Page 101 of Dirty Judge

The two of us have suffered more than enough…

GUILTY (ADJ.):

HAVING BEEN CONVICTED OF A CRIME OR HAVING ADMITTED THE COMMISSION OF A CRIME BY PLEADING "GUILTY" (SAYING YOU DID IT).

LIAM

Ithaca, New York

Thirteen Years Old

My father was always late for everything.

No matter how hard he tried, he and time could never get along.

Everyone in our small town knew that if you wanted to get “Big Liam” to an event before it ended, you’d have to tell him it started three hours early.

And even then, he’d arrive two hours late.

Alas, whenever something came up that was special to me, he’d promise to be “no more than five minutes late” and say, “Just look for me in the back, son. I’ll always be in the back.”

For the most part, this was true.

It wasn’t until I qualified for a huge chess master event in New York City that my mother swore that they would be sitting in the front row two hours before the competition began.

She promised she would pick my dad up from work and drive him so they would be on time.

I wanted to have my doubts, but when my chess team pulled out of the school parking lot, I spotted my mom’s car pulling into my dad’s job.

He’s really going to be on time…

Three minutes before the match began, neither my dad nor my mom were anywhere to be found.

I took my place on stage, assuming that my father’s lateness had infected her.

They’ll get here eventually…

I finished my first match and didn’t see them, but I figured they were in the back somewhere.

I won my second and third match in record time, and I kept looking up, trying to see my mom’s usual wave or her lips saying “Blame your dad,” but I never did.

It wasn’t until the awards ceremony—five hours later—that I realized they didn’t show up at all.

Sighing, I called the house phone.

No answer.

I called my dad’s job.

No answer.

Sighing, I bummed a ride with a friend.

They better have a good excuse for missing my big win…

We were halfway home when bright red and blue lights flashed ahead, and traffic had come to a complete halt.

“Probably another eighteen-wheeler getting off track or dumping its spillage there,” my friend’s dad said. “Be patient, boys.”