Chapter 10

That summer felt as though it passed in a matter of days. Every day when I returned home from work Erica was waiting there for me, with a huge smile, ready to ask me about my day. She would help Mira with the chores, and cooking dinner, and our evenings were spent on the porch swing, sometimes talking about the future, other times just silently holding each other, as the day turned to night. It was a routine we both quickly embraced.

On the fourth of July Lyric cooked out at the garage for all of us, and Jay and Ernie brought their families as well. That night we all sat in the parking lot and watched the fireworks across the river in Omaha.

On Erica’s last weekend in Iowa, I decided to take her camping at nearby Sedge Plains State Park. It featured lots of campsites along the banks of Ioway Lake. I was excited to take her because she had never been camping and had readily agreed to try it. Lyric allowed me to borrow his truck, to better transport all of our camping supplies, plus it had four-wheel drive. We arrived at the park late on Friday afternoon, and I made my way down a rutted gravel road to the east of the lake. After a few minutes I spotted a small grassy lot next to the lake that featured a nondescript wooden post engraved with the number 2.

“Well, here we are,” I said as I shifted the truck into park.

Erica glanced around for several seconds before looking to me with a frown and saying, “Where’s the bathroom?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Is there not a bathroom?” she said looking at me, perplexed.

“It’s camping, Baby. Of course, there isn’t a bathroom.” I replied with a chuckle.

Erica’s eyes grew wide at my response, and she asked, “What if I have to go?”

I rolled my eyes and said, “Then you just cop a squat in the bushes, or behind a tree, or something.”

“Ew, Harm! That’s gross! You mean there’s nowhere to camp with a restroom?”

I heaved a long sigh before saying, “Well, there’s a campground on the other side of the lake that has toilets and showers, if you really want to go there.”

She looked at me in disbelief for a moment and said, “Uh, yeah, I really want to go there.”

With a huff I turned the truck around and headed back in the direction from which we had come. After fifteen minutes we found ourselves at a campsite that featured a picnic table, a gravel area for a tent, and a beautiful view of Ioway Lake. Erica helped me unpack all of our gear and I began to set up the tent. Once that was done, I spread out our two sleeping bags in the bottom of the tent while Erica gathered sticks and wood for a fire. Soon we were sitting next to a crackling campfire, roasting hot dogs at the end of two sticks.

Late in the evening as we sat on a blanket, gazing at the stars, I slipped my arm around Erica as she began to point out the different constellations to me.

“That one that looks like a W is called Cassiopeia. The story goes that Cassiopeia was an ancient queen who bragged about her beauty. As a result, she was tied to a throne and forced to circle the night sky for all to see, for eternity.”

“Where is the Big Dipper?”

“Well,” she said pointing to a different patch of sky, “Its actually called Ursa Major. The big bear. But if you look there you can see the handle and basin of the dipper.”

“So, what’s the story behind it?” I asked.

Erica smiled, looking at me, and said, “The big bear was once the maiden Callisto. Zeus had an affair with Callisto and Zeus’s wife Hera, in her anger over the affair, turned Callisto into a great bear. Callisto’s son Arcas encountered her one day while hunting and was about to kill her, so Zeus flung both of them into the sky to become constellations and to avoid tragedy.”

I sat silently processing this. After a moment I said to Erica, “Imagine if we were thrown into the night sky and turned to stars. We could escape all of our troubles here, and spend eternity together, looking down on the world.”

Erica sighed, and moved closer to me. “Sounds good to me.”

Neither of us spoke for many minutes after that. As I glanced around, I noticed that the campground was all but empty, with only two other occupied sites, situated far from us. Turning my eyes to the lake I smiled as I spotted the green and red lights of a boat; someone was enjoying some late-night fishing.

We sat there enjoying the fire, and the warm summer air, late into the night until Erica said with a yawn, “I’m getting sleepy Harm, you want to turn in?”

Stretching my arms over my head I said, “Sure baby. I might need to check you for ticks though.”

Erica gasped at this, eyes wide, and said, “You think there are ticks out here?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll check you all over just in case,” I said grinning.

Realization dawned upon Erica, and she returned my grin saying, “Well that was probably the least sexy proposition I’ve ever heard, but better safe than sorry.”

With that she grabbed the hem of my shirt, standing up and tugging me towards the tent.

“I might need to check you too.”

***

From somewhere far off I heard Erica harshly whisper, “Harm!”

I felt someone shake me and again Erica’s voice hissed in my ear, “Harm! Wake up!”

