Advice of Counsel (The Samuel Collins Series Book 1) (22 page)

“Don’t cry Dick,” I said.

“Go to hell, Collins,” he said without turning around.

Maddie had gone to the restroom and I plopped down on the couch
in the reception area waiting for her to come out.  I fully expected her to be
in tears, which of course, she was.  Penny went running for tissues and I got
off the couch to comfort her.  She had held up to the very end and I was proud
of her.  A lawyer couldn’t ask for a better client.

“Come here,” I said, and I went over and put my arms around
her.  “You did great, Maddie.  You were awesome.”

“I’m so tired.  I just feel dead.  All those personal questions
. . . it was humiliating.”  She leaned against me and I smoothed her hair with
my hand.

“I know it was hard, but you did great,” I repeated.  “It
couldn’t have gone better.”

Penny was back and she handed Maddie a tissue.  Maddie blew her
nose and cried some more.

“Why don’t you sit down, dear,” Penny said.

“She doesn’t need to sit down; she’s been sitting all day,” I
pointed out.  “She needs a drink.  Let’s go across to the Esquire and grab a
beer,” I suggested.

Mother Hen looked at her watch.  “I’m afraid I can’t.  I’ve got
somewhere to be.”  She looked dotingly at Maddie and patted her shoulder. 
“It’s over now, Madeline.  Just put it behind you.”

I wanted to point out that it was nowhere near over – that it
was just beginning – but I bit my tongue.  “Looks like it’s just you and me,
Madeline,” I said.  “Penny, we’ll see you tomorrow.”  I hooked my arm around
Maddie’s shoulder and led her out the door.  We walked down the block towards
the bar.

“Okay, you need to quit crying now,” I told her when we got
close.  “I can’t take you into a bar like that.  People will think you’re my
girlfriend and that I’m breaking up with you.”  Maddie laughed and dabbed her
eyes with her soggy tissue.  When no more tears were coming I asked, “You
done?”

“I think so,” she sniffed.

“Good.  Let’s go.”

We crossed the street and went into the bar.  The place is long
and narrow and, whether it’s true or not, they boast of having the longest bar
in Texas.  It was like going from broad daylight into a cave and it took a
second for my eyes to adjust.  There was a girl sitting at the bar who I had
dated a couple of times.  She looked at me and Maddie then turned back to her
friend.  I directed Maddie towards the back of the bar, and the girl turned
back around as I was passing.

“I see you haven’t lost your touch with women,” she said
sarcastically.

“Still bitter, Marianne?” I shot back.  I didn’t turn around to
see the look on her face, but I could feel her eyes penetrating into my back
like little daggers.

“Who was that?” Maddie asked, when we had taken a seat.

“No one.” I flagged the waiter over.

“Whale, for being
no one
, she sure doesn’t seem to like
you very much,” Maddie observed.

“I took her out a couple of times and she got pissed off when I
quit calling her.”

The waiter set two longnecks down on the table.  I picked mine
up and clinked it against Maddie’s.  “Cheers.”

“Cheers,” she said.

“You really were great today, Maddie.”  I thought about the
look on Dick’s face when he was leaving and it made me laugh. “You kicked
Stollens’ ass.”

“Yeah, well I bet he’s not crying in his beer.”

“Actually, he probably is,” I laughed.  I wanted to celebrate
but she was bringing me down.  “Will you please quit pouting and celebrate with
me?”

She clinked her bottle against mine again and forced a smile. 
“Cheers, Samuel,” she said, and she upended the bottle and chugged almost half
of it.  It was so uncharacteristic that I just sat there with my mouth opened
for a second before I followed suit and took a swig off of mine.

She sat back in the seat and I could see her start to relax. 
As the tension left, her eyes got that sparkle back and the fret lines
disappeared from her forehead.  It was like she was transformed right before my
very eyes.   She ordered another beer, and then another, but when she ordered a
fourth, I started to get concerned.  I’d never seen Maddie drunk, and she was
well on her way.

“Are you sure you want another one?” I asked.

“Don’t you?” she asked, surprised.

“Well yeah, but I drink beer all the time.  Are you sure you
can handle another one?”

