Bessie, Bop, or Bach by Ran Walker

Author:Ran Walker [Walker, Ran]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: 45 Alternate Press, LLC via Indie Author Project

Miss Griggs arrives ten minutes before her appointment, so I have Vanessa, our receptionist, go ahead and escort her to the larger of our three conference rooms. I am just finishing up a conversation with an insurance adjuster on a case that actually does have some value, but I walk over to the conference room as soon as I finish. It’s not so much that I don’t want her to wait as it is my wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible.

The first thing I notice about Miss Griggs as I walk through the door is that she is small and round, like a ball with arms and legs. She is not even five feet, and the roundness of her body is surprisingly symmetrical, her breasts and stomach all smoothly blended into one impressive sphere. The frames of her glasses are round, complementing her salt and pepper Afro. She is clearly a study in circles.

From her file I know she is fifty-seven. I even know her weight, as well as most of the major health issues she has had in the last ten years, none of which appear to have been aggravated by her fall, unless you read a few years of chiropractic adjustments into the equation and ignore the fact that she has degenerative disc disease.

“Hi, Attorney Thomas,” she says, rising from her seat and extending a plump hand. Her smile is infectious, and I smile in return.

“How are you doing this afternoon, Miss Griggs?”

She takes her seat carefully, trying to avoid grimacing, but in that single moment, I can see that this woman is in pain and that she apparently has been wrestling with it for a while.

“I’m blessed,” she says. Relief spreads over her face as she takes a seat.

“I’ve been studying your file for the past few weeks, and it’s good to finally meet you in person.”

“Yes, sir.”

It feels funny, this older woman calling me “sir” when she is nearly thirty years my senior, and I start to tell her so, but I decide not to bother.

“So how is my case going?” she asks. Her face is hopeful, and I feel guilty telling her that her file doesn’t look worthwhile at this point.

“Well,” I start, “things have been moving pretty slowly, and we are still working to get the pre-trial conference set.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that I will meet with the other lawyer and the judge, and we’ll set some deadlines for wrapping up the discovery and trying the case. Once we’re on the calendar, the next stop will be the trial.”

“Do you think my case will settle?”

I look into her eyes, and I can see that she desperately wants me to tell her that it will, but my tongue is stingy with the words.

“I don’t see anything in the file that shows that we are in position to settle this. I’ll keep trying though.”

“Will you, please?” she asks. “I don’t wanna go to court.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” I don’t mention that I don’t want to go to court on these facts either.

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