***Getting closer...***
***(Jay's POV)***
I pull to a stop in front of the church, breathing a sigh of relief to see my parents' car is still here. I figured it would be – couple's bingo doesn't end until seven at night – but I'm more than a little concerned that this plan is going to backfire in some way or another.
I lean over in my car seat, giving Nya a quick side hug. "Hide my car somewhere nearby, then meet me back here. I promise we'll get this all worked out."
"Okay." She inhales deeply. "Okay."
I smile at her as confidently as I can, then yank on my door handle, shoving the door open and hopping out into the parking lot. I jog through the lot toward the double doors of the church before wrenching them open and continuing inside at a slower pace. I don't want to look too anxious and attract too much attention to myself.
I poke my head in the church room used for social events right as my mom yells, "Ed, we have bingo! That's five in a row!"
I shove open the door, and my mom looks up. She beams when she sees it's me. "Jay, honey! Are you ready to go visit some spooks? How's Nya?"
"She's fine." In the same way that a pair of itchy underwear is fine. "Let's get out of here, okay? Nya's waiting for us outside." Or, at least, she will be when she's done hiding my car.
"Oh, Nya's here?" my mom gasps. "Well, by all means, let's go!"
I see I am not the only one in love with Nya anymore.
"Good thinking." I grab her coat off the back of her chair and help her into it as my dad rises on stiff legs.
"Your father and I just won our fifth game of the night," my mom chatters happily, fitting her arms into her sleeves. "We know each other so well after these forty-five years of marriage – fifty-seven years of knowing each other! Isn't that right, Ed? Remember how we were the best of friends as kids?"
"Oh, yes, sweetie," he says absently, collecting his winnings from bingo into his wallet. Yes, my parents' church plays bingo with real money. I sure hope the players practice forgiveness from debts for as much as my parents participate.
My mom begins to button her coat, but I take her arm in my hand. "Nya wants us to hurry up. She...has something really important for the four of us to discuss." I swallow hard. I sure hope my mom takes this news well.
My mother gasps. "Is it your wedding? Did you finally propose, Jay? Oh!" She pulls me into a hug. "I'm so proud of you!"
I release a long sigh, extracting myself from her embrace. "I...haven't proposed yet, mom."
She scowls at me. "Well, why not?"
"Just...let's talk this out with Nya, okay?" I rub her shoulder, leading her toward the doors.
"Is something wrong?" she frowns.
"Um...well...yes." Darn, this honesty thing is hard.
"Oh, I do hope everything's all right," my mom frets. "This isn't about the baby, right? Is everything going well?"
My heart drops to my stomach. "Mom...we have a lot to tell you."
"Oh, dear." She grabs my arm and clutches it. "What happened, Jay?"
"I..." I take a deep breath, opting for honesty. Nya's right – I should never have lied to my mother. It just complicates things.
Instead, I bend down and kiss her cheek. "Everything will be all right, mom. Nya and I just need to talk with you. Trust me, okay?"
She gazes at me with worried eyes, then nods, allowing me to guide her through the door, down the hall, and outside the building.
"Is it about the babies?" she asks quietly.
Oh, I'm in a hole. "Yes. And more." I huff out a breath. "Do you still keep a bottled water in your purse? You should sit down and have a drink." I open the back door of my parents' car for her and get her settled into her seat.
"Oh, dear." My mom releases a shaky breath, grabbing her purse and unzipping it with unsteady fingers. I help her unscrew the water bottle's cap so she can take a sip.
By now, my dad has joined us outside. He immediately walks over to where I stand with my mom on her side of the car.
"What's wrong, Edna?" he asks, concerned.
"Nya and I have to tell you guys a few things," I reply. "I'm just making sure mom's in good shape before we divulge all."
"Oh." He pats my mom's hand. "Well, it'll be all right, Edna. Whatever he has to say can't be so bad. After all, we still have our son no matter what."
"You're right, Ed." She fiddles with the label on her water bottle. "Where's Nya, Jay? You said she was out here."
"She's coming. She had to drop off a few things someplace nearby." I silently bid her to hurry up. We need to get on the road, or else the police will catch up to us in no time. If that happens, Nya gets stuck in jail, and the police chief may never be brought to justice. I'm not letting that happen. Nya and I need to confront him together, since she's the one who can maybe get his confession. We've somehow become a team in the course of the past five hours.
