Heavy Lies the Crown 1/9
Nov. 24th, 2011 06:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
whedonistTitle: Heavy Lies the Crown
Fandom: Nikki & Nora
Rating: All over R – some parts more racy than others & some parts way less.
Ch.1 – A Simple Round
I pull up in front of the elementary school and put Bruce in park. It’s a bright summer morning and with school just starting, Rashad’s a little more than excited. His last year here, Newmark Elementary, and then on to junior high. I look him over, sitting in the passenger seat with a new backpack nestled between a new pair of Nike’s in a pair of new jeans and a crisp t-shirt. The kid looks good.
I place my hand on his shoulder and he blinks, looking back at me. Bright brown eyes under ridiculously long lashes light up. “Thanks for dropping me off, Ms. Nikki,” he says almost shyly.
You would think after nearly two years, he’d get more comfortable. He’s still gun shy though, despite the attempts Nora, myself and our families have made to make him feel included. I just offer him a half smile and run my hand over his shaved head, giving it a little shake in the process. “Well, seeing as how Darius is with my daddy at the House, I couldn’t say no to seeing my favorite eleven year old to his first day of his last year in grade school, could I?”
He grins back at me and says, “I’m the only eleven year old you know.”
The kid’s got me there. I shrug it off, “Just ‘cause you’re the only one, sugga, doesn’t mean you can’t be my favorite.” I wink at him and he ducks his head.
He’s just adorable.
“Go on, have fun, stay out of trouble, Rashad.” I shoo him out of Bruce and he scrambles away happily. I watch him hit the entrance before he stops in a sea of small children, turns around and waves to me one last time before disappearing inside.
Patiently, I wait for my turn out of the line of cars to get back on to the street and towards the station. I don’t even make it three feet from the curb before my phone starts ringing atop the dashboard. I glance at the time display on the dash and curse. “Beaumont,” I pick up on the third ring.
“When are you gettin’ your tail in here?” Benny asks, his words slightly clipped.
“On my way now, sweet thing. You just don’t worry that pretty, little, cue ball-head about it none,” I say as sweetly as possible. I signal for a right turn and head towards the station.
I’m late.
I couldn’t care less.
“Nikki,” he grumbles into the phone.
“Benny,” I sing-song back, “Look, just ‘cause I’m not there for Harney’s lame morning roll-out won’t hurt anyone there. The only affect my absence has is a positive one. Do I need to be there to provide a bad attitude at a ridiculously transparent policy to appeal to The Great Powers That Be?”
His silence gives me my answer.
“See, so you just go on and tell Dan that I had an emergency…”
“I could tell him you needed to stop for tampons,” Benny snickers, “the way you’ve been stomping around here; I know he’d believe me.”
“Hey, now…” I try to cut in.
“Nuh-huh, ever since Nora had to go, you’ve been grumping around here like a ‘gator with a toothache,” he laughs at me and I sigh.
“Well…” I suck my teeth and shoot back, “Like you aren’t as bad when Little Miss Granola has cut you off for one reason or another.” I really wish I could see his face right now, but I can’t.
I don’t mind being partnered with him during our rotation, but he’s right, I’d rather have Nora with me. Ever since she and I got the reassignment a while back, Dan’s taken to rotating the detectives in the unit. He’s got all of us on some weird, convoluted schedule that makes all six of us in S.C.U. partner with each other over a given period of time.
“Hey, maybe it’s cause of the position Dan’s being bent over his desk by the brass? Maybe if I tell him to take it missionary, it’ll open him up more and get his Chakras flowing right. Let’s face it doggie style can cut off circulation.”
“Oh, jeez. Benny really? Do I need to think about that this early in the morning?” I whine.
“I’m just sayin’ they’ve got our Lieu. bent every which way and I, for one, would like to see it change,” Benny gripes as I hear Dan call out in the background.
“Hmm, it’s a sad, sad thing, seeing that man get put through the ringer,” I agree with my partner. I also manage to find a space right in front of the station and park Bruce quickly. “I’m here. I’ll see you in ten minutes. You want anything from the café?”
I hop out of the car and hear him sputter, “You’re here? Get up here! You can still make the meeting and avoid the wrath of your boss.”
I shake my head as I lock up the car. “Nope, I need coffee and I really don’t want to be there for that. You want anything or not?”
“The regular,” he snips before disconnecting.
The smirk on my face won’t threaten to leave for a few minutes more as I make my away across the street. The less of those “roll-outs” I attend, the better.
Tension creeps slowly along the back of my neck and north. Sitting in Bruce when it’s hotter than hell, even with the air conditioner on, is not my idea of a good time. Yet, here I sit. Benny too.
