CHAPTER EIGHTY
(part one)

Tuesday evening – 7:15 P.M.

Sighing, Honey looked out the window of the SUV.

“Tired?” MJ asked.

He slowed to turn onto Seventeenth Avenue from Race Street. They were making their way to St. Joseph’s Hospital to visit Heather and her new baby.

“Tired? Yeah, I’m tired,” Honey said. “I was just thinking about what the DA said.”

“You’ve said that a couple times, but haven’t told me what he said.”

“I don’t want you to get mad,” Honey said. “Especially since we got invited to see the new baby. That’s a really big deal.”

“To be invited?” MJ asked.

“To be a part of the family,” she said. “Jill said Heather asked for me and wanted the baby to meet Auntie Honey and Uncle MJ.”

MJ placed his large hand over her hand. They smiled at each other.

“I never expected all of this,” Honey said.

“I never expected they would name the baby Mack,” MJ laughed.

“Samuel Mack Lipson,” Honey said. “They wanted to name him after Dad, since he and Celia saved Blane. The Mack was pretty obvious since he was born at the store. Six pounds, ten ounces. Jill said they are over the moon with Mack.  Blane hasn’t wanted to even set him down.”

MJ pulled into the parking structure. Lost in their own thoughts, they were silent until MJ found a parking spot. After putting the SUV in park and shutting off the car, he turned to her.

“I’d like to know what the DA said.”

“Ann… You remember who that is?”

“The Assistant DA who is prosecuting the case,” MJ said.

“Right. She said they went back to the judge’s chambers and the judge was mad. She thinks my sister’s lawyer, Mr. Blanchard, is trying for a mistrial.”

“Why?”

“Because she said I was ‘cute as a button’ and ‘adorable.’ The judge wanted to know what the defense had planned since I ‘blew his abuse defense out of the water.’”

“What did he say?”

“He said they never planned on using the abuse as a defense. Anyway, Ann said they’re planning to prove that I’m paralyzed because you botched the medical. You were in it with my sister and you did this to me on purpose.”

Blowing out a breath, MJ sat back in the seat.

“Ann asked me if you and my sister were lovers,” Honey said. “Were you?”

MJ shook his head.

“You don’t remember,” Honey said.

“I don’t remember,” MJ said. “If it happened, it was a long time ago. But I don’t think we did. I never liked her. I always thought she was… evil. But I can’t be sure. I don’t have that kind of memory any more. You know that.”

“Hmpft,” Honey said.