Broadway Baby (25 page)

“I think it’s a good idea, Mama. How about Broadway?”

“I like that, baby,” Shelby smiled. “I think Broadway is a perfect code word for us. A few more minutes and then you need to get out of the tub, it’s time for bed.”

“Mama?”

“Hmm?”

“Why do we have to go see the lawyer tomorrow?”

“We have to see the D.A. because he asked to see us,” Shelby replied quietly.

“But why does he want to see us?” Lily pressed as Shelby pulled the plug and began to drain the tub.

“I’m not sure,” Shelby finished with Lily’s hair and moved to get the fluffy towel that Lily loved.

“Will Cora be there?” Lily asked quietly.

“No baby, Cora will not be there,” Shelby reassured Lily as she helped her dress in her favorite pajamas. “We might have to talk about Cora but she will not be there.”

“But she got out on bail,” Lily said quietly.

“She did, but she’s not allowed to see us, baby. Don’t worry, she won’t be there.”

“But what if she is,” Lily pushed some more.

“Then Mama will make sure that we leave or she does.” Shelby led Lily into her bedroom. “You do not have to see Cora, Lily.”

“Okay Mama.” Lily yawned and picked up Albie from Shelby’s bed before crawling into hit. “Are you going to lay down with me?”

“Don’t I always?”

“Yeah.” Lily smiled and yawned again.

“Let me change into my pajamas and I’ll be right there.”

“Okay,” Lily gave another yawn and held Albie tightly. “Mama do you promise I won’t have to see Cora?”

“I promise, Lily.” Shelby slid under the covers and allowed Lily to get into her usual spot with her head on Shelby’s chest. Bringing her arm around Lily, Shelby began to rub her back. “Go to sleep, baby. Everything will be fine in the morning.”

“I love you, Mama.”

“I love you too, Lily.” Shelby continued to rub Lily’s back as the girl fell asleep.

* * *

“I still don’t see why we had to come,” Lily pouted as Shelby led her into the building that housed the D.A.’s office.

Saying nothing, Shelby continued to lead her diminutive girlfriend toward the elevator. She’d been told that they were to make their way to D.A. Harry Watson’s office. Shelby had asked what it was he wanted to discuss but he had insisted on speaking to them personally. Pressing the button for the third floor Shelby allowed Lily to continue to whine while she said nothing. She knew that the only thing that would calm the little brunette down would be leaving the building and retreating into the safety of their apartment.

Exiting the elevator, Shelby began to walk toward D.A. Watson’s office by following the signs. Realizing that Lily wasn’t walking with her anymore Shelby stopped and turned around. “Lily, come on.”

“No.” Lily looked ready to bolt and Shelby moved to meet her quickly. Taking Lily by the upper arm Shelby ducked into the women’s restroom, which was conveniently located to their left.

Checking the room, Shelby made sure it was empty before pulling Lily into the handicap stall. Giving her three quick swats to the bottom, Shelby spoke. “You will come with me, you will not throw a fit, and you will answer any questions that the D.A. has for you. Do you understand, Lily Anne?”

Sniffing Lily nodded, “Yes Mama.”

“Good,” Shelby softened and hugged the girl. “I love you, Lily. Let’s go now. We don’t want to be late.”

Taking Lily’s hand Shelby pulled her from the stall and then through the bathroom door. Her heels clacking on the tile floor as they traversed the hallway, Shelby made sure to keep a tight grip on Lily. Coming to the right office, Shelby led them inside and placed Lily in one of the leather chairs against the wall before telling the receptionist who they were and that there were there for a meeting with the D.A.

Shelby sat in the chair next to Lily and clasped the hand Lily extended toward her. “Are you alright now, Lily?”

“No, but I’m trying,” Lily sighed and squeezed Shelby’s hand tighter. “I just wish I knew why we were here.”

Shelby’s reply was cut off when the office door opened and a tall man in his mid-forties with wavy black hair stepped out. “Ms. Bishop and Miss Prescott, I’m ready for you now.” His light blue eyes were bright and Shelby was instantly put at ease.

Entering the office before him, Shelby and Lily took seats in comfortable chairs positioned in front of his desk. Moving around the desk, the D.A. sat down and assumed a relaxed position. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to tell you what this was about over the phone, but I wanted to discuss the case with you in person.”

