Futility

 

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word Futility as being Pointless or useless..

For the next five days.. Karen, Natalie, myself, Brooke, Sean, Jessica, Chip,Lee and Matthew gave impassioned pleas and oral arguments for the reversal of Owen McCandles death sentence...We presented new evidence that showed his baby may have died of pneumonia...

Yet these Judges we appeared in front of didn't want to hear it...They were White, they were males..and staunchly conservative and what they saw was 9 articulate multi-racial lawyers from Philadelphia.

Two racially mixed for their tastes.. White woman and her Black husband, A Puerto Rican Woman and her Black Husband and an Asian Woman and her Black Boyfriend...They didn't hear our arguments..

We had argued before six appellate court judges and then some and had come up with goose eggs for the past two weeks..

We only had three more days left and one more shot...After that we'd have to go to the State Supreme Court...and no one wanted that...

Serendipity joined us... Her instincts had been correct...but to her credit, she did not say "I told you so.."

She simply stood by the sidelines and observed..

"I hate arguing before these State Appellate Courts...You were right Serendipity, I was wrong...What your play?" asked Karen who looked as defeated as I'd ever seen her.

"We've got another shot....You and Brooke present the argument...Two White women....The rest of us..will be waiting back at the Motel...They don't need to see us. Oh and try to find this Judge...Olivia recomended her to you." she said.

II-

This was our seventh appellate court appearence...Failure today would mean we would have to argue before the State Supreme Court and nobody wanted to have to do that.

Karen and Brooke were the only ones of us in court today ....

We couldn't get the Judge, Olivia and Serendipity had suggested to us... Instead we got a Judge named Judge Benton Hyde..

He certainly had an eye for Karen and Brooke...He couldn't keep his eyes off of either of them and hardly listened to a word of their oral arguments...

"GA GA GAZOOOOOOOOOO!" he said to himself, admiring both attractive attorneys...

He wasn't who we wanted, but in the end , we got the results we wanted...

He accepted our motion to vacate...And with just two days left...

Owen McCandles Death Sentence was struck down and a new trial was ordered...He was released from death row for the first time in two years and told he was going to be transferred to Philadelphia Men's Correctional Facility to await a new trial..

"This is the best news I've heard since my arrest...Thank you all...but weren't you all in court?" he asked us at the prison.

"No, Only two of us argued the appeal." I said.

"My Bestie, Brooke and our boss lady, Karen Page." said Natalie.

"We figured in this neck of the woods, Two white ladies would have a better chance of being heard than all of us mixed bags of nuts." said Serendipity.

"It 's a hard pill to swallow, but Serendipity was after all right about conservatism and racial politics in this area." said Jessica.

"I mean imagine if they had seen me with Brooke."said Sean.

"Or me with Jessica....or Jessica period?" said Chip.

"Or Me and Matthew.."said Lee.

"They're supposed to be listening to legal and oral arguments...Not judging us by the color of our skin or who we happen to be mated with."said Matthew.

"True, but it is what it is...What's important...We got the job done....In spite of all of that. Let's go home."said Serendipity... "I miss Philadelphia." she said with a smile.

"Nobody misses it more than I do."said Owen McCandles.

III-

TWO NIGHTS LATER- CURLEY'S BAR-PHILADELPHIA PA. "COUPLES NIGHT"

Drinks were as usual flowing and plentiful....

"We sure missed you guys being here."said Jazzy.
 

"We read about your appellate court appearences....You pulled it out on the seventh try eh?" said her husband, Dabnis.

"A lesson in Futility huh?" said Kayla.

"You saved his neck with just two days to spare...Talk about sweatin it out.."said her husband, Ray.

"And we were sweating too." said Jessica.

"Sure was...We were getting desperate.."said Chip.

"That Judge was looking at my legs and my breasts more than listening to what I was saying."said Karen.

"Can't blame him for that."laughed her husband, B.L. , who joined us on the last night up there...

"Talk about a nail biter...After six appellate court appearences...I thought we were fighting a lost cause."said Natalie.

"But we pullled it out in the last appellate court appearence." I said ,hugging Brooke.

"We had a Judge who was a real hound....When he wasn't salivating over Karen, He was trying to look at my blouse." laughed Brooke.

"That Blouse was sheer...It left little to the imagination."laughed her husband, Sean.

"Oh stop! It did not...Only if you were a lech or a horny husband, like you." said Brooke,laughing and playfully swatting her husband.

"Well regardless, you did what you needed to do and got the job done.." said Zoey.

"That Judge you had, Hyde....He was recently cleared of sexual harrassment charges...For a second time.. He was censured once...He's a real ladies man."laughed Lem.

"Oh Really?...If he was a real ladies man...He wouldn't have been charged."laughed Renee.

