Chapter 44
I looked in the mirror. My hair was in place, my makeup looked good, and my outfit was straightened. I was wearing the pink top and white skirt I wore to Bella’s wedding. Normally I’d wear something different, but I didn’t have anything else appropriate. There was no way I was wearing anything causal to court.
Kalena had said that since Raven and I had pretty much saved the trial by collecting crucial evidence, we would have to be there. I had no clue if they were going to ask one of us to testify or not, but either way, going to the trial was a big deal. It had been decided that the only people who could attend were the those involved, so Raven and I were probably going for a reason. I was nervous - I hadn’t been in a courtroom since the field trip to court in the first grade.
Kalena also had told us that Nina was in police custody since she had taken part in the act of pushing Don through the teleporter. It was still unknown if the police would ever find him though, due to the fact that the teleporter could send someone to different time as well as place. They would have to get his location, and even if they did and managed to get there, there was no way of guarantying a return trip.
Joanna’s mom was watching the kids, and after we dropped them off we headed for the courthouse. The entrance was covered by news crews, so it was hard to find a place for us to get out off the car. We were walking towards the entrance when we saw Lauren and Jessica waving to us by the flagpoles. We headed over to them and they pulled Bella into a hug.
“Shouldn‘t you be at work?” Bella asked them.
“Yeah, we should,” Lauren said, “but we wanted to wish you luck before the trial.”
“We‘re heading there in a minute, though,” Jessica added. Bella smiled and let go of her friends, telling them they had nothing to worry about.
We managed to get into the courthouse without getting too much attention from the media. Once inside, Bella and Mortimer met with Kalena, and the rest of us went inside the court room and took our seats. It wasn’t long before everyone was in place and the trial started. Mortimer and Bella were sitting with Kalena near the front of the room. Dina was on the other side with her lawyer, some guy who looked like he had been pulled out of a guys magazine.
The trial started like any other, with the judge explaining the situation and what the charges were. Then, to our surprise, Pascal Curious, the scientist who had helped us get the evidence, was called in to testify. Kalena got to question him first, and she stood up with a self assured attitude. She started asking him questions about his research, like why the aliens chose to abduct people at certain times and in certain places.
“We know that aliens only abduct people observing from certain kinds of telescopes,” Kalena said. “What kinds of telescopes are these?”
“They‘re expensive at-home versions of the ones found at observatories,” Pascal replied.
“Is there a reason that aliens abduct people observing from these types of telescopes as opposed to cheaper ones?” Kalena asked.
“No one really knows,” Pascal replied, “but one possibility may be that they don‘t like being spied on, and only the expensive telescopes are powerful enough to allow the viewer a clear image of an alien ship. Another reason may be, since aliens seem to use human abductions as a way to reproduce, that they look for the more expensive telescopes because they belong to people with more money and that are more capable of taking care of their children.”
Kalena then showed Pascal a picture of the telescope Bella was using when she had been abducted ten years ago, and Pascal said that she would have never been abducted while using that telescope unless there was foul play.
Then Dina’s lawyer got a chance to ask questions. He was manipulative, and he came up with a counterargument against every argument. They were the kind of reasons that made no sense, but at the same time were plausible. Even if I had not known that Dina was guilty, I wouldn’t have bought them, but I had no idea what the jury would think.
The trial went on like that all day. Both sides were evenly matched, and it was clear that it was still anyone’s game. Every time Kalena made a point that was certain to give us the advantage, Dina’s lawyer came up with a way to counter it. Once the trial adjourned for the day, everyone was a nervous wreak.
I spent the night on an upstairs sofa because Lauren and Jessica were sleeping on the ones in the living room. In middle of the night I heard something that sounded disgusting, followed by a voice and Alice crying. I saw Mortimer and Bella run out of their room and I joined them as the entered Cassandra‘s room. She was in bed holding the baby, the two of them covered in Alice’s previous meal.
“Oh, you poor little girl,” Bella said. She picked up a clean towel, and wrapped Alice in it.
“Is she okay?” Mortimer asked Cassandra.
“I don‘t know,” Cassandra said. “She just threw up on me. She was fine when I went to bed.” She sat up and realized that it would take more than a change of clothes to get cleaned off.
