Merideth reenters the room just moments before the tablet-like device at the end of the table indicates our need to rise for the honorable Judge Lera Sutton.
“Please be seated. Miss Harter, your testimony is finished for now though there are a few questions I will have for you at the end of the trial. Miss Layton, please state for the county record your wish for Evelette Harter.”
Ceremonially, Merideth sits up straight and clears her throat. “It is my wish that Evelette live under full guardianship of her sister Sydney, Your Honor.”
“Forgive my bluntness, Miss Layton, but I do need you to ascertain whether this has always been your intention or if in light of the recent passing of your sister are you only now finding Sydney a suitable guardian for Evelette?”
“This has always been my intention,” Merideth asserts, although that answer is something of an uncertainty to me as well.
“Why?” Judge Sutton asks with a touch of irritation.
“I admired the remarkable strength and selflessness that Sydney conveyed from the moment I picked Evvie up from the orphanage when she was twelve years old. Evvie didn’t want to come with me,” Merideth admits, “and Sydney convinced her to. She spoke to her like a mother, and didn’t take no for an answer.” No, I didn’t. Merideth had several years left on her parenting account, so I knew if Evvie went with her, we would be spared all worry over a male fostering her.
“I sincerely believe that I’ve done great with Evvie the last two years, but she’s never seen me as a mother figure. She never seemed to need one. Sydney brought her sister up to be a strong, independent young lady. In the two years that Evvie has lived under my roof, Sydney has continued to be the primary influence in her life. Sydney is the first person that Evvie turns to in good times and in bad.”
“Like?” Judge Sutton prompts.
“Well,” Merideth fumbles, intimidated by the judge. Her intention speech was crisp and rehearsed, but under the pressure of the judge’s unpredictable questions, she falters a bit. Finally, she finds an example. “Last month, Evvie earned an award from her instruction monitor on EduWeb for being the most helpful and encouraging classmate in forums. Evvie told me all about it when I came home from work,” Merideth smiles proudly. “In the same breath, Evvie told me everything that Sydney had to say when she had called her earlier. They were all the same things that I planned to say—that I couldn’t be more proud of her and that helping others means more than earning the top one-percent distinction that she barely missed. I didn’t get to be the first one to say these things though, Sydney did. Instead, I was left saying, ‘Your sister’s right’. Later in the week, when she didn’t ace an exam I told her, ‘Remember what Sydney said about what is most important.’”
Suddenly my heart aches for Merideth, like hers ached for me before the recess. She was devastated listening to the account of a child who had already suffered the death of many loved ones, which necessitated unheard of responsibilities, only to, against the odds, be further abused by someone as destructive as Trista. Merideth mourned the fact that life remained unkind to us when it could have finally taken a better turn when we had our first foster.
Like we held hope, Merideth too had been searching unsuccessfully for love from a man or the children that she’s fostered throughout her life, and had probably thought that she had finally caught a break when she found a child with as soft a heart as Evvie. Only once again, Evvie’s heart did not belong to Merideth, but to me.
“What about the bad times, Miss Layton?” Merideth appears confused by the question. “Can you give the court an example of a bad time, as you articulated, where Evvie went to Sydney rather than to you,” Judge Sutton provides.
“Oh, right,” she understands. This time Merideth has an anecdote ready. “Poor Evvie’s been a ghost since yesterday. I couldn’t even get her to come to the coffee shop with me this morning. She’s been so worried about today.” Merideth had brushed over Evvie’s state this morning, simply equating her to the average teenager that can’t be dragged out of bed. As if reading my mind, Merideth justifies, “I’m sorry, Sydney, I just didn’t want to worry you when you had so much to be thinking about already.”
I would have never done it, but I instinctively desired to take her hand moments ago when I was feeling sorry for her. Now, I’m irritated with Merideth and regret that feeling. She should have told me the truth about why Evvie would not come with her this morning. I would have called her, because, as Merideth just pointed out, I am the one who can soothe Evvie, and let her know that it will all be okay.
Merideth directs herself back toward the judge. “I suppose that’s not an example of when Evvie went to Sydney instead of me, but it does show that unfortunately Evvie will never fully trust and open up to anyone but her sister. And being able to talk about problems, fears, crushes, and whatever else with your guardian is incredibly important. As Evvie gets older, she is going to need interaction with her sister, and placing her in the orphanage cannot guarantee that contact will be possible.”
“Thank you, Miss Layton, that should suffice. Before we bring Evvie in to make her statement—is there any reason you see Sydney unfit to be Evvie’s guardian?”
“No, Your Honor,” Merideth answers without hesitation. Judge Sutton presses a few icons on the tablet-like device on her left while she simultaneously types notes or fills in information on her high-tech, county-issued tablet on her right.