I roll my head in large circles trying to release the pain that’s turning into a sizable tension headache. Dan and his ridiculous need to prove that he has the best unit in the N.O.P.D. I’m gonna start going back to my chiropractor and have him bill Harney personally.
I’m not even sure why we’re on this case to begin with. It was assigned to detectives over in the Fourth and all of a sudden, we get asked to join…?
That doesn’t make…”Ben, go over the details with me again?” I ask, wincing as my lower back twinges.
My partner in the passenger seat laughs and chides, “If you’d been to…”
“Ben,” I warn, “details, now.”
“Fine,” he huffs and reiterates the case once again, “Oh-three-forty-three a call to dispatch from a cellular line requesting paramedics off Berhman and Odeon in the Fourth. Detectives Desiree Yoshimitsu and her partner Will McCreary were the responding. The vic’s name is Deron Doyle lives about three blocks up from where he was found. Assaulted from the first account. Kid, age twenty-two, had a lacerated liver and a punctured lung from a broken rib. Went in to surgery immediately and coded on the operating table. Assault got upgraded to murder and here we are.” Benny looks at me out of the corner of his eye and adds, “Anything else, mon petit?”
I finally crack a grin six hours into our shift and answer, “That’ll do, mon cheri.” That earns me a glare and I can’t help laughing before I ask, “So when’s Yoshimitsu and McCreary supposed to meet us? ‘Cause sittin’ here any longer and the leather in my shoes is liable to melt.”
I look on, smiling, as Benny scratches his three day old beard.
“Don’t think about it, Benny, just accept that it’s hotter than the sphincter of Hades and we’re sittin’ smack dab in it.” I step on the gas a little and rev the engine. I don’t think it’ll help any, but we’ve been sitting here for the last forty minutes. Maybe it’ll help cool down the air a little.
“They said two,” he answers absently and looks at his watch. “Which was twenty minutes ago.” His brow creases as he removes his phone from the top of the dashboard and scrolls through a menu. I hear the redial response as he holds it up to his ear and speaks, “Hey, it’s Armstrong and Beaumont, you two held up?”
I can’t hear the reply, but I see the bob of his head and hear the hum of his disapproval. “…right, ‘cause we wanted to take the case from you two?” His lips smack together and he snaps back, “Look detective, we wouldn’t be involved if it wasn’t for our lieu, so can the pissing contest and put your hose away. Either you want to do your damn job and help the vic or you want to manage your close rate and ignore your job.”
I cock my head to the side to try and listen. Benny’s pretty worked up and from personal experience, getting him pissed off’s a pretty hard thing to do. Usually you have to try, damn hard, to get him to his current level of distress. The tips of his ears are red, his nostrils are flared and if he busts a vein…
“It’s called protect and serve, asshole. Look it up or turn in your badge.” His phone snaps shut and my eyebrows climb into my bangs.
“I take it they weren’t too happy about having us take the case?” I venture a few minutes later.
“The stupid…” he huffs and stuffs the phone in his breast pocket, “I’m not one to call a woman a bitch, don’t really care for the term at all, but sometimes, some women…”
“She was a bitch, Benny, it’s okay. I’ll call her one for you,” I say patting his arm. “So, where does that leave us?” I ask now that we’re not going to be meeting the detectives that responded.
He shrugs. “Square fucking one.” He slouches down in the leather, bucket seats and props his head on his fist.
My fingers drum across the steering wheel as I chew on my lower lip. “All right, let’s go check out the scene first, figure out what we can learn from that. Then we can hit up the hospital, see what the doctors there can tell us,” I decide and put the car in drive.
“Sounds like a plan,” he perks up and asks, “Maybe after the hospital, we go grab a quick bite and then talk to the next of kin. Report said notification was done when the kid was brought in, but I’m not sure what kinda questioning was done.”
Bobbing my head, I amend the agreement, “If it’s not too late. Darius and Rashad are at some bru-ha-ha with my daddy and no one’s home to let Mister out for his walk.”
“Seems fair. Dom and Rosalie wanted me to come over after work tonight anyhow. I think Jo was gonna come with me.”
I maneuver around a tow truck and head towards the scene. At least it’s a start. The notes from the other detectives would have helped but, doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.
The house is a little too quiet when I make it home. The clock above the stove tells me I should have been home three hours ago. After the hospital, it became pretty clear Benny and I weren’t going to be done soon, so I swung by earlier and let Mister out for a short walk before we went back to work.
The corners of my mouth angle down as Mister’s only greeting is a small tail thump from the corner of the living room. Reba’s probably upstairs curled up on a pillow. I sigh and toss my keys and purse on the kitchen counter. “Yeah,” I grumble in Mister’s general direction, “I miss her too, buddy.”
