After Before and After

Phase 4: Chapter 105

October 5, 1993. 11:52 AM.

Jack Merridew was dreading the hour long lunch break that was scheduled to begin in seven or eight minutes. The first three and a half days of the defense's case were ordinarily boring, and each minute felt a lot longer than sixty seconds. Though, recesses had surprisingly been the hardest part of each day as of late. Since Paige announced to Evan that she had a plan to move out and was sticking with her choice to defend Jack instead of him, the tension had been abnormally high between the two elder Merridews. It was weird for Jack, who was a lot better equipped to be the object of Evan's rage, to no longer be out in that doghouse alone.

It was a simpler time when Evan and Paige filled the silences between the three of them by talking with one another about light hearted things like Paige's school or Solight or dinner plans. But now that they could barely stand to look at each other, the awkward silences were far more awkward and silent than they ever were before. Jack almost preferred the way things used to be, even if he had been worse off. At least then, he knew what to expect and didn't have to feel dreadful about it. Now, it was excruciatingly painful to spend any amount of time alone just the three of them; just three spiteful and angry peas in a very spiteful and angry pod.

And because of the unspoken but very real rules of being in the courthouse, Jack couldn't just leave his family to go sit with the Langleys during lunch. Sometimes, he'd spot them seated together in another place in the large hall and imagine a world where he could just go over and join them. Outside of this wretched building, Jack was treated as one of them. But here between these dark, ugly brown walls, it was awfully impossible to forget that his last name was Merridew and theirs was Langley.

Somehow, the eight minutes that were definitely longer than sixty seconds each passed and Judge Eldeson adjourned court for recess. Jack filed out of the aisle and then the courtroom behind Paige, who followed behind Evan. Jack had to give the two of them credit because they were very good at pretending nothing was wrong when the public's eyes were on them, which currently included their lawyer, Brett. Faking a smile and a friendly family hug for public interest was something Merridews did quite well. Their family mansion was lined with a dozen smiley family photos to prove it.

But when no one in the courthouse hall was looking, the tension between Jack's father and sister abruptly returned. Paige hastily insisted she had an important call to make and excused herself within the first few minutes of the recess. In her defense, she probably really did have a call to make. Moving out of your rich father's house with no financial support after twenty-something years of complete dependence surely involved making a lot of arrangements and therefore, a lot of phone calls. After Paige left Jack alone with their father, Evan picked out a spot to eat and guided Jack there with as few words as was humanly possible. The two of them sat down and ate their respective lunches in bitter silence. Around him, Jack could hear the voices of other families having lively conversations. Words were broken up by random bursts of laughter or jumps to higher octaves when something funny or revolutionary was said. It was hard to ignore because it was something Jack had always wanted, and it was impossible to not overhear when Evan was being so damn quiet.

After several minutes that continued to contain more than sixty seconds, the click-click-click of Paige's distinguished heels prompted Jack to lift his head. She approached them, her head still bent down to look intently at her cellphone as she walked. Jack couldn't help but remember that in as little as three months, that cellphone in her hand would no longer belong to her.

"Everything okay?" Evan mumbled to his daughter as she walked into earshot.

"Fine" Paige insisted confidently. She knew that Evan was prying for information on her post-trial plans, and they both knew it was obvious. Still, she played the game of pretending that her mysterious disappearances and unusually timed phone calls were nothing out of the ordinary. Jack just observed quietly as he chomped on his sandwich, he too pretending nothing extraordinary was happening.