LAUGH TILL YOU CRY

A new judge sat on the bench. Cory didn’t recognize the face above the black robe or the name on the little plaque sitting on the desk. When the bailiff had droned out the opening lines, Cory only heard pieces of it. “The blah blah court in the blah blah state, judge blah blah residing. ALL RISE!”

So they had. All the innocent-until-proven-guilty accused in their dark blue jail scrubs and their assorted county issued handcuffs and leg chains clanking like cheap over-sized jewelry, straggled to their feet.

“BE SEATED!” the bailiff honked out, and they did that too.

The clerk called the first case and Cory tuned out, leaving merely a sliver of his attention listening for his name. He settled back in his chair with his cuffed hands in his lap, crossed his ankles (no leg chains on him), and focused on the audience. It was the best cure for court nerves he’d come up with.

He’d pick a face and tell himself a story about that person. Who were they here to see? Were they supporter or accuser, lawyer or civilian? He could dismiss about half the spectators because of their blatant facial expressions, body language, or dress. And actually that was fine with him – he preferred the less obvious, hard to crack folks. A nice suit didn’t necessarily mean an attorney.

Take that frumpy woman in the back row. She cold be a legal eagle with really poor clothing sense or attempting a calculated intent to camouflage herself as a rube for the judge. When he heard his name called, Cory had just latched onto a smart-dressed matron in the fifth row, three out from the wall. He snapped to attention, his eyes on the judge, blanked his fear as best he could and stood.

“Step forward, Mr. Williams.” Cory almost looked around to see who he was talking to.

“It’s Cory, Sir. Just Cory.” He wanted to say. “Mr. Williams was my old man. That son of a bitch that walked out on us is the only Mr. Williams I know of.” But of course he didn’t, can’t talk that way to a judge. Cory took the three steps forward that put him at the railing and tried to stand tall. He’d have put his two hands on the rail to steady himself, but for the cuffs. The sight of them shamed him. So he leaned his belly into it instead and waited for the hammer to fall.

“Mr. Williams? You’ve asked for a court appointed attorney, is that correct?”

“Yes sir, it is.”

“Well, I see by your paperwork here that as of this morning you already have counsel and therefore are not in need of another.”

“What?” Cory blurted out, but added, “Sir,” as quickly as he could.

The judge shifted his gaze to the tall man making his way from the audience to the defense table. “For the record, Mr. Sledgeham, you represent Mr. Williams?”

“Yes Sir, I do,” the man said.

“I see you’ve requested Mr. Williams be released under his own recognizance, but I can not allow that. However, I will set a reasonable bail of $50,000. with the condition that he have the supervision of a responsible adult and wear a tracking device until his court date. Are we agreed?”

“Yes Sir, thank you Sir.” Mr. Sledgeham said. The judge banged his gavel and that was it.

Cory stood limply by the rail, his mouth hanging open, as the stranger who’d just pulled off the impossible walked over to him. “I’ll explain everything later, Cory. Right now, they’re gonna take you back and process you out. I’ll meet you in the hall right outside intake in about an hour. Okay?”

Cory couldn’t answer him.

“Just nod if you agree son.”

So Cory nodded, and kept nodding as the deputy walked him out of the court room, down several echoing hallways to the processing room, and unlocked his cuffs. At the desk, the sergeant handed him his clothes in a plastic bag, and another man ushered him into a little room and watched him while he changed. Then back to the desk to retrieve his personal effects and sign for them. They clamped the tracker on his left ankle and opened a door.

“Go through here now, your lawyer’s right out there.”

Cory was still nodding slightly and blinking furiously to keep from crying. But when he saw Sledgeham waiting for him and heard the door click shut behind him, he started laughing so hard he couldn’t hear a word the guy said. By the time they hit the street he was crying again.