A Second Shot at Love

Grabbing the briefcase beside her, Gabby pulled papers from it and stood with the intention of handing them to Brad's attorney Bill Baxter. She stood so abruptly her chair fell backwards into the lap of a lady who was so unexpectedly startled, she squealed. Apologizing sincerely, the police chief heard the booming voice of old Judge Henry Lee Jones thundering from the bench, "Young Gabrielle, is that you disturbing my courtroom again? Didn't you cause enough commotion running around here as a kid when your granddad was Chief of Police? Youngster, explain yourself!"

Feeling like an admonished child, memories of childhood came rushing back into Gabby's consciousness. The jailhouse and this courthouse had served as her playgrounds on many an occasion in her youth. She had sat on Judge Henry's knee since before she could walk. "Sorry Sir, please forgive me!" she appealed. "I was just going to present some evidence I gathered last night! It seems like my predecessor in this office and the persecutor...er...prosecutor were pretty piss-poor investigators!"

The courthouse erupted in merriment. Trials in this judge's courtroom were always so dull and dry because of his no-nonsense demeanor and his by-the-book attitude. With this unpredictable, fresh-as-a-breeze young woman back in town, things around here seemed to be changing. The man wearing the robes even appeared to be touched by her infectious charms. "Okay, Miss Priss," he countered. "Let's suppose you enlighten this whole court with your wealth of valuable evidence!"

"Objection, Your Honor," Bill Baxter interjected. "As defense counsel, I can not allow this! Law school 101, lesson 1 teaches 'never ask a question you don't know the answer to'. Chief Garrison's intentions may be noble, but since she is not an attorney, she has no idea how what she says may influence my client's case!"

For perhaps the first time ever, Judge Henry seemed to be thinking before answering. The by-the-book answer would be to sustain the objection. Betraying the book, the judge ruled, "Objection overruled!"

Bill Baxter was not paid big bucks by the Garrison family for no reason. There was more than one way to skin this cat! "Your Honor, then I object on the grounds that my client was questioned for a full two hours before his Miranda Rights were read to him!" he declared. "The Chief of Police arrived at the defendant's door at around midnight, but didn't notify him about his arrest until around two o'clock. Therefore, any evidence gathered should be inadmissible!"

Again, Judge Henry made no immediate ruling. He seemed to be mulling a puzzling question over in his mind. Finally, he spit it out. "Okay, pray tell, then explain to this court what the accused and the arresting officer were doing during this two hour interlude!"

Too late, Brad grabbed his lawyer's arm to stop him from speaking embarrassing words. "Sir, I won't go into detailed specifics," the counselor responded. "But, let's just say there were quite a lot of intimacies exchanged! Whether or not this is standard police procedure, I don't know!"

Once again a din of tumultuous merriment swept through the courthouse. Gabby's face turned a crimson red as she realized that every spectator's mind was working overtime filling in the blanks about the untold specifics of the 'intimacies' alluded to! This woman's warrior instincts kicked in. The best defense was a good offense! "Judge Henry, I did not ask Bradford Garrison one single question before he was arrested!" she heatedly declared.

Brad now recalled Gabby's puzzling lack of questioning. He had thought she was being secretive and reserved. He had even worried about this being symptoms of the stress of war. Why all along, she had been setting him up! "Judge Henry, she's telling the truth!" he stood up and shouted. "The conniving minx didn't ask a single question before slapping the cuffs on me! As for any intimacies, that's nobody's damn business but ours!"

Having heard enough, the judge banged his gavel to restore order to the court. After silence was achieved, the bemused jurist proclaimed, "I find no grounds for objection. Therefore counselor, you are overruled, again!"

Bill Baxter was a good man, but he was not accustomed to being thwarted at every turn in a court of law. He was a staunch defender of his clients and he used every weapon at his disposal to do so! This guardian of justice had one more arrow in his quiver to use. "Judge Henry Lee Jones, I object to Gabrielle Garrison's testimony on the grounds of 'Spousal Privilege'!" he proclaimed. "A wife cannot give testimony counter to her husband's best intentions!"

The defense attorney couldn't have dropped a bigger bombshell if he had detonated a ton of TNT. Instead of an uproar, this time the courtroom became so quiet a pin dropping could have been heard. There was a startled look of incredulous disbelief and skepticism on both Gabby and Brad's faces. These two looked at each other then announced in unison, "But, we've been divorced for six years!"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but no you haven't," Bill Baxter corrected. "It seems that neither of you signed the divorce papers I drew up and neither of you pursued a divorce on your own. Brad, if you thought this woman here would ever love another man the way she loved you, then you were mistaken! And Gabby, if you thought this man could bring another woman into his heart, then you were misguided also! So, for better or worse, you two are still husband and wife!"

Right then, a most unexpected thing happened. Elisabeth, the prim and proper lady of Garrison Manor who was always so well-composed and dignified, shouted out impulsively, "Oh thank God! This means if Gabrielle was impregnated last night, or this morning, by my son then the baby will be 100 percent legitimate!"

The pin-drop-hearing silence of the courtroom quickly became a thing of the past. A cacophony of talking, whispering, and happy laughter overruled all reason. All had heard about the 'intimacies' of last night, but this was the first spoken about those of this morning! If impregnation was a possibility, then this meant the intimate encounters must have involved 'intercourse'!

The insistent banging of a gavel finally brought the courtroom crowd under control. "Gabrielle, Mrs. Brad Garrison," Judge Henry said with a twinkle of mischief in his voice. "I can't believe the evidence you have gathered would be counter to your husband's best intentions. Therefore, the Spousal Privilege objection is overruled. Since this is a hearing and not a trial, you are directed to present your findings!"

