"The cases are real, the people are real, the rulings are final. This... is Judge Judy!"
Tina settled back on her couch, popped open the can of diet coke she had grabbed from the fridge and began to relax. It had been a very long day at work - she was paralegaling for a law firm based in London, who had her working on a heavy piece of litigation that they were conducting. The first day of trial was still two months away, but she still had to keep up with the court filings and disclosure.
Part of that meant going through piles and piles of documents and sorting them into chronological order, as well as disposing of any duplicates. In other words, handling documents every day. One of the more unstimulating parts of working as a paralegal.
It was a tough job. But it paid the rent. She couldn't afford a place in London, so she had rented a small flat in a town somewhere on the Commuter Belt.
On screen, two people were attempting to argue a case over a loan to buy a car. From the smug expression on the defendant's face, Tina could tell right away that she was about to get what was coming to her.
Even though she usually preferred the more cutting-edge dramas on Netflix and Sky Atlantic, Tina had always liked this show. It wasn't too heavy or complicated, and it was entertaining. Especially when Judge Judith Sheindlin launched into someone with her trademark acid tongue and tough demeanour. Above all, it helped relax her mind.
Just as she had taken her first sip of her drink, she almost jumped when the sound of a loud knock on the door echoed throughout the flat. This was weird. It was just gone six o'clock. She wasn't expecting anybody. Who on earth would be calling at her flat at this time?
Getting up, she approached her door and peered through the spy hole. When she saw who it was, she pulled the door open and stared at her visitor in surprise.
It was her twin sister, Catherine.
"Cat? What are you-?" without finishing her sentence, she threw her arms around her and hugged her tight.
"What are you doing here?" She whispered. "You're supposed to be on the other side of the world."
"I had to get back. I couldn't stay there a minute longer," her weeping sister explained.
"Come in, come in" Tina noticed the suitcase that Catherine had brought with her. She grabbed it, and pulled it in, dragging her sister by the hand into the flat and closing the door behind them. "Can I get you a drink?"
"Do you have any beer?"
"Loads," Tina went into her kitchen and grabbed one out the fridge.
Catherine immediately went and sat down on the couch, drinking deeply from her beer. This was a worrying sign, Tina thought. She went and sat next to her.
"So..." Tina looked her sister in the eyes. "You show up unannounced at my flat in London, on a random Wednesday, and you're noticeably not in America where you have been living for the last two years. You're drinking beer at an alarmingly fast pace, and you look like you've been crying non-stop for three days..." Tina leaned forward and wiped away a tear that was forming at Catherine's eyes. "Things aren't going well with Gary, are they?"
Gary was Catherine's boyfriend of five years. They had met at university, when they had been in the same seminar groups in their first year. When they had graduated, he had wanted to moved back to his home in California to take up a job at Facebook - he was a skilled coder. Catherine had eagerly joined him, as she had always wanted to live in America. She had lived there for two years now, and worked at various places in Silicon Valley. Tina had spent an additional two years converting to law in England.
In response to Tina's question, Catherine shook her head.
"Oh no. We are way beyond 'Things aren't going well,' Tina," Catherine said. "We are right up in 'Things are fucking over between us for good,' territory now.
"Oh... Oh my," Tina sat up straight. She took her twin by the hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "What happened?"
"It's quite simple. He was fucking his boss! Can you believe that? His boss! I didn't even know he was bi until that moment!"
Tina hadn't known this either. He'd never shown any signs of it any time she'd met her. Gary wasn't what you'd call a particularly forthright or open individual. He was actually quite reserved and uncommunicative, even by British standards.
"How did you find out?" she asked.
"One of his co-workers tipped me off. I don't know whom exactly, but he apparently left his cell phone lying around at his office Christmas party, a co-worker went to give it to him and saw him kissing his boss in a quiet office. Whoever it was took a photo of them and sent it to me. It was clear as day."
"I see..." Tina felt her anger surge inside of her. Most of it directed at Gary, and part of it directed at the missing co-worker. She did not agree that it was anyone's place to meddle like that. But she kept it to herself. "So... why are you on the wrong side of the Atlantic now?"
"Like I said. I couldn't be there a second longer. I just packed my bags, left a note and went to the airport. Managed to get a last-minute ticket, surprisingly. And I have no intention of going back."
Tina's mouth fell open.
"You cannot be serious. You mean you just up and left? No conversation? No proper break-up? What about your job? Your friends? Have you really thought this through?" She almost yelled.
