A Brilliant Respite

 

THEY SAY THE THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM!

We argued John Stanton's case before one of the State Appellate courts...We lost our appeal. A WEEK LATER we argued our second appeal before yet another State Appellate Court...We Lost that one too!But a week later-We argued our case before a Third State Appellate court and we won!!! Got John Stanton's conviction overturned and a new trial ordered!! We celebrated royally!

"WE DID IT GUYS!!! WE STUCK TO IT AND WERE SUCCESSFUL!" said a jubilant Karen Page, our boss lady.

"You guys were great,.,.I was about to lose hope after the second loss, but you wouldn't give up!" said a jubilant Attorney, John Ivey Jr.. who had drawn more into himself those last few days, Staying in his room, Not eating with us or hanging out with us...He was Happy now.

Our Client John Stanton was ecstatic...

"Wow..I had 15 days left.. 15 days and I was about to get a needle in my arm....WOW!  You guys cut it close to the bone." he said relieved as he packed and prepared to leave Death Row....He was going to be transferred to the Men's Correctional Center in Philadelphia PA.  He wouldn't be locked down 23 hours a day...He'd be in General Population with other inmates...He wouldn't be free ,but it would be a major improvement over his current condition.

"You're not out of the water yet....We still have to prepare for a retrial." said Natalie.

"But these arguments in front of the State Appellate Courts have more than gotten us ready." said Brooke.

"Wow, now I know how Keith Jones felt..." I said, remembering what he told us about arguing before State Appellate Court...Especially when your client has a less than stellar record.....John Stanton was a self admitted career criminal.

"I wish Lee could have been here to celebrate with us." said Sean

as we raised our glasses 

and pop Champaigne Bottles.

Lee Phillips, our sweet Para-legal Lee, who had helped so many of our friends on their cases had gone home to prepare for her law school graduation...

We were all headed home to attend it in a few days....She had helped us immensely in this case and we loved her...

As John Stratton packed his things and was taking that walk down Death Row,in the opposite  direction, there were cheers from all of the other Death Row inmates, All except one.

Disgraced Former Judge James Wilson, who had sent so many people there was now on Death Row himself for three murders...He stared balefully...

"Aint this a kick....I'm goin home and you, you the bastard that sent me here are staying...."laughed John Stanton..

"You'll be back." snarled James Wilson..

"Don't bet on it Jimmy Boy....I'm not even coming back for your execution...but I'll drink a toast...Heh heh heh!" he laughed as the prison guards walked him out!

II-

DREXEL UNIVERSITY- THOMAS KLEIN SCHOOL OF LAW GRADUATION!

We All Attended Lee Phillips Law School Graduation...

Lee was so beautiful and so Happy!  Especially seeing us... Both of her parents were deceased and she was an only child...We all had become her family...

"I'm so Happy for you baby, Congratulations!"said Olivia Bennett-Alexander, hugging her.

"Thank you guys for teaching me, housing me and loving me."said Lee, her eyes welling with tears.

 

"Don't Cry...We've got a special surprise for you after we leave here."said Donnie Ray.

"Donnie Ray has found a new restaurant and we are treating you and Matthew.Come here and give your big sister a hug girrrl." said Beverly, hugging her.

"Awwwwwwww thank you Big Sister." said Lee.

"Congratulations lady!" said Nelson.

"You're no longer a Law student...You're a graduate and one step closer to being an attorney." said Josie, hugging Lee.

"Mannnnnn I know this is a great feeling."said Paris..

"Breathe....Just Breathe Baby girl, suck it all in and then prepare for the bar..."said Bresha..hugging Lee.

"Congratulations young lady."said Tony.

"Congratulations young lady."said Alfreda..

"Ms. Alfreda, at times you were like a second mother to me."said Lee, crying profusely..

''Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww!"said Alfreda....who had heard the same from Kayla, Jazzy, Natalie, Josie, Bresha,Bee Bee , Sofia and Renee...She only had one natural daughter, Beverly...but she came to feel as though all of these girls were her daughters too!

"Congratulations young lady."said Rockland...Happy to be a part of the celebration....These people, some of who he'd waged war with in the courtroom grew to be his closest friends...His family. 