"She does have a point."laughed Tyrell.

Lee laughed at that..."Yeah, I suppose she does." she laughed.

"Well Serendipity...You knew what you were talking about...Your plan worked." said Matthew.

"It's a shame...I didn't want to be right." she said. 

"Well that's behind you all...The important thing is you saved Mr. McCandles from execution and got him a new trial."said Olivia.

 

Donnie Ray clapped...

"Job well done guys." he said and we all clapped....

"Well Dippity Doo, You got a new job, what's next for you?" asked Beverly.

"After this case is over....I've got to find a place to live..." she said with a smile.

"Let us introduce you to our realtor..." said Nelson.

"She's my Godmother....Her name is Sepia Morris...She helped all of us find homes and such." said Josie.

"Yeah, she might have a spot for you."said Paris.

"Yeah...She got me and Tony" said Bresha.

"I'm sure she can find you a nice place."said Tony.....

"And next you're going to find a man."laughed Alfreda.

"Maybe not in that order, but that's definitely on my bucket list."laughed Serendipity...

"Just be careful...There are a lot of sheeps in wolves clothing out here." said Rockland.

"Sure is." said Nina Diaz.

"Heh Heh Heh."laughed Carlos.

 

  "You guys saved Mr. McCandles from execution and got him a new trial. You all did great work"said Yvette.

"Gary I'm going to need you to do some investigative work next week." said Karen.

"Not a problem...I'll stop by and you can fill me in." said Gary.

"Afer you guys lost that fourth appeal I was certain you were sunk and the fifth and sixth...I thought it was a foregone conclusion that Mr. McCandles would be getting a needle."said Keith Jones ,who had been through this himself.

"But you guys kept at it, changed up your strategy and pulled it out..."said Bee Bee.

''A Masterful performance..Talk about tenaciousness." said Sofia..

"That's the difference between life and death."said Kahlil.

"I'm glad we don't have to argue too many death penalty reversals upstate."said Jade.

Danny Ho quietly listened.

"Great job guys."said Virginia.

"Yeah, Great Job guys.."said Jetty.

Jetty had ordered a bottle of champaigne...

he popped the cork

and we all toasted.

Lt. Tragg sat in a corner with Judge Kelly Ann Mercer... 

"Seems like that bunch is always celebrating something." he smirked.

"Jealous?   You should be celebrating what you're about to get from me in a few hours.." said Judge Kelly Ann seductively...

"VA VA VA VOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" he said silently...

As they began kissing..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU, hooooo hoooo hoooooo hooooooo hooooooooou!" she laughed as their kissing got hotter...

But someone else was watching....Assistant District Attorney Bruce Greene, who walked over into our section...

"Celebrating huh? Whose birthday?" he asked.

"No one's Birthday." said Beverly, who didn't offer him any more of an explanation.

"And who is this lovely creature here.?" he asked.

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU, hooooo hoooo hoooooo hooooooo hooooooooou! My name is Serendipity.." she said.

Hard to believe this hard nosed Attorney was such a push over for a compliment from a man.

"Oh God!  Should we warn her about what she's about to get herself into?" whispered Renee.

"You know Dip from High School..She's not about to listen to us." said Natalie.

''She'll just accuse of us of being haters.She's always liked what I'll term, Interesting types of guys."said Kayla.

"This ought to be interesting."mused Beverly...

''Right up til Bruce asks her to pay for the drink order and she dumps a martini on his head."giggled Jazzy.

They all laughed....

"Ouuuuuu you guys are sooo wrong!" laughed Brooke.

"But right!" said Josie.

Serendipity joined Bruce at his table where he plied her with Bottomless Martinis..

.All paid for by him..In which he talked and talked about himself, but also asked her about herself. Something ,any woman who knew him before wasn't used to..A Two way conversation.  Perhaps Bruce had learned from his past encounters with women.

She told him her mother was Judge Thelma Harper..and that her mother and Deke Richards had recently started a law firm, which she would be working at... That she'd gone to Girls High, Temple University and got her law degree from Georgetown University and that Beverly, Kayla, Jazzy,Natalie, Brooke and Renee were her lifelong friends and she was glad to be reunited with them..

She talked about the case she was presently working on ...To acquit Owen McCandles with the Wrongful Conviction/Conviction Integrity Unit and the Innocence Project.. which he had heard about!

Bruce listened with rapt attention...He whispered that he'd like to see her later on tonight.. He gave her his address and asked if she'd meet him later..

She gave him her number and told him she'd try....

Bruce paid for their drinks and excused himself.. He left the bar happy...

III-

Bruce answered the door of his loft..

"I wondered if you were coming." he said softly....

