Past Forward- A Serial Novel: Episode 16 (2 page)

A glance at his watch told him he
’
d better waken her.
Jill would
arrive
any minute to pick up the produce
,
and Willow wouldn
’
t want to be caught asleep.
“
Willow?
”
He shook her shoulder gently.
“
Come on
,
lass, it
’
s time to wake up
.”

Willow stirred murmuring sleepily,
“
Hmm?
”

“
Jill will be here soon.
Y
ou fell asleep
.”
His hand trailed along her cheek and then tugged on her ear playfully.
“
Come on, you can do it
.”

“
I don
’
t want to get up.
It
’
s nice and warm here
.”
The words were mumbled and clearly not fully consciously spoken.

He had to wake her up
,
but how was another story.
In the house, he
’
d have dumped water on her head
,
but somehow he couldn
’
t bring himself to do that out here.
Finally, he picked her up, set her on her feet, and held her there in a bear hug until she slowly opened her eyes.
“Hey.”

“
Hi,
”
she murmured sleepily.
“
What a way to wake up, eh?
”

“
It
’
s almost time for Jill to
—”

Full consciousness arrived instantly.
“
Oh
,
no!
”
She started to run toward the barn but Chad caught her hand.

“
The truck
,
Willow.
It
’
s faster and it
’
ll give you a minute to wake up
.”

“
Right
.”

He glanced at her sideways as they rolled toward the yard.
“
What were you doing out there?
”

She sighed.
“
Coming to grips with my deposition on Monday
.”

“
You decided to do it?
”

“
Well I thought I didn
’
t have a choice
.”
The dismay in her voice
hadn’t left
.

“
Well, you can refuse a request
—
j
ust not a subpoena
.”

Willow nodded, resigned
.
“
That
’
s what I thought.
I don
’
t want to make it hard on you so
—”

“
You did it for me?
”

“
Of course!
”
Her indignation would have been comical if he hadn
’
t found her actions so endearing.
“
If it was just about me, I
’
d let them throw me in jail indefinitely
.”

“
Sweet sentiment
,
lass
,
but you
’
d go insane in a prison and beg to be allowed to testify
.”
He opened her door and smiled down into her eyes.
“
But I love that you think you would and that you did something so sacrificial for me.
I
know
how much this is costing you personally.
Thanks
.”

Willow expected the deposition to be a lot like her court hearing regarding her birth
,
but it wasn
’
t anything like that.
They sat at a table in a conference room at the courthouse.
A young man with a stenograph machine
sat
at one end of the table
,
and Willow sat at the other with
the defense attorney and the D.A. on either side of her.

All feelings of informality disappeared when the D.A. began reciting the purpose o
f the deposition and the case
.
The words,
“
The state vs. Solari
”
effectively killed the last remnants of her self-possession.
Panic rose in her throat leaving bile in its wake.
She reached for her tote bag and withdrew a bottle of water.

“
May I?
”

The D.A. unscrewed the top for her, satisfied that it was untampered with
,
for reasons that Willow couldn
’
t comprehend.
“
Certainly
.”

“
Ok, please state your full name and address for the record
.”

“
Why my address?
”

Willow
’
s question set the tone for the rest of the deposition.
Some questions were indicative of her perception of breached privacy while others were merely curious.
The D.A. and defense attorneys
acted
split between irritation and amusement during the entire proceeding.

“
You went to his office on what day?
”

Willow
’
s answer was swift.
“
December 7
^th
.”

“
And how are you certain of that date?
”
The D.A.
’
s voice sounded bored.

“
Because we celebrated my husband
’
s birthday that evening
.”

“
Did you make an appointment?
”

The questions came in a slow steady pace.
Most seemed inconsequential to Willow.
Who cared what Steven Solari had done to her?
How was that relevant to the case against her grandmother?
”

“
When did you first speak to Lynne Solari?
”

“
She came to my house pretending to have a disabled car
.”

“
Pretending
—
please define that,
”
the D.A. requested quickly.

“
Actually, she did have a disabled car.
She disabled it so she
’
d have an excuse to come to the house.
She admitted it once I confronted her with it
.”

“
She actually said,
‘
Yes, I made this up to come out here?
’“

“
Not those exact words but very nearly, yes.
She apologized and said that she just wanted to see me now that she knew I existed
.”

The D.A. nodded as though picturing the scene in her mind.
“
And when was this?
”

“
Approximately one week after I went to Mr. Solari
’
s office
.”
Weariness grew in Willow
’
s voice.
Her mind was growing muddled.

From questions regarding the attempts to terrorize her to detailed accounts of her every meeting with both of the Solaris, Willow
’
s memory was tapped with every kind of question.
Occasionally, the D. A. would respond with a rebuttal query such as,
“
Are you aware that Ms. Solari asserts that she did not attempt to deceive you about the reason for her visit?
”
Willow
’
s replies were swift and confident.
“
I think you should question Officer Chad Tesdall as to the accuracy of my statement.
I said she confessed her scheme, and she did.
He heard the conversation
.”

Once the ordeal was over, Willow stood, shook everyone
’
s hand, and then turned back to the District Attorney.
“
Ma
’
am, I have to tell you
—
I do not want to testify.
I can
’
t imagine how I would be helpful.
Please don
’
t put me in that position
.”