6. Frederick
6
FREDERICK
“ W ith the money, you can sue Steve! And he said he was a lawyer, so maybe he could find you the best one there is,” Walken shouts, his eyes growing more animated.
He says it with the air of somebody who believes they are the world's foremost authority on litigation. I could use more colleagues like him at the Second Circuit.
Rochelle's forehead crinkles. “What do you know about suing people, Walken?”
“Everybody sues when they’re tricked out of their stuff. I saw it on Lawn and Order.”
“Law and Order,” she says, and I snort trying to hold back a laugh. “Frederick, you can take a seat, too.”
I hover and watch her remove their homework from the closet and kick the door shut.
“Please, sit down,” she says with an exasperated smile as she whisks past me on her way to the kitchen. “I’ll be right back.” She starts walking toward the bedroom in the back.
I sit next to the kids and make a realization. They may be onto something here. Rochelle wants her family’s possessions from her stepfather, and these kids might be the superheroes who can help me change her mind.
“That’s a good show, by the way,” I say to them. “Law and Order. It’s a little different being in a courtroom in real life, but close enough.”
Four hazel eyes turn to me and light up.
“You’ve been in a real courtroom?”
“I have. And you know the judge inside who sits on the big chair higher than everyone else?”
“Yeah!”
“I work for the judge.”
“You work for the judge on TV?” Walken asks. “The one on the show?”
“No, no. That’s just an actor. I work for a real-life one. I’m a lawyer.”
“I want to do that! To put bad guys in jail! I’ll be a cop at night, and then I’ll be a lawyer during the day.”
“When will you sleep, Walken?” Rochelle asks.
“I dunno. In between shifts?”
Walken’s face loses some of the ‘Mr. Cool’ attitude as awe and wonder spreads across his features. “That’s so cool!”
“Yep. I could even show you the judge’s chambers.”
“No way! Can you teach me how to be a lawyer? Do you know any detectives? Have you met any criminals?”
The little boy’s barrage of questions is relentless. He is definitely on the right career path. I consider the best way to answer his question
“Some, yes, and yes.” I tick off my responses and then lean back in the chair, happy to have this advantage.
Rochelle walks back in, changed from the clothes I found her in. She has on faded sweats and an old T-shirt. I’m struck by how stunning she is dressed down with a bare face. Her face looks newly washed and still has a few droplets of water on it.
Walken turns to her as she sits in the armchair across from us. “Did you know that he’s a lawyer, like the ones on TV?”
“He said he doesn’t do all of the TV stuff yet,” his younger sister corrects him.
“I see you have my kids riled up and advocating for you.” She folds her arms.
I flash her an innocent smile and focus on the siblings. “Have you guys heard of a moot court?”
“A moot what?” They ask in unison.
I try to explain in a way they’ll understand.
“It’s something we did in law school to prepare for an argument. Like a pretend court. We had fake judges and everything. And there are moots when lawyers prepare for real trials.”
I have them in a trance. Both faces look like they’ve stepped into Wonderland. Perfect. But the other adult in the room seems to be skeptical.
“Where are you going with this, Frederick?” she asks.
I ignore her. “Would you guys like to try it?”
“That sounds so cool.” Walken throws a fist into the air.
“Can I be in the moot court, too?”
“Sure you can, Sigourney. We’ll all moot together.”
“Um, what exactly are we arguing for or against?” Rochelle’s voice sounds alarmed.
“Yeah, what’s the case?” asks Walken.
I turn to Rochelle and lean forward, speaking in a stage whisper. “Well, I strongly believe you should go ahead with my plan. The kids seem to agree. So, that’s the topic.”
“Uh-huh. And I usually take my life advice from elementary school students. How about you?” Rochelle’s eyes move between the three of us. Her mouth is agape, and she looks mildly scandalized. A small part of me hopes she won’t kick us out.
Both kids run up to her and flank the sides of her chair. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”
Rochelle’s mouth turns into a tight small smile, and she tells us to go ahead. I explain our version of a moot court to the kids then move the couch out of the way. There isn’t much room to be made or anywhere for it to really go since the apartment is so minuscule.
We sit back down on the sofa while I lay down more rules for our very basic moot session.
“So each of us gets to argue our case to Rochelle. Tell her exactly why my idea is so good and what she’s missing out on by not taking me up on it. Who’s up first in the case of Frederick versus Rochelle?”
“Me!” Sigourney jumps up. She clears her throat and paces the area in front of us. Then she spins to face Rochelle. “You need money. Mostly because you’re awesome but also because you could buy some extra nice things for yourself and a grand piano. And you could use help suing Steve, and he knows more lawyers than you. You just know one. He knows a lot. I rest my case.”
Rochelle fights back a smile but nods her head in agreement.
“Next up we have esteemed counselor Walken,” I say.
He stands up and paces the floor. Then he stands to look off into the distance. “This is a complicated case. On one hand, we have a nice lady who’s fighting a battle against an evil stepfather. She needs to get her stuff back. And then we have this guy fighting his family.”
I raise my eyebrows at Rochelle, but her face is impassive.
Walken turns to her and continues. “And I think you guys would be cute together.”
I stand up and clap for both of them. “That was amazing, both of you. Now opposing counsel? What are your arguments?”
She purses her lips and then shakes her head.
“You guys did great, but it’s not enough to convince me. It’s a crazy idea. We don’t know each other. It’s a lie. It would feel wrong to do. I can win against Steve without having to sell my soul by getting a fake fiancée. And I think Frederick can deal with a nagging mother.”
“Wouldn’t you like to play pretend? That’s all it is really, and it’s always fun,” Walken says. I’m starting to like both of these kids more and more.
“Yeah, Rochelle. It’ll be just like playing house. But for grown-ups, I guess. And if you get pretend married to him, we can have more moot courts,” adds his sister.
“Divorce court!” Walken says.
“Maybe not that far. But I know my lawyering skills would definitely improve getting to watch you two.”
The kids are on the edge of their seats now. I feel the same but hold myself back.
Finally, she exhales. “You guys, it’s more complicated than that.”
If nothing else, it will be an adventure. One that could help her solve a huge issue in her life. “We’re killing two birds with one stone, Rochelle, come on. Don’t overthink things.”
She throws daggers at me with her eyes. The children don’t seem to notice.
“It’s like a movie,” Sigourney says.
“I’m sorry, but this isn’t for me. As much as I love you, Walken and Sigourney, I’m not going to do it.”
“Aww.” They whine in unison, and their faces fall at precisely the same time.
I thought they were my secret weapon, but I swore I could see her cracking. I guess it’ll take more to convince her. My brain races to find a different approach. You’re a lawyer for a reason. Think.
Sigourney sighs heavily. “Well, at least we tried.”
My eyes stay trained on Rochelle until she shifts uncomfortably in her chair.
“This isn't a yes. But there are some things I'd like us to discuss privately, to see what it would involve. ” She looks at me and then blinks away.
In my mind, I’m already doing a victory lap because I know we’ve won her over. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement. Who would say no? Not me.
“Totally,” I say. The kids high-five me, then high-five Rochelle.
I’m as excited as they are. I don’t even care if she’ll make the terms harder. At this point, I’ll do anything to show my family how little I care about their demands and that I’m not going to let them force my hand.