Legal Briefs (Lawyers in Love) (25 page)

“Bring the bottle.” He turned and headed for the bathroom as I practically skipped after him. He had, after all promised me some phenomenal sexing. When we got to the bathroom I saw that he had lit candles and I smelled nice rose-scented bath oil.

“You had this stuff lying around?” I teased.

“I bought it just for you,” he answered, shutting off the water. “Now put that wine down and come over here and let me undress you. I had taken exactly one step when my phone started ringing. Who would be calling me now? I took it out of my pocket and answered.

“Lily! It’s Gab. We were talking after you left and I thought of something! What purse did you have with you the night of the author party?”

“I had a little dressy black clutch, why?” I mouthed “Gabrielle” to Adam.

“Have you actually gone through it since then?”

“Just to grab my wallet out of it.” Adam was starting to look impatient.

“Because, McGuire was in the room with your purse alone.”

“So?” I was starting to
feel
impatient.

“So, if he was talking about a flash drive maybe he put it in there.”

“Um, I guess it’s possible.” I couldn’t believe that I was having this conversation right now, when I should be naked in a warm rose-scented bath with Adam.

“Are you guys at your place?”

“No, at Adam’s.” I was tempted to tell her where at Adam’s and what we were doing when she called. Adam shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

“Well, you have to go check.”

“Tonight?” She didn’t just suggest that, right?

“Lily, it’s very important. It could be a matter of life and death.”

“Yeah, but we don’t even know there was a flash drive, Gabrielle.” I saw Adam roll his eyes and begin undressing himself.

“Lily, it just makes sense. I know it’s a pain but you need to go look.”

“First thing in the morning, Gab. I promise.”

“But …”

“I’ll call you tomorrow.” I said and clicked off. I put my phone down on the sink and turned to Adam.

“Sorry. Gab thinks maybe if there was a flash drive, that McGuire could have put it in my purse when he was in the room alone with it. She thought I should go look tonight. Do you think …?”

“Like you said, you don’t even know there was a flash drive, let alone that McGuire knew that was
your
purse and put it in there for you to find. We can check tomorrow.” He came toward me, and was just about to start undressing me, when my phone rang again. This time Adam grabbed it.

“Just so you understand what you’re interrupting, Lily and I are about to take a bath together, after which I promised her some phenomenal sexing.” There was a pause as Adam’s face registered a look of pure horror. “Mom?!” he sputtered. “Why are you calling Lily?! Oh … I … I know. But … Oh, come on. Do I really…? Yeah, sure, um … what I said when I answered … Okay, yeah. I love you too.” Adam handed me the phone, grabbed the wine bottle and walked out.

“Mrs. Roth?” I asked, feeling more than a little embarrassed.

“Lily, dear, I’m sorry to disturb your, uh,” she said hesitantly, “on a Friday night, but I left Adam a couple messages this week, and he didn’t return my calls. I suspect he was pretending he didn’t get them, because they were about the bris tomorrow.”

“The bris?”

“Yes, Adam’s cousin, Rebekah, had a baby boy and he’s being circumcised tomorrow at sundown. Adam really should be there, but he’s a bit squeamish. Do you think you could come along and keep him calm and distracted?”

“Sure. No problem.”

“I also wanted to mention that Rabbi Stein will be there tomorrow. You know, if you and Adam wanted to chat with him a little.”

“Uh …” I walked into the living room, where Adam sat looking traumatized and drinking wine straight from the bottle. “Rabbi Stein? What would we want to discuss with …?”

“And of course, Hannah will have her little Josh there. He’s a darling, and I’m not just saying that because I’m his grandmother. You do like children, don’t you, Lily?”

“Uh, children, um yeah sure …” Adam rescued me by grabbing the phone.

“Okay then, mom. We’ll talk to you tomorrow. Tell dad I said ‘hi.’ Love you!” He hung up. And looked at me dejectedly.

“I guess you’re not in the mood anymore, huh?”

