courtroom—the one with the spiky tattoo around his head—smiled a little… and he had previously looked like a man who never smiled.
Oh, God, I’m the laughingstock of the town.
Scott decided it was best to channel his English ancestors and keep a stiff upper lip, stay calm, and carry on.
Half an hour later, he was actually making a good show of being composed, when Josie suddenly appeared at his side.
As she leaned down to whisper in his ear, Scott noticed Mark’s eyes cross-examining Josie’s ass in her black pencil skirt. Scott glared at him and Mark, noticing, grimaced and quickly looked away.
“I’m sorry to bother you in court,” Josie whispered, “but your mother just called. Your dad has been in a bad car wreck. Bad.”
Scott felt his stomach fall into his feet. He stammered, not knowing what to say.
She passed him a neon-orange post-it note with an address written on it. “He’s at the hospital in Columbia.”
“I… uh….” Scott couldn’t think straight. His eyes couldn’t even focus on the letters on the note; they looked like random black lines.
Josie looked at him for a moment, then turned to the judge.
“Your Honor, may I approach?”
He gestured for her to come up.
Scott could hear her whispering to the judge. “I just got a call that Mr. Cunningham’s father has been in a very bad car accident. Can we continue his remaining cases?”
The judge’s teasing smile suddenly fell from his face. “Yes, of course.”
Josie nodded. “Thank you.”
Josie’s heels clicked on the floor as she hurried back to Scott’s table. “I got your cases continued,” she told him in a hushed voice.
Mark stepped over. “What’s wrong?” he asked, looking concerned.
“Scott’s father’s been in a bad accident.” Josie took Scott gently by the arm and helped him to his feet. “He needs to get to the hospital.”
“Oh, man,” Mark said. “I’m so sorry to hear that, Scott. I hope he’ll be okay.”
“Yeah,” Scott said, distractedly.
Mark looked at him, then glanced at Josie. “I… don’t know if Scott should drive himself.”
“I’ll drive him,” she said. “I’ve got the car waiting outside.”
“Good,” Mark said, looking relieved.
“Would you please let me know when the cases get rescheduled? Just fax it or send Scott an e-mail. I check his e-mail for him.”
“Sure, I’ll take care of it. Just go.”
She nodded, and half-drug Scott out the front door of the courthouse. His car was idling at the curb, a police officer guarding it.
Josie got Scott into the car, thanked the officer, then got into the driver’s side and quickly pulled away.
Episode 24: A Death in the Family
Josie and Scott weren’t quite to Columbia when he received a text message from his brother:
dads gone. on our way to moms now.
Josie glanced at Scott, worried. “What’s wrong?” she asked, as he stared mutely at the phone.
Scott opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. He tried again, but still nothing. Finally, he just handed her the phone.
She took it and glanced at it while still trying to drive. “Oh, Scott,” she said, anguished, “I’m so sorry.”
He put his head against the window and broke down.
Josie pulled into the parking lot of a small strip center which was closed for the night. She got out of the car, went around to Scott’s side, and just stood there, holding him, while he sobbed.
Scott’s relationship with his parents had been a bit strained since he became a vampire. His father didn’t seem to mind so much, once he got over the initial shock; it had really been his mother who was too afraid for him to come over to the house. But despite that, Scott had never stopped loving either of them. They had been good parents when he was growing up.
He had been especially close to his father, who had eagerly carted him and his brother off to baseball and football practice seasonally. When a knee injury ended Scott’s chances of going to college on a football scholarship, his old man had actually cried. But he hadn’t let that lessen their relationship. They still went to games together—albeit both of them in the bleachers—and they watched it on the weekends religiously. They also drove to Murfreesboro to cheer on Scott’s older brother, Brandon, as he played college baseball. When Scott graduated college with honors, his father beamed as if Scott had just won the Super Bowl.
Scott’s sobs finally subsided to hiccups and a lot of sniffing. Josie found his stash of fast food napkins in the glove box, and she gave him a few so he could dry his face and blow his nose. A few minutes later, she was back in the car and following Scott’s directions to his parents’ house.
When they arrived, twenty minutes later, Scott’s brother answered the door. With tears, they fell into each other’s arms.