 "Baby! I am sooooo proud of you...You didn't let a bump in the road stop you, You kept going and you did it...You graduated from Law school..." said Yvette , who hugged Lee..

"Thank you Ms. Yvette for teaching me and loving me and inviting me into your group and introducing me to all of the others."said Lee... She had worked as a para-legal for Yvette and her team first and then Olivia's team and then the others.

"Congratulations young lady."said Yvette's husband, Gary, hugging her.

"Our Little Sister has graduated " said Keith Jones...

"Oh I'm soooo happy for you." said Bee Bee, hugging Lee.

"Thank You, Thank You." said Lee.

"Ohhhhhhhh,  Our Little Sister has graduated."said Sofia, also hugging Lee..

"Damnnnnnn youse a lawyer now."joked Kahlil, hugging her..

"Well almost....Congratulations." said Jade.

"Congratulations." said Danny Ho.

"AWWWWWWWWWWW Baby Girl....You've Graduated..." said Virginia...

"I can't wait to swear you in, after you pass the Bar.."said her husband, Judge Jetty Dukes.

Jazzy was too emotional, too full of tears to speak...The two of them had been particularly close...She grabbed Lee and hugged her, rocking her back and forth...

"I love you Baby Sis." she said..

"I love you too, Big Sis." said Lee.

 

"Ummmmph, I got all these fine Sisters in law." joked Dabnis...who was checking out Lee's sexy body on the sly...

Kayla was equally emotional..The two of them had been particularly close also...She grabbed Lee and hugged her, rocking her back and forth...

"I love you Baby Sis. Congratulations!" she said..

"Awwwwwww I love you too!" said an emotional Lee.

Ray smiled... Lee had a sexy body, he thought...but so did his wife and all of her girlfriends...He was in hog heaven looking at them slyly at times... He smiled wickedly.

"Congratulations !" he said...."Myyyyy goodness." he thought to himself.

"Congratulations Mami!" said Jessica, hugging her..

"Yes, Congratulations." said her husband Chip..who was thinking the same thing Dabnis and Ray were thinking.

"Congratulations Lee baby, We couldn't have done it without you...We won our third appeal and Mr. Stanton is here in Philly at the Men's Correctional Center..in 12 days, he would've been executed...We saved him...thanks to your help."said Karen, hugging Lee..

"I'm going to be interviewing you on my show soon."said B.L. "You're going to be a Dynamic Lawyer, just like these guys." said B.L.

Like Jazzy and Kayla, Natalie was too emotional, too full of tears to speak...The two of them had been particularly close also ...She grabbed Lee and hugged her, rocking her back and forth...

"I love you Baby Sis. Thank you for all of your help." she said..

"Thank you for sitting up with us late at night going back over those transcripts...You helped us a lot...Especially on our third appeal." I said, hugging Lee and kissing her on the cheek.

"Oh you're welcome...I was glad to help...Sorry I had to leave before the third appeal."said Lee.

"That's okay...You had done enough already....We thank you...We thank you so much.."said Brooke, hugging and kissing Lee...

"Thank you for sitting up with us late at night going back over those transcripts...You helped us a lot...Especially on our third appeal. We were all tired , ready to crash ,but you stayed with it...saw a few things we overlooked...That helped us immensely..."said Sean.

"Youth..Fresh Eyes...That's why Olivia and Yvette invest so much in their young protoge's.."laughed Zoey.

"We can all learn a few things from the younger attorneys at times..Don't take em for granted."said Lem.

"Ouuu Lee, here comes your boyfriend...Your Boyfriend is finnnnnnne."laughed Renee...

"Don't make his head any bigger than it already is."laughed Lee, hugging Renee.

"Congratulations Lee...Heyy Man.."said Tyrell as Matthew walked up.He shook his hand....

Matthew had a bouquet of Yellow Roses..

"Heyyy Tyrell, Renee, Everybody!" said Matthew...

"Congratulations Lee...you are 3/4 of the way there...."said Matthew Akes,passing her the bouquet.

"Awwwwwwww thank you!"said Lee.

She kissed him slowly..softly....

and then passionately....