“I have all day tomorrow to stress out about watching a helpless infant get circumcised by a rabbi in somebody’s living room, and I just told my mother that we were about to take a bath together and then I had promised you phenomenal sexing. What do
you
think?”

“You want to borrow Gab’s cow jammies?”

We decided just to cuddle, clothed, and watch old episodes of the X-Files, which we both loved. Adam laid in my arms and I massaged his scalp and ran my fingers through his hair. We stopped after three episodes and talked about books for a while. A long while, as it turned out. Adam loved to read as much as I did, and confessed that he had sometimes even thought about trying to write himself. Eventually, we realized that it had gotten quite late, and we got up and got ready for bed. I found a very nice surprise waiting for me when I came out of the bathroom, wearing his Georgetown T-Shirt. He was sitting up in bed, holding a leather-bound copy of
The Arabian Nights.

“Come to me, Scheherazade,” he said with a cute smile. I joined him under the covers and took the book from him.

“I had a great time tonight,” I said, smiling back at him.

“I had a great time too,” he said, sliding down and lying on his side facing me. “We talked to each other for a long time and we didn’t fight, even though we didn’t have sex either. We’re getting better at this, Adler.”

“Yeah, well, baby steps,” I teased.

“You had to say ‘baby’.” He stared up at the ceiling dejectedly, but his mood improved a lot as I read to him. Eventually, I looked up and saw that my Shahryar was asleep.

It’s probably good that we got a full night’s sleep, because the next day was busy and crammed with details from the moment we got up. I was thankful for it, since it kept Adam distracted, and he didn’t obsess
too
much about the family gathering that evening.

He arranged to have Abby, who was living at home at the moment, come and apartment sit, telling her that he was staying with me for a little while because I might be a witness in a trial and he just wanted to make sure I was okay. We had decided that we wouldn’t go into detail because we didn’t want to worry his family.

He gathered together what he considered living essentials, clothes, toiletries, electronics, books and Phillies baseball memorabilia, and moved them in to my place. I was happy now for the fact that I had plenty of space. Adam and I would be shacking up even closer than the summer we had adjacent tents at Camp Ramah in the Poconos, and I hoped it would go better this time around than it did then.

He also brought me into the office for a few hours. He needed to prep cases so he could have more free time next week for other things, and it gave me a chance to meet people and start digging into the training materials more. He even hooked me up with some experienced prosecutors who gave me tips and helped me prepare for my argument against Jacob and my mom. By the end of the day I was feeling much more confident.

At sundown, we found ourselves in the living room of his cousin Rebekah and her husband Matt. With them was the smallest human being I had ever seen. Being an only child, I didn’t have a lot of experience with babies. Being the baby of the family, who had been away at school when his only nephew was born, Adam’s experience wasn’t exactly vast either. The events of the evening were obviously weighing heavily on his mind, as he couldn’t seem to stop squirming and every time he sat down he practically assumed the fetal position. I had to talk him out of wearing a protective cup.

I was introduced to various relatives, including Hannah’s little boy, Josh, and her husband, Nate, by a positively exuberant Debra Roth. She seemed thrilled to see me, despite the fact that she now knew far too much about my relationship with her only son. Mr. Mouth himself couldn’t even look his mother in the eye. I definitely needed to get him back on the horse that night, or we would wind up having to take old Mr. Davis up on that Viagra offer.

Adam’s relatives seemed fascinated by the fact that he had a girlfriend, especially four-year-old Josh, who announced that I was pretty and that he wanted to marry me. He also seemed very curious about something, and he kept approaching and then running away. Eventually, he worked up the nerve to raise the subject, as Adam and I sat chatting with his sisters in the dining room.

“My mom says I can’t take my dump trunk to bath time because there’s no room,” he informed me in a contemplative tone.

“Oh? Well, I’m sure she’s probably right,” I answered, smiling up at Hannah.

“So, how did you and Uncle Adam fit in the tub together at the same time?” he asked. Adam choked on the ginger ale he was sipping, and I saw the Roth girls exchange stunned, but highly amused, looks.