I opened my eyes, fighting against the fog of sleep, and looked around. Erica was clinging to me, shaking my arm.

After a moment I mumbled, “What? What is it, Baby?”

“Something is out there!” she whispered again in a frightened tone.

Still confused I said, “Out where?”

Erica uttered a harsh “Shh!” in my ear and said, “Outside the tent!”

I propped myself up on my elbows and listened. From beyond the tent flaps, I only heard the sound of nature; frogs chirping and cicadas singing their familiar wish, wish, wish!

After a moment I said, “Baby, I don’t hear anything. Just some bugs and frogs. Let’s go back to sleep.”

Annoyed, Erica responded, “I heard something scratching around, and getting into our stuff.”

After a couple of seconds her eyes grew wide and teary, as she pulled the sleeping bag tightly around herself, saying, “Harm, what if it’s a bear!”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever it is, it’s not a bear. I’m not even sure we have bears in this area.”

To be honest I was more concerned about it being a drifter with a hook for one hand and a machete in the other as Erica’s fear began to infect me as well. Suddenly from beyond our tent I heard a loud rattling followed by various scratching sounds. Erica let out a frightened cry and the sounds abruptly stopped. I reached for my clothes and began to dress in the cramped space.

Erica grabbed my arm and again whispered, saying, “What are you doing?! Don’t go out there!”

“Someone has to run whatever it is off, or we are going to have a mess everywhere in the morning.”

“Please be careful Harm!” she pleaded.

Slowly I unzipped the tent flap and looked out, gritting my teeth. The darkness beyond the tent felt thick and oppressive, almost as if I could feel it upon my skin.

Looking back at Erica I said, “Hand me the lantern.”

Without speaking she passed me the small lamp and I turned it on, pointing it into the darkness beyond our tent. As I swept the beam of light back and forth, I passed the area where I had set our leftover food and discovered a mother possum and her babies merrily feasting on the remains of the pack of hotdogs which I had brought with us. They had already finished the last of the buns, leaving the shredded plastic bag behind. I couldn’t help laughing at the scene before me as I stepped from the tent. The mother possum looked at me warily as I shone the lantern upon her.

From behind me I heard Erica fearfully say, “What’s out there, Harm?”

With a chuckle I turned around to see her peeping out from between the tent flaps, wrapped in one of the sleeping bags.

Pointing I said, “It’s just a possum and some babies. Here I’ll run them off, so they don’t get into anything else.”

“Oh Harm, be careful!” she said in a quavering voice.

I made a dismissive sound and said, “It’s just a possum, Baby. It will probably fall over and play dead when I walk up.”

As I approached the possum, however, she bared her teeth at me and emitted a loud hiss. It shocked me so much that I stumbled backwards, uttering a loud, “Oh shit!”

Erica began yelling at me to get back in the tent and I practically fell back into it as I rushed to get away from the angry creature and her brood of children.

“Quick! Zip up the tent before it gets us both!” Erica screamed, adding, “Just a possum huh?”

“Well how was I supposed to know it was pissed off?” I responded.

We were both silent for several seconds before Erica began to laugh. I laughed as well, as we both slowly accepted the absurdity of our situation.

After a few moments I managed to say, “Ok, so maybe camping wasn’t such a good idea.”

Erica began to laugh anew and said, “You think?”

***

I could see Erica through the thick plexiglass window as I approached the metal stool which was bolted to the floor on my side of the booth. I paused for a moment, confused, looking down. I noticed that I was wearing a beige jump suit with white, slip on tennis shoes. Erica’s face was marred with anger, tears rolling down her one cheek. As I walked towards the window I could see a telephone on my side, and one on Erica’s. For some reason I wasn’t getting any closer to the booth, as I continued to walk. Suddenly Erica shook her head at me with a look of disgust and rose from her seat, turning her back to me and walking towards the exit on her side of the visiting area.

“Erica?” I said quietly but I knew she couldn’t hear me.

From behind me a voice said, “Okay Nowak, times up.”

“No wait!” I shouted, but I felt a firm hand on my shoulder pulling me back towards where I had come from.

“It’s too late Nowak. Far too late. This is home now,” the voice said.

As she disappeared through a door on the other side of the glass I screamed, “Erica!”

I jolted awake, my scream seeming to still reverberate off the walls of my bedroom. I felt Erica’s familiar hands caressing my cheeks as she hovered over me, a look of shocked concern on her face.

“I’m here Harm. You’re okay. It was just a nightmare.”

