Bill got married. He got married on Memorial Day weekend and he took two days off. They didn’t have a honeymoon or anything like that. He went back to work on the Tuesday after the holiday. He worked the Saturday night, got married on Sunday and had one day off after the wedding.
His and Mary’s last time at the Upper Room was bittersweet. It was happy and sad and wild and tender all at once. Mary cried a lot. But she offered Bill everything she had to offer and Bill loved her, told her he loved her, told her he would always love her. And that was true.
When he came back to work, that Tuesday, he was no different except he actually did not fool around with anyone. Sometimes it was hard to restrain himself, but restrain himself he did. He and Lorraine did not see each other outside of work anymore. He and Mary worked side by side and did not touch. If they accidentally bumped each other, they excused themselves. In some ways it was uncomfortable. In some ways it was awkward. In some ways it was just plain funny.
Bill no longer dressed in front of the ladies. Bea and Mary changed inside the ladies room. Bill did so inside the men’s room. He was quiet and subdued and went straight home every night.
Bill did not stop drinking and he did not stop drugging. He happily told the story of the judge who married him and his wife, the same judge that had presided over his pre-trial hearing. Judge Pearson. He’d wanted to throw the case out of court upon hearing it. He told Bill it was one of the worst cases he’d ever seen, so ridiculous it didn’t have any place in the courtroom.
Judge Pearson not only told these things to Bill and his lawyer. He scolded the DA, told him he should be ashamed of himself for bringing such a case, told him he hoped some time he would feel the same type of pressure they were putting on a kid who was more than likely completely innocent.
But Judge Pearson was a practical man. He told Bill that as much as he wanted to throw the case out of court he knew if he did so right outside the door the police would re-arrest Bill and file a felony against him, Rioting 1. If they did that, his bail would skyrocket and he’d be facing time in the State Penn. So he remanded the case over for trial.
The judge ended up being about a half hour late to the wedding. Bill’s father-in-law-to-be was all on his case about it, so much so that Bill wanted to just run the hell out. Several times he asked Bill if he were sure he’d arranged for the judge and the judge knew where to come. Bill wanted to say that he wasn’t an idiot, but he held to himself.
The judge finally did get there. He apologized profusely. Turned out it was his son’s high school graduation and he had to run out early because it was going on and on. He smiled, said he saw his kid get his diploma and then ran out.
Bill would always remember Judge Pearson. He was a decent man, a fair man, a man of principal and integrity. For his trial he’d gotten hang-’em-high Shul, the most conservative judge Columbus had.
The only one he saw outside of work after being married was Arlene. They met somewhat regularly but almost always out now, at a café or a diner. Arlene and he would talk, friends, about her mother, about married life, about life in general. Sometimes Bill got the feeling that Arlene was in love with him.
