Progress (The Progress Series) (9 page)

“It’s fine Lily. I’m sure. Have you tried his phone? Do you have Jake and Dennis’ number?”

“I’ve tried them all. Jesse’s phone has been disconnected. I didn’t want to call his parents because he’s always in so much trouble…” Lily’s breathing accelerated.

“Okay, Lily. I will try to find him. Can I reach you at this number?”

“Yes. Please, please find him Charlie. He wasn’t…
okay.
He was…he was…just please find him and call me as soon as you can.” Lily was now exasperated.

“I will. If I can’t find him within the hour, I’ll call you back anyway.”

“Thank you.” Lily sighed. “He was right about you.”

Charlie hung up the phone and tried dialing his cell.
Yep, it’s been disconnected.

She grabbed her keys and headed out the door. On her way to his house, her imagination started getting the best of her and she started to tremble. Unlike the mild panic attacks she’d had in the past, her heart started racing and she couldn’t keep up with her thoughts. If he wasn’t home she didn’t know where to look next. She couldn’t focus on one thing at a time; the worst was flooding into her.
What if something has happened to him?

She dialed work.

“Thank you for calling--” Adam answered.

“Hey Adam, it’s Charlie. I have a strange question.”

“Oh, hey Charlie.” he responded with a smarmy tone. “What’s your question?”

“Have you seen Jesse -- the ah…delivery driver -- in the past few days?”

“Well, actually, he didn’t show up for his shift this morning. Thank god it was slow. I had to take all the deliveries at lunch rush. But I’m sure Lawrence will want to write him up for it. He could lose his job, you know.” Adam said, divulging too much information.

“Oh jeez. I know this is going to sound strange, but…a family emergency came up for him, and his phone got disconnected. I was just calling to see if he was able to stop in and talk to you guys yet. I’m sure he wants to keep his job, but he just needs a little…time. If you could hold off on telling
Lawrence for a day or two, I would be incredibly grateful.” Charlie turned on the charm.
Jesse better be on his deathbed if I’m going to have to endure the next six months of flirtation from Adam.

“Well, I suppose
I could
wait to tell him. There’s no technical statute of limitations for writing someone up for missing a shift. Out of curiosity, why are
you
calling for him?” Adam asked skeptically.

Oh shit Charlie…think fast. Think fast.
“Oh. Well, his family is friends with my family. I just heard the news of his…”
Think!
“…uncle’s passing and wanted to make sure he was okay. I think he’s with his mother right now. I’m sure that the family would be pleased to hear how forgiving The Crimson Cellar is in these kinds of situations.”
Whew.

“I’ll wait until Monday to let
Lawrence know. Thanks for giving me the heads-up. You enjoy your weekend with the girls, Charlie. I’ll be thinking of you.” She could hear his smile.

She hung up.
Ick.

She pulled into the driveway and Jesse’s car was there. Running up to the door, she rang the bell. After two rings, she opened the screen door and knocked. “Jess? Jesse, are you here?”

She closed the door and took a step back. Her eyes flickering from window to window, she couldn’t see any movement. Nothing.

“Hey. Hey you!” an elderly voice crumpled behind her.

She turned and saw an old man standing and pointing his cane at the house. He was about seventy-five and wrinkly, with what looked like a prosthetic leg.

“You looking for the boys that live here?” he asked.

“Yes! Have you seen them? Specifically the blonde one?”

“Yeah. He was taken away in cuffs last night. Makin’ a ruckus. High on somethin’, kids these days…” He started murmuring; Charlie couldn’t hear the rest.

“Sir, do you know which police department has him?”

“My wife called the cops. She said it was a big brawl. Punches left and right. There was a girl here, too. Wearin’ nothin’ but her underwears.” He started mumbling again. “Ah, uh
Burnsville. It was Burnsville cops that took ‘em.”

Charlie scratched her forehead and jogged to her car. “Thank you, sir!”

She drove straight to the police department, calling Lily on her way.

“Hi, Lily?”

“Yes! Charlie! Tell me you found him.”

“I just found out he was taken into custody by the
Burnsville police last night. Something about a fight. I’m headed there now. I’ll call you when I’ve spoken with someone.”

“I’m on my way. I’ll be there soon,” Lily said, and hung up.

The police department was only five minutes from his house. Charlie drove up and parked in a visitor’s spot. Never having been to the police station before, the exterior intimidated her. The red brick building was adorned with white lettering above each door. One door was labeled “City Hall,” the other “Police.”
Well, I guess I’ve got the right place.

She tugged on the heavy door and entered the lobby. It was smaller than it looked from the outside. The floors were covered in a gray tile; on either side of the room sat a dozen chairs and two coffee tables, along with a large tropical plant. There was a soda machine and two restrooms.

She walked straight to the desk and spoke into the holes that were buried in bullet-proof glass.

“I’m looking for an inmate.”
Inmate? Is that what he is?

“The name?” A stern voice came from the female police officer behind the desk.

“Jesse Anders. He would have arrived last night, I believe.”

“Yep, he’s here all right,” she rolled her eyes. “Just waiting to be transferred to the
Hastings jail.”

“Is there anything I can do? May I see him? Ca
n I pay his bail?” Charlie asked.

“Nope. We don’t allow visitors and we don’t set bail here. They do that in
Hastings. He should be there by tomorrow morning, you can check for him there at that time,” the officer said.

“Do you know what the usual bail is for
this…situation?”

“It usually depends on priors. If it’s his first offense, it will likely be five hundred.”

Charlie raked her hand through her hair and sighed. “Thank you for your help.” She scratched her forehead and walked out. On her way to the car, she ran into Lily.

