"I call for my next witness, Roxanne," George said.
Roxanne was very nervous about having to give her testimony, but she felt better after being patted on her hand by Max.
"You'll be all right, Roxanne," he whispered. "You got this."
"Thanks, Max," she whispered back. Then she went to the witness stand and swore to tell the whole truth on the Bible.
"So, Roxanne," George said. "How long has it been since you adopted Jimmy?"
"Nearly two years ago," Roxanne replied.
"And what has he been like since then?"
"Oh, he has changed my life for the better and he did it even when I was his nanny before I became his stepmother."
"Please tell the court how you felt when Jimmy went missing."
Roxanne told the whole court that ever since she learned that Jimmy got kidnapped, she had never been so scared, worried or depressed in her whole life. She had always been very worried about him even when she was his nanny before she became his stepmother, but nothing had ever made her worry like the time he went missing. She was very relieved and delighted when her son was discovered by his Duckberg friends and how very happy she was when she saw him again and how she never ever wanted to lose him ever again. And while she was searching for Jimmy in her spare time and kept failing to find him, she was so lucky that she had Max there to support and comfort her when she needed him. She didn't know how she would cope with him.
"And do you consider yourself a good mom to Jimmy?" George asked.
"Well, I don't really know," Roxanne said. "I mean, I just do my very best for Jimmy. I give him his meals, I make sure he does his homework and help him with it if he needs help and sometimes Max helps him as well, I make sure his backpack is ready for school, I try to teach him good manners, I play with him whenever I can and I read bedtime stories to him before he goes to sleep, I with Max take him on the vacations we can and I do everything a mother can do in her power and control to raise him to be the very best of himself and make sure he's on the correct track of life."
"Well, I don't know what everyone else in this court says, but in my personal opinion, you are one of the very best mothers I've ever seen in my whole life," George said. "Now, ever since you saw Jimmy for the first time in your life, did you know anything about his birth mother?"
"No," Roxanne said. "Well, I mean, Georgina and I went to the same school in Dallas together, but we weren't friends at all, no matter how hard I tried to be hers. And when I first met Jimmy, I had no idea who his real mother was. Even his father Jacob Morton had no idea who she was and he only knew Jimmy was his son by DNA testing. And I certainly would never have imagined in a million years that Georgina would be Jimmy's real mother and, in answer to your next question, I had absolutely no idea Jimmy had two sisters."
Then George turned to the judge "No more questions, Your Honor." Then he sighed before he turned to Mr. Glass. "Your witness."
Roxanne knew that Mr. Glass was just doing his job, just like George was, but that didn't make her less nervous as Mr. Glass got up and approached her.
"So, Miss Roxanne, did Jimmy ever wonder about his real mother when you were his nanny?" Mr. Glass asked.
"He did at first," Roxanne said, "but as time went on, he started to ask less of her and he started to appreciate the time he spent with me just as much as I appreciated the time I spent with him."
"And when he went missing, what did you do?" Mr. Glass asked.
"Well, I stayed in Forksville in case the police found him there," Roxanne replied. "But when I wasn't working, I searched for him all over the town every day. I barely ate and I barely slept every night because I was that worried about him."
"But he wasn't in Forksville, was he? No, he was in Duckberg. So, while he was lost, you just got on with your life."
"No," Roxanne said. "That's not true at all."
"And when he had a chance to meet his real mother and his sisters and get to know them, you came to take him away from them."
Poor Roxanne couldn't take any more from Mr. Glass.
George rose from his seat. "Objection, Your Honor. Mr. Glass appears to be trying to hurt the witness more than searching for the truth and he also appears to be taking pleasure in it."
"Object sustained," the judge said. "Miss Roxanne, you may return to your seat now."
Roxanne was so relieved that she could finally get out of the witness stand.
"But, Your Honor," Mr. Glass said, "I'm not done with –" He stopped talking when the judge banged his gavel.
"You are now, Mr. Glass," the judge said. "Now, call your next witness."
Mr. Glass sighed. "Very good, Your Honor. I call my next witness, Maximillian Goof."
Max rose from his chair and headed to the witness stand. "You did very well, Roxanne," he whispered to her, patting her hand again.
"Thanks, Max," Roxanne whispered back. "Good luck." Then she sat back at the prosecutor's table.
"Thanks." Then Max went to the witness stand and swore to tell the truth on the Bible.
"So, Mr. Goof, tell us all how much Jimmy really means to you," Mr. Glass said.
"Well, he's not technically my son, not like how he's Roxanne's son," Max said, "but he's still like a son to me and I enjoy spending time with him and since he came into my life I've been trying to be the best father figure I can be to him."
"And so you weren't as worried about Jimmy when he went missing as Miss Roxanne?"
"Of course I was worried!" Max snapped angrily. "Every day, when I wasn't working, I was running around the whole town like a hurricane looking for him and hoping I would find him and comforting my beloved girlfriend Roxanne every time I failed."
"So, if he goes back to his mother – and, by that, I mean, his real mother, my client Miss Peppermint – and you never saw him ever again, how would that make you feel?"
"To never see Jimmy ever again would devastate me as much as it would devastate Roxanne."
Mr. Glass was stunned at how well Max answered his questions. He felt that he couldn't ask him any more questions. So, he turned to George. "Your witness."
George rose from his seat and approached Max. "So, Mr. Goof, you're serious about how much Jimmy is like a son to you and you were very worried about him when he went missing?"
"I'm deadly serious," Max replied.
"Please give us more information about your relationship with him," George said.
Then Max told the whole court that even though they were quite different, he viewed his relationship with Jimmy as a healthy and strong one as much as Jimmy's relationship with Roxanne's and he tried to be the best father figure to Jimmy to the very best of his ability. He learned it from his dad Goofy. And no matter what they went through or how different their points of view were, they were always good company to each other and felt they made a very good team.
"No more questions, Your Honor," George said.
"Very well," the judge said. "Call your next witness, Mr. Lawton. Mr. Goof, go back to your seat."
Max left the witness stand and sat back down in his seat.
"You were brilliant, Max," Roxanne whispered to him, patting his hand this time.
"Thanks, Roxanne," Max whispered back.
Max and Roxanne both thought they were doing very well with the progress they were making in this trial, but they still weren't getting their hopes up.