Old Enough to Love... (Just One of the Guys) (40 page)

“Zach. We’re up.” The attorney pointed at him and he stood taking a deep breath and pressed his slacks with his hands. His dad patted his back and he held the door for his mom.

“Come on.” He said looking at me.

My brows rose on my forehead. I never dreamed he’d want me inside. “Are you sure?”

“This is one you can be a part of.” He smiled.

I quickly went to his side and we walked in together. The judge already sat behind the bench. This was my first time in a courtroom. It was small and outside of a clock, the walls were bare. Zach sat next to his attorney at a table and we sat behind a small partition.
              “Which case?” the judge asked looking at a small table across from where we sat.

“Owens JV4744.” She spoke swiftly picking a folder from a stack.

“The court will call the case of Zachary Owens. Case # JV4744—transfer of venue from the county of San Francisco, California. This is a courtesy supervision, correct?

The lady stood again. “Yes, your honor. Our court took jurisdiction in April of last year.”

“Fine. Appearances.”

The woman stood again. “May it please the court, Midge Harris, appearing on behalf of the state.” She sat.

Zach’s attorney stood buttoning his suit jacket and Zach stood beside him. “May it please the court; Zach Owens appears in person and with counsel, Jeff Hess.” They sat.

“The Court is in receipt of a memo dated today’s date from Mr. Owens probation officer. Have all parties had a chance to review the memo?”  That must have been what his attorney showed him in the hall.

“Yes Judge.” They both answered.

“Any objection to it being placed in evidence?” the judge inquired.

“No.” In unison again.

“Ms. Harris?”

“Thanks, Your Honor. The state would respectfully request that Mr. Owens be released of his probation. The memo reflects that he did everything as directed in his original probation agreement and the state would commend him on his efforts.” She found her chair again.

“Mr. Hess?”

“Thank you Judge. Ms. Harris is correct. My client has gone above and beyond what he has needed to do to complete his probation. He has certainly learned his lesson and I feel confident, Your Honor will never see him before this Court again. We would ask that the court follow the state’s recommendation and terminate probation. Thank you.”

The judge lowered his glasses on his nose and looked at Zach. My heart beat hard.

“Young man, would you like to address this court?”

Zach’s nervous eyes jetted toward his attorney who nodded at him then back to the judge. Zach stood. “I just want the court to know that I did learn my lesson, and I guarantee—you won’t see me back here.” He nervously chuckled at the end. “Thank you.”

“Thank you, Mr. Owens.” The judge said and paused, writing on something. “The court finds that Mr. Owens has successfully completed his probation and will terminate the case. Is there anything further to come before the court?”

“No, Judge.” Both parties answered.

“If there’s nothing further, the court is in recess.”

Zach’s attorney stood and gave him a solid pat on the back. The smile and relief on Zach’s face was infectious and I smiled too. He turned to us and shook his dad’s hand, then gripped his mom in a hug.

“We are so proud of you.” Typical mom. He released her and walked around the partition.

“The best for last,” he whispered, then hugged and lifted at the same time so my feet dangled in the air. I giggled.

“Congratulations.” I whispered.

“No, don’t. Don’t congratulate me on this. That should come at graduation or a college acceptance but not at this.” He kissed my lips quickly before placing my feet back on solid ground.

“You two ready to get out of here?” His dad had one had on Zach’s back and one on mine.

Zach sighed and rolled his eyes. “Are we ever.” The court room door closed behind us.

Mom hustled around the house making sure I had numbers to call, food to eat and gas in the car, which was odd because I wasn’t allowed to drive anywhere.  She’d made arrangements for our neighbors, Bob and MaryLou to check on me daily. I was scared and nervous with them leaving. I’d never spent much time alone and three days was huge. Mom and Dad seemed as nervous as I was. They’d spoken with Ali’s folks and Ali was staying with me. I knew daytime wouldn’t be an issue but struggled with the thought of sleeping in the house alone or with Ali.  

They were packed and ready to go and still had to pick up Grant, Brett and Conner.

“Are you sure about this?” My dad asked with both his hands firmly gripping my shoulders.

“Yes, sir.” I saluted him and smiled.

“This is weird, leaving my fifteen year old home alone.”

“Dad. I’ll be fine. It’s three days. AND, I’m almost sixteen.”

He hugged me and kissed the top of my head. “I know you will be, sweetheart. I love you. Remember do not text us because it costs a fortune down there. OK?”

“I remember. You’ll have your PC so I can e-mail.”

“Good girl.  Katie….Ryan….let’s go.”  As they moved out the door and waved, a loneliness like I’d never known settled over me.

I had rented five movies and decided to start with
The Breakfast Club
.  John Hughes was my mother’s favorite filmmaker and director. I heard a lot about these movies growing up and decided it was time to watch. It was well into
Pretty in Pink
a few hours later when my phone buzzed. It was Zach!

.

Hey baby. Back n SF! Ill call u later. Love.

I actually hugged the phone.

Miss you so much! Love to you too.
 
Send

Huge pet peeve when people didn’t just spell right on a text.  It doesn’t take that long to type you over u.  Or see over c.

My phone buzzed again. This time it was Ali.

Doing OK?

Fine. You?
Send

I miss him.

I knew how she felt because I hadn’t seen Zach in almost five days.

I know. It’ll go fast.
Send

Call me later.