“Honey, you get cleaned up,” Bella told her. “We‘ll take care of Alice.” Cassandra nodded.
Lauren and Jessica came upstairs while Bella and Mortimer were taking Alice to the master bathroom.
“What happened?” Jessica asked when she saw the baby covered in her own food.
“She got sick,” Bella told them.
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Lauren asked.
“The sheets on Cassandra‘s bed need changing,” Bella told her. “You can take them off and bring them to the washing machine.”
Lauren and Jessica took off while Bella and Mortimer brought Alice to the bathroom. Mortimer got the shower ready while Bella undressed the baby. They rinsed her off in the bathtub and I helped them out by getting them washcloths and towels and what ever they needed. Cassandra came into the bathroom once she had gotten washed off, and she dried Alice and put her in a clean pair of pajamas.
Cassandra placed Alice on the bed in the next room and Jessica held her as Cassandra took her temperature.
“She doesn‘t have a fever,” she said after the thermometer beeped. She picked her daughter up and let her rest in her arms. “I don‘t know why she got sick. She seems fine.”
“Something must have happened,” Mortimer told her. “Did you take her out of her crib because she wasn‘t sleeping?”
“I never put her in,” Cassandra said. “I was nervous about the trail, so I went to sleep with her so I could calm down.”
“That must have been it,” Bella said.
“What do you mean?” Cassandra asked.
“Alice picked up on the fact that you were stressed out and that must have gotten her excited to the point where she couldn‘t hold her food down,” Bella told her. Cassandra sighed and looked at Alice. She was calm and her eyes were closing.
“I feel like a horrible mother,” she said
“Don‘t feel bad about it,” Bella replied, placing her arm around her daughter. “These things happen. The best thing to do is to let Alice know you love her.”
“But Amanda never got sick like that when she was a baby,” Cassandra said.
“Every baby‘s different,” Mortimer told her. “You just have to figure out how each one will react in different situations, and that takes time. You‘ve only had six months with her.”
“I just wish I didn‘t have to do this all alone,” Cassandra said.
“You don‘t,” Bella told her. “You have me and your father, and we‘re always here if you need us.”
Cassandra smiled and gave both her parents a hug before taking Alice back to bed. Bella and Mortimer couldn’t go back to sleep themselves, because once Jessica lied down on their bed, she had gone to sleep. She looked exhausted, and Bella and Mortimer were trying to decide what to do when we heard someone talking down the hall. We left the room to find Amanda and Anne talking to Alexander.
“You mean you woke me up just to tell me that Alice threw up on Cassandra?” he asked, sounding somewhat annoyed.
Bella told the girls to go back to bed and she and Mortimer offered to read them a story. They sat together on Amanda’s bed and by the time the story was over both the girls had fallen asleep.
Instead of moving the girls, Bella and Mortimer decided to spend the rest of the night with them. Bella pulled up the sheets and Mortimer put his arms around her and kissed her on the cheek.
“Let‘s get some rest,” he told her.
“Honey,” Bella said, “I don‘t think I‘m nervous anymore. I‘m just too tired.”
The trial resumed the next morning. We went back to the courthouse, Anne coming with us this time. The matter of her custody would be officially decided today, and she needed to be present.
Bella was wearing the Christmas presents her friends had given her - the red heels from Lauren and the golden necklace from Jessica.
When the trial resumed, we found out why Kalena was the best in the business. She pulled out her secret weapon - the documents on Dina’s father.
“How in the world did you get that?” Dina yelled as she shot out of her seat. The court went into chaos and the judge had to yell “Order in the court!” five or six times before it was quiet again.
Kalena went on to present her case and right in the middle of it Dina’s lawyer shouted “Objection!” Kalena looked ticked off, but she did get to finish. Dina’s lawyer did find a way to counter it but it wasn’t as powerful as his past arguments. Still, it seemed as if some members of the jury were considering agreeing with him.
Then it was time for the jury to make a verdict. While they were talking it over, I saw Bella and Mortimer take each other’s hands. Finally the judge asked if the jury had reached a verdict.
The head juror stood up and said, “We find the defendant…” I was on the edge of my seat. It felt like forever before the last word was spoken and I was thinking please be guilty, please be guilty, please be guilty. “… guilty.”