When she began this year in Law School, she was all alone, Friendless and unattached...In a little over three months she had gained 36 good friends and future colleagues and a boyfriend..

Make that 38.. Her new supervisor, Nina Rios and her boyfriend, Carlos Diaz at the Women's Law Center arrived. She was going to be working for the Women's Law Center, right down the street from most of her friends.

"Hiiii Sorry we missed your graduation...Congratulations."said Nina.

"Ohhhh thank you!" said Lee.

"Congratulations." said Carlos.

We snapped photos of Lee and her with her graduating class... It was a nice day off ..A Nice Respite.

III-

For some people this was their first time in this restaurant , But not for most of us Donnie Ray had gotten fellow Lousiana Natives , Owners Mabel Jenkins and her sisters, Anita and Cora Beth 

to section off a part of their restaurant for Lee and all of us ,celebrating her graduation.....

At the head of the table was of course...Lee and Matthew Akes..

"This place is great...Matthew...we are going to walk up here some afternoon...When it gets warmer.."said Lee.

"Oh Most Definitely.."said Matthew..

 Olivia,her husband Donnie Ray, who organized this, Beverly, Nelson, Josie, Paris, Bresha, Tony ,Alfreda and Rockland  filled ourt the rest of the table. People who lived in this neighborhood and had been dining here for years...

"Husband, I must say, you outdid yourself , arranging this dinner for Lee and all of us."said Olivia.

 

"Mabel, Corabeth and Anita are from Louisiana like me...And I knew they'd cook this food just right..."said Donnie Ray...

"Mmmmmmmmmmmm..Ummmmmph, this food is so delish..." said Beverly, really enjoying her food.

"Honey Bun, I love the look on your face when you're enjoying  your food." said her husband , Nelson..

"Oh My God, this food is so good."said Josie, who was helping herself to a steaming hot plate of food..

"You aint never lied Josie.."said Paris...

"We will definitely have to hit the spa and the gym soon." said Bresha.

"If you guys aren't doing anything, stop on by our building...That'll give you something to do while we are all working ."said her husband Tony.

"Not a bad idea." said  Alfreda

"I wish I had the time.."laughed Rockland.

 The Food was fabulous...Hot and Tasted and smelled good...

 

At the next table was Ms. Yvette, her husband, Gary, Keith,Bee Bee, Sofia, Kahlil, Jade, Danny and Ms. Virginia and her husband, Jetty.. All people who lived in this neighboprhood and had been eating here for years. We all agreed we were going to eat here more often.

" This Food is delicious...Olivia, Donnie Ray, once again you've outdone themselves..."said Yvette.

"This food is incredible...We should stop by here more often." said Yvette's husband, Gary...

"We do stop by here on some Saturday Nights."said Keith Jones.

"We are no strangers to Mabel's Soul Food joint,."said Bee Bee.

"I remember when the four of us lived in the apartments, we used to walk up here on Friday and Saturday Nights." said Sofia.

"Yeah...Good times..Remember Ms. Jade, us taking you with us right after you got your citizenship.?" asked Kahlil.

"I certainly do....I lived across the street from you guys and you would come and get me or offer to bring me something back."said Jade with a smile.

"I remember ....They'd bring you something back whenever I was over to visit for the weekend."said Danny Ho, her husband..

"Good times... I remember when you used to bring me a rack of Ribs and Potato salad from here when I was living in those same apartments."said Virginia.

"I can still do that." said Jetty.

At the next table sat Jazzy and Dabnis, Kayla and Ray, Jessica and Chip, who lived in the neighborhood and had been dining here for years... Karen had dined here for years with Olivia and Yvette, now she lived here.. Her Husband, B.L. , Natalie and Me, Brooke and Sean and Renee and Tyrell were dining here for the first time and glad this place was in our neighborhood.. Zoey and Lem had been dining here for years...as was Nina , friends of Olivia and Yvette, While this was Carlos's first time here..We all agreed we were going to eat here more often.

"This food is delish....That's what I like about living around here...We live with all of our friends now...and they have so many restaurants and shops around here...We really only need to leave when we go to work."said Jazzy..
 

"If only they had a decent laundromat.."joked Dabnis... All three tables erupted in laughter...

