Roll Away Your Stone 3/18
Apr. 14th, 2011 06:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
whedonistChapter: The Blonde Lead the Blind
Rating: PG-13 – R ish…language folks…
Pairing: Nikki & Nora
Disclaimer: At some point, don’t these become superfluous? Do we need to consistently rub my, or our collective, nose(s) in the fact that Nikki & Nora do not belong to me? I’m still trying to get over the idea that Buffy and associated characters aren’t mine, let alone these girls…*sigh* Let’s pretend for a little while and then I’ll give ‘em back to Nancylee Myatt and Co.
A/N: Life’s funny, things come full circle, in fanfic and in RL. I hope everyone’s week is going well…LJ also told me it was Inspector Boxer’s B-day on the 13th and since it was really an email from her that got me over to this site…help me wish her a happy b-day. Read, enjoy…
Ch. 3 – The Blonde Lead the Blind
In the dim light provided by the street lamp, cold seeps through the cracks of the windows on June Lee causing me to huddle closer to Nora. Her arm tightens around my shoulders and I look out along the row of houses of Jennifer Knox’s neighborhood. At eleven at night, the streets are mostly quiet. The only noise is from a house down towards the end of the street that is playing host to the Saturday night party.
“It’s funny,” Nora breaks the silence, “we interviewed three neighbors and none of them had the nerve to say a damn thing. I know Missy Shields was holding out on us.”
“What did you expect her to say, Nora?” I ask. “That girl had the same look as the other two.”
She shakes her head. “Bullshit. We gave them all a chance to take someone that’s ruined this neighborhood off the streets. What does she do? She plays deaf, blind and dumb.”
I squeeze her knee and sigh. “You make it sound so easy. Like it’s this clear choice…”
“How is it not, Nikki?”
I retreat a little, putting some space between us and look her over. A lock of hair has come loose from her ponytail and I reach out to tuck it behind her ear. “Sugga, as much as you want it to be, their world is not black and white. It’s muted shades of gray.”
Her lips form a nice pout as her arms fold across her chest. She leans back against the driver’s door, glaring. “Oh, don’t even…”
“Don’t even what?” I feel my eyebrows knit together. “Don’t say that their choices are more difficult than the one’s you have to make? Sugga, I got news for you. They are different. You live in a completely different world than they do.”
“Bullshit,” she sighs. “I live in the same one they do.”
I shake my head. This isn’t a new conversation. Actually, it’s an argument that we’ve had on several occasions over the years and I’m not sure how to make her understand…without getting myself pissed off. She has a tendency to do that to me.
“Okay, let’s look at it this way, Annie’s home life was, as we both know, less than stellar. Drug addicts for parents, abusive family members…”
“She turned out just fine. She’s not an addict. She’s not a hooker. Ann’s an F.B.I. agent. She’s got all the excuses in the world to end up just like Jennifer Knox and the others like her in this neighborhood,” Nora tries to reason with me.
I nod. “That’s true. You are missing one key element to Ann’s life that most of these people probably never had.”
“And that would be?”
“She also had people that cared about her. She had Lee and Jill and Jill’s parents. That made a huge difference in her life. I would bet our bank accounts that some of the people here, like Shields, never had anything like what Ann had. You can’t make that type of comparison.” I chew on my lower lip and press, “Take away the people around her, what and where do you think she would be? Do you think she would have ended up where she’s at? Do you think that she would be the same person today?”
Nora balks, but I continue, “Look, even then, Ann’s also as white as the driven snow. Just like you Nora. Just like me. Whether or not you want to believe it that makes a big difference in the doors that open up for people. You may not have come from money, but you’re a blonde white girl and that opened doors for you whether or not you want to admit it.”
Her face sours at the ideas I’m presenting. “It may be two-thousand-five, but it doesn’t mean that things have changed that much. We’re less than fifty years removed from the Civil Rights movement. Look at the incarceration rates between whites and blacks and tell me that that doesn’t say something. Look around this neighborhood and tell me that that doesn’t prove my point.”
I press my hand to her chest and take pleasure from the warmth. “If Ann was black, she wouldn’t have had the same opportunities.”
“What about Darius? His family’s poor and black. Why isn’t he caught up in stuff like this?” she retorts.
I smirk.
“Darius was. He just found a way to get out of it. He and Erica relied on each other to stay out of it. Again, it was the support system. Mawmaw may also have played a small role. You know that woman does not suffer fools.” I take my hand away, resting it between us.
She sighs. “I still think they can make different choices,” she mumbles.
“Maybe they can, but are the choices they can make any better than the ones they’ve already made or just different?” I wonder.
I watch as she shakes her head and moves, wrapping her arm around my shoulders again. I let her draw me in and close my eyes as her lips press against my temple. “You feel better having gotten that out of your system?” she asks.
I nod.
“I know the system is messed up Nikki. I just think that they don’t do everything that they can to get themselves out of it, white or black or brown or blue or hell, even magenta, the color of their skin doesn’t make it different for me,” she says gently. “I’ve heard your soapbox rant before and I don’t disagree completely, but at some point, I think that regardless of your situation, you have to quit blaming the system or your parents or whatever for the decisions you’ve made.” Her lips move slowly against my skin, “When are your choices, choices that you own?”
