Page 65 of From the Courtroom to the Court
Emily smiles, grateful. Next to Leah she feels supported; the tennis player is very attentive to her and never hesitates to always offer her some solution for everything.
"I have to go to the courthouse," Emily wrinkles her nose in an exaggerated way, "but you can make an appointment for Saturday, it'll do us good."
Leah nods and signals for her to join her on the court. She doesn't want to waste time; she needs Emily to hit some good shots and think about nothing but the ball.
They don't start very well; in the first ten minutes, Emily slips twice, hits the ball so hard that it flies off the court, and nearly hits herself in the face with the racket. Amazingly, this relaxes her; she starts laughing at her own clumsiness, runs from side to side trying to return the ball to Leah, sweating as if she were in the middle of a marathon. Her energy rises and, before they know it, the lawyer is once again focused and free of tension.
"Focus on where you want to place it, Emily," Leah shouts from the other side of the court, referring to the serve the lawyer is preparing.
The sound of air being cut is heard when Emily serves; her technique isn't polished, but it's nothing like the woman who was unable to hold the racket correctly. Leah pretends not to reach the ball and lets Emily make that point.
"You can't beat me," Emily shouts raising both arms. She knows perfectly well that Leah let it pass, but these small gestures make her immensely happy.
"Soon you'll wipe the floor with me," Leah responds, wiping her sweat with her wristband.
Before Emily can answer, the sound of her phone interrupts them. Normally she wouldn't answer it, but she's during work hours, so each call that comes to her phone has a high probability of being work-related. The screen shows the name of the family law firm and Emily answers immediately.
"Honey," says Bilma Harris on the other end of the line. "The electronic notification about Aaron Clark's case has arrived," Emily holds her breath and her mother doesn't waste time. "The custody is approved, congratulations."
Emily smiles widely and looks at Leah, who suspects what that call is about upon seeing her girlfriend's expression.
"I'm going to call Emma," she responds, and her mother interrupts her.
"I called her first, she's the lead attorney," she reminds her. "She had stepped out of the office when the notification arrived."
"Thanks, Mom," she says, "see you later."
Emily turns and raises her arms in triumph as she approaches Leah.
"We did it," she tells her, "you're officially Aaron's legal guardian."
Leah screams like a little girl and hugs Emily tightly, spinning her around a few times. She gives her a kiss and embraces her again.
"Let's tell Mia," Leah says while pulling Emily along. "She's been barely living for weeks waiting for this answer."
The two women walk through the courts; Leah doesn't know exactly where her friend is. She assumes she's preparing some court, but doesn't see her anywhere. They go to the locker rooms, the bar, and nothing. Leah accesses the back part of the club and sees her there giving orders to several workers who are in charge of pool maintenance. They quicken their pace and reach the girl, who hadn't noticed the women's presence.
"Hi," the caddie greets and finishes telling one of the workers what needs to be done.
When the men begin working, Leah takes her hand and smiles at her. Mia takes a tenth of a second to interpret that expression, and the color of her face turns ghost white.
"What happened?" stammers the girl.
"We did it, Mia," Leah's voice breaks with emotion.
Mia Clark can't help it. She falls to her knees in uncontrollable tears. She covers her face with both hands while hiccups take over her body. They've done it. Tears, sleepless nights, pain, penetrating pain, the kind that cuts off your breath and doesn't let you think. That's what Mia has experienced since that day when a group of police officers entered her house, took her parents away, and she was left as unprotected and lost as her brother. Years of fighting to recover what she loves most in life, and today she has finally achieved it. Leah crouches down beside her to lift her up and hold her in her arms.
"Now nothing will keep you from Aaron," Leah whispers, and Mia nods, emotional.
Emily is a sea of tears watching the scene. She also feels Mia's emotion and removes that pressure in her chest she's had since they received the negative response.
"Congratulations, Mia," says the lawyer and approaches her.
Mia smiles at her and hugs her so tightly that Leah fears her girlfriend might break in two.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Mia repeats with a voice loaded with emotion. "If it hadn't been for you... for all of you," she corrects herself, remembering that Emma has fought as hard as Emily to achieve this victory, "we wouldn't have made it."
Emily wants to tell her that it's her job, and although it is, she knows very well that this case was special for her.