Wrong thing to say
. “You know, I haven’t been a mother
all
my life, ” she said.  “And just because I’m a mother doesn’t mean I can’t go
out and have fun.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” I said, but of course I did.   I
had always thought of Maddie as a mom, maybe because I’d met Oliver first.  Or
maybe because she was such a good mom.  She was so . . . dependable.  Like a
mom.  I knew a lot of female attorneys who had kids, but I never thought of
them as moms.  I’d never even imagined what Maddie was like before she was a
mom.  She was so suited to the position.  I was sitting across the table
looking at her, trying to envision her four years earlier.

“Why don’t you call your mom and see if she can keep Oliver and
the baby,” I suggested.  “We could grab a bite to eat.”  If she wanted a break
from being a mom, she at least needed to eat something.  I could just see her
throwing-up all over my Suburban if she continued to drink on an empty
stomach.  So Maddie arranged for her boys to stay with her mother and the two
of us went to Chris Madrid’s for burgers, nachos and margaritas.

We went outside after ordering and I heard someone shout my
name from the other end of the patio.  Niki was waving me over.

“Hey, Collins.  Maddie, how’s it going?”

“Hi, Niki,” Maddie said all bubbly and friendly.  She was
slurring her words and she did a little side step before she reached the table.

Niki looked from Maddie to me and gave me a look.  “It’s not
what you think,” I muttered.

“Maddie!” someone called from behind me.  I turned around and
instantly wished we’d gone somewhere else.

“Matt!” Maddie said happily.  He set his tray of food down next
to Maddie and took the place beside her.

“You look great.  How are you?” he asked.

“Pretty good,” she said.  “How was your trip?”

“It was okay.  I just got back in town about an hour ago,” he
said, offering her his fries.  “Sam.  How’s it going?” he asked, finally
acknowledging my presence. 

“Okay.  Maddie and I have been out celebrating.”

Although he could have just as easily directed his question to
me, he turned to Maddie instead.  “Is it your birthday or something?”  He’d
smile every time he’d say something to her.  It was ridiculous.  He had that
puppy-dog look on his face, and what was worse, Maddie was wearing the exact
same expression. 

Maddie shook her head no as she sipped her margarita through a
straw.  “I had my deposition taken today and my lawyer was pleased with my
performance.”  She looked over and smiled at me.  “Sit down Samuel.”  She
scooted over to make room for me, and patted the bench next to her but before I
could sit down, they called our order.  “Do you want me to help you?” Maddie
called out, but I waved her back down.  

When I got back with our food the two of them were engrossed in
something that they evidently both found hilarious because they were laughing
and carrying on.  I sat down heavily by Niki on the other side of the table. 

Niki leaned in and said under his breath, “You’re not jealous
are you, Sammy Boy?”  He had a stupid smile on his face like he’d caught me
with the goods.

“Of what?” I asked irritably.

“Of another guy paying attention to your cute neighbor.”

“Not even,” I told him, but even as I said it, I knew that he
knew I was lying. 

“Right.  Can I have one of those?”  He reached over and took
the nacho with the most cheese on it before I could answer.

“Help yourself,” I said sarcastically.  “Here’s your burger,
Maddie.”

“Thanks!”  She reached across the table and knocked over the
pitcher of frozen margaritas and it went all over Matt.  He jumped up
instinctively and yelled.  I felt redeemed – like Matt had gotten something he
deserved even though I knew he hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Oh my God!” Maddie said.  “I am soooo sorry!”  She grabbed a
handful of napkins and dabbed at Matt’s drenched shirt, but the bulk of the
drink had gone in his lap.

“It’s okay,” Matt said, shaking droplets of sticky margarita
off his arm.  Maddie wiped at his arm, then handed him a bunch of napkins. 
“You better do that part,” she said, motioning to his pants.

He gave her a look that said he’d hoped otherwise and then he
laughed.  “I won’t say it,” Matt told her.

“Don’t,” Maddie laughed.  She sat back down and I realized that
she was absolutely trashed.  When Matt sat back down, she hooked her arm around
his elbow and leaned against him.  “I’m really sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he assured her.  “I’ve got a suitcase full of
clothes out in Niki’s car.  How are your kids?”

I tuned out.  They were making me sick.

I talked with Niki for the next couple of hours while Matt
drooled over my neighbor.  When it came time to leave, I wondered if Matt would
suggest that he take Maddie home, and if he did, whether she would go with
him.  There was no telling what a mom-on-the-loose would do.

