Redemption's Dawn

Kay called me one quiet afternoon - she had called Vince a few minutes prior without me knowing to ask him to step away while we spoke. Right before the call from Kay came through, Vince casually mentioned he was going for a walk around the neighborhood. I didn’t think twice about it as he often takes walks around the neighborhood.

When I picked up, Kay’s voice was steady, soft. “It’s done,” she said. “You’re officially divorced.”

I sat there for a moment, stunned. “You’re serious?”

“I’m holding the signed and stamped decree in my hand. You’re free.”

A slow breath escaped me. “I thought I’d feel more… I don’t know. Triumphant.”

“Sometimes freedom feels more like quiet air than fireworks,” she said gently. “It’s okay to just sit in it for a while.”

I gave a small, surprised laugh. “I expected to cry, or have some champagne, or scream.”

“You can do all three or not but even silence is a celebration when you’ve waited this long.”

Two weeks later, an email pinged in my inbox—official notice that I was being subpoenaed to testify in my ex-husband’s attempted murder trial. My stomach dropped. Without thinking twice, I called Kay.

“Kay,” I said, voice tight, “I just got a subpoena to his attempted murder trial.”

“I’ll be right there,” she said immediately. “Just stay calm.”

While driving over to my apartment, Kay called Vince. “Hey,” she said, “Can you give us a little time? Maybe grab a drink with a friend or do a grocery run? I need to talk to her alone.”

Vince didn’t hesitate. “Of course. I’ll stay out a while.”

Vince told me that he was going out for a few drinks with a few friends – a few fellow teachers he taught with. By the time that she came into the apartment Vince had left a few minutes prior. After kicking off her shoes, Kay took one look at me and sat on the couch beside me.

“This trial is serious,” she said. “Attempted murder of a law enforcement officer as well as an attempted murder of a citizen. Your testimony could be critical to establishing a pattern. You don’t have to say yes—but it’s likely they’ll compel you to if you don’t appear.”

“I need to tell you everything,” I said. “I know you’re part of the prosecutor’s team. I don’t want you blindsided.”

So I told her everything.

I talked about meeting my now ex-husband at the Christian college we both attended, started dating, being caught having sex by my RA with my now ex-husband and how he lied to the RA by claiming I was pregnant and we were engaged—neither was true. I tried to deny it, but the school didn’t believe me. We were given an ultimatum: get married that week or be expelled.

“So we got married and neither one of us wanted to,” I said. “I refused to take his last name, which meant we didn’t qualify for married student housing. I didn’t dare change my name as I didn’t want my family to know that I got married and didn’t invite them.”

Kay took notes, listening without interrupting.

“Two months later, I found out I was pregnant. The timing matched when we got caught by my RA. I told him, and he tried to gaslight me by saying  that weren’t having sex at the time that we were. He ghosted me and dropped out of school and I never saw him again – until Vince and I saw him at the diner.”

Kay’s voice was calm but sharp. “That’s not just abandonment. That’s manipulation.”

“Since it was winter break when I found out that I was pregnant, I had an abortion. I told two people I thought I could trust but one of them – maybe both -  told the school. I was officially expelled a few weeks after returning. Since my parents were paying for my education, I had told them that I was leaving the school as due to my grades. It’s not too far from the truth.”

She set her pen down. “And you kept searching for him?”

“Every once in a while, I’d reach out to our mutual friends and his family. Most of our mutual friends had told me where they last saw him but the private investigators I hired never found him in those locations. His family lied about knowing where he was. I kept the divorce paperwork updated just in case - I know there is a timeframe on how long they’re valid.”

Kay leaned back. “And you found him when Vince took you to that town.”

“Yeah. Vince didn’t know my ex had family there and that he was staying with them. Hell, I didn’t know either. I’d only just told him about my marriage a few days prior.”

“How do you know Darnell?” she asked.

“We met at the college where I met my ex-husband,” I said. “He grew up in the town where Vince and I found my ex-husband. We were in a few classes together and became friends. He knew very little about the marriage and everything because I didn’t want to announce what a sham my marriage was….it’s not something to brag about it.”