I open my mouth to reply, but am stopped by the ringing of Nora’s phone. She slumps against me and picks it up off the dashboard. “Delaney,” she answers.
I can’t hear the person on the other end, but I feel her tense as she nods her head. “Jesus, Bobby, I swear to God, I’m going to ring your neck.”
Oh.
This can’t be good.
“Don’t move. Don’t go inside. We’ll be there in ten minutes,” Nora growls into her phone. She slides away from me and has June Lee in gear, pulling away from the curb before her phone is shut and she tosses it on the empty space between us.
“What was that about?” I ask, buckling my seat belt.
She rolls her eyes and huffs, “Bobby’s at the house with my brother and his friend.”
My eyebrows hike and I shut up.
“Bobby,” I growl as Nikki and I enter the courtyard to our apartment. I see Patrick and Chris step away from each other as we approach. My other brother, the younger one, the one that I’m going to boot into next week, stands next to the fountain looking like he read my diary…if I ever kept a diary.
Which I don’t.
“Hi sis,” Bobby tries to smile, “Nikki, always good to see you.”
My lover takes the open arms of my brother and wraps him up in a hug.
“Nora,” Patrick and Chris say together.
“Nikki, surprised to see you,” Patrick says.
Nikki presses her lips together as she steps away from my bother eyeing him up and down.
I close my eyes and press my thumb and index finger against my eyelids. This can’t be good.
“Uh, can we, uh, maybe go inside?” Bobby asks.
Nikki looks to me and I shrug. She lets me take point, using my keys to open the door and let everyone inside. I lead us to the living room and ask, “What’s going on?”
No one answers as Bobby leans against the wall by the fireplace, Patrick and Chris take up a spot on the couch and Nikki sits on its right arm.
“Actually,” Patrick starts, “It’s, uh, I have a…”
“Momma’s drivin’ them up a wall,” Bobby blurts out.
My hands go to my hips as I look between my younger and older brother. Nikki’s sits there, looking pretty as a picture and keeping quiet.
It’s Patrick that stands and steps in front of me. He gives me a smile I haven’t seen in years. It was the smile that told me we were sharing something. Usually when I was up to no good and he caught me.
He never told.
His hands rise and come to rest on my shoulders. “Uh, I thought maybe, you know, it would be okay if Chris and I crashed here. See,” he licks his lips, “We’ve got a hotel down in the Quarter, which is fine, but Mama won’t leave me alone. She wants us to come stay with her until I find…until we find some place.”
My head tilts slightly. Eh?
“And,” my brother continues, “I thought, well Bobby thought, that maybe since we were in similar boats you would be willing to help me out. Let us stay here to get Mama off my back?”
“What boat would that be?” I ask. I don’t know if I want to know what the answer is, but I ask anyhow.
“You should know Bobby can’t keep much from me,” he chides. “Welcome to the family?”Patrick tries.
“Pat,” Chris finally speaks up from the couch.
I shoot a look to Nikki and feel my heart nearly pump out of my chest. She’s on her feet waiting.
“What…what in the hell are you talking about?” I manage to choke out.
Patrick’s hands drop my shoulders and steps back. “Maybe…” his weight shifts from foot to foot and his hands go into his pants pockets, “I wasn’t entirely honest with you the night of your birthday party,
Nora. I was asked to retire, I didn’t want to.”
My arms hug my body and I wait for my brother to continue.
“See, about eight months ago one of my colleagues saw me in the city, downtown San Diego, Chris and I were coming from a launch party for a band he had produced and they held a celebration at a club. I didn’t deny the question she asked me,” Patrick admits as my head goes a little light. “It took them a few months, but I was given the choice to either retire or get discharged under D.A.D.T. I chose to leave quietly.”
So wait…
“Well, that explains that,” Nikki pipes up.
I shoot her a look and she just gives me a light shrug.
“Wait, you,” I point to my brother and then at Chris, “And you…are?”
“Gay,” Patrick states. “Chris and I have been together for a little over nine years.”
“Oh,” I manage. “Bobby you?”
“Well,” my younger brother says, “I just thought that since he…and you were both…ya know. That like, you two could help each other out.”
“I think I need to sit,” I mumble and manage to hit the recliner before my legs give out.
“Nora,” Nikki says from next to me. I look at her and wonder when she got from the couch to the chair.
“I…” I really have no idea what to say here.
“Nora, sugga, say somethin’?” I feel Nikki’s hand press against my clammy cheek.
“I’m okay,” I say. I think I’m okay.
A small smile forms on Nikki’s lips and I think I should be okay with this. I mean, he is and I don’t have to worry about his reaction. Obviously he’s okay with it.
“I convinced Patrick to move home,” Chris interjects, standing next to my brother. “I can do my work pretty much anywhere and I thought having family around would help him.”
“Why?” I wonder, finally getting my head to wrap around everything.
“They,” Chris stops and gets some type of approval from Patrick before he continues, “They weren’t the kindest. It was a good move. He’s talked a lot about you and his brothers.”
“I’m worried because no one and I mean no one knows. Well, Terry does, but we don’t talk much anymore,” my brother offers.
Nikki seems to ignore the other people in the room and I feel her lips brush my cheek. “Nora, say something a little more. You’re worrying me.”