"Jazzy girl, you aint never lied...This food is off the chain.."said Kayla.

"Next Date Night, Me and you are coming here."said Ray.....

"Mmmmmmmmmmmm this food is incredible."said Jessica.

"Makes me want to go back to New Orleans." said Chip..

"We all always go down right after Thanksgiving." said Karen..

"Maybe we'll make that trip for Mardi Gras." said B.L.

"Or we go to Essence Fest this Summer." said Natalie.

"That would be so cool." I said.

"Ouuuuuu yes...but right now!! right now...This food is ouuuuuuuuu almost giving me an orgasm..!"said Brooke.

"WOWWWW!  I like the sound of that!"laughed her husband, Sean....

"This was such an Amazing Day...Lee's graduation, this dinner and all." said Zoey...

"Shame we all have to go to work tomorrow." laughed Lem.

"I knowwww right?"said Renee.

"This doesn't feel like a Monday Night...It feels like a Friday Night." said her husband, Tyrell.

''Aye Mios Dios...This Food!" laughed Nina Rios

"Si..I like that we live around here now...Close to our friends...and in walking distance of all these great restaurants and shops.." said Carlos.

It was truly an amazing day!

Back at her apartment...

"WOW, WHAT A DAY HUH? I AM FULL!  You have graduated from Law School...Wow!!!  I can't wait for you to pass the bar."said a very happy Matthew Akes. "This reminds me of when I graduated....I didn't have a set up like you had....A Major Dinner Party...All these friends...You're blessed girl." he said.

"I feel so loved, So good...When I began this semester..I was friendless and manless....I've got about 36 new friends...a number of new "sisters and brothers" as well and you.....My Man!" said Lee.. ~"Unzip me." she said.

Matthew unzipped her dress....His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets...looking at her in a Leopard print bra,,

and matching Leopard print bikini panties.

"Oh My Godddd, you're just trying to turn me on!!!" laughed Matthew..

"All I have to do is breathe to do that!  You're always turned on."laughed Lee, who walked past him into her bedroom and motioned to him with her index finger to follow her into the bedroom.

She dimmed the lights.

They began to kiss slowly and softly.....

and then passionately.....

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!  " Lee moaned...She was more aroused than ever...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! AWWWWWWW LAWWWWWWD!" moaned Matthew as they kissed...His body was trembling....

He slipped her panties down....

"OHHHHH LEE, YOU DRIVE ME CRAZY!" he moaned..as he undressed....

"YOU DRIVE ME CRAZY!" cooed Lee.

He laid her across her bed, spread her legs and slowly entered her.. She was warm and very wet.

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU...OHHHHHHHHH!" she moaned...

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...PUT IT IN...PUT IT ALL IN...OUUUUUUUUU!" she cooed.

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW SWEEET BABYYYYYY! UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!" he moaned...He was losing his mind~!

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUU IT FEELS GOOD...IT FEELS GOOOD!   IT FEEEELS GOOOOOD!UMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" she cried out.both of her legs were shaking, her whole body was trembling something fierce.....her head turned from side to side and tears were streaming down her face....She was experiencing an intense orgasm.....

"AWWWWWWWWW ..." he moaned....and began thrusting away..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she cooed.

"THIS IS THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD....YOUR BEDROOM!!...." he said.

"OH YOU  SAY THE SWEETEST THINGS TO GET SOME!!!."

"YES AND IT'S HEAVEN!" he said.

"Tee Hee." she laughed....You are soooo horny!" she giggled...

They began making sweet sweet love......"OHHHHHHHHHHHH  !!!!  OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU ,UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM" she moaned..as the bed rocked and squeaked louder than it had since they'd begun making sweet love... 

The headboard creaked and sounded like it might split in half... Her head moved from side to side again...Sweat poured down the side of her face... She was having another intense orgasm....

"AWWWWWWWWWWWW, AWWWWWWW baby....Oh my goddd this is sooooooooo damn good.." he moaned...

" OHHHHHH MYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" she screamed out....

The bed squeaked even louder...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she cooed. She had yet another intense orgasm ,her third!!! that had her crying like a school girl, had her head turning from side to side and had her legs trembling...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUU   AWWWWWWWWW  OH MY GODDDD!!!!" she cried out..

