Passing Judgment

She didn’t know what it was, but there was something strange about the girl named Rinoa. She was surrounded by suspicion and mystery. There was still that question of whether she had tried to poison her ex-husband. She had reacted strongly against it, but don’t the guilty typically say they are innocent?





Quistis was bewildered. Did Rinoa attempt to murder her husband or was she simply an innocent bystander to her husband’s greed and hate?





Quistis did not know. Nor did she want to know. Rinoa was a mysterious woman. Underneath that smile hid a woman yet to be deciphered.





“Quistis,” Rinoa called, opening her car door. “You coming?”





Then again, maybe it was better not to know who she really was.





Quistis opened the car door and sat down on the front seat. She buckled herself and crossed her legs. Folding her hands, she turned to the driver (Rinoa) and smiled.





“Shall we go?”





Rinoa nodded. “Oh yes I’m dying for a coffee.”





On the way to the coffee shop Rinoa asked some interesting questions about herself. Some of them Quistis was unprepared for.





“So, Quistis,” she began. “You’re a divorce attorney?”





As if she didn’t know!





“Yes,” she answered.





“How long have you been one?”





“Oh, for about 10 years. Give or take a couple years,” she answered smoothly. She stared intently at Rinoa, like a lion hunting its prey. “What do you do?” she asked innocently.





“I’m a teacher.”





“Oh, what do you teach?”





“German.”





“German? Isn’t that the language that no one wants to speak?”





It was true; after the war everyone avoided Germany and anything German like flies.





“Yeah, but someone has to teach it,” she smiled. “I guess I’m the person for the job.”





“But aren’t you afraid of getting hurt?”





“No,” she said quietly. “I don’t really feel fear anymore.”





Quistis sat back in her seat. She supposed there was more to Rinoa than met the eye.





They drove along Manhattan and took at left at the fork in the road. Quistis knew where they were going.





China Town.





Quistis personally hated that place with a red-hot passion. In her mind somehow the Asian people were somehow scary. She wasn’t racist; she wouldn’t allow herself to be. Not even for a moment. They just brought back bad memories.





Quistis had an Asian boyfriend a long time ago. She didn’t recall his name. All that she remembered about him was that he was creepy beyond belief. He would move too fast in the relationship, pushing her to spend the night with him when she wasn’t ready and saying things to her that sent shivers down her spine. She brought to mind this one time that she spent with him. He told her that he wanted to chew on her ears while she slept. Quistis ended the relationship shortly after that.





Now she was going to the place that brought back all of those horrible memories. How was she going to survive?





“Rinoa,” she asked, wanting to make sure of their route of travel. “Are we going to China town?”





Rinoa grinned. “Of course. There’s this awesome coffee place there that just kicks the butt of all the other coffee shops in the city.”





Quistis groaned and sunk into her seat. Why, of all the places did she have to go to China Town?





Rinoa noticed there was something wrong with Quistis. “Was it something I said?” she asked innocently.





“No,” Quistis answered honestly. “I just don’t like China Town.”





“Oh,” Rinoa sighed. “I just like going here because Squall and I used to go here all the time. It was sooo romantic.”





Quistis wiped a hand across her face. Another thing she didn’t want to hear: how much better other peoples’ love lives were than hers. It pissed her off. She rolled over to the side and looked out the window.





A building was coming into view. At the top of the building were Chinese words. It looked like a wooden triangle with hay splattered on top. Quistis sighed. It was going to be a long talk.





The two walked inside the oriental coffee shop. Sure enough, it stayed true to its name. There was a board with various names of coffee and tea. The waiters and waitresses were dressed in oriental outfits. It was the strangest place Quistis had ever seen. She couldn’t believe it.





When it was their time to order, Rinoa ordered Oolong tea and Quistis ordered simple black coffee. They took a place at one of the tables.





Rinoa smiled as they sat down. “See,” she argued sweetly. “This place isn’t so bad.”





Quistis looked around, trying to find a piece of evidence to prove Rinoa wrong. “I guess so.”





The waitresses came quickly with the tea and coffee, placing them on the table. Quistis began to take a sip of her coffee. Rinoa looked bewildered.





“Why did you order black coffee?”





“I like black coffee.”





“But it’s so bitter!”





“That’s why I like it,” Quistis explained.





“Because it’s bitter?”





“Somewhat. I consider myself a bitter person at times. The coffee helps me remember who I am.”





Rinoa reached out her hand and placed it on the table. “That was a very nice story,” she smiled. “Squall used to tell me stories like that when we were first married.”





“What happened,” Quistis asked, taking a sip of the coffee. It was obvious that things weren’t that way now. The two of them fought like animals and even that was an understatement. She wondered what had happened to their marriage to make them that way.





Rinoa shrugged sadly. “He stopped being affectionate and started finding comfort in alcohol.”





“He would drink often?”