My eyes snap in her direction, finding concern reflected back at me. “I’m okay Nikki.” I lean in to press our lips together, reassuring her that I am okay. Pulling back I say, “I’m a little shocked, but I…uh, I’m good.”
She nods and pushes me over a little to share the recliner with me.
“You ain’t gonna kill me?” Bobby ventures.
Nikki answers for us, “Not yet, Delaney, but the night’s still young.”
He blanches a little.
“So what do you say, Nora? Can me and Chris stay here? Help me out with our mother?” Patrick asks again.
“Well, uhm, it’s not just my decision.” I look at Nikki and open my mouth to ask right before something hits the floor upstairs and Reba screeches.
“Mister!” Nikki barks as we hear our dog clomp down the steps. I watch as he trots into the living room a purple piece of fabric hanging from his jaws. “That better not be…” Nikki’s out of the chair and snatches the garment from Mister. She holds up my bra. The purple lace one Nikki bought me two weeks ago. “That’s it. Nora, I swear, I’m gonna make a coat out of your dog.”
A smile starts to creep up my face. Nikki stands there with my bra in her hands. Patrick and Chris look back and forth between us as Bobby plays with Mister. I laugh. I can’t help it.
“So’s that a yes?” Chris asks. “And you two live together?”
“Nor, you okay with that?” Nikki asks.
“Uh, yeah, if Nikki doesn’t mind,” I answer. “And yes, we live together.”
“Ah!” Chris pumps his fist into the air. Pouting, Patrick fishes his wallet out of his back pocket and hands his lover a twenty. Chris holds the money up and flicks the side of it. “I told you.”
“I’ll get that back,” Patrick promises.
“Wait, what?” Nikki points at the money.
Chris offers us a wide smile and explains, “I bet your brother that you two were together the night we came to town. He said bullshit and then bet me twenty when I said that you two were also living together.”
I point to Patrick. “I’m gonna kick your ass.”
He shrugs. “Bobby told us you were gay. Didn’t say who with or if you were living with someone.” His eyes twinkle and I shake my head.
“Go check out of your hotel,” I tell him.
I hit the button on the remote for the tailgate on Bruce and watch as the gate goes up. Chris grunts behind me as he lugs two large suitcases to the back of the SUV. I still don’t know why I came along if he wasn’t going to let me help.
“Are you sure I can’t lend you a hand?” I ask for the third time.
“Nope,” he pants. “Just thanks for letting us stay at your place.” He heaves one suitcase and then the other into the cargo space and shuts the lid.
Smirking, I get into the driver’s seat and wait for him to climb in and buckle up. I drum my fingers along the steering wheel and ask, “So, where is all of your stuff? I’m sure you didn’t leave everything in California.”
“The movers will be here tomorrow afternoon. One forty-foot truck along with our cars.” He shrugs. “We had thought about just driving everything out, but then Patrick’s mom called and told him about Nora’s birthday party and we thought why not.”
“Hmm,” I say and head towards home, joining the flow of traffic away from the Quarter.
“So,” he says.
So…
“So what?”
“I don’t know,” he admits, casting me a nervous smile. “It seems like I should say something, ya know profound, but all I can think of to say sounds annoying even to me.”
I let my smile break through and laugh.
“Thanks, that’s a real comfort,” he whines.
I reach over and pat the man’s knee. “I think we’ll get along just fine, Chris.” I wiggle my eyebrows at him and he blushes. “Tell me about you, I’m not sure how long you and Patrick are planning on staying and I think that manners dictate I know a bit more about you.”
“Not much to tell really. I’m a record producer from the mean streets of Pasadena. Patrick and I met about nine years ago and have been together ever since.” He gives another off handed shrug.
“Brothers? Sisters? Family?” I ask, thinking this is like milking a suspect.
“Mom. That’s about it. What about you... and how long have you and Nora been an item?” He turns the tables on me.
“My dad and kouzin’ with some extended family here and there. Nora and I…” I chew on my lower lip. “Let’s see, I transferred in to S.C.U. in…hell, four years?” I venture.
“You can’t be serious?” Chris’ voice incredulous.
“Look, I don’t have much of a head for dates. I think it was Oh-One. So goin’ on four years, I’m pretty sure.” I sigh. Nora’s gonna kill me.
I swear I need to start keeping track of this kinda stuff. We come to a stop at a red light and I debate banging my head off the steering wheel…that really won’t get me anywhere. “Nora is the one that remembers things like that,” I moan. “She’s got odd anniversaries and what not. Like every year I get a present for the day we became partners and then a present for the day we got together. There’s also one for an anniversary of ours that for the life of me I can’t remember, but she doesn’t mind.”
“And I thought Patrick was bad. It took him two years to remember our anniversary,” Chris says. “But you…I would kill you if you couldn’t after four years, if that’s even the amount of time you and Nora have been together.”
I run a hand through my hair and bob my head. “Yeah, my girl seems to just suffer.” I signal over and pull into a free parking space in front of our building. I look around and see Bobby’s car is gone. He must have gone home.
I kill the engine and follow Chris around to the back where I don’t ask if he needs help. Instead, I hit the latch on the door and grab the first suitcase I see. He begins to protest, but the look I send him shuts him up.
