When Nothing More Could Be Done to Dodge a Bullet

It was quick after Clara Rose Fox, criminal defense lawyer, entered stage 1 of NON-REM sleep during an attempted evening nap on September 3rd 2016 that she was woken up by a call from a police officer who informed her John Smith had been arrested following a fairly big drug trafficking investigation and wanted to speak with her. After she accepted his call, the latter explained: "We’ve spoken a few times a while back concerning a highway safety statement of offence. I’m now caught in something a little bigger. Are you free to meet me at the courthouse tomorrow to discuss the possibility of representing me?”. She told him she would arrange to be there and he gratefully thanked her.

The next morning, a few minutes after Ms. Fox sat in the visiting booth of the courthouse while waiting for an officer to bring Mr. Smith, he walked in with a warm smile as he expressed how glad he was to finally meet her in person. She couldn’t shake his hand because a glass window was separating them, but she could ascertain he was noticeably good-looking: tall, nicely built, dark featured and suntanned. “Damn” is what she thought to herself because she knew he could never be in the running to be her husband even if he was to reveal supernatural powers considering their professional relationship and her obsession with preserving her image, but “Likewise Mr. Smith” is what she nonchalantly responded.

After discussing the case, Ms. Fox accepted to enter the court record for his behalf. A lengthy bail hearing was then scheduled for the judge to determine whether the co-accused should be released with conditions while undergoing proceedings, but Mr. Smith ended up withdrawing his bail request because he was unable to find sureties to propose.

Around noon the next day, September 5th, Jenna Frieson, junior lawyer assisting Ms. Fox in her law practice to whom she had transferred her calls in view of avoiding incessant disturbances while working on arguments due shortly after despite it being labour day, called her to say Mr. Smith wished to speak with her about something he deemed important. It turns out what he sought to know was: “What type of sentence should I expect to receive if I am convicted?”.

Moderately annoyed, Ms. Fox tried to respectfully respond: "Mr. Smith, I just received 3 terabytes of evidence. I'm not done reviewing it so I can't yet answer. I would also point out that it’s a holiday”. Sounding like he felt honestly bad, he apologized and said he hadn’t realized the date since time is lost in space when in jail. They agreed to reconvene at their meeting scheduled the week after.

As planned, Ms. Fox visited Mr. Smith at the jail on September 12th. When she arrived in the visiting booth, he was writing notes about why each day in jail should count for two days because of the deplorable detention conditions. She explained that the maximum sentence for the offences involved was life in jail but that in circumstances similar to his, even ten years would be in the higher range of sentences. The topic seemed pivotal to him, but he said it wasn’t because he couldn’t handle jail time and rather because he feared missing a rare opportunity because of it.

Towards the end of the meeting, Mr. Smith thought relevant to mention: “You know… I didn’t have the easiest upbringing and I often felt obliged to make bad decisions but trust me, it’s never happening again”. After a pause, he added: “And I know it would be more than buried if I had a good woman by my side who believed in me and didn’t continuously judge my past because I would do everything to keep her happy and safe”. He looked like a moderate badass, but he sounded like a bundle of a lack of love. Thus, Ms. Fox opted to say: “All you need is willpower and if you think you can succeed, it’s because you can”.

Throughout the months that followed the co-accused presented various preliminary motions. Before the Court could decide on one whose object was to exclude a substantial amount of evidence based on illegality claims, the Crown approached them to offer an “all or nothing” type of plea deal involving the withdrawal of certain charges and more favorable sentences for some co-accused, conditional to all of them pleading guilty. Some felt compelled to accept the terms despite being against them considering the impact of not doing so, so they did. By March 2018, Mr. Smith had been sentenced and was to be released in December 2018.

A few days before Christmas 2018, Ms. Fox received a call from Mr. Smith who was now out of jail. He wished her well-wishes and time off for the holidays. He then casually added that they should go on vacation together so she could rest. After she declined and reminded him of the nature of their relationship, he asked: “Could I at least buy you dinner to thank you for your work?”. It definitely sounded more appropriate than vacation. After a few seconds, she answered: “Only if you take me somewhere exceptional, offer me the most expensive glass of Merlot wine on the menu, don’t commit any new offence before it happens and understand it would be strictly business”. With eyes wide-open after reading her requirements, Mr. Smith quickly responded: “Firstly, I'm more than willing to proceed as proposed and secondly, the proposition sounds more like a dream date than strict business”. Before she could respond, he told her he’d be in touch soon, reiterated his holiday wishes and concluded the call.

