Page 2 of Wrong Number, Right Unicorn

Was that grams as in a metric measurement, a person, or was it a muddled word that sounded like “it’s grams.” I couldn’t fathom what that word would be, though.

“She’s been arrested.”

Grams was a person, and she was in a spot of trouble. She was alive, so that was a plus and my heart rate slowed, thinking I didn’t have to help arrange a funeral.

“I don’t have enough money for bail. Can you bring $500 to Stanmore Police Station? I’ll be here.”

“Hi, I’m?—”

He cut me off, telling me to hurry as he didn’t want Grams in a cell with murderers and drug dealers. “Though knowing Grams, after ten minutes with her, those criminals would be begging the police to put them in another cell.”

Grams was quite a character, and I kinda longed to know more about her. She and my unicorn might get along well. I wondered why she’d been arrested. The bail wasn’t huge. Caught in an illegal gambling den? My imagination was running away with me.

“I’m not?—”

“I don’t need to hear it. Yes, this isn’t the first time. But you know Grams.”

I was beginning to.

“We’ll talk to her once we get her out. This can’t keep happening.”

“No, it can’t.” I’d given up trying to tell him I wasn’t who he thought I was. I was intrigued with his Grams, but my beast was telling me I had to pay attention to the man’s voice.

Can’t you hear that?

Hear what?Other than the guy not pausing for breath, what was I supposed to hear?

Him, his voice. There’s a tingling, like bells or a stream skipping over stones.

I rolled my eyes. Unicorns were always prone to exaggeration.

You have to get down there. Grams will be fine in jail, but you have to meet this guy. If you don’t, I’ll go. He mumbled about getting to the police station without being seen.

But if I was heading down there, I should at least know the guy’s name. Or Grams’s name. I couldn’t stroll up to the sergeant’s desk and say I was there to pay Grams’s bail. But how many older ladies would they have arrested tonight? Who knew?

“Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can. But I’ll need to stop off and get cash.”

“What? But you always pride yourself on having cash.” His voice got higher, “Having cash in your pocket is like a safety net. You never know when you’re going to need it is what you told me.”

“Ummm, yeah, I spent a lot this weekend.”

He sighed. “You and Grams are so alike.”

Maybe I was right and she had been gambling.

“Okay. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

He hung up. I couldn’t go back to bed and go back on my word. I wasn’t who he expected me to be, but I’d told him I was coming with the money.

Grams might not be as tough as he was portraying. Maybe he was putting on a brave front and she was a little old lady cowering in the corner of a prison cell.

I dragged some clothes over my PJs, got my wallet and phone, and skedaddled out the door.

Hurry, my unicorn urged. If I didn’t, he might take his skin and gallop through the streets. Grams might not be the only one causing a stir if that happened.

I wiped sleep from my eyes as I reversed out of the driveway. Perhaps I’d make a new friend and we’d laugh about tonight while sharing a beer.

Not a friend, my unicorn insisted.

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