“Are you about ready to go, Maddie?” I asked.

She looked at me like she was trying to focus.  “What time is
it?” she asked slurring badly.

“Ten o’clock.”

“Ten o’clock!” she said in disbelief.  She turned to Matt and
slurred, “That’s my bedtime.  I’m going to turn into a pump –
hiccup
–
into a pumpkin.”

Niki was right.  She was pretty cute.

“You’re not driving I hope?” Matt asked her.

“Oh, no.  Sam’s driving.”  She gave me a drunk smile and
reached across the table for my hand, but she knocked over Niki’s beer
instead.  It trickled through the slats of the table down onto my shoes. 
“Oops.  Did that get you?” she slurred.

“Just my feet,” I said.

“She’s going to feel like shit tomorrow.  Make her drink a
bunch of water before she goes to bed,” Niki suggested.

“I won’t be tucking her in,” I informed him.

“Well someone’s going to have to,” Niki said.  “She’s gonna be
passed out before you get her out of the parking lot,” he laughed.

“You’re not going to throw-up in my car, are you?” I asked her.

“If I do, I’ll clean it up tomorrow,” she slurred.

“No!” I said horrified.  I was almost tempted to let Matt take
her home but I couldn’t do it.  He seemed like a good guy, but I’d never
forgive myself if anything happened to her after I’d taken her out and gotten
her trashed.  I’d have to risk her getting sick in my car.  I had no choice.

“Are you ready?” I repeated.

“I’m ready!”  She saluted me and hit Matt in the eye in the
process, then she fell all over him trying to get up.  He was totally unfazed
by her behavior.  Not the least bit annoyed.

“Can I take you to dinner Wednesday?” Matt said.

“I’d like that.”  She looked at me with googoo eyes. “Maybe
Samuel will baby sit?”

“You
are
drunk,” I said.

She turned back to Matt.  “Will you call me and remind me, just
in case I don’t remember?” she said, sounding really sweet.

“I will definitely call you,” he assured her.

I bet you will
. Maddie made another attempt to get up
and succeeded only with Matt’s help.  He walked her over to my side of the
table.

“She’s all yours,” he laughed.

Maddie looked at me and squealed like she hadn’t seen me in
weeks.  “Samuel!”  And she wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me.  Or
rather fell all over me.  Niki and Matt were both laughing while I practically
carried her out to the car.  I poured her into the seat and strapped her in,
hoping that Niki would be right and that she’d pass out.  No such luck.  She
made me sing show tunes with her the whole way home.

I pulled into her driveway because I didn’t want to carry her
all the way from my house but she refused to get out until she finished singing
that ridiculous
Raindrops on Roses
song from
The Sound of Music
. 
I was horrified to realize that I knew most of the words.  She went right from
that song into
The Hills are Alive
and I could just see her making a
medley out of the whole damn soundtrack.  I squelched her before she could go
any further, and I helped her out of the car.

“Thank you for not throwing up in my car.”

“You’re very welcome,” she slurred.

“Come on.  I’ll walk you in.” I got her inside and she dropped
down on the sofa in the front room.  “No.  Come on.  You don’t want to sleep
here,” I said, and I dragged her back to her feet.  “Where’s your bedroom?”

She pointed at the ceiling of her 1-story house and laughed, so
I threw her over my shoulder and went looking for her bedroom on my own.  I
passed the baby’s room and instantly thought of
that day
.  I passed a
room that had to be Oliver’s and one that I assumed was a guestroom, and I
finally came to Maddie’s room.  I flung her down on the bed and she opened her
eyes and gave me the drunk smile.

“Thank you for taking care of me.  I’m sorry I got so drunk.  I
hope I didn’t embarrass you.”

“You couldn’t embarrass me if you tried.”

She closed her eyes but was still smiling.  I leaned over the
bed and took off her shoes, then I folded the edge of the bedspread back and
covered her up.  “See you tomorrow, Madeline.”  She looked so soft that I had
the urge to touch her, so I stroked her cheek with the back of my hand.  She
took my hand and kissed the back of it then let it go.

“Thank you, Samuel,” she said without opening her eyes.

“Don’t thank me yet.  I haven’t done anything.”

I watched her for another couple of seconds before I left. 
“Good night, Maddie.”