All In The Family

by Roseanne Dowell

  Hmm first lunch, now he was at her house. “Is that right?”

  “Yeah, and I heard they were pretty cozy at lunch this afternoon. Is something going on with them?”

  You had to love small towns. Nothing better to talk about. At least this time it wasn’t something bad. “If there is, it’s their business, they’re both adults.” Hopefully, that would squelch some of the comments. At least from Jill.

  “I…I didn’t mean nothing by it. Gees, Callie, what’s with you lately? Ever since you become chief you act like you’re better than anyone else.”

  The menu slipped from her hand. Had she become better than thou? She didn’t think she had. But that was her grandmother being gossiped about. No one liked hearing about their family as the topic of gossip.

  “I hope I’ve not come off like that. I certainly didn’t intend to.”

  “Well you have. And I’m not the only one who’s noticed.” Jill shifted from one foot to the other. “Just ask anyone in here. You gonna order or what?”

  Everyone thought she’d become a snob? She had a hard time believing that. She hadn’t hardly talked to anyone since she’d been back. Including Jill. “Okay, tell me exactly what I’ve done that makes you think that?”

  “Just the way you act.”

  “You’ll have to explain that further. This is the first time I’ve seen you since I’ve been back. I’m sorry if my answer about my grandmother upset you, but it is true.”

  “I saw you at the bank twice, and you ignored me both times.” Jill tapped her pencil against her order pad.

  “If you saw me at the bank, why didn’t you say something to me? Clearly, I didn’t see you, or I definitely would have said hello.”

  “Well, I don’t know how you could have missed me. I almost bumped into you.”

  “Did you speak to me?” Jill was starting to irritate her. Wasn’t like she had nothing else to do or stuff on her mind. Whenever Callie saw someone she knew, she spoke to them.

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Cause you didn’t.”

  “Uh huh. And because I didn’t speak first, you decided I was a snob?”

  Jill shifted her weight to her other foot and let her hand fall to her side. “I’m sorry, Callie. I guess I’m the one being a snob.”

  “Hey, no problem. Next time you see me, say something. I certainly didn’t ignore you intentionally. Deep in thought or something. I have a million things on my mind right now.”

  “Okay, sure.”

  “Good, now, I’d like the spaghetti with meatballs and a salad with ranch dressing.”

  “What would you like to drink?”

  “Water.” Boy, what a confrontation. People had weird ideas. A guy two tables away caught her eye, short, black curly hair, not bad looking. Something about him looked familiar, yet Callie didn’t think she knew him. As if he sensed her staring at him, he looked her straight in the eye. Before she could look away or say anything, he stood, threw some money on the table and left. Callie caught a glimpse of a strange tattoo on the top of his right hand. Looked like a dragon or maybe a dinosaur from where she sat. Why that caught her eye, she wasn’t sure. Something about it though. He left without a glance back at her.

  Aunt Beatrice Lulu came in just as he was leaving. “Alfred, I was hoping to catch you.” She grabbed his arm to stop him.

  “Uh, hi, uh… Mrs. Eberhardt, is it? What can I do for you?”

  “Remember I said I wanted you to meet my niece, well here’s your chance.” Aunt Beatrice Lulu pulled him along before he had a chance to say anything else and stopped at her table. “Callie, I want you to meet someone. This is Alfred Doefert.” She slid in the seat next to Callie and motioned Alfred to take the seat across from her.

  “Nice to meet you, ma’am, and I’d like to stop and chat, but I’m in a bit of a hurry.” With that, he turned and hurried away.

  Aunt Beatrice Lulu sat with her mouth dropped open. “Well I dare say. You two are perfectly suited. Both of you are abhorrently rude.”

  “After what just happened back at the house, I can’t believe you’d do something like this.” Lord would this woman never learn. “And I’d hardly call him rude. He was on his way out when you grabbed him and pulled him back. Some might actually call that rude.” Callie was going to catch it for that comment. But darn it was time someone stood up to her. What made her think she could control people’s lives? And, darn what about that man was so familiar?