“What exactly do you need from us, Mr. Watson?” Shelby asked.

“I need to know how you would feel if Cora Prescott accepted a plea agreement.”

“What does that mean?” Lily’s question was quiet and the D.A. leaned forward on his elbows looking at Lily before answering her question.

“It means that in exchange for a guilty plea on certain charges Mrs. Prescott would be offered something.”

“Like what?” Lily pressed.

“In this case probation and an order of no contact with you and Ms. Bishop.”

“What type of plea?” Shelby asked.

“Mrs. Prescott has agreed to plead guilty to attempted extortion of Ms. Bishop and will attend court mandated counseling.”

“She would willingly plead guilty?” Shelby asked in disbelief.

D.A. Watson nodded, “Yes.”

“What’s the catch?” Lily asked. “There’s always a catch with Cora. What is it this time?”

D.A. Watson shifted in his seat and sat back, “That’s where this gets more complicated.”

“Just tell me, please.” Lily squeezed Shelby’s hand and took a deep breath.

“In exchange for the plea and for having the no contact order placed Mrs. Prescott would like to be able to retain her apartment and…”

Lily laughed dryly. “Her monthly stipend from my accountant’s office.” She shook her head and looked at Shelby. “I should have known.”

“And if we don’t agree to this?” Shelby asked rubbing her thumb on the back of Lily’s hand.

“Then she will plead not guilty and this goes to court,” the D.A. looked at the women and sighed. “I can tell you that her defense would make a media circus out of the trial. They would use every tactic that they could to insinuate that you set her up because she didn’t approve of your relationship, whatever that may be.”

“Damn her.” Lily’s eyes narrowed. “She can have the damned apartment. In fact, I’ll have it put solely in her name by the end of the week. As for the monthly stipend, it’s hers. I’ll have my accountant draw up the paperwork and it will be put into an account every month. There will be someone monitoring the account so it lasts. She will never get a raise and she is not to contact me, or Shelby ever. If I initiate contact that’s different, but she is to never contact me or Shelby.”

Shelby sat up straight in her chair and took a deep breath, “Mr. Watson, I know this is your office but could you please give us a few moments or tell us where we could go to discuss this privately?”

Shelby’s look of determination had the man nodding and standing up quickly. Grabbing a file he began to move from his desk, “I need to check on something in this file. I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”

“Thank you,” Shelby waited until the door closed behind him before rounding on Lily.

“What in the hell do you think you’re doing, Lily? If you agree to this you will have to support Cora for the rest of her life. What if something happens to your income? Do you want her to sue you for not honoring your part of the plea agreement?”

Gulping at the ire in Shelby’s voice, Lily dropped her eyes to her lap. “I never thought of that. I just want her gone, Mama. I just want her gone.”

Shelby moved from her chair and knelt in front of Lily. Taking Lily’s hands in hers she looked up into the dark eyes and held Lily’s gaze. “I want her out of our lives too, Lily, but we have to do this the right way.”

“Help me?”

Seeing Lily’s tears, Shelby stood and reached down, helping Lily up. She then sat down, pulling Lily onto her lap.

“You know I’ll help you. We will figure this out, and Cora will be out of our lives without being a burden to yours.”

“Thank you, Mama,” Lily whispered laying her head on Shelby’s shoulder.

“Alright then, here’s what I think we should do,” Shelby began speaking glad that Lily was actually listening.

* * *

The door to the office opened exactly twenty minutes later and Shelby was back in her own chair. Lily’s eyes were still a little red but she was also composed and the D.A. sensed a change in the atmosphere.

“Ladies?” he asked sitting down.

“The apartment is hers with no strings attached. I never did like it,” Lily began.

“But the monthly stipend will have strings,” Shelby interjected.

“And what are those strings?”

“The length of the allowance and the fact that some of it will be invested for her by a financial advisor. She needs this money to make money for her because I am not going to support her indefinitely,” Lily spoke once more.

Nodding, D.A. Watson ran a hand through his hair, “How long of a time were you thinking, Miss Prescott?”

“Depending on the investment I think that five years is more than adequate. She’ll have her regular amount for three and half years and then it will be reduced by half for the remainder of the five years.

“I understand,” the man pulled out a notepad and a pen. Let’s get this on paper to your satisfaction and then I’ll have it drawn up and sent to Mrs. Prescott’s attorney.”

