Heartless

12:21 P.M., Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Honolulu, HI

At a courthouse, several judges were in the cafeteria eating lunch. They were also listening to the news, as an important decision from the Hawaii State Supreme Court was expected at any moment. When the decision was announced, some agreed and some felt it was a bad decision, but nobody was particularly surprised. This didn’t stop a couple of the judges from acting as if they were.

Judge Pete South was the first to say something.

“Well I’ll be Paula-ed!” the older man cried out, to several chuckles from the other judges. Terrey Lanchew did not chuckle. That his order forbidding the two children to speak each other’s names in public was disliked by many actually filled him with satisfaction. His job after all was to interpret and apply the law, not to win popularity contests, and he wasn’t going to be pressured by a bunch of teeny-bopper fans. If his orders pissed off thousands, then good. He didn’t have to do what people wanted. Objections, petitions, even death threats put a smile on his face. But the ridicule of his peers did not.

The anchor on the TV was speaking now. “This ruling is certain to spark new arguments between land-owners and environmentalists. Neither side is likely to be satisfied.”

“The Paul you say!” shouted out Mary Chan. All but one of the judges roared with laughter.

The one judge who did not appreciate the humor left the room, walking back to his office or “chambers” as it was sometimes called. If that little bitch Paula Akron hadn’t compared his entirely reasonable gag order to “turning my boyfriend’s name into a cuss word” this wouldn’t be happening. He should find some excuse to find her in contempt of court, but there was just nothing there. Then the little bastard Paul Macon had to win sympathy with the other judges, telling Judge Takeuchi about how he sometimes says “Paula” in private, in bed at night, over and over until he cries. Not a dry eye in the courtroom after that. The gag order was still in place, Takeuchi didn’t have the authority to overrule it, but now all the other judges seemed to be favoring the two brats. Too bad that bedtime crying crap didn’t technically violate the gag order, because these little snots needed to be taken down a peg or two.

He flexed his right hand, hoping to work out the numbness. Could it be carpel tunnel syndrome? He also slowed down a bit; this fast walking was making him out of breath.

Two of the other judges saw him coming their way. They were just talking, Lanchew didn’t know about what. As Lanchew reached them one man suddenly grabbed the other by the front of his shirt and curled his lips into a sneer.

“Don’t Claire with me, Smithers!”

Both men laughed up a storm. Lanchew had had enough and he stopped, thrusting out a finger like a sword as he opened his mouth to give them what for. But all that came out was a wheeze. Again, the judge tried to speak, with the same result. In frustration he started back on his walk to his office. His legs felt as if they were made of lead. They were so heavy he could hardly move them, and the numbness in his hand had spread to his whole arm. Everything looked too bright, like a poorly-adjusted TV screen. With a fear he had never felt before Judge Lanchew realized that his chest hurt, and it had been hurting for the past couple of minutes. He was dimly aware that the other two judges were no longer laughing...

Kapaa, Kauai County, HI

Rosi, together with her fiancé John Scott, looked after Paul Macon when he was, via court order, not at Ted Michaels’ estate because Paula Akron was there. As Rosi ran into the room she called out the little boy’s name.

Nine year old Macon could tell that something was wrong, mainly because he couldn’t tell anything else. Anybody who knew Rosi well, and Macon knew her well, could read her emotions like a very easy book. But now Rosi was giving off a mix of feeling that almost left the child dizzy.

“What’s wrong, Rosi?” he asked.

“The court appearance tomorrow is postponed,” she told him. “Judge Lanchew’s been rushed to the hospital. It’s a heart attack. He ... he could die.”

Macon’s eyes widened and him mouth hung open, but then his face hardened, hardened in a way nobody wants to see on a child.

“Good.”

Change of Heart?

9:20 A.M., Thursday, February 25, 2016

Honolulu, HI

Judge Terrey Lanchew woke up, which was a good sign in itself. He looked around. A hospital room. This made sense, because he’d just had a heart attack. Nobody had told him this; he hadn’t been conscious. But even as he had lost consciousness he knew what was happening. He was only surprised that it hadn’t killed him outright. It still could, he knew. He felt of his chest; no incision. So, he hadn’t had any major surgery yet; that would come in the next day or so, maybe later today.

If he died on the operating table, he thought, those two brats would probably be glad. And that legal guardian of theirs, Ted Michaels, he’d be thrilled. And that Michiko kid, with all her rock star attitude; yeah, she’d probably dance a damn jig. And all those stupid teeny-bopper fans and...

Damn, he thought, will anybody NOT be glad if I die? Well why shouldn’t they be glad; he’d given them all every reason to hate him. What if ... What if they were right?

A Child’s Heart

12:15 PM, Thursday, February 25, 2016

Honolulu, HI

Nine year old Paula Akron walked into the hospital room where Judge Terrey Lanchew was preparing for open heart surgery. The imposing man in the black robe, the man who held her fate in his hands and who seemed to delight in tormenting her, looked very different now. But then, the way Akron felt about him had undergone a dramatic change in the past few hours. The judge had gone from being the person Akron hated most in the world to, she thought, possibly a good guy in this story she found herself in.

When Ted had told her just before lunch that the judge had made his ruling from his hospital bed, and that it had been in their favor, Akron had been delighted, though cautious, even distrustful. When Lanchew had asked for the two children to visit him at the hospital, she had jumped at the chance, though she had also seemed terribly uneasy about something.