Naked Justice

Chapter 70

WHEN BEN RETURNED TO HIS apartment, he was surprised to find Joey crawling around on the floor, fiddling with a Fisher-Price music mobile.

He crawled on all fours to get to Joey-level. “Hiya, pardner. I stopped by the store and picked up some cool stuff for you. You’re going to love it.” A thought struck; he looked up. “Where’s Joni?”

“I told her she could go home.”

Ben whirled around. Julia!

She smiled. “Hi there, big brother. Surprised to see me?”

There she was, in all her glory. Ben’s sister seemed firm and tanned, even more so than when he had last seen her more than six months before. Her long brown hair curled around her neck and down past her shoulders; her blue eyes sparkled.

“Julia,” he said, his brain obviously not processing information as quickly as his eyes. “How—how did you get in?”

“Your friend Joni let me in.” She pointed at the jumbo-size Toys R Us bag in Ben’s arms. “Picked up a few toys for yourself?”

“Huh? Oh … for Joey. I’ve had a pretty depressing day, and I was looking forward to spending some time …”

Julia sorted through the contents. “Tumbling mats, Nerf blocks, foam helmets—Ben, what’s all this for? Gymnastic lessons?”

“Oh … well.” Red blotches began creeping up his neck. “Joey has a … fondness for pratfalls.”

“I see.” She folded her hands and stood before him. There was a confidence about her, a sense of self-assuredness, that he had never seen before.

“Julia, we’ve been looking for you for months without any luck. What brings you back now?”

She smiled, a beatific, vibrant smile. “I got in!”

“You—”

“The graduate school program. I got in and got through my first term, shining colors. My professor says I’m one of the best students he’s ever had.”

“Really.” He frowned. “You’re not…”

“No, Ben, I’m not dating him. At least not yet. He is kind of cute, in a tweedy sort of way.”

“We called every college in Connecticut—”

“Oh, did I say Connecticut? I meant Maine. I’m going to school in Maine.” She tilted her head down at Joey. “So, how did you two get along?”

“Oh, well …” Where to begin? “We’ve done very well, actually. We’ve made a lot of progress, and the—”

“I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed this little bundle of snot.” She scooped him up into her arms. “I didn’t think I would. I know that sounds horrible, but I’m just being honest. The first seven months, raising him on my own—well, I’d just had enough, you know? It was hell on wheels. I couldn’t take it anymore and I didn’t think I’d ever want to again. But I was wrong.” She held the boy close against her cheek. “You can’t separate a mother from her son.”

Ben felt a sudden hollow sensation spreading throughout his body. “But—”

“I’ve got it all worked out now. There’s this woman—the wife of one of the other students in the program—she needs some extra spending money to make ends meet, so she’s going to watch Joey during the day, and during nights when I’m on call. We both live in adjoining condos, so it will be very convenient, very doable.”

“Are you saying—”

“Get with the program, Ben. I’m saying I’m taking my baby back.”

The room seemed to be moving, swimming, and all Ben could hear was the sound of the air conditioner blowing. It was so loud, so intrusive. “But—”

“Ben, what is your problem?” She bounced the baby to her other arm. “Jesus Christ, I thought you’d be relieved.”

“But Joey and I, we’ve—”

“Oh, stop already. Help me gather up his things. I want to leave as soon as possible so I can get to Oklahoma City before dark.”

“But, Julia—” He stared at her, his heart thumping in his chest. “You can’t just stroll in and snatch him away!”

“Snatch him away? Ben, I’m his mother!”

“Maybe you were six months ago, but you abandoned him. You don’t have any rights—”

“Rights? Is this a legal debate? Christ, should I hire a lawyer? Are we going to have a custody battle? You know you wouldn’t win. Ben, I’m his mother!”

Julia started circling around the small apartment, obviously agitated, gathering together all Joey’s things. It appeared to Ben that she had pretty well finished packing before he had even arrived. “I can’t believe you’re acting like this. I really can’t. Why do we have to have a big scene? What did you think, that I was going to leave my precious baby with you forever?”

“How did I know what you were planning? You just plopped the baby in my arms and disappeared.”

“And so what? So now you’re Mr. Mom? Look at this place! Bad enough my brother lives in a dump like this, but my baby? No way. And some of the things that Joni person you dumped him with was saying make me wonder if he was even safe. Sounds like you have all sorts of loonies and crackpots looming around you. Making your money off murderers—”

“I took good care of Joey.”

“Is that so?” She came right under Ben’s nose and glared at him. “Look at him. Six months ago, he was already beginning to speak. Now I can’t get him to say a word. He barely walks. He doesn’t play like a normal child. My God, it’s a good thing I got back here when I did.”

Ben felt his jaw tightening. “That’s not fair—”

“Well, this isn’t a courtroom and you’re not going to talk your way to victory.” She threw two bags over her shoulders and headed for the door, baby in tow. “I’ll send for the rest of this stuff.”

“But, Julia—”

“Ben, it’s what’s best. A boy should be with his mother.”

Ben stared at Joey. He was gazing up at his mother with obvious affection, brushing his cheek against her shoulder. Even after all this time, he knew who she was. And he wanted to be with her.

“Still, why not stay for a few days, and—”

“Don’t make this more difficult than it already is, all right!” Her voice resounded off the walls and echoed through the small room. “We’re leaving.”

Ben raced to the door and took one of Joey’s tiny little hands. “Joey?”

Joey peered back at Ben with wide and perplexed eyes. The excitement and activity obviously had left him confused and disoriented. “Baa, baa.”

“Baa, baa?”

Joey giggled. “Baa, baa, Ungaben.”

The door closed, and they were gone.

Ben stood there for the longest time, not moving, not really thinking, just staring with a hollow heart and eyes too dry to cry at the door that had closed so firmly and finally before him.