Barclay Davis - Angela, Friends Like These

Art by Scopedog

Court resumes, and tensions and anxieties have risen for Frida and the Gang, as the custody case for Angela continues.

Archie Sanders, the father of Angela, delivered the first shots by revealing that he met Frida when she was working as a stripper at a popular club. Then, he delivered a low blow by having his lawyer, Tyrone Armstrong, produce photos of Frida engaged in lesbian sex, in the hopes of swaying the hard right judge, Ezekiel Stone, to grant him custody of Angela.

But, thanks to Victor, they were able to get recorded proof that Archie's concerns for Angela were totally bogus, as Archie only needed custody of Angela to insure he doesn't get cut out of his family's money before he turns 30, which is fast approaching for him. But because Victor got it by trespassing inside Archie's home, the evidence would get tossed aside, if it were presented in its entirety to Judge Stone, leaving Frida in a deeper hole than before. So it's up to Frida's lawyer, "Izzy" Feinberg, to try and get Archie to slip up and say something that will be used against him.

Inside the courthouse and in the main foyer, Frida, Max, Victor, and the Gang are all huddled together with Izzy, as he tries to explain what their plans of attack are.

But then, they all noticed something.

A group of people entered the foyer from outside. They were fellow faculty members from Danforth High, led by Principal James Brown and Vice Principal Mike McGilligan.

Surprised by their appearance, Frida and Max went up to them.

"What are you all doing here?" Frida asked of them. "Shouldn't you all be back teaching?"

"Well, we got a message that you need support for your custody case, so we all came forward to show up and help one of our best teachers." Principal Brown said.

"Oh really?" Max said, as he turned his eyes towards Victor, who was perched on top of Max's right shoulder. "I wonder where?" Victor acted innocent.

"We all found out about what that lowlife Sanders did in court." Gail Smith told her, as she and Abigail Jones and their Elvises showed up as well.

"So we came to give Frida some backup and to let that bum know he won't get away with it!" Abigail said.

"And if he does try..." Gail said.

"We'll make sure he lives to regret it!" Abigail said

Frida was on the verge of tears, as she didn't expect to see more people join in to back her up. "Oh...you guys! This means so much to me!"

Martha Wong, who showed up with her husband Clyde, went up to Frida to give her a hug, and to tell her "Well, we teachers all have to stick together, dontcha know!😉😁"

As Frida was wiping a tear from her face, Max told McGilligan "Gee Mike, I didn't expect to see a soft side from you😁."

McGilligan composes himself, and says to Max, "Well...I like Miss Olsen. She's a great teacher."

"Yeah, I know." Max told McGilligan. "And by the way, thanks for that advice you gave me." McGilligan was a bit surprised by that, but gave a bit of a smile back at Max.

Max and Frida were both surprised by who they also saw. Jeffrey Robinson showed up with his wife Nancy by his side, looking better than he ever did in a long, long time.

"Jeff?" Max said. "Holy shit Jeff, you're looking great!"

"Thanks Max!" Jeff said. "I owe it all to you two. If you hadn't stepped in when you did, I'd have been in so much trouble. Because of that, I stopped drinking and went into AA. I've never felt better. And because of that, Nancy came back to me."

"Well, we're all proud of you for quitting drinking, Jeff." Max told him. "And we're all looking forward to your return to Danforth. And we're very happy Nancy is back with you."

"And I want to thank you both for helping get Jeffrey to quit drinking." Nancy told both Max and Frida. "You both got me my husband back!"

Jeff smiles at that. Then he looks at Frida and tells her "Can you ever forgive me for what I almost did to you? I've never felt more shame in all my life."

Frida smiles at Jeff and tells him "Of course I can forgive you. You made the effort to turn your life around!" Jeff smiles at that.

Then, Frida and Max both saw another familiar couple coming up. It was Marie and Gerald Webster, Frida's foster parents and Angela's babysitters, who had walked out in the middle of the trial after learning of Frida's lesbian affair in college.

Max had a bit of a scowl at them, while Frida was quite upset with them. She approached Marie and Gerald and said to them "I thought you both hate me now!"

"NO!" Marie pleaded with her. "We don't hate you, Frida. We can never hate you."

"It hurt me when you both walked out on me!" Frida said, nearly being moved to tears. "I felt abandoned again."

"We know, Frida." Gerald told Frida. "And we quickly came to regret doing that to you."

"So after we got home," Marie said. "We talked about it...prayed about it...and decided, it doesn't matter what you've done. It's your life. And we still love and support you Frida. And we'll continue to love and support you."

Frida didn't say or do anything for a moment. Then, she smiled at them and rushed up and hugged them both, with tears streaming down her face. Both Gerald and Marie were hugging Frida together. Frida then looked at both of them, and said "Oh, this means so much to me. You both are like my own parents."

"Well. that's because we don't think of you as our foster child." Gerald told Frida, who was a bit puzzled at what Gerald had told her. He continued, "We think of you as our own daughter!" When Frida heard that, she cried into Gerald's shoulder and hugged him tight, with Marie hugging Frida from behind and crying as well. Max, who had approached Gerald and Marie with contempt, started smiling at that tender moment, along with Victor.