“Thank you,” Lily gave a wry smile. “I just want this done with, Mr. Watson.”

“Then let’s get busy.” Picking up the pen he looked at the women and began to write.

* * *

Lily entered the apartment ahead of Shelby and immediately sat down pulling off her shoes. Starting to move again, she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. “Put your shoes in the basket, Lily.”

Lily sighed deeply before she tossed the shoes into her basket, “There. The shoes are in the basket. Happy now?”

“Very,” Shelby deadpanned. “Go to the kitchen and we’ll eat before we head out for the show. Oh, and Lily, drop the attitude.”

“Can I play in my room instead?”

“Sure baby.” Shelby replied putting her shoes in the basket before heading to the kitchen with the takeout. Plating the Chinese food, Shelby called out for Lily three times before she finally heard footsteps heading to the kitchen. “Time to eat, baby.”

“Okay, Mama,” Lily sat in a chair at the table placing Albie into the empty chair next to her.

Shelby couldn’t help but be suspicious of Lily’s sudden turn around. She quite honestly expected Lily to give her a hard time about coming to the table and eating. Lily had been nothing but one major attitude on the ride home from the D.A.’s office and the smiling figure in front of her now seemed too happy. “What were you doing while I was getting dinner ready?” Shelby asked.

“Making things pretty,” Lily took a bite of her noodle dish and smiled. “This is really good, Mama.”

“What do you mean that you were making things pretty?” Shelby prompted, needing more details.

Rolling her eyes, Lily huffed. “I mean that I was making a pretty drawing for the wall.”

“Oh,” Shelby relaxed somewhat, knowing how much little Lily loved to draw. “You’ll have to show it to me later.”

“Okay,” Lily agreed. “But I think you’ll be able to see it even if I don’t show it to you.”

“Lily, what do you mean?”

“Nothing,” Lily shrugged and continued to eat her noodles.

“Lily where are you going to put your pretty picture?” Shelby questioned.

“I thought it would look very nice in your room. You have that neat space by the window where you don’t have any pictures.”

“And how big is this picture? Did you use up an entire sheet of paper?”

“Nope.” Lily grabbed for her juice and took a healthy swig. “It’s bigger than my drawing paper.”

“Bigger?” Shelby’s nerves began to pulse in full as she put her chopsticks down. “I’ll be right back.” Leaving the table Shelby moved quickly down the hallway and into her room.

Looking at the wall where a large window allowed sunlight to filter in the room Shelby shook her head. Closing her eyes she opened them slowly and looked again. “Lily Anne Prescott, get yourself in here now!”

“Don’t you like my picture, Mama?” Lily appeared by Shelby’s side in moments having slowly followed her down the hallway in order to see Mama’s reaction to the picture she’d drawn on the wall.

Scooting past Shelby as quickly as she could Lily stood in front of the picture. “See, that’s us feeding the ducks at the pond after getting a hot dog from the cart.” Pointing to the images Lily grinned at Shelby.

Shelby nodded her head. “And what’s on the other side of the window?”

“Oh that’s just Cora getting knocked into the pond when a big old dog runs into her as he’s chasing a Frisbee. In fact, she’s falling into the muddy part of the pond where the ducks build their nests and she gets duck poo all over her.”

“Lovely,” Shelby commented.

“Yeah,” Lily agreed. “It is a lovely picture.”

Holding her temper Shelby moved from her bedroom and into Lily’s. Seeing the offending objects on Lily’s desk Shelby picked up the basket of markers, crayons, and drawing pencils. “Mama, where are you going with my stuff?”

“I am putting your drawing things up for a while, Lily.” Shelby looked down into Lily’s pouting face. “You do not draw or write on walls, Lily Anne.”

“But I was making you a pretty picture!” Lily stomped her foot and put her hands on her hips. “I want my stuff back, Mama! You don’t have a right to take it!”

Shelby stopped walking and put the basket of items on Lily’s dresser. “I don’t have the right to take your things?” her stern voice resonated in the room. “I will remind you, Lily Anne, that I am the mama and I do have the right to take your things away when you do not use them the correct way.”

Moving to the windows Shelby closed blinds and pulled the curtains shut. She then moved back to Lily. Taking Lily by the wrist she pulled her to the empty corner and placed her there with a heavy swat to her bottom. “Do not move, Lily Anne.”