One after another, Gabby presented her documents and affidavits to the judge, the prosecutor, and the defense attorney. Only the highlighted parts were read aloud:

--- [1] Mildred Tillman's death certificate showed time of death to be 11:10 PM in room 101. This was three months prior to this day. The method of death was a fatal dosage of narcotics administered between 10:50 and 11:00 PM. The doctor on call from 8: PM. to 8: AM was Dr. Bradford Garrison.

--- [2] Affidavit of nurse; I, Sherry Stevens spent the hour from 10:30 PM to 11:30 PM in the 'on call' room with Dr. Bradford Garrison. Among other things, we were sleeping, resting, and 'playing doctor'!

--- [3] Affidavit of security guard; I Rufus Sewell witnessed an elderly visitor named James Sims exiting Mildred Tillman's room at 10:55 PM. He left in a car with a VA crest on it.

---[4] Agreement of Assisted Termination of Life; we the undersigned, James Sims and Mildred Tillman agree to assist the other with termination of life should one become a victim of unbearable pain and suffering.

--- [5] Affidavit of patient at VA hospital; I, James Sims, admit to carrying out the terms of an agreement my long time love and I made many years ago. Because she was living a life of excruciating pain and suffering with no hope for relief, I assisted Mildred Tillman with the termination of her life through the administration of fatal drugs.

--- [E6] Affidavit of doctor at VA hospital; I, Dr. Mark Webber, attest that, as of this date, my patient James Sims, age 90 years, has a life expectancy of two weeks or less.

The Chief of Police ended her testimony with the following summation. "Your Honor, as I said before," she stated. "My predecessor and the District Attorney were either lousy investigators or incompetent fools! In one night I dug up an eyewitness alibi for Dr. Bradford Garrison, found a witness who saw the 'real' perpetrator of the crime, and obtained a confession of guilt! I don't know about Uncle Bill here, but if I was the defendant's lawyer, I'd be screaming for a dismissal of all charges!"

"No need for screaming, young lady," Judge Henry countered. After banging his gavel, he announced, "Based on the evidence before me, all charges against the defendant are dismissed, without prejudice! Mr. Prosecutor, if you can disprove this evidence then you can file your charges again. If you wish to charge a dying old man, you may do that also. Dr. Garrison, thanks to your wife, you are free to go!"

An outburst of spontaneous applause resounded within the walnut-paneled stone courthouse walls. Both Brad and Gabby received countless congratulatory handshakes, hugs, and best wishes. The two people giving the heartiest thanks were Richard and Elisabeth Garrison. "Gabrielle, please, please come home," Elizabeth begged. "Come home to us, come home to our son, and come home to your husband where you belong!"

(Epilogue) Love Comes Home

It took a while, but Gabby was finally able to extricate herself from the crowd and make her way outside. When she started walking back down the street towards her office at the jailhouse, she found out she had a companion walking beside her. A man slipped his hand into hers and together they strolled hand in hand down the sidewalk.

At first Brad was silently enjoying the personal intimacy and the mutual public display of affection. But, his words of love could not remain unspoken. "Gabby, will you come home?" he asked anxiously. "You have to know I've never stopped loving you! I've kept a candlelight's hopeful flame burning for your return since you've been gone. My Lady, I want you back as my wife and lover!"

All the anger, bitterness, and pain from years past faded into forgivable memory. Hope for renewed love and happiness filled her heart. "IF I ever come home to you," Gabby said stubbornly. "There will be no more 'playing doctor' with nurses or any other woman who is not me!"

After receiving heartfelt promises and reassurances from her man, Gabby's playful nature asserted itself. "Speaking of doctors," she mischievously whispered. "Dr. Garrison, I have a physical complaint which I'd like to get your opinion on. I have a feminine place between my legs that is wet and itchy for pleasurable comfort. I've heard there is a 'treatment' for this malady. Is there?"

"Yes Ma'am, there most certainly is!" Brad answered with a twinkle in his eye. "I can take you to my bedroom where I can give you a prescribed amount of this treatment. I must explain that the procedure involves the insertion of a hard, meaty, cylindrical rod into your itchy, wet opening. The stiffened instrument is then manipulated in and out until the time comes when a creamy medicinal ointment is expelled inside you. I suppose I must warn you about a possible side effect of this medication which occurs on occasion. In some instances, a condition known as 'impregnation' occurs!"

Gabby scratched her head and thought this over. "I guess I can take my chances with the impregnation risk, Doctor," she brazenly teased. "How about we take my police cruiser? This time you can ride in the front with no cuffs. I'll put the siren on and we can get there in a jiffy. After all, Doc, this is an emergency!"

A shrilling police car pulled up to Garrison Manor ten minutes later. Dr. Bradford Garrison jumped out then ran to the driver's door where he lifted out a patient in dire need of attention. As he rushed to the house with Mrs. Gabrielle Garrison in his arms, the butt of her .38 caliber police pistol poked him in the abdomen. Thoughts in his mind unintentionally sprang from his mouth as spoken words, "My Love, this time we'll 'play doctor'. Maybe next time we can play 'cops and robbers'! I'll be very bad and you can 'punish' me. Okay, Baby?"

"Sounds like a fun plan to me!" Gabby enthusiastically answered. As her lips played kissy-kissy games all over her husband's face, her hand was busy delving into the waistband of his pants. Her fingers closed around a hard, cylindrical rod and massaged it. If God in his heaven willed it, this would be the day when a dose of seminal medication would set her on the road to motherhood!