Page 109 of Love Is an Art
“Yes.”
“A monogamous romantic relationship?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“And you met because you were her home care attendant?”
“Yes.”
“Where did you live before you moved in with Ms. Robinson as a caretaker?”
“Garden Towers.”
“In apartment 3C with a Ms. Morris?”
“Yes.”
I walk up to the judge and submit the rental lease as evidence. I then hand a copy to opposing counsel.
“Were you in a relationship with Ms. Morris?”
“Yes. But we broke up when I met Angelique Robinson. I’m not on the lease anymore.” And there’s that slight smile—like he’s proud of himself that he outwitted me. Body language doesn’t lie.
“You broke up. So, you’re not in a romantic relationship anymore with Mrs. Morris?”
“No. Not since I met Angelique.”
“But you still get your mail there?”
“I don’t think so.” He looks at the judge. “I may have forgotten to file a change of address, but nothing important goes there.”
I submit the USPS record of address of Mr. Howard as Apartment 3C in Garden Towers.
“You don’t visit her every weekend—even weekends when you were allegedly romantically involved with Mrs. Robinson?”
“What?” His tone is confrontational. His eyes narrow, but then he visibly relaxes his face. “I’m allowed to be friends with my ex, aren’t I?” He turns to face the judge. “I see her every now and then. Sometimes she asks me to fix something. I’d feel bad saying no. She’s a single woman, and we have a history. But that doesn’t mean I cheated on Angelique.” He pats his heart.
“I’d like to submit this security camera footage of the hallway outside apartment 3C from March—when Mr. Howard is alleging he was in a monogamous romantic relationship with Ms. Robinson. I also submit the affidavit of Mr. Dean, who is willing to testify as to the custody of these files.”
“Objection,” says his counsel.
The judge raises his eyebrow. “Overruled. Please show us the footage.”
Ken presses play. The clips of Mr. Howard hugging and kissing Ms. Morris, the footage time-stamped, fill the courtroom. It stops, and the silence echoes.
“We’d like to take a recess so I can confer with my client,” the opposing lawyer says. “And I’d like a bench conference.”
The judge calls us both up to the bench.
“This should have been disclosed in discovery,” the opposing lawyer says.
“You didn’t ask for this in discovery.” I hand over his discovery request. “You only asked for what proof my client had that she lived in the apartment. You didn’t request what proof we had that your client didn’t solely live in that apartment or have a romantic relationship with another woman.”
“She’s right,” the judge says.
We are dismissed from the bench conference, and the opposing lawyer whispers earnestly with his client. The judge reconvenes the courtroom.
“Do you have any further questions for the witness?” the judge asks.
