Page 58 of Jumping In

“How are you feeling, Alexander?” Dad asks.

Mac shrugs. “Okay, I guess. You’ve prepared me well sir and I think now I’m just at the mercy of Judge Matthis.”

My dad nods and pats Mac’s shoulder. “Martin is still in vacation mode, I think.” I smile at my dad using Judge Matthis’s first name so informally. “He has always hated the paperwork involved with sentencing jail time. I think everything is going to work out in our favor today. Have you thought about what kind of community service you want to do?”

Dad smiles almost smugly, and a wave of calmness washes over me. He’s confident today, which is a good sign.

Mac shakes his head. “I actually haven’t thought of it much. Do you have recommendations?”

“Let’s try to think of something indoors. Maybe working in the library or some kind of manual labor. We can always suggest something to the judge if you have something you think of. As long as someone will sign off on the hours and the judge agrees it would benefit the community, it doesn’t matter.”

I think about that for a moment and almost smack myself for not thinking of it sooner. “Wait, Dad.” Dad and Mac both look at me. “I have an idea, but I’m not sure it’ll work. I’ll need Blake and Austin to explain it. Mac, will you go grab them?”

After discussing with Blake and Austin, we all return to the courtroom. I take a seat next to Shannon in the first row behind Mac. Blake and Austin follow me onto the bench. Mac’s parents are on the other end, and I smile at them as I sit down. Mrs. Macdonald’s warm smile tugs at my heart.

We rise when Judge Matthis enters and then sit back down, Shannon gripping my hand. I wrap my arm around hers and hold her tight, too nervous to be sitting on my own right now. This is going to work. It’s all going to be fine.

The judge bangs his gavel, calling the session back to order. He begins to speak, but my dad interrupts, eager to share our idea. “Your Honor, before you make your decision, I have a proposal for you and the plaintiff to consider.”

Judge Matthis looks over to Henry and his lawyer, who look at each other. Henry shrugs and then his lawyer nods.

“Alright, go ahead, Bill,” Judge Matthis says. I hold back the smile at the judge using my dad’s first name and shake my head.

“As you know,” Dad begins, “the defendant has plead guilty to stealing goods from Henry’s liquor store. The goods amounted to under two hundred dollars, and we have attempted to reach a plea bargain with the plaintiff. Unfortunately, the plaintiff has refused to meet with us.”

Dad shares with the entire courthouse. I can’t help but smirk because right now Dad is painting Henry out to be the bad guy here. Such a small amount stolen, and then refusing to come to a plea deal, Henry has been unreasonable this entire time.

My dad continues, “My client is remorseful and wishes to demonstrate his regret by giving back to the town and its community. You may not know that a new business is about to open in the abandoned restaurant on Main. The restaurant will need a lot of renovations to be back up to code.I propose that the defendant assist with the renovations with no compensation. The hours can be decided upon if you are agreeable, Your Honor.”

Judge Matthis looks skeptical, not quite sold on the idea. Henry doesn’t look convinced either, shaking his head slowly. Dad looks back at me and my friends and we all nod. “I would also like to propose a different type of compensation for the plaintiff, Your Honor. Something we would have proposed if he had agreed to meet with us.”

Matthis sits up in his seat and perches his elbows on the desk in front of him, resting his chin on his hand. I think we’ve got him now.

“Go on,” he says to Dad.

“The owners of the new business are planning to open a restaurant which will also sell alcohol. While they want to support the town and source local wine and beer from other town businesses, they will source the mainstream alcohol directly through Henry’s liquor store for the first year,” my dad delivers the last piece to the puzzle. Henry’s face pales, turning to his lawyer and nodding frantically in agreement. A few snickers echo through the courtroom.

The judge sees Henry’s response, and I know we’ve won. My dad sits back down. Silence bathes the courtroom. Mac looks over his shoulder at me and I smile and wink at him.

Henry has always been out to make as much money as possible and it’s rumored that his family used to have a little monopoly on moonshine back in the days of prohibition. It’s no surprise that he would be agreeable to the deal to be the sole distributor for the twins’ restaurant. I’m just thankful I remembered that little piece of history, because it seems that’s what sold him—and eventually Judge Matthis—on the deal.

A few moments pass and then the timber of Judge Matthis’ voice breaks the silence. “I find these terms agreeable. The defendant will perform one hundred fifty hours of manual labor assisting with the renovations at the abandoned restaurant. And this new business will source their alcohol through Henry for the first year of business. Once the year is up, the business is free to negotiate with outside suppliers. Case dismissed.”

The bang of the gavel fills the courtroom, and then it erupts with voices. Matthis quickly disappears into his chambers, and I jump out of my seat, practically tackling Mac.

His smile is wide, and my dad pats him on the shoulder. Mac lets me go, and he shakes my dad’s hand.

“Thank you again, sir. I really don’t know what to say.”

“We got lucky. And my daughter has a brilliant mind. You’re going to make a prominent lawyer one day, Emmalynn.”

My stomach sinks with his words, but it only lasts a moment before Mac picks me up and squeezes my sides.

“You really are brilliant, you know?” he whispers into my ear.

My dad collects his briefcase and heads over to my mom. Mac’s parents approach, and I step back to give them a moment. I continue backing up and watching as more friends and their families approach Mac. Some congratulating my father as well. Others approach Henry and congratulate him on securing the business, and I catch Blake and Austin rolling their eyes.

When Mac brought them over to talk with my dad, I wasn’t sure they would go for the business deal. Blake told me they were already planning on approaching Henry or Hal, so it worked out anyway. I had a feeling it would sweeten the deal for Henry and give him a reason to not press for further punishment. And it worked, thank goodness!

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