It took everything I had to keep from shouting “YESSSSSS!” in the middle of the court room. Everyone had straight looks on their faces, but I knew that on the inside they were overjoyed.
Dina was sentenced to spend most of the rest of her life in a maximum security prison, giving Mortimer full custody of Anne. She looked pretty mad as she was escorted out of the courtroom. We were all glad she couldn’t bother us anymore.
After everything was official, Raven and I walked out of the courthouse with Bella, Mortimer and Anne. We couldn’t escape the cameras this time. On our way to the car, Bella and Mortimer stopped for a brief interview. It was going well, until one of the reporters asked Anne how she felt about her mother going to jail.
Before anyone could intervene, Anne said, “She‘s not my mom.” The reporter had a surprised look on her face.
“But if she isn‘t your mom,” she asked, “then who is?” Anne took Bella’s hand.
“Bella‘s my mom,” she said. The reporter turned to Bella.
“Are you ready to accept this new role?” she asked.
“There‘s more to being a mother than giving birth to your children,” Bella responded. “I‘m the one who loves her and who takes care of her, and in that respect I am her mother. I‘m her mother in every way that matters.”
Anne sat between Bella and Mortimer in the backseat on the way home and then Bella turned to Mortimer and they engaged in a celebratory kiss.
Chapter 45
The night after the trial Amanda was telling a story to Bella and me when we came across Cassandra, who had fallen asleep on the living room sofa.
“Be quiet, honey,” Bella told Amanda. “Your mother‘s sleeping.” She left Amanda with me and went off into another room. Amanda walked quietly over to where her mother was sleeping.
“Mom?” she whispered. Cassandra opened her eyes slightly and put her arms around her daughter. She picked Amanda up and placed the girl on her stomach. Amanda curled up in her mother’s arms as Cassandra stroked her hair until they were both asleep.
When Bella came back into the living room, she placed a blanket over them and gave them both a kiss on the cheek. Then she left them to enjoy their sweet dreams together as she went back up the stairs.
The next morning, Cassandra woke up before Amanda did, but she didn’t get off the sofa. Instead, she adjusted herself to a sitting position and held her sleeping daughter in her lap.
“How are you? Is everything okay?” Bella asked as she came into the room and saw that Cassandra was awake. “You fell asleep pretty fast.”
“I‘m fine,” Cassandra said. “A lot‘s been happening lately and I guess it just wore me out.” Bella sat down next to Cassandra on the sofa.
“Did she sleep okay?” she asked as she ran her hand through Amanda’s wavy hair.
“She‘s fine. She just hasn‘t woken up yet,” Cassandra said “What about Alice?”
“She‘s still sleeping,” Bella told her. “She went though the night without throwing up.”
“Thanks so much for all your help, Mom,” Cassandra said. “When I caught Don with Dina, I was really scared about what would happen to me and the kids. I was worried about how they would be without a father, but you helped me realize that we‘re all going to be all right. We have you and Dad, and now I‘m sure we‘ll all be fine.”
“I‘m glad that everything‘s going to work out,” Bella told her.
“For right now, I‘m going to focus on raising my kids,” Cassandra said. “And if, in a few years, I can find a guy who loves both me and my kids, then I‘ll know that I‘ve found the right one.”
“Honey,” Bella said, “that‘s a great idea.”
Later that day, Raven and I were told that Mortimer was going to work with Pascal to figure out if there was any way to get us back home. We had pretty much saved the trial, and both Mortimer and Bella wanted to do everything they could to make sure we got back to San Francisco if it was possible.
Things began to settle down and go back to normal over the next week, but there were exciting moments from time to time. One of the things that happened was that Alice finally figured out how to crawl. Cassandra just put her on the floor and the baby just took across the room.
Cassandra stared at her as if she couldn’t believe it and then started yelling, “Mom! Mom! Look at Alice! She finally figured it out!”
Bella came in the room and they watched Alice crawl around the room with an amazed look on her face. She decided to head into the kitchen where Mortimer was. She stopped at his feet and looked up at him as if to say “Grandpa, look at me!” Mortimer didn’t look surprised. He just stopped what he was doing, picked her up and brought her over to Cassandra and Bella. They all gave her kisses and told her how proud they were.
