Thirty-Two and a Half Complications
Page 89
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I gave him a regretful smile. “Hey.”
“Hey yourself. I hear you had an eventful afternoon.”
“You could say that.”
A slow grin spread across his face. “For this to truly be déjà vu, you’d need to come over here and talk to me through the bars.”
I shook my head, smiling. “And I was hoping you were here to spring me loose.”
“Come on over here and work out your plea bargain.”
I got to my feet and walked over to the bars. “What are the charges, Mr. Deveraux?”
“Destruction of property, willful vandalism. Evading a police officer.” He tried to look serious, but a smile tugged at his lips. “You’ve been a very bad girl, Ms. Gardner. How do you plead?”
“Not guilty.” I turned serious. “Mason, I saw the bank robber from my visions. He was at the Piggly Wiggly. I saw him yesterday too, but only from the corner of my eye. But this time I got a good look at him and I’m positive it was him. I started to run after him, but Officer Ernie slammed his cart into mine, spilling my food everywhere. And when I ran after the robber, Ernie hunted me down. He fell into a cereal display and the bank robber got away.”
“So I heard, but with a slightly different spin.”
“Are you mad?”
“Why would I be mad? Every assistant DA loves to hear that his girlfriend has been arrested.”
I cringed. “I’m sorry.”
His hand covered mine over the bars. “Don’t be. This town needs shaking up. Kind of like my life before you barged into it on that fateful day in July. I knew immediately that you were a whirlwind of trouble. It’s one of the many reasons I love you.”
I rested my forehead on the bars. “Thank you…I think.”
“Let me go finish up some paperwork to get you out of here.”
“I still don’t have a turkey, Mason. It slid across the floor of the Piggly Wiggly and knocked over a tower of canned sweet potatoes.”
He grinned. “I’m really wishing I was there to see this display of destruction and vandalism.”
“It’s not funny. What are we gonna do about Thanksgiving dinner?”
“There’s still time to get a turkey, although you’ve been indefinitely banned from the Piggly Wiggly. I guess that means I’ll be doing all the shopping. Which also means we’re gonna starve unless we drive over to the Brookshires’s in Columbia County.”
“Mason.”
“Sweetheart, we’ll get it sorted out so you can go back to the grocery store. In the meantime, revel in the fact I have to do the shopping. Most women would love for their boyfriends to do the grocery shopping for them.”
“You obviously don’t know most women.”
He laughed. “Sit tight and I’ll have you out in a bit.”
“I’ve heard that before.”
He started down the hallway and looked over his shoulder. “So you know I’ll get you out.”
True to his word, I was out in less than thirty minutes, but by then it was close to five o’clock. When Mason realized the time he released a groan, then said, “It’s too late to go back to work, so why don’t we just head on home?”
“What are we gonna tell your mother?”
“The truth. Trust me. She’ll love it.”
“What about my truck? It’s still in the Piggly Wiggly parking lot.”
“We’ll leave it and just ride into town together in the morning.”
“Okay. But what are we gonna do for dinner? All my food’s lying on the grocery store floor.”
“Stop worrying. We’ll pick up Chinese take-out.”
He called in the order and we picked it up on our way home.
Mason was right about his mother. I told them the sordid details of my encounter with Officer Ernie as we ate at the kitchen table, both of them bursting out into laughter. Maeve said she found my predicament amusing and she promised to shop for our Thanksgiving dinner.
“Oh, by the way, Rose,” she said, as she broke her fortune cookie in half. “When I was at the shop this afternoon, Violet said she’s planning on bringing her chestnut stuffing.”
I shot a glance at Mason. “So she is still coming. She told me she was gonna think about it.”
Maeve read her fortune. “It says ‘Great things are in your future.’” She glanced up and smiled at me. “I’d have to agree with that. What’s yours say, Rose?”
I grabbed one of the two leftover cookies and broke it in half, almost afraid. “An unexpected amount of cash will appear soon,” I read out loud. Mercy, I hoped that was true, but so far Skeeter wasn’t telling me a blessed thing.
“Rose,” Maeve said. “It might make it easier for me to get all the supplies for Thanksgiving if you make me a shopping list. And I forgot to mention that Violet said she’s going to bringing a marshmallow salad and a pecan pie.”
I made a mental tally of who was attending, and something else occurred to me. “I can only imagine what Violet’s gonna say when she discovers I’ve invited Bruce Wayne, David and David’s girlfriend.” I had forgotten to tell her.
Mason drew in a breath and shot me an ornery grin. “It’s going to be a Thanksgiving to remember.”
That was an understatement.
Maeve and I came up with a menu and a shopping list before I went to bed, the excitement of the afternoon having exhausted me. I watched from the bed as Mason emerged from the bathroom in his pajamas and headed for the bedroom door. He’d slept in a spare bedroom the night before, though he’d hid it from his mother.
