Who: Adam and Lizzy Where: Las Vegas free clinic What: Helping out a mother and her kid When: Earlier in the week Warnings: Talk of abuse, but generally a nice fuzzy ending.
The clinic was always busy, but on a weekday it was mostly filled with people Adam actually wanted to help. Single mothers concerned about their baby’s cough, young women who got harassed on her way home from school, senior citizens that were just looking for a little attention. They were better than drunks who usually deserved whatever injury they cried about. In fact, if all Vegas had to offer were tourists that broke their nose stumbling over their own feet, Adam would have likely lost a chunk of his compassion in this city. Maybe that would have been for the best.
But, for now he found himself holding a fourth month year old baby, comforting the mother in Spanish that the child simply needs a couple more blankets when he sleeps and the clinic had a few soft ones to spare. The relief on her face made him smile. Made him happy that he was at a clinic again instead of wandering. After the check up, the receptionist called his desk and told him Lizzy the Lawyer wanted to see him. Glad that she decided to take some time with him, Adam went up to the front desk to greet her.
“Miss Raleigh?” Adam asked, extending his hand. “Sorry. I asked around about you. Found out your last name. Also, that you have blonde hair. That was the extent of things the nurses would tell me.” He gave a playful wayward glance to the receptionist. “For a Las Vegas clinic, they sure aren’t very gossipy.”
Lizzy always looked forward to clinic days, and not just because she got to leave the office at noon. It always did her heart good to do something for someone who actually needed her. The firm she worked for was posh, focusing on corporate and real estate law. While her clients paid well, at the end of the day their situations were not dire, and they didn’t really need Lizzy - they would still have a home to go to at the end of the day, and very few of them were trying to figure out how to leave an abusive husband. But the firm was incredibly good about allowing time off for pro bono work. In fact, they required at least 20 hours a month, a number she willingly exceeded most months.
She had gone home and changed into a pair of jeans and a nice button down shirt. She hated going to the clinic in a suit. She always felt that it intimidated the clients she helped, and she’d rather make them feel comfortable. She grabbed her briefcase and headed over to the clinic, making a brief stop to get donuts and coffee for the nurses. She knew it was always appreciated.
She walked in and asked for Dr. Waterhouse. It wasn’t long before he came out, and Lizzy was actually surprised. She wasn’t sure what she expected, but he wasn’t it. When he spoke of how the nurses wouldn’t give up the gossip on her, she actually laughed. “I bribe them with donuts and coffee every time I come here. That’s why.” She winked at him, and extended her hand. “Call me Lizzy, please,” she said in her lilting Southern accent.
“Lizzy.” He smiled and then motioned for her to follow him back to his office. “Call me Adam, then. Waterhouse is too stuffy. Only use it when I need to sound important.” Adam had only been at the clinic for a little under a month, but he had a way of taking the helm of the ship whether they liked it or not. The clinic was surprisingly pleasant, but lacked the edge it needed to help as many people as they could. Adam was their edge. He had experience with clinics, but more than that, he didn’t belong there. He was the sort of doctor that should have been at some cancer curing facility or high-end hospital for rich people. He wasn’t rejected by the big name hospitals, he rejected them. Since he had shown up, Adam had claimed his own office, upped supplies by three percent and convinced a wealthy heiress to donate an x-ray machine. And, that was just the beginning.
“I note a small twang in your voice.” Adam held the door open for her. His office was cramped, but surprisingly clean and neat. There wasn’t much paperwork for him to scatter about the place just yet. “From which part of the South are you from? I spent a little time there, myself.”
“Good to be on a first name basis then,” Lizzy said, shifting her briefcase into her other hand. She really needed to invest in a lighter computer. She looked Adam over again, still trying to peg who he was. He just seemed a bit too together to be working at the free clinic. Usually they got doctors who couldn’t get a job anywhere else.
“Well I was born in Dallas, but I’ve been out of the south for about 12 years. Four years in Berkley, California, and then here.” She shrugged slightly. “The accent never goes away, though I don’t sound nearly the southern belle I was when I left Dallas.” To be fair, she wanted to keep some of her southern belle identity. She thought there were some amazing virtues to being hospitable and compassionate, but she could do without the gossip and the backbiting. She glanced at Adam again. “So, what can I be of assistance with? My specialty is property law and contracts, but I’ve done plenty of criminal and family law through my pro bono work.”
