Bail Out

Chapter 14 of Love from Above

We stay in the meadow until dusk begins to settle around us.

 

“Want to come over for dinner?” I ask as we make our way back toward the houses.

 

“I would be delighted,” he says, smiling and lacing his fingers through mine. My phone singing Skillet startles me.

 

“What’s up Janie?” I say into the microphone.

 

“You’d better get to the police station pronto,” Janie replies, sounding on edge.

 

“Why? What happened?” I ask, staggering to a halt. Jeremy stops too and looks back at me questioningly.

 

There is a pause where I can practically feel Janie’s tension through the phone, “Libby got arrested.”

 

I couldn’t help it, I bust up laughing.

 

“Alright, I’ll be there soon,” I say once I can catch my breath. I hang up the phone and look up at Jeremy. “I guess I’ll have to take a rain check on dinner. I have to go bail Libby out of jail,” I say, fighting back another round of laughter.

 

“Oh jeez, what did she do? Want a ride over there?” Jeremy asks as we begin walking again.

 

“I’m not sure, but I would be delighted,” I say. He smiles at the use of his own words. We walk around behind his house to a detached garage. He punches a code into the keypad on the wall and the door squeals open. We hop in his car and speed off toward the police station, slowing significantly as we get close.

 

“Don’t want to risk a ticket,” Jeremy explains apologetically as inertia causes me to jerk forward slightly.

 

“I totally understand,” I say, laughing.

 

“Want me to come in with you?” he asks as we nudge into a parking place near the front of the lot next to Janie’s beat up blue Chevy truck.

 

“Only if you want to stay,” is what came out of my mouth. My mind, however, was screaming, yes! Please don’t leave!

 

“I’ll stick around then,” he says with a lopsided grin, stepping out of the car. I smile to myself and feel a flutter in my stomach before getting out and walking into the station. The moment we are through the door, Janie flits over to us, looking very much like a worried mother hen.

 

“Jeez, what did Libby do?” I ask, looking around the downright depressing building.

 

“She beat the snot out of an undercover cop because he supposedly copped a feel as he walked by,” Janie says, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

 

“Not supposedly! He did!” Libby says, being escorted out of a nearby cell by a cop.

 

“Lib, he was trying to squeeze past you. There was limited space,” Janie says with exaggerated patience, pinching the bridge of her nose.

 

“Still doesn’t mean he can touch my butt,” Libby mumbles under her breath.

 

“Deserved it or not, let’s just get out of here. It’s getting late,” I say. We pay the bail money and walk out to the cars. I get back into Jeremy’s car with him as Libby and Janie drive off in Janie’s truck.

 

"You sure have some interesting siblings. Remind me not to end up on Libby's bad side," Jeremy chuckles.

 

"Well, I'm certainly never bored, and I definitely wouldn’t recommend it," I reply thoughtfully.

 

With no warning, no explanation, I'm yanked from the present. Playing out before me is the first time I met Janie and Libby.