Glancing around, I rubbed my eyes with a thumb and index finger, as the dream slowly began to fade. I laid there quietly as Erica lightly stroked my cheek before finally asking, “What time is it?”

Erica turned towards my clock radio and said, “5:30 in the morning.”

Nothing else was said for many minutes until Erica broke the silence and asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”

I simply shook my head without speaking. Today was the day Erica was supposed to return to Minnesota and I had a deep, jangly sense of foreboding that it would be the last time I saw her for many years, if not forever.

After breakfast that morning Erica gathered her belongings and packed them into her car with my assistance. After one last check of the house for anything she might have forgotten Erica and I walked back outside to her car. The day was already sweltering, and the bright summer sun felt hot against my skin.

Looking at me Erica smiled half-heartedly and said, “Well I guess this is it.”

“Yep,” I responded. “I’m probably not going to see you before my trial starts, but while I’m in Duluth I’ll come see you as much as possible.”

“Are you going to be okay?” She asked tentatively.

I looked away from her and shook my head. “I don’t know. I have a bad feeling that this trial isn’t going to go the way we’re hoping for. I doubt I’m going to be exonerated, and Harold seems to think I could be facing a minimum of three years. It could end up being ten. Erica, what’s going to happen to us if I go to prison for ten years?”

Erica wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a tight hug. “I don’t want you to worry about that, Harm. I’m not going anywhere, and I’ll wait as long as I have to for us to be back together.”

I smiled at this, and said, “Okay.”

After a few minutes more I found myself watching Erica’s car drive away down the dusty driveway. When she reached the end of the driveway, I saw her arm appear out of the driver’s window making the ASL sign for “I love you.” I returned her gesture and smiled again, as she turned out into the road and drove away. Sighing, I turned back to the house and slowly started walking toward the front porch. I needed to think, as much as I didn’t want to.

As I eased myself down onto the porch swing a frown spread across my lips as I began to consider all of the scenarios which could occur in just one month when my trial began. As much as I tried, I still could not picture a positive outcome. In spite of Erica’s words of encouragement, I couldn’t shake the dream I had of her walking away, as I rotted away in prison.

A wild thought occurred to me. I could go to Duluth and convince Erica to leave with me and finding someplace we could both hide and spend the rest of our lives together. Almost as quickly as it popped into my head though, I felt a pang of guilt at how selfish I was being. I could never take Erica away from pursuing her dream of being a doctor. I was just going to have to ride this out and see where it took me.

***

Mid-September arrived with little fanfare as the summer heat gave way to cool autumn air. Lyric and I had a lengthy discussion about my possible incarceration, and he assured me that all of my things would remain at his house, and that I would be welcome to return there upon my release. Strangely I found myself at peace with the situation, having accepted that I could do nothing to change my circumstances now. So, it came as a surprise when I received a call from Harold Olson a few days before the date of my trial.

“There have been some developments with your case Harmony, and the prosecution wants to meet with us in two days. Can you meet me at the courthouse around twelve next Monday?”

“Of course,” I said. “What is this about?”

“Well,” he continued, “The DA wants to cut a deal with you.”

It felt as though an electric shock passed through me at his words. All I could manage to say was, “A deal?”

“Yes. I was going to wait to tell you about all of this in person, but I suppose now is as good a time as any. It seems your girlfriend really wants to keep you out of prison. She called me last week with a list of no less than eight other girls who are now willing to testify that Joey harassed them, or even outright assaulted them. I contacted all of them and they all assured me that they would be willing to take the stand in your defense. Eight, Harmony.”

His words filled me with utter amazement. “Erica did all of this?”

“She sure did. But it gets better. It seems Mr. Falcone has had another brush with the law, and its rather serious this time. According to the police report he entered a young woman’s dorm room on campus at Fulton-Sikes and was filling a bag with her underwear when she returned from class. There was a struggle as she tried to get her belongings back from him and he managed to scratch her face. He left but she called the police, and he was picked up for assault, ironically, breaking and entering, and several other charges. It seems his father is done with him as well because he’s still sitting in jail. I assure you I’ll ask him about all of this thoroughly if we go to trial.”

“So, what does all of this mean for me?” I asked.

“Well, as I said, the assistant DA says she has a plea agreement to offer you. That could be a good thing, or a bad thing. It all depends on the cards she is holding. Personally, I think it’s going to work in your favor. I will say this though, if the felony charge is still on the table, then I would recommend you decline the deal and that we go to trial.”

“Monday you said?”

“Yes, around noon at the courthouse. I’ll meet you out front.”

“Okay, I’ll be there,” I said, before hanging up the phone.