Deciding today was a bust, I head to the fridge and grab my favorite scotch from the top and set it down. Pulling a clean rock glass from the cupboard, I fill it with a few cubes of ice and pour a finger or two. I leave the bottle there and head into my too quiet home. I frown as the throbbing in my feet and head become a little too pronounced.
Plopping down on the couch, I set the glass on the coffee table and slip my shoes off. I watch Mister pad up to me and I reach out patting the seat next to me. His fury little eyebrows skirt between me and the spot I’ve indicated before he jumps and curls into the couch. “Good boy,” I coo and scratch his back end.
“Now, let’s see if me and your mama can quit playing phone tag and actually have a conversation with each other.”
I pull my cell phone free from its belt holster, hit Nora’s designated speed dial, ‘2’, and wait for her to pick up by sipping my drink. It burns all the way through to my stomach and I close my eyes at the sensation.
“Delaney,” Nora picks up and I stifle the urge to squeal in triumph.
“Thank you, Lord,” I say instead, “If I got your voicemail one more time…” I threaten, smiling into the phone.
Her laughter is music to my poor ears as I set my glass down and slump over resting my head on Mister’s backend. I pull my feet up and swing them over the opposite arm of the couch. “Yeah, well, I kept getting yours to, Nik. I know how it feels,” she replies. “Long day?”
“Hmm-uh-huh,” I mumble and just listen to her breathe through the phone. “Dan pulled a case from the Fourth that he has Benny and me working. Georgia and I are still on that robbery case and Rashad started school today,” I fill her in before switching gears, “Enough about me though. What’s going on and when are you coming home?” I ask
She sighs and I hear her shuffle and a door close before she answers, “I don’t know, to either of those questions.” My frown deepens as she continues quietly, “Ann’s stuck out of the country on a case. Jill’s a basket case and Linda’s really not in much better shape.”
I sigh myself and run a hand over my face, rubbing my tired eyes. She hasn’t been gone more than a week and…
I’m kind of pathetic.
“I’m sorry, Nor. Is there anything they need? Anything I can do?” I ask, putting a cap on my internal pity-party and direct the sympathy where it should go.
“Not really, we’ve been at the hospital nearly the entire time I’ve been here.” She pauses and takes a breath. “I just don’t know what to do. The doctor’s are pretty reserved. The surgery went well, they said. It’s the recovery. Apparently, John’s caught something that’s…one of the nurses says it happens, compromised immune system. If it turns into pneumonia…” she trails off and doesn’t say what the outcome of that would be.
It’s still a little weird to think the man I know is that sick. Jill’s dad isn’t a big guy, wiry and slim, but he didn’t seem…
A heart attack.
From everything I knew, he was in such good shape.
I shake my head and offer, “Mister misses you,” trying to break the tension.
She laughs ruefully and asks, “He the only one?”
“Rashad asked about you. Pat and Chris haven’t said much. Your mama’s been putting the screws to
Bobby for some more information,” I shrug, “Other than that, it’s same ole, same ole.”
“No one else?” she asks, the playful note in her voice warms me.
“Only me, every second, sug, only me,” I finally admit and quietly add, “You know, I was thinking this morning that this is the longest we’ve been apart in…”
“You’ll never get this,” she teases me.
“Six years, tomorrow, Nora Marie. It’s taken me a while, but, I’m putting to pasture the myth about old dogs and new tricks.” I grin as she whistles into the phone.
“I miss you too. I didn’t think…” she stops and starts again, “When Jill called, you know my immediate response was yes. I just didn’t think about leaving you for – well, I wasn’t really sure how long.”
“It’s okay. I would have done the same thing if she’d of called me. Just tell her that we love her. I’ll see if maybe I can get a longer weekend, three or four days, even if it means I work ten straight, to get up there.” I shift and feel Mister sink a little further into the cushions. Our dog makes quite the comfy pillow.
“If you can swing it, with me out, I’m sure Dan has his hands full trying to keep you in line,” she teases me.
“Ha! Try Benny. I think he may have made good on the threat this morning of telling Dan I had stop at the store for tampons,” I snicker. “I think I’ve been a bit…’Nora-esque’ since you’ve been up there.”
“Ah, well, then apologize to him for me, will you? You being a bitch isn’t near as much fun when I do it,” Nora states and I can tell she’s smiling.
“Just because…” I try to defend.
“I’m bark and little bite. You, baby, are little bark and all teeth. Seriously though, our anniversary is tomorrow and I’m here. You’re there and neither the twain shall meet.”