"I told you I was." she said and slipped her Trenchcoat off...revealing her to be in a sexy body suit....

"Oh....OHHHHHHH MYYYYYYY!" said Bruce, whose eyes nearly popped out of their sockets...

They enjoyed a soft slow kiss...

He took her by the hand and lead her into the apartment's bed room..

where the kissing got even hotter and heavier...

"Ummmmm Bruce...you're very hard....ouuuuuuuuuuuuu...".she said..Her legs shaking...She hadn't been held , kissed by a man in over a year,....She found herself aroused beyond compare....She unzippered his trousers and softly caressed his engorged and erect penis...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU...OHHHHHH MYYYYYYYYY...UMMMMMMM! OH MY GOD BRUCE!!! YOU ARE A BIG BOY...OUUUUUUUUU" she moaned...

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW ,YOU GOT ME THIS WAY... IT'S ALL FOR YOU!" he moaned..sweating bullets...

"OH MYYYYYYY! I'VE NOTICED THE BULGE IN YOUR TROUSERS SINCE TONIGHT in CURLEYS...OHHHHHH MYYYYYYYYY...UMMMMMMM!" she said.  

Bruce laid her across his bed....and slowly entered her....She was so warm, so wet and smelled so good he told himself this had to be a dream...This was the best feeling in the world...

OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU...OHHHHHHHHH MY WORRRRRRD!" she moaned...

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

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW SWEEET BABYYYYYY! UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!" he moaned...

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUU IT FEELS GOOD...IT FEELS GOOOD!   IT FEEEELS GOOOOOD!" she cried out...This was the first sex she'd had in over a year....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.....

Bruce didn't know if he was coming or going at this point..

"OHHHHHHHHHHHH...AWWWWWWWW...MYYY DAMNNN!" he shouted out..

They began making sweet sweet love......"OHHHHHHHHHHHH  !!!!  OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU  BRUCE!!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...

"OH SERENDIPITY baby....I LOVE YOUR NAME! Oh my goddd this is sooooooooo damn good.." he moaned...

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

The bed squeaked even louder...

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

"OUUUUUUUUUUUU WHYYYYYYY?? WHYYYYYY?? WHY DO YOU HAVE TO DO IT TO ME SO DAMN GOOD???OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!  SERENDIPITY, AWWWWWWWWW LAWWWWD WHYYYYY?" he cried out..

She giggled....She was blowing his mind!

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

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

Serendipity was very passionate, 

"IS IT GOOD TO YOU? IS IT GOOD TO YOU BABY?" she yelled to the top of her lungs..

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWW, AWWWWWWWWW LAWWWD YESSSSSSSSSS!" he cried out..

 riding him like a surfer rides the waves.....He didn't know if he was coming or going!!

She had yet another intense orgasm.....She feared she was slowly losing her mind.....

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU....UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMPH!" she moaned.

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW..LAWWWWWWWWWDDDD!" he moaned

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU GIVE ME THAT MONSTER!!! OH MY GODDDD!! YOU ARE HUGE!!! AND SO DAMN HARRRRD!! OUUUUUUUU! GIVE IT TO ME!!" she cooed.Her whole body trembled something fierce..

"OUUUUUUUUUUUU WHYYYYYYY?? WHYYYYYY?? WHY DO YOU HAVE TO DO IT TO ME SO DAMN GOOD???OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!  SERENDIPITY, AWWWWWWWWW LAWWWWD WHYYYYY?" he cried out..

She giggled....

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MYYYY DAMNNNNN!" he moaned..

"IS IT GOOD TO YOU? IS IT GOOD TO YOU BABY? LET ME RIDE THAT HORSE!!!WOUUUUUUU! " she yelled to the top of her lungs..

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!" he yelled out....

ANOTHER TWO AND A HALF HOURS PASSED BY

He came so hard, he felt as if he were dying....

She had her final intense orgasm.......

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!  IT'S GOOD TO MEEEEEEEEEEE...OUUUUU  BRUCE!!!!!  " she moaned..

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!! OH MY DAMN!" he yelled out, 

She ended the night sleeping on top of his chest with his arms wrapped around her butt....a big smile on his face....

She got up an hour later...Got quickly dressed and left... Bruce was still asleep, snoring...

And returned to Olivia and Beverly's sub-basement..

where she was staying.

It was almost daybreak......

The next Morning at the Men's Correctional Facility...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuu Somebody looks like they had a good night last night..."said Natalie.

"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUU SHE'S GLOWING!" laughed Brooke.

"Stoppppppppppp! What are you talking about?" laughed Serendipity innocently.

"Even I can see a difference in you. YOU KNOW WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT!" laughed Lee.

I smiled....Even I could see that she had gotten laid and laid good the night before, but by Bruce Greene? really?