Eight women willing to testify, I thought. I wonder how Erica managed to convince them.

Picking the phone back up I dialed Erica’s number, but no one answered. I continued to try her phone throughout the weekend, but to no avail. It was unusual for her not to answer, but with all of the other things going on I simply shrugged it off. Excitedly I rushed to tell Lyric and Mira about these new developments. They both agreed that it sounded promising.

As planned, I arrived at the courthouse in Duluth at twelve PM the following Monday. It had been a long drive through the early morning hours to get there and I was nervous and tired, a nauseous pit weighing heavily on my stomach.

I turned to the reflective windows next to the courthouse entrance for a final inspection of my appearance. I had chosen to wear the outfit I had purchased for court. It consisted of a royal blue dress shirt, black slacks, my wingtip shoes which I had worn to prom so many years before, and a gold tie featuring a geometric pattern. As I turned my head this way and that I noticed that the long-jagged scar along the left side of my scalp was quite visible. It brought back a flood of memories, of the day when Erica and I were still teenagers and had faced down the full wrath of a tornado. Truthfully, I would have rather faced that tornado all over again instead of what might be awaiting me inside of the courthouse.

Around twelve-fifteen Harold came rushing up the stairs towards me, out of breath. Stopping in front of me he said, “I’m so sorry I’m late Harmony, I was on the phone with your sister and lost track of time.”

I looked at him curiously before saying, “Mel? Is everything okay?”

With a grin he said, “Oh yeah, everything’s fine. She just wanted to talk.”

I flashed him a doubtful expression before simply replying, “Okay.”

“Anyhow, let’s go in and sit down, I’ll explain what you can expect today.”

We made our way to a conference room on the ground floor, as per the DA’s instructions and seated ourselves in two chairs. Harold walked me through the process of negotiating a plea agreement, reminding me that going to trial was a risk, that could result in years of prison time.

Around one o’clock a woman appeared at the door to the conference room who was sharply dressed in a navy-blue business suit. She had a natural beauty and grace that I noticed right away. Her complexion was a tawny shade of brown and her hair was arranged in a tight collection of long curls.

To my surprise she smiled and extended a hand to me saying, “You must me Ms. Nowak. I’m Assistant District Attorney Tamarie Brown.”

I stood and shook her hand, replying, “Yes, Harmony Nowak.”

Harold stood as well and introduced himself as my legal counsel. Making her way to the head of the table Tamarie sat down and placed several sheets of paper on the table. Clearing her throat, she began to speak.

“Ms. Nowak,” she began.

“Please, call me Harmony,” I interjected.

Beginning again she said, “Ok, Harmony. When I was first assigned your case, I felt like it was pretty much open and shut. It seemed straight forward. However, in light of the developments of the past week, I now find myself in a difficult position. You see my job is to see that justice is served when the law has been broken. When this was simply about your girlfriend, it was a case of revenge and vigilantism, which I could easily argue in court. However, given the recent actions of the victim things have become a little less clear cut now. Your assault…”

Harold spoke up at this point and said, “Alleged assault.”

Tamarie looked at him and smiled for a moment before continuing. “Ok, alleged assault of Mr. Falcone could be viewed in a sympathetic light, which would in no way serve justice. Which is why I’m here to offer you a plea agreement. In exchange for pleading guilty to simple assault, which is a misdemeanor rather than a felony, you will serve two years of probation.”

I was speechless. In a matter of minutes, I had gone from facing as much as ten years in prison to no jail time at all. I looked at Harold and he simply replied, “The choice is yours Harmony. I can’t tell you what to do. I can say this, it’s an exceptionally good offer. If we go to trial your only possibilities will be exoneration or a lengthy prison sentence. As I said at the beginning of all of this, I will do all I can to beat the charges, but there are no guarantees.”

Tamarie looked at me and said, “Harmony may I ask you a question?”

“Of course,” I said.

“What actually happened that night?”

Before I could respond Harold held up his hand and said, “Don’t answer that.”

Torn, I looked between him and Tamarie Brown for a moment. She turned to me and said, “You don’t have to answer that, but regardless the offer stands.”

For so long I had been keeping the details of the night to myself, having only shared them with Erica. I wanted to be free of this burden finally. I looked at Harold and said, “It’s okay.”

“I strongly urge you not to answer that question,” he said with a serious look.

“Really, it’s okay Harold.”

