5.3
“If it settles, it could be weeks. If it goes to trial, it could even be years, if you include the appeals process.”
Ann looked sober. “We don’t have years to get these bills paid. We haven’t wanted to file bankruptcy, but I guess we’ll have to. Then all this is moot, anyway.”
“It’s not moot, because you’ll stop the insurance company from doing this to other people, and you’ll receive punitive damages. And bankruptcy may not be good for your case if you decide to litigate, anyway. The bankruptcy trustee may be able to control the litigation. In the meantime, you could try and level with the creditor, or give them liens against the case. That’s another thing the attorney can advise you on.”
Ann looked thoughtful a moment. Then Julia ventured, “How is Jim?”
Ann shook her head. “It won’t be much longer now.”
“I’m so sorry.”
There didn’t seem to be anything left to discuss, so Julia said, “I’ll call you as soon as I have anything to tell.”
Ann nodded, but could not quite bring herself to say more. Julia turned to go.
A few days later, when Julia’s phone rang, the caller ID identified the attorney that Holly had referred her to. Julia scrambled to answer it as quickly as possible.
“This is Julia.”
“Hi. Julia Beale?”
“Yes.”
“This is Joel Robinson.”
“Yes, I know. How are you?”
“Great. Hey, listen, I’m sitting here in front of this remarkable brief you sent me.”
Julia felt her pulse racing. “I hope you mean remarkable in a good way.”
“Yes, though not good for the insurance company. This company must be either really stupid or… no, I think that about sums it up. They’re just really stupid.”
Julia laughed.
“I wonder what these people were thinking, or if they were even thinking at all. I thought we’d seen the last of these kinds of cases.”
“Oh, really?”
“Well, yeah. This law has been in place for two years now. And now there’s a federal statute that covers this, as well. So these people are either really ignorant, or really greedy.”
“So you agree they have a case.”
“Oh, I think this might be a slam dunk. I’m just eager to discover what their reasoning was on this one.”
“So you’ll take the case, then?”
“Well, yeah, if they’ll let me.”
“You mean the family? Yes, I’ll let them know you’re willing to take it, but I’m not sure whether or not they’re ready to go forward with it.”
“Well, they ought to be. If they are, put them in touch with me in the next day or so.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And good work on this. You should apply here for a paralegal position.”
Julia steeled herself. “Thank you; that’s very flattering. But right now I’m looking into some other opportunities.”
“Okay; well, let me know if you change your mind. And good luck.”
“Thank you. And thanks again for being willing to take the case.”
“Are you kidding? Easy money.”
After hanging up with Joel, the first call that Julia made was to Ann Quinn.
“I have some good news for you. The attorney is going to take your case.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line. “I guess that is good news. Though I’m beginning to wonder if I want to drag Jim through this process, or just focus on making his last days comfortable for him.”
Julia considered a moment. “That’s a tough call. But I do think you should follow through with it in the long run. Holding the insurance company accountable, for one thing. ”
“Yes, that’s the main thing, for us. I wouldn’t feel good about it if I heard they’d done the same thing to someone else, and we might have stopped it.”
“Do you still have the name and contact information of the attorney?”
“Yes, I do.”
“You might consider meeting with him at least once, just for an initial consultation. You don’t have to follow through with anything if you don’t want to.”
Ann considered. “I think I could find time for an initial consultation. I might hold off on the rest for a while. At least until everything is all over. It won’t be much longer now, anyway.”
“I’m so sorry. May I ask, what is the time frame they’ve given you at this point?”
“Hard to predict, but it’s weeks, at most.”
“Well, you have my number if you need anything.”
“Yes. And thank you for the work you’ve done. I really do thank you for trying to help. But Julia… I can’t ever forgive you for what you did to Will. I was really afraid for him for a couple of years. You very nearly broke him. But you didn’t. He moved on.”
Julia felt a crushing sensation in her chest. “Goodbye, Mrs. Quinn.”
She hung up the phone.
A few weeks later, while the kids were in school on her day off, Julia worked in the living room on her new saltwater tank. While pouring in the salt mix, she heard her mother coming in with a load of groceries.
“Oh,” her mother said upon reaching the top of the staircase. “I didn’t know you were here today.”
“It’s my day off,” said Julia, relieving her mother of a bag of groceries and following her into the kitchen. “I didn’t know you were out running errands, or I might have asked you to run by the fish store for me. I need a new hydrometer for the aquarium I’m setting up in the living room. ”
“I wasn’t expecting to run errands, but I need to make a casserole for Ann Quinn. Jim passed away today.”
Julia put her hand to her mouth. “So soon.”
Her mother looked as if she might choke up. “Everyone knew it would be quick, but I don’t think we realized just how quick.”