Edna sighs heavily. "It must be about the baby. What else could it be about?" She studies me. "Please tell me what's wrong, Jay. Don't keep me waiting."
I look up at the dull gray sky, hoping it'll somehow impart to me some answers. "Mom...Nya and I aren't having...any babies."
"Oh, gosh. Did something happen, Jay? Did your tests somehow get switched at the hospital?" She sniffles, rubbing under her eyes. "You poor things. And to think, you were convinced you were having twins."
"We...never thought we were having any kids, mom. That was...a lie." I take a deep breath, letting the truth all out at once. "When Margie Philipps overheard us talking to the police officer in the parking lot earlier – when she eavesdropped on our conversation and heard me say we were having a baby – she didn't realize that Nya and I were lying to the police officer. When we came into bingo earlier, you were so happy about the babies, and you started getting dizzy and...I didn't want you to have a heart attack, so I lied. I told you we were having twins to calm you down." I run a hand through my hair. "Gosh, mom, I – I'm sorry. Are you doing okay? Feeling ill?"
Instead of answering, she whimpers, "Jay, lying is wrong! Your father and I taught you better than that!"
"Your mother's right," Ed adds. "Lying isn't right in any circumstance, son."
I release a long sigh, biting my tongue. "I'm sorry I hurt you guys. It wasn't fair to you."
"Honey, you lied to the police, too!" my mom cries. "You're becoming one of the police! You not only lied, but also hurt your chances of ever getting a career with the Ninjago City police department! When did you start making such bad decisions?"
"Um...about the time that I lied about...um, Nya being my girlfriend." The words come out in a whoosh of breath.
My mom slaps a hand over her heart. "You're...not dating?"
"I love her, mom, but Nya and I aren't dating." I sigh. "I've been in love with her the past year and a half, but I only just talked to her today. She's amazing, and...I kind of botched things with her by asking her to pretend to be my girlfriend for your sake." I bury my face in one hand, clasping my mom's fingers with the other. "I'm crazy. There's something wrong with me. People don't just fall in love with people at first sight, do they? I'm nuts."
I feel a hand on my shoulder after a moment, and I look up to see my mom's tear-stained face and my dad's caring eyes.
"Don't say that, son," my dad smiles softly. "After all, that's how your mother and I fell in love – at first sight."
I puff out a breath. "You two had been friends since you were kids, dad. You didn't even go on a date with her until she was eighteen and had gone steady with plenty of other guys. You saw her quite a few times before falling in love with her."
My mom's trembling fingers squeeze mine. "There are different ways to fall in love at first sight, Jay." Her voice tremors, but has an unnatural strength to it.
I open my eyes and frown at her. "There...are?"
She smiles fondly through her tears. "Your father and I – we just knew we had a connection when we first saw each other. It was the day after I'd moved into our childhood neighborhood, and he was busy building something in his front yard next door. I went over to join him, since he wasn't playing with any of the other kids. He looked lonely." She watches him with a gentle gaze, remembering their past.
After a moment, she continues, "We talked for a while without really looking at each other. He was explaining what each part in the machine he was building did. It took all his attention, apparently. And when his mom called him in for supper, wouldn't you know that he looked up and invited me in, too." She gets a faraway look in her eyes. "When we looked each other in the eye, we both knew we had a connection. We were best friends from that instant on."
My dad rubs her back. "It developed into romantic love later on, but the reason your mother and I have done so well together is that we've always retained that best-friend connection we had from the beginning. So don't go downing yourself about botching it with Nya, son – you said you loved her at first sight, and we believe you."
"I...never knew that about you two." And my parents tell me everything.
"When you don't listen to stories closely enough, you can miss a lot of important details." My mom squeezes my hand again. "I'm not going to have a heart attack, Jay. You know I get dizzy when I don't eat, and I hadn't eaten all day when I was about to pass out earlier. I felt fine after your father ran out and got us some takeout food."
"You...weren't going to have a heart attack? And you're not mad at me?" I balk.
"I am upset with you, sweetie. You know how much I want grandbabies. The Destiny Writers only blessed us with one child of our own – you." She sighs. "But I also have learned to wait, Jay. I was forty-three when we adopted you. Ed and I have wanted children from the time we were married at twenty. Patience is a virtue, and I'm so glad we held out so we could one day adopt you."
I revel for a moment in the affection my parents have for me.
No matter what I do, I know they'll always love me and be there for me. I'm a big mess-up, but that doesn't change that I'm their son.