I looked at Tamarie and slowly related the whole story to her. When I was finished, she said, “It sounds to me like you were taken advantage of. Obviously, I can’t just drop the charges against you. What you did was indeed assault. But I think this plea agreement will serve in the best interest of justice, for all parties. Would you like a few minutes to consider it, or to discuss it with your lawyer?”

I simply shook my head and looking at Harold said, “I think I’m going to take the deal. I’m ready for this to be over with.”

Harold nodded, and said, “I think that’s a good plan Harmony.”

Tamarie smiled again and said, “Okay, I have some paperwork for you to sign. We will present your plea agreement to the judge on Thursday.”

Closing my eyes, I slowly exhaled with a sigh. The long nightmare of the past six months was over.

On Thursday when I stood before the judge, I entered a plea of guilty to the charge of misdemeanor assault. As promised the judge accepted the plea agreement and I was sentenced to two years’ probation.

Harold and I walked from the courtroom and shaking my hand he asked, “So what’s next for you Harmony?”

I smiled and shook my head. “Home, I guess. I have to contact my probation officer and see how all of this works now.”

Harold nodded and said, “Well, the worst is over now. I think you will do well. Just keep out of trouble.”

“I will,” I replied and then clearing my throat I said, “So I guess there is the matter of your fee.”

Harold chuckled at this and patted me on the back. “Don’t worry about it. I’m required by law to perform a certain number of pro bono cases a year. Looks like yours will be one of them.”

“You’re…You mean you’re not charging me?”

“Nope. Just take care of yourself and learn from all of this. And thank Erica. All of this was a direct result of her efforts to help.”

I grinned broadly at the mention of Erica. “That’s where I’m heading next. I haven’t heard from her in a week, so I figured I would go track her down before heading home.”

“She’s an amazing young woman, Harmony. I suggest you hold tightly to her.”

“What about you?” I asked.

Harold assumed a thoughtful look and said, “Well it’s back to Saint Paul for me. There’s always new cases to work on. I’m going to see Melody down in Topeka as well. I finally convinced her to let me buy her dinner.”

“Really?” I said, surprised. “Good luck with that, I guess?”

Harold laughed and said, “Thank you.”

“Well, I guess this is it. I’m off to the college. Thank you again Harold, for everything.”

“You’re welcome, Harmony. Best of luck.”

***

Thirty minutes later I pulled into a parking spot in front of Larson Hall and was greeted by a familiar sight. I felt that delicious electric sensation along my spine as I approached Erica who was sitting in a warm patch of sun on the grass in front of the building dutifully taking notes from a textbook. She was wearing a pair of track shorts and a tank top, and her hair was now a glossy shade of blonde again, the little braids that had been framing her face gone.

Quietly I approached her before loudly saying, “Well hey there good looking, can I sit with you?”

Looking up grinning her beautiful smile that I loved so much Erica said, “Better not, my girlfriend will kick your ass.”

I couldn’t help laughing at this as she rose from the grass and threw her arms around me, hugging me tightly.

I returned her embrace, kissing the top of her head. We stood there holding onto one another for several minutes, neither of us speaking. Finally, Erica said, “So I take it things went well, since you are here?”

“Thanks to you. I was only charged with a misdemeanor and got probation.” Smoothing her hair, I then asked, “Where have you been baby? I’ve been calling for days.”

“I know, I just didn’t want to jinx anything before your meeting by saying something wrong. I’m here now though. So, you will be happy to know that Remi did not return this semester. Valerie said she’s gone back to Quebec to stay. Joey is banned from campus and is still in jail. Everyone is talking about what he did.”

“I bet,” I replied. “So how did you convince all of those other women to come forward?”

Erica rolled her eyes and huffed. “It wasn’t easy, let me tell you. Valerie and Jesse knew a couple of them, and I told them about what he had done to me, and what had happened to you, so they agreed to help, and from there the five of us tracked down six more girls. Tabitha Manus, who he used to smack on the butt all the time, actually plans on pressing charges now.”

“Good for her!” I replied, and then said, “You took the red out of your hair, and undid your braids.”

Erica nodded, saying, “It was just a reminder of Remi, and I really don’t feel like being reminded of her.”

We were quiet for a few moments, and I took her hands in mine, looking into her eyes and smiling. The events of the previous few months had left me tired, both mentally and emotionally, and the judge’s verdict had felt as though a huge burden had been lifted from me.

After several minutes Erica tilted her face towards mine and gave me a tender kiss, after which she asked, “So, now that all of this is over, what do you think is next?”

Looking into the deep blue Autumn sky I said, “I have no clue, but as long as you’re with me through it, I don’t care.”