"So what are you saying?" Kim asked.
From behind his large desk, Mickey Horton shrugged. "I'm saying I don't know yet, Kim. I'll have my associate do some research." He started to say something and then hesitated. "Do you mind if I ask you something?"
Kim suspected she would not like the question, but she said, "yes," anyway.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked.
Kim was baffled. "What do you mean?"
Mickey leaned forward and laced his fingers together. "I mean . . . if my Sarah was in danger, I'd want to have her under lock-and-key."
Kim did not want to hear this.
"I'll tell you something else, Kim, I would not want my child in Andrew's class." Mickey looked at her sympathetically. "And I wouldn't be satisfied if someone said, 'But there's going to be a bodyguard in there.' A bodyguard may protect Andrew - that's what he's being paid for - but bullets are not that accurate."
"You sound like Shane," Kim muttered.
"On things like this, I'd probably trust Shane's opinion over just about anyone else's in Salem." Mickey studied her. "I just don't get it. It's not like you can't afford a tutor for awhile."
"It's not the money, Mickey. It's just that I want Andrew to be a normal boy." Kim shook her head. "Security and bodyguards . . . how can that be normal?"
"You had to know when you married Shane that your life wouldn't be normal," he said.
Mickey was right. The lead-up to their wedding should have told her so. It's not every bride who has to fake her death on the way to the church.
She chuckled at the thought. At the time, Kim did not even realize she was the bride. Kim had been supposed to fake her death and then confront Gillian before she married Shane. That worked, and then Shane had turned the tables on her and told her they could get married that day. He had planned every thing to the finest detail.
"No," she said. "I guess I knew. It's just different when it's your son. I just don't want him to suffer."
Mickey narrowed his eyes. "You don't want him to suffer, but you would put him at risk every day? Do you think he'd be safe on the playground at Salem Elementary? Is there something else going on?" he asked.
"No. . . . I mean, what do you mean?" Kim tried to figure out where he was going with his questioning.
Mickey pursed his lips and the room stayed quiet for a minute. Kim could hear someone laughing in the hallway on the other side of the door.
"Immediately after the shooting at the school, Shane demanded that Andrew move to the house." Mickey was reading from the notes he took earlier. "And you told Shane that, if Andrew went to Shane's, you were moving in, too." Kim regretted mentioning that fact. "And Shane was going to keep Andrew 'pretty much locked up' - I believe those were your words."
"All of that's true," Kim said. "I just don't see what your point is."
"Maybe you're insisting Andrew goes to school has something to do with the amount of control Shane is suddenly exercising over your life." Mickey raised an eyebrow as he let that sink in.
Kim scoffed. "You sound like Marlena."
"Did she say that?" Mickey asked.
"No," Kim said. "It sounded like something Marlena would say - a psychiatrist - not what I'd expect from a lawyer."
Mickey chuckled. "Sometimes, we're not all that different. But I find that if I know what a client really wants, I might be able find a better resolution than a lawsuit. So, I'm asking, is this between you and the school - or between you and Shane?"
She had no way to answer the question. Kim firmly believed that Andrew deserved a happy childhood. But she also wanted Andrew to be safe. Was it possible that part of her stubbornness over the school was because she needed to have a way to assert some control over her son? "I don't know," she answered truthfully.
"Think about it," Mickey suggested. "Because if that's the issue, you won't be happy just fighting him over the school, and Andrew and the other kids in that school will be in a lot more danger."
She sat back in her chair and wondered if Mickey was right. She had known that Shane would oppose Andrew returning to school. Also, Kim had been angry when he insisted Andrew move back to the mansion and Kim had to become guest in her former house. Add to that all the arguments between them. Maybe this was a way of pushing back. She did recall how she had felt a little glee when he agreed to hire the bodyguard. At the time, she thought it was just because they agreed. Now she wasn't so sure.
Kim sighed and looked across the desk at Mickey. "So you won't take the case?"
"Kim, I never said that." Mickey looked at her carefully. "I'll take the case if you decide you want to pursue it. I'm just giving you some advice as a friend and the daughter of a young girl."
He's right. Don't be selfish. Think of all the children you counsel. Some of them are at that school. So are Sami and Eric. They were next to Andrew the other day.
All those thoughts ran through her head. "Okay." She gave Mickey a soft smile. "You're off the hook."
Mickey grinned. "Kimberly, I would be happy to go to bat for you any time. I just want to make sure you actually want to win the game. But, seriously, think about this over the weekend. We can talk on Monday."
"I will, but I doubt there's much need." Kim stood up. The meeting was over and she knew what she was going to do. With a sigh, she turned and headed out the door, sighing as she pictured Andrew's disappointment. There was only one saving grace. At least, Shane will be happy.