George Higgins - A change of gravity

"Well," Cohen said, 'you could always recuse yourself."

"If I did," the judge said, "I'd have to give a reason; we aren't supposed to duck cases. And it couldn't be that once you were my lawyer. You've already heard what Bissell said: the government doesn't mind that. That leaves me with only one reason, which I do not care to state publicly."

"Oh yeah," Cohen said. "I forgot."

"I don't want to be on "Oprah"," the judge said. "I never told Eric about my fling with Danny. Don't know why, I just never did. I've never known whether you didn't know about Danny and me when you were representing Danny's wife, long before I hired you, or did but kept it quiet because you and Sam Evans're gentlemen. Did Sam protect me on that?"

"I thought you said what you wanted to talk to me about wasn't the matter you just heard," Cohen said, amused.

"I said I wanted to talk to you about basketball," she said, 'and that was the truth. This is a story about basketball, and I want you to listen carefully, so you'll be able to repeat it to your client before he meets the grand jury.

"This was some years ago now, when Eric and I'd decided we were going to get married, and I took him home to Fairmont, to meet my mom and dad. That's the fancy colony where they lived then, mostly top Ford honchos, outside of Detroit. This was before he retired and they moved to Santa Fe. Then he was still working for the Pistons. It was Christmas-time, and my dad and Eric and I were sitting around in the TV room after dinner and there was a game on, Lakers and Celtics. Bird and Magic; Magic and Bird: world was much younger then.

"Eric, being your normal artist, didn't know much about sports. Isn't really interested in any sport he isn't good at. He'll play basketball with me any old time I want, shoot a few hoops in the driveway which I find I do about every four or five years now, but used to three times a week. He was humoring me; I knew that and I was grateful. Anyway, he's not keen on watching things he doesn't do, reads or leaves the room, but that night he was on his best behavior, and the game was on.

It was a good one, and I forget what it was but someone did something that made Dad say: "Look at that." I don't remember which player did it or what color he was, but it was impressive we'll say it was Kevin McHale. And my father said you know my father's white, don't you? I know I told you that, you were getting me divorced."

"Maybe," Cohen said. "That was also a long time ago. But if you did I wouldn't've seen it had any bearing on the case, so it wouldn't've stuck."

"Well, I thought it did," she said, 'and that was because Ray thought it did. He never believed I was leaving him because he was kissing Whitey's ass all the time and I couldn't stand it any longer. He said I was the one who groveled for white folks, and that was why I was leaving him for Eric: "because Eric is white." If he'd known about Danny he would've said "Danny." Raymond said I was attracted to white men because my father's white, and subconsciously I've been trying to get in bed with him all along. Raymond took his college psych courses much too seriously."

"Oh yeah," Cohen said, 'now I remember. That was the time you socked him."

"Well, it was more like a slap," she said.

"Made his nose bleed," Cohen said. "Cost you, I figure, five or ten thousand dollars, off the top of the property settlement. Have that little item come out in court, that a Butler, Corey partner whacked her poor defenseless husband on the snoot? Warren Corey would've been simply ecstatic."

"It was worth it," she said. "Anyway, Ray really needed the dough more'n I did. He lost his shirt on that silly racetrack. The others got fleeced too, but they could afford it. Ray was in over his head."

"The basketball game," Cohen said, prompting. "Come on, I've got a hot desk to slave over up in South Hadley today."

"Right," she said. "Whoever it was and whatever he did, I know it was one of the forwards, made some move and Daddy said: "Now, look at that.

That's something I never could do. I just didn't have it in me." And then he started in on how people were always feeling sorry for him, he played before the big money, and he said: "Hell no, I was lucky I played when I did. If I were the right age now to be playing ball, I wouldn't be playing at all. I wouldn't be good enough.

'"When I came into the league, black men weren't allowed to: segregation. It wasn't right that I could play, but that was the way it was, and I wasn't the one who'd made it that way. Bird can play today, and so can McHale, and both of those guys're white, but like all of the white guys playing today, they are truly exceptional players.

"Exceptional' 's not what I ever was. "Pretty good' is what I was.

'"When I retired, I wasn't all washed up. I still had a year or so left. But I saw those kids coming along, wonderfully smooth, fluid players, and I knew what I wanted to do. I didn't want to play ball against those guys; I wanted to watch them play ball, help the team adapt to the times. I'd played in the time that I had to play in, and when it was over, I stopped."

Judge Foote smiled at Cohen, gnawing on her lower lip, making her eyes twinkle, too. "Think you can remember that, long enough to tell it to your client?"

"I think so," Cohen said, smiling back.

"Because I really don't want to have to put your man in jail, Geoff," she said. "I don't want to give Mister Bissell the satisfaction, but mostly I just don't want to put Ambrose Merrion in jail for Thanksgiving. It isn't the right thing to do. He's in the same position that my father was, and he has to see it. The game that he and Danny played has changed. It's time for him to stop playing.

"He wont like it. He'll resist. But he looks to me as though he's smart enough to see that, if you push him. They've changed the rules on him; the old code's been repealed. Let the new nasty boys carve their moral arrogance into someone else's tough old hide. I like your idea a lot. Pump him up to testify and help Bissell get himself way out on the limb of his indictment. Then at trial ram it right up his ass. Make him see he can go out with a bang."

"And that isn't fighting?" Cohen said, standing up.

Judge Foote stood up. She extended her hand. "Well, maybe a little," she said, 'fighting in a different way."

Cohen shook her hand. "Very good," he said, 'and I'll tell you something too. Sam Evans did not know about your frolics with Danny.

He said he'd forbidden Danny to come clean with him, give him a list of his girlfriends. He said to me: "He understands that's information I don't want to have, and you're not getting it either, no matter what we have to do."

For a moment the judge said nothing. Then she said: "So there're at least four of you left; that's good to hear. Sam is a real gentleman."