Adie

"That's my big brother, Trace, and he is the strongest person in the whole world," she announces boldly, pointing down at him. "And that mean lady was just telling stories, because Trace always takes care of me."

"Does he ever leave you alone for a long time?" Vivien Anise asks quietly, and I can see she is trying not to be swayed by a four year old.

"No," Adie says. "Sometimes Trace has to go to work, and then Ken takes care of us. Sometimes she gives me cookies," Adie pauses, smiling. "Do you have cookies, Mrs. Lady? I like the kind with chocolate chips best."

"I do like cookies, Miss Cain," the judge says seriously, and Adie relaxes.

"It's okay, Trace," she announces. "She's a nice lady after all."

Vivien Anise almost smiles, then redirects Adie back to her question. "Does Trace ever leave you with just Rory and your other brother, Drew?"

"Sometimes when he has to work late at Evans," Adie says, her tone a little sad. "And Rory won't let me do anything, cause he's afraid that I'll leave the house."

"Do you ever leave the house alone?"

Adie hung her head. "One time when I was naughty," she says. "Trace was in the shower after work, and Rory and Drew were doing homework, so I sneaked outside to play in the snow."

"What happened?" Vivien Anise asks, and Adie kicks her feet against the chair.

"Trace was mad," she says quietly. "He said I must never go out by myself, because the island was too big even for sea angels to be wandering around."

"Sea angels?"

"I'm a sea angel," Adie tells her seriously. "They sing about the sea and sometimes they dance on the rock and Trace paints them. He won't let me dance by the cliff, though, even though Ken gets to."

I blush furiously, and I catch Vivien Anise's look, surprised but not as dark anymore.

"You can hear the sea angels in the thunderstorms, did you know? When the sky shouts and is dark and scary, and I used to hide under Trace's bed, but then he told me that the sea angels are out on the cliffs, dancing in the storm and keeping us safe. I'm going to be a sea angel when I grow up."

I look around, and everyone in the court is smiling except for Sara and Adam. Beside Adam, his daughter Gia, who couldn't be more than eight or nine, is smiling shyly up at Adie.

"Thank you, Miss Cain. I don't have any more questions."

"I have something to say, Mrs. Lady," Adie says seriously, folding her arms. "I do not get into fights. That meanie boy with red hair"-- she points to Adam's son Carey-- "said I was a bastard because I don't have a Daddy."

Vivien Anise raises her eyebrows, and I can hear people behind us muttering angrily.

"But I don't need a Daddy," Adie says proudly, her chin jutting out fiercely. "Or a mommy. Do you wanna know why, Mrs. Lady?"

"Why?" Vivien Anise asks encouragingly.

Adie stands up in her chair, climbs over the barrier before anyone can stop her, and climbs up onto the judge's desk. "Mrs. Lady, I don't need anybody because I have Ken and Trace. Daddies and mommies leave sometimes, but Trace is never ever ever going to leave."