Orbiting Jupiter: Chapters 4–6

They found new snow and they ladled the syrup onto the powder, and when it froze—sort of—Joseph picked it up and fed it to Madeleine, and Madeleine picked it up and fed it to Joseph, and she smeared some on his mouth and she laughed and she leaned forward and she kissed him for the first time.

Madeleine’s parents took out an injunction against Joseph. A policeman delivered it. Joseph was to have no contact at all with Madeleine.

Any violation meant he would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Based upon this new information and Mrs. Stroud’s observations, the DHHS had decided to remove Joseph from his home and to place him in a juvenile facility for boys.

And frankly, since your father is not cooperating, we need you to help us.

“There were complications. Joseph, Madeleine—”

By morning it was snowing.
Not a lot, but enough to pile up on the branches, and the cupola on the barn, and the woodpile, and if we wanted to skate again we’d have to shovel off the ice on the pond—again.

“That’s what I thought,” said Mr. Haskell, and he levered the door closed and gunned the engine so the bus swayed sharply.

Joseph didn’t have much of his shirt left on him, and you could imagine the welts the lockers were leaving on his back.

He was still hollering, but he was snarling, too.

Joseph and Brian Boss and Nick Porter and Jay Perkins all got four days of suspension for fighting—the last four days before Christmas vacation.

The letter Mr. Tuchman sent said they would be expelled if there were further incidents.

So Mrs. Halloway graded papers while Mr. D’Ulney went over some proofs with Joseph and assigned his homework, and when he was done, Mr. D'Ulney graded papers while Mrs. Halloway went over poetic scansion, which no one really cares about, and she made me identify stressed and unstressed syllables and name their rhythms with Joseph, even though I was going to have to do it again in class the next day.

When my father put his hand on Joseph’s back, Joseph didn’t even flinch.

He hunched his coat together and we started off.

I advised against it, but he’s right—he’s got a good lawyer.

Well, not a good lawyer. A persistent and threatening lawyer. And unfortunately, those are the ones who get exactly what they want.

His lawyer claims that since Joseph is a minor, he had no parental rights to sign away.

Her adoption is in limbo. Madeleine’s parents want to move on, and they want Jupiter adopted into a good home. But until Mr. Brook signs—or stops his delays—that can’t happen.

No family will choose a child whose adoption might be contested.

You think Joe is going to college? Like he’s going to Harvard College and strut around like he’s all smart and everything?

The sun was out and the sky too bright a blue to look at as the snow melted off the yews and came clumping down.

And Quintus Sertorius would not stay in his stall, so after school Joseph and I took him out to the paddock to let him walk around.

My parents called Joseph’s counselor twice, then three times, and she said she would like a few weeks to evaluate Joseph before she made the decision about him seeing Jupiter.

He looked up at the sky, where snow clouds were lowering down like granite slabs.