  “You, young lady are insolent.”

  Callie was saved from further comments when Uncle Ed came in. “There you are, my love. I’ve been looking all over town for you.” He leaned down to kiss Aunt Beatrice Lulu and winked at Callie behind her aunt’s back.

  Callie took advantage of the diversion and made her escape. It still bugged her about Alfred. The name wasn’t familiar, but sure as heck something about him was. It would come to her eventually. It always did.

  Taking advantage of the warm evening, she decided to pick up what she needed for the spinach salad for Sunday’s picnic. Unfortunately, before she even parked the car, her phone rang. “Johnson.”

  “Domestic disturbance.”

  Callie headed the car out of the parking lot. “On my way.” Why she thought nothing ever happened in this town was beyond her. In the short time she’d been here, there’d been a murder, kidnapping, drunk and disorderly, an attack on her and now this. This town sure had changed in the few years she’d been gone.

  Callie pulled around the corner. A crowd had gathered, making parking difficult. Peters cleared the way for her. “What’s going on?” Callie asked as she got out of the car.

  “Someone’s throwing stuff out a second story window. Lot of screaming and yelling going on. Every time we try to move in, they throw something else.”

  “What kind of stuff?”

  “Clothes, computer, personal items, even a TV.”

  “Just great.”

  “Sounds like a man yelling in the background. We can’t get close enough to see who’s at the window.”

  Callie edged closer to the building. “What’s the guy yelling?”

  “Help a couple of times. Holy hell, look!” Peters pointed.

  A woman stood at the window holding a man tied up and bent over the sill. Looked like she was going to throw him out, too.

  Callie hurried closer to the building. “Okay, ma’am, whatever he did, he doesn’t deserve that. Pull him back in.”

  “Hell he doesn’t deserve it. Cheating bastard!” She eased him out a little farther.

  “Help, the guy yelled. She’s going to kill me.”

  “Go inside. Find the building manager, and get that door open before the crazy woman does something stupid. And try to do it quietly. I don’t want her to know you’re in there until you pull them in.”

  Peters took off and Callie turned back to the window. “Let’s talk about this.” What’s your name?”

  “Isabella, Bella for short. And there’s nothing to talk about.”

  “Sure there is, Bella. How about you pull him inside and we can sit down and talk.”

  “She’s crazy,” the guy yelled. “She’s gonna kill me, you have to stop her.”

  “Crazy, I’ll show you crazy.” The woman edged the man a little farther out the window.

  If only he’d shut up, maybe Callie would have a chance to talk the woman out of it. The more he yelled, the angrier Bella got.

  “Bella, I understand your anger. But is it worth jail time? And if he dies, will you be able to live with yourself? He’s not worth it. No man is.”

  “He deserves to die.” Bella eased him out a little more.

  “You have to stop her. Shoot her or something.”

  Callie laughed. Right shoot her. That made a lot of sense.

  “Come on, Bella, let’s talk.”

  “What’s to talk about? He’s a no good cheating bastard. He deserves what he gets.”

  “Sure he does, but do you? Do you deserv
e to spend the rest of your life in jail? Don’t you deserve more than that? A chance at happiness.”

  Bella pulled the man in a little. “What difference does it make? My life’s over now. There’s no happiness.”

  “Sure there is. You think that jerk is the only man out there? Heck, there’s lots better men than him. Men who won’t cheat on you. Men who will treat you like a queen.” Where the hell was Peters? What was taking him so long?

  “He was my life. My everything. I lived for him.”

  “Come on, Bella, trust me, he’s not worth it. He’s not worth crying over.”

  A shadowy figure moved behind Bella. Peters. Callie held her breath. Peters grabbed Bella from behind and the woman disappeared inside. Callie hurried inside, flew up the stairs, rushed to the apartment and raced to the bedroom. Peters sat on the floor holding a now sobbing Bella. The man lay next to them, yelling for someone to untie him. Callie went to him and cut the ropes.

  He stood, looked at Bella and screamed, “Damn woman, you’re one crazy bitch. I’m out of here. Don’t call me, don’t look for me, and if you happen to see me, don’t talk to me.” He took off.

