Tourist Season by Enid Shomer

Author:Enid Shomer [SHOMER, ENID]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-49206-7
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2008-12-09T16:00:00+00:00

At six-ten they were ushered into the courtroom, a pleasant chamber with oiled wood paneling. Judge Elaine Creedy was a middle-aged woman with platinum blond hair and creamy skin. She recognized Roberta and Richard, this being their fourth arrest. She ordered their release and asked them to please protest elsewhere.

As for Zen, Jill, and Patricia, once the judge learned they were not members of the Desert Consortium, she chastised them for inattention and dismissed the charge so that she could attend to the six potential counts of obscenity.

“Your Honor,” Roberta jumped up from her seat. “If you charge them with obscenity, you have to charge me, too.”

“Don’t do this,” the judge pleaded. “It’s obvious that these people accidentally trespassed and that you accidentally came in possession of their print material.”

Roberta glanced at Richard. “We could file an amicus brief.”

“Mrs. Blierstein,” said the judge. “There is no case yet. Your enthusiasm is premature.”

Roberta sat down. Zen’s husband had arrived with their baby, and the three of them huddled in a back row where Zen nursed the infant, partially shielded by her husband’s Hawaiian shirt.

The officer described how the booklets came into his possession. He handed one to the judge. She riffled the pages, pausing here and there. “Las Vegas does not need another sleazy industry,” she warned. “Where was this printed?”

“I made the photocopy you are holding in Pennsylvania, Your Honor.” Patricia enjoyed saying “Your Honor” to a woman. She enjoyed being in a courtroom drama. Though she hadn’t completely recovered from her confrontation with Jill, she was herself again, at least her classroom self.

“And to what purpose?”

Jill claimed they were book covers, their purpose to illustrate and entertain. Patricia claimed they were scholarly research materials. “Cultural artifacts, actually,” she added.

The judge peered over her eyeglasses. “Which is it, fun or work?”

Taking turns, they explained themselves in more detail. What a team we could be, Patricia thought. Somehow she had insulted Jill. Hopefully Jill would figure out how harmless she was, how unintentional the insult had been.

“All right,” the judge pondered aloud, “I’m going to take this under advisement, confer with the district attorney. You’re all free to leave. Just make sure the bailiff knows how to reach you.”

Carrying her baby in a sling, Zen waved good-bye and fled the courtroom, her husband following with diaper bag and stroller.

Outside the City Center, the Desert Five exchanged email addresses and wished one another well. Patricia and Jill took a taxi back to their hotel. It was still early; they wouldn’t miss the evening festivities.

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