Howdy Freewriters🤗! Welcome to my 5 Minute Freewrite blog😊.
Jennifer was running out of time. She was yet to find an affordable lawyer to take on her case. The ones listed online were far too demanding for her. No way she could afford them, not with all the bills stacking higher than excuses on a Monday morning. She had one more chance at a hearing, one that would determine not only her fate but that of her three children.
She scanned the websites again, maybe she had overlooked it. But nothing came along. Her mind tugged her towards her drawers, maybe, just maybe, there was hope.
She picked up her old college yearbook. As she flipped through it absentmindedly, a card fell out on the floor. She bent to retrieve it and; froze. Right there on the floor lay a card that looked too new for her old yearbook. It read on the face:
Henry Calf: Lawyer of Last Resort. A phone number, an email address, and a mailbox number.
Hope and fear swirled in her gut like a badly blended milkshake. She grabbed her phone. Chewing on her nails, she punched in the numbers, shut her eyes in a brief prayer, and hesitantly hit dial. After a few rings, a deep, lazy voice answered.
"What do you want?"
Jennifer hesitated. “Uh… I need legal help. I found your card. It says you’re the ‘Lawyer of Last Resort.’”
A long pause. Then a sigh that sounded more like a groaning chair across a floor than human. “That card was supposed to self-destruct.”
“What?”
“Never mind. What’s the case?”
She explained, stumbling through the details. Custody. Debt. One last hearing. Silence again.
Then Henry spoke, his voice sluggish, weary, yet oddly poetic. “Sounds like a mess. I like messes. They make me feel alive.”
Jennifer blinked. “So… you’ll take it?”
“I’ll take it. But I charge with sandwiches. Tuna preferred. And I don’t do mornings. Please no mornings!”
"Uuh... Sor–"
Click. The line went dead.
Jennifer stood frozen, phone in hand, wondering if she'd just hired a genius or a lunatic. Either way, her last chance had just picked up the phone.
Thank you for reading❤️!