Hmm, maybe…no, not with the cases open, I can’t.
“Well, we may not be able to meet, meet, but what about I pencil you in tomorrow night and you can tell me what you’re wearing?” I ask, dropping my voice. “What are you wearing now that we’re on the subject? A pick me up wouldn’t be bad.” I drag a finger tip over my stomach lightly, like Nora would do if she were lying with me on the couch.
“Nik, please,” she whines, “As much as I want to answer that question…”
I sigh, “Not the time or the place?” I venture.
“I’m sorry,” she says gently. “I would…”
“I know. So I’ll consider this a rain check for another day, but I will be thinking of you tonight.” I wiggle my eyebrows for her even though she can’t see me.
“Hmm, don’t be a tease or at least give me the details a bit later,” she breathes. “But you sound tired and I should go track down Jill and Linda.”
“Okay,” I sigh for the millionth time, “love you, Delaney.”
“Me too, Beaumont. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
“You better, sugga, or there will be hell to pay,” I warn her before disconnecting.
I lift up, toss the phone on to the coffee table and then flop back down earning a disgruntled huff from Mister.
This just kinda sucks.
Next>>>
Fandom: Nikki & Nora
Rating: All over R – some parts more racy than others & some parts way less.
Disclaimer: Nikki & Nora along with all the other character’s from the pilot do not belong to me. They belong to Nancylee Myatt and others that I don’t know, but if in the off chance they want to get together for a chat I’m here. Then we can discuss why the excs at the T.V. station didn’t pick up the series and perhaps whap them about the face with a dead carp. It’s a just punishment for the crime. =0)
Author’s Note: This set of stories follow the A.U. that I've built. I was asked for some type of time reference for each story so here it is. I’m not sure if you need to read the previous pieces to read this. I, for obvious reasons, recommend it, but it’s not like I’ve written the femslash version of an article on the mating rituals of the Python regius and its ecological impacts to indigenous species…or maybe I have and Nikki and Nora sound a lot like the names of two of my snakes…
Regardless, the time line is as follows:
1. 10/96- 08/01 - Why Don’t You and I Series
2. 10/01- 01/03 - The Game Series
3. 01/05 - ? - The Secret Series
Lastly, Happy Turkeyday, I’m going to be late getting the blasted thing on if I don’t get a move on…so take care everyone and thanks for listening to me ramble.
I pull up in front of the elementary school and put Bruce in park. It’s a bright summer morning and with school just starting, Rashad’s a little more than excited. His last year here, Newmark Elementary, and then on to junior high. I look him over, sitting in the passenger seat with a new backpack nestled between a new pair of Nike’s in a pair of new jeans and a crisp t-shirt. The kid looks good.
I place my hand on his shoulder and he blinks, looking back at me. Bright brown eyes under ridiculously long lashes light up. “Thanks for dropping me off, Ms. Nikki,” he says almost shyly.
You would think after nearly two years, he’d get more comfortable. He’s still gun shy though, despite the attempts Nora, myself and our families have made to make him feel included. I just offer him a half smile and run my hand over his shaved head, giving it a little shake in the process. “Well, seeing as how Darius is with my daddy at the House, I couldn’t say no to seeing my favorite eleven year old to his first day of his last year in grade school, could I?”
He grins back at me and says, “I’m the only eleven year old you know.”
The kid’s got me there. I shrug it off, “Just ‘cause you’re the only one, sugga, doesn’t mean you can’t be my favorite.” I wink at him and he ducks his head.
He’s just adorable.
“Go on, have fun, stay out of trouble, Rashad.” I shoo him out of Bruce and he scrambles away happily. I watch him hit the entrance before he stops in a sea of small children, turns around and waves to me one last time before disappearing inside.
Patiently, I wait for my turn out of the line of cars to get back on to the street and towards the station. I don’t even make it three feet from the curb before my phone starts ringing atop the dashboard. I glance at the time display on the dash and curse. “Beaumont,” I pick up on the third ring.
“When are you gettin’ your tail in here?” Benny asks, his words slightly clipped.
“On my way now, sweet thing. You just don’t worry that pretty, little, cue ball-head about it none,” I say as sweetly as possible. I signal for a right turn and head towards the station.
I’m late.
I couldn’t care less.
“Nikki,” he grumbles into the phone.
“Benny,” I sing-song back, “Look, just ‘cause I’m not there for Harney’s lame morning roll-out won’t hurt anyone there. The only affect my absence has is a positive one. Do I need to be there to provide a bad attitude at a ridiculously transparent policy to appeal to The Great Powers That Be?”
His silence gives me my answer.
“See, so you just go on and tell