“Charlie! Is he in there?”

“Yes, Lily, he is. He’ll survive. I think he needs…money. I’m going to try to scrape together his bail, but I can’t promise anything.” She faked a smile and looked at Lily for a split second.

“Thank you, Charlie. If I could afford--”

“It’s fine Lily. We’ll figure it out. They won’t let anyone see him now. He’s going to be transferred to Hastings by morning; they must still be asking him questions about what happened.”

Lily gave Charlie a hug and she
started walking toward her car. Just as she approached it, she remembered. “Oh Lily! I wanted to say thanks for the sunflower!” she turned and shouted. Almost to her car, Lily faced her.

“What sunflower?” she asked, puzzled.

Oh.

“Never mind. I’ll see you soon.” Charlie waved and got in the car.

Dear Journal,

AHH! Jesse is so frustrating! He makes me feel so insignificant one minute, and the next, I’m the only other person in the world. I’ll never understand.

I went to the library and did some research on manic-depression. Things are starting to make a little more sense, but I don’t want to assume anything about him until he tells me. According to some of the stuff I read, bipolar people have very intriguing minds. Extreme highs and lows, erratic behavior, overblown self-esteem at times… all very interesting. It doesn’t make me want to back off, it only makes me want to crawl inside his head and tell him everything is going to be okay.

I don’t pretend to like his music if I don’t. And I don’t pretend to be interested in his bike stuff if I’m not. I just enjoy watching his passion for them. He gets so excited and worked up that I fall into a trance where I can feel what he feels. It’s almost as though I get a surge of energy with him.

But we’re still just friends. Fuck. How many times can this happen to a girl in a lifetime? At this point, I swear he just keeps me around because I make him feel attractive and interesting.

Oh! I feel I should mention… I have now lost almost fifty pounds! I had to look twice at the scale this morning. It’s only been about five months since I started at The Crimson. I still have a long way to go, but this is a really good start. I hear the last twenty are the hardest. It hasn’t been as difficult as I thought it would be. As long as I watch my diet and keep moving, I hardly think about it. I suppose Jess has been a nice distraction, and motivator. But, I feel pretty amazing, actually.

Charlie didn’t have much time. It was evening already and she hadn’t asked her parents for the money. They were his only hope. She had to finish packing and leave the next day.

Should I forego my weekend with the girls and use the money I’ve saved to bail him out? No. Hell no.

Charlie ran upstairs and found her parents watching
Wheel of Fortune
.

“Hey Dad, I have a silly question.”

“What?” her dad asked softly.

“Do you have an extra five hundred dollars lying around that I could use to bail my friend out
of jail?” Charlie asked bluntly, flashing her teeth in an exaggerated smile. Honesty was the best policy.

“Seriously? Who’s in jail?” He suddenly looked concerned.

“Jess.”

Charlie’s dad rolled his eyes and let out a long sigh.
“What’s he in there for?” he asked, not concerned anymore.

“Fighting,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Then, no,” he said.

She nodded and tugged at her lip. “Okay. Thanks anyway.”
I tried
.

“Oh for Pete’s sake, Charlie! What the hell do I look like? A bank?”

“No, Dad! I don’t expect you--” she started.

“My wallet is on my dresser. Go get my cash card. You can take out three hundred a day. If you hurry you can get to the bank before it closes and withdraw three hundred today and another two hundred tomorrow. He can stay a night in jail; maybe he’ll learn a lesson.”

I doubt that.

“Seriously Dad. You don’t have to do this. I just told him I’d try.”

“Just do it. Tell him I want him to pay me back.”

Charlie jumped up and gave her father a hug. “Thanks Dad. You’re the best!” she gushed.

*

The next morning, Charlie called Lily and told her she’d posted Jesse’s bail. She
had asked to keep it anonymous, even though she knew he’d find out it was her eventually. Mentioning to Lily that she’d be out of town for the weekend, she said she’d speak to Jesse on Monday. She also asked Lily to tell Jess that she had covered for him at work. Lily thanked her over and over.

At noon, Charlie quickly packed the rest of her things and called Karal. “Hey, I’m sorry I’m late. I’ll just meet you guys at the cabin. I had some stuff I had to take care of this morning.”

“Sounds good. I’ll give you the address. Do you have a pen?”

Charlie fetched a pen and a scrap of paper and jotted down the address.

“Okay, Angie and I are going to leave then,” said Karal.

“Great! I’ll be right behind you.”

Charlie drove alone to the cabin. As the miles stretched between Charlie and her hometown, so did her thoughts about Jess.
He’s home by now and sober. He’ll be fine.
She cranked up the music and enjoyed the ride.

The cabin was glorious. Charlie, Angie, and Karal arrived around two o’clock and instantly cracked open their beers.

“Cheers!” They all clinked bottles and dug out the s’mores stuff.

Charlie busied herself making the fire while Angie and Karal made up the beds and turned on the power to get the fridge running and the water heating.

By six o’clock, all three of the girls were drunk and getting drunker. It was exactly what Charlie needed. It was liberating. The night moved by swiftly and before they knew it, midnight had come and gone.

“Has anyone ordered the pizza yet?” Angie slurred.

“Ha! How about this…I’ll pay if you go and get it!” Karal said.

“No! Order it! Maybe the delivery driver will be cute. We can invite him to join us!” Angie said, giggling.

Their voices carried over the lake and echoes could be heard over a mile away.

“Hey! I just got a fantastic idea!” Angie said.

“Aren’t your ideas always fantastic?” Charlie asked sarcastically.

“Of course, but this one is es…espesh…shpesh. Ugh. Whatever. Eshpeshicially fantastic.”