‘I love it!’ Maggie felt her heart lift. She pictured Anna and Caleb playing on the beach.
‘And you know what else? I think you should throw a party for Anna. Something easy, like a barbecue. She moved in, and so far, it’s been a source of conflict. Why not flip that? Celebrate! Your daughter is back in your life!’
‘But nobody even knows I have a daughter.’ Maggie felt a wave of shame that she knew well, like an old friend, or an old enemy.
‘So it’s time to tell them, don’t you think?’ Kathy looked over, her expression frank. ‘That’s ancient history, and you didn’t do anything wrong. I think you should introduce Anna to everybody.’
‘So, in other words, I’m coming clean?’ Maggie thought of their friends, parents in Caleb’s class, and Noah’s partners and their wives.
‘Yes, why not?’ Kathy patted her back. ‘Everybody loves you, Maggie. Nobody’s going to think about the past, we’re just going to be happy that she’s here.’
‘I guess you’re right,’ Maggie said, as they walked the final stretch around the field. ‘I like the statement it makes to Anna. That we’re happy that she’s in our family and we want her to meet our friends, like you.’
‘Exactly! I can’t wait to see her!’ Kathy grinned, then stopped walking. ‘Wait. Did you tell her that I searched the textbooks, too?’
‘No.’
‘I owe you one,’ Kathy shot back, laughing.
Chapter Forty-five
Noah, After
TRIAL, DAY 5
‘Dr Alderman, you discussed the incident that had taken place in the bathroom with your wife, didn’t you?’
‘There was no incident, it didn’t happen.’
Linda blinked. ‘Did Anna inform your wife of the alleged incident in your presence?’
Noah cringed inwardly, remembering the awful scene. Not many people know exactly the moment their marriage ended, but he did. ‘My wife was upstairs with Caleb, and Anna and I had been in the bathroom –’
‘Please answer the question. Did Anna inform your wife of the alleged incident in your presence or outside of it?’
‘I was there. It was in my presence.’
‘Where did the conversation take place?’
‘In the hallway outside the powder room. Anna left the bathroom and as soon as she got into the hallway, she started crying. My wife had just come downstairs and saw Anna there, crying.’
Linda snorted. ‘Are you saying that Anna left the bathroom and burst into tears, all of a sudden?’
‘Yes.’
‘You’re saying Anna faked spontaneous tears?’
‘Yes.’
‘Anna didn’t have acting lessons before she came to live with you, did she?’
‘Not that I know of.’ Noah heard the jury shifting in their seats.
‘Dr Alderman, please direct your attention to Commonwealth Exhibit 52.’ Linda signaled her paralegal, and another portion of the transcript came onto the screen. The gallery craned their necks, and Noah read about the worst night of his life:
Mr Carter: Anna, tell us what happened after you left the bathroom.
Ms Desroches: I just started crying, and then my mom came down the stairs. I ran to her and she hugged me and I said, ‘Noah won’t leave me alone and he grabbed me and kissed me and said this horrible thing to me, and you have to help me because this has to stop.’
Mr Carter: What did she say or do?
Ms Desroches: She looked totally shocked and she went white in the face. I thought she was going to faint. She was just, like, stunned. I felt so bad for her because I knew she didn’t suspect anything and I never told her about what he did on the driving lesson.
Mr Carter: What did she say or do?
Ms Desroches: My mother looked at Noah and she said, ‘Noah, is this true?’ And he said I was lying, making the whole thing up. Then she asked him if he had been drinking and he said yes but he wasn’t drunk or anything. And she was really shocked and upset, but she was trying not to cry and she said, ‘Anna, go upstairs, I want to talk to Noah.’
Mr Carter: And what happened next?
Ms Desroches: I ran upstairs, but when I got in my room I thought to myself that I couldn’t have him do that to me anymore. I really wanted to stay living with my mother, but he has her totally fooled. And I didn’t want to have to move out and I had nowhere to go. So I figured that I needed to help myself.
Mr Carter: What do you mean by ‘help myself’?
Ms Desroches: I went online and it was really easy and you could download the Protection From Abuse form, and they had a FAQ and all. I filled the form out and here we are. I know that he didn’t want the truth to come out. But I had to stand up for myself. I’m just really glad that there’s courts like this where you can go if you’re a girl and you want to protect yourself from abusers.
‘Dr Alderman, have you read this testimony?’
‘Yes.’ Noah tried to find his emotional footing. He remembered everything about that night so vividly. Maggie had been so hurt, her eyes widening with shock and betrayal.
‘Isn’t it true that Anna’s testimony was exactly what happened that night?’
‘No.’
‘What did Anna say that wasn’t true?’
‘It’s true that’s what she told Maggie, but what she told Maggie wasn’t true.’
‘Pardon me?’ Linda made a face of exaggerated confusion. On the dais, Judge Gardner frowned as if he hadn’t understood either. Noah sensed that the judge’s demeanor had changed toward him after the sexually explicit testimony.
‘Anna lied about what happened in the bathroom.’
‘But your wife believed Anna, didn’t she?’
Noah hesitated. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Well, you discussed what had happened in the bathroom with your wife, when you were alone, didn’t you?’
‘Yes.’
‘And didn’t you deny to your wife what Anna said happened?’
‘Yes.’
‘And after your denial, your wife didn’t embrace you and say “forget about the whole thing,” did she, or words to that effect?’
‘No.’
‘She didn’t accuse Anna of lying, did she?’
‘No.’
‘She didn’t ask Anna to leave the house, did she?’
‘No.’
‘Isn’t it true that the one she asked to leave the house was you?’
‘Yes.’
Linda lifted an eyebrow. ‘Let’s take a new look at that Petition, Dr Alderman.’
Chapter Forty-six
Maggie, Before
The sky was still cloudy, but the air was fresh and cool, and Maggie waited on her front step, since Anna was due to be dropped off by Samantha at six o’clock. She was baking an eggplant parm for dinner, and Caleb was upstairs doing his homework. Maggie had taken him to the speech pathologist, but he hadn’t done well on his target words, bandage, accident, emergency. The stress in the house was affecting him, but she hoped they could put it behind them.
A yellow-and-black MINI Cooper pulled up at the curb, with Anna in the passenger seat. Maggie rose to meet them, checking out Samantha, who had short hair dyed bright red, big blue eyes, and an easy grin, looking cute and funky in a vintage flowy dress.
‘Hi, honey!’ Maggie gave Anna a quick hug when she got out of the car, hoisting her backpack and purse to her shoulder.
‘Hi, Mom. Why are you out here? I texted you.’
‘I know. I thought I’d come meet Samantha.’
‘Oh, okay. Mom, this is Samantha Silas.’ Anna gestured at the car, and Maggie peered inside.
‘Great to meet you, Samantha. Would you like to have dinner with us?’
‘No, thanks. I have, uh, somewhere to go.’
‘Then it’s a rain check?’
‘That would be great.’
‘Bye, Samantha!’ Anna called out, waving.
‘See you,’ Samantha called back, then pulled away.
Maggie fell into step next to Anna up the front walk. ‘She seems nice, and that was good of her to give you a ride home.’
‘Right.’ Anna looked away, and Maggie took her hand when they reached the top of the stairs.
‘Honey, can we sit down and talk?’
‘But I have so much homework and I fell asleep early last night so I’m behind.’
‘Please.’ Maggie sat down, tugging Anna gently beside her. ‘I have some apologizing to do. I’m sorry. I was concerned about Jamie.’