A long suffering sigh escapes him while I wait with the luggage in hand to lock up Bruce. Now, I know I’m not completely up to date on chivalry, but I don’t think it’s changed all that much. I understand the roles are reversed, but there’s really no sense in having him damage his back because of pride.
“Nora?” I call out as we enter the apartment. Mister comes trotting over wagging his tail. I narrow my eyes and shoo him away. I’m still upset about that bra. It looked so nice on Nora and the matching underwear were delectable.
Nora and Patrick both enter the foyer and look between me and Chris. I turn around and stifle my laugh. The poor man’s face is beat red as he drops the suitcase on our tile.
Patrick just shakes his head and picks up both suitcases with ease. “These are going where?” he asks.
“Guest bedroom off the living room,” Nora answers. “And you can call Mama tomorrow and let her know where you’re staying.”
“Thank God. Maybe then I can get some peace and we can start looking for a house,” Patrick says over his shoulder while the three of us follow him. He sets the luggage at the end of the bed and turns to Nora. “Actually, Huggy, that’s something that I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Huggy?” I ask. I had heard him call Nora that before, but it didn’t seem like the place to ask. Patrick’s grin widens and he shakes his finger at his sister. “You mean, your lady doesn’t know?”
“Patrick,” Nora grinds out.
The ex-marine’s eyebrows dance up and down and he laughs. “Oh, Nora Marie, this is going to be so much fun.” He slings an arm around her shoulder and draws her into a hug. “You know, I was really worried when I came back home. I mean Terry…he won’t talk to me much anymore and I know I should have called more or came to visit…but…”
“I get it,” she offers her brother as they lead us back to the living room.
“I think though, once Mama knows it’ll be better. I’m so tired of hiding. I missed my family,” Patrick says after letting Nora go, grabbing Chris and pulling him into his lap on the couch.
Nora stops midstride and turns around to her brother. “What do you mean when Mama knows?” My partner’s eyes narrow and her hands go to her hips.
Oh no.
Surprised, Patrick explains, “You can’t expect me not to tell her. She was pleasant to Nikki at your birthday party. They carried on well enough. Mama can know about Chris. I need to tell her. I’m tired of hiding.”
“No, no, no,” my Delaney growls. “Mama is to not know and for the record, she doesn’t know about Nikki. She knows that Nikki’s my work partner, that’s all. That’s all I ever intend for her to know too.”
The words poor from her lips and I clamp my eyes shut. The many discussions Nora and I have had about this very topic coming up in my memory. Her tone and words bite more than I’d like them to. The sudden tears in my eyes get wiped away before anyone, especially Nora, has a chance to notice.
“Nora, seriously, Mama doesn’t know about Nikki?” Patrick let’s Chris move to his side as he sends a reproachful look to his sister. “You two live to together for fuck’s sake!”
Nora closes her eyes and snips, “I know that. But Mama can’t know. She’ll freak out and she won’t be able to handle it.”
“Bullshit,” Patrick snaps, standing and getting in front of his sister. “Since when the hell have you, you of all people Nora Marie Delaney, gave a shit what anyone, especially our parents, thought?”
“Things change,” she clips.
“Not that.” I wince as his hands close around her upper arms. I should step in, but…
Maybe, just maybe, Patrick can reach her more than I can here. Maybe I’ll finally get my way.
“When the hell’d my baby sister turn into such a chicken shit?” he fumes. “I mean, I know why I haven’t. The one time our dad even suspected, I got the living shit kicked out of me, but he’s gone and ya know what, Nora, I’m done fucking hiding. I just can’t believe that you would.”
Nora rips away from him and growls, “Shut your mouth. I’m done. It’s late. I’m going to bed.” She says nothing more before practically running out of our living room and up the steps to our bed.
I stand and offer, “Extra towels and blankets are in the hall closet. Goodnight you two.”
I hit the stairs and hear her up there slamming cabinet doors around. My back straightens and I steel myself for the upcoming argument.
I don’t go through the bathroom, where she is. Instead, I go around and begin stripping. My gun and badge come off and are placed in their usual spot on top of the low dresser. Shoes, jeans and shirt are all piled next to the over flowing clothes hamper next to the cracked bathroom door.
Not bothering with pajamas, I take off my bra and slip under the covers in only my panties, thankful that I didn’t bother with makeup this morning. Pulling the covers up, I link my hands together and bring them to the back of my head for added support.
I watch the shadows from under the bathroom door and wait on Nora. It doesn’t take long for the light to flick off and for her to stomp across the room to her side of the bed.
“Nora?” I try.
I wait a minute before I hear a gentle, “What?”
Tentatively, I reach out and find her hand waiting for mine in the middle of our bed. “Sometimes, sugga,” I say as gently as possible, “some promises should be broken.” She doesn’t let go of my hand but she does tense, I can feel her coil up all the way across the bed. I press, “Sometimes it is tiring hiding.”
“What do you mean?” she hisses in the darkness of our sanctuary.
I sigh and let her hand go. My eyes shut tight as I say, “Nora, I love you. Sometimes I get tired…of the secrecy, of the lies, but I can’t blame you any more than I can blame myself. I agreed to this when we got together four years ago. I’m in this. I may not like all of it, but there’s more good than bad and I’m way in over my head. I just think you need to rethink things.” I don’t hear a response as I roll over and draw my legs to my chest.
