“Yes, ma’am.”
“Come with me.” Julia turned and walked away. Justin, after a quick glance at me, trailed after her. I wasn’t sure forcing Justin to talk to Ezra right now was a good idea, but Julia would no doubt have brushed aside any objections I could raise.
I moved to the small waiting room and sat down. Resigning myself to an indeterminate period of twiddling my thumbs, I wished I had brought a book with me. Or Diesel.
Diesel was confused when I told him he had to stay home. He went almost everywhere with me, except to church, and he knew today wasn’t Sunday. He sat in the kitchen, watching as Justin and I went out the back door to the garage. I knew he’d still be sitting there when I came home again.
I glanced around me. There were only a couple of other people in the waiting room, an anxious-looking elderly woman and a man who had to be her son. He had the same nose, the same angles to his face. He kept patting his mother’s hand, speaking in low tones, but she didn’t seem to be hearing him. Who were they here for? I wondered. Her husband, his father? I hoped whoever it was would be all right.
Julia appeared in front of me, blocking out the harsh fluorescent lighting for a moment. I looked up into her face, not surprised to see the weariness and anger there.
“How is Ezra?” I asked as I stood. I motioned Julia to the seat next to me, and she sank into it like a woman twice her age.
“Are you okay?” The stiffness of her movements worried me.
Julia grimaced. “Just getting old, Charlie. And tired.”
“You’re the same age I am. You’re not old.” I tried to keep my tone light, but Julia heard the concern in my voice.
“It’s not the years, it’s the mileage. Isn’t that what they say?” The specter of a smile passed across Julia’s face. “I’m okay. Tired is all. The past couple of months have been pretty rough.”
“Ever since Justin left home.”
Julia nodded. “Ezra has been beside himself for months. He loves that boy with all his heart, and Justin defying him the way he has, well, it’s about broken his heart.” She paused. “But I’m about ready to wring his neck over what he did. He should never have struck Justin like that. He almost cried, though, when he saw the bruise he made.”
I forbore commenting on Ezra’s behavior at the moment. “Justin has the right to live his own life.” I probably should have kept my mouth shut, let Julia talk.
“I know that as well as you do. I had to make a choice when Justin told me he didn’t want to be a preacher, and I made it.” Julia’s angry tone didn’t offend me. I was treading on ground where I had no business stepping.
“Do you regret it?” I was prying, but instinct told me Julia needed to talk about all this.
“No, I don’t.” Julia closed her eyes and leaned back in the hard plastic chair. “You’re a parent. Would you?”
“No.” I waited a moment, but she didn’t reply. “How did Ezra wind up in the hospital? Justin mentioned a fight.”
Julia turned her head and looked me in the eye. “Godfrey told me he came to see you this morning. Told you everything.”
“Yes, he did. I’m sure you’d rather he kept this private.”
“He’s bound and determined to make this some kind of public spectacle. But if he thinks he’s going to take Justin away from me, just because of all his money and his fame, he’s going to get a rude awakening.” Julia sat up. The loathing in her tone didn’t surprise me. Godfrey had that effect on people, at least in my experience.
“If I can do anything to help, you know I will.” I wasn’t thrilled about being dragged into this mess, but for Justin’s sake, I wanted to do what I could.
“Thank you. You always were a good man, even when you were a boy. Did the right thing, and stood by your friends.” Julia smiled, some of the tension and anger draining out of her. She sounded fatigued as she continued. “It’s such a nightmare. I was sitting in a restaurant having lunch with Godfrey so we could talk about Justin. And then Ezra walked in. He and Godfrey started arguing. I tried to get between them, but I couldn’t.”
“I doubt you could have done anything to stop Ezra,” I said, recalling the scene at my house. “When a man’s that angry . . .”
“Ezra has a terrible temper. He has prayed for so long, asking the Lord to help him overcome it. But he never can.”
Did he take that terrible temper out on his wife as well as his son? After what I witnessed earlier, I was afraid he did. Could that explain the stiffness in Julia’s movements?
Julia perhaps sensed my concern. She looked at me again. “Ezra has never struck me, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“I’m relieved to hear it. But he struck Justin this morning. Very hard.”
Julia’s hands clenched, and her breathing grew labored. From the glint in her eye, I figured it was just as well Ezra was already in the hospital or Julia might have put him there herself.
“How badly is Ezra hurt?”
“Not as bad as he’s going to be if he strikes Justin again.” Julia made an effort to regain control of herself. For a moment I thought she might go flying into Ezra’s room. “Sorry, Charlie, this is all so sordid.”
“You don’t need to worry about that with me. We’ve known each other too long.” I took her right hand and patted it. “Now, tell me what happened to Ezra.”
“It was ridiculous, a man his size laying into Godfrey like that. Godfrey hit him twice, once in the nose and once in the eye, and it was all over. I don’t think Godfrey did anything except bruise his knuckles a little.”
“Did he break Ezra’s nose? Or injure the eye badly?” I could picture the scene all too easily. I fought Godfrey a couple of times myself in the folly of adolescence. Godfrey won both times, but thankfully my face didn’t suffer lasting harm.
“Ezra’s nose is pretty swollen. So is his eye. I don’t think there’ll be permanent damage, except to his pride. There were several of our church members in the restaurant. Ezra shamed himself in front of them.” The grim satisfaction in Julia’s voice didn’t bode well for Ezra. Any sympathy I could have felt for him evaporated the moment he struck Justin. “What can I do for you?” I said.
“I’ll be fine,” Julia replied. “I’m sorry that you got dragged into this, but I know you’ll help Justin if you can. Just be there if he needs someone to talk to, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course I don’t.” I paused for a moment. There was a question I felt I had to ask, but Julia might not want to answer it. “What made you decide to get in touch with Godfrey after all this time and tell him about Justin?”
Julia threw me an odd look, but any answer she might have given me was forestalled by Justin’s abrupt entrance into the waiting room.
His stormy face said it all. The time spent with his father had not gone well.
Julia stood and held out her arms. Justin walked into them, and they embraced. I turned away to give them some privacy. The elderly woman and her son were gone now. I got up and moved to the other end of the room. Julia and Justin conversed in low voices.
After a few minutes, while I stared out a window into the parking lot, Julia called my name. I strolled back to her and Justin.
“Thank you for coming,” Julia said, one arm still around her son. “I think Justin’s ready to go. I really appreciate your bringing him here.”
Mother and son both appeared worn to the bone now. The best thing I could do was to get Justin home and let him have some privacy or maybe some time with Diesel. My cat had a tonic effect on people, and Justin needed that now.
“Glad to do it,” I said. I took her free hand and held it between both of mine for a moment. Julia smiled, and I released her hand. “If there’s anything else I can do, let me know.”
Julia nodded. “Put some ice on that bruise if it hurts very much.” Justin gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and I walked out of the waiting room with him a couple of steps behind.