answer soak in. I wish I knew if the jurors were picturing everything in their heads the way I am. I hope not.
“Hope,” Keller asks at last, “do you love your brother?”
“Yes!” I exclaim, looking directly at Jeremy now. He gazes up at me, the touch of a grin on his bony face. “I love Jeremy more than anybody in the whole world.”
“I’ll bet you’d do just about anything for him, wouldn’t you?”
I lock gazes with Jeremy and will him to take this in.“I would do anything in the world for my brother. He’s the most important thing in my life.”
“I can see that,” Keller says, like he understands. “Let’s go back to your earlier testimony, if you don’t mind.”
I’m grateful to go back, to go anywhere that’s not June eleventh.
“When did Jeremy start collecting jars? Can you remember?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe when he was nine.”
“And were you upset by your brother’s troubling hobby?”
“I wasn’t, but Rita was. If I missed a jar under his bed, it could smell up the whole room pretty quick.”
Keller wrinkles his nose as if he can smell sour mustard right now. “Empty jars … You have to admit it’s a pretty unusual hobby.”
“No. I don’t admit that at all. People collect all sorts of things.”
“Like …?”
“Like stamps and spoons and bells, for example. Like sea glass.” I finger my necklace. I made it out of a tiny, smooth piece of glass T.J. gave me two years ago.
“True,” Keller mutters, agreeing with me.
“Or even Barbie dolls. People pay hundreds of dollars for old Barbies, don’t they? If you ask me, I’d say
that’s
crazy.”
Keller laughs a little, and so do a couple of the jurors. I’m thinking my testimony today is going better than it did yesterday.
“What do you admire most about your brother, Hope?”
I can’t believe it’s the prosecution asking me this. Raymondshould have asked this a long time ago. “A lot of things.” I smile at Jeremy. He’s smiling back at me, and I see the old Jeremy peeking out. “My brother is the kindest person I know. He loves the little things, like watching ants carry bits of food on a trail, or hearing people laugh, or seeing the sun go down every single evening. He gets excited when an acorn falls from a branch and lands at his feet, or a leaf spins in the air. He calls them God-gifts. That’s what he writes on his pad for me when he sees a butterfly or a deer, or whenever he makes out a cool shape in a sky full of clouds.”
“Jeremy dropped out of school in the eighth grade, didn’t he?” Keller asks.
“That was more Rita’s doing than Jeremy’s. Jer never caused any trouble, except with teachers who were too lazy to read his writing instead of getting the answers out of his mouth. Have you seen Jeremy’s handwriting?”
“No, I haven’t,” Keller says, as if he’d really like to.
“It’s beautiful. Jer’s own brand of calligraphy.”
“Why do
you
think your brother can’t talk, Hope?”
“He
can
talk. I know because I heard him when we were younger. He just stopped one day. That’s all. But he doesn’t really need to talk because he communicates just fine—with his notes and his gestures. Jeremy can say more with his eyes than most people can in a whole speech.”
Keller laughs. “I know exactly what you mean. We lawyers hear a lot of those speeches. We even give a few ourselves.” He gets some chuckles from the spectators. “Do you have anything else you want to tell us about your brother, Hope, before I let you go?”
Raymond was wrong about this guy. I think Keller
gets
Jeremy. Maybe
he
should have been Jeremy’s lawyer. “Thanks,” I tell him. “There are a lot of things I could tell you about my brother. Jeremy is trustworthy. He took good care of the team equipment. And he was so responsible at the stable—he never missed a day of work or complained about the messiest stalls or anything. He has a sense of humor, and … and he loves me. I’d do
“Hope,” Keller asks at last, “do you love your brother?”
“Yes!” I exclaim, looking directly at Jeremy now. He gazes up at me, the touch of a grin on his bony face. “I love Jeremy more than anybody in the whole world.”
“I’ll bet you’d do just about anything for him, wouldn’t you?”
I lock gazes with Jeremy and will him to take this in.“I would do anything in the world for my brother. He’s the most important thing in my life.”
“I can see that,” Keller says, like he understands. “Let’s go back to your earlier testimony, if you don’t mind.”
I’m grateful to go back, to go anywhere that’s not June eleventh.
“When did Jeremy start collecting jars? Can you remember?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe when he was nine.”
“And were you upset by your brother’s troubling hobby?”
“I wasn’t, but Rita was. If I missed a jar under his bed, it could smell up the whole room pretty quick.”
Keller wrinkles his nose as if he can smell sour mustard right now. “Empty jars … You have to admit it’s a pretty unusual hobby.”
“No. I don’t admit that at all. People collect all sorts of things.”
“Like …?”
“Like stamps and spoons and bells, for example. Like sea glass.” I finger my necklace. I made it out of a tiny, smooth piece of glass T.J. gave me two years ago.
“True,” Keller mutters, agreeing with me.
“Or even Barbie dolls. People pay hundreds of dollars for old Barbies, don’t they? If you ask me, I’d say
that’s
crazy.”
Keller laughs a little, and so do a couple of the jurors. I’m thinking my testimony today is going better than it did yesterday.
“What do you admire most about your brother, Hope?”
I can’t believe it’s the prosecution asking me this. Raymondshould have asked this a long time ago. “A lot of things.” I smile at Jeremy. He’s smiling back at me, and I see the old Jeremy peeking out. “My brother is the kindest person I know. He loves the little things, like watching ants carry bits of food on a trail, or hearing people laugh, or seeing the sun go down every single evening. He gets excited when an acorn falls from a branch and lands at his feet, or a leaf spins in the air. He calls them God-gifts. That’s what he writes on his pad for me when he sees a butterfly or a deer, or whenever he makes out a cool shape in a sky full of clouds.”
“Jeremy dropped out of school in the eighth grade, didn’t he?” Keller asks.
“That was more Rita’s doing than Jeremy’s. Jer never caused any trouble, except with teachers who were too lazy to read his writing instead of getting the answers out of his mouth. Have you seen Jeremy’s handwriting?”
“No, I haven’t,” Keller says, as if he’d really like to.
“It’s beautiful. Jer’s own brand of calligraphy.”
“Why do
you
think your brother can’t talk, Hope?”
“He
can
talk. I know because I heard him when we were younger. He just stopped one day. That’s all. But he doesn’t really need to talk because he communicates just fine—with his notes and his gestures. Jeremy can say more with his eyes than most people can in a whole speech.”
Keller laughs. “I know exactly what you mean. We lawyers hear a lot of those speeches. We even give a few ourselves.” He gets some chuckles from the spectators. “Do you have anything else you want to tell us about your brother, Hope, before I let you go?”
Raymond was wrong about this guy. I think Keller
gets
Jeremy. Maybe
he
should have been Jeremy’s lawyer. “Thanks,” I tell him. “There are a lot of things I could tell you about my brother. Jeremy is trustworthy. He took good care of the team equipment. And he was so responsible at the stable—he never missed a day of work or complained about the messiest stalls or anything. He has a sense of humor, and … and he loves me. I’d do
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