2) Now what...
POV: Carissa
I was pulled back to the current situation by a cop knocking gently on the car window. "Ma'am" the cop started as soon as I rolled the window down, "Can I get your name?" "Yes, it's Carissa Jones." I replied, "I am Aaron's wife." Then I was hit like a ton of bricks, as I realized that wasn't true anymore. "I was Aaron's wife." I corrected my statement - as I began to feel the tears coming back. "Oh," the cop hesitated a moment then pushed forwards, "Ms. Jones, Have you spoken with our lead detective already?" I shook my head no, unable to respond anymore over the lump in my throat. "Would you like me to bring him to you or would you like another minute?" He asked gently, clearly aware I was overwhelmed by everything. I took a deep breath and forced myself to respond, "If you'll just tell me where they are, I will go speak with them now." Nodding, he signed for me to follow him. Getting out of the car, I followed the cop into the hotel lobby and sat down at one of the tables. "I'll send him in to you." He said and turned quickly to exit the room. Sitting there, I zoned back out to yesterday...
Arriving at my mom's house, I rushed to get Jason unbuckled and all his belongings. My mom met me at the door, already reaching to take him from me. "How's my big boy?" She began, smiling at him, then she looked at me and her smile faltered a bit. "What's wrong, Carissa? You look like you've already had a rough day and it's only 7." Ruth was a very smart woman for having never finished high school, and she knew her daughter better than most. "I'm okay, Mom. Aaron just called and added stress this morning, that's all." I replied, not wanting to get into the fact that he wanted to meet up again. My mother always hated when he pushed to see me or Jason, as she was afraid of what he might do. "Well, you don't need to worry about him. Grammy has Jason for the day and I'll just leave the door locked and unanswered if he shows up." Ruth replied - assuming that the stress I was referring to was my constant worry that he would show up and try to take Jason away from me. The last 2 months of being separated had been a very stressful time and felt more like years. "Thanks mom" I replied and kissed her cheek. Kissing Jason, I lovingly told him, "Mommy loves you! I'll see you after mommy finishes work." Smiling and hugging him, feeling at peace, I hated to leave but knew I had to or the bills would never get paid. I kissed his forehead once more and handed him to my mom. "I'll be home right after work." I told her and she just nodded. One more look at his precious face and I then rushed out the door to get to the court house before the first docket of the morning.
Carissa arrived at the court house just minutes before the first docket was supposed to start but thankfully, Judge Howard was not out yet. Jami, one of her coworkers, waved at her and signed that she had a seat saved for her. It wasn't fun to have to sit during all the court cased on docket every morning and take notes, but at least she didn't have to do it alone. "I was thinking you might be sick, you never cut it this close. Everything okay?" Jami asked. "Yeah, just ran into traffic this morning dropping Jason off." I fibbed. Jami was an amazing coworker and was awesome at her job, but she was also the biggest gossip at the office and not someone you told personal things to. "Thanks for saving me a seat." I smiled and sat down, getting into my bag for a pen as the Judge came out.
As Judge Howard started talking about the first case, my phone vibrated in my pocket. Breathing a sigh of relief that I hadn't forgotten to turn the sound off, I took it out of my pocket and slyly looked to see what the text message read. It was Aaron - "So what time works for you today?" I contemplated not responding - but then it buzzed again. "I can do pretty much any time." - and another, "I don't work today so just let me know." Silently wanting to scream - I realized he wasn't going to stop texting until I replied so I simply wrote back "Idk, I'm in court right now. I'll let you know a time when I get out." Tucking my phone back in my pocket, I hoped that would be enough for him to stop texting. I went back to taking notes and realized that the Judge was talking about the third case already. Quietly groaning, I looked over at Jami and she caught my look. Tipping her notebook slightly so I could read what she had already wrote - I copied down some of the information and wrote small notes to her about questions concerning the prior cases... while trying to focus on the current case.
Of course, my prior message wasn't enough for Aaron. He continued texting and I could feel my phone buzzing every few minutes for the rest of the morning cases, but I refused to be distracted by looking again. As Judge Howard closed the last case for morning docket, Jami turned to me "Someone really must want your attention." She clearly gleamed with interest on why my normally quiet phone was buzzing so much. "Yeah, wrong number." I shrugged. Jami didn't seem to believe me but Judge Howard interrupted before she could question me further.
"Carissa, can I speak to you about one of your specific cases?" He asked. Turning to him, I replied "Of course, Judge. Which case and when?" Looking at his notes, "Umm, Your case with Parole officer Pam - Anthony and his family. I've got time on my schedule tomorrow afternoon and Friday afternoon - not sure the exact time frames though." "I should be able to do it tomorrow afternoon, Judge Howard. Just let me know what times you have available." Carissa responded. "Okay, I'll have my secretary call and schedule it." Judge Howard stated and began walking away. Taking a deep breath and letting it out, I tried to calm my nerves as I put my notes away in my bag and pulled my phone out.
Seriously Aaron, 68 messages, I rolled my eyes as I began reading them. All of them were basically the same thing - asking for a time or place to meet, followed by many messages asking if I was still there and to respond. Surprised that he hadn't resorted to threats yet, I responded while heading out of the court room, "Just got out of court and saw your messages. I've got an hour for lunch before I have client appointments. Want to do lunch at your favorite restaurant in 15?" His response came back almost instantly, "I'll see you there." Climbing in my car, I began wondering if this was a good idea... and what he could want that was so urgent.