Harry looked miserable. He wanted a happy ending, rice, rose petals, babies, and neither of them was cooperating with him. “Do you realize how complicated it is to invest in real estate if you're not married?”
“Of course I do, and so does she. That's why we'll probably rent.” And it was exactly what they did. They found the house they wanted with an overwhelming view, in Tiburon. It had four bedrooms, and was dirt cheap compared to what it might have cost, and it gave them each an office, a bedroom for them, and a bedroom for Barb when she came to town from Detroit, or if they had guests. It had a lovely sun deck, a porch, a hot tub, which looked out at the view, and neither of them had ever been happier. Harry and Averil came to check it out with the kids, and they had to admit that the setting was beautiful but it still wasn't what Harry had hoped for her, but she only laughed at him. And worst of all, Jack shared all of her views. He had no intention of getting hooked into marriage again, by anyone. He was thirty-eight years old, and his little escapade in Detroit twelve years before had cost him dearly.
Jack and Tana did Christmas dinner that year, and it was beautiful, with the Bay below, and the city shimmering in the distance. “It's like a dream, isn't it, sweetheart?” Jack whispered to her after everyone went home. They had exactly the life that suited them, and she had even finally given up her own apartment in town. She had hung onto it for a while to play it safe, but in the end, she had let it go. She was safe with him, and he took good care of her. When she had appendicitis that year, he took two weeks off from work to take care of her. When she turned thirty-six, he gave her a party in the Trafalgar Room at Trader Vic's for eighty-seven of her closest friends, and the following year, he surprised her with a cruise in Greece. She came home rested and brown, and happier than ever with their life. There was never any talk of marriage between the two, although once in a while they talked about buying the house in which they lived, but Tana wasn't even sure about that, and secretly Jack was leary of it too. Neither of them wanted to rock the boat that had sailed along so comfortably for so long. They had lived together for almost two years and it was perfect for them both. Until October after the cruise to Greece. Tana had a big case coming up, and she had stayed up almost all night going over her notes and the files, and she'd fallen asleep at her desk, looking out over the Bay in Tiburon. The phone woke her before Jack did with her cup of tea, and she stared at him as she picked it up.
“Huh?” She looked blank and Jack grinned at her. She was a mess when she stayed up all night like that, and as though hearing his thoughts, she turned her eyes toward him, and then suddenly he saw them open wide and stare at him. “What? Axe you crazy? I'm not … oh, God. I'll be there in an hour.” She put down the phone and stared at him as he set down the cup of tea with a worried frown.
“Something wrong?” It couldn't be anything back home if she'd promised to be there in an hour, it had to be work … and it wasn't for him. “What happened, Tan?” She was still staring at him.
“I don't know.… I have to talk to Frye.”
“The district attorney?”
“No. God. Who the hell do you think?”
“Well, what are you getting so excited about?” He still didn't understand. But neither did she. She had done a fantastic job. It just didn't make sense. She'd been there for years … there were tears in her eyes when she looked at Jack and stood up at her desk, spilling the tea across her files, but she didn't even care now.
“He said I'm being fired.” She started to cry and sat down again as he stared at her.
“That can't be, Tan.”
“That's what I said … the D.A.'s office is my whole life.…” And the saddest thing of all was that they both knew it was true.
Tana showered, dressed, and drove into the city within the hour, her face set, eyes grim. It was obvious that it was an emergency. She looked as though someone had died. Jack offered to go with her, but she knew he had his own problems that day, and Harry had been out of the office a lot recently, so everything rested on him.
“Are you sure you don't want me to drive you in, Tan? I don't want you to have an accident.” She kissed him vaguely on the lips and shook her head. It was so odd. They had lived together for so long, but they were almost more friends than anything else. He was someone to talk to at night, share her problems with, talk about her cases with, as she worked on her strategy. He understood her life, her quirks, he was content with the life they shared and he wanted relatively little from her, it seemed. Harry claimed it was unnatural, and it was certainly different from what he and Averil shared. But she felt Jack's concern now as she started her car and he watched her leave. He still couldn't understand what had happened to her, and neither could she. She walked into her office, feeling numb, half an hour later, and without even knocking walked into the office of the D.A. She couldn't hold the tears back anymore, and they rolled down her face as she looked at him.
“What the hell did I do to deserve this?” She looked stricken and he felt instant remorse at what he'd done. He had just thought it would be fun to give her the news in a roundabout way, but he never realized she'd be so heartbroken. It made him all the sorrier to lose her now. But he had been sorry anyway.
“You're too good at your job, Tan. Stop crying and sit down.” He smiled at her and she felt even more confused.
“So you're firing me?” She was still on her feet, staring at him.
“I didn't say that. I said you were out of a job.” She sat down with a thump.
“Well, what the hell does that mean?” She reached into her handbag and pulled out a handkerchief and blew her nose. She was unashamed of how she felt. She loved her job, and she had from the first day. She'd been in the D.A.'s office for twelve years. That was a lifetime to give up now, and she would have preferred to give up anything but that. Anything. The district attorney felt sorry for her then, and he came around his desk to put an arm around her.
“Come on, Tan, don't take it so hard. We're going to miss you, too, you know.” A fresh burst of tears escaped from her and he smiled. It brought tears to his eyes too. She would be leaving soon, if she accepted it. And she had suffered long enough. He forced her to sit down, looked her square in the eye. “You're being offered a seat on the bench, sweetheart. Judge Roberts of the Municipal Court. How does that sound to you?”
“I am?” She stared at him, unable to absorb it all. “I am? I'm not being fired?” She started to cry all over again, and she blew her nose again, suddenly laughing at the same time. “I'm not … you're kidding me.…”
“I wish I were.” But he looked delighted for her and she suddenly gave a small scream, realizing what he'd done to her.
“Oh, you son of a bitch … I thought you were firing me!” He laughed.
“I apologize. I just thought I'd create a little excitement in your life.”
“Shit.” She looked at him in disbelief and blew her nose again but she was too stunned at what he was telling her to even be angry at him. “My God … how did that happen?”
“I've seen it coming for a long time, Tan. I knew it would happen eventually. I just didn't know when. And I'll lay you odds you're in superior court by this time next year. You're perfect for it after your track record here.”
“Oh, Larry … my God … an appointment to the bench…” The words were almost beyond her ken. “I just can't believe it.” She looked up at him. “I'm thirty-seven years old, and I never even thought of that.”
“Well, thank God someone did.” He held out a hand and shook hers as she beamed. “Congratulations, Tan, you deserve every bit of it. They want to induct you in three weeks.”