"Well, whoever she is, this whole business is almost over," she said and gave my hand a squeeze. "After we have a celebratory drink, you can go home to your beautiful wife and baby and put all this behind you. How are you feeling? Stressed?"
"Yes, but I feel pretty
comfortable with my testimony. If the defense doesn't give me too hard of a time, it should be no sweat."
"I know Simpson," Lara said. "She's pretty good, all things considered. She'll make a few digs at you, be cautioned by the judge, and do her best to leave a smidgen of doubt in the minds of the jury that her client is not completely culpable. Her only goal now is to get a reduced sentence rather than an acquittal."
The two of us spoke together quietly about the trial and the evidence presented so far. It looked to me like it was a slam-dunk case, but I was a civilian and had no idea how the jury would respond. All I could do was tell my part of the story and leave it up to the skill of the prosecutor and hope the jury found her guilty.
When the clerk called me and the guard opened the door to indicate I was supposed to enter the courtroom, I turned to Lara and raised my eyebrows.
"I guess my time in the fishbowl is here. Wish me luck."
"You'll do fine," Lara said. "Soon, we'll be drinking at Bernie's on 7th and this will all be behind you."
With that, I entered the courtroom.
* * *
In the end, my testimony went far easier than I thought. I walked down the row to the witness box, was sworn in, and I deflected most of the questions Lisa's defense lawyer asked, denying that we had any kind of romantic relationship and were nothing more than colleagues at NYU, and that it was Lisa, not me, who pursued such a relationship. That I didn't even recognize her when we met again at NYU and when she pushed for a relationship, how I went to the administration to quit and was encouraged to stay.
While I was speaking, I noticed the woman who had left earlier returned and sat in the back row. She wasn't with Lisa's family so I figured Lara was right -- she was just an audience member who had a hate on for me.
The questions finally came to an end, and I felt fine with how I had performed. When I was dismissed, and walked past Lisa and her lawyer, I felt finally free.
I almost made it out of the courtroom without incident.
Almost.
Then, the woman from the back row stood up as I passed her and threw an object at me.
"Pig!" she screamed "Rapist! Sadist!"
The object, a balloon filled with urine, broke and the vile smelling liquid sprayed in my face and covered my jacket. The guard rushed to where she stood and stopped her from lunging at me, but she continued to scream, calling me every manner of epithets.
I was hustled out of the courtroom and she was hustled out another door.
Lara stood when she saw me, and made a face of disgust.
"Oh, my God, Drake. What the hell happened?"
"Some woman threw a balloon filled with urine at me on my way out."
She shook her head. The court security guard pointed down the hall. "There's a men's room down there, in case you want to clean up. Sorry I don't have an extra shirt here you could wear."
"Thanks," I said, noting the tone of sympathy in the man's voice. "I'll be fine. The sooner I get home and shower, the better."
"Yes, Sir."
While Lara waited, I went down the hallway and spent the next few moments cleaning the urine from my face and hair, dunking my head under the tap in the bathroom. I managed to get most of it off, but clearly, there was no way I was going out with Lara for a drink in my current.
When I emerged from the bathroom, Lara was talking to a couple of uniformed security officers. When I joined them, we spoke about the incident and they informed me that the videotapes would be reviewed and the prosecutor would decide whether to charge the woman with assault.
"Who threw the balloon?" I asked.
The ranking officer shook his head. "It was one of the defendant's relations. An aunt."
"She left the courtroom and went to the washroom," I said. "She gave me a nasty look when she walked by."