Page 35

Three weeks later. "I'm sorry, the traffic this morning was unbearable," Emily Harris apologizes when she arrives flustered at the court where she's scheduled to meet Leah for one of their weekly practice sessions.

Today the lawyer had a session with Dr. Mitchel—she was also late—and then class at the Walker Elite Sport Club. Emily has been attending in the mornings instead of afternoons as was her habit because for a couple of weeks she's been under so much stress that she's needed a higher dose of exercise to drain all that tension. It hasn't helped that each night she goes to bed later than usual; she's been meeting with Leah at one of their two houses and, between conversations, dinners, and good sex, she sleeps little. The trial that takes almost all her attention, the one where she faces her ex-partner Vanessa Cooper, is reaching its end. Emily hopes that tomorrow the jury will deliberate and close it. She's also somewhat anxious because the judge handling Aaron's case is taking her time. Both Emily and Emma had thought that it would take a week at most to make a decision, but it's been three weeks now. In fact, they've filed an appeal citing the priority for the boy to leave the Morris home, but the response received was firm: there's still time.

"Don't worry, not many people come at this hour, we can stay on the court a little longer," Leah approaches her girlfriend and, after giving her a kiss on the lips, studies her face carefully. "How are you?"

Emily makes a face with her lips. It's not typical of her to say she feels somewhat suffocated, but thanks to the sessions with her therapist, she's learning to release what she carries inside, what overwhelms her.

"Not very well, honestly," she says and drops her gym bag on one of the benches on the court. "I'm a little stressed, though today I feel somewhat better."

Leah knows. The previous week, Emily, with her eternal clumsiness, knocked over the coffee table Leah has in her living room. She fell to the floor and, additionally, a small vase on the wooden surface shattered into pieces. Emily cried inconsolably, promising she would travel that same week to Puerto Rico to buy the piece—Leah acquired it in that country during one of her getaways—and also tried to pay her with all the cash she had at that moment, though twelve dollars were far from covering its price. The tennis player consoled her, made sure she hadn't hurt herself, and convinced Emily to stop searching on her phone for plane tickets to go buy the darned vase. They talked at length and the lawyer began to relax. Leah Walker is sure that she only needs a response to the custody application and to close the case she's handling for Emily to relieve all that distress.

"We could go to the spa with Theresa this afternoon," Leah suggests while hugging her. "It'll help you feel better; that woman has magic hands."

Emily smiles, grateful. Next to Leah she feels supported; the tennis player is very attentive to her and never hesitates to always offer her some solution for everything.

"I have to go to the courthouse," Emily wrinkles her nose in an exaggerated way, "but you can make an appointment for Saturday, it'll do us good."

Leah nods and signals for her to join her on the court. She doesn't want to waste time; she needs Emily to hit some good shots and think about nothing but the ball.

They don't start very well; in the first ten minutes, Emily slips twice, hits the ball so hard that it flies off the court, and nearly hits herself in the face with the racket. Amazingly, this relaxes her; she starts laughing at her own clumsiness, runs from side to side trying to return the ball to Leah, sweating as if she were in the middle of a marathon. Her energy rises and, before they know it, the lawyer is once again focused and free of tension.

"Focus on where you want to place it, Emily," Leah shouts from the other side of the court, referring to the serve the lawyer is preparing.

The sound of air being cut is heard when Emily serves; her technique isn't polished, but it's nothing like the woman who was unable to hold the racket correctly. Leah pretends not to reach the ball and lets Emily make that point.

"You can't beat me," Emily shouts raising both arms. She knows perfectly well that Leah let it pass, but these small gestures make her immensely happy.

"Soon you'll wipe the floor with me," Leah responds, wiping her sweat with her wristband.

Before Emily can answer, the sound of her phone interrupts them. Normally she wouldn't answer it, but she's during work hours, so each call that comes to her phone has a high probability of being work-related. The screen shows the name of the family law firm and Emily answers immediately.

