Brenda Janowitz: Jack With a Twist

“Long story,” I say, my face turning three different shades of red, “But yes.”

“Ladies,” Jay says, “I’ll go—”

“No,” Monique interrupts him, “don’t go. In fact, please feel free to report that I was here. You even have my full permission to take a picture of me walking to the elevator. Let’s clear things up here and now—Jean Luc and I are here together. We are back together and everything is fine again. We are meeting up to spend some time alone this afternoon in the bridal suite—yes—the bridal suite, and I don’t expect you’ll see us leaving the suite until tomorrow morning at the earliest. So, there you go. There is your precious gossip. I know that you would rather run blind items about relationships falling apart, but now you have your story. I am sneaking around in a hotel to spend time alone with my husband. I hope you are now satisfied.”

As Monique walks away from Jay and me, I can see a spring in her step. She practically dances her way to the elevators, pulling the scarf off her head as she does. Jay doesn’t take a single shot of her.

“So, I’ve had a tiny little matter come up that I was meaning to call you about. Do you have some time to talk now?” Jay asks, putting a toothpick into his mouth, and I roll my eyes.

“What do you think?” I say through clenched teeth.

“No problem,” he says, “I’ll just swing by the office tomorrow.” He scurries off before I have a chance to get in another word and leaves me alone in the foyer.

Standing outside the bar, between the front door of the hotel and the ballroom where the Federal Bar Council is still being held, I’m torn as to what I should do. Monique’s words mean so much to me, her actions even more, but I’m just not sure if I’m ready to walk back into that ballroom yet. As I make my decision, turning to walk out of the hotel, I hear someone calling my name. In an instant, I realize that I left without saying good-bye to Vanessa, and that it must be her, coming to check on me.

But things are never really that easy, are they? Instead, I spin around to find Miranda Foxley chasing after me. I immediately turn back around and start walking even faster to the exit.

“Brooke,” she calls out. “Wait! Please just wait for one second.”

She catches up to me and I turn to face her: “You are the last person in the world that I want to see right now, so please just leave me alone.”

“Brooke, I understand that you don’t like me,” Miranda says. “But you really should hear Jack’s closing statements.”

“You know what, Miranda?” I say, “I think I’ve heard enough.”

“Look, I know that you and Vanessa think I’m a horrible person. And, I guess that in many ways that I am. But I don’t mean to be. I don’t set out to do the things that I do. The truth is, you just can’t help who you fall in love with.”

“Please,” I say, “ you’re going to try to lecture me on love now? Give me a break.”

“I know,” she says, “I know. I’ve got a crappy track record, an even worse reputation, and I deserve everything that everyone says behind my back. I’ve made more mistakes in my life than I care to admit, but…. Look, you can’t tell me that you don’t know, just as much as I do, that you can’t help who you fall in love with. I know that you do—I can see it in your face right now. You want to hate Jack right now, maybe you even do hate Jack right now, but you’re still in love with him. You still love him. And he still loves you.

“I thought it was bad when we were in discovery and he couldn’t stop talking about how amazing you were and how much fun you used to have when you worked together, but now it’s even worse. He mopes around the office like a sad puppy and all he really wants is to talk to you. To talk things out.”

“Is everything here okay?” Vanessa says, rushing out of the ballroom and over to me. “I’ve been e-mailing you for the last hour to make sure you got home okay, and I didn’t hear back. I was just about to hop on the Long Island Rail Road to start the search party with Mimi.” And then to Miranda: “You can go. I’ve got it from here.”

“Okay,” Miranda says, “but, Brooke, please hear what Jack has to say.”

Vanessa grabs me and hugs me tight.

“Do you want me to take you home?” she asks me.

“You know what?” I say, “maybe Miranda’s right.”

“Not possible,” Vanessa says.

“True,” I answer, smiling. “But still, let’s hear what Jack has to say.”

“Fine, but I’m coming to sit at your table,” Vanessa says, grabbing my hand, and we walk back to the ballroom together.

“Oh, my God,” I gasp, “is Noah your mystery man?”

“He’s married, ” Vanessa says. “What do you think, I’m pulling a Miranda?”

“Is that our new term for cheating?” I ask.

“It’s our new term for making a move on a married man,” she says. “Yes. Think of it as the new Miranda warning—you do not have the right to hit on a married man. Anything you do with said married man can and will be used against you by every other woman you know.”

“You know what? I kind of feel sorry for her.”

“I feel worse for the wives of the men she’s messed around with,” Vanessa says. Said like a wife who’s been betrayed. I feel a tug of sadness for Vanessa and all she’s been through.

“Oh, honey. Me, too. I feel terrible for the wives. What she did, what she does, is awful. I mean, I’m not saying that what she did was in any way excusable, I’m just saying that I feel sorry for her. It’s like she just can’t help but fall in love with the wrong guy.”

“Are you trying to say that you fell for the wrong guy, too?” Vanessa asks, as we approach the ballroom.

“You know what? I don’t think so, but I guess we’re going to find out right now.”

The double doors to the ballroom open with a swoosh and the people at the few tables nearest to the doors turn around to look at us as we quietly make our way to the SGR table. I sit back down in my seat and Vanessa takes Rosalyn’s seat. Noah looks at me from across the table and smiles. He mouths the words I’m glad you came back.

I mouth back the words, “Me, too.”

Judge Solomon’s law clerk announces that Jack is going to be giving the closing statements, and the crowd applauds as Jack takes the mike once again.

“Thank you all for coming today to honor the Honorable Edward Solomon. My father. The man we all love and respect, and by being here today, you’ve truly honored him. Thank you for that.” The crowd all stands to applaud. Then, as everyone begins to take their seats again, Jack turns to his father: “Dad, you’ve made me the lawyer I am today. The man I am today. You’ve taught me how to fight to the death in a courtroom, and I’ve litigated against the toughest adversaries in the jurisdiction without flinching because of it. But the one person I could never go against is you. I always thought that having respect for you meant never standing up to you, but I was wrong. Now, I think that having respect for you would actually be to show you that I’ve become the man you’ve always taught me to be. To be strong, to take responsibility for things. To stand up for what I believe in.” Jack says, to a round of roaring applause. The judges on the dais all begin shaking Judge Solomon’s hand and patting him on the back. The Judge’s law clerk begins to get up from his seat, thinking that Jack is done speaking, but Jack doesn’t move a muscle. He stays firmly planted at the mic. He runs his hand through his shaggy brown hair and takes a deep breath.

“Dad, I love and respect you, but I don’t want lobster at my wedding if Brooke doesn’t want it. And, Dad, if you want lobster, then that’s fine, but then you won’t be at my wedding, and I’ll have to respect that, just as you’ll have to respect my decision here today. Because I love Brooke Miller and I’m going to do anything in the world to get her back. I let my fear get in the way of the best thing that ever happened to me, and I’m correcting that mistake here and now. Being afraid cost me the most important thing in my life and I’m going to get it back. I’m going to get it back right now.”