“Did Darnell know or hear anything?”

“Darnell told me the other day that my ex-husband had, over the years, bragged about the marriage, how I couldn’t find him and also having multiple children with multiple women over the years.”

We finished talking and she was done with her notes. Before leaving, Kay said that when I appear in court, she’d be the third chair for the prosecutor’s office and she’s already disclosed our friendship to the judge and the defense team. She explained that she told the judge she would recuse herself from the case because of our friendship and her knowing that the defendant is my ex-husband. The judge was miffed but appreciated Kay’s honesty and stated that she just needs to write and sign a document stating the same thing she told him and the defense team. Once submitted, she and I couldn’t have any contact with each other while one or both of us were at the courthouse but could resume after both of us were off the property.

A few minutes later after Kay left, Vince arrived back to my place. He asked how everything was. I told him about the subpoena for my ex-husband’s trial and that I was due at the courthouse in three days. He said that not only would he drive me but he would be there with me the entire time.

We didn’t talk about the trial during those long three days…actually, we didn’t talk much about anything

Three days later, Vince drove me to the courthouse. The silence in the car was heavy.

“You sure about this?” he asked me as we passed through security at the courthouse entrance.

“No,” I replied, “But I have to do it for Darnell, his mom and dad and also for me.”

At the second security checkpoint just outside of the assigned courthouse, Vince was stopped. He explained he was my boyfriend there to support me, but the guard wouldn’t allow him in. I had heard security tell Vince that this was a high profile case as an attempt was on the life of a citizen and a law enforcement officer so they had to be careful who they let in.

He walked over to me and gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “I’ll be right outside. A few steps away.”

Inside the courtroom, I spotted Kay seated at the prosecution’s table. She didn’t look at me nor did I look at her. We were both under scrutiny.

When the bailiff called my name, I stood and walked forward, my legs shaking.

I was sworn in and I sat down. The defense didn’t waste time.

“Ms. Smith,” the lawyer began, “Your history has been described by some as complicated. Others might call it promiscuous.”

I met his gaze calmly. “Promiscuous? Who’s definition? The defendant’s? He should be looking at his spotted history.”

“Ms. Smith, please answer the question.”

“Was there a question while you were grandstanding?” I asked.

The courtroom fell into a heavy silence.

Then Kay stood. “Your Honor, may we approach the bench?”

The judge agreed that they both could approach the bench. She carried several thick folders. He had turned off his microphone but because I was so close, I heard everything.

“Counsel is trying to damage this witness’s character for having a sex life with her long term partners that she had at the time. Sure, she’s had a number of them however that doesn’t make her a slut like Counsel and his client are suggesting. Instead of ruining an innocent person’s reputation – an innocent person who was almost killed by Counsel’s client – when we should be focusing on the behaviors and actions of the defendant. He’s on trial here. These evidence exhibits are relevant to the defendant’s character.”

The judge nodded and said that Kay could provide copies to the defense team, a copy to the bailiff to hand to the judge and another copy to another bailiff to show to the jury.

She distributed DNA results, sworn affidavits, domestic violence reports, and records of unpaid child support. My ex-husband had eighteen children with fifteen women; a number of them being under the age of consent at the time they were involved with him. He also had multiple DUIs and DWIs, and assault charges. Everything laid bare.

The lawyer for my ex-husband was livid and you could tell that he wanted to quit the case. They – my ex-husband and his lawyer – were whispering furiously between themselves. I looked at Kay for a second and she gave me a quick nod before looking away. I knew in that second that her husband found all of this evidence. The judge was reading everything thoroughly and thought for some time.

“Bailiffs, the jury may be excused to see this new evidence and the defendant to a holding cell so I can look at this evidence in my chambers. We will return in 30 minutes. Ms. Smith, you are still under oath,” the judge said.

“All rise!” said the one bailiff and we all rose.