  The only sound was his footsteps clattering down the stairs and Bella’s now soft whimpering. Callie went to the window. The man didn’t even stop to pick up his stuff. He jumped in his car, revved his engine, and squealed his tires as he drove away. So much for that. Thank goodness that was over. As soon as she wrote her reports, the day was done. All she wanted to do was go home.

  Chapter 14

  Nothing worse than running late. Callie pulled her hair back into a ponytail. No time to do more. Besides with all the activity planned for today, she’d only end up pulling it back anyway. May as well start out that way. Although with her leg in a brace, she wouldn’t be able to participate too much. A quick brush of lipstick, and that’s as good as it was going to get. Hopefully, William would be late, too. All she needed was for him to arrive before her. Her relatives would have a field day. Good thing the park was only a few minutes’ drive. She stopped to pick up her sister, Maggie.

  Maggie sat on the porch, waiting for her. Thank goodness Maggie was on time. Usually Callie had to wait for her.

  Maggie got in the car and looked at her watch. “Not like you to be late.”

  “I know, everything seemed to go wrong this morning. First, I ran out of hot water then the blow dryer broke. As if that wasn’t bad enough, I couldn’t get my door to lock.”

  “You left your house open?”

  “Well if I hadn’t, I still wouldn’t be here and William’s coming. I couldn’t leave him at the mercy of our aunts.” She pulled into the spot they always gathered and groaned. “William’s here. Hopefully, he hasn’t been here long.”

  “I don’t know what you’re so worried about. They just have your best interest at heart.”

  “Easy for you to say. You met Drew in college, and he didn’t have to face these nuts until he was already in love with you. He is coming out later, isn’t he?”

  Maggie hit Callie’s arm. “Are you saying you’re in love with him? Oh, and yes, he gets off work at three. He’ll be here. He’s just as anxious to meet your beau as everyone else.”

  “Good lord, what chance will I even have after everyone gets done with him? Drew, too? What’s with this family?”

  “Oh, come on, Callie, everything’s done in good fun. If he can’t take it, then maybe he’s not the right guy for you.”

  “Well sitting here only gives them more time alone with him. Let’s go see what damage they’ve done.” Callie unbuckled her seat belt and opened the door. No more did she grab her cooler, than a shriek came from the picnic area.

  “Oh, my God! Do you see that?” Callie didn’t know if she should run to rescue William or get back in the car and leave.

  Maggie busted up laughing. “Only Aunt Ethel would do something like that.” She grabbed Callie’s arm. “Come on, we’re missing out on all the fun.”

  “You call Aunt Ethel putting a balloon under her blouse fun? Lord, look at her, as if her boobs weren’t big enough.”

  “Oh, quit being such a spoil sport. She’s not hurting anything. It’s not like she’s taking off her top or anything.”

  Callie wanted to crawl into a hole. What must William think of her aunt? Worse, what were they talking to him about, and how long had he been here? At least he was laughing, that was a good sign. Or was he putting on an act? No, it looked genuine. In fact, he looked like he was actually enjoying himself.

  “Hey, about time you got here.” William came and took the cooler from her.

  “Sorry, I’m late. Everything and anything that could go wrong this morning did. How long have you been here?”

  “Long enough to meet your aunts, fill some water balloons, and get assigned to organize the kids’ games.”

  “They put you in charge of the kids’ games? I’m sorry, I should have warned you.”

  “Hey, no problem. I think I can handle it.”

  “So that’s all, they didn’t give you the third degree or anything?”

  “Oh yeah, about that, they asked a few questions but they told me something very disturbing about you.”

  “About me?” Callie couldn’t even imagine. “What did they tell you about me?”

  “Well, um, this is sort of embarrassing.” William looked down, shuffled his feet and feigned discomfort. “They told me you had plastic surgery.”

  “Plastic surgery? Are you serious?”

  “Well, that’s what they said.”

