Holly Jacobs - Homecoming Day

“Yeah, I remember. Once a guy locks you up, he sort of becomes memorable. I went home and pulled out my very pink diary and wrote, Dear Diary, guess who I met tonight?”

“You know, you can lie to other people, but you should never lie to yourself or your diary. What you should have written was, Dear Diary, This very nice, understanding and probably very intelligent cop put me in a waiting room after I made a boneheaded decision.”

Laura thought she saw a ghost of a smile flit across JT’s face, but it was so fast she couldn’t be sure.

The girl simply scowled at the police officer and shrugged. “Yeah, whatever.”

Seth didn’t appear phased by her sullenness, but forged ahead. “I was worried about you and wanted to be sure everything’s okay at home.”

“What you’re asking is if my mom beats me? I mean, you saw the slap in the car and you’re worried that I’m abused. But no, she doesn’t beat me or abuse me in any way. Ms. Watson asked, too. I’ll tell you what I told her, my mom’s not interested enough to beat me. She was annoyed that I’d ruined her date, that’s all.”

“I’m sure—”

JT cut him off. “So am I. I am utterly positive that my mother doesn’t beat me. I’m not abused. Ignored, maybe, but I don’t think that’s a crime. Listen, Officer, I’m fine. Mom slapped me ’cause she was pissed. She went back to her date and forgot all about it. She even forgot to ground me. So, don’t worry. You’ve done your duty.” She glanced at the clock. “And so have I. Detention’s over, so I’m gonna go. Okay, Ms. Watson?”

Laura glanced at the clock and nodded. “Yes. I’ll see you here after school tomorrow.”

“Yeah, whatever.” JT gathered up her books, stuffed them in her backpack and rushed out of the room.

Laura waited for the door to slam before she apologized to the officer. “Sorry she was rude, Lieutenant—”

He unfolded himself from the desk and corrected her. “Seth.”

“Seth,” Laura agreed. “It was nice of you to check on her.”

“Listen, I know it’s a bit early, but I want to grab something to eat before I head for the station. Want to get a slice of pizza at Porky’s and we can talk about JT?”

Laura wasn’t sure she wanted to at all. As a matter of fact, she was pretty positive she didn’t. Porky’s was close to City Hall and frequented by the entire police department. She didn’t want to run into any of Jay’s friends, but she did want the lieu—Seth, she corrected herself. She felt something ease in her as she altered his name in her head. It was easier to think of him as Seth than as a lieutenant.

And Porky’s or not, she did want his advice on JT.

She missed having Jay to bounce things off of. Problems with students. The small triumphs. None of the other teachers had been overly interested in JT. Most had decided she was a problem student, and a few had totally written her off. Seth seemed genuinely concerned, so maybe he’d have an idea. “Sure. I’ll follow you there.”

SETH WASN’T SURE WHAT possessed him to invite Laura to join him for dinner, but he was glad she’d accepted the offer. He was also glad to see her in an all-wheel drive vehicle, which he’d noted on their way to Eighth and Myrtle. It might be only early November, but that wasn’t too soon to think about winter. And the winters in Erie could be brutal. Some people in town drove cars that simply weren’t suited to the climate. But not only was the all-wheel drive suitable, the cherry-red color suited her somehow, too.

He kept glancing in his rearview mirror. Stopped at a red light, he blatantly stared at her. It appeared that Laura was a singer, and whatever song was playing must be a favorite because she wasn’t merely singing, but doing a little head-bop, as well.

He couldn’t help smiling as she parked behind him at a meter. He waited and walked across the street with her.

“What are you grinning at?” she asked.

“So, what song was playing?”

“Huh?”

“Something you like was on the radio as we drove here.”

She laughed. “Ha! Jay used to tease me about my car-singing habits. And rumor has it I’m just as bad in the shower.”

She froze as she said the word shower, as if she’d shared something too personal.

“So, what song?”

“Lady Antebellum’s ‘Looking for a Good Time.’”

“A country fan,” he commented, as they entered the small pizza joint.

“Do you mind if we sit in the corner?” she asked.

“Sure.” He led her to one of the vacant tables. “I’ll go place our order. Anything in particular?”

“I’m not picky.”

Normally, Seth would choose a traditional pepperoni pizza, but given Laura’s condition, he asked for a vegetable pizza instead and brought them both bottles of water.

“So, tell me more about JT,” he said.

“I teach art. I’m sure you guessed that when you walked into my classroom. Anyway, JT’s a freshman and she’s got talent. A lot of talent. I’ve so enjoyed having her in my class, but the other teachers…”

“Not so much?” he supplied.

“Not so much,” she agreed. She took off her coat and rested her arms on top of her huge stomach. “She rarely turns in homework and her classroom behavior isn’t much better. She’s passing, but only just.”

Seth forced his gaze upwards and concentrated on Laura’s face. It had been easy to forget about her pregnancy when she was bundled up. “So she’s doing detention with you?”

“I went to the principal Monday morning and requested it.” She continued recounting her conversation and concluded with, “We hope maybe a stint with me might give me the opportunity to find out what’s really going on with her. Possibly give her a chance to open up to someone.”

“You must be reaching her on some level. After all, she did call you when she was waiting for her mom.”

Laura nodded. “Yes, there’s that. Thanks. Although, it’s not like she’s said a lot that night or this week.”

“So the strategy is to wait it out and try to get her to talk.” It was a statement, not a question. Seth hardly knew Laura, but he knew this much about her.

“Yes.”

“Is there something I can do?”

“I’d take any advice you have. I’m at my wit’s end.”

“Just keep caring about her. Sometimes it simply takes one person caring to help a kid turn a corner.”

“Two,” she said.

“Two?”

“You care, too. You stopped by today to check on her because you care, so she’s got two of us in her corner.”

“It’s my job.”

She shook her head, looking as if she didn’t believe him.

“It is,” he protested. “A good cop’s goal isn’t just to arrest someone, but to step in before they have to arrest someone.”

She shook her head again. “It’s more than your job, at least with JT. You see a lot of troubled kids. You stopped by today because she’s more than a job for you.”

“I could say the same thing about you,” he pointed out. “I’ll be the first to admit, we can’t save everyone, but we can save some. I have a sister, Cessy, who’s only a few years older than JT. I would hope that if she had problems, someone would step in and help her if I couldn’t be there for her.”

The pizza came and they each chose a slice.

After a couple bites, Laura asked, “Is your family here in Erie?”

Not a topic he wanted to discuss, but he answered, “No, not Erie proper. They’re in Whedon.”

Seth had grown up in Whedon, a small town just outside of Erie. But he’d joined the Erie police force because it was bigger and offered a lot more opportunities to advance.

“That’s nice that your family’s so close,” Laura said.