Daring the Judge

Chapter 2

2

Somehow, Maddie was up early on Sunday morning, despite her over-indulgence the night before. She seemed to be in good spirits when she texted Sienna to say there were only thirteen sleeps left until their unforgettable, big night out on the town.

Sienna refused to admit that she was nursing a serious headache from her margarita intake the night before. They both knew Maddie had consumed three-quarters of the jumbo pitcher, so Sienna didn’t want to admit what a lightweight she was. Instead, she typed back, “Can’t wait.”

Deciding that her sarcasm probably didn’t come through via text, she added the eye-rolling emoji and hit the send button.

Her fluffy, gray puffball of a kitten chose that moment to pounce on her pillow. She couldn’t help but smile at the playful little imp, despite the fact that the animal hadn’t yet learned the fine art of sleeping through the night.

“Good morning, Justice RBG.” Sienna’s throat was parched and her voice sounded groggy as she greeted her ornery kitten.

She vaguely remembered being batted in the face with soft paws and extended claws in the wee hours of the night. When she’d ignored the kitten’s antics and placed the animal at the foot of the bed, the kitten had crawled up onto her nightstand and stepped on the button to turn on her bedside lamp. Sienna had been startled awake by the bright light illuminating her dark bedroom.

She had quickly turned off the light and resettled the kitten by her feet, but once her adorable pet realized that Sienna didn’t want her to turn on the lamp, it became her sole quest in life to repeat the naughty trick. Eventually, Sienna had to get up to unplug the lamp.

Stretching and rolling out of bed, Sienna picked up the fluffy kitten as she padded towards her bathroom. Stooping to plug the lamp back in, she made a mental note to purchase a new lamp with a kitten-proof switch.

Quickly tiring of being cuddled, the kitten squirmed to get free from her arms. When she gingerly put her pet down on the thick, muted blue carpet, the animal immediately attacked the lamp’s cord.

“No.” Sienna told her firmly, scooping her up again and shaking a finger at her light pink, triangular nose. The animal began purring loudly, and Sienna couldn’t help but grin. It was impossible for her to stay angry with the adorable troublemaker.

“It’s a good thing you’re so cute,” Sienna told the animal while they were locked in the bathroom together.

When Sienna emerged and headed towards the kitchen, the kitten followed her. Sienna found it reassuring to have a companion by her side as she prattled around her living space. It had never before dawned on her how lonely her existence had been when she’d lived alone in this condo.

While Sienna started the Keurig machine, Justice jumped onto the barstool and climbed up to the kitchen counter. Sienna bugged her eyes out, stunned. “Well, that’s a new trick,” she commented as she put the kitten back on the floor.

When her phone buzzed in the pocket of her robe, she glanced at the incoming text. Maddie was asking her if she already had a printed and color-coded agenda for their ‘boring night of quiet’ next Saturday.

Sienna chuckled at her friend’s gentle ribbing and typed back: You know me too well.

When Maddie responded, My copy doesn’t need to be laminated, Sienna laughed at her friend’s sarcastic wit. The sound startled Justice, making the cat dart into the living room as if her tail had just caught fire.

Sienna wrapped her hands around her mug of hot tea and rounded the corner to the living room to see what mischief the cat was getting into now. She didn’t see the animal at first, but a movement caught her eye when the kitten climbed further up the brand-new, textured velvet curtains Sienna had splurged on after her appointment to the bench by the Governor.

“No!” Sienna shouted as she set down her mug and sprinted across the room. She gingerly plucked the cat’s claws from the fabric as she said, “You are a full-time job, young lady. I would think you should be a bit more grateful for me opening my home to you after the way your life started when you were abandoned with your siblings in a cardboard box in an alley.”

Justice’s pupils were dilated, and she craned her neck to look around the room, as if expecting to see an alien or overly large dog coming for her.

“You’re not listening to me,” Sienna sighed, “And I’m now officially a crazy cat lady, having full-blown conversations with a kitten.”

She stooped to recover one of Justice’s numerous toys from the floor. Jingling the bell on the stuffed mouse’s tail grabbed the kitten’s attention. While Justice was enthralled with the toy, Sienna took advantage of the moment of peace by plopping down on the couch and arranging the kitten on her lap.

Rubbing the back of her index finger along her pet’s soft belly, she said, “You have very big shoes to fill, since I named you after my personal heroine, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Now, I think R.B.G. would tell you to be a lady and to be independent––which you definitely are––but she would also suggest a bit more decorum, especially with antics that might get you injured or killed.”

She knew the wily kitten wasn’t paying a bit of attention to her words, but it made her feel better to say them.

When her phone jangled, Sienna sighed and reached for the blaring device. It was now Sienna’s job to judge people, but her mother deserved the ‘lifetime achievement’ award for it. Mentally preparing for her weekly onslaught of questions about why she hadn’t yet found a man to marry her, Sienna answered the phone, “Hello, Mother.”

Her mother launched into her spiel without bothering with a greeting. “Let me guess, you’re huddled up in the house alone, talking to that blasted cat…”

Sienna made a scoffing sound in her throat, unwilling to acknowledge how spot-on her mother’s depiction of her personal life was. She silently defended her choice to focus on her career.

Almost as if her mother had heard her inner dialogue, the woman said, “Even that female Supreme Court Justice, who you always admired, found time for a husband and children. Family is important, sweetheart. A gavel won’t keep you warm at night or take care of you in your old age.”

Her mother had found a new angle to dig at her with, and it was a sensitive area. Deciding she’d endured enough, Sienna faked a frantic tone. “Sorry, mom… I need to go because the kitten is getting into something she shouldn’t. Bye.”

She didn’t give her mother a chance to object before tapping the button to end the call. Smiling down at the tiny, gray puffball snoozing in her lap, she said, “Sorry to make up stories about you like that, but I’m sure it won’t be long until you find your way into trouble.”

The kitten ignored her words and continued napping. Taking advantage of the downtime, Sienna leaned over to grab her journal to begin jotting down notes for Saturday’s agenda. If Maddie was going to accuse her of it anyway, she might as well give in to the allure of her detail-oriented, organized tendencies.

Once she had a few items on the list, she found herself tapping her pen anxiously against the pad of paper. As much as she wanted to focus on the fun evening-in with Maddie that she was planning for next weekend, she couldn’t stop dreading what Maddie might be scheming for the following one. She had a vague sense that her comfort zone was about to be obliterated.