Chapter Sixty Two

Stephen

I woke up early, having barely slept. I’d spent most of the night watching Trinity sleep peacefully in my arms. When I heard Jay stir in the early morning, I got up and took him downstairs to fix his breakfast, letting her sleep. Once Jay was settled and it was a reasonable hour, I called Benji and Lachie, asking them to swing by. I told them it was urgent.

The twins came down around eight o’clock, and Trinity followed not long after. I was sitting with the twins while they had their breakfast, Jay on my lap.

“Morning handsome,” Trinity said.

She leaned over and kissed me. I ran my hand up her neck, gripping the back and pulling her in for a deeper kiss. That is, until I heard our daughter laughing and clapping.

“Kisses,” Olivia said.

“Daddy loves stealing all of mommy's kisses,” I replied.

“Not all of them, she saved some for you two,” Trinity said.

I watched as Trinity went over to them, holding their tiny faces between her hands as she covered each of their faces in kisses while they giggled. When she turned around and saw Jay kicking his legs on my lap, she did the same to him as he tried to crawl up my chest onto my shoulder.

“Want a coffee babe?” Trinity asked.

“Love one. Babe, will you be okay to watch the kids out here for a bit this morning? Benji and Lachie should be here around,” I said.

“Yeah okay sure babe, is everything okay?” Trinity asked.

“Yes, sorry babe everything is fine. I didn't mean to frighten you. They just have to go over my prep for my testimony,” I lied.

“Oh of course, I had forgotten you will be up soon,” Trinity said.

I hated lying to her, but right now I didn't want to scare her anymore either. Not until I had a chance to speak with everyone, including making an appointment with the specialists. Hopefully, they would agree to see her as a routine check-up so as not to alarm her. I felt her hand on my shoulder as she reached over and put my coffee down before grabbing hers and coming back over.

I switched Jay onto my right knee and grabbed her hip, pulling her down onto my left as she gripped my neck.

“Dad, you're silly,” Olivia said.

“Hey! You're cheeky,” I replied.

“Mommy is too big to sit on you,” Olivia said.

“Never,” Trinity said.

“Yes, mommy,” Nathaniel said.

“But who will give me cuddles then?” Trinity asked.

“Me,” Nathaniel said.

“Oh okay, so mommy can sit on Nate's lap,” Trinity said.

“No mommy, I will sit on yours,” Nathaniel said.

We played around with the twins for a bit while they had their breakfast before we got them tidied up and dressed. It wasn't long before I looked and noticed it was nearly nine o’clock. I handed Jay off to Trinity as she took the kids into their lounge room and got them settled with some blocks on the ground for the twins. She sat opposite them with Jay in her lap. It wasn't long after I heard the doorbell. I gave her a quick kiss, pulled the baby gate across, and let Lachie and Benji in.

We headed through to the study so we could talk candidly. As they came in, I shut the door.

“What's up mate, you looked stressed?” Benji asked.

“I am,” I replied.

“What's worrying you?” Lachie asked.

“Trinity's memory is starting to come back,” I said.

“Shit, how bad?” Benji asked.

“At first it was little things, stuff we commonly said that felt right to say in that moment, but now it is becoming more significant things. Then she bumped her head yesterday afternoon when we got back and things have progressively been flooding back from there,” I explained.

“Shit,” Lachie said.

“I am ringing her specialists after meeting with you guys to see if we can get in as soon as possible,” I said.

“Have they testified yet?” Benji asked.

“Two of the three. Stephen, you need to wait. They cannot assess her until after they have testified. We cannot let this get out until this ruling comes through,” Lachie said.

“Am I putting you guys in an ethical position though?” I asked.

“Does she clearly remember everything, has she gone back to exactly how she was before the accident?” Lachie asked.

“No, just memories coming back,” I said.

“Okay then no, you haven't put us in an ethical position because as far as the law stands she is still suffering memory loss. However, if that specialist assesses her before he has the chance to testify, he will be compelled to disclose that her memory is coming back. That would give the prosecution grounds to ask for a continuance in the course of justice, effectively giving them the time to wait until her memory returns,” Benji explained.

“As for the two that have already testified, unfortunately I cannot tell you who has and who hasn't because I can't run the risk any of them see her before this ruling comes in. But as far as the ones that have testified already, they have both conclusively said there is no idea as to when memories would return. You cannot put a time frame on a head injury of this scale. Therefore it rules out a continuance because a defendant has the right to a quick trial,” Lachie said.

“So I just have to wait and hope that we have enough time to ride this out until the ruling comes in,” I said.

“Please. Obviously, Benji and I will work as quickly as we can to get Arlo to push this through. We won't tell him why, but we will do everything we can to expedite it,” Lachie said.

“Arlo is back in court tomorrow anyway. We can also go the avenue that if they don't press forward with this it is denying yours, Clint and Mia's right to a speedy trial as it is halting your proceedings,” Benji said.

“That's good, I like that,” Lachie said.

“That's why I am the lawyer and you are the cop,” Benji said.

We finished up and headed back out so Trinity didn't get too worried about why it was taking so long. I now had to internally debate the next big task: do I speak to her about it or not? I hate keeping things from her. It nearly destroyed us once and I promised I would never do it again. But I know my wife, and I know right now she is already emotionally overwhelmed.

As we headed into the kitchen and I put the kettle on, Benji stuck his head around.

“You having a cuppa, Trin?” Benji asked.

“Hey Benji, how are you?” Trinity asked.

“Good hunny, you're looking better,” Benji said.

“Thanks, but why do you sound so surprised by that?” Trinity asked.

“Hahaha because he's an asshole in denial,” Lachie said.

“I own my arrogant asshole, thank you very much. I earned the right to,” Benji said.

“Hahaha,” I laughed.

Trinity breaks the silence, “So, how did the discussion about Stephen’s trial go?”

I catch Lachie’s quick glance in my direction. Luckily, Trinity’s attention is on Benji. He catches the worried look I’m giving him and jumps in before Benji can respond.

“Good,” Lachie says, “Unfortunately, that’s all we can share for now. At least until we get you out of that defendant’s seat yourself.”

“Of course,” Trinity replies, “I’m sure you both have it under control.”

We pick up our mugs and settle down at the dining table, a spot where we can still keep an eye on the kids. After a bit of small talk, Trinity abruptly shifts the conversation.

“So Benji,” she starts, “Are you and Maddie still thinking about opening your own practice?”

Benji’s head whips towards me and in that split second, I can see it in his eyes. He finally understands why I’ve been so worried.