By March 14th 2021 Ms. Fox had declined to schedule dinner at least eleven times for work-load related reasons but even if her actions could potentially be unduly perceived by many as demonstrating a clear absence of intention to ever schedule it, Mr. Smith had enough confidence to never stop persisting and never questioned any way she ever said she felt. He also kept her informed of his progress in legal affairs and never missed an opportunity to send her heartfelt wishes with touches of admiration for her on holidays.

That evening, Ms. Fox received a call from Mr. Smith for a general question of law. Shortly after, he wrote her a text message to thank her again for her time. Barely a minute after, he added that even if he was on the right track, times weren’t always easy, especially during the pandemic. A third message then came in stating: “Sometimes I dream of moving to go live my best life on a yacht somewhere warm and beautiful where the cost of living is lower and business opportunities are higher, and of finding an accomplice who’d be willing to live her best life by my side”. After she told him she believed in him finding his happiness, he replied: “I believe in you and in us living our best lives together”. It would be a lie to say Mr. Smith’s words didn’t trigger weirdly warm and peaceful sensations in her body that her self-proclaimed clairsentient abilities indicated didn’t only stem from her love for yachts and sunshine, nor from his remarkable looks.

Out of character, in a vulnerable state during a period when her career was almost getting the best of her endlessly perfectionist self and unexpectedly steering her towards a frequent state of soul-searching after a decade in, Ms. Fox wrote back: “If there were yachts, beaches and none of the small souls that form part of the justice system, it probably wouldn’t be that hard to convince me!”. He immediately made it clear that he’d be willing to build a life with her wherever she desired if she desired it. She dismissed it by saying she wasn’t in the right state of mind in regard to her previous message. Before wishing her a goodnight, he replied: “It all starts with dinner”.

Two days and numerous exchanges later, Ms. Fox finally agreed to meet Mr. Smith for dinner that evening in his district where restaurants had just re-opened after it went from a red to an orange COVID-19 zone and where she was already scheduled to be for another matter. She made sure to mention it remained strictly business despite her no longer representing him and his response was: “We’ll see”. In any case, shortly after she witnessed his heavenly scent and tasteful choice of attire as he greeted her in the parking lot of the restaurant he chose, they realized dinner wasn’t happening; it turns out those residing in red zones weren’t permitted to enter restaurants. Mr. Smith thus proposed a walk at the mall next door which he suggested would allow them to kill time in view of avoiding traffic hour. His proposition was hard to refuse considering it opened the possibility of her accepting it without indirectly having to reveal the rapid growth of her curiosity in his regard, so she accepted it.

As Mr. Smith held the mall door open for her, he blurted: “It’s actually convenient that we’re here because I needed to pass by the liquor store to buy a gift for an upcoming event. Mind if we go?”. She surely didn’t mind but by the time they got there she had received a call so she instead ended up watching him run the errand as she paced back and forth in front of the store while finishing her call. She noticed him grabbing bottles in the France, Italy, California, Australia and Spain wine sections before going to the cashier.

By the time Mr. Smith exited the store Ms. Fox was ending her call so they pursued their walk, however they soon-after spotted a deserted food court where they decided to take their conversation while sitting face to face. Contrary to her vain belief that she was too good for him whether he was a convict, a criminal or a saint based on the insufficient information she gathered over the years, it took no time for her to notice he had dept and was quite exceptional.

When they finally stood up to leave over three hours later than Ms. Fox expected, Mr. Smith placed the liquor store bag on the table in front of her and said: “Since I couldn’t take you to an exceptional restaurant where I could offer you a glass of the most expensive Merlot on the menu, I got you a bottle of the most expensive Pétrus I could find today which you can open when you end up going on a dream date. I also picked a few great Merlot wines from different countries so you can at least travel in your mind while deciding which one to open during times when your work prevents you from living your best life”. Despite her claim of always being one step ahead of everything surrounding her, she didn’t see that one coming and definitely felt a little bit charmed.

After a moment of awe, Ms. Fox thanked Mr. Smith and emphasized his thoughtfulness. She then awkwardly suggested that he wait for her while she runs to buy coffee for the road at a store she was pointing to next to the food court, while also visibly walking towards it. He waited for her considering she barely gave him the option. She quickly returned with two empty coffee cups and a corkscrew that she placed on the table before taking the bottle of Pétrus out of the bag and saying: “Are you up for a glass of Merlot?”.

That’s how the day ended, but the story just began. Indeed, when nothing more could be done to dodge a bullet, it is usually wise to let nature take its course because the bullet you tried to avoid might be your best life that you would’ve never had the rare opportunity to meet had the shooter not committed a crime and finished his sentence.

____________________________________________________ "Dream date" (Merlot) Vocal Media short story challenge [2021-04-20]