Buried [Completed]

Chapter twenty-two

Cory's small hand felt warm and precious in Jamie's grip. The little girl had been holding on tight ever since Jamie showed up in the classroom. She was thrilled Jamie had volunteered for the field trip to the Sheriff's Office. Not so Chester. He had barely nodded at her when she walked in the door. Now he seemed to be pretending that she and Cory were total strangers. 

Their teacher, Mrs. Wood, was a tall, unflappable woman, who never needed to raise her voice in order for the children to listen to her. She'd been warm and welcoming to Jamie and it was clear she had a soft spot for the motherless twins. Five other parents had volunteered to accompany the twenty children in this class to first the Fire Station and now the Sheriff's Office, where they were being given a tour and lectured at intervals on the importance of being a law-abiding citizen. Or else. 

"And here is our temporary lock-up." Deputy Michaels opened the door on a small, cement-floored room with a privy in one corner and a cot in the other. 

"Ewww." 

"Yuck." 

"Gross." 

Questions followed, a lot of them from Chester who seemed to be a natural leader in the class. She noticed several of the boys looked to him first, before reacting to comments from the deputy or Mrs. Wood.

When the day was finally over, and the children had been car-pooled back to the school, Jamie felt exhausted and in awe of Mrs. Woods who spent every working day dealing with twenty, nine-year-old children. In the school parking lot, roll call was taken, students accounted for, and then dismissed. Jamie turned to Cory and Chester. 

"Anyone interested in going out for ice cream?" 

She wanted to end the day on a festive note, and definitely felt she had earned a double chocolate scoop herself. Chester looked tempted, but he'd been invited to play at a friend's house, and when she gave her permission, opted to do that instead. Cory squeezed her hand even tighter. 

"Can we still go— just the two of us?"

 "Sure. Maybe we'll do some shopping, too." 

"Chester hates shopping." 

"A lot of guys do." 

They ordered cones from the Sweets Shop on Driftwood Lane, window-shopping as they strolled toward home. 

"Look at this." Jamie stopped at a display of wicker patio furniture in the hardware store window. 

"Wouldn't this be wonderful on our front porch?" 

"But we already have chairs on our porch." 

Yes. Ugly green plastic ones. "These are prettier, don't you think?" 

"Would Daddy like them?" 

"I'm sure he would. Let's go inside and see if they're comfortable." 

They finished their cones and Jamie used a tissue to clean Cory's mouth and hands. Then they went inside to see if the cushions were as comfortable as they looked. 

"Soft, huh?" 

Jamie smiled at Cory who was on the chair next to hers. Cory nodded. Jamie needed no more encouragement. 

"Let's get them." 

"But Daddy—" 

"Let's surprise him. It'll be fun." 

Jamie lowered the roof on her convertible and with the store manager's help, crammed the chairs into the back seat, the cushions in the trunk. Jamie drove home, anxious to set up the new furniture. When she arrived, Stella emerged from the house, followed by Liz who was wearing denim overalls and carrying two buckets of cleaning supplies. She'd forgotten it was cleaning day, today. It was a new luxury in her life— one she wasn't sure she could get used to.