CHAPTER 24
1180 Words
CHAPTER 24
Kennedy lost track of how many times she and the Lindgrens watched the video. It wasn’t the full encounter, but it was enough. The phone’s memory reached its max right after the cop knocked Reuben to the ground. It was enough to show Reuben hadn’t instigated anything. Enough to exonerate him. Kennedy couldn’t decide if she was more relieved to finally have the proof or mad at herself for not discovering it sooner.
Well, there was no way they would hold Reuben in jail for long, not with information like this. Now, the only question was who she should give it to. She tried calling her dad, but no one picked up either at the office or at home. She sent him an email and asked for the full name of his lawyer friend after a Google search showed at least tweny-seven attorneys in the greater Boston area called Jefferson.
“You know it’s late, don’t you?” Carl asked as she stared at her phone. “Even if the right people got a hold of this, Reuben won’t be getting out tonight.”
“Carl’s right, hon.” Sandy rubbed Kennedy’s shoulders. “You can always wake up first thing tomorrow and then decide what to do. These things always seem to make more sense once you’ve had a good night’s sleep.”
A good night’s sleep? Didn’t they know, couldn’t they understand that she had been begging God for the chance to get her hands on something like this, verifiable proof that Reuben was innocent? And now they were telling her to go to sleep and wait for morning?
“I’m not an expert in these things,” Carl said, “but I know your dad pretty well, and I’m guessing he’d advise you to talk with Reuben’s lawyer before you do anything else.”
Carl was right, at least the part about that being what her dad would say.
Sandy took her by the arm. “If you come with me by the bathroom, sweetheart, I’ll get you your toothbrush and some pajamas.”
“We still need to take that picture for Woong,” Carl reminded her.
“We don’t need to keep Kennedy up for that. We can use the timer on your camera like usual.”
Carl stood up with a groan. “Guess that means I better find it.” He tousled Kennedy’s hair affectionately. “Good night, kiddo. I hope you sleep well.”
Kennedy thanked him again for letting her stay over and followed Sandy toward the bathroom. Once she was washed and dressed and alone in the Lindgrens’ familiar guestroom, she turned on her phone and watched the video one more time. All her muscles were quivering, but now it was from excitement and not from fear. Reuben would be released. He would be just fine. Life could go on as normal. Hopefully, even better than normal, because Kennedy had already decided that once he got out, she wasn’t going to take his friendship for granted anymore. She wasn’t going to bide her time, wait to see what the future might bring, and spend her life wondering if things could have been different if she’d had the courage to confess her feelings. Maybe by this time tomorrow, she’d be with Reuben. Maybe by this time tomorrow, he’d know. She thought about the Bible verse that God works all things together for good for those who love him. Maybe that was what this was all about. Maybe God allowed Reuben to get arrested, knowing that this one night with him in jail would be enough to make Kennedy realize that she’d be the biggest fool in Massachusetts if she didn’t tell him the truth.
The whole truth.
It would be scary, but hadn’t her therapist told her it was time to take baby steps out of her comfort zone? Hadn’t Sandy just spent half an hour assuring Kennedy it was ok to feel inadequate, it was ok to feel weak? A cross-stitched verse that hung in the Lindgrens’ dining room flitted through her mind: Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. Maybe Carl and Sandy were right. Maybe she should try to sleep, get a hold of her dad first thing in the morning, find a way to get the video to Reuben’s attorney. Weren’t there verses in Proverbs that talked about patience being the wisest course of action? That’s what her mom had told her growing up, at least. You regretted rushing into things more often than you’d ever regret waiting.
She lay down, relishing how much more comfortable the Lindgrens’ bed was compared to her dorm mattress. If she didn’t need access to the college library at all hours of the day and night, she might even be tempted to offer to pay Carl and Sandy room and board to stay here. At the very least, it was the perfect reprieve for a Friday night, a night that had started out disastrous but left Kennedy filled with hope. She wished she could catch this blissful feeling in a lab flask, close it up with a rubber stopper, and let it diffuse into her system whenever she needed.
Hope. One of God’s most precious gifts for his children. She was ashamed at how she doubted him earlier, ashamed of how quickly she threw away her faith, when all this time, he knew that the video she needed and the proof she’d been begging for were right there on her phone. Maybe this was all God’s way of bringing her and Reuben together.
Together. Another beautiful word, just like hope. Together ...
She had just allowed her mind to drift off into that first stage of drowsy sleep with its long, alpha brain waves when her phone rang.
Willow.
Was she still at the protest? How could Kennedy have forgotten to call her?
“Hello?” She tried to talk quietly in case Carl and Sandy were already in bed.
“Hey, sorry we lost you. Othello and I are going to stay out for a while, but do you want me to take you back to campus first?”
“No, that’s ok. I forgot to text you earlier. I ran into my pastor and got a ride with him. I’ll be staying at his place tonight.”
“Nothing kinky, right?” Willow teased.
Kennedy ignored the remark. “How was the rest of the vigil?”
She had to strain to hear over all the background noise. “It’s still going on, actually. They’re on the third band doing a Beatles cover, so I’m out of here.”
“Glad I didn’t miss much, then. But hey, really good news. I found the video I thought I’d lost on my phone. It didn’t get everything, but it was recording for over two minutes before the memory ran out. I’m gonna find a way to get it to Reuben’s lawyer in the morning.”
“What’s that?” Willow was shouting now. “I didn’t hear that last part. You said something about your phone?”
“I’ll just text you.” She didn’t want to raise her voice and bother Carl and Sandy.
“Ok, I can’t hear you too good, so just call or text me if you need something. Otherwise I’ll see you back on campus.”
Kennedy said goodbye even though she couldn’t be certain Willow heard it. She opened up her text messages and sent a quick note about the video.
I want to see it! Willow immediately responded.
The video file was too large to text, so she sent it as an email attachment, grateful to have someone else to share the good news with.
Yes, things had taken a positive turn. A very positive turn.
Kennedy figured she was about to get the best sleep she’d had in weeks.
- Writer