  “Oh my god, I can’t believe they’d tell you something like that. Just where did they say I had plastic surgery? My nose, surely you don’t believe that just by looking at it. It’s too big for starters and it’s crooked cause I broke it when I was little.”

  William laughed. “Well, actually they said it was on your um…” He leaned in to whisper. “Your belly button, because you had a very large protruding belly button and so you had plastic surgery.”

  Callie laughed. Her aunts would never cease to amaze her. “That’s got to be the best one I’ve heard yet. Plastic surgery on a belly button. Come on, let’s walk.” She took his hand and led him away from the family. “So what did they ask you? I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you got here.”

  “Not a problem, really. I like your aunts, and they’re only looking out for your best interest.”

  “My best interest, right. Being nosy is more like it.”

  “Well they did ask about my job, and why I was here, how we met, how long we’d been dating. We had a good half hour or so before you got here to discuss things. I already figured out Aunt Ethel is the ring leader. I would have thought Aunt Beatrice Lulu after I met her the other day, but no, Aunt Beatrice Lulu – you see I’ve already learned to use her full name, also – and Aunt Charlotte, uh Lottie, do Aunt Ethel’s bidding, no questions asked. Your mother seemed like the quiet one of the sisters.”

  “My mother? Oh don’t let her fool you. Nothing, believe me, nothing about my mother is quiet. She holds her own and between her and Aunt Ethel, well let’s just say, what one doesn’t think of the other one does.”

  “Well, I will say I liked them. All of them. They’re fun to be around. But I do have one problem.”

  “Uh oh, what’s that?”

  “I lied. I can’t think of any games for the kids. Got any ideas?”

  She was beginning to love this man. “Oh sure, tons of them. We’ve been doing these picnics for years. There’s the water balloons, of course, and there’s the wheelbarrow race, that’s good for ten or fifteen minutes. Then, let’s see, there’s blind man’s bluff that could take a good part of the afternoon. Oh, don’t forget the three-legged race. That’s always good for a laugh. And of course there’s football and baseball.”

  “Hey, you two, get back here and join the party,” Aunt Ethel called.

  “Guess we better get back. Are you sure you’re okay with this? I mean, if you want to leave, I’ll understand. My fami
ly can be a bit overbearing and overwhelming at times.”

  “Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Bring them on.” William leaned down and kissed her.

  “All right, you two, enough of that. William, get over here and organize these kids,” Callie’s mother called.

  “Oh boy, you’re in for it now.”

  “What game do you think we should play first?”

  “Start with the wheelbarrow race. That always warms everyone up.”

  “Uh, prizes?”

  “The aunts have that under control.”

  William rubbed his hands together as he gathered the kids around. “Is everyone ready to have some fun?”

  “Yes!” the kids yelled in unison.

  “Okay, everyone line up behind me and find a partner.” William pointed to a spot directly behind him. “Next, I’m going to need some judges across the way. Aunt Ethel, Aunt Lottie, Aunt Beatrice Lulu, Mrs. Johnson, Judge Roberts and Callie, stand across the way. You’ll decide the first, second, and third place winners.”

  The women started across the field. “How far?” Aunt Ethel yelled.

  “That’s good, right there. Okay, kids you all have your partners? Good. We’re going to do the wheelbarrow race now. Everyone ready, okay get set. Go.”

  The rest of the family stood on the sidelines cheering the kids on.

  Ah the thrill of participating with Maggie as her partner. What fun that was. Although, now she thought about it, she was always the wheelbarrow. Somehow that didn’t seem quite fair.

  The race ended and Aunt Ethel approached with a familiar looking man. “Callie, there you are. Look who’s here. Remember Bobby Hansen.”

  Just what she needed. Aunt Ethel beamed. Terrific. What the heck was she supposed to do with two men? Thank goodness, William was occupied with the kids. Maybe she could get rid of Bobby. “Hi.”

  “Hi, hope you don’t mind, your aunt invited me.” Bobby smiled down at her.

  Callie had forgotten how tall he was. “I see.” Darn, she couldn’t think of a thing to say.

  “So how’ve you been? I hear you’re the new chief of police.”