Page 74 of Counting Backwards

I instantly panicked, wondering if ICE had responded with some defense we hadn’t anticipated. As I hit the callback button and waited for an answer, I hoped the urgency I’d heard in Lydia’s voice wasn’t because of something even worse, like one of the women already being put on a plane to be shipped out of the US.

“Finally!” Lydia declared as she picked up on the other end. “I’ve been waiting and waiting.”

“What happened?” I asked. “Is it Isobel? Denise?”

“It’s all of them,” Lydia said.

“They deported themall?” I balked. “But half of them weren’t even in custody!”

“No, no, no. Nobody’s been deported. That’s the whole point. ICE stipulated to the terms of the injunction request.”

“They stipulated?” I repeated. “Wait, so they’re safe? Everyone’s still here?”

“Yes, yes. This is good.” Lydia chuckled. “They’re all still here.” But then her tone turned serious again. “Sadly, they’re exactly where we left them. But the little bit of happy news is that ICE has at least agreed not to deport any of the plaintiffs while the case is still being adjudicated.”

I couldn’t believe it. “Without even a hearing?”

“Without even a hearing.”

“But why?” I asked. “Why would they do that?”

“The media! You did a great job, Jessa. Mailing out those press releases the day we filed the complaint was genius. The story iseverywhere. ICE must be shaking in their boots. They’ve got to know they can’t get away with retaliatory deportations with all eyes on them. Maybe they figure stipulating to this one request will help them play better in the court of public opinion.”

“Wow.” I lowered myself onto the edge of the bed, stunned. It was a win. Notthewin, but it was something.

“I know,” Lydia said on the other end of the phone, as if she could hear everything I was thinking. “You did good, my friend. We’ve just got to keep it up. Now, go get your rest, and we’ll talk in the morning.”

***

Three days later, I got the call Dustin had predicted. It was Andrew Hendricks. He knew all about the filing, the additional plaintiffs joining the case, the government’s agreement to comply with the terms of requested injunctive relief. He was impressed. He was proud, he said. I scoffed at that. Proud. As if Andrew had anything to do with what I’d accomplished with the case.

And he wanted me to come back.

That was what I was telling Vance and his cousin Yuval as the three of us ate dinner that night. Both Yuval and Vance had come uptown straight from their offices to meet me at the little Middle Eastern café we loved. They were dressed in almost identical outfits. Each had on tan slacks and a light blue button-down shirt with French cuffs. A few weeks earlier, I might have been uncomfortable being the only one at the table in casual clothes, but I’d recently begun thinking that jeans and boots were more my style than dress pants and sweater sets after all.

“Turning him down felt beyond amazing,” I said, and I could feel my cheeks straining from how widely I was smiling.

“Good for you.” Yuval reached out, giving me a light punch to the arm.

“You did what?” Vance squinted at me like he couldn’t comprehend what I’d said.

“Dillney’s not the right place for me.” I shrugged like it was no big deal, then stabbed a ball of falafel with my fork. “It’s so clear to me now. I guess sometimes you have to move away from something to make sense of it.”

“But we’re having a baby,” Vance said. “You need that job.”

“A baby?” Yuval exclaimed. “Mazel tov!” He leaned over the small bowls of hummus and eggplant salad between us, punching me in the arm again, this time a little harder than the first. “We have much to discuss, no?” He nodded encouragingly. “Only a few months behind our own. Now you will have to come and live near us. The babies will be friends from the very beginning.”

I smiled back at him. It was nice to think of our child having a cousin and playmate. I hadn’t let my mind wander to things like playdates or “mommy and me” classes yet. But I’d finally hit the end of the first trimester, so maybe it was time to let myself dream a little. “Moving to the suburbs is definitely not part of the fantasy for me,” I joked, “but the rest sounds pretty good.”

“So yes to the playdates, no to the burbs. Got it.” Yuval smiled back and then held out his fist to bump with Vance.

Vance returned the gesture half-heartedly before turning back to me.

“But, Jessa, the money,” he said, prodding as if I hadn’t understood what he’d said.

“No, I get it. But I was thinking of doing something else.”

“But why? That was a great job. Of course not making partner was disappointing. I get that. But losing out was a blessing in disguise. Without jockeying for a promotion, it’s just a good, steady job at a well-regarded firm.” He looked at Yuval for agreement, but Yuval just shrugged and bit into his pita. “You can take whatever work they assign you,” Vance continued, looking back at me. “Andnot worry about fighting for the high-profile cases all the time. You get to avoid all the crazy, intense situations but keep the cachet of being a Dillney attorney. You just take your paycheck and go home.”