"I just can't see Bruce Greene as a stud."I said.

Sean smiled. "Me neither."

"Jessica and Chip won't be here today....They are coming next week.. I wanted to talk to him today...To let Owen know we are still on the case." said Karen.

Bull Bailey spoke and searched us as we entered the prison...

Owen McCandles was glad to see us.   He had on a fresh denim uniform which was better than the white prison jumpsuit that death row inmates wear... He was not locked up 22 hours a day...He was out of his cell most of the day.. He was able to talk to and interact with other inmates and guards alike.

He almost felt as if he was free...

He smiled when he saw us...

We brought him what he asked for...A Thermos of Hot Steaming Coffee and Orange Juice.

He didn't ask for any food... He just wanted some good coffee and cold orange juice.

"Thank you....you guys are the absolute truth.....I'd be dead for a week now if not for you guys.Thank you so much." he said.

"You should thank this young lady....She wasn't with us, but she came up with the winning strategy that

got us across the finish line." said Karen ,hugging Serendipity...

We all clapped...

''Stop it..Stop it...You guys did the heavy lifting..the real work and research...Not me."said Serendipity.

"Next week we are going to carve out your defense..."said Natalie.

"We already have an investigator working on the information you gave us.." I said.

"We'll be looking at potential jurors for your trial."said Brooke.

"We'll also be thinking about a motion to vacate your entire sentence so we don't even have to go to a second trial and you can immediately be released."said Sean.

"Hope that sounds good to you." said Lee...

"You know what's funny....The man who sentenced me to death is on death row himself...heh heh heh!"laughed Owen McCandles.

"Judge James Wilson?" asked Brooke.

"The one and only.. When I heard that prick got three death sentences, I jumped for joy...I saw him when he was at Greene...I yelled out to him....They transferred him to Phoenixville because he got so many death threats  at Greene...Imagine that....being on Death Row and having your life threatened...Hahahahah only him."said Owen..

"Yeah, only him." said Sean, who was responsible for the good judge being behind bars..

Natalie and Brooke smiled.

''Enjoy your coffee and Orange Juice and we will lay out your case for you as it now stands."said Karen.

Lee myself and Serendipity laid out case files to show Owen...

Serendipity looked at her phone which had been vibrating a lot....

There was 56 calls on her phone...All from Bruce Greene.

He knew she'd be at the Men's Correctional Center today with the other lawyers who were working on this case...Why was he calling her so much? she wondered.

She now looked worried.

IV-

A Few Days later we had a strategizing meeting in our conference room...A Working lunch if you will.

"Natalie girl, I think I made a mistake..."said Serendipity..

"You? Made a Mistake? I've certainly got to write this down on my calender."joked Natalie.

"I slept with Bruce Greene last week.  One night. Thursday Night after we left Curleys, I got in my car and drove to his place.."said Serendipity.

"Ouuuuu that was a mistake." said Brooke.

"I was lonely and a little horny and a little tipsy...and kind of envious of all of you guys being hooked up...and so when he offered...I uh went back to his place.." said Serendipity...

"Ughhhh, was the sex at least halfway decent?" asked Lee.

"Oh the sex was good...I think we both enjoyed ourselves...No complaints there...but I'm not in love with him and he is a bit obsessive and a little childish when he doesn't get his way." said Serendipity..

"A Little? That's an understatement." laughed Karen...

"He called me 56 times the next day, even though I told him I would be at the jailhouse with you guys working on the case...I had my phone on vibrate, so naturally,I didn't hear his calls. He saw me in Sam Mother's the next day and exploded... I told him if that's how he was going to act, then I didn't want to see him again....Then he called me another 57 times, practically in tears , begging for my forgiveness..

I told him that I forgave him, but that I still didn't think we were a good match as boyfriend and girlfriend...I'm too embarrassed to show you the texts he has sent me, telling me that he needs me and that I was the best he ever had..." said Serendipity...

"You really put the whammy on him."laughed Natalie.

"I'll say." laughed Brooke.

Just then , Sean and I arrived with Chinese Takeout..

"LUNCH IS SERVED FROM THE ORIENT!" I said.

"It's not Chinese Bob's, but it'll do..."laughed Sean as we unloaded boxes of Chinese Take out on our conference room table.

It smelled heavenly....

Our other two partners... Chip and Jessica arrived just in time.. Chip had a bouquet of roses...

"I signed for these just now...They're for you Serendipity....From uh Assistant District Attorney Bruce Greene..I didn't know you two knew each other.."said Chip, getting a vase and putting the roses in it with some water.

"They are beautiful...."said Jessica with a smile.

For the second time, Serendipity looked worried.

(TO BE CONTINUED)