Next>>>
Rating: PG-13 – R ish…language folks…
Pairing: Nikki & Nora
Disclaimer: At some point, don’t these become superfluous? Do we need to consistently rub my, or our collective, nose(s) in the fact that Nikki & Nora do not belong to me? I’m still trying to get over the idea that Buffy and associated characters aren’t mine, let alone these girls…*sigh* Let’s pretend for a little while and then I’ll give ‘em back to Nancylee Myatt and Co.
A/N: Life’s funny, things come full circle, in fanfic and in RL. I hope everyone’s week is going well…LJ also told me it was Inspector Boxer’s B-day on the 13th and since it was really an email from her that got me over to this site…help me wish her a happy b-day. Read, enjoy…
In the dim light provided by the street lamp, cold seeps through the cracks of the windows on June Lee causing me to huddle closer to Nora. Her arm tightens around my shoulders and I look out along the row of houses of Jennifer Knox’s neighborhood. At eleven at night, the streets are mostly quiet. The only noise is from a house down towards the end of the street that is playing host to the Saturday night party.
“It’s funny,” Nora breaks the silence, “we interviewed three neighbors and none of them had the nerve to say a damn thing. I know Missy Shields was holding out on us.”
“What did you expect her to say, Nora?” I ask. “That girl had the same look as the other two.”
She shakes her head. “Bullshit. We gave them all a chance to take someone that’s ruined this neighborhood off the streets. What does she do? She plays deaf, blind and dumb.”
I squeeze her knee and sigh. “You make it sound so easy. Like it’s this clear choice…”
“How is it not, Nikki?”
I retreat a little, putting some space between us and look her over. A lock of hair has come loose from her ponytail and I reach out to tuck it behind her ear. “Sugga, as much as you want it to be, their world is not black and white. It’s muted shades of gray.”
Her lips form a nice pout as her arms fold across her chest. She leans back against the driver’s door, glaring. “Oh, don’t even…”
“Don’t even what?” I feel my eyebrows knit together. “Don’t say that their choices are more difficult than the one’s you have to make? Sugga, I got news for you. They are different. You live in a completely different world than they do.”
“Bullshit,” she sighs. “I live in the same one they do.”
I shake my head. This isn’t a new conversation. Actually, it’s an argument that we’ve had on several occasions over the years and I’m not sure how to make her understand…without getting myself pissed off. She has a tendency to do that to me.
“Okay, let’s look at it this way, Annie’s home life was, as we both know, less than stellar. Drug addicts for parents, abusive family members…”
“She turned out just fine. She’s not an addict. She’s not a hooker. Ann’s an F.B.I. agent. She’s got all the excuses in the world to end up just like Jennifer Knox and the others like her in this neighborhood,” Nora tries to reason with me.
I nod. “That’s true. You are missing one key element to Ann’s life that most of these people probably never had.”
“And that would be?”
“She also had people that cared about her. She had Lee and Jill and Jill’s parents. That made a huge difference in her life. I would bet our bank accounts that some of the people here, like Shields, never had anything like what Ann had. You can’t make that type of comparison.” I chew on my lower lip and press, “Take away the people around her, what and where do you think she would be? Do you think she would have ended up where she’s at? Do you think that she would be the same person today?”
Nora balks, but I continue, “Look, even then, Ann’s also as white as the driven snow. Just like you Nora. Just like me. Whether or not you want to believe it that makes a big difference in the doors that open up for people. You may not have come from money, but you’re a blonde white girl and that opened doors for you whether or not you want to admit it.”
Her face sours at the ideas I’m presenting. “It may be two-thousand-five, but it doesn’t mean that things have changed that much. We’re less than fifty years removed from the Civil Rights movement. Look at the incarceration rates between whites and blacks and tell me that that doesn’t say something. Look around this neighborhood and tell me that that doesn’t prove my point.”
I press my hand to her chest and take pleasure from the warmth. “If Ann was black, she wouldn’t have had the same opportunities.”
“What about Darius? His family’s poor and black. Why isn’t he caught up in stuff like this?” she retorts.
I smirk.
“Darius was. He just found a way to get out of it. He and Erica relied on each other to stay out of it. Again, it was the support system. Mawmaw may also have played a small role. You know that woman does not suffer fools.” I take my hand away, resting it between us.
She sighs. “I still think they can make different choices,” she mumbles.
“Maybe they can, but are the choices they can make any better than the ones they’ve already made or just different?” I wonder.
I watch as she shakes her head and moves, wrapping her arm around my shoulders again. I let her draw me in and close my eyes as her lips press against my temple. “You feel better having gotten that out of your system?” she asks.
I nod.
“I know the system is messed up Nikki. I just think that they don’t do everything that they can to get themselves out of it, white or black or brown or blue or hell, even magenta, the color of their skin doesn’t make it different for me,” she says gently. “I’ve heard your soapbox rant before and I don’t disagree completely, but at some point, I think that regardless of your situation, you have to quit blaming the system or your parents or whatever for the decisions you’ve made.” Her lips move slowly against my skin, “When are your choices, choices that you own?”
I open my mouth to reply, but am stopped by the ringing of Nora’s phone. She slumps against me and picks it up off the dashboard. “Delaney,” she answers.
