The shell shocked Arnold was put in the drunk tank, the only other occupants a sleeping older man he didn't recognize and a red headed young muscular guy wearing a tight white tee shirt and jeans, leaning against the bars, who winked at him suggestively as he entered. As Arnold sat down on the hard long bench at the back of the cell, the man's lips quirked up in a small smile, "Like what you see?"
Arnold did a quick double take to make sure the guy was talking to him then stammered, "uh, I'm not into guys." This was a really weird trend developing, his wife suddenly acting like she was married to another woman and now some guy hitting on him.
The younger man shrugged and said, "huh, you don't seem the type, but you do you."
Arnold tried to shake it off as he desperately tried to get a handle on what was going on. The changes, particularly that massive skyscraper, where all too big for this to be some kind of prank, and he doubted his family would go along with something like this. Was it aliens? It sounded ridiculous but he honestly couldn't figure out what could change so much in a short time. The older mustashioed by the book Sheriff Wells he was familiar with being replaced by the suddenly busty and curvaceous 20-something version of Karyn Black was just the latest dose of weirdness. He also noticed everything in the police station seemed, well, high quality; new looking equipment, everything clean, spacious offices and bullpen, even the bars gleamed. He'd never been in the station to actually know if this was a change, but his paranoid mind couldn't help wondering. The worst part of all this was everyone was acting like nothing out of the ordinary was going on, that he was the one acting strange for pointing things out.
He took a deep breath. Obviously something very wrong was going on in Lakeview, and he needed to figure it out. Arnold had never been the take charge type, but as the only one who seemed to know what was happening it meant it was up to him, and he couldn't do anything from a jail cell. The beginnings of a plan started to form in his mind, when his attention was drawn by someone new entering the precinct, their heels clacking rhythmically on the nice tile floor.
For the second time after encountering Karyn, he saw someone he knew as a kid somehow aged up to seemingly their 20s and being treated as an adult by everyone else around them. He almost didn't recognize her without her pasty white makeup and black combat boots, but he could swear the professionally dressed smiling brunette was one of the next door neighbor kids, Zoe Gibson. Like Karyn she'd matured, though she hadn't filled out quite as much in the chest area as the new sheriff, she'd still developed in that area based on the peekaboo of cleavage visible through her mocha colored satin keyhole blouse. She'd grown taller, though only to about 5'5 or 5'6 if he had to guess, though she was wearing shiny black pumps that boosted it up some, a dark grey pencil skirt covered her now tanned legs down to just above the knee. Her hair was no longer dyed black, back to her natural light brown, and had been grown out to her middle back. Layered on top he had on a currently open grey blazer and navy peacoat, and her makeup was conventional and well applied. All in all she looked like a well put together young woman, a far cry form the angsty fourteen year old he was familiar with yelling at her mother next door. This Zoe walked confidently past the various officers, setting her soft black leather brief case and Louis Vouitton purse down momentarily on an unoccupied desk.
"What brings the DA down here this late?" One of the officers asked lightly. It was nearly eight o'clock, a bit late for a prosecutor to be stopping by unless something serious was going on.
The older Zoe smiled mischievously, "the DA is here because the DA's wife had to work late today and, since her Charger's at the mechanics, she needs a ride home. Isn't that right, sweetie?" The last comment was directed at Karyn, or rather Sheriff Black, who had rushed out of her office to greet Zoe. The taller policewoman scooped her smaller wife up into her arms and spun her around before depositing her back on the ground and leaning in to give her a quick peck on the lips. "Ya miss me today or something?" Zoe teased, smiling from ear to ear.
Karyn smiled back, "I miss you every day babe. Let me grab my things and we'll head home." She turned to look at a nearby lieutenant and quipped, "try not to burn the place down while I'm gone." The surrounding officers at the quiet station chuckled a bit as the sheriff began gathering her things to go. Arnold meanwhile was flabbergasted at seeing Zoe, the frankly annoying kid who on occasion woke the whole neighborhood up blasting her screamo music, being so sunny and happy. He couldn't even conceive of her holding an important job like District Attorney, which she apparently did. Again, like Karyn, this new Zoe seemed old enough to be considered an adult, but not one holding such a senior position. The grinning woman linking arms with her wife as they walked out of the station seemed to be in her early 20s, barely old enough to have finished law school let alone be appointed or elected to such a position.