Even Amanda and Anne got excited about it. They tried to have crawling races with Alice, but the baby just went wherever she wanted. It was actually kind of amusing to watch Amanda and Anne take off in one direction and Alice start crawling the opposite way.
One day, Bella came up to me when I was walking through the dining room.
“You know,” she said, “if we can‘t find a way to get you back home, you and Raven are more than welcome to live with us. We could get Randy and Alexander to share a room so you wouldn‘t have to sleep on the sofas all the time.”
“Thanks,” I told her, “but I really don‘t want to think about being stuck here forever. I‘m not even sure if that would work out.”
“We‘ll make sure it will,” Bella said. “There‘s a college about 30 miles or so out of town. It would be easy for you to get there and we can pay your tuition.”
“Wait a minute,” I said. “You‘re willing to pay for both of us for four years of school?”
“It‘s not like we don‘t have the money,” Bella said. I nodded. “And besides, you gave up the sure possibility of going home just to help us out. It‘s the least we can do.”
“Thank you so much for everything,” I told her.
“You don‘t have to thank me,” Bella said. “This is our way of thanking you.”
“Do you think we should start looking for a job?” I asked her.
“Not yet,” she told me. “If anyone can find a way for you to go back home, Mortimer can - oh my goodness! Alice!”
She turned her head and I followed her gaze to the baby, who was making her way under the dining room table.
“Oh no,” I said. We got down on the floor just in time to see Alice disappear under the table.
“Alice, come out here right now,” Bella said as we crawled after the baby. She was crawling through the legs of the chairs as if they were tunnels. If the look on her face was any indication, she was having a great time.
“Where‘d she go?” we heard Cassandra say somewhere outside the room.
“She crawled under the table,” Bella called back. Alice turned around and saw us. She stopped where she was and the look on her face seemed to say “Oh, look. There‘s Grandma.”
I was able to maneuver under the table and grab Alice before she had the chance to crawl away.
“Did you get her?” Bella asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Now how do I get out of here?” I had crawled backwards out of places several times before, but not while holding a baby.
“Give her to me,” Bella said and I dragged Alice to her. We were able to get out from under the table and Cassandra took Alice from Bella and told her to never crawl under the table again.
Bella and Mortimer bought bunk beds for Anne and Amanda, but as soon as the beds were set up the two started fighting over who would get the top bunk. Bella got them to compromise and they decided to switch off every week.
We also got a visit from the parents of Lauren’s brother-in-law. The came into town the see their grandchildren, and Bella and Mortimer invited them over. When they arrived, Bella introduced them to her family, introducing Anne as her own daughter.
As a way to celebrate winning the trial, Bella and Mortimer threw a formal dinner party a week later. Before the event, Bella took Lauren, Jessica, Raven and I dress shopping since we couldn’t afford to buy our own dress. I picked out a light blue halter dress that was decorated in silk. I also helped Raven pick out her dress - she’s not really capable in that department.
We had a mini fashion show in the dressing room where we all tried on our selections. Jessica tried on about 12 dresses and they all looked amazing on her. Lauren’s first pick made her look like she was wearing a corset, and our horrified faces made her run back into the stall and take it off.
Once we had picked out our dresses, we made Bella try hers on, and when she came out of the changing stall, we all lost our breath. She had chosen a full length red halter top dress that shimmered in red and a little orange. Her natural beauty radiated through it, rendering us speechless.
“What do you think?” Bella asked.
Jessica took a deep breath and said, “I think Mortimer’s going to have a heart attack when he sees you in that.”
We used Bella’s house as a place to get ready for the party. While the guys waited downstairs, we got ready on the second floor. Most of the family friends were there, even Scarlet and her family. It was really busy on the second floor. Moms helped their daughters put on their dresses. Girls crowded in front of the mirrors doing their hair and makeup. Bella even helped Cassandra get ready. After Cassandra had put Amanda and Alice into their dresses, Bella helped her do her hair so she could look her best. She had even taken off glasses and replaced them with contacts.
Once everyone was ready, we went downstairs and the women who were in relationships met with their respective guys. Bella was the last one to come down the stairs, and when she met with Mortimer, he immediately kissed her.
