The Kid Came Back
Harry sat alone in the darkened courtroom, Mel Tormé's 'Good Time Charlie's got the Blues' playing in his head, he even found himself mouthing along to the words. Somewhere in the recesses of his mind, he thought it would be perfect irony if he just keeled over dead from a broken heart, it sounded fairly appropriate given what had just happened.
He was so lost in his thoughts and his pains that he hardly even noticed the sound of the courtroom doors slamming open.
"Harry!"
Leon's voice. Harry turned his head and stood up, he could see the 12-year-old boy standing by the darkened door, barely illuminated by the light outside.
"Leon!"
"Harry, he's here!"
Harry almost asked 'Mr. Johnson?', but instead he asked, "Who?"
Leon ran over to the judge and grabbed his arm, "He's out in the hall, come on!"
"Leon, who's here?" Harry couldn't even grasp what was going on, he decided to just roll with it for a moment, resigning himself to the likely chance that this was just a daydream, or a delusion, hallucination, whatever you wanted to call it.
"That dude on all your records," Leon said as he pulled Harry along, "he's here!"
"Records? Wha..." Harry slowly did a double take, "Mel Tormé? He's in the courthouse?"
"In the flesh!" Leon told him, "Looks just like that picture in your chambers."
"Well where is he?" Harry asked.
Leon nodded towards the door, "Right this way, come on!"
"You got it!" Harry grabbed Leon by the arm and they ran out the doors into the corridor. "Mel!"
"I got to meet Mel Tormé," Harry slurred his words as he lay on his couch in his office, the other members of the 18th floor court standing around the room in various spots, with various expressions on their faces. "I can't believe it. It's a dream come true!"
Dan scowled straight ahead with his knuckles pressed under his chin as he sneered "Yeah yeah yeah, I found the guy in the bathroom yesterday! That lousy kid gets the credit."
"Wha...what was he doing here?" Harry asked.
"He said something about being robbed," Dan answered.
"No, not yesterday," Harry said, "today...why'd he come back today?"
"Dan told him what a huge fan you were of him," Leon answered as he wrung out a handkerchief and placed it on Harry's forehead, "he saw your picture of him and tried to catch you when you were actually in."
Harry looked at the boy and asked, "How do you know that, Leon?"
"He told me while you were passed out," Leon answered.
"Oh..." Harry did another slow double take, "I fainted in front of Mel Tormé? I don't remember that."
"Funny how that happens," Flo commented.
"Oh...Bull...Bull," Harry weakly called, "Bull..."
"Yes, Your Honor?" Bull asked as he hovered over the judge.
"Bull..." Harry pointed a finger, and said in a more coherent voice, "block that door."
"Ohhhkay," he replied.
"Harry?" Christine said. "What's going on?"
Harry sat up and swung his legs onto the floor and looked at everyone in the room. "I'm going to get to the bottom of something right now." He looked Leon dead in the eyes and told him, "And you're not running this time."
"What's going on?" Leon repeated suspiciously.
"We are going to finish our discussion from earlier, young man," Harry said in a firm tone.
Leon started to back up and replied defensively, "I got nothing to say."
"I don't believe you," Harry said. "I've had some time to think about what you said. Now I can understand being in 12 foster homes in nine years can make one leery about who to trust, so I'll grant you some leeway for running. It's what you know, it's what's familiar in an otherwise uncomfortable situation. Leon, I know you didn't want to go with the Johnsons, and if I had my choice, I wouldn't want them for your adoptive parents either. In fact...I didn't want them for your adoptive parents...even before I knew anything about them, before I knew they were geeks, I still didn't want them for your parents."
Leon squinted in confusion, "You didn't?"
"No," Harry replied. "I knew they were coming to meet you, but that's why I couldn't get the nerve up to tell you. When I signed up to be your foster parent, I thought that we would have a few months, or...a few years, to spend together before I had to consider what came next. I didn't want them to take you."
"Then why did you let them?" Leon asked, the hurt evident in his voice.
"Because, Leon, when you grow up," Harry said, "one of the hardest lessons you have to learn is sometimes when you love someone, you have to do what's best for them...no matter how hard it is for you."
"Don't give me that jive," Leon shook his head.
"You think I'm lying?" Harry asked, and nodded towards the others, "go ahead, ask them. Ask them how happy I was when Miss Lund told me they were coming to meet you."
Leon glanced around and noted how stonefaced the others were and he shifted his gaze towards the floor.
"I didn't want to give you up," Harry said, "If I had it my way I'd adopt you myself."
"You're a judge, nobody would say no to you, so why couldn't you?" Leon asked.
"Because..." Harry slowly inhaled, looked Leon in the eyes and answered, "I know what it's like to be raised by a single parent father. You see, my mom walked out on us when I was five, and I've never seen her since."
Leon's eyes widened, "For real?"
Harry nodded.
"Why?" he asked.
Harry shrugged and shook his head, "I don't know. I spent most of my youth trying to figure it out. And although I can't really complain about the relationship I had with my dad, it always felt like a big part of my life was missing, because when I needed a mother, there was no one. I've lived with that feeling for more years than you've been alive, I didn't want you to go through the same thing, and I didn't want to take away your chance at having that gap filled with a two-parent family."
