Excerpt
From What Erika Wants "They're not going to hold it against Mom for bringing me, are they?" she asked. "It's just that she wanted me to see what was happening." Jean reached her hand out but stopped before she touched her. "It's a simple misunderstanding about the rules. Judge Gifford saw what had happened, decided to assign me to you, and moved on to other things. It won't get in the way of the case. It can be helpful to have your own lawyer. You can call me day or night. I like to get calls from clients, and my husband can sleep through anything." "Are most of them around my age?" Erika asked. Jean smiled. "You're old. A lot of my clients are five and six. Three, some. When they're that young, I usually get appointed guardian. I go to court and say what I think is best for them and why, and the judge decides. When I'm the attorney, the children tell me what they want, and I try to get it for them." Erika wondered if Jean really believed that. A lot of adults believed what they said about themselves. Mr. Janik, her guidance counselor, thought he knew everything about every kid in the ninth grade. He also thought they all loved him. Amazing. Still, he was better than the ones who told you they wanted you to be free to choose for yourself, but really just wanted to push their plans for you.