“Joshie! What are you saying?” Hannah asked, sounding embarrassed, but obviously trying not to laugh.

“Bubbe called Uncle Adam last night on the speaker phone, and he said they were going to take a bath together, and he was going to give her fominal sexing. What’s fominal sexing Mommy?”

“Joshua, sweetie,” Adam’s mom appeared at the door with a maniacal-looking smile, “we talked about this. Uncle Adam was just joking, and your daddy will explain it when you’re older.”

“What?!” Hannah exclaimed, aghast.

“I’m sorry, Hannah. I won’t use speaker phone anymore when Joshua is around,” Mrs. Roth replied apologetically.

“What are you apologizing for?” Sarah asked. “Adam! Why would you say something like that to your
mother
?”

“Let’s go find Daddy, honey,” Hannah said, hustling her son out of the room. Adam hid his face in his hands and made a sound like a wounded buffalo. We were never going to have sex again. I just knew it.

“He didn’t know it was me,” Mrs. Roth went on in a sweet motherly voice.

“Well, who in the hell did you think it was, Adam?” Abby asked with a laugh.

“Yeah, who would it have been
appropriate
to say that to?” Sarah added.

“Oh, what’s the big deal?’ Mrs. Roth said, coming to her baby boy’s defense. “It’s not like I didn’t know they were sleeping together. Maybe they’ll get married! Have you gotten to hold the baby yet, Lily? Sarah! Go get the baby!” she ordered.

“Maybe we should get Rabbi Stein in here too,” Abby said, sounding like she was having a wonderful time. I noted that Adam and Abby were very much alike, in looks and in personality.

“You’re coming for Thanksgiving, aren’t you, Lily?” Mrs. Roth asked.

“Um, sure, I guess. Is that okay with you?” I asked Adam. He looked up at me and was about to answer, I think in the affirmative.

“Of course it’s okay with him,” his mother answered firmly.

“Did I hear someone call me?” Rabbi Stein poked his head in.

“We were just talking about Adam and Lily getting married,” Mrs. Roth explained.

“You’re getting married?” the rabbi asked cheerfully.

“Uh …” I stammered. Adam looked like he might have become catatonic.

“Not yet,” Mrs. Roth answered helpfully.

“Ah, well you let me know when you need my services.” He smiled and popped back out just as Sarah was coming in with the baby.

She walked over and handed him to me. Adam snapped out of his trance and stared down at the little bundle in my arms. I looked down and froze, afraid that if I moved I might break him. The baby, not Adam.

“Look, Adam! She’s a natural!” Mrs. Roth exclaimed happily. She had to be kidding.

Mr. Roth appeared at the door and informed his wife she was needed. She excused herself, but not before managing to whip out her cell phone and take a picture of Adam and me staring down at a baby like we were trying to figure out a map. Suddenly, the warm, tiny person in my arms turned his head and nuzzled my boob.

“Why’s he doing that?” I asked.

“Because he’s a guy,” Adam muttered.

“He’s trying to nurse,” Abby said with a laugh. “It’s instinctive.”

“Oh! Sorry, baby. The tap is dry,” I said uncomfortably.

“I just want you to know little dude,” Adam said solemnly, “that I had nothing to do with what’s going down tonight.”

“What’s that smell?” I asked, sniffing.

“Diaper bag’s right here,” Sarah said, grabbing a tote off the floor and handing it to Adam. “We’ll be in the other room, helping Rebekah get ready.” With that, she and Abby quickly left.

“Do you know how to change one of these?” I asked Adam, anxiously.

“Are you kidding? We have to find somebody else to do this.”

“Adam, between the two of us, we have fourteen years of higher education. How hard can it be?”

“I’m not worried about how hard it is. I’m worried about how disgusting it is.”

“Well, I’m going to try. Better to practice on somebody else’s kid first.”

“Before what?” he asked, cautiously.

“I was just joking.” Suddenly, I felt very defensive.

“You’re sure your pill is working, right?”