The judge headed to his chambers. The jury was excused to the jury room and my ex-husband was handcuffed then escorted to a holding cell. I stepped down from the witness stand and sat away from people in the courtroom. A bailiff was near me to help keep others from me. I was stressing out and ready to cry.

“All rise!” said the bailiff forty minutes later.

The judge walked in and sat down.

“Please be seated,” the judge said. “Bailiff? Please bring in the jury.”

“Yes, your honor.”

“Bailiff? Please bring in the defendant.”

“Yes, your honor,” the bailiff said.

Once the jury and my ex-husband filed in – separately - sat down and got situated, the bailiff called me back to the witness stand.

“For the record, the witness may step down from the stand in a few minutes and will not be recalled,” the judge stated as he closed the folder he received. “To those in the courtroom, I apologize for the delay. With this serious evidence brought upon us today, Ms. Smith is stepping down and not being recalled as she ought to be protected from the evidence that will be discussed. Ms. Smith, thank you for coming in today. You are now excused.”

A low murmur rippled through the courtroom.

I nodded to the judge and left the courtroom.

I walked out into the hallway. The sunshine that came through the wall to ceiling windows was so bright that I couldn’t see where I was going and I tripped over something that caught my foot. As I was losing my balance, Vince was there immediately and caught me.

“I’ll always be here to catch you, darling.”

“Please take me home,” I whispered.

He did.

Back at my place, I asked him for space. He looked a little wounded but nodded. He kissed me gently and left.

Once alone, I stripped down and threw every article of clothing that I was wearing to the courtroom into the fireplace. I lit the clothes on fire, watched the flames devour the fabric, shoes, and shame. The smoke was awful. I opened the windows, turned on the fan, and when the fire was down to ash, I doused the contents of the fireplace with water. I closed the windows then I brought in a few big air purifiers into the very small room to help clean the air…I knew it would take time.

Still in my robe, I sat in front of the television without turning it on. Kay, Vince, Bob, my parents, Pastor Dan and Sheila all texted me. I ignored them -  I didn’t have any words.

Eventually, I checked the purifiers and vacuumed the filters to clean them – in such a short time frame, the purifiers got dirty. I set an alarm to check them again. After washing my hands, I heated up some leftovers from a dinner that Vince made a few days ago. As I sat with the food, I realized how lucky I was to have him. I finished eating and sent him a single heart emoji . I checked the purifiers again before falling asleep on the couch.

That night, I was woken by the sound of breaking glass. It was a loud shattering sound.

I grabbed my phone and a baseball bat, sprinted across the living room, kitchen and foyer barefoot – and across the broken glass. Someone was driving off but caught the license plate on camera by using my phone and called the police then the EMTs as I realized that I was bleeding.

The police responded fast as they were previously briefed about the trial and something “could” happen. Had I known that they anticipated something happening to either me or my property, I would have asked if officers can been stationed around my house or drive by every so often or both. As the EMTs bandaged my feet to stop the bleeding, one of them laid into the lead police officer and told them that there should’ve been police presence to keep me safe and then they took me to the hospital. I called Kay from the back of the ambulance to fill her in; she said that she’d head over to my place right away and make sure that she got a report. I gave her the license plate number. Before hanging up, she said that she was calling Vince so that someone would be at the hospital for me.

Vince was already there when I arrived.

“We’re going to make sure that this harassment, intimidation and property damage will be added to his charges,” Vince whispered to me as he squeezed my hand.

I let him hold my hand as the ER staff numbed my feet and before they removed glass, I asked him to leave. He looked at me then I explained that he doesn’t want to see me like this – in pain. He nodded and left the ER. Later on in the evening, I found out that he went to my place, showed his license to the police that were still there and talked to Kay. Between a few calls from the both of them, they had a locksmith, a professional cleaning team and a glazier – a window repair person – at my house.

Once the police collected all the evidence that they needed, they were getting ready to go. However, Kay went through the house – after putting on shoe protectors on – with the police and told them to take more photographs and collect more evidence. The extra evidence were blood spots and footprints that the police hadn’t seen before.

