"Excuse me? You won't tell us?"
"What?"
Kenna raised her voice again. "Why won't you tell us what happened?"
"It's none of your beeswax, that's why."
"Oh, Harold, just tell them. I'm ready to go to jail." Mrs. Brownston turned to the judge. "I hit him with a cast iron skillet I was going to make cornbread in. He doesn't want me to go to jail, so he won't say anything."
"What did you say, Adele?" Mr. Brownston said to his wife who just pooh-poohed him with a wave of her hand.
Kenna turned to Mrs. Brownston. "Why did you hit him with a frying pan?"
"Harold had gotten a free sample of Viagra. He said it would make us feel like teenagers again. We've been married for sixty-four years. I don't want to feel like a teenager again. I want to sit and watch ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ bake, and enjoy the grandkids. But, noooo,
Mr. Stud has to get Viagra. Well, not to get too personal, but for a month he chases me around the house like a horny teenager. He starts watching that pornography and even talked about going to a strip club in Lexington. Well, I wasn't going to have him finding his pleasure somewhere else after all these years. So, I made an appointment with my doctor and got this new prescription patch to wear. It’s supposed to do what Viagra does to men, but for women. I was being a good wife."
Kenna nodded and saw that everyone else was, too.
"Well, a couple of days after wearing the patch, I started to feel frisky. I got myself gussied up and made a romantic dinner while he was at the Lodge with his buddies. I had the cornbread all mixed and ready to put into the skillet when he walks in from the garage and right past me. Not even a hello. He walks by and plops down in his recliner and yells into the kitchen for me to bring him a beer. Well, I still had that skillet in my hand and walked into the living room to talk to him. I told him I was making his favorite dinner, but I got a grunt in response. I told him I was feeling frisky, and you know what he did?"
Mrs. Brownston looked at Kenna and she shook her head. "That bastard told me he stopped taking Viagra. Said he realized he wasn't a kid anymore. Said if we continued, he might break a hip. So, here I am on a frisky high because of him, and he doesn't bother to tell me he no longer wants to do it. Well, I was just so angry and so frustrated that without even realizing I was doing it, I whacked him with the skillet. I know what I did was wrong. But it did make me feel better." She placed her purse back into her hands and held them together at her waist.
Kenna wasn't quite sure what to do. She noted that it seemed Judge Cooper didn't know either. "Mr. Brownston, is it your intent to not testify against your wife?"
"That's right. It was my fault and Adele shouldn't have to pay for it." Kenna couldn't help the smile this time.
"Your honor, if Mr. Rooney has no objection, I would like to ask the Court to enter a suspended sentence to be dismissed upon proof of anger management counseling within thirty days."
"My client will agree to that," Henry stated.
"Very well. Mrs. Brownston, the charges will be dismissed against you if you submit a certificate to this Court within thirty days that you have completed anger management counseling. Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes this morning's docket. Court is dismissed."
Chapter Eleven
That night Kenna decided to sit on the porch swing and read a book Miss Lily had given her. She was only a couple of pages into it when a sporty little car pulled into the drive and parked next to her seldom-used M6. Mo stepped out of the car and waved. Kenna smiled, knowing her friend would be here to cheer her up.
"My dear, I have a proposition for you."
"Seduction with a hangover, I don't know, Mo," Kenna teased and enjoyed the sight of the faint blush on his cheeks.
"I've come up with a wonderful idea to make the recuperation from your heartbreak complete. How about I fuel up my private plane, grab Paige, and we'll fly anywhere in the world you want."
"Oh, that's tempting. Very tempting. But I'm not going to run from a little embarrassment. I'm strong enough to handle it. However, the next long weekend I have, I may take you up on that. How about a glass of wine for now?"
Mo sat next to Kenna on the swing and poured himself a glass of wine. She told him about her day at court and was even able to laugh when she told him about the Brownstons and about how happy Dinky was with his winnings.
Kenna thought she heard the rumble of a truck in the distance and quit talking when she saw the truck turn into the driveway. Will stepped out of the truck, and Kenna knew there was going to be trouble. She could practically see steam coming out of his ears. His eyes never left Mo's, and his agitated stalk up the walk was the final clue that something else had happened at the farm. She squeezed Mo's hand and stood up, blocking him from Will's menacing gaze.