"Yeah? Well I'd rather have just you than those geeks," Leon said.
"I don't blame you, we agree I'm more fun," Harry said lightly, "but parents need to be able to offer their kids so much more than that, and the Johnsons could. Hey, weren't you the one saying adoptive parents want babies, not someone 'middle aged' like yourself?"
"Yeah, so what?" Leon asked.
"Well they proved you wrong, they wanted you, they wanted you just three weeks after I became your foster parent," Harry said.
"And that doesn't strike you as weird?" Leon asked.
Harry paused for a moment before answering, "Yeah, that is a little weird."
"Why would they just out of nowhere decide they wanted a 12 year old?" Leon asked. "And out of all the 12 year olds in the foster care system, why would they decide they want someone 'incorrigible' like me? And why do they have to talk about raw sewage all the time? They're worse than geeks, Harry, they're not normal."
"That's not exactly a tall feat around here," Dan commented as he glanced at Bull who stared back obliviously.
"Leon, living in New York for 12 years I'm sure you're aware of the fact most people around here are not what we'd necessarily call...normal," Harry said, "but that doesn't make them bad people, or bad parents. Now you heard Miss Lund, this wouldn't be automatic, you'd have time to get to know them and see if it actually works."
"And if it doesn't, I'm still stuck with them," Leon said, "nobody's going to listen to a kid over two adults."
"I don't know," Harry replied, "Miss Lund is very invested in your case, Leon, if you raised enough objections that weren't unwarranted, I'm sure she would look for a more suiting couple."
"I don't need them," Leon remarked, "I don't need anybody. I got through my whole life not having to care about anybody and nobody cared about me, I can get through the rest of my life the same way."
"That's a load of baloney and we both know it," Harry said.
"What?"
"Leon...after you ran out of here, telling me I'd never catch you, never see you again...what made you come back?" Harry asked. "Why'd you run in here to tell me Mel Tormé was here?"
"Because I know how crazy you are about his music, and what a big deal it was for you," Leon said.
"Right," Harry pointed a finger in emphasis, "you know that I love Mel's music, and that meeting him was a lifelong dream, you knew how important it was to me, and when you saw that opportunity, you didn't pass it up. Why?"
Leon shrugged and looked down. "I don't know...I guess for a minute I...forgot I was mad at you...for a minute it was like..."
"Like when it was the two of us for everything?" Harry asked.
Leon reluctantly looked back up, "Kind of. Just seemed like today hadn't even happened."
"That's one quality that makes for a great son," Harry said, "to be able to think of other people and what's important to them and not just yourself. Leon, any parent would be lucky to have you, it's just that right now the Johnsons are the first ones to offer. But I'm sure Miss Lund can find more where they came from, maybe find somebody 'normal'."
"I don't want a normal parent, I want you," Leon told him.
"I know," Harry nodded, "I want that too...but you've had a very dysfunctional life so far, and I've tried to improve it as much as I could and make it as stable as I can...but I think you'd be better off with a family that can offer more stability than I can. Maybe somebody with a day job, who doesn't work half the night and would actually be home when you go to bed."
"Raw sewage, though?" Leon asked.
"I'll admit it's not the most glamorous job, but it's an honest living, and there's always something to be said for that," Harry said, "besides, if you went with the Johnsons, you would have a very cool job as their son."
"What's that?" Leon asked.
Harry smiled at him and answered, "You would be able to teach them something. And don't all kids just wish they could teach their parents a lesson?"
Leon smirked, then he laughed.
"See, Leon, when I was a kid, everybody thought that the parents teach the kids, and the teachers teach the kids, and the kids just shut up and learn it. But now, we're in an age where the different generations can learn from one another. You'd be able to teach the Johnsons a lot, you might even be able to help them become more 'normal', maybe even 'cool'."
"That's a pretty tall order," Leon replied.
"Yeah," Harry nodded, "but I figure if anybody could do it, it'd be a resourceful guy like you."
Leon looked at him and replied simply, "I don't want to go, Harry."
"I don't want you to either," Harry told him, "but I have to think past just what I want, and I have to focus on what's best for you."
"And you think Mr. and Mrs. Bat and Puck are what's best for me?" Leon asked.
"Well you know they figure everybody has a soulmate out there for them somewhere," Harry said, "I think every couple who wants to be parents, that there's a kid somewhere out there in the world for them, it's just a matter of finding each other, and being willing to take a chance on one another."
"And if it doesn't work?" Leon asked.
"The Johnsons found you," Harry said, "another family can find you just as easily...who knows? It might even be someone who was once a foster kid themselves, so they know what it's like and how to make another one feel right at home."
Leon looked at Harry in surprise, "Foster kids grow up to adopt kids?"
"Some do, I've seen them," Harry said, "Who better to understand what they're going through? To give someone else the very thing they didn't have? Also, if it doesn't work out with the Johnsons, at least you will have broken them in for the next kid they find and they'll have a better idea how to relate to them."
