Chapter 42 Bella Does Leno
“Hap-py Birth-day to you…” Matt joined in the singing.
They were in Nicholas’s and Bradley’s dining room.
The newly christened Robert stood at the head of the table, a Happy Birthday banner taped to the wall behind him, a cake before him.
The guests—Matt and the eight other members of the GM; Garland; and, of course, the hosts, were fanned out facing the birthday boy.
“Hap-py Ze-ro-th Birth-day, Paul Ro-bert Fi-scher! Hap-py Ze-ro-th Birth-day to you!”
Clapping and cheering from the guests.
Matt sipped merlot, absorbing the positive energy in the room.
He had never seen Pa—Robert so happy. It went beyond that, he realized.
He’d never seen the GM members so relaxed and happy either—giddy almost. It was as if all their interactions over the last year had been clouded by a malignant menace.
Colton Langley was gone.
Mike Huebsch? Officially off in search of greener pastures, but Matt knew the truth.
Only one member of the Unholy Trinity remained: Dean Smith.
It had been the dean, acting solely on Colton’s accusations, who had summoned Adam to his office last September and hurled the words SODOMITE and ABOMINATION against him.
And then, the dean had talked about how ashamed of their son Adam’s parents would be. The guy had practically handed Adam the razor blade and told him to do the “honorable thing.”
Yeah, his turn was next.
“To Bobby Fischer, chess master!”
Everyone clinked glasses, cups, or tumblers, and toasted Robert’s new name.
“To Garland Stone-Dancer, best lawyer ever!”
More clinking, more drinking.
Adam should have been there celebrating with them, almost certainly would have been had Dean Smith not forced him to drop out. Matt felt the ache of his absence as if he were staring at a photo with an Adam-sized hole in it, the kind with a phantom hand on someone’s shoulder.
Adam was never far from Matt’s thoughts. They still had not consummated their relationship. Matt had only seen him twice since New Year’s Day. The first time Matt had driven to Ponca City, and Adam had sneaked out of his house long enough for them to walk in some park and steal a few kisses.
The other time, they’d contrived to meet in Stillwater and eat at Eskimo Joe’s. PG-level petting in Matt’s Jeep afterward. Matt had driven home with blue balls.
“Stuffed mushroom?” Bradley held out a tray. “They’re made with panko and pecorino.”
Matt didn’t know what either of those things was but smiled and took a bite. Savory juices squirted into his mouth. His tastebuds thanked him.
He snagged another mushroom before Bradley got away.
William tapped a spoon against his glass, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Dahlings,” he said, when they had stopped talking, “I’d like to toast the most infuriatingly self-assured person in this room—and no, Garland, I’m not talking about you!”
Everyone laughed.
“That person,” William continued, is the reason we’re all here tonight.
He’s the one who saw the need for Pa-Robert’s name change.
He pushed us to deal with Colton Langley, painful as that was for me to accept.
And he brought Bella into his scheme, which is how she catapulted onto the national scene! ”
All eyes turned to look at Matt.
William raised his glass. “To Matthew ‘Mustang’ Griffith—my friend!”
Everyone cheered and clapped.
Matt felt his cheeks turning red. His eyes misted. “Infuriatingly self-assured” was how they saw him—and yet loved him all the same. They had no idea about his inner demons, but that was his own fault.
The party resumed.
Matt waited a few minutes, then caught Garland’s eye, nodded towards the kitchen. They needed to talk.
They reconvened in the little breakfast nook at the rear of the home. It was maybe 9”X 9,” with windows on 3-sides overlooking the backyard and its koi pond. Matt had backyard envy—whole house envy, actually.
“Any news on Adam’s case?” Matt asked.
“You just can’t help yourself, can you?” Garland said.
“I promised Adam he would be back in school by the fall. There’s too much at stake here.”
Garland sighed. “You’ve put me in a difficult position. On the one hand, you don’t want Adam to know about your involvement in any of this. On the other hand, you’re staying frustratingly involved. And, like I keep telling you—ethically—Adam is my client. Not you.”
Matt leaned towards Garland, his eyes the color of hardened steel.
“Adam wouldn’t be your client without me.
Don’t forget that this—all of this—was my plan.
I figured out how to get rid of Colton. I figured out that since Colton had been Adam’s sole accuser, MCU’s justification for expelling him would evaporate. ”
Garland shrugged. “I can’t ignore my ethical obligations under the Code of Professional Conduct. I can’t disclose confidential information to a non-client.”
