The Lawsuit

Rose decided to sue. She had to sue. She was frantic.

She did not want to read about statutory rape. It bored her. She did not want to read law books or even Lexis on the internet. But she read enough to learn that the legal age of consent in New York was seventeen and the definition of statutory rape was any kind of sexual contact, penetration, oral sex, anal sex, or touching between an adult and a minor.

Rose decided that finger-fucking was both penetration and touching.

Fry the bitch!

Ben thought she should go ahead with it. it was the kind of case no one should contest, though it would be contested by a bitch like Ms. Bottle. He was a bulldog about such cases. He called the school and learned that there was a record of Rose’s mother Carrie’s complaint. The school would not tell him whether there had been other complaints. Someone would have to subpoena the records. But it was indubitable that Ms. Bottle had moved at the end of that school year, which could also be introduced as circumstantial evidence. She had left the state. She lived with another woman now in what was probably a lesbian relationship. And she still had an unlisted phone number.

You got that in a couple of phone calls? Rose asked.

Yes. I’m good. I’m the best. I wish I could do the case for you.

He researched Ms. Bottle’s character. She had a reputation for being aggressive, yet a washout as a teacher. She had hung onto a teaching job until retirement though her new school repeatedly tried to fire her. She owed her job to the union.

Jesus Christ. And to think I’m pro-Union.

I know someone who will be perfect for this case. Remember Vic, Victor Hawthorne?

Yes, I love him.

She really did love him. He was an extremely pleasant man, charming and congenial. He was also an Origami expert who wrote notes on post-its and then folded them into birds and stuck them on his computer. At parties he did origami for everyone. He also collected record albums. If you went to his office, you had to listen to James Brown before he heard your complaint. His secretary had to listen to old rock and roll all day. But he worked for a distinguished law firm and always won his cases.

He had won a famous case where a man claimed that a greeting card company had stolen and sold his design for a card and also as a popular toy, Elly Elephant, without reimbursing him. Vic had wiped the guy out in a single court session.

Yes, Rose, you can win this case. He sat behind his desk gazing at her, folding origami and listening to the Clash. I’m so sorry you went through this. is the point to make money? Or to humiliate her? I need to know.

Rose realized he wanted to see how well she could answer questions. Ms. Bottle can afford to pay and I want compensation for suffering. My therapist thinks my depression began with this molestation. Ms. Bottle molested me for months before I broke down and told my mother. When she complained to the principal, Ms. Bottle denied it, though she moved away at the end of the school year.

It seems straightforward. I’ll be contacting you about depositions. I’ll need a list of everybody who knows about this case.

Depositions. She hated depositions. But she really wanted to do this. She felt less depressed already. She was angry.

i’ll have the list for you tomorrow. Shall I e-mail it?

He hesitated. I really don’t trust e-mail. Why don’t you messenger it?