Into the Night

{New} Ch. 8 : Footings

Calla and Lily approached the police car in two different ways. One tiptoed forward and tried to spot the back of the driver's head, hoping to see a familiar dark haired man that had interviewed him once before. The other already had her head in the passenger-side window with her lower half sticking out.

She spoke to the officer as cool as a cat with its paw planted on a mouse's tail. Despite his much larger stature and her thin frame, she was very much the hunter and he the prey. She just couldn't decide how she was going to sink her teeth in.

"Hello officer errr," she mumbled as she tried to recall his last name, but decided to just move on like she had said it. "What brings you out here on this lonesome road?"

Lily tried to recall his last name, only to realize that over the past thirty or so years she never cared to ask him for it. She didn't know him, she knew of him. That he was an officer that lived next door and she couldn't get her mail in only her bra since that's "indecent exposure" and there are "impressionable children" to think about. She said for him to ban the kids from the neighborhood, but noooo that's illegal.

Other than that month long disagreement she remembered him as much as a twig on the side of the road. Only two other incidents bothered to make an impression on her. The time the wind, or Lily in a ski mask, knocked over his garbage cans over- to reveal a plethora of empty microwaveable t.v dinners and boxed of hair dye. Then there was the time when a round woman barged out his house completely naked. Because it's not "indecent exposure" and "impressionable" when you're dating the woman, apparently.

"Gruhmm," the no-good-nudism-hating officer grumbled.

He meant to say Greene. However a chicken, bacon, avocado, and spinach sub, with plenty of mayonnaise, made speaking difficult. He hadn't ate all day. At least not a decent meal. He slurped down half of the energy drink in his cupholder before giving communication another go.

"It's Officer Greene. I'm coming back from the wreck. I promised to check if they missed anything that possibly belonged to your nephew," he informed. "And by the by, there's no need to address me by my last name. I've known you for over a decade I think you're allow-"

Lily cringed at his mention of time.

"Not to be dramatic, but don't tell anyone that you've known me for a decade unless you say you were friends with my dad. Okay?"

Ash reeled back an inch. He wasn't an old man, just yet. They looked to be in the same age range. Late twenties to early thirties. Though the premature greying hair, that began in his pre-teen years, didn't agree with him. Then there was the fact that just the other day he had yelled at the local hoodlums for stepping on his lawn...

"Okay then, I don't know what to say to that. Women and aging. I'll never get it. People are like wine, they only get better with age."

"Or they become vinegar, bitter and used in cheap douches."

He took a beat.

"I don't know how to respond that," he confessed.

Ash brushed some crumbs from his jaw before glancing at Calla from the rear-view mirror.

"You two should hop in. Unless you're expecting someone else to come and give you a ride. Oh and one of you will have to ride up front since there's a bunch of stuff in the back." He punctuated the question by taking another bite out of his sandwich.

"Ummm. I'll be back in second. Gotta fill in my neph- brother."

"Excuse me?" He said between the next bite.

"He's my younger angsty brother."

Ash still didn't know how to respond since he knew he was her nephew, he even said so earlier. But she obviously didn't want to face that reality, even if she did it with grace and zero signs of aging. Since he had nothing to respond with he continued to chew with his confused mouth open. He didn't do it to be rude. The officer bit off more than he could chew.