Matt set his wine glass on the table. He needed a clear head for this discussion.
He had hoped they could skip the sparring for once and just get down to business, like they always, ultimately did.
But, no, Garland had to trot out the rule book and treat it as though it were holy writ, paying it lip service, all while dancing around its edges, probing for a comfortable loophole.
“I’m not asking you to reveal any of Adam’s confidences,” Matt soothed. “I’m just asking for updates on the case.”
“I appreciate that,” Garland said. “Please understand that I can’t discuss any of the particulars of the case with you.”
Matt nodded. Message received. “Particulars” was the key word. Last time it had been “hypothetical.”
Garland looked past Matt, as though contemplating the koi pond. “Generally speaking, any private, Christian college must be mindful of its donors. These places go bankrupt all the time. Does anyone remember Cordell Christian College? Phillips University is circling the drain, ready to follow suit.”
Matt nodded thoughtfully.
“I would think,” Garland continued, “just in my capacity as a casual observer who reads the newspapers, that any school that had already been embarrassed on national television about its calloused firing of a sweet, middle-aged woman and then had the further humiliation that the president of its student government was a closeted gay who got drunk and tried to rape a drag queen, would be very nervous about any further scandals…”
Garland went on, “I would expect, again, just speculating, that if a young man emerged with a lawsuit claiming that he’d been kicked out of that school for being gay and the only evidence against him had been the word of the now-disgraced gay rapist student government president, that such news would cause some serious heartburn for the college’s administration. ”
Garland fixed his gaze on Matt. “In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if a school in that position hadn’t already floated settlement terms.”
Matt suppressed a smile, acted like he hadn’t understood that an offer had been made. Garland could have saved them both time and just told him as much earlier.
Bradley popped into the kitchen and checked on something in the oven.
“You boys alright?” Bradley asked. “Need refills or anything?”
Garland waved him away. “We’re good. Thanks!”
Matt returned to the subject of MCU’s offer. He wanted to know specifics but had to couch the question properly. “Generally speaking, what would you expect to see for a gay kid who got kicked out and then attempted suicide?”
Garland shook his head like a patient tutor. “Nothing. Remember? It’s not illegal for a religious school to expel a gay kid. A ‘straight kid,’”—Garland made air quotes—”who got kicked out based on spurious evidence that he was gay, that kid might get something.”
Matt had not known this when he’d hatched his plan, but, yes, Garland had explained it to him after the fact. That was one reason he and Adam had only seen each other twice in the last few months: being careful that Adam’s “straight” veneer wasn’t tarnished. Well, that—and Adam’s asshole dad.
Matt rephrased his question. “What kind of settlement offer would you expect to see for a gay-but-not-gay kid who got kicked out and then attempted suicide?”
“Free four-year scholarship, including room and board. A little cash in return for a confidentiality agreement. Probably a hundred thousand tops. Again, I’m just speculating. I could never ethically discuss the particulars of any case with a non-client.”
Matt was impressed, considering Debbie had only received $10,000. With this settlement, Adam would clear $70,000 after Garland’s fee.
“Wow!” Matt said. “If a lawyer pulled off a deal like that, he’d almost be the best lawyer in the state.”
“ALMOST?”
Matt grinned. “Well, the best lawyer in the state would probably be able to get three extra terms added to the settlement.”
Garland sighed heavily, reached over, picked up Matt’s half-finished glass of merlot, and tossed it back.
“I can’t stand the idea of anyone’s thinking I’m only second best,” he said. “What are these extra terms?”
Matt held up a finger. “First, Dean Smith has to go. You can finesse it however you want. They can wait a month or so and then quietly retire him. They can throw him a fucking party if they want. But when Adam starts school in the fall, there has to be a new dean.”
Garland eyed the empty wine glass longingly. “Secondly?”
Matt held up another finger. “Dean Smith announced—in Chapel—that Adam Maxwell was no longer a student because he was gay—correction—because he had ‘same sex attraction.’ So, the new dean needs to set the record straight and publicly apologize to Adam—in Chapel.”
“Apologize to a gay kid for having called him a gay kid? That’s sort of an insult in my book.”
Matt shook his head. “The real insult was calling it ‘same sex attraction’ like we have a mental illness. Besides, this will serve as a reminder to the new dean to think twice before accusing kids of being gay.”
“Shit!” said Garland. “Let’s hope I never get on your bad side. And third?”