On Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve

Charlie stared at the girl like a hound that had cornered its prey. Lucy had to pull him aside to talk privately. “Just leave her a minute. She’s not going anywhere.”
 “You’re so gullible, Lucy. That one will run as soon as we turn our backs.”
 “That’s just the problem, Charlie.  I think she’s a runaway, out on the road. She’s got all the signs. No money and doesn’t seem to have a place to stay.”  Lucy glanced back at the girl and sighed.  “I know it’s a pain in the neck, but we can’t just let her go.”
  “Who said anything about letting her go? We’ll call Tucker. Let him handle it.” Tucker Tulley was Charlie’s closest friend.  A sergeant the Cape Light police department, Tucker was Charlie’s go-to-guy for any legal questions. “She tried to walk out on a check. That’s grounds enough to lock her up for the night,” he insisted.
 “Lock her up? Are you crazy? Tucker will never arrest her over a seven-dollar check.”
 Lucy knew their soft-hearted police officer friend too well.
 “Okay, maybe he won’t charge her. But he’ll let her sleep in the station.  They let vagrants sleep in the lockup if they have no place else to go.” When Lucy didn’t answer right away, he added, “Come on, Lucy. What else can we do? Let’s not stand around arguing about this kid all night. It’s snowing out there. I want to get home.”
 Lucy was tired too. And frustrated and annoyed by having this problem dumped in her lap at this hour. She didn’t want to feel responsible for this teenage girl-–a surly, rude and not entirely truthful one at that. But she did feel responsible, and leaving the girl in the town lockup for the night was no solution. The sheer idea of it was outrageous.
 “She’s barely sixteen. She can’t sleep in any smelly old lock up. Look at her,” Lucy urged her husband. “She’s sick. She needs help.”
 Charlie practically gritted his teeth, but he did turn to look at the girl. Under the makeup, punked-out hair, and trashy clothes, Lucy saw a glimmer of vulnerability. Or maybe she just looked even sicker now. Still sitting in the chair, she shivered and pulled her jacket tighter around her slim body.
 “Don’t tell me you’re thinking of taking her to the hospital, Lucy. That drive is over an hour and will take two in the snow.  And I know you don’t want to do that on your own at this hour.”
 Lucy knew very well how long it took to get to the Southport Hospital. She made the trip back and forth nearly every day. She had already considered that solution and rejected it. Charlie was right. It was too long, too late, and too cold outside.
 “No, not the hopsital. You’re right. It’s too late to take her there.” She paused and met his glance but didn’t say anything more.
 “Give it to me straight, Lucy. But I hope you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking,” he warned. 

Reprinted from On Christmas Eve by arrangement with Berkley, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc., Copyright © 2010 by The Thomas Kinkade Company and Parachute Publishing, L.L.C.