"And besides" Marie said, "We know you'll be alright, Frida. You have a wonderful man by your side, loving you and supporting you."

Frida turns to look at Max, who was a bit surprised by that statement, and said "I know!" and went up to hug him, saying "Max has been my rock this entire time! I don't know what I'd be like without him!"

Max was surprised by Frida's statement about him, as she was kissing his face, saying "FRIDA! Don't you think you're spreading that a bit thick about me, there?😁"

"Oh don't sell yourself short, Max." Marie told him. "We told Frida, the first time we met you, that you looked to be the perfect young man for her. And you've more than lived up to that."

Max was surprised by that statement, yet he liked it a lot, saying "Thanks. And I feel blessed to have Frida with me. I'm the luckiest guy in the whole damn world!😊😊😊😊😊"

Just then, Izzy approached them and said "Hey guys, time to head into the courtroom. They just opened the doors." And everyone went inside.

***

Inside his office, Judge Ezekiel Stone is getting ready to resume Angela's case. He gets a knock on his door, and his bailiff, a heavy set black woman, tells him that everyone is being seated in his courtroom. Judge Stone thanks her, but she's still standing there with a concerned look on her face.

"Was there something you wanted, bailiff?" The judge asks her.

"No your honor." she meekly tells him, and tries to leave.

But she changes her mind and enters his office to talk to him, saying "Actually, there IS something I want to ask you, your honor!"

Judge Stone, exasperated by his bailiff's strange behavior, says "FINE THEN, what is it?"

"Sir, I do hope you're not thinking of handing that little girl off to her father." she asks the judge.

"And if I am, what about it?" Judge Stone asks his bailiff. "What concern is it for you on how I rule this case?"

The bailiff told the judge "Because, your honor, that little girl's future well being hangs in the balance. If you hand her off to her father, her life will be one of misery and unhappiness."

"And what of it? Why have you suddenly developed a concern for her, bailiff?" the judge asks her. "What is it about her that made you decide to question how I'm overseeing this case?"

The bailiff tells him "Because, your honor, that little girl is terrified of her own father, and would prefer being with her mother. We saw that the other day after she broke away from him to go running into her mother's arms. And I KNOW you saw it, sir! Because I saw you watching it all unfold!"

The judge, getting a little annoyed at his bailiff, asks her "Are you speaking to me as someone who's an expert of the law and who knows what's legally best for the child in question?"

"No, your honor!" she tells him. "I'm speaking to you as a single mom of two young boys who knows and understands what it's like to raise a child on your own. Yes it's tough, and there are sacrifices to be made. But at the end of the day, if the children are being raised healthy and happy, then who are we to question the fitness of the mother?"

"Is that supposed to persuade me, bailiff?" the judge asks of her.

"Do you not care, your honor?" She asks of him. "Do you not care about MY life? Do you even know my name?"

"Of course I do!" the judge says. "It's Bonnie......Cheryl, Joanne, or someone."

"It's Letitia, your honor!" She told him. "All these years of working for you, and you don't even know my name? How do you know what's best for a child, if you don't think about the mother?"

After looking at Letitia for a moment, the judge, looking away for a moment, says "What my concerns for any child are that their welfare is being looked at. That the parent I give the child to has the sustainability and wherewithal to raise them properly so that they can be productive members of society." The judge then looks at Letitia and says to her "What more could you give to a young child?"

After a moment, Letitia says to the judge, "How 'bout love, your honor?"

The judge looked at Letitia awkwardly, after she said that. Letitia then said, as she turned to leave his office, "Without love...none of the rest of that stuff matters, sir."

After Letitia left, the judge just stood there and took in what she said to him.

***

Inside the courtroom, everyone is taking their seats, same as last time, with Frida's side bigger than before.

As everyone was settling down, Izzy saw Tyrone and went up to him, angrily telling him "Are you proud of yourself, Harvard? Showing the judge those pictures of my client in compromising positions?"

Tyrone just said to Izzy, "I'm only doing what my client wants, smalltime." with a disgusted tone in his voice, giving away that he's none too happy with being Archie's lawyer, which Izzy picked up.

Soon, Letitia, the bailiff, enters the courtroom to announce the judge's entrance, saying "ALL RISE FOR THE HONORABLE JUDGE EZEKIEL STONE!" and everyone rises. The judge then summons everyone to take their seats so that they can begin.

Judge Stone then said "We shall continue from where we left off last time. Counsel had just questioned his client Archie Sanders, so now we open it up for cross examination from the counsel of the mother. Will Mr. Sanders please take the stand?" Archie then takes the stand, swears to tell the truth, and sits himself down.

Frida's lawyer Izzy then begins to grill Archie.

"So...Mr. Sanders..." Izzy said to Archie. "You seemed bound and determined to gain full custody of your daughter, Angela."

"Yeah, what about it?" Archie snaps at Izzy.

"Why haven't you made a baby with your fiancé, Mr. Sanders?" Izzy asked him, talking about Archie's girlfriend Gia Gagliardi.

