Page 92 of Justice for Samara

* * *

The hallway wasquiet when the three of them stepped off the elevator. Carter had given her the room number, so when they found it, she asked the other two to step back and knocked on the door.

It opened and a face peered out. The woman looked to be slightly older than Marjorie. “Can I help you with something?”

“Yes. We spoke on the phone. My name is MarjorieEdwards and?” The woman tried to close the door, but Marjorie stuck her foot in and held it. “As I was saying, I’m MarjorieEdwards, and I have a couple of people here who’d like to talk to you.” Without asking, she pushed the door the rest of the way open and forced DebraFutrell back into the room, then motioned for her two companions. As soon as she saw them, Debra cast a glance over her shoulder at Samara, then stepped out into the hallway, leaving the door barely open.

“You’re Mrs.Futrell, correct? I’m FatherIgnatius from St.Martin’s Catholic Church, and this is SisterRebecca. We’d like to talk to you for just a moment, if we may.”

Samara’s mother looked a bit flustered. “Uh, yes, father. Of course.”

“We understand that your daughter has been seeing Chief DeputyEdwards romantically.”

There was a hesitation before Debra answered, “Yes.”

“You should know that pretty much anyone who lives in TriggCounty knows Michael and his family, and they’re extremely well thought of around the area. I’d love to hear your reasoning behind not allowing your daughter’s choice of companion to visit her here in the hospital. She obviously wants to see him, and I know he wants to see her.”

“I really don’t have to give you my reasoning, father. My reasons are personal.”

“You mean your reasons are racially-motivated?” SisterRebecca asked.

“Uh, no. It’s just that?”

“That what? They’re unsuitable for each other? In what way?” FatherIgnatius asked.

“It’s just that… I really don’t know the Edwards, and I’d hoped that Samara could find a nice fellow who’s of… um, I mean, that he would be…” She fell silent.

“You were hoping he’d be black,” the priest said, poking the elephant in the room. “Now, how would Jesus feel about that? You do realize he wasn’t a white man, right?”

“It’s just that… I know that doesn’t bother a lot of people, but it…”

“Whydoesit bother you, Mrs.Futrell?” Marjorie asked. “I’m standing here in front of you. You can see that I’m not some backwoods hick, but I don’t mind telling you that my initial reaction was similar to yours until I had to ask myself what my problem was. My husband, Michael’s father, was the county judge executive here, and he spent years serving the people of this county and making sure everyone was treated fairly and justly. His memory would not be served by his wife acting like a racist bigot. I’m better than that, and I can do better than that. And I’m not going to stand here and say my son is the best person in the whole wide world, but Iwillsay I did my best to raise him right and from what I can tell, I did more than okay. He has a heart for helping people and he highly values truth and honesty. I’m sure Samara could do better, but she could do a whole lot worse.”

From somewhere inside the room, a voice called out, “Mom? Who’s out there?”

“Honey, it’s nobody, just some people?” Debra stopped cold when Marjorie’s eyes narrowed. “Um, it’s?”

The chief deputy’s mother wasn’t about to let that moment slip past. “Hi, Samara, honey. It’s just Marjorie.”

“Marjorie! You came to see me! Open the door, Mom.” Debra’s pursed lips never moved, but she stepped aside and let the door swing fully open.

It took Marjorie three steps to reach the bed. “Hi, honey! How are you feeling?”

“Better now that you’re here. Is Michael coming? I need to see him.”

“Your parents haven’t allowed him into the room to see you. Otherwise, he’d be here.”

“We’ll fix that.” To Marjorie’s surprise, Samara picked up the call button and hit it.

“Nurse’s desk. Can I help you?”

“Yes, ma’am. I need security up here, please.”

“Is there a problem?”

“Yes, ma’am, there is.”

“No, there’s not,” Debra barked.

---