"Honey," says Bilma Harris on the other end of the line. "The electronic notification about Aaron Clark's case has arrived," Emily holds her breath and her mother doesn't waste time. "The custody is approved, congratulations."

Emily smiles widely and looks at Leah, who suspects what that call is about upon seeing her girlfriend's expression.

"I'm going to call Emma," she responds, and her mother interrupts her.

"I called her first, she's the lead attorney," she reminds her. "She had stepped out of the office when the notification arrived."

"Thanks, Mom," she says, "see you later."

Emily turns and raises her arms in triumph as she approaches Leah.

"We did it," she tells her, "you're officially Aaron's legal guardian."

Leah screams like a little girl and hugs Emily tightly, spinning her around a few times. She gives her a kiss and embraces her again.

"Let's tell Mia," Leah says while pulling Emily along. "She's been barely living for weeks waiting for this answer."

The two women walk through the courts; Leah doesn't know exactly where her friend is. She assumes she's preparing some court, but doesn't see her anywhere. They go to the locker rooms, the bar, and nothing. Leah accesses the back part of the club and sees her there giving orders to several workers who are in charge of pool maintenance. They quicken their pace and reach the girl, who hadn't noticed the women's presence.

"Hi," the caddie greets and finishes telling one of the workers what needs to be done.

When the men begin working, Leah takes her hand and smiles at her. Mia takes a tenth of a second to interpret that expression, and the color of her face turns ghost white.

"What happened?" stammers the girl.

"We did it, Mia," Leah's voice breaks with emotion.

Mia Clark can't help it. She falls to her knees in uncontrollable tears. She covers her face with both hands while hiccups take over her body. They've done it. Tears, sleepless nights, pain, penetrating pain, the kind that cuts off your breath and doesn't let you think. That's what Mia has experienced since that day when a group of police officers entered her house, took her parents away, and she was left as unprotected and lost as her brother. Years of fighting to recover what she loves most in life, and today she has finally achieved it. Leah crouches down beside her to lift her up and hold her in her arms.

"Now nothing will keep you from Aaron," Leah whispers, and Mia nods, emotional.

Emily is a sea of tears watching the scene. She also feels Mia's emotion and removes that pressure in her chest she's had since they received the negative response.

"Congratulations, Mia," says the lawyer and approaches her.

Mia smiles at her and hugs her so tightly that Leah fears her girlfriend might break in two.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Mia repeats with a voice loaded with emotion. "If it hadn't been for you... for all of you," she corrects herself, remembering that Emma has fought as hard as Emily to achieve this victory, "we wouldn't have made it."

Emily wants to tell her that it's her job, and although it is, she knows very well that this case was special for her.

"Can we go pick him up now?" asks Mia while wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

"Not so fast," Emily stops her gently. "Now Emma must see the judge and give Leah some documents she needs to sign. Once it's legalized, then we can go to the Morris house."

"How long does all that paperwork take?" asks Leah somewhat desperately.

"A week at most," Emily says with certainty. "That gives you time to prepare Aaron's room in your house. The social worker will do a second review."

Tamara Burk remains responsible for the stability of Mia's brother. When the tennis player applied for custody, the social worker had to do a thorough review of the space where Aaron would live. The woman was impressed by Leah's house and didn't raise any objections, although protocol dictates that she must be present when the boy occupies the house and confirm that the space remains safe.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of it," says Leah and affectionately squeezes Mia's shoulder when she notices that, although she's happy, she remains very nervous. "Go on, take the day off."

"Are you sure?" she asks with raised eyebrows.

"I can manage without you today," confirms Leah, and Mia smiles, says goodbye, and goes straight to get her things to find the only woman she wants to see right now: Emma Harris.

"And can you manage without me?" Emily stands in front of Leah and smiles at her with a mischievous gesture.

Leah makes a face while pretending to think about her answer. Emily gives her an affectionate nudge.

"No, I can't," she answers and kisses her with such intensity that they decide to go to the tennis player's office seeking a bit of privacy.