Chapter 24: Same Hurry

The Franklin County Probate Court closed its license office at four thirty on Fridays.

We got there at four twenty-two.

Bruce parked in the same spot.

He killed the engine and sat with his hands on the wheel.

"You're nervous," I said.

"I'm not."

"Your tie is on inside out."

He looked down, said a word that made Biscuit lift her head from the back seat, and fixed it.

"She stays with Kelsey," I said. "No dogs in the courthouse."

"She'll sulk."

"She'll eat half of Kelsey's sandwich. She'll be fine."

Kelsey was waiting by the steps with the leash already wrapped around her wrist.

She had come alone, in a plain navy coat, with her hair loose.

She looked lighter than she had in a month.

"I'm just the dog sitter," she said when I hugged her.

"You're the sister," I said, and her chin shook.

Inside, the marble hall smelled of floor polish and cold radiators.

The principal and the school secretary were already there, in good coats, on the bench by the metal detector.

The secretary was holding a camera.

"Don't look at me like that," she said. "Nobody took a decent photo last time. I'm fixing it."

"Where do you want us?" Bruce asked.

"In front of the flag."

The clerk behind the glass window looked up.

She had gray hair, reading glasses on a chain, and a face I remembered.

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