this real or just her mind playing tricks on her? Apparition or not, she went to him, her heart way ahead of her head. He was real. His arms encircled her as hers squeezed him. She melted into him, the tears coming in sheets. Tears of joy.
They held each other for a long time.
“I wanted to go to you right after you testified,” Jack said. “But—”
Danni put her finger to his lips and shook her head “no”—no words. She took him by the hand, led him up the porch steps and into the house, shutting the door behind them.
* * *
They had a celebration dinner that night at The Swamp. Ron closed off the second floor for his friends—Henry, Tom, Jack, and Danni. Downstairs was almost full, which was a good thing for a Tuesday. Business was returning to normal quickly. News of the events in the courtroom that morning had spread like wildfire throughout the town. A lot of folks all of a sudden wanted to go to The Swamp. But Ron, the consummate businessman, was having none of it. He was staying upstairs with his true friends.
There were smiles all around and a little good-natured ribbing. It had been an ordeal for all of them. When everybody had a little twinkle in their eye from the joy and the alcohol, Jack stood up.
“I want to propose a toast.” He almost had to shout to overcome the noise of the crowd below.
“To Danni, who told me she loved me for the first time from the witness stand in my murder trial. Well, it wasn’t actually me she told, it was everybody—the whole world. Who can ever top that?”
“Way to go, Danni,” Ron said.
“Danni, you put yourself in harm’s way for me, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life thanking you for it. If Robert Merton even thinks about prosecuting you, he is going to face the most ferocious lawyer he has ever seen.”
“Team of lawyers,” Tom said.
Jack leaned down, kissed Danni, and whispered in her ear.
“I love you, too.”
Then he was raising his glass again—the consummate toastmaster.
“And to Ron and Henry—every man should be so lucky to have friends like you. Ronnie, you supported all of us, fed us, stood with us when your neighbors wanted to shoot you. Put your business on the line for me. That is true friendship. I’m not sure I deserve it.”
“I’m not sure I can afford it,” Ron quipped.
“And Henry, the worst fisherman in the world.”
Henry raised his glass. “Maybe the second worst,” he said.
“You do the necessary, Henry. Whatever it is. I only know the part that Danni told me about, and that was enough. Thank you, my friend.”
Henry couldn’t help himself. He stood up and hugged his dear friend, the beer spilling everywhere.
Jack still wasn’t done.
“And last but not least, to my lawyer, Tom, who was paid an ungodly amount to represent me.”
“Keep that to yourself, Jack. I’d go broke with clients like you.”
Jack waited for the laughter to subside.
“Tom, it was no picnic having me for a client. I overrode your suggestions at every turn. Yet you stuck with me. You pulled me through. I will never forget what you did.”
“You know what this case makes him, don’t you, Jack?” Henry asked.
“No, what?”
“The lawyer’s lawyer’s lawyer.”
Nobody got the joke but Jack and Henry, who were laughing so hard they were in stitches.
Epilogue
Sam Jeffries was lying on the bed in his jail cell in his yellow jumpsuit when an Oakville police officer opened the door. Sam didn’t know what was going on.
“You’ve got company,” the officer said. Then Sam saw Danni.
“Danni, what are you doing here?”
Danni walked into the cell. “I came to see you, Sam. I heard what you said about me yesterday in court, and I wanted to thank you.”
“Thank me? I got you involved in this whole mess.”
“Sam, you weren’t thinking straight. What man who went through what you went through would be thinking straight? You went a little crazy, that’s all. But you didn’t follow through on it. You came to your senses at the last minute.”
“That’s a nice way to put it, Danni, but I destroyed everything I stood for my whole life. I set up an innocent man for murder. I can’t ever forgive myself for what I’ve done.”
“Sure you can. The man you set up forgives you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“He’s here.”
“Who’s here?”
“Jack. He’s right down the hall. He wants to talk to you.”