Chapter 48

I stood there, holding Jill in my arms. She still held me tight, afraid to let go as she continued to sob.

"I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

The sobbing reduced to an occasional shudder.

"Come on, Jill."

I led her to her bedroom.

"Pack some clothes for school tomorrow. And something to wear tonight. You're coming over to my house."

She tried to work while holding my hand.

"Jill. It's OK. You can let go."

She got a suitcase packed and put some pants and a shirt in it. She held up a transparent nightgown and I shook my head no. She returned it to the drawer and pulled out a pretty blue one that was more suitable for wearing in my living room.

"Anything else you need? Makeup? Books for school? Bathroom stuff? Do you wear underwear or shoes?"

She giggled, said "Oops" and smiled. She got in gear and got a few more things. I held the suitcase closed so she could fasten it.

Bozo was in the front room when we went out. "Come on, Boy. You can come, too."

We went out to the car. Damn, I forgot about Sara. She was in the front seat, leaning back against the window.

I tapped on the window. No reaction. I could make a louder noise and scare her to death. Or Jill and I could get in on the drivers side and scare her that way. If she was going to freak I'd rather have a window between us.

I took the car key and rapped on the window. It did the job. Sara sat upright, then swung around, leaning away from the window. She looked embarrassed when she saw it was me.

She unlocked the door and opened it. "I'm sorry. I must have fallen asleep."

"Did I scare you?"

"Maybe a little."

"I'm sorry."

My jacket was folded up, resting in her lap. She picked it up, got out of the car and let Jill in. Jill leaned over and put Bozo in the back seat, telling him to stay, then slid over to the middle. Sara got in and put the jacket back in her lap. I went around the car, put the suitcase in back and got behind the wheel. Jill wrapped both arms around my right one.

I started the car and turned around, headed for home. I looked over at Sara.

"Just a little? How high do you jump when you're really scared?"

She reddened a bit. "OK, you scared me. I was asleep and all of a sudden there was this loud noise. What was I supposed to do?"

"I guess be scared. I'm sorry I had to do that but I didn't know how you would react if all of a sudden there was somebody right next to you."

"The window was better." She looked down at her lap. I glanced at Jill and nodded. She reached over and tugged Jill around by her shoulder, holding out the jacket. "I think this belongs to you."

Jill looked over at me to verify I wanted her to have it. I smiled and she lit up. She let go long enough to put it on, then wrapped around my arm even tighter, snuggling her face into my bicep.

I pulled into the driveway and Mom ran out to the car.

"Are you all right?"

I got out. "Yeah, we're fine. What's the matter?

"Do you know what time it is?"

"Not really."

"It's 12:30. I've been trying to reach you for the last three hours. Jill's phone has been ringing right into her voice mail."

"Oh. I forgot to plug it back in." Jill and Sara had gotten out.

"I didn't realize it was that late. I thought maybe 10 or something like that."

"Jill, your father called. He's very worried. He's been trying to reach you since late this afternoon. He thought maybe you were over here. By the way, what are you doing here?"

"She's going to spend the night, Mom."

Her right eyebrow lifted as she looked at me. The way it used to when I'd fake an illness to get out of school.

"She's going to sleep on the couch. I'll get my sleeping bag and sleep on the floor."

"That still doesn't tell me why she's here."

"I don't want her to be alone tonight."

We were interrupted by Bozo standing on the back seat, scratching the window and whining. Jill went over to let him out but he didn't realize he had to get off the window or he would fall when she opened the door. She ended up crawling on the front seat and lifting him out.

"That's going to work real well when he's a 100 pounds."

She hugged him to her face and stuck her tongue out at me.

I grabbed the suitcase and we went inside.

Mom sent Jill into the kitchen to call her father because he was "worried sick about her."

"And I want to talk to you while she's in there."

"Sara, go brush your teeth while the bathroom's empty."

"Yes, Daddy."

With both girls gone, I sat down on the couch next to Mom.

"OK, give. Why did you bring her home?"

"She's got some things going on. There was more to this than a little jealousy. I don't want her by herself tonight. Let her stay tonight and let me take her to school in the morning. She can go home tomorrow."

"What's going on, Jackie?"

"Mom, I want to talk to you but it's not going to be a couple of minute conversation. Let me wait till we have some time alone."

"OK, Jackie. Are you OK?"

"Yeah. I just need to take it easy with her for a bit."

"All right. Don't you go getting hurt."

"I won't."

I saw Sara come out of the bathroom and walk into my room.

"I've got to get my sleeping bag out of my room. And there's something I need to talk to Sara about."

"How come you have time to talk to her but not to me?"

"Mom, the thing with Jill can wait a day or two. I need to talk to Sara about something now."

"OK. I'll see you in the morning. Tell you what. Take Jill to school, then come back and I'll drive you in. I'm sure Sara's not going to go to school for a week or so."

I went down the hall and tapped on my door.

"Come in."

"Are you still dressed?"

"Yes, Jackie, I'm still dressed." Drama queen.

I opened the door, walked in and closed it behind me.

"Oh, you want a little privacy, do you?"

"You're damn right. I don't want everyone in this house to see me chewing you out."

"What do you mean?" The flippancy had disappeared.

I walked over to my closet and got the sleeping bag of the top shelf.

"Did you tell Jill to tell me to spank her?"

"Yeah, I thought it would be sexy. And she'd feel like she was punished so she wouldn't have to feel guilty."

"I see. Is that familiar to you in any way?"