“Mmm.” Adam reached into his desk and pulled out a file. It was already a little worn, like he had poured over it on a regular basis. “There’s a woman and her son, aged twenty nine and eight, respectively. They’ve dropped by here nearly a dozen times in the middle of the day to clean up bruises and cuts. I’m starting to think-” He tapped his fingers on the pages and then slid them over to her. “She lingers, you know? Women who linger in clinics with a child in tow usually have something they want to fix that I can’t help them with. All signs point to abuse. I’ve tried to talk to her about it, but she seems scared. I think she needs a woman she can trust. That can help her.”
It was a story that Lizzy had seen far too often. In many folks who did legal aid, they developed a jaded perspective on the people they helped, especially in abuse cases. It took multiple attempts for most women to leave their abusers, and it could get frustrating to watch it over and over again. However, Lizzy understood in some way. She had a rather toxic relationship that bordered on abusive with her own mother. So it gave her patience most would not have.
“Well, is she scheduled to come in today?” She reached into her briefcase and pulled out a small three by five card organizer. She used it to keep business cards for various charities, food banks, and shelters in the area so that she could refer clients to other services she could use to help them. “If not, I could leave my card and the card for one of the better battered family shelters in the county. But I’d really like to meet her.” She gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s hard to leave an abusive situation, but it can be done with support.”
“Yes, actually. There are other cases, but I thought I’d share this one since she should be arriving shortly.” He was grateful to have an ally here in Vegas since all the good lawyers he knew were all back in Seattle. “How would you like to handle this? I usually encourage the child to go to our play area while we speak with the mother, but if you’d rather them both be there, I can adapt to that as well.” It was clear that it had been a while since Adam had handled such a problem. As if the parts of him that were used for helping people beyond a good stitching up were rusted and outdated. He wanted to help, though. There wasn’t a point in letting that part of him fall away for good.
Lizzy thought about it for a moment. Every case was different, and Adam knew this client, this woman, better than she did. “I’d like to meet with her alone. A lot of people don’t want to talk about their problems in front of their children. I can understand why. It can actually be a form of abuse - it’s called Parental Alienation.” Another thing Lizzy knew all too well, her mother was the queen of it.
She paused for one moment and pulled out her phone. “I am going to text Amy at the shelter and see if they have any open beds. If she decides she wants to go, we’ll need to get here there quickly. They can arrange for a sheriff’s deputy to go with her tomorrow to get things from her home.” She quickly sent the text and then nodded.
“Well informed. Prepared. I like that.” Adam’s best version of a compliment on a professional level. He allowed her the contact information along with a description of the family while he took back a couple pages of the medical history to sign and quickly highlight. They’d have to run the paperwork fast if this woman made her choice tonight. The swifter this man was put in jail, the easier the transition would be for the family.
He looked up from his work, almost finished with the necessary pieces. “Would you make sure I have authorization to meet them at the shelter as well? Would like to remain a support to the family if I am able.” Adam closed the file just as the receptionist buzzed him to tell him Rita and her son, Jeffery had arrived. He stood, buttoning and straightening his doctor’s coat before gesturing for Lizzy to follow him into the examination room.
Waiting for them was a tired woman who looked well past her young age. Circles under her eyes, a bruised lip and cuts on her forehead and neck. She covered up her arms and hands extensively out of shame. Adam remembered the first time he met the woman. Her cuts were infected, deep. Bruises green and blotched with repeated injuries. He did the best he could, of course, but Lizzy would be able to make sure it wouldn’t happen again. “Hello, Jeff.” Adam nodded to the mother, but gave his attention towards the boy. They chatted for a second as Adam ushered the boy towards a nurse that promised him snacks and other kids to play with. “Nice kid.” Adam looked back at the two women. “Rita, I didn’t ask you in because a medical problem. I actually wanted you to meet a friend, Lizzy Raleigh.”
Rita looked at them curiously and Adam decided it was better if Lizzy explained who she was.
Lizzy quickly sent another text including Adam’s information to the shelter before following him into the examining room. The woman before her made her stomach tie up in knots. Lizzy knew she should have developed some professional distance by now, but it never failed to get to her, when she saw a woman like this. She let Adam handle getting the woman’s son out of the room and the introductions before she walked over to the woman and gently extended her hand. “My name is Lizzy, and I’m a lawyer. I’m not just a lawyer, though... I hope I can be someone that understands.” She had almost forgotten Adam was in the room. Her attention was focused solely on the woman in front of her.