OK
 
send

A few hours later, I took a long bath with candles and music. As much as I tried to relax, I felt paranoia creep into my mind about the upcoming night. With every minute my body soaked in the hot water, the house creaked and moaned and I suddenly wished we had a dog. I’d told Ali the first night I’d do fine on my own. I wasn’t so sure.

When the water turned colder, I blew out the candles and pulled the plug. Never having the time to lotion, I slathered my body and stood in the bathroom naked allowing it to dry. The reflection in the mirror brought a smile to my face. The person standing before me was becoming a young woman. I embarrassed myself and grabbed my fluffy robe.

The phone rang and, of course, the phone for upstairs was down. I ran hoping to catch it before it went to voicemail. The caller ID read, Matt Hendricks.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Hey sweetie. How’s it going?”

“Fine. Just got out of the bath. Where are you guys?” I plopped down on the sofa.

“Well. We’re in Portland getting ready to take off. We’ve boarded. Just wanted to let you know.  Is the alarm set?” There was a lot of noise in the background.

I smiled. “Yes, Dad.”

“OK. Well sleep tight and we love…” the phone went dead.

“Dad?”  Nothing. I hung up.

My hair was wet and I headed back upstairs to blow dry it. The phone in my hand rang again. I laughed when I answered. “I know…you love me right?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Zach?” I asked.

“Hey, baby.”

“Zach!” My voice was shrill even to me.

“You sound surprised. Who else loves you?” He laughed.

“My dad. What are you doing?” I sat down midway up the stairs.

“Oh. We’re at
Travon’s house hanging out.”

“When are you coming back?”

He hesitated. “A couple of days. Travon and I are going to hit some old hot spots down here tonight. I’ll touch base tomorrow.”

HOT SPOTS?  I felt sick. I didn’t want him going out down there. “OK. Be good.” Disappointment settled over me. I hoped he didn’t hear it in my voice.

“You all right?”

“Yeah. Have fun.”

“I did have fun and I miss you.”

I was quiet. I couldn’t help it. “I miss you too.”

“Em. Do you want me to drive home tonight? Because I will.”

YES.  I wanted to shout. “No. Just be good.” That’s twice I’d said that.

The doorbell chimed. “Crap. Someone’s at the door.”

“Well. Answer it.” He said.

“No. It’s dark.”

“Get your dad to answer it.”

“They’re gone. I’m by myself.” My heart beat frantically in my chest.

He cleared his throat. “Where are they?”

“I’ll explain later. What should I do?” 

“Let me call my dad.” I liked this suggestion.

“OK. But, wait. Maybe it’s MaryLou from next door. Let me try and peek.”

“
Em. Be careful.”

I inched down the stairs and lifted my finger to slowly pull the material back.

“Em?”

“Just a minute,” I whispered, trying to make out the figure in the light. Suddenly, I saw his face through the window. He smiled. The phone fell from my hand. I unlocked the dead bolt, turned the knob and threw open the door.

“ZACH!” My scream was muffled by the alarm echoing in the night. Crap. I entered the code as quick as possible and disarmed it. “Oh my God! What are you doing? You lied to me.” I threw myself into his arms which wrapped tightly around me.

“I tricked…not lied,” he corrected stepping inside with me in his arms and shut the door behind him.

I tightened the ties on my robe. “You said you were in San Francisco.”

His smile was big and proud. “I wanted to surprise you. I didn’t want you to know I got off the plane and drove straight here. In fact, if you give me a second, I’ll be asleep.”

“Come sit.” I motioned to the sofa. His skin was tan from the Mexican sun and he looked unbelievably beautiful.  A small shell necklace hung around his neck. His knees cracked as he sat. “Nice necklace.”

He fingered it. “Mercy purchase.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh my God. There were tons of little Mexican kids selling stuff on the beach. It’s sad. Guilt won over several times.” He laid his head back against the pillow. His eyes were tired and white circles surrounded them where his sunglasses protected his eyes. His arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me to his chest. “Man. It feels good to be home.” He sighed. “You said your folks were gone, where?”

I closed my eyes as his fingers pulled through my wet hair. “They went with Ryan for three days.” I smiled to myself waiting for his reaction. He was home and I wouldn’t be alone after all. My parents would be pissed. They knew Zach was gone too or I’d be on a plane to Mexico right now. 

“When did they leave?”

“Today.” I chewed on my thumbnail.

“So, I have three days to spend with you?” His voice perked up a bit.

I nodded, my head still on his chest. He was warm. I had a feeling our thoughts were in the same place. “I hope it’s more than three days.”

“You know what I mean.”

I giggled. “Your parents may not be OK with you being MIA for a couple of days,” I whispered.

“They don’t know I’m back.” His voice was low and full of insinuations and my body tingled as he spoke. “I have something for you in the Jeep. Let me run out and get it.” He lifted my head and slid out from under me.

“Wait.”

His glance held questions. “What?”

“Are you…staying?”

He pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “Do you want me to stay?”

Oh My God!  No way. This was going to happen. Another set of implications saturated my mind as I contemplated his offer. Nothing was there to stop us tonight. No probation. No friends in the other room. No parents. I wanted this more than anything, but I was suddenly scared shitless. My eyes flickered to his and away. I nodded since whatever was wedged in my throat wouldn’t move.

He spun his keys around his finger and the corners of his mouth turned upward in what seemed an understanding smile. I had a feeling, he’d read my mind. “I don’t have to stay.”

“I think you should move the Jeep into the garage,” I suggested.

He smiled bigger. “OK,” he said, and went back outside. 

For a short minute, I had to concentrate on breathing before I went to the garage and opened the door.