“Hey yourself. I hear you had an eventful afternoon.”
“You could say that.”
A slow grin spread across his face. “For this to truly be déjà vu, you’d need to come over here and talk to me through the bars.”
I shook my head, smiling. “And I was hoping you were here to spring me loose.”
“Come on over here and work out your plea bargain.”
I got to my feet and walked over to the bars. “What are the charges, Mr. Deveraux?”
“Destruction of property, willful vandalism. Evading a police officer.” He tried to look serious, but a smile tugged at his lips. “You’ve been a very bad girl, Ms. Gardner. How do you plead?”
“Not guilty.” I turned serious. “Mason, I saw the bank robber from my visions. He was at the Piggly Wiggly. I saw him yesterday too, but only from the corner of my eye. But this time I got a good look at him and I’m positive it was him. I started to run after him, but Officer Ernie slammed his cart into mine, spilling my food everywhere. And when I ran after the robber, Ernie hunted me down. He fell into a cereal display and the bank robber got away.”
“So I heard, but with a slightly different spin.”
“Are you mad?”
“Why would I be mad? Every assistant DA loves to hear that his girlfriend has been arrested.”
I cringed. “I’m sorry.”
His hand covered mine over the bars. “Don’t be. This town needs shaking up. Kind of like my life before you barged into it on that fateful day in July. I knew immediately that you were a whirlwind of trouble. It’s one of the many reasons I love you.”
I rested my forehead on the bars. “Thank you…I think.”
“Let me go finish up some paperwork to get you out of here.”
“I still don’t have a turkey, Mason. It slid across the floor of the Piggly Wiggly and knocked over a tower of canned sweet potatoes.”
He grinned. “I’m really wishing I was there to see this display of destruction and vandalism.”
“It’s not funny. What are we gonna do about Thanksgiving dinner?”
“There’s still time to get a turkey, although you’ve been indefinitely banned from the Piggly Wiggly. I guess that means I’ll be doing all the shopping. Which also means we’re gonna starve unless we drive over to the Brookshires’s in Columbia County.”
“Mason.”
“Sweetheart, we’ll get it sorted out so you can go back to the grocery store. In the meantime, revel in the fact I have to do the shopping. Most women would love for their boyfriends to do the grocery shopping for them.”
“You obviously don’t know most women.”
He laughed. “Sit tight and I’ll have you out in a bit.”
“I’ve heard that before.”
He started down the hallway and looked over his shoulder. “So you know I’ll get you out.”
True to his word, I was out in less than thirty minutes, but by then it was close to five o’clock. When Mason realized the time he released a groan, then said, “It’s too late to go back to work, so why don’t we just head on home?”
“What are we gonna tell your mother?”
“The truth. Trust me. She’ll love it.”
“What about my truck? It’s still in the Piggly Wiggly parking lot.”
“We’ll leave it and just ride into town together in the morning.”
“Okay. But what are we gonna do for dinner? All my food’s lying on the grocery store floor.”
“Stop worrying. We’ll pick up Chinese take-out.”
He called in the order and we picked it up on our way home.
Mason was right about his mother. I told them the sordid details of my encounter with Officer Ernie as we ate at the kitchen table, both of them bursting out into laughter. Maeve said she found my predicament amusing and she promised to shop for our Thanksgiving dinner.
“Oh, by the way, Rose,” she said, as she broke her fortune cookie in half. “When I was at the shop this afternoon, Violet said she’s planning on bringing her chestnut stuffing.”
I shot a glance at Mason. “So she is still coming. She told me she was gonna think about it.”
Maeve read her fortune. “It says ‘Great things are in your future.’” She glanced up and smiled at me. “I’d have to agree with that. What’s yours say, Rose?”
I grabbed one of the two leftover cookies and broke it in half, almost afraid. “An unexpected amount of cash will appear soon,” I read out loud. Mercy, I hoped that was true, but so far Skeeter wasn’t telling me a blessed thing.
“Rose,” Maeve said. “It might make it easier for me to get all the supplies for Thanksgiving if you make me a shopping list. And I forgot to mention that Violet said she’s going to bringing a marshmallow salad and a pecan pie.”
I made a mental tally of who was attending, and something else occurred to me. “I can only imagine what Violet’s gonna say when she discovers I’ve invited Bruce Wayne, David and David’s girlfriend.” I had forgotten to tell her.
Mason drew in a breath and shot me an ornery grin. “It’s going to be a Thanksgiving to remember.”
That was an understatement.
Maeve and I came up with a menu and a shopping list before I went to bed, the excitement of the afternoon having exhausted me. I watched from the bed as Mason emerged from the bathroom in his pajamas and headed for the bedroom door. He’d slept in a spare bedroom the night before, though he’d hid it from his mother.
