Page 14 of From the Courtroom to the Court
Leah says nothing, she just hopes her mother will talk because the truth is she's very intrigued to learn things about Emily despite the fact that Emily herself already told her she was a lawyer.
"Well, I hate to disappoint you, but there isn't much more. Just that she works at a family law firm, apparently founded by her father and uncle. She's the only daughter of George and Bilma Harris and specializes in corporate law. She was top of her class, graduating with honors. Apparently, she really loves what she does," Natalie points out.
"That doesn't seem like nothing to me," Anne comments.
"Oh, I forgot the most interesting part," Natalie adds, "in an article I read, they linked her to a lawyer named Vanessa Cooper. Apparently, they dated for a while," she says and glances sideways at Leah, whose throat suddenly goes dry upon hearing this.
Emily is a lesbian. That's something she hadn't imagined.
"That lawyer must be really good," Natalie says, and her daughter's eyes open with expectation, not understanding what she means.
"Why?" Anne asks.
"Because the only case Emily has apparently lost was against her. But you know how the press is, maybe it's a lie."
"Maybe they met during that trial, a relationship that started with hate and ended with love, can you imagine?" Anne speculates with a smile.
"You and your imagination," Natalie says. "Stop reading so many romance novels."
Leah no longer listens to them because she can't stop wondering why, of all the things her mother has told about Emily, what seemed most relevant to her was learning that Emily also likes women, although it's also fair to say that each new fact she discovers about the lawyer, she likes. Then she thinks of Stella and mentally scolds herself, claiming that she doesn't like Emily, she just gets along with her, which is very different.
"Well, I'm heading to the court, Emily must have arrived by now. Let's see if the weather holds and we can train," she comments, grabbing her bag before walking through the door.
She sees Emily from a distance, not because she has hawk vision or because she's the only person walking around the outdoor courts at that moment, but because she's wearing a reflective yellow raincoat that stands out like a beacon. Leah smiles as she approaches her.
"Hi," Emily greets her with a cheerful tone that leaves Leah stunned, finding it hard to imagine the woman in front of her talking about laws in a courtroom.
"Hi, Emily. You're very brave wanting to train today," Leah says, dropping her bag on the bench.
"I don't see why, I came prepared," she says, pointing to her raincoat.
Leah approaches her with narrowed eyes, trying to decipher if the lawyer is pulling her leg.
"You know that if it starts raining we can't train, right? The ball gets wet, heavy, doesn't bounce well, you know..."
"Aaah," Emily says, and her smiling expression vanishes in an instant.
Leah smiles again, fascinated as Emily looks at the sky.
"Then, let's start now," the lawyer says.
"Alright, let's rally a bit to warm up," Leah instructs.
They go to opposite sides of the court. It's already dark and the floodlights are on. Leah positions herself to hit the first ball, but when she focuses on Emily, all she sees is a luminous blur that blinds her.
"Damn," she says, surprised by the effect the lights produce on her reflective vest.
"Aren't you serving?" Emily asks from the other side.
"I'm going to have to ask you to take off the raincoat," Leah says, approaching the net with an amused expression. "When the light hits you I can't see anything, you're like a giant firefly. As a deterrent for an enemy, you must be awesome."
Emily laughs and removes her raincoat, leaving it on the bench before returning to face her covered only by her shorts and a tank top. Leah swallows as she observes the line of her shoulders. She clears her throat and returns to her spot to begin the warm-up.
They rally for a while, though the correct way to describe it is that Leah has to run all over the court to return the balls that Emily hits anywhere except where she is, or watch in horror as they pass by without the lawyer returning them. But she corrects her between laughs, because Emily laughs at herself and infects Leah with her laughter, until halfway through the training, the first drops begin to fall.
"I think we should stop here, Emily," Leah suggests, looking at the sky.
Emily frowns and makes a face of disgust that reminds Leah of a sulking child.
