“What the fuck is it now?” He asked as he took the letter and opened it.
“....You are hereby requested to be at the judge on August 30th, 2019.” The final statement made him question a lot of things at first.
“You've gotta be kidding me?! Is this some sort of a joke…?” He asked loudly as he read the same statement again.
In his mind, he was thinking about how this could be a mistake over and over. Much to his disappointment, he couldn’t let his thoughts fool him anymore, it sure was a court letter requesting his attendance to a quick inquiry, which could even lead him to face a trial.
A good few minutes passed by. Valerine was looking at Ian, and Ian was looking at the piece of paper.
Ian couldn’t believe what was in his hand.
The subpoena—it was the second time he got to touch this sort of letter, and in the back of his mind, he knew that this wasn’t that much good news either.
Opening the little paper, his eyes widened in surprise.
Valerine who looked at Ian subtly understood that whatever she had brought, it wouldn’t be a positive letter.
“What is it, master Renner?” She questioned not being able to hide her curiosity.
After looking at the paper, and reading the letters over and over again, he scoffed.
“I’m having a baby, apparently,” he said and walked inside the bedroom.
“What? U-”
“Don’t worry, Valerine. Don’t worry about it, if I’m a father, you’d get to look after a kid,” Ian said and sighed.
“Uh, master?” Valerine asked unsurely.
“It was a joke, have a good sleep,” Ian said dismissing her.
With a conflicted mind, she walked away from the room, yet she had her doubts questioning her every step while she went on to sleep.
“I just hope master Renner isn’t in so much trouble this time,” she told herself and drifted off to a peaceful sleep.
-
During the night, while everyone was sound asleep, relaxing their minds and bodies with all the tiresome work they did during the daytime, Ian was wide awake.
His day was going well. Good shots. Perfect dialogues. Realistic acting. Everything was fine.
On his way home, he even thought about starting to write his next script so that he could start the filming right after Marriage Story ends.
His main thoughts were how Marriage Story would be an art movie instead of a commercial.
Nevertheless, his entire day was ruined by the piece of paper he got.
“Who is Sarah anyway?” He thought as he took his phone and searched for the name, Sarah.
[No results found]
The time must be before he reincarnated, or so Ian thought. Because, if he hookup with any girl, there was a high possibility that he remembers at least the name, if not the face.
And the name Sarah was partially new to Ian.
He sighed and continued thinking more. As he wanted to clarify what the hell was happening, he wanted to talk to Mason considering he might be able to help him.
[Uncle, I need a favor. 3.02 a.m.]
Ian texted and kept the phone beside the nightstand.
-[What happened? It’s three in the morning]
Mason replied.
Another text chimed.
-[I was reading an article, Ian?]
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[I’ll meet you in your office tomorrow morning, I might need a good lawyer.]
-[Tomorrow then]
The small conversation took off a lot of weight from Ian.
One thing he was conscious of was to meet up with the consequences of whatever was going to happen.
Having a kid while he still has a long way to go doesn’t sound exactly like something he’d want to do.
But in the back of his mind, he knew that whatever he or the body owner did, he’d got to pay a price. So, yes. He was ready to become a father—although it did freak him out.
-
[At Renner Studio, California]
“Ian, what happened?”
Before letting Ian talk, Mason asked as soon as Ian walked inside the office from the door.
“Ah, sit down uncle. It’s something serious, but I want you to know that I swear I have no idea about this.”
“What-”
Within minutes, Ian explained what happened and he showed Mason the subpoena he received. Although he started the story with, ‘Apparently, I have a kid,’ he continued to explain what exactly he was talking about.
After explaining that Ian had no personal idea about getting any girl pregnant, heck, he even explained how he doesn’t know or remember a girl named Sarah, Mason nodded finally in understanding.
“I think I know what you’re talking about.”
“What do you mean, uncle?”
“I mean, I don’t know any girl, or a kid or whatever. But I know that you’re not the type to get a girl pregnant and walk away as if it's nothing. And, how are you feeling?” Mason asked because of how Ian was.
When Ian first walked inside the office, he was emotionless. Even throughout the explanation, Ian showed no feelings. Which was why Mason wanted to know how he was exactly feeling.
“Well, to be honest, I’m kind of nervous. But again, I’m pretty sure I don’t have a kid, but there’s a voice in me yelling, you wouldn’t have known even if you did.”
“Hmm, I have a friend of mine, a very good lawyer. Normally, we could go to Mr. Jordan White, but from the look of it, this is serious. We need someone who is more experienced and as the person is a friend, I can say I trust her with almost anything. Let’s meet her,” Mason said and took his blackberry phone from the table.
Dialing numbers, he kept it to his ear.
Ian remained silent.
“Excuse me,” Mason stood up and walked outside to talk clearly with the lawyer.
Ian who took the paper back to his hand, reread the lines that made him think about what could happen if things go wrong.
-
The firm of the lawyer wasn’t that big, but after Ian saw the name, he was aware of the woman inside.
H. M. Jass was known to be a top lawyer in California, who had won 99% of the cases she fought for.
“Please come in, Mr. Striver, and Mr. Renner. How are you both doing?” She asked as she walked in to sit where Ian and Mason were.
“We’re fine, and please call me Mason.”
“Call me Ian.”
“Alright, good to see you after three years, Mason. Things are going pretty smoothly for you, everyone thought.”
“Things were, and all thanks to Ian and how I handled the studio. But I feel like the reason we’re here wouldn’t exactly help the reputation we have in the industry. And for that, I’d let you both talk through it,”
“I’ll try to help to the best of my ability. No worries about it, and see you later, Mason.”
“Thank you, lawyer.”
Mason stood up and walked out of the office.
In her blue and white office room, Jass was staring at Ian concerned.
“So, Ian. What happened?”
For the second time, Ian started explaining what had happened after he got back home from the shooting last night.
At the end of his story, he showed the paper of the notice to Jass.
“Hmm, now it’s clear, but I want everything to be really clear. I need to trust you and for that… You need to answer some questions, can you?” she asked looking directly into his eyes.
“Yes, sure,”
“Did you sleep with Sarah?”
“I- I don’t remember. I do not seem to possess any sort of memory related to any girl with Sarah. If I did, I’d have taken the full responsibility,”
“If the answers are yes or no, which would give me a lot of clarity, it would be great, Mr. Renner,” She asked while adjusting the spectacles that were on the bridge of her nose.
“I don’t remember.”
“Okay, do you know who Sarah is?”
“I don’t know who she is.”
“Before the notice, were you aware that you have got a baby?”
“No. The notice was the first way I found it out.”
The questions became short, and much clearer which also made Ian realize some of the things that he battled himself with.
“What if the baby was proved to be yours? Will you take care of it?” She asked.
“Yes, I would. But there needs to be proof that the baby is mine.”
“Hmm... One last question, what is your history with girls like?”
“I’ll answer this question in general. I was no saint before this question arose. If there were any sort of relationship with a girl, there was no long-term relationship. It would have probably been a one-night stand, and that would have been it,” Ian said and sighed.
“Hmm, I’ll prepare a case. We’ll have to face the preliminary court, and from there we can say where the case is headed. I’m glad you’re a brave young man to take responsibility for your actions.”
The woman said and smiled.
After talking a bit more about what could happen in the future, Mason was brought back to the office where they discussed more about the case hearing that was supposed to happen on the day after tomorrow.