Two middle aged Suburban men who despite living on the same cul-de-sac have never actually met, find themselves becoming new best friends as this summer in the 'burbs will forever change them.
Join these two ordinary guys who go from having their l...
"Can I catch a ride with you...Irv?". Spotnitz had stopped the car and rolled down his window but kept the car in gear with his foot on the brake.
"Irving please. No one calls me Irv." A slight pause followed, and after a barely noticeable sigh he asked, "where are you going?".
"Crazy...I think..." a deflated Larry Miller responded.
"Sure, get in. But grab that rag and clean your hands first." After his neighbor was clean, seated and buckled up he told Larry, "I have to make a stop at the Giant Eagle and pick up a few things, and then I have to go downtown."
"Sounds great! I need some stuff from the grocery store too...and if we go downtown, I'd like to drop by my old office."
"I'll be there all day though. I have jury duty".
"Fuck. Couldn't get out of it?"
"Why would I want to? People need to do their civic duty, smart, responsible people, otherwise we end up with the O.J. fiasco." After a pause he added, "besides, might make good material for a book."
Larry smiled, this was something he could understand, an angle.
Irving had watched from his writing room at seven this morning, steaming hot coffee in hand, amazed that his neighbor had broken his recent trend of sleeping in later each day. There he was in his driveway trying his best to revive his old barbeque. He was covered in grease and soot. Good for him.
Miller picked up some charcoal, lighter fluid, and a mickey of white rum at the Giant Eagle while his neighbor picked himself up some canned food and toilet paper.
Sitting in the gallery now Irving became nervous. What if he was selected for a long trial and it went into the school year? What if he wasn't able to be home when his wife Carole came home from holiday? He looked in the back row where Miller now sat, looking bored. His friend had gone in and out of the room several times and kept trying to make eye contact with Irving. He had told him that if he needed to get out of serving just to give him a signal, and he would make a ruckus that would make the judge thing he was not worthy to serve. Irving had no idea what Miler was planning, but now he was afraid to make eye contact in fear he would take it as a signal.
The best part of the morning was sitting beside a pretty early 30's something brunette named Kathleen Turner. Yes, she shared the same name as the actress. They had done a role call in the morning and when her name was called there were quite a few laughs which she didn't seem to take personally. Of course, if she didn't like the name, she could have long ago used a shortened version like Kat or gone with her middle name. That told Irving that she was a woman who didn't mind the attention.
Jury duty was filled with short bursts of excitement mixed in amongst long periods of tedium. The judge had made it clear from the start that he had heard all possible excuses, and fake prejudices, and would not stand for people unwilling to do their duty. If you didn't want to serve in a jury box you could instead serve in a much smaller prison cell. Irving looked back with trepidation when he saw Miller was not in the room for that pronouncement.
The lawyers were not allowed to ask any questions which expedited the process. A random name was drawn. The judge might on his own ask a couple questions, then the lawyers could accept or use an exemption. The first 3 juries were for 2 assault cases, and a fraud case, and were filled quickly. The judge announced that the 4th jury of the morning would not be needed as a plea bargain had been struck this morning. Due to that unexpected development the judge announced a longer than expected lunch break, with 2 more juries to be selected in the afternoon.
Irving's name had not been called for any of the first 3 cases, but amazingly Kathleen Turner had defeated the odds and been called for the second and third. As amazing as those odds had been, although there had been few exemptions used, the judge had dismissed Kathleen from the 2nd jury, and the prosecution exempted her from the 3rd.
Kathleen and Irving had become quite friendly during the morning, able to whisper to each other during one of the many breaks taken by the judge and various lawyers to confer. When Irving raised an eyebrow at her following the second dismissal, she just shook her head and then raised a shoulder to show it was a mystery to her as well.
Irving envied Kathleen's sun dress, not just because she looked so sexy, but because in the muggy summer Pittsburgh heat the meagre air conditioning of the courthouse could not keep things cool. Despite the dress though she seemed to be constantly squirming, changing positions, and crossing and uncrossing her legs. Maybe she had to go to the bathroom? He couldn't understand how If she was too warm then how come her nipples were so obviously erect?
Larry caught up to Irving for lunch where he was introduced to Kathleen and immediately smitten. They grabbed a quick lunch in the building's cafeteria as Larry told the other two about a murder case currently underway across the hall. A man was accused of murdering his wife, chopping her into pieces, hiding her body in a freezer, and over a period of years slowly disposing of the parts. Miller's excitement over the gruesome details was only matched by Kathleen's responding excitement. At one point during their excited conversation Kathleen absently grabbed onto Irving's arm while intently listening to the bloody details. Irving was intrigued, academically speaking as a writer, but didn't revel in the details like the other two.
"You guys need to get out of jury selection as fast as you can and join me at that trial!".
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