"Now, we'll be expecting you to work out things with Nya," my mom abruptly adds. "You said you loved her, and if you really do, you'll wait around for her until she sees that you're the person she wants to be with. And she will – she'll see how amazing you are, no doubt."
"How can you be so sure?" I earnestly ask. "I messed things up so bad with her."
"She hasn't left you yet, has she?" my dad encourages me.
I mentally facepalm. "Um...mom? Dad? Nya's still around because...um..." I promised to help clear her criminal record.
"Because she trusts you," my mom fills in. "Even if you scared her off romantically with all that you pulled today, she must trust you if she's stuck around through that."
I think for a moment. "You might be right." Even if my parents don't know the particulars of why Nya has stayed with me all day – they don't know about the train accident or her criminal record, for example – Nya has chosen to trust me with her past and even her present. She's believing in me to help her take down the police chief.
I hear something shuffling at the end of the parking lot, and I look up. Nya smiles from the area of the sound, quickly making her way toward us.
"Is it done?" I ask her when she approaches. I open my arms for a loose hug.
She nods, gently stepping into my embrace before quickly pulling away. "We need to get going."
"Get going...where?" my dad asks.
I laugh nervously, scratching the back of my head. "Um, Nya, I promise I told them the truth about the grandkids and our relationship, just...not anything else."
Her face pales, and she turns to my parents. "Oh my gosh, I'm so, so sorry. I – um, but we need to go."
"And why is that, honey?" my mom smiles. By the look in her eye, she's set aside her plans for future grandbabies – for now – and is currently planning our wedding instead.
I laugh slightly. "Do you two mind if we borrow your car for a late night trip? Um...Nya kind of has...the police on her trail."
My mom's face morphs to one of confusion. "Why? Was it...the parking ticket? Did the cops figure out you lied?" She eyes Nya sympathetically. "Don't worry, dear. I'm sure the police won't come after you if you only lied to get out of a parking ticket. They have bigger problems than that."
"Yeah." I trace the ground with my shoe. "Um, but what if Nya was falsely accused of heading an armed robbery in which twenty thousand dollars was stolen and one pedestrian was shot and killed?"
"Geewillakers!" my dad exclaims. "Twenty thousand dollars?"
"She didn't head the operation, dad," I quickly explain. "She was there, but...well, it's complicated, but she's not at fault."
"And you're running from the police?" my mom asks. "Honey, I thought we just had a heartwarming talk about honesty! The police are in place to promote justice. Nya should just turn herself in. They'll see she isn't at fault that way." She pats Nya's arm from her spot in the car.
I sigh. "Not exactly, mom. The police chief in Ignacia – where Nya is from – is not on the up-and-up. He wants to make Nya the bad guy in that bank robbery case. She's been on the run for two years now, and for some reason, the police are just now catching up with her. We need to go confront the Ignacian police chief tonight before Nya's caught. We're hoping we can get...some sort of a confession out of him as to his wrongdoings." I swallow hard.
I don't think this is going to work.
"That's dangerous," my mom says worriedly. "You shouldn't confront a man like that, Jay. He could hurt you. It's much easier to just hire a lawyer, sweetie."
"I don't think that's going to work," Nya says quietly. "If Jay and I don't get this confession before I'm arrested, then we likely won't get one at all. We're the only people the police chief hasn't coerced into submission, and if I'm in prison, I'm technically at his will. That leaves just Jay."
"Nya and I have to team up to make this work, mom," I swallow. "She's the one with the story about what really happened during that bank robbery, and thus she's the one who can make the police chief confess. She can't do that if she's in prison."
My mom watches us for a moment, her expression soft.
My dad clears his throat. "Uh, what do you think, Edna?"
She stretches out her arms, wrapping them around us both. "Go make sure the police do their job," she whispers. "Get justice. I believe in you." Then she pulls back. "We have time for a few more rounds of bingo, Ed, don't you think?"
I shake my head adamantly. "That isn't going to work, mom. You have to get out of here. Call Cliff Gordon. He'll help you find someplace discreet to stay until this all blows over, okay? And if the police end up questioning you..." I run a hand through my hair. "Tell them that I took your car after suggesting that you two go on an impromptu vacation. That's true enough." I pat her back before pulling away from her hug. "Nya and I need to go now. Stay safe, you two."
***Ha, just wait for next chapter-***