Leon's eyes started to well up and his voice broke as he told the judge, "I'm gonna miss you, Harry."
Harry pulled the boy into a tight hug. "I'm gonna miss you too...I meant what I said about being your friend...you can always call me if you need help. We've all been rooting for you to find a permanent home."
"You have?" Leon asked as he pulled back.
"Yes," Harry answered, "Christine will tell you." He turned his head, "Christine?"
The blonde legal aid attorney was sobbing into her handkerchief before loudly blowing her nose.
"Christine," Harry said again.
"I'm sorry, Harry," she said, "but that's just so beautiful."
"Dan?" Harry turned and was met with the image of the ADA's back. "Dan, would you tell him?"
Dan turned around with his face scrunched up to the point his eyes were hardly visible and exclaimed in a voice that broke as soon as he spoke, "I'm not crying, you are, shut up!"
Leon fell back against Harry laughing.
"See, Leon? We're all invested in things working out for you," the judge told him.
"But what if it doesn't work out, Harry?" the boy asked.
"Then," Harry answered, "I'll reapply to be your foster parent and you can move back in with me until another family pops up. But you've got to be willing to make this work, Leon, you have to be willing to give it a true and fair try, no running when things get hard just because it's what you're used to."
Leon slowly exhaled and thought.
"I still don't like it, Harry, but...I'll give it a try," he said.
"That's all I ask," Harry said.
"But you better have my bed ready just in case," Leon added.
"Trust me, it'll be just like you left it," Harry told him.
"You're too lazy to make it?" Leon asked.
That got a good laugh from everyone in the room.
"Now what do you say we give Miss Lund a call so she can stop worrying?" Harry asked.
"Can't I stay with you tonight?" Leon asked.
"It's late, we probably could arrange that, but I'll still have to call her," Harry told him.
Leon nodded, "Okay."
He hugged Harry, drawing a general remark of 'aww' from the other people in the room.
"That's so beautiful!" Dan wept in a high pitched voice with his face still scrunched up.
"Congratulations, Leon!" the members of the 18th floor court yelled as the boy looked at the large cake full of candles that had been brought in.
Leon sat on Harry's couch with a party hat on his head, matching with everybody else in the room, which had been haphazardly decorated with balloons and streamers and a banner.
"This is like a birthday party," he commented.
"Well it is," Harry said as he clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder, "this is the first day of your new life with your new family."
"Make a wish and blow out the candles," Christine said.
Leon gave her a look.
"She's new at this," Flo offered, "cut her some slack, Lord knows I have."
Leon looked at the flaming candles intently for a couple seconds and blew hard, extinguishing them all and earning a round of applause from everyone in Harry's office.
"We got you a few things to take with you to remember us by," Harry told him, "and here's mine."
Leon took the small, thin package and unwrapped it and his eyebrows raised curiously when he saw the billfold. "A wallet?"
"Every young man needs one," Harry said, "and I took the liberty of putting a little money in for you to get you started, and a card with my phone number, and there's a compartment in it with four quarters incase you need to use a pay phone to get me."
"Leon, we're all really happy for you," Christine said.
"I'm just happy I'm not moving in with the Johnsons," Leon replied.
"I have to agree," Harry told him, "if I had to hand-pick a family for you, the Pattersons would've been my pick."
"Harry," Leon looked at the judge through the corner of one eye, "I'm...gonna miss you."
"I'll miss you too, Leon," Harry said, "we all will, but you won't be that far away and you know where to find me."
"Harry," Leon turned to face him now, "maybe...sometime...you could come over?"
The judge smiled at him, "I'd like that, Leon."
The cake was cut and gone quickly, Leon opened his presents and received a ball and bat, a catcher's mitt, a comic book, a new pair of sneakers, a deck of playing cards, and a jacket. The bulk of it was packed into his suitcase, then there was a heartfelt round of goodbyes as Leon hugged the members of the court before Harry opened his door to reveal Miss Lund and Leon's new adoptive parents, a black couple in their 30s dressed in jeans and T-shirts who greeted everybody in the office like they were next-door neighbors.
There was another chorus of cheerful goodbyes until they saw the new family disappear in the elevator, then the room was quiet, everybody took a somber step back and were faced with the office still decorated for the boy who was no longer there.
Harry's face dropped as he removed his party hat, Christine looked at him and asked, "Harry, are you okay?"
"I'll be fine," the judge answered, "it's just going to take a while to get used to being on my own again."
"Well we're always here for you, Harry," Bull said.
Harry nodded, "I know, Bull, and I appreciate it."
They all looked over to Dan who had his back to them. With a self conscious body language, Dan turned to the others and they saw his face all scrunched up again.
"What're you all looking at?" he asked in a high pitched sob and waved dismissively, "Go away!"
It brought a small smile to the faces of the other people in the room though they shared his sentiment.
Harry stepped over to his desk, and paused as he picked up his framed photograph of Mel Tormé, the same photo he'd had for years, only now it was autographed, because of one 12-year-old boy.