Julia tried to think. “Are you taking the casserole to the Quinns yourself?”
“Yes. But Julia, I don’t think you’d better come. Everyone will be there.”
By everyone, Julia knew she meant William.
If she had not made the choices she had, she could be there now. Part of the family. A hand for him to hold, a shoulder for him to lean on. Instead, she was excluded even from paying her respects.
Julia hid her face from her mother by putting away some cans of soup. Her mother watched her for a moment, and changed the subject.
“I didn’t know you were setting up a new aquarium. Can I see?”
“There’s nothing to see yet. I’m just getting started.”
Her mother filled a bowl with oranges. “It looks like you’re settling in for the long haul.”
“Hm?”
“Setting up a new aquarium. Looks like you’re planning on being here for a while.”
Julia placed the bread into the bread box, and avoided her gaze.
“You know we can’t take care of that thing ourselves once you move out. I don’t imagine you’d be wasting your time setting that thing up if it was only for a short stay.”
Julia dropped some onions into the wire basket that hung from the ceiling in the corner of the kitchen. “The truth is, Mom, I’ve just about made up my mind what I’m going to do. I don’t think I’ll go back to work as a paralegal at all. I don’t even think I’ll leave San Francisco.”
“Oh? What will you do?”
“I think I’ll revive the old aquarium business.”
“You mean Rob and Tim’s business?”
Julia gave her a wry smile. “Do you think anyone will remember?”
“I don’t know. But I know two people who’d be smiling down on you from somewhere.” Her mother hesitated a moment. “Is that why you’re working on your aquarium right now?”
“That, and I really am going to stick around here for the time being. With you and Dad’s blessing, I’d like to put off getting a new place. I want to focus my energy on the business and see how that goes first.”
“Don’t get me wrong – I’m delighted to have you and the kids here. But I thought you would want your own space. I didn’t think sharing a bedroom with Paige was in your long-term plans.”
“Long-term, no. But mid-range, yes.”
Her mother smirked. “Paige will be thrilled about that.”
“I think it’ll soften the blow when I explain why.”
“Yes, that’s probably the only explanation you could give her that would soften the blow.” Her mother reached out and squeezed Julia’s hand. “Yet another family enterprise. I can’t believe you’re finally doing it.”
“Me neither,” admitted Julia. “But the stars kept aligning for me. Persistent little buggers.”
A couple of months later, the phone rang in the house as Julia gathered up her bag for the day. She answered it in the kitchen.
“Hello?”
After a brief pause, a familiar husky voice said, “Julia?”
“This is she.”
“Julia, this is Ann Quinn.”
“Oh.” Julia went to sit at the kitchen table. “Hi, Mrs. Quinn.”
“Ann, please.”
Startled, Julia said, “Okay.”
Julia could hear the bustle of the processing plant in the background. “Joel Robinson said you’d be interested to hear the update on our case,” Ann continued finally.
“Yes, I’d be very interested.”
“The insurance company is settling.”
Julia beamed. “That’s such great news. Can I ask, how did they get them to settle? ”
“During the discovery process, they found a couple of memos. Let me see here; I’ve written it all down somewhere.” Julia heard papers shuffling, and after a moment, Ann said, “Yes, here it is. They uncovered a memo from an insurance commissioner to the health insurance company, saying that the laws governing rescission had changed. Then they uncovered a letter from the claims adjustor to the president of the company regarding Jim’s specific case. In the letter, the adjustor asks the president if he should still rescind the policy.”
Julia’s eyes widened. “Wow.”
“Joel said it showed the company engaged in – what did he call it? Let me see… ‘Malice, oppression, and fraud.’”
Julia felt giddy with excitement. “I hope you’re getting a nice settlement from the company.”
“Enough to reimburse us for the bills we paid and pay the attorney’s fees, with something left over so that the kids won’t have to pay my bills when I get too decrepit to keep working. And maybe put a little something aside for the kids when I go belly up.”
Julia grinned and dared to say, “That’ll never happen. You’re too stubborn to go belly up.”
Ann laughed. “Well, I may not have much say in that. I do have emphysema. Besides, it’s the Quinns who are the stubborn ones, not the Cardones.”
Julia could not wipe the smile from her face. After a moment, she said, “Congratulations.”
“Thanks. And Julia… when I came back to work after Jim passed on, I found the office in much better shape than I left it. When I went on leave, the paperwork was already out of control. Since Jim got sick and went on leave, I hadn’t had time to do much with it. And I knew that with Will and Kelly in charge, it could only have gotten worse. So imagine my shock when I came back and found that the pile had actually shrunk.”
A long pause ensued, neither of them wishing to be the first to say something. Finally, Ann continued, “Kelly says the paperwork that I did see that morning had piled up since you put everything in order for them.”
