Joe could be an ass. Many people thought so. Actually, he’d only recently gotten off the phone with his wife.

“Why are you being a dick,” she’d yelled into the phone.

“I’m busy right now, Kristy,” he’d replied firmly. “I gotta go.”

“She really wants to go to SCAD or RISD. Why are you acting like this?”

“Did she get a full-ride scholarship at either of those places I know nothing about?”

“You know she hasn’t. You’re being…”

“A dick. I know,” his face reddened. We’re not shelling out 40 to 50 grand a year when she could go to U.R.I. or R.I.C. for way less. They have the same major. I gotta go!”

The juvenile unit prosecutor ended the call, stood from his desk, threw his laptop into his toffee leather satchel, and put on his suit jacket. It fit more snug than usual. He made a note to hit the gym a little harder going forward. The six-foot-one man with ash-brown hair had a dad bod, but no one would describe him as out of shape. He just didn’t have the same physique as when he played baseball in high school or when he was in the Navy. His chest was still defined and hardy; his stomach had the slightest hint of a pudge.

He hefted a heavier overcoat onto his shoulders and left his office. He was about to be late for a conference. The 45 year-old father of three rushed to his meeting.

“So nice of you to join us, Mr. Connolly,” the family court judge sneered.

“My apologies, Your Honor,” Joe offered.

“Well,” the annoyed woman pushed up her glasses. “Let’s get on with it.”

Joe, of course, represented the State of Rhode Island. The k** charged had a small team of people with him. He recognized two of them – the public defender and the social worker. He’d worked with them many times before. The others were unfamiliar. He pegged the two women he didn’t know as probably a grandmother and an aunt or mom to defendant. The guy in the room seemed to not quite fit in with the others.

Introductions revealed it all. The other man was a volunteer in the special advocacy program.

Joe presented what he knew of the alleged crime. The 13 year-old was charged with arson in the 4th degree. The public defender offered up evidence of restitution the defendant was doing by working for the victim and shared the notes from the counseling sessions. The social worker and special advocate vouched for the young man too.

“Mr. Connolloy,” would the State be satisfied with a continuance.

“Yes, Your Honor,” the father of three replied. “Mr. Bradley has been sufficiently working towards the atoning for this matter.”

“Very well. I’m going to continue this for another 30 days. Adjourned,” she tapped her gavel,

Joe gathered his belongings and headed out the door. His normal gait was more like a sprint. By the elevators, heard someone calling out.