I can’t hear the person on the other end, but I feel her tense as she nods her head. “Jesus, Bobby, I swear to God, I’m going to ring your neck.”
Oh.
This can’t be good.
“Don’t move. Don’t go inside. We’ll be there in ten minutes,” Nora growls into her phone. She slides away from me and has June Lee in gear, pulling away from the curb before her phone is shut and she tosses it on the empty space between us.
“What was that about?” I ask, buckling my seat belt.
She rolls her eyes and huffs, “Bobby’s at the house with my brother and his friend.”
My eyebrows hike and I shut up.
“Bobby,” I growl as Nikki and I enter the courtyard to our apartment. I see Patrick and Chris step away from each other as we approach. My other brother, the younger one, the one that I’m going to boot into next week, stands next to the fountain looking like he read my diary…if I ever kept a diary.
Which I don’t.
“Hi sis,” Bobby tries to smile, “Nikki, always good to see you.”
My lover takes the open arms of my brother and wraps him up in a hug.
“Nora,” Patrick and Chris say together.
“Nikki, surprised to see you,” Patrick says.
Nikki presses her lips together as she steps away from my bother eyeing him up and down.
I close my eyes and press my thumb and index finger against my eyelids. This can’t be good.
“Uh, can we, uh, maybe go inside?” Bobby asks.
Nikki looks to me and I shrug. She lets me take point, using my keys to open the door and let everyone inside. I lead us to the living room and ask, “What’s going on?”
No one answers as Bobby leans against the wall by the fireplace, Patrick and Chris take up a spot on the couch and Nikki sits on its right arm.
“Actually,” Patrick starts, “It’s, uh, I have a…”
“Momma’s drivin’ them up a wall,” Bobby blurts out.
My hands go to my hips as I look between my younger and older brother. Nikki’s sits there, looking pretty as a picture and keeping quiet.
It’s Patrick that stands and steps in front of me. He gives me a smile I haven’t seen in years. It was the smile that told me we were sharing something. Usually when I was up to no good and he caught me.
He never told.
His hands rise and come to rest on my shoulders. “Uh, I thought maybe, you know, it would be okay if Chris and I crashed here. See,” he licks his lips, “We’ve got a hotel down in the Quarter, which is fine, but Mama won’t leave me alone. She wants us to come stay with her until I find…until we find some place.”
My head tilts slightly. Eh?
“And,” my brother continues, “I thought, well Bobby thought, that maybe since we were in similar boats you would be willing to help me out. Let us stay here to get Mama off my back?”
“What boat would that be?” I ask. I don’t know if I want to know what the answer is, but I ask anyhow.
“You should know Bobby can’t keep much from me,” he chides. “Welcome to the family?”Patrick tries.
“Pat,” Chris finally speaks up from the couch.
I shoot a look to Nikki and feel my heart nearly pump out of my chest. She’s on her feet waiting.
“What…what in the hell are you talking about?” I manage to choke out.
Patrick’s hands drop my shoulders and steps back. “Maybe…” his weight shifts from foot to foot and his hands go into his pants pockets, “I wasn’t entirely honest with you the night of your birthday party,
Nora. I was asked to retire, I didn’t want to.”
My arms hug my body and I wait for my brother to continue.
“See, about eight months ago one of my colleagues saw me in the city, downtown San Diego, Chris and I were coming from a launch party for a band he had produced and they held a celebration at a club. I didn’t deny the question she asked me,” Patrick admits as my head goes a little light. “It took them a few months, but I was given the choice to either retire or get discharged under D.A.D.T. I chose to leave quietly.”
So wait…
“Well, that explains that,” Nikki pipes up.
I shoot her a look and she just gives me a light shrug.
“Wait, you,” I point to my brother and then at Chris, “And you…are?”
“Gay,” Patrick states. “Chris and I have been together for a little over nine years.”
“Oh,” I manage. “Bobby you?”
“Well,” my younger brother says, “I just thought that since he…and you were both…ya know. That like, you two could help each other out.”
“I think I need to sit,” I mumble and manage to hit the recliner before my legs give out.
“Nora,” Nikki says from next to me. I look at her and wonder when she got from the couch to the chair.
“I…” I really have no idea what to say here.
“Nora, sugga, say somethin’?” I feel Nikki’s hand press against my clammy cheek.
“I’m okay,” I say. I think I’m okay.
A small smile forms on Nikki’s lips and I think I should be okay with this. I mean, he is and I don’t have to worry about his reaction. Obviously he’s okay with it.
“I convinced Patrick to move home,” Chris interjects, standing next to my brother. “I can do my work pretty much anywhere and I thought having family around would help him.”
“Why?” I wonder, finally getting my head to wrap around everything.
“They,” Chris stops and gets some type of approval from Patrick before he continues, “They weren’t the kindest. It was a good move. He’s talked a lot about you and his brothers.”
“I’m worried because no one and I mean no one knows. Well, Terry does, but we don’t talk much anymore,” my brother offers.
Nikki seems to ignore the other people in the room and I feel her lips brush my cheek. “Nora, say something a little more. You’re worrying me.”