When Vince returned to the hospital, my feet had been taken care of and I finished a course of strong antibiotics via IV and was ready to be discharged. One of the nurses came running over with a few prescription bottles for me.

“Ms. Smith! Ms. Smith!” she panted as she caught up to us. “I probably stepped over a few boundaries but I told the physician that was assigned to you that you wanted our inhouse pharmacy to fill these medications for you. One is an antibiotic to help prevent an infection, one is a mild pain medication and the last one is for dizziness. The doctor had thoroughly read your chart and noticed that you still have quite the bump on your head – you might still have a concussion. We just wanted to make sure that you were ok.”

“Thanks so much,” I said tiredly as I squeezed her hand. “You barreled through the boundaries plus some but I am thankful that you did. Neither one of us,” I looked up to Vince, “would have the energy to go the pharmacy when we get home.”

“You’re very welcome, Ms. Smith,” she said.

The next week, Vince visited twice a day. He helped with everything but he didn’t push. The police were still at my place making sure that I was safe.

We – Vince and I – always fresh coffee brewed and local restaurants donated prepared meals around the clock for the officers. We always tipped the delivery drivers well and made arrangements with the restaurant owners that we’d help offset the cost of the food.

I lived like this for another fifteen days. When Kay called me, I hobbled from the living room to my bedroom. Vince was over and I didn’t want him to hear what Kay was sharing with me. I answered

“It’s over,” she said. “Guilty on every charge. There was zero hesitation.”

“Darnell?”

“He’s great. His testimony was powerful. His mother’s was even more so.”

“And the evidence that your husband found? That must have been beneficial!”

“It was. And… he’s officially a registered sex offender. Some of the mothers were underage,” she said. “Also, filed permanent restraining orders on behalf of you and Darnell. Your ex and any and all of his family and friends must stay far away. Any infraction and there will be serious consequences.”

“Thank you for everything, Kay,” I said.

“By the way, my boss called the chief of police. There will be officers there for a few more days until the dust settles. In a few weeks, there will be police presence again when it’s the sentencing stage.”

“Where will he be?” I asked nervously as I worried.

“He will still be in jail until sentencing. The judge felt that he is a flight risk,” she said.

We hung up and I just stayed sitting on my bed. I guess I was in my room for a bit longer than I realized. He knocked on the door.

“Come in,” I sighed.

“What’s the story?” he asked – I already knew Kay told him but he wanted to hear it from me.

“He was found guilty on all counts and he’ll have to register as a sex offender and a pedophile. Some of the mothers of his children were younger than the age of consent at the time they were sexually involved,” I said. “Kay said he’s staying in jail until the sentencing hearing. I may need to go to that but I’ll ask Kay if it’s necessary. She said that she acted on behalf of Darnell and I by placing a restraining order on my ex-husband, his immediate family and his friends. And the police will be here for a few more days – they’ll be back at the time of the sentencing hearing.”

“Darling, this is great news,” Vince said. “What do you need?”

“One of your wonderful hugs and then my privacy,” I sighed. “I thought that I would be feeling happier but I don’t. Do I feel relieved? Yes.”

“Can you stand up or does that hurt your feet too much?” he asked. “No one can tell you how to feel about something as big as this.”

“I can but not for long,” I sighed as he helped me to my feet.

He wrapped me tightly in his arms. I inhaled his scent; him, saw dust and sandal wood. I have no idea how long we hugged for but it felt like hours. He slowly pulled away and made sure that I was steady on my feet.

“There’s so much food here for you and the officers that I didn’t bother to cook while you were on the phone,” he chuckled. “Please let me know when you’re ready for a visit or a date or something, ok?”

“I think the local restaurants have made enough food for an army. Thank you for loaning your second fridge; it’s been great to have more storage for drinks and all the food that is being brought over,” I sighed. “Thank you for helping me with my feet. I’ll let you know when I am ready.”

“I’m going to miss you so much, babe,” he said as he brushed hair off my face and kissed me softly. “I love you. Remember that.

“I am going to miss you, too, old man,” I replied. “I love you.”

He kissed me once more then he left.