"We've tried!" Archie says. "But Gia can't get pregnant. Lord knows I've tried many times, satisfying her along the way!" He says quite proudly, while Gia was rolling her eyes at that.

"Why haven't you tried other methods to get her pregnant, Mr. Sanders? Izzy asked.

"I dunno." Archie said while shrugging his shoulders.

"You don't know?" Izzy says, rather mockingly. "And yet, rather than take the effort into finding other ways of getting your fiancé pregnant, you thought it would be easier to just take someone else's child. All while upsetting the mother greatly!"

"I do fine by Angela!" Archie said "She's in a much better place than she would be with that skank of a mother of hers!" Judge Stone ordered the stenographer to strike the word 'skank' from the records and warned Archie never to use foul language in his court again.

"Angela is in a much better place, you say. And yet, somehow, Angela seems to be terrified of you!" Izzy said.

"She'll get over it!" Archie said. "Once she knows what she can and can't do."

"Mr. Sanders, have you ever struck Angela? Like, give her a spanking?" Izzy asks Archie.

"Well..." Archie said, continuing "Maybe once...or twice. But hey, what kid doesn't need that? Spare the rod, an' spoil the child, ya know? My parents spanked me a lot, when I was a kid, and I turned out great!" Most everyone on Frida's side were eyerolling at that statement.

"Yes, well...it seems you've done it more than once or twice, Mr. Sanders. Judging by Angela's reaction from the other day, it seems she'd rather be with her mother than with you." Izzy said, bringing up Angela running into her mother Frida's arms than being with Archie.

"OBJECTION, your honor!" Tyrone says. "The recent actions from just outside this courtroom have no bearing on this trial!"

Judge Stone takes a look at his bailiff, Letitia. Then looks at Tyrone, and says "Objection overruled." Tyrone was taken by surprise from that. Izzy continued:

"You were overheard saying 'You just wait 'till I get you home' once you started leaving. Did you spank Angela when you got home?"

Archie was nervously hemming and hawing. He seemed reluctant to give a straight answer to Izzy.

"Mr. Sanders?" Izzy prodded him.

Finally, Archie sheepishly said "...mmmmeebee."

"What was that, Mr. Sanders? I didn't hear you!" Izzy asked of Archie.

"Alright, I DID spank her, when we got home, whatabout it?" Archie said, "She acted up and embarrassed me and my family! Wouldn't you?"

"No. No, I would not, Mr. Sanders." Izzy said to Archie, as Frida's teeth and fists were clenched in a rage.

Izzy continued. "Mr. Sanders, what's your occupation?"

"I work with my family in the Sanders Corporation!" Archie said, boastfully.

"Doing what?" Izzy asked.

Archie took a long time answering. Finally, he told Izzy "...stuff!"

"Stuff...like what?" Izzy asked Archie.

Archie continued with the hemming and hawing. He skittishly said "...I work with my brothers!"

"Really, Mr. Sanders?" Izzy said to him. "Well, I did a quick check on your family's outfit, and there doesn't seem to be an Archibald Sanders anywhere in it. I see a Forsythe and a Reginald. Are they your brothers?"

"...yeah." Archie said.

"So what kind of 'stuff' do you do for them?" Izzy kept on asking.

Archie kept on hemming and hawing, until he sheepishly said "Whatever they ask of me."

"Whatever they ask of you." Izzy sarcastically told Archie. "That doesn't sound like an important position in your family's business. Especially for someone within the family."

"It is SO an important position!" Archie childishly responded. "They'd get nowhere without me!"

"Then why isn't your name listed, Mr. Sanders?" Izzy said, turning up the heat on him. "You claim you work for the family, but there's nothing in your family's portfolio that suggests you do anything! You're attempts to take custody of Angela seem curious, given how you don't really do anything! How can you provide for your own daughter and your future wife, when you don't do anything to support them?"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Archie yelled. "I get an allowance from my family. It helps to keep me going."

"Yeah." Izzy said. "As long as you're married and have custody of any kids before you turn 30."

"HOW'D YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THA..." It was then, Archie realized he slipped up and let the cat out of the bag. Archie's parents were face palming and shaking their heads in disbelief over what their idiot son had blurted out.

"I OBJECT, YOUR HONOR!" Tyrone shouted. "Counsel is badgering my client, and I demand to know why he would make such an outrageous accusation against him!"

"I'm just trying to piece things together here, your honor." Izzy explained. "Between both the rush to get full custody of my client's daughter, and a milestone birthday of his coming up this year, I was just making a wild guess. Mr. Sanders here just let slip his real intentions on his own."

After a brief moment, Judge Stone said, "Objection overruled!" That caused Tyrone to faceplant on his desk, and Archie looking like he had seen a ghost.

"Thank you, your honor," Izzy said. "Let the record show that Archie Sanders just admitted, under oath, that his intent on taking custody of Angela is to make sure he's married and in possession of a biological child of his before he turns 30, or else his parents will leave him penniless. No further questions, your honor."

Izzy went back to his seat with a proud look on his face, as Archie realized he slipped and let out his true intentions. He just sat in the docket with the most stupidest of looks on his face.

Coming up: Barclay Davis - Angela, Frida Speaks