Chapter 21 - Leaving Magnolia Estate

"Thanks …Sorry, I didn't get your name." The man behind the counter smiled.

"The name's Sal."

"Thanks, Sal."

"Sure thing Mr. Parker. Remember to collect your stuff at Reception."

Will nodded and headed back to Reception. When he got there the Receptionist collected his student ID and gave him a new one. Then she gave him a document that gave him a curfew of 11 pm Sunday to Thursday and 2 am on Friday and Saturday.

The girls' dorms were off-limits during school hours and study halls. The boys' dorms the same; if he had a project to work on with anyone who stayed in a dorm it had to be cleared with the dorm supervisor first. Several zones were completely off-limits and he mentally noted each one.

The only major disappointment was that he had to stick to the jogging trails in the woods. He thanked the receptionist and left the building the same way he'd come in. Unlocking his car he glanced at his phone.

As he slid into his seat he read a message from Ron that directions to the house would be left for him at the gate. He grinned and rushed home. He knew he was packed and ready to go but Grams would want to check with him.

******************

Will sat in front of Captain Tennyson for his weekly check-in at the station. The judge had agreed to drop the charges if Will visited this police station at least once a week. As he wrote in his weekly log he spoke to the Captain about school and his freshly developing crush.

The conversation was light. Will was still in his Sunday best after going to church with his grandparents. Gramama didn't do casual to church and if you went to church with her neither did you.

The Captain asked if he was having any trouble at school and he said no. The Captain asked about work and the system in the Captain's office caught a disagreement. Will blushed.

"Uh, well, you see. Ron, the guy whose intern I am. He's cool. Like he can get women to do anything for him and he's brilliant at his job n he's super nice." Will began.

"But?"

"But the way he talks about his wife…even if she is from the village… You'd think the guy would fix her up instead of dissing her. She's the joke of Titania. Hell, my Gram is itching to groom her to perfection. I don't like it. But he's cool except for that.

"I mean two guys went to his house for dinner and they said she's hot but she doesn't say much…that doesn't necessarily mean she's dumb. I didn't start talking until I was four and I sure as shit ain't dumb."

"Sure as shit?"

Will rolled his eyes. "Relatives from the south; colorful phraseology," he shrugged. "So can I go now? Bryan & I have training with his dad. Finally getting some muscle definition." Will flexed his biceps.

Captain Tennyson nodded and appreciatively commented on the young man's bicep. "Any word from your uncle?"

Will shook his head. Uncle Nate had been exceptionally quiet of late. That wasn't like him. "Well, if that's all, I'll be going now." Will tipped his imaginary hat at the Captain.

He walked out of the fishbowl office and grinned at Officer Ramirez as he walked out of the police station. He passed several occupied desks and they all waved at him. Just about everyone at the station knew Will Parker was a good kid just, overly naughty.

They thought it was funny that Captain Tennyson was tasked with babysitting the juvenile especially since the Captain didn't have a single kid. Will's in-station pranks were usually silly, funny, and harmless. And there was that one time he'd pull a gun on the pickpocket who was about to steal a gun from the holster of an unsuspecting rookie. The station had turned into a gun draw battle with almost every gun pointed at Will. The kid had kept his cool & the more senior and sharp cops had changed their sights from Will to the pickpocket in a flash.

Naturally, he'd been chastised harshly by Tennyson for almost getting himself shot but most officers had a respect for the kid one doesn't see often these days. Almost everyone in the station had felt sorry for the kid but he'd taken it like a champ.

Captain Tennyson grunted as he thought of what might have happened if he'd had a hot-headed rookie in the station. Nathaniel would have had him executed. The irony about guys like Nathaniel Woodcombe was that they had the power and skill to commit crime actively yet fought on the good side.

The Captain knew better than most what Woodcombe had sacrificed in the pursuit of justice. The crazy thing was that Woodcombe was almost always three steps ahead of the criminals. He'd had the nano cam scanner installed in Tennyson's office long before Ramirez and Will had ever considered wearing nano cams. And now the data on how One World operates on the ground was stacking up nicely.

'It's such a pity this is the last case Woodcombe will actively participate in,' Tennyson thought as he went over paperwork filed by a rookie on a robbery case closed just yesterday. 'Woodcombe is a damn good cop. Loyal, honest, meticulous and he knows the law.'

This is probably why all the surveillance equipment Titania designed was within the law, always. Maybe Will would join in the family tradition and join the force. Of course, the army had ended up recruiting the late Gregory and Zachary Woodcombe. They had both died in action on classified missions. Nathaniel had somehow dodged the bullet.

Leaving Magnolia Estate was easier than Will, thought it would be. His grandmother even gave him a casserole for his new guardians and an invitation for tea for Ronald's wife. Then she gave him a hug and a dry kiss on the cheek and he was off. He'd packed everything into his usual school car and left his work car at home.

He pulled up to the resident entrance and smiled at the security officer. The officer smiled back and asked for his ID. The procedure was a lot like getting into Cotswold Hills.

His phone accepted a new file from the HSE server. The electric boom lifted and he followed the map on his phone to his new home. He grinned, he was going to be living incredibly close to Mrs. T Musa. He did a double-take as he got into the street.

"No frickin' way," he whispered to himself. 'Uncle Milt, you sly son of a gun.' He pulled into the driveway of the house that Bryan had driven to just a few days earlier. The door swung open and Ronald walked out. He grinned.

Will got out of the car smiling back. "Hey, Ron!"

"What's up son?" Ron laughed. "Hey, quickly throw your stuff in the house. I'm going to the mall. Tell the wife you're coming with me."

Will shuffled his feet and scratched his right ear. "Um…won't that be rude?"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Damn southerners." He laughed. "Okay, she's expecting you. I'll be back in three hours or so. She can be a bit slow. Later!" The garage door opened and Ron walked to his car. "You can park your car in here. Za doesn't have a car."

Ron got into his car, pulled into the driveway, and then out into the street. One honk and he drove away. Will pulled into the garage and parked his car. He grabbed the first of his bags, then the casserole dish, and put his palm next to the door frame. The door slid to the left.

"Hello?"

"Hi! You must be-," she turned from the chopping board next to the sink. "William Parker. What are you doing here?" She looked shocked.

Will scratched the back of his head. "Moving in."

"You're Billy Woodcombe?"

Will nodded. He'd begged to use his mom's maiden name at school so the other kids didn't look at him funny. They stood staring at each other.

She was in a pair of shorts and a fitted t-shirt and bare feet. Will shifted his bag over his crotch and held out the casserole. She smiled at him and accepted it. His heart lurched and pounded hard in his chest.

"Well, come on in. Let me show you to your room." She turned and headed towards his room.

She turned left at the passage between the dining room and the kitchen then turned right to go up the stairs. She was talking and Will was responding but his senses were high.

He had known he would be living near her. He just hadn't imagined living in the same house! At the top of the stairs, she turned right and passed a few rooms that she named toilet, bathroom, study, spare bedroom, and then they got to his room.

She put her palm on the door frame and the panels slid apart. "I thought you might like the added privacy of being far from the main bedroom. The only disadvantage is that unlike the other two rooms this one doesn't have an en suite. If you'd like to change-,"