spot. Frank Travino railed at Jeremy, who only half listened to the tirade. Words and sentences such as “ingrate,” “fool,” “How dare you challenge my authority?” and “You’ll never get away with this” peppered his speech.
Jeremy was dismayed but undaunted. His father ended his outburst with “I’ll fight you every step of the way. Don’t think I won’t.” Then he slammed the mailroom door with such force that the doorjamb splintered.
Jeremy called Jake, who asked, “Want to reconsider?”
“No way.”
“Your father knows the legal system, and things are going to get worse before they get better. You’re going to be under a lot of pressure.”
“I don’t care. I’m not backing down.”
But that night, at home, it was his mother’s tears that almost unraveled him. “Why are you doing this?” she asked, weeping. “We love you, Jeremy. You can’t pit yourself against us like this.”
“It’s not you, Mom,” he said. “It’s just that this is my body and I should be able to do what I want with it. What I want to do isn’t illegal. It isn’t morally wrong. I should be able to decide.”
“How has that girl eroded your loyalty to us so deeply?”
He gritted his teeth so as not to yell at his mother. “This is not Jessica’s doing. It’s mine.”
“I know her family’s helping you.”
He felt his face flush. “Only with some of the finances. The whole thing is my idea. Please don’t jump all over them.”
Of course nothing was resolved, and the next day his father told him that he’d hired an attorney to handle his side of the case because he was too emotionally involved to plead the case himself. His father also fired Jeremy from his job. He couldn’t take away his car because it had been a gift and Jeremy held the title, but without a job it would be difficult to pay for gas and insurance.
Jessica cried when she heard the news.
“It’s only a job,” Jeremy said, attempting to soothe her. “I can get another job. I can flip burgers with the best of them.” He wanted to make her smile.
“It’s not the job,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s what’s happening to your family. I’m destroying your family.”
Jeremy drove her to dialysis, all the while defending his actions and telling her not to worry. Her emotional condition was fragile, made more so by the buildup of toxins in her blood. When her treatment was over she was more subdued but still morose. Her mother invited Jeremy to dinner, and he accepted gratefully. He hadn’t had a decent meal in days. The tension was so thick at his house that no one could eat.
When he arrived home that night, he was met by his mother’s tears and his father’s cold stare. “Your attorney called.” His father fairly spat out the words.
Jeremy hurried upstairs and dialed Jake’s number. Jake told him, “We have a court date. We’re on the docket for the end of next month.”
“That long?”
“Count your blessings. We’re lucky to get on the docket so soon. The juvie court accepted our petition for extreme hardship and got us right in. Fran and I are preparing the case to present to the judge, but you might have to speak on your own behalf. Can you do it?”
“You bet. Will there be a jury?”
“Just the judge. There’s no civil or criminal action being sought.”
Jeremy felt a twinge of disappointment; he’d imagined himself before a jury pleading his cause. “What if the judge knows my father?”
“It won’t matter. We stand or fall on the viability of the suit.”
Jeremy decided to ask about something else that had been weighing on his mind. “Jake, I think I should move out of my house until this is settled.”
There was silence; then, “Things pretty tense over there?”
“Too tense. Plus it’s tearing up my mother and I don’t like seeing what this is doing to her. I can move into Jessica’s. Her folks said it’ll be all right with them.”
“That’s not such a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“They have too much at stake and it won’t look good for your case. The courts may interpret it as a form of subtle coercion on the McMillans’ part.”
“No one’s coercing me,” Jeremy snapped. “This is my idea.”
“It doesn’t matter. The courts might frown on it. Let’s not take a chance.”
“Then what should I do? I can’t live here, and my close friends are either out of town for the summer or not eager to get involved. At least their parents aren’t.” Jessica was his best friend; the two guys he knew best from school were his other choices, and neither of them could help him out.
Jake said, “I suppose you’re right. You shouldn’t be living at home through this process. Also, the situation might look more serious to a judge if you were living elsewhere. I mean, how serious could you be if you’re still living under Daddy’s roof?”
“So where should I go?” Anxiety began to gnaw at Jeremy. He’d never imagined he’d h
ave to move out of the house he’d lived in all his life—at least not until he went away to college. He had a vision of himself sleeping in his car by the roadway.
“You could come stay with me,” Jake said. “Just until this is over.”
“With you?”
“I live alone near the college with a sleeper sofa you can take over. Just me and an old tomcat. Are you allergic?”
Jeremy heard the teasing tone in Jake’s voice and realized that Jake must know how difficult this was for him. “I’ll get another job,” he said. “I’ll help with the groceries.”
“Darn right you will,” Jake said with a laugh.
“When?”
“My guess is the sooner the better,” Jake said. “How about this weekend?”
To his surprise, his parents didn’t object to his moving. Obviously they too thought it best. “The furniture stays,” his father said as Jeremy packed his clothes and some framed photographs. “And the computer.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t take anything of yours,” Jeremy tossed back sarcastically.
His mother remained dry-eyed, watching without speaking as he vacated the premises. She looked pale and bewildered, as if she couldn’t comprehend how things had gotten to the point of her family’s dissolving and falling apart in front of her.
He wanted to hug her good-bye and tell her he loved her, but it wasn’t possible. They stood at the top of the stairs looking at each other as if a chasm had split the floor. Neither could bridge it. “Good-bye, Mom,” he said.
She said nothing.
Jeremy drove out of Reston and into Georgetown, to a quaint area near the university where row after row of brown-stone apartment buildings housed students and, occasionally, professors. Jake’s place looked like all the others, reddish brown brick trimmed with colonial blue shutters. Jake told him where to park and helped him carry his stuff into the ground-level apartment.
“I really did clean the place up,” Jake said, hanging some of Jeremy’s clothes in the hall closet.
Jeremy set down a box he was carrying and glanced around the place he was to call home until—until when? He sighed. He didn’t know how long he’d be in exile.