At 9:00 AM on Monday, I sat in a grown-up chair at the district office.
My knees were where knees go.
The association lawyer sat beside me with a legal pad.
The HR director sat across the table.
The HR specialist from the library sat next to her with the same laptop.
Dr. Pham sat at the end with her hands folded.
Sunday had moved fast.
At 11:00 AM, the Ospreys fired Todd Kimbrough.
By noon, the league had opened a review.
At 4:00 PM, a courier knocked on Kaitlyn's door with a thick envelope from the owner's office.
It held certified copies of three documents.
The Job 0903-14 work order, with Garrett's signature.
The Fan Feature Release.
The $7,500 payment record.
Nobody had written a note.
Nobody had to.
I laid everything out on the table in a row, like snack cups.
There was the donation form, copied from Mrs. Odom's binder.
There was a still from Saturday's broadcast, the label ten feet wide.
Then the club's envelope.
Then the sign, folded.
The HR director read the donation form first.
Then she turned the sign over and read the back.
Then she read the work order.
She took her glasses off.
"He signed the iPad in himself."
"And the club printed the sign."
"Yes, ma'am," I said.
The HR specialist stopped typing.
"We have no complaint about her teaching," Dr. Pham said.
"We never did."
The HR director nodded.
"You're reinstated, Ms. Dunaway."
"Effective tomorrow, Tuesday, September 29."
The association lawyer wrote one line on her pad and underlined it.
Dr. Pham slid something across the table.
It was yellow and laminated, with a cartoon apple.
Miss Callie · Room 104
"Mrs. Sutter stepped down as room parent this morning," she said.
"Brody stays with you."
I put the tag in my tote, next to the sign.
At 2:00 PM, Courtroom 4310 was mostly empty benches.
Kaitlyn sat in the second row.
Garrett sat at the petitioner's table in a navy blazer.
His lawyer stood at the rail with a motion in his hand.
"Your Honor, my client discharged me yesterday."
"I'm asking to withdraw."
The judge looked over her glasses.
"On what grounds?"
"The retainer was paid by a third party."
"That party stopped paying."
"Who was the third party?"
"The Carolina Ospreys, Your Honor."
"Six thousand dollars, from their partnerships budget."
The judge wrote that down.
"Withdrawal allowed."
"Mr. Mabry, do you want time to find new counsel?"
Garrett stood up and buttoned his blazer.
"No, Your Honor."
"I'm ready."
"Nobody paid me."
His old lawyer was still putting his folder in his bag.
He stopped and looked at the floor.
Garrett took the oath.
He told it the way he told it in his clip.
"I made that sign at home."
"Sharpie on poster board."
"She tracked my location."
"She showed up at my office."
"Honestly, I'm scared of her."
"Ms. Dunaway?" the judge said.
I stood up.
Nobody stood with me.
I didn't need anybody to.
I carried the sign to the bench myself.
I unfolded it.
The foam cracked one more time.
I held the back up so she could read it.
OSPREY STUDIOS PRINT · JOB 0903-14 · REQ: G. MABRY
Then I handed up the club's envelope.
She read the signature line on the work order.
She read it again.
Then she turned to the payment record.
"Seventy-five hundred dollars," she said.
"Paid September 4."
"Mr. Mabry, is this your signature?"
Garrett looked at the work order instead of the judge.
"They said it was a fan thing."
"That isn't what I asked."
"Yes."
"It's mine."
I set my phone on the bench, screen up.
"September 2, 11:48 AM."
"'Bring my lunch to the office babe, forgot it again.'"
"I brought it."
"Turkey, no tomato."
I swiped once.
Garrett started sharing his location with you · Dec 14, 2024
"He set that up himself."
"He said it was romantic."
The judge looked at the phone for a long time.
Then she looked at Garrett.
At 2:40 PM, she ruled.
"The petition is denied."
"This verified petition was signed under oath."
"The court is referring it to the District Attorney."
Garrett sat down without being told to.
In the hallway, he caught up with me by the elevators.
"Cal."
"Cal, wait."
"What if we did a joint statement?"
"Rebound will want the fifteen thousand back."
I walked past him.
I didn't slow down.
Two reporters were waiting by the security line.
One of them held out a phone.
"Callie, anything for Garrett?"
I kept walking, and Kaitlyn said it for the hallway.
"Not one word for him!"
The elevator opened.
I got in.
Garrett stayed in the hallway with his blazer buttoned.
The doors closed on him.
Kaitlyn took my tote so I could breathe.
"Where to?" she asked.
"Celebration margaritas?"
"Office Depot."
"Callie."
"School starts at eight."
I had name tags to laminate.