“You look so beautiful, honey,” he told her. “You always do.”
When we got to the party, a photographer took several photos, and then we sat down to eat. Cassandra and Alexander gave speeches, and then Lauren and Jessica got up to speak at the front of the room.
“Bella gave us the honor of speaking tonight,” Lauren said, “and the first thing we want to say is how happy we are that she‘s with back her family and that justice has been served.”
“If the three of us have learned anything from this whole ordeal,” Jessica added, “it‘s that life has a way of working itself out. Bella is the most wonderful person I know. She‘s one of those people who are beautiful on the inside and out. And she‘s lucky as well, and we‘re lucky to have her as one of our best friends. The only sad thing was that the event that brought her to us was the one that separated her from her family for so many years. But she found a way to be with all of us, and everything worked out.”
“We are so thankful to have such a great friend,” Lauren continued. “She was always there for us - throughout the great times, and the times where we all wanted to rip our hair out. She comforted us when we were sad and helped us through every heartbreak. We know why she was missed.”
“And she‘s still there for us,” Jessica said. “She’s the one I can call at 2:15 in morning and tell her that what‘s wrong, and she‘ll let me come over and help me out.”
“And she‘s the one who got us through the time when the air conditioning in our apartment broke down and poor Jessica over worked herself and ended up suffering from heatstroke,” Lauren said.
“After Lauren, Bella and Mortimer were the first ones who came to visit me in the hospital, and they let me stay and my family stay in their house until I recovered,” Jessica added. “They even gave me their bed and spent those nights on a sofa.”
“Bella‘s such a great person,” Lauren finished. “We‘re so lucky to be her friends, and we‘re all happy that her family‘s back together again and that we can be a part of it.” And then everyone raised their drinks in a toast.
Then we had dinner as the DJ played classical music. Once dinner was over, Bella and I were talking when the music suddenly changed. The sounds of pianos and violins gave way to the start of a popular song. Bella and I ran over to figure out what was going on, only to be intercepted by Joanna and Randy. They had apparently called the DJ and told him to bring music to be played on a dance floor. Bella didn’t get mad. She understood exactly where they were coming from. Then Mortimer joined us and asked what was going on. Bella explained it to him, and when he asked about what they should do, Bella just smiled.
“Leave it, honey,” she told him. “Everyone‘s having a good time and it’s supposed to be a celebration, so I think we should celebrate.” She led him to the dance floor.
We spent the rest of the night dancing our hearts out. Bella and Mortimer danced together, occasionally kissing or doing something else romantic. They danced with Scarlet, Todd, Lauren, Jessica and her boyfriend. Joanna, Randy and their friends were dancing nearby and I switched between dancing with Bella and her friends and Joanna and hers. The kids were everywhere, but every once in a while the kids showed up by us and we all would dance with them.
Then the DJ played one of those mushy, slow songs that I can’t stand, and Lauren and I left the dance floor. We found Cassandra standing on the sidelines holding Alice and we stood with her. She told us that she was disappointed that she didn’t have someone to dance with. She would have liked to ask someone but she didn’t know who, and no one had asked her yet. When the next slow song started, Mortimer came over and asked his daughter to dance with him. Cassandra tried to get out of it by telling him she had to hold Alice, but he told her he was willing to dance with them both. They went to the dance floor together and danced next to Bella and Alexander.
A little while later, the DJ stopped the music and said, “I‘ve been told that Bella and Mortimer haven‘t had an official first dance since they renewed their wedding vows.”
“Oh, come on,” Jessica called out. “They‘ve been dancing together all night!”
“Well, why don‘t we make it official,” the DJ said. As he started the music again, everyone filed off the dance floor leaving Mortimer and Bella to have their dance. She put her arms around his neck and he places his around her waist and they danced through the whole song, ending it with a kiss. When they finished, we all clapped and joined them on the dance floor.
Raven did dance with me once. It wasn’t her thing, but we had an agreement that we would always share one dance at these kinds of events. Most of the time though she watched me dance with my other friends from the sidelines.
We danced until the party was over. It was great and I didn’t think anything could be better until the next day when Bella and Mortimer approached Raven and me with good news.
“Guess what?” Bella told us. “You‘re going home!”