“I left an abusive situation when I was 18. It’s not easy... but I can make sure that you and your son would be safe, and that whomever is hurting you will never be able to do it again. And I will personally handle any restraining orders, divorce decrees or whatever legal paperwork we need to file.” She placed a reassuring hand on the woman’s shoulder, hoping that this woman would listen, would save herself, and her child. She knew she didn’t always have the words to say, but there was something about her demeanor, and the fact she actually cared that seemed to make people trust her and put people at ease.
Rita gave a nervous look to Adam, who nodded and crossed his arms. “But, I’m not- he’s not. This isn’t such a big deal.” Rita said to Lizzy, her body seeming to deflate a little with that last statement. She was lying to herself. That’s what killed Adam. “Rita,” He said softly, still a couple feet away from the two women. He cared, too, but his role here was to tell her it was a big deal. “I’ve examined you and your son nearly a dozen times since I’ve been hired here. You admitted the bruising and cuts were not accidents. Furthermore, I could prove they were signs of abuse with some simple photographs.”
He couldn’t help how clinical his response was, but it wasn’t out of coldness. Just a simple lack of ability to communicate without being direct and honest. “Last time you were here, Jeff suffered a blow dangerously close to his kidney. Just an inch closer with more force, and I’d be doing surgery on the boy right now.” Adam gave a sympathetic frown as Rita started to tear up and shake her head.
“No, no you don’t understand doctor.” Rita protested. “He loves us, he just has anger problems, that’s all.”
“Those anger problems keep getting worse though, don’t they?” Lizzy tried to keep her voice quiet, soothing. She knew that this was not the time to be angry or forceful. “He probably just first started out slapping you, then punching...” She knew the statistics, and they were frightening. Eventually, it would end, and it would end in a way that would be permanent. That was why it was vital to try to get her out.
“He will kill you eventually. It happens, I’ve seen it happen. No one wants you to become that statistic.” She glanced at the door, where she knew the woman’s son was outside playing. “And I know you don’t want your son growing up thinking this is how to solve problems - with violence.” She was about to pull out the big guns, something that she hated doing, but she also knew that this was for this woman’s own good. “He’ll start school soon, won’t he? The teachers will notice the bruises - and they will call CPS.” She let the statement hang in the air. She knew the woman knew the implications of a call to CPS.
Adam raised his eyebrows, actually surprised she mentioned the CPS. Yes, it was a certain reality that all it took was one teacher who could recognize abuse, but that was a loving parent’s worst nightmare. It wasn’t just the pain from being separated from a child, it was the shame in not being able to care for them. He rested his chin on the back of his hand thoughtfully. “And, the adoption circuit isn’t something you want for your child. Especially in Nevada.” Adam added without getting into the details. If Rita continued resisting, he would though. Whatever it took to keep her and her son safe.
Rita looked to them, visibly feeling both trapped and scared. She took a seat on a plastic chair next to the examination bench and wrapped her arms around herself. A moment passed and Adam glanced to Lizzy. They might have scared her too much. The whole thing was a gamble. But, another moment passed and Rita finally spoke up. Fighting back tears. “What would happen if I- if I tried-” She couldn’t finish the sentence.
“If you want to leave, I will make a phone call right now to a friend of mine who runs a shelter for abused women.” Lizzy’s voice softened, and she gave the woman a small, reassuring smile. “The whole place is safe. It’s surrounded by a large fence with cameras on it, and has an armed security guard. No one gets in that doesn’t have permission.” She pulled out a file folder and pulled out a boilerplate document she kept with her. “If you sign this, it makes me your attorney, and I will go tomorrow morning, as soon as court opens, and file for a restraining order and child support.” She didn’t try to force her to sign, or even ask. She just wanted to lay out the road to the woman.
“The shelter will contact the sheriff's office once we have a restraining order, and they will accompany you to your home, so you can remove your things, as well as your son’s things. Then, the shelter will help you. That might mean moving, or going back to school, but they will give you the tools to live and thrive on your own.” She moved over and perched on the edge of the exam table, trying to somehow will her strength to the other woman. She glanced at Adam. They made a pretty good team. It was rare she met someone who had the passion and compassion that she had.