“I’m glad I could help in some small way. ”
“It hasn’t been small. Thanks for getting the ball rolling on all this. I’m sorry for how rude I was before.”
“It’s okay. I understand.”
After they hung up, Julia sat for as long as she dared at the kitchen table. That might be the last time she would interact with Ann. Which meant it was probably the last time she would interact with any of the family. Any of them.
It seemed impossible that she should just never speak to him again. That maybe she should never even see him again. A gaping chasm of time stretched before her, and it just seemed so vacant and so wrong and so impossible.
But soon, she glanced at the clock and went to gather up her bag. Pulled on her sweater, hat, and scarf, and left the house.
She drove across the city to the Castro and parked near the business district. Walked to the storefront, and gazed up at the sign that said “Castro Aquarium Service – Coming Soon.” Put the key in the front door, and turned it.
On a Friday evening in early May, as Julia hung streamers from the dining room ceiling, the phone rang in the house. She got down from the ladder and went to answer it in the kitchen.
“Julia.”
She instantly recognized the husky voice. “Hi, Ann.”
“I just wanted to see if you were home. I’m sending something over for you.”
Julia felt embarrassed, imagining a gift basket of some kind to thank her for the work she had done on the case. She couldn’t think of a way to protest without sounding presumptuous, so she said, “I’m getting ready for a birthday party tomorrow, so it may take a minute before I can answer the door.”
“Okay. I’ll let them know.”
After they hung up, Julia returned to the dining room and climbed back on the ladder. After a while, the front doorbell rang. Julia finished pinning the banner on the wall, then climbed down the ladder and went to answer the door. When she opened it, she had to catch herself on the door jamb.
Julia’s field of vision reeled, and she couldn’t breathe. It occurred to her that she might actually be losing her mind. At the look on her face, William said, “I know what you did for my family.”
Her voice managed to come out in a croak. “How?”
“I went with my mom to the attorney’s office to receive the check from the settlement. The attorney mentioned the e-mail you sent to him, writing up the case. He didn’t know it was supposed to be a secret.”
She held the door open. “Would you like to come inside?” He hesitated, and she added, “My dad’s at work, and my mom’s out with a group of friends from church.”
He stepped then into the house, his hands in his jacket pockets. She led him upstairs to the dining room and pulled out a chair for him.
He looked around the room, and spotted the party decorations.
“You’re busy. I’ll let you go.”
“No,” she said firmly. There was no way in hell she was going to let him back out that door. “The party isn’t until tomorrow.”
He looked a bit startled by her tone, but complied, taking a seat in the chair. She took another seat across the table from him. William frowned down at his hands folded on the tabletop. She noticed his hairline was starting to recede from his temples a bit. The only sounds came from the in-law unit, where Robert pestered Paige while she worked on her aquarium.
Finally, he said, “I wanted to thank you.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“Yes, it is. After we left the attorney’s office, my mother told me everything.”
Everything? “What did she tell you?”
“She told me how you had done all the research and came to her with it. How you found the attorney, and wrote up the case.”
He lifted his eyes now to her face. Those same blue eyes; the same solemn gaze as ever. It moved her exquisitely. He held them there for what felt like an eternity, saying nothing, just looking. The expression softened. The creases in his forehead deepened .
“I’m trying to understand,” he said quietly.
At that moment, the door to the in-law unit squeaked open downstairs, and Paige barked, “Get out of here, before you break the fish tank with that stupid hook!”
Robert bounded upstairs, wearing the pirate costume Julia had made him, and stopped short when he saw the unfamiliar visitor.
“Arrrrgh! Who goes there?” he demanded, shaking his pirate hook at William.
William looked startled, and Julia knew that Ann hadn’t told him. He had no idea that she had a second child, a son.
“This is William,” replied Julia. She turned to William and struggled to steady her voice. “This is my son, Robert.”
Robert turned to William, the pirate hat askew on his head. “Arrrrre ye coming to me party tomorrow, matey?”
William looked uncomfortable receiving an invitation to a birthday party from the son of his ex-fiancée and her husband. Julia watched Robert pull the wayward pirate hat from his rumpled blond hair. Watched Robert’s grave, pale blue eyes gazing at William.
Watched William’s world spin.
Watched him look up at the banner on the wall that said, “Happy 5 th Birthday, Robert.” Watched him doing the math, counting backward five years. Counting back again nine months from there. Turning to her with eyes as wide as any she had ever seen in his face, looking to her for confirmation.
She sprang to her feet and bundled Robert back downstairs. “Paige! Come get your brother and take him outside.”
From the in-law unit, Paige shouted, “No, Mom; he’s getting on my nerves!”