I detect footsteps behind the door, and it slowly creeks open. Merideth’s reference to Evvie as a ghost was no exaggeration. Her skin is porcelain and somehow she looks frail, as if she could be easily broken. I notice her hands shake as she places them softly into her lap. Evvie’s wide-set, pale blue eyes are intense and apprehensive. They remind me of my mother’s eyes. Not well.
I’ve never seen Evvie like this. Everything about her contradicts the fun-loving, strong, and confident girl I know her to be. Even the new feather-patterned, neon-green dye streaked down the thinner side of her parted hair sharply contrasts with the demeanor she now holds. She won’t even look at me. There’s clearly something deeply concerning happening here, and I’m beginning to feel its power goes beyond the outcome of this court case. The trial will be over soon, hopefully with the result for which we all came, and I can talk to Evvie then.
“Hi Evelette. I’m just going to ask you a few questions today, okay?” Judge Sutton asks more sweetly than we’ve heard from her so far. At the same time, she isn’t treating my sister like a child, which Merideth sometimes does. Evvie hasn’t been a child for a long time, since forever maybe, and I respect that Judge Sutton sees to treating her fittingly.
“It’s Evvie,” my sister manages. I realize then that worried isn’t the right word. It’s frightened. Evvie seems frightened, petrified even. If Judge Sutton were to rule that option four be enforced, that Evvie return to the orphanage, she would have good reason to be terrified. But judges virtually never deliver such a verdict when there are perfectly good parenting years to steal off someone, and Evvie knows that.
I know better than to trust that the orphanage would always remain in our good sights, but Evvie remembers it to be a favorable enough experience. My sister wouldn’t fear the outcome of this case the way she fears whatever terrible unknown plagues her. I want this over with. I need to know this monster so I can fight it.
“Alright then, Evvie. What do you ask for from the county court today?”
“I ask that my sister, Sydney Harter, be granted full guardianship of me.” Good girl. For an instant before she spoke, I fretted that she was going to say that she no longer wanted to live with me. I realized that might have been what she needed to talk to me about when she couldn’t sleep and that it was me, and my reaction, that she feared.
“Very well. We’ve been hearing a lot from your sister and some from Miss Layton as well this afternoon, so what I’m going to ask from you is just three words that summarize why your sister would be the best guardian for you, oka
y?”
Evvie nods her head. “Protective, smart, and loving,” she answers.
“Good enough for me. Now Miss Harter, Sydney, that is, before I make my final decision I have two important questions to ask you, which I expect you to answer honestly. First, should you ever recognize in yourself or your sister tendencies of psychosis or mental illness will you take the proper steps—proper steps being that you immediately seek medical attention and if the insane party is you, that you immediately notify to the county that you are no longer fit to continue being your sister’s guardian?”
“Yes,” I decide, assuming I would recognize psychosis in myself. My mother had no idea she was so off the rocker. She didn’t see what she was doing to us, or what she wasn’t doing for us.
Suddenly, I am shaking thoughts of my mother out of my mind and allowing Judge Sutton’s words to sink in. She asked if I would notify the county if I am unfit to continue as Evvie’s guardian. We’ve done it! Evvie and I will finally be together again after two long years apart. That is the verdict that Judge Sutton expects to deliver, provided my response to her second important question is acceptable.
“Good. I hope so. These things are known to follow genetics. Secondly, and please take a serious moment to think about my next question,” Judge Sutton counsels. “Do you have any intention to remove yourself and/or your sister from Miles County by means that you may or may not now know?” A suspicion twists in my stomach that somehow Judge Sutton knows about my breach this morning, perhaps all of my past transgressions. Then I remember my testimony about my mom pulling my arm across the line to prepare me for escape. I assume she is asking this question in response to the topic of escaping from Miles being such a prevalent and disturbing presence throughout my childhood.
The truthful answer to this question is that I would always do whatever I believe is best for my sister, for my family, at whatever cost. I have broken plenty of laws before, and I don’t mind the addition of perjury to the list if it secures victory for us in this case. “I have no intention of leaving Miles, now or in the future, Your Honor,” I declare.
“Then be happy to know I am ruling in favor of all of your requests.” A smile and laughter erupt from inside of me. Merideth smiles as well. She is happy for us, and ably covering her sadness in losing Evvie. Evvie’s smile is less convincing as it attempts to façade whatever tears at her. I suspect I’m the only one that can see that clearly.
“As of 1:23 PM on this twelfth day of September, 2033, I, Judge Lera Sutton, ad litem for the county of Miles, grant Sydney Harter full guardianship of her sister, Evelette Harter, until she reaches age eighteen or until Sydney Harter is deemed unfit by Miles County court of law,” Judge Sutton announces. “Thank you and I wish you the best,” she concludes with sincerity.