Thomas Sterner wore polyester suits. His law
office was on the second floor, over a liquor store. Instead of filing cabinets
he used the plastic “milk crates” that students use in their dorm rooms. They
were strung along the walls and stacked on each other. He hired students to
work for him as clerk-receptionist-translator. He only paid the State minimum
wage so none of them worked very long for him. The bulk of his work load was
helping Hispanics fill out forms, or make out deeds, bills of sale, or wills.
That was why he needed someone who spoke Spanish to work for him. Despite being
married to a Cuban-American, he had never learned to speak or read Spanish.
On Monday, November 8 Thomas received a
letter from Mr. Capon. In it Mr. Capon said that he had a report of an audit of
the bills and checks written on the account of Laura Claudette Sterner. The
audit was conducted by Graham Bilton, C.P.A. It shows that most of the
inheritance was spent for medical bills. All the checks until January 2010 were
written by Mrs. Sterner. When she became unable to write checks, Rev. Joshua
Sterner began writing the checks. All the checks written by him were for
medical expenses. The letter also stated that Mr. Capon had sworn depositions
from Mrs. Sterner’s doctor and hospice nurse declaring that if Rev. Sterner had
reached her room immediately, there is nothing he could have done to save her.
The letter concluded, “I would respectfully
suggest that you drop the lawsuit. Our courts are crowded as it is. When the
judge sees this for what it is – a nuisance suit - he is liable to make the
plaintiff pay the court’s expenses and pay for the defendant’s legal expenses.”
He sat down at his desk to think of what he
could do. Ofelia had been planning to use their portion of the inheritance,
which she assumed would be at least $ 60,000, to buy a bigger house. They lived
in a square, two bedroom house in a development of houses built just after the
end of World War 2. The houses had asbestos shingles. The walls were
plasterboard. All three of their daughters, Claudia, Mariela, and Elena, shared
one bedroom. Ofelia’s father kept up a steady flow of criticism of his
son-in-law. He said that if he were any good at all as a lawyer that he would
be bringing home bundles of money for his family. Sometimes he and his wife
would buy pretty dresses for the girls and then be sure Tom was home when they
gave them to his daughters.
Most of Tom’s clientele were poor. Many of
them were Hispanic. The ones who paid their bills did so in installments. The
temptations for dishonesty were rife, but Tom had resisted them so far. His
father-in-law heard about some of the offers of work that he turned down for
ethical reasons. He scorned Tom.
“I wasn’t too proud to work as a plumber’s
helper, even though I sometimes got my hands into someone else’s shit!”
Several clients came in to pay on their bill.
One paid $ 10; another paid $ 20. He thanked each one and gave them a receipt
showing how much they had paid and how much they still owed.
The telephone rang. It was Matthew.
“Tom, this is Matthew. I received a letter
from Mr. Capon, Dad’s lawyer. He enclosed the report of an audit by Gamble
Bilton of the account which held Mom’s inheritance. The audit was thorough.
Every cent of the inheritance was accounted for. I’m going to write to the lawyer asking that
my name be removed from the lawsuit. I am enclosing a check for $ 1000 for
Dad’s expenses in having the account audited and also his legal fees. I am
going to call Dad tonight, tell him that I have withdrawn from the lawsuit, and
ask him to forgive me. I strongly suggest that you withdraw the lawsuit altogether.”
“Thank you for calling and letting me know
that you were going to do this. I’ll think it over, but I think you are right.
If I do drop the case, I don’t know who I dread facing the most, Ofelia or her
father.”
“If you go forward with the case, and lose
it, you will have to pay court expenses and probably Dad’s legal expenses.” Do
you have a couple thousand dollars plus the cost of going up there? I don’t
know if you have thought of this, but I doubt if you are licensed to practice
law in Arkansas. The judge had better not find that out about you.”
“You don’t have to rub my face in all your
money.”
“ I am not rubbing your face in my money. I am
advising you not be the cause of losing money. Get out while you can.”
“Thank you for calling, Matthew.”
Tom sat down and wrote letters to the Judge
and Mr. Capon asking that the lawsuit be withdrawn. He wrote a letter of
apology to his father and asked for his forgiveness. He decided not to tell
Ofelia until he had to tell her.
**********
Thursday morning Mr. Capon called me.
“Reverend Sterner, you’ll never believe what
I received in the mail. Both of your sons sent me letters withdrawing the
lawsuit against you. I’m going to the Courthouse now to file their letters and
have the case removed from the docket. I’ll have them telephone the judge and
maybe we can have your accounts unfrozen by tomorrow. One of your sons also
sent a check for $1000 toward your legal and accounting expenses.”
“The Lord is good to me. The son who sent the
money, Matthew, called me last night and told me that he was withdrawing from
the suit and asking me to forgive him.”
**********
On Friday evening Ofelia had a big meal and
invited her parents. She seated her father at the head of the table and her
mother at the other end. She seated Tom between Mariela and Elena on one side
of the table. She sat with Claudia on the other side. The table was not very
large and he had to help the two young girls with their food. It was a very
uncomfortable meal for Tom. After dessert, Tom was going to get up and get a
wash rag to wipe the girls’ sticky hands and faces. Rubin Costello, Ofelia’s
father, stood up grandly.