My eyes snap in her direction, finding concern reflected back at me. “I’m okay Nikki.” I lean in to press our lips together, reassuring her that I am okay. Pulling back I say, “I’m a little shocked, but I…uh, I’m good.”
She nods and pushes me over a little to share the recliner with me.
“You ain’t gonna kill me?” Bobby ventures.
Nikki answers for us, “Not yet, Delaney, but the night’s still young.”
He blanches a little.
“So what do you say, Nora? Can me and Chris stay here? Help me out with our mother?” Patrick asks again.
“Well, uhm, it’s not just my decision.” I look at Nikki and open my mouth to ask right before something hits the floor upstairs and Reba screeches.
“Mister!” Nikki barks as we hear our dog clomp down the steps. I watch as he trots into the living room a purple piece of fabric hanging from his jaws. “That better not be…” Nikki’s out of the chair and snatches the garment from Mister. She holds up my bra. The purple lace one Nikki bought me two weeks ago. “That’s it. Nora, I swear, I’m gonna make a coat out of your dog.”
A smile starts to creep up my face. Nikki stands there with my bra in her hands. Patrick and Chris look back and forth between us as Bobby plays with Mister. I laugh. I can’t help it.
“So’s that a yes?” Chris asks. “And you two live together?”
“Nor, you okay with that?” Nikki asks.
“Uh, yeah, if Nikki doesn’t mind,” I answer. “And yes, we live together.”
“Ah!” Chris pumps his fist into the air. Pouting, Patrick fishes his wallet out of his back pocket and hands his lover a twenty. Chris holds the money up and flicks the side of it. “I told you.”
“I’ll get that back,” Patrick promises.
“Wait, what?” Nikki points at the money.
Chris offers us a wide smile and explains, “I bet your brother that you two were together the night we came to town. He said bullshit and then bet me twenty when I said that you two were also living together.”
I point to Patrick. “I’m gonna kick your ass.”
He shrugs. “Bobby told us you were gay. Didn’t say who with or if you were living with someone.” His eyes twinkle and I shake my head.
“Go check out of your hotel,” I tell him.
I hit the button on the remote for the tailgate on Bruce and watch as the gate goes up. Chris grunts behind me as he lugs two large suitcases to the back of the SUV. I still don’t know why I came along if he wasn’t going to let me help.
“Are you sure I can’t lend you a hand?” I ask for the third time.
“Nope,” he pants. “Just thanks for letting us stay at your place.” He heaves one suitcase and then the other into the cargo space and shuts the lid.
Smirking, I get into the driver’s seat and wait for him to climb in and buckle up. I drum my fingers along the steering wheel and ask, “So, where is all of your stuff? I’m sure you didn’t leave everything in California.”
“The movers will be here tomorrow afternoon. One forty-foot truck along with our cars.” He shrugs. “We had thought about just driving everything out, but then Patrick’s mom called and told him about Nora’s birthday party and we thought why not.”
“Hmm,” I say and head towards home, joining the flow of traffic away from the Quarter.
“So,” he says.
So…
“So what?”
“I don’t know,” he admits, casting me a nervous smile. “It seems like I should say something, ya know profound, but all I can think of to say sounds annoying even to me.”
I let my smile break through and laugh.
“Thanks, that’s a real comfort,” he whines.
I reach over and pat the man’s knee. “I think we’ll get along just fine, Chris.” I wiggle my eyebrows at him and he blushes. “Tell me about you, I’m not sure how long you and Patrick are planning on staying and I think that manners dictate I know a bit more about you.”
“Not much to tell really. I’m a record producer from the mean streets of Pasadena. Patrick and I met about nine years ago and have been together ever since.” He gives another off handed shrug.
“Brothers? Sisters? Family?” I ask, thinking this is like milking a suspect.
“Mom. That’s about it. What about you... and how long have you and Nora been an item?” He turns the tables on me.
“My dad and kouzin’ with some extended family here and there. Nora and I…” I chew on my lower lip. “Let’s see, I transferred in to S.C.U. in…hell, four years?” I venture.
“You can’t be serious?” Chris’ voice incredulous.
“Look, I don’t have much of a head for dates. I think it was Oh-One. So goin’ on four years, I’m pretty sure.” I sigh. Nora’s gonna kill me.
I swear I need to start keeping track of this kinda stuff. We come to a stop at a red light and I debate banging my head off the steering wheel…that really won’t get me anywhere. “Nora is the one that remembers things like that,” I moan. “She’s got odd anniversaries and what not. Like every year I get a present for the day we became partners and then a present for the day we got together. There’s also one for an anniversary of ours that for the life of me I can’t remember, but she doesn’t mind.”
“And I thought Patrick was bad. It took him two years to remember our anniversary,” Chris says. “But you…I would kill you if you couldn’t after four years, if that’s even the amount of time you and Nora have been together.”
I run a hand through my hair and bob my head. “Yeah, my girl seems to just suffer.” I signal over and pull into a free parking space in front of our building. I look around and see Bobby’s car is gone. He must have gone home.
I kill the engine and follow Chris around to the back where I don’t ask if he needs help. Instead, I hit the latch on the door and grab the first suitcase I see. He begins to protest, but the look I send him shuts him up.
