Her Honor by William J Coughlin

Author:William J Coughlin [Coughlin, William J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

KATHLEEN WATCHED Jerry Mitchell with her son. Michael-she never called him Little Mike anymore—skipped ahead of Mitchell as they moved toward the zebras. The two of them had seemed unaware of her presence almost from the minute they first entered the zoo. She was dismayed at the petty jealousy she was feeling. Even if they ignored her, it was nice to see her son enjoying himself so openly and without restraint. The two of them seemed so natural together.

They had a good day for their outing. It had rained most of the week, but the sun had come out for Saturday. Jerry had suggested the trip to the zoo. She strolled, tagging along behind them, relaxing. Autumn would be early. Some of the trees had begun to show the change of color, and there was an unseasonal nip in the air.

After visiting the zebras, they proceeded to the lion house. The stench bothered her, so she stepped back out into the open, leaving the two to marvel over the big cats, whose roars were amplified by the closed space.

A young man, his track suit wet with perspiration, trotted by her, his face a picture of intensity. Small children ran in the other direction, followed by two harried young parents who looked completely exhausted. In the far distance, white clouds billowed up like snow mountains against a slate-blue sky.

Everything was so tranquil.

When they came out of the lion house, Jerry was holding Michael, who looked comfortably dwarfed in the tall man’s arms.

“Somebody’s getting pooped,” Jerry said, grinning.

Her son looked up at Kathleen and tried to keep his eyes from closing.

“I think the troops need to get back to camp,” she said.

By the time they reached the car, Michael was fast asleep. Jerry placed him gently in the back seat, then propped his coat around the boy so he couldn’t fall.

Jerry drove out of the zoo’s parking lot and merged into the heavy weekend traffic.

“How about dinner? We can drop Michael off and try the new Greek place everyone’s talking about.”

She shook her head. “Dinner? Not me, Jerry. I’m near bursting. You’ve already fed us enough hot dogs to supply an army. If Michael doesn’t get sick, it’ll be a minor miracle. I’ve never seen him eat so much.”

Jerry grinned. “Hey, he’s really loosening up. Let him be a kid, Kathleen. God knows, it doesn’t last very long, so it should be enjoyed. Anyway, I’m having more fun than he is. If I went to the zoo by myself, I’d look out of place—this way I can be a kid too, without having any eyebrows raised. Maybe next weekend we could drive out and hit one of those county fairs?”

The day had been perfect. She didn’t want to ruin it by mentioning her growing reservations about being with him until after the Chesney trial. “If you’re really hungry, Jerry, I can whip you up something at my place. Marie is visiting relatives so I’m chief cook this week.”

“Ordinarily I want the first team or nothing, but this time I’ll make an exception.

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