“Then explain.”
“Those eyes… Fear…” I close my own eyes at the mere thought of the children being taken from their home, placed who knows where, and inevitably separated. I open them again and stare into my friend’s. “I couldn’t let that happen.”
Paul looks at me sympathetically. He knows exactly what I am talking about.
“I understand, man, I do... But lying? Pretending to have a relationship with him?” He points at Seth with his hand. “We’re way beyond defending a client here and beyond anything else.”
I loosen my tie to get more air. The thought of what I just did becomes a frightening reality. “It was the only thing I could come up with.”
“What…” Seth stands up and joins us. “What do we do now?”
“I don’t know.”
“How do we behave?” He asks again.
“I don’t know.”
“Should we… pretend… to be a couple? And… pretend to get married? Or do we have to do it for real?”
“I don’t know.”
Seth frowns. “Do you know anything?”
“I know I couldn’t have stood it another second.”
Seth opens his eyes wide in surprise. Thankfully, he doesn’t ask what I mean. He nods slowly, then takes a deep breath to regain his composure.
“We need a plan,” he says.
“I think it’s an excellent idea,” I agree. “And we’ll do it right away.”
I reach for my briefcase, open it and pull out a notepad, ready for action.
“You know you must live under the same roof, right?” Paul informs us. “If you want this charade to last.”
Seth and I look at each other instinctively.
“Maybe I’d better leave you two alone.” Paul backs away slowly, then opens the door and disappears into the corridors of the courthouse, leaving Seth and me with the knowledge that we are totally screwed.
“You haven’t thought this thing through. You know that?”
“I’m aware of that.”
“I would have expected that from me, not you.”
“Even we lawyers are impulsive sometimes.”
And stupid. Very stupid.
“We will never give it to anyone. They will arrest me. They will arrest us both.”
“We won’t be arrested, Seth.”
“And the children… God, the children!”
“We can do this,” I say, although my tone is anything but reassuring.
“And how?” Seth begins to pace the room nervously. ‘You saw me, and you saw you?” He points at both of us alternately. “You’re not even… Gay! How are you going to…”