A long suffering sigh escapes him while I wait with the luggage in hand to lock up Bruce. Now, I know I’m not completely up to date on chivalry, but I don’t think it’s changed all that much. I understand the roles are reversed, but there’s really no sense in having him damage his back because of pride.
“Nora?” I call out as we enter the apartment. Mister comes trotting over wagging his tail. I narrow my eyes and shoo him away. I’m still upset about that bra. It looked so nice on Nora and the matching underwear were delectable.
Nora and Patrick both enter the foyer and look between me and Chris. I turn around and stifle my laugh. The poor man’s face is beat red as he drops the suitcase on our tile.
Patrick just shakes his head and picks up both suitcases with ease. “These are going where?” he asks.
“Guest bedroom off the living room,” Nora answers. “And you can call Mama tomorrow and let her know where you’re staying.”
“Thank God. Maybe then I can get some peace and we can start looking for a house,” Patrick says over his shoulder while the three of us follow him. He sets the luggage at the end of the bed and turns to Nora. “Actually, Huggy, that’s something that I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Huggy?” I ask. I had heard him call Nora that before, but it didn’t seem like the place to ask. Patrick’s grin widens and he shakes his finger at his sister. “You mean, your lady doesn’t know?”
“Patrick,” Nora grinds out.
The ex-marine’s eyebrows dance up and down and he laughs. “Oh, Nora Marie, this is going to be so much fun.” He slings an arm around her shoulder and draws her into a hug. “You know, I was really worried when I came back home. I mean Terry…he won’t talk to me much anymore and I know I should have called more or came to visit…but…”
“I get it,” she offers her brother as they lead us back to the living room.
“I think though, once Mama knows it’ll be better. I’m so tired of hiding. I missed my family,” Patrick says after letting Nora go, grabbing Chris and pulling him into his lap on the couch.
Nora stops midstride and turns around to her brother. “What do you mean when Mama knows?” My partner’s eyes narrow and her hands go to her hips.
Oh no.
Surprised, Patrick explains, “You can’t expect me not to tell her. She was pleasant to Nikki at your birthday party. They carried on well enough. Mama can know about Chris. I need to tell her. I’m tired of hiding.”
“No, no, no,” my Delaney growls. “Mama is to not know and for the record, she doesn’t know about Nikki. She knows that Nikki’s my work partner, that’s all. That’s all I ever intend for her to know too.”
The words poor from her lips and I clamp my eyes shut. The many discussions Nora and I have had about this very topic coming up in my memory. Her tone and words bite more than I’d like them to. The sudden tears in my eyes get wiped away before anyone, especially Nora, has a chance to notice.
“Nora, seriously, Mama doesn’t know about Nikki?” Patrick let’s Chris move to his side as he sends a reproachful look to his sister. “You two live to together for fuck’s sake!”
Nora closes her eyes and snips, “I know that. But Mama can’t know. She’ll freak out and she won’t be able to handle it.”
“Bullshit,” Patrick snaps, standing and getting in front of his sister. “Since when the hell have you, you of all people Nora Marie Delaney, gave a shit what anyone, especially our parents, thought?”
“Things change,” she clips.
“Not that.” I wince as his hands close around her upper arms. I should step in, but…
Maybe, just maybe, Patrick can reach her more than I can here. Maybe I’ll finally get my way.
“When the hell’d my baby sister turn into such a chicken shit?” he fumes. “I mean, I know why I haven’t. The one time our dad even suspected, I got the living shit kicked out of me, but he’s gone and ya know what, Nora, I’m done fucking hiding. I just can’t believe that you would.”
Nora rips away from him and growls, “Shut your mouth. I’m done. It’s late. I’m going to bed.” She says nothing more before practically running out of our living room and up the steps to our bed.
I stand and offer, “Extra towels and blankets are in the hall closet. Goodnight you two.”
I hit the stairs and hear her up there slamming cabinet doors around. My back straightens and I steel myself for the upcoming argument.
I don’t go through the bathroom, where she is. Instead, I go around and begin stripping. My gun and badge come off and are placed in their usual spot on top of the low dresser. Shoes, jeans and shirt are all piled next to the over flowing clothes hamper next to the cracked bathroom door.
Not bothering with pajamas, I take off my bra and slip under the covers in only my panties, thankful that I didn’t bother with makeup this morning. Pulling the covers up, I link my hands together and bring them to the back of my head for added support.
I watch the shadows from under the bathroom door and wait on Nora. It doesn’t take long for the light to flick off and for her to stomp across the room to her side of the bed.
“Nora?” I try.
I wait a minute before I hear a gentle, “What?”
Tentatively, I reach out and find her hand waiting for mine in the middle of our bed. “Sometimes, sugga,” I say as gently as possible, “some promises should be broken.” She doesn’t let go of my hand but she does tense, I can feel her coil up all the way across the bed. I press, “Sometimes it is tiring hiding.”
“What do you mean?” she hisses in the darkness of our sanctuary.
I sigh and let her hand go. My eyes shut tight as I say, “Nora, I love you. Sometimes I get tired…of the secrecy, of the lies, but I can’t blame you any more than I can blame myself. I agreed to this when we got together four years ago. I’m in this. I may not like all of it, but there’s more good than bad and I’m way in over my head. I just think you need to rethink things.” I don’t hear a response as I roll over and draw my legs to my chest.
Next>>>