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWW SWEEEEEET BABYYYYYY! OUUUUUUUUU!" he moaned..

They made love for the next NINE TO TEN HOURS!! She still couldn't believe how passionate he was, his stamina.. It was as if he didn't want to get up off of her!!

He came and came hard......His body shaking and trembling...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUU I LOVE YOU MATTHEW!" she said.

"I LOVE YOU TOO LEE!..OUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" he said.

 She wound up sleeping on top of him with his arms around her..She never felt more comfortable with a man...She felt good...She had graduated from law school...She was close to her goal of becoming an attorney...and she had love in her life....She was happy, she was relieved...she was satisfied.

IV-

A DAY LATER-

We drove up to the Men's Correctional Facility... Our First visit with our client, Jack Stanton... He had been here for a week now..

It was the four of us...Natalie and I and Brooke and Sean...We came in Brooke's car....

"John will be glad to see us." said Natalie.

"I'm sure he feels relieved, not being locked down 24/7, able to walk about and socialize with other inmates..." I said.

"My question is Where is John Ivey Jr.?  He's been Missing in Action since we won the third appeal."said Brooke.

"I've called and left messages on his phone and gotten no answers back.." said Sean..

A Jeep drove up just then and parked...In it was a familliar face.

"Hey Guys!" said Lee, happily waving...

"Lee ! Heyyyyy, what are you doing here?" asked Brooke.

"Heyyyyyyyy Lee....you're supposed to be  in Disney World!" joked Natalie..

Both women were glad to see her..

"Nahhhhhh, I told you guys I was going to help you finish the job...Let's finish the job!" said newly graduated Lee Phillips...

I hugged her and kissed her on the cheek...

"Glad to see you baby!  Welcome back." I said.

"Glad you're back with us..."said Sean, who also hugged her..

"It's good to be back! " laughed Lee...

"How's Matthew?" asked Brooke with tongue in cheek.

"He's at my apartment sleeping.....Thanks , you just reminded me to call him and wake him up." said Lee, smiling sheepishly...and grabbing her phone.

"Freshie!"laughed Natalie, hugging Lee.

From a distance-Our old nemesis, "Bull" Bailey was working today..

He was very aroused seeing Brooke...She was wearing a Black Blouse and a Black Mini Skirt...

He didn't know Lee, but he was aroused by her too!

Jack Stanton looked relaxed, well rested and generally better than he had on Death Row.

"Hi Guys...Ms. Karen didn't make it today?" he asked.

"No, but she'll be up the next time we come..She had another case to deal with today." said Natalie.

"Have you heard from John Ivey Jr.?" I asked.

"He was up yesterday...He said he was going to get with you guys some time this week."said 

Jack Stanton.

"We'll be awaiting for that." said Sean.

Brooke placed the transcripts on the table...

"We'll going to be discussing what went wrong in both of your trials." she said.

Lee sat down and began organizing the files....

We had a great meeting with Jack Stanton that day that ended around 3:00 pm.

By the time we left the prison at around 3:00 pm, we found that it had rained..

The Rain subsided as we headed home.

We went back to Mabel's Soul Food Joint...

Where we had Barbecued Spare Ribs

Corn on The Cobb

and Cole Slaw....

"Mmmmmmmmmm this is some good food...I just had to pay this place another visit." said Sean.

"Ummmmmm, Me too!" said Brooke.

Brooke , whose husband and Bestie were both Black was used to eating Soul Food..In fact,she loved it...

She ate silently...

"It must be good because neither my bestie Brooke or my husband, have uttered a word..."laughed Natalie.

"We'll catch up with the others tomorrow..." I said, enjoying my food.

" I'll see you guys in the morning..." said Lee , who was also enjoying her food....She took a doggie bag for Matt.

John Ivey Jr. stood outside the restaurant and stared in the window....He had been absent from Lee's graduation....He couldn't bring himself to attend...He had stopped by her apartment ,hoping to catch her alone, but she wasn't there...Here she was with this group....She apparently was still helping out on the case..

It was starting to rain a little bit...He walked down the street...He had to move on...he thought...

(TO BE CONTINUED)