The Juror by George Dawes Green

Author:George Dawes Green [Green, George Dawes]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780446562010
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2009-06-24T04:00:00+00:00

JULIET says, “Come in before the bugs do.”

But Annie doesn’t budge. She stands at the door.

She says, “He showed me what he can do. You said he could be reasoned with?”

“I said—”

“No. He can’t.”

“Now wait a minute, Annie. I said if we were strong, we could reason with him. But first we have to get strong. We have to hide Oliver, we—”

“He’ll find him. No.”

“Look, why don’t you sit for a while? Have some tea, OK, Annie? So we can talk?”

“Promise me you won’t tell anybody.”

“Wait.”

“You’ve got to leave us alone now.”

“Wait. What does Oliver think?”

“Oliver’s twelve, what does it matter what he thinks? I guess he thinks we should be heroes. I just took him over to Mrs. Kolodny’s. Jury’s going to be sequestered tomorrow. Mrs. Kolodny’s going to keep him till we get a verdict. He was upset, he was pissed at me. But he promised to keep his mouth shut, and that’s all I care about. You’ve got to promise too, Juliet.”

“Promise what? That I’ll abandon you?”

“That you won’t tell anyone. It’s my life, Juliet. What you said, remember? He’s my child.”

So. Put it that way, what can Juliet do? A slight cocking of her head and showing of her palm, and she’s surrendered.

And Annie turns to go.

Juliet calls to her. “Hey listen, girl, I’m going to Nightbone’s tomorrow night, me and Henri, why don’t you come with?” She means Nightbone’s Poetry Cafe in the East Village, in Manhattan. She knows Annie won’t come, but she asks anyway, maybe just to remind her that there’s still a world outside of the one the bastard’s made for her.

Or maybe it’s just to keep her here for another moment.

“I mean why not?” Juliet says. “You’re not his prisoner. Get out, relax a little, I swear I won’t talk about the trial—”

“Juliet, you don’t understand. I’m going to be sequestered, I’m going to be in some hotel somewhere. I couldn’t see you if I wanted to. Which I don’t, I can’t. Which you know. Anyway. So why do you ask?”

Then she doesn’t say goodbye. She simply turns and walks back to her car.

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