Chapter 3 - Looks Can Be Deceiving
It was at this moment the wise words from her father were worthy to her next move.
She can still picture him standing there with the most matter-of-fact expression as he said, “If everyone was good – how would we know the difference? God put difficult people on this earth, so we could appreciate the good people.”
His warm memory remains within Willow as she often looks to his portrait for answers. Not in a crazy sort of way but more for a spiritual peace. He was a good man, retired from the Richmond Fire Department only five years when he died suddenly at the home she grew up in. Her mother still lives in that home and her mother has never been the same.
As she clears her head and quietly walks to her cubicle amongst all the other holding cells in cubicle city, she is careful not to draw attention to herself. She had made better time than she thought. Carefully, opening the desk drawer, she nearly jumps out of her own skin when her purse falls to the floor.
“Hey, did you see that game last night? What a nail biter- 20 innings!”
By the expression on her stone-cold white face, Gus must have realized he startled her.
“Hey Gus…yeah, it was a good game. I stayed up past my bedtime but worth it.”
He hands her a promotional baseball bobble head from last week’s game, which immediately planted a smile on her face.
“I had an extra, so thought you might like one, too.”
At that moment she felt blessed that there were still a few good people left within the office. Smiling, she reaches out her hand to accept his gift for their mutual love for the game.
“I love it!” Thanks!”
She delicately opens the box, removing the Sonny Gray Bobble head from the packaging, placing him directly beside her monitor. His head bobbled up and down – remembering it is truly the simple things in this life that bring us the most joy.
Gus wasn’t a man of many words and he exits her cubicle, reminding her to have a nice day. She nods as his thoughtful gesture did make a difference while she continues to exist in her chaotic state of madness.
He was the wisest attorney in that office and he didn’t take crap from anyone. It seemed as if his demands and thorough preparations for his criminal court cases made him somewhat unfavorable among the legal secretaries but Willow saw the softer side of a misunderstood man.
She looks to her piles of court cases adorned in manila files and swears the pile has grown by another foot. With a heavy sigh, she picks up the phone and hears her significant other’s voice. Without being frantic, he tells her the child support papers that she had served on her ex were now scattered all over the porch.
“She’s a lunatic. I think she’s crazier than him.”
Willow feels her heart begin to race and is somewhat afraid to ask Steve what happened but works up enough courage to hear more of the never ending turmoil, which has become her life.
“What happened?”
“I’m in the driveway, working on my truck when she pulls up like a bat of hell. She’s with her snotty daughter and the two of them stormed up to me and screamed at me.”
“Screaming at you for what?”
“She’s clueless. For some insane reason she tells me she can’t be served court papers. The last I checked the papers were not served on her but served on Mitch. After she screams at me, they march up to the front door and throw the papers down on the porch, taping a few key pages to the door with electrical tape. She’s bat crazy.”
“This child support case is none of her business. I don’t know which one of them is worse. Their instability frightens me.”
“I just wanted to let you know now, in case you need to refile or document with the court that these papers were served and she had them in her hand.”
There is a long pause as she tries her best to regain her composure and respond.
“Willow? Are you there?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry. I’ll deal with it – I better get back to work.”
As she hangs up the phone, her buddy on the opposite side of the cubicle peaks her head over the makeshift wall.
“Are you okay?”
Willow continues to stare at the phone, realizing she has yet another issue to deal with. Slowly, looking up from her phone, she notices Penny and her concern is real. Penny and her family have also dealt with the rage from them.
“Is it Mitch?”
Willow swallows so hard she feels as if Penny could hear her loud gulp.
“His crazy girlfriend and her daughter went to my house and starting yelling at Steve and she threw all of the court papers for Mitch on my porch. She even taped some of the papers to my door. I don’t know who’s worse. There is no smart one in that relationship. Usually you have a smart one to balance the common sense in a relationship.”
Penny wasn’t too surprised as she recalls a similar encounter with Mitch and his cult following. It was a few weeks back and Willow asked her if she would serve her ex with some court papers as their divorce was anything but amicable. Being he refused to pay child support, yet able afford luxurious cruises, hire a divorce attorney and purchase his own yacht, she had no choice other than take him to court.
One of the benefits of being self-employed is to conveniently have two sets of books…one for the IRS and one that is legitimate.
Her mother had offered to financially help her but these were not her children, these were Mitch’s kid’s not her mother’s.
Penny and her family were on their way out to dinner when they stopped at Mitch’s dojo, parked in the parking lot, the oldest daughter zipped in and left the court papers on the front counter. Mitch was teaching a karate class when he noticed something being dropped off – he immediately called for a water break and ran to the counter.
Meanwhile Penny and her family were backing out of their parking space when Mitch ran out – surrounded with a barrage of older delinquent adults, yelling obscenities as Mitch threw the court papers at their car.
According to Penny and her husband, it wasn’t normal behavior. It was almost as if they belonged to a cult and they were trying to protect the boss man.
“He’s not stable and some his students are fresh out of prison. I’m scared. I’m trying to support my kids on my own but I can’t do it on a legal secretary’s salary.”
Willow breaks down and begins to cry.
“You’re a good mom and you do not deserve this but Bill and I agree that he is not stable.”
“He could sell ice to Eskimos. He had me fooled from the beginning but once I saw who he truly was and how badly he treated other people, I was scared and just pretended everything was fine because the thought of leaving him was more terrifying. Last week he broke down my front door and refused to help with the house payments.”
Just then one of the office attorneys walks up needing some assistance with an upcoming murder trial, so the close confidants cut their conversation short.
Penny gets back to her computer and Willow does the same.
Willow turns to her pile of court files and pulls up her tasks on the district attorney’s new criminal court program. The new-fangled program is supposed to help eliminate lost “to do” notes and create a more organized system for both the attorney and the secretary. It has been a few weeks with the new system and hopefully it will prevent one unethical attorney from blaming Willow for all of her shortfalls.
Her hopes were high but not so fast.
Why is it a bulldozer can spot a sucker to bury a mile away before the sucker even sees it coming? Willow was a doormat. She believed the best in everyone and wasn’t one to start trouble but the bullies were beginning to pile up.
Her attorney, Tonya, tosses a file on her desk as Willow jumps from the sudden thud.
“Hey Weeps. I need a motion filed this afternoon.”
While her nickname referred to a Weeping Willow Tree, Willow refused to address her cunning attempt at humor.
Instead, she glanced at the file and the motion clipped to the front of the file.
“Motion to Continue?”
“If that’s what it says. It has to go out on the afternoon court run.”
Willow simply smiles but deep inside her, it was anything but rainbows and roses.
Tonya saunters away with a defiance that can be felt without a word being spoken.
Some days the daily stress is unbearable. Fighting off the devils can take a toll.