Julia stepped down the stairs a bit more. “Paige, come get Robert right now, or you’ll spend the rest of the day in your room!”
Her sharp tone finally summoned Paige to the bottom of the stairs. “Jesus,” she muttered, seizing Robert’s hand and leading him outside.
Once Julia was sure they were safely outside, she returned to the dining room, shaking from head to toe. William sat frozen with his elbows on his thighs, his hands covering his mouth and nose. Julia had never seen a person so shocked in her entire life .
She resumed her seat across from him and waited for him to speak, to react in some way. He sat there like that for a full two or three minutes.
“Can I get you a glass of water?” Julia offered gently. “Something stronger?”
Slowly, he took his hands from his face. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want you to feel obligated to me. I knew how angry you were.”
He frowned. “How could you seriously have thought it was better not to tell me?”
Julia’s stomach quivered. “You told me never to come back. That you would never believe another word I said.”
“But this ? It was easy enough to prove.”
“You were so angry with me.”
“I was angry because I was hurt. But did you seriously think I wouldn’t have set all of that aside in a heartbeat if I had known that we were going to have a baby together?”
Julia’s pulse raced so quickly that she really worried she might faint.
“I missed the chance to be there when he was born,” he persisted, increasingly agitated. “To see him when he was a baby. To teach him about things, and watch him grow. I’ll never get that back. He may be the only child I ever have. How could you really believe that’s what I would have preferred?”
Impulsively, Julia reached across the table and touched his hand. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I was so confused. I know you don’t know all of the stress I was under, but I swear, it was impossible to think clearly. Once I started feeling better, I began to realize that maybe it wasn’t right to keep this from you, but by then I worried it was too late. The more time that went by, the harder it became to face you and admit the secret I had kept. Kevin agreed to raise him. As sort of a penance, I suppose.”
William looked alarmed. “Who else knows, besides him?”
“It’s pretty much an open secret in my family. You saw him. Can it really be ignored?” She hesitated. “Your mom knows.”
He looked shocked again. “My mom ?”
“She saw him once. In the grocery store. Didn’t even have to look twice. ”
He frowned. “Why didn’t she tell me?”
“She had a lot of reasons of her own not to tell you. We spoke about it, sort of, when I told her about my research and the attorney I had found to help her. Mainly, she was trying to protect you.”
“Protect me? From what?”
“She said you had a good and loyal heart, and she’d be damned if she’d let me anywhere near it again. I pretty well memorized those words, they stung so much. And then another time, she said she really worried about you for a while after we broke up, and she could never forgive me. She must have been really afraid of what would happen to you if you had any contact with me. That’s the only reason I can think of why she wouldn’t even tell you about your own son; her own grandson.”
He seemed to consider something for a long time. “She sent me over here. She practically shoved me out the front door. To thank you, she said.” After another moment’s contemplation, he added, “She insisted I come with her to the attorney’s office. I didn’t understand why.”
They listened to the tick-tock of the pendulum clock on the mantelpiece. Quietly, Julia said, “He’s incredibly bright and imaginative, but very serious. He already has a beautiful singing voice and a talent for music, and he certainly couldn’t have gotten those from me or Kevin. And he loves anything to do with boats.”
He covered his mouth and nose again with his hands, and really looked as if he might cry.
“Come to the party tomorrow,” she suggested. “It starts at eleven.”
He swallowed hard, considered for a moment. “Tomorrow is Saturday; we have excursions. And I don’t want to be a distraction.” Her heart sank, until he added, “But I’d like to come over afterward, if I can.”
At that moment, Alison burst into the house with all her noise, already talking non-stop to Julia even though they couldn’t even see each other yet.
“I hope your kid appreciates this pirate ship cake because you have no idea how many times it nearly turned into a life raft on the way over here. I was between two homeless guys on Muni who were each arguing with the voices inside their head, and they each thought the other guy was really cursing at them. I had nowhere to move to; I was sure the cake and I would both get squashed flat before I made it halfway here. I was calculating all the different ways I could use a cake as a weapon.”
Julia tried to head her off, but once Alison started moving, inertia rendered her unstoppable. Not to mention her mouth would not quit long enough for Julia to get a word in edgewise. Alison barreled upstairs and into the living room like a ten ton truck, but both she and her mouth stopped flat when she saw William sitting there at the dining table.
“William! Long time no see! Now let me see, where did I put the candles?” She shot one quizzical look at Julia before dashing into the kitchen.
Julia followed her. As soon as she came in, Alison snatched her by the arms and whispered fiercely, “What the hell?”
“Help,” implored Julia.
“What exactly am I helping with?”
“Go outside and warn Paige. Keep him here while I make dinner.”