I was sitting in a small holding cell. I was alone. The bed was hard and the toilet stainless steel. I was dressed in a baggy orange jumpsuit. I had no memory of getting to the cell or of why I would be there.
On the wall at the far end of the larger room where the holding cells were located the clock read 10:18. Since sunlight was coming through the window I figured that meant it was 10:18 in the morning.
The door under the clock opened and a man dressed in a dark gray uniform came in. He had the look of authority. I couldn't remember why I was in the cell or where exactly I was. He walked to my cell and said, "Mr. Walters, please follow me."
He opened the cell door and I followed him. We went out the same door he had entered and down a long hallway. At the end of the hallway he opened a door and bid me enter. As I stepped through the door I realized we were in court. Sitting up high behind the oaken bench was the judge, a woman who appeared to be in her fifties, wearing a navy blue robe. The two lawyer's tables each had a single person sitting at them and four people sitting behind them in the audience. The four women sitting in the audience were all familiar but I couldn't quite identify them. All of the people in the court were women. The man who had escorted me to the courtroom had not entered.
"Mr. Walters, please sit at the table to your left." The judge said. I did as she asked. When I sat the woman sitting with me at the table leaned to me and said, "I'm Marsha Kings, your lawyer. I'll do the best I can for you."
I didn't say anything. Hell, I didn't know what I had done or even how I got here.
The gavel hit the block on the judge's bench and we were officially in session. The lawyer at the other table called out the name of Carol Walters and one of the four women seated in the audience stood up. She walked to the witness' chair and after being sworn in to tell the truth, she sat down.
"Ms Walters, how long have you known Mr. Walters, the defendant?"
"We met January third, 1997."
"And married?"
"April 14th, 1999."
"Children?"
"Two. Carolyn and Sara. Carolyn is twenty-two, Sara is twenty."
"Have either of you ever been married before?"
"Objection. Calls for a conclusion about someone other than herself."
"Rephrase or move on." The judge said.
"Have you ever been married to anyone other than Mr. Walters?"
"No."
My head was swimming. The woman testified we were married. I didn't recognize her as my wife. She said we had two daughters and I couldn't remember anything about daughters or being married. What was going on?
My lawyer leaned to me and handed me a note. It read: "Your memory has been blocked. Everything testified to, is true. Relax."
Blocked? How? Why?
The witness supplied details of our marriage. I started wondering what I was charged with and what the penalty might be if I was guilty. The details were details.
She supplied a detailed diary of our sex life between 1997 and three months ago. How many times we had coitus, which positions, any and all unusual sexual activities and my requests for oral sex over the years. She even had notes about the three times our daughters had caught us having coitus and my reaction each time. I was surprised I wasn't careful enough to not get caught by the daughters I didn't remember having.
My lawyer asked MS Walters no questions.
The next witness called was Carolyn Walters. She looked a lot like the first witness except this one was younger. Both were trim and dressed nicely, blond and showing lots of leg. Neither had a big chest but I didn't think chests were my thing, anyway.
The younger MS Walters testified that from the time she was sixteen she had made efforts to seduce me and to flaunt her body in front of me to that end. She testified that I had uniformly rebuffed her advances.
"Exactly, what did you do to provoke a sexual response from your father?" The lawyer asked.
Carolyn opened a notebook and read: "In May 2018 our family went camping at Carpenteria State Beach in California. I made sure I was nude when Dad entered our tent. I made no move to cover myself. He backed out of the tent and went for a walk, alone. In June of the same year I entered the shower at home while he was showering. Instead of touching me or anything he got out of the shower. His penis did react favorably to my nudity but he did nothing other than become erect."
"Are those the only two incidents?"
"No. In 2020 I snuck into bed with Dad when Mom was visiting our grandparents for three days. He got angry when I touched his penis. He demanded that I not sleep with him. On the second day he awoke with me sucking him and became even more angry. He did not come to bed the third night. Just before Thanksgiving that year Mom took me shopping and we bought things that both Mom and I thought might help weaken his resolve."
She produced pictures of her wearing various outfits. Even from the distance I was from the photos I could see how sexy they were and how good Carolyn looked in them. A buzzer went off. The judge looked at me and said, "Mr Walters, are you becoming aroused?"
Before I could lie and say "No" my lawyer grasped my erection and said, "Yes, your honor, he is."
She dismissed Carolyn from the stand and called me to the stand. I went. I swore to tell the truth and all that. The judge motioned me into the chair.
"Mr. Walters, can you explain your strange behavior?"
"Your honor, I don't even know that it's my behavior. I have no memory of the things testified to here today."
"If I tell you that the woman who was sitting up here testifying was and is your daughter will you believe me?"
"Yes. Why would you lie?"
"I don't. Carolyn, stand here before your father."
She came from the audience and stood in front of the lawyers tables.
"Take off your dress, please."