“Local police do not take kindly to abusive partners. They will keep personal tabs on him to make sure you and your son can live in peace.” Adam thought back to his time in Seattle. He would have had one of his vigilantes keep an eye on this man, but here he’d have to rely on the police. Nevada was a red state filled with the sort of cops who might have played a little too dangerously, but had old fashioned morals. They wouldn’t let someone who beat his wife get off easy. “More than that. Lizzy and I will check in with you through the whole process. You have my emergency number. Will always answer it for you and Jeffrey.” He wasn’t afraid of the husband and Lizzy wasn’t either. That was enough strength to help this woman get back on her feet.
Rita looked up at them. “What about money?” She finally asked. That was practical. Adam could respect that. He cleared his throat. “Rita, you are a hardworking woman. If you stay that way, all you need to get back on your feet will be provided by the shelter. It won’t be easy for a year or two, but you’ll get past it. You and your son will look back on this with pride of your strength and unity.” Rita managed a smile and then looked to Lizzy. Adam knew that without Lizzy, this may not have gone smoothly. There was something about having a strong, capable female presence to push the process along. More than that, Lizzy seemed to be prepared with a plan. If Rita could see the finish line, she could make that last leap.
“Okay.” Rita finally said with a nod.
Lizzy wasted no time, pulling out the other forms she would need Rita to sign and fill out, at the same time calling the shelter. It was a whirlwind of signatures and paperwork, but by the time Amy from the shelter arrived, Lizzy had gotten everything she needed to file the restraining order, legal separation, and child support paperwork. She knew that Rita would have an even longer day tomorrow, filling out the paperwork for food stamps and other assistance. It wouldn’t be easy, but Lizzy had a good feeling about this one.
Just before the social worker arrived from the shelter, Lizzy handed Rita a small envelope. “It’s a gift card to Walmart. It’s just a hundred bucks, but it will let you and your son get some clothes and basic items for the next few days.” She wished she could do more, but even with the funds at work she could use, there were so many women who needed help, and she had to stretch the funds as far as they would go.
By the time things started to wrap up, Rita seemed overwhelmed, but not devastated. She knew this would be a hard fight, but it was good fortune that she cared enough about her son to battle through it. The shelter, Lizzy and Adam did their best to make her feel like she wasn’t alone in this. Because she wasn’t. There was no way she could do this without the help of some well placed professionals. Adam believed the only reason why domestic abuse prevailed was because there wasn’t enough support systems. Enough people willing to reach out and stop the violence without expecting much in return. Rita, exhausted, gave Lizzy a quick hug and a thank you before leaving with the social worker.
Adam waved them off and then turned to Lizzy once they were gone. “Humans at their best fight and prevail against the worst odds. Rita couldn’t have taken the first step without you.” He was impressed, but more than that, he was happy to have her on his side. “I saw hope in her eyes. Behind all the pain. That’s a good start.”
Once Rita left, Lizzy finally let out a breath she felt like she had been holding the entire time she was speaking to the woman. She slowly and meticulously put her things back into her bag, making sure that she put all of Rita’s papers in a new folder. The routine organizing gave Lizzy enough time to get her own emotions in check. She might be a strong woman, but she saw the pain, and she knew that there would always be scars.
“I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t been a good enough doctor to notice the signs. Most doctors, most people today don’t notice anything. Everyone is just trapped in their little world.” She gave him another smile, though some of the light she had in her when she first entered the office had gone away, replaced by something fiercer, more determined. She would do everything in her power to make sure Rita made it.
“Well, most need a wake up call that we’re not in this on our own.” Adam walked to the receptionist’s desk for an emergency donut. It was nearly the end of the night and the clinic was finally starting to quiet down. He scavenged through the donut box for the last glazed and chomped down on it like a child who hadn’t had a sugary treat in his whole life. “I still owe you a sandwich. Maybe another time. I think we might make a good team.”
“Next time I will bring you your own box,” Lizzy said with a laugh, watching him devour the donut. Or maybe she’d bring by something homemade. Poor dear looked like he hadn’t had a home cooked meal in ages. He probably worked himself as hard as she did. Something about watching him act like a two year old in need of a sugar fix helped her shake off some of the lingering emotion from their meeting with Rita. “And yes, you still owe me a sandwich, and I fully intend on collecting.”
“Luckily for you, I’m well versed on the best local delis. None of that subway nonsense.” Adam smiled brightly. “Now, get going home. I think you’ve done plenty for tonight. And, I still need to stick around to see if someone fell into the fountain again.” He gave a look like it happened more often than she might think. “I’ll see you soon, Lizzy the Lawyer.” Adam gave a wave, adjusting the stethoscope around his neck and returned back to his examination room.