Page 54 of Ava
“I can’t wait to taste it. I’ve been listening to Peggy and Dolly with all the food they’re making, and I can’t wrap my head around amount of food they are talking about.”
“According to Wyatt and Dillon, a lot of the locals will be bringing a dish to pass also.”
“Wow, I remember Peggy came home with all those eggs yesterday. She’s making deviled eggs for tomorrow.”
“I know.” He grinned. “She makes good, deviled eggs. I hope she doesn’t put a lock on the refrigerator to keep us boys out of them.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be watching the pig overnight?”
“We’ll take shifts.”
“How do you cook it? I mean is there a gas stove that big?”
“We put it on a spit, with a motor, and it automatically rotates. It takes seventy seconds for one rotation, and we cook with charcoal and wood. We also wrap it in aluminum foil then we wrap that in chicken wire.”
“Why the wire?”
“Because if it’s done, it falls off the bone. The foil keeps it in, and the wire keeps it all together.” He grinned and told her about the first time they had told their father they wanted to take over cooking the pig. By the time they had to serve the meat, they had to scramble around and run to the nearest grocery stores and buy all their hamburger, both bulk and pre-made burgers, then all the pork chops and steaks.
Ava was laughing so hard, she had to grip her sides, then wipe the tears. “What happened the next year?”
“We took everyone’s advice and did as told. We’ve been doing it that way ever since.” He laughed. “We were only seventeen that time.”
They continued driving, and when he slowed down, Ava sat up and sighed. “The county line is just up the road.”
“Okay,” Justin said, and continued to drive. He made sure he was four miles below the speed limit, and they exchanged glances when they realized no one was following them. They made it to the courthouse without incident. He turned the truck off, then climbed out and went around the front of the truck to help her down.
As they started across the parking lot, Tanner and several other men seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Ava reached for Justin’s hand, intertwined their fingers, and held on tight. She was grateful she didn’t have to say anything, but they did pause to see what Tanner wanted, and then Ava made sure to get all the men’s faces on the video. She had to turn in a circle, but she was successful. Without saying a word, she and Justin continued forward. Once inside, he looked at her with raised brows.
“Trying to act intimidating?”
“I guess, did it work on you?”
“Not really, you?”
“Nope.” They saw several people sitting in the chairs, and looked around. A harried-looking woman told them to sign in, and they would be seen soon. After signing the register, they took a seat off to the side, and Ava was able to get everyone on the video. They watched as a name was called by a man dressed in a suit, and the person rose to follow him. Ava liked that, because she was able to put names to the faces. She watched as the man went into the room with the smartly dressed man, they stayed there anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes, then they came back out, and took their seat again, then the next person was called.
When another man’s name was called, she realized it was the one the man in the suit called in ten people ago. That’s when Ava realized he was called up to see the judge. She leaned over to Justin to whisper. “I’ve never been to court before.”
“Me neither.”
They stayed seated, and Ava gave a start when her name was called. When Justin stood to go with her, the man looked like he wanted to protest, but Justin only gave him a look, and he relented.
She found out the man worked for the DA’s office, and was given her options. She listened, and went back out. Thirty minutes later, the judge called her name. She and Justin both went up, and when the judge looked at her ticket, he looked at her in shock.
“You got this ticket two days ago?”
“Yes.”
The judge glared at the other man, who was the actual DA, and asked, “Why is Ms. Hanson here now? When someone receives a ticket they have three weeks to respond, not two days.”
“Officer Tanner had her come in today, because if you look, Ms. Hanson’s address is out of state, and he felt she was a flight risk.”
“But, why isn’t this ticket complete?” The judge waved the item in the DA’s face. “There’s no place to mail it in, or to plead guilty or not guilty. This is shoddy police work, and you can bet I’ll be calling Tanner in here. You should be ashamed of yourself for encouraging this behavior.”
“But, she’s a flight risk. She lives out of state.”
“So, have her mail the ticket in. If she doesn’t, then we can issue a bench warrant.” The judge’s tone of voice implied he was pissed. He looked at the DA, when he said, “Dismissed.” He then turned to Ava. “I’m sorry, Ms. Hanson. It seems we wasted your time. You are free to go.”