“Almost every night,” she explained. “He had this drinking buddy. Seifter, I think that’s what his name was. The two of them would get smashed at the bar and then come home. Sometimes they would have the nerve to drive home. I’m glad no one got hurt.”





“Do you know why he does this?”





“He told me he needed a break,” Rinoa grumbled. “Yeah, a break from his own wife! He never told me why.”





“Do you think it’s possible that he may be having an affair?” Quistis asked with concern.





“No,” Rinoa answered. “He never seemed interested in other women. He used to tell me that I was the only woman for him.”





This puzzled Quistis. If Squall was so desperately in love with Rinoa, then why was he trying to get a divorce?





“This doesn’t make sense,” Quistis stated, literally scratching her head. “Why the divorce then? The two of you should just be getting marriage counseling.”





Rinoa shook her head. “It’s too late for that. We just don’t ‘click’ anymore and we get along as well as dogs and cats. Marriage counseling would be a waste of time.”





There was certainly something fishy about that whole situation. They were too mysterious, too cloaked for their own good.





“I just one question for you,” Quistis said. “Did you try to poison him?”





Rinoa shook her head. “No. Never. I may be a horrible wife, but I’d never try to poison my husband.”





‘Then why would he say that’, she thought. ‘It’s illegal to bring a false claim.’





“You do know the claims against are fairly harsh,” Quistis pointed out. Rinoa nodded and took a huge gulp of her oolong tea. “Your ex-husband claims that not only you tried to poison him but that you stole his money for an unknown purpose.”





Rinoa nodded. “I know.”





“You realize that you could go to jail with these charges if they are true.”





“Yes.”





“Rinoa, you’re going to need some help.”







The bar was full of people. Quistis and Zell entered the bar, Zell whistling as he did so. Quistis smiled at her blond, spiky-haired friend. She knew very well that she wouldn’t have been able to get through all of the hard times if it weren’t for him. Zell was a good friend, a noble friend, and there weren’t many people like him out there.





They grabbed a bar stool and sat down. The bar was humming with people that night. Quistis found it invigorating.





“Whaddya want?” the bartender asked gruffly.





Zell ordered a beer while Quistis ordered a sex on the beach, They sat back while they enjoyed their alcoholic drinks.





“So, Quistis,” Zell asked. “Any more assholes in court today?”





“Not really,” she answered truthfully. “However, there’s this one couple I can’t seem to get off my mind.”





“Oh, really?”





“The man is a complete asshole; couldn’t give a rat’s ass about the woman. But the woman is a complete angel. Trust me, you’ve never seen anyone as beautiful or as kind as her. It was like meeting the Virgin Mary.”





“Except I doubt this one’s a virgin,” Zell pointed out.





“Anyways we had coffee together and-





“Whoa wait,” Zell cut in. “You had coffee with one of your clients?”





“Yes I did.”





“Quisty, you can’t do that! You can’t get too involved! You have a job to do, remember? Or did you forget about that too?”





“I wouldn’t mind being fired from that job,” Quistis mumbled. “It sucks.”





“I know it does,” Zell comforted her. “But you still have to do your best.”





“Don’t you want to know what we talked about?” Quistis asked innocently,.





“Fine,” he sighed. “What do you two girls talk about?”





“She told me about her husband, about how I reminded her of him.”





“Really?” he asked, bewildered. “That’s pretty fucking weird. If I were you, I’d stay away from that chick.”





“Then she told me this sob story about how her marriage was basically a façade. I guess her then-husband used to drink almost every night and drive home drunk.”





“Jeez, talk about angst!”





“He accused her of poisoning him.”





“Did she?”





“I don’t know.”





Zell shook his head. “Be careful of this chick, she’s bad news.”





“Thanks,” she grumbled and guzzled down the rest of her drink. Ordering another one, she turned to Zell. “I wonder what she meant when she said I reminded her of her ex-husband?”





“Just that,” he said simply. “You remind her of her ex-husband. Judging by the guy I’d say that’s a BAD thing.”





“No,” Quistis protested. “She said I reminded her of him when they were first married.”





“Oh boy,” he groaned. “You don’t think…”





“Do you think she likes me?”





“How the hell am I supposed to know?”





“Well…”





“I think the question should be, do you like her?”





Quistis froze in place. Zell stared at her.





“Well, do you?”





“Well, she’s very nice and very pretty so I guess I do,” she dipped her head. “I’m not sure though.”





“You know Quisty, it’s OKAY if you’re gay. I don’t care about that stuff.”





“I know but why would I be gay now? Why not when I was in my teens?”





“So what? Many gays come out when they’re older. It’s normal Quisty. Don’t worry about it.”





“I guess I am being silly.” He hugged her.





“Yes you are.”





But the question still remained. Was Rinoa a murderer, or was she framed? Quistis was going to find that out, even if it killed her.