“I have an announcement. There is a four
bedroom house in our neighborhood that is for sale. I have talked to the real
estate agent. He assures me that if Tom and Ofelia trade in this house, which
they own, and add to it the inheritance which Tom expects to receive next
month, they will be able to mortgage the remainder of the asking price for the
house. There would be a separate bedroom for each of the girls. The schools are
nicer. The girls would be able to come over and visit their grandparents
whenever they liked.”
The girls all clapped their hands and beamed
like sunshine. Tom stood up.
“There is not going to be an inheritance.
Matthew and I withdrew the lawsuit. As you said, Mr. Costello, we own this
house. I could not make mortgage payments or pay to heat and cool a larger
house on my income.”
Ofelia stood up and hurled her coffee at him.
The hot black liquid stung his face and neck and made ugly stains on his shirt,
tie, and suit.
“I hate you. I would never have married you
if I had known what a loser you are. I thought you would give me and our
children a comfortable life. Instead, we live on the edge of poverty. I hate
you.”
She broke down crying. Her mother and father
came to comfort her. Claudia looked puzzled and left the table. Mariela and
Elena turned toward him burying their sticky faces into his suit jacket and
clinging to him with their jelly coated hands.
**********
Since he was advisor to National Guard units
which drilled on Saturday and Sunday, Nathaniel’s usual days off were Tuesday
and Wednesday. He had talked to Joy on the telephone and asked if he could see
her on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“Yes, I’d love to see you again. In fact, you
can take me to the garage Tuesday to pick up my car.”
Nathaniel signed out on pass at 6 a.m. and
made the trip to Pecos in three hours. He went to the garage and asked about
Joy’s car. The problem had been the fuel pump.
“Okay, when she comes in to pick up the car,
you charge her only for the fuel pump. I want you to start right now and
replace the hoses, thermostats, water pump, and the belt. Put that on a
separate bill and I will pay for those items.”
He went to Joy’s house. She thought they were
going to the garage.
“If you don’t mind: This is the day I do my
laundry. Could I borrow your washing machine and dryer and do my laundry first
before we go to the garage.”
“You don’t fool me, Sarge, you were hoping to
get some help with your laundry. I don’t mind a bit. Bring it in and let’s get
started.”
Nathaniel could not believe how the two of
them worked so smoothly together. It was like they had done these jobs together
for years. Joy put his fatigues in the washer first. After that load was done she
put them in the dryer. While she was loading the dryer, Nathaniel was putting
in another load of wash. When the fatigues were dry, she carried the basket
into the kitchen, put up the ironing board and started pressing the uniforms.
Nathaniel admired the way she quickly ironed them, putting sharp creases in the
trousers and shirts. As she would finish one set she would put it on a hanger.
About one o’clock, she gave a whistle.
“Time to stop for lunch.”
She had sandwiches already prepared on hoagie
rolls. She opened a bag of potato chips and put out two cans of Coke. They sat
across the table from each other. He was admiring how attractive she was, even
sweaty and tired.
“I’ve missed you so much these last two days.
I’ve never known anyone that made me feel so happy inside and the feeling that
now my life is complete. Do you understand what I mean?”
She smiled and nodded. After lunch they
worked another hour. Then Nathaniel said,
“Let’s stop now and go to the garage so we’ll
be back when the kids come home from school.”
At the garage he said,
“I’ll go in and see if the car is ready.”
He went in, paid the bill for the items that
he had asked to have replaced, then went back to the truck.
“They have the car ready. You can go in and
pay the bill at the cashier.”
While she was paying the bill for the fuel
pump, they brought her car out. She came out and smiling at Nathaniel got into
her car. Nathaniel thought,
“I’ll
always remember that car because it brought Joy to me.”
They were finished with the washing and ironing
by the time the children came home. Sean and Eibhlin were happy to see
Nathaniel again.
Sean said, “Hey, Mom, I see you got our car
back from the garage.”
Nathaniel said, “Yes sir, and now you and I
are going to go outside and wash it while your Mom and Eibhlin work on the
supper. Go get some old clothes on that you can get wet and dirty in.”
Sean smiled from ear to ear at being included
in some activity with Nathaniel. They went out to the car and worked hard at
washing it, even washing the hubcaps and the tires. Then they borrowed the
vacuum cleaner and cleaned out the inside of the car. Sean worked hard and
learned quickly.
Joy and Eibhlin also worked hard at preparing
supper. They fixed meat loaf, baked potatoes, green beans, and salad.
Joy said, “You men get washed up for supper.
Be sure you scrub all that road grime off your hands and arms and face. Don’t
forget your neck and behind your ears.”
Sean looked up at Nathaniel towering above
him, beaming pride to be called a man.
After dinner the children had homework.
Nathaniel helped Sean and Joy helped Eibhlin. When the children left to get
ready for bed, Joy said,
“I want you to plan on spending the night on
the sofa bed every time you come. I want you to come every time that you want
to come. You are always welcome. I want you to know from the beginning that no
matter how close we become, I will not sleep with you unless and until we are
married. I’m not saying this to push the agenda of marriage ahead of schedule.
Let that discussion come when we both are ready for it. I just want you to know
what my moral standard is for our relationship. That isn’t to say that we can’t
kiss and snuggle. By the way, I am ready for some kisses and snuggling about
now.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
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