After Before and After

Phase 4: Chapter 81

July 9, 1993. 4:54 PM.

There had never been a Friday that felt so long, at least that's what you'd hear if you asked Ralph Langley. Being the face of the trial was one thing; listening to Barnes ask Marine Corps officers, teachers, and acquaintances he barely knew testify to isolated incidents that, combined, made it him look worse like something he wasn't. But it was a whole other thing listening to Barnes grill his own family members about whether or not he was a good person, trying to catch them in a technicality or a story that could be easily misinterpreted.

After Laurie returned to her seat next to her son, Ralph's grandmother, Diana Prescott was called. And after her was her husband and Ralph's grandfather, Benjamin. When Laurie first sat back down beside him, Ralph could instantly feel how hot her skin was. The flustered and nervous energy was radiating off her like a bad cold. Barnes had to know that she was the emotional parent, it was where Ralph got his own flare for the dramatics. Barnes intentionally stumped Laurie, and made it so she would nervously search for the words to say in a panic. It made both her and Ralph look bad, as if his mother were searching for a lie to cover up a terrible truth.

Although, Dana Barnes did manage to make a point that got into Ralph's own head; why would he stay best friends with the people who helped to kill Simon? It wasn't just Jack, it was the twins too. They all killed Simon, and over the last two years, Ralph did nothing that would suggest he cared for Simon at all. He wondered if the young, curly-headed boy would be disappointed in him now. He wasn't all that pleased Ralph was friends with Jack even when he was alive. But Sam and Eric were Simon's friends too. Would he be disappointed, if he were here to see all this? Would be blame them all for what happened to him? Or would he understand?

After the regularly scheduled noon recess, Barnes called Ralph's Aunt Alison to testify, and then teachers and acquaintances from Ralph's current school. The brunette boy had no idea why Barnes was bothering to make a spectacle of the life he left behind in East Point to be here; the life he built from the ground up after the island. What did the present have to do with the island?

At the end of the day, the Langley family came together with Zoey to talk about next week. Zoey happily announced that she was made aware that Barnes intended to wrap up her case against Ralph on Monday. It wasn't much of a surprise considering there was no physical evidence against him, and never a disciplinary report written about him from any school or extra-curricular activity. His case would run for a total of five and a half days. Compared to Roger, who took nearly three weeks, Ralph was feeling pretty good for a fifteen-year-old on trial for involuntary manslaughter.

That weekend, the Langley family packed to return to their home in East Point. Since the vast majority of their extended family was in Savannah for the trial this past week, the whole family planned to come together at the Langley house to celebrate the conclusion of the prosecution's case against Ralph.

On the drive home that Friday night, Ralph could tell his mother was still out of sorts. She got the worst of it from Barnes on the stand compared to the rest of her family. She was oddly quiet for most of the drive back to East Point. Ralph knew it was best to just leave her be when she got like this. Usually, if Laurie Langley wanted to talk about something, she talked about it. When she was quiet, she was processing on her own terms. Ralph put his Walkman on and listened to his favorite three tapes repeatedly for the last two hours of the drive after spending the first two contemplating in the silence.

Upon their arrival in East Point, Jeffery reserved a rather large table at a local restaurant; a well-known hotspot in the city for family gatherings and celebrations. On Saturday night, they all had a nice meal together. The adults had a few drinks, minus the few designated drivers. Ralph ate way too much chocolate cake. Once the conversation shifted away from him and the trial, he spent the rest of the evening at the restaurant making faces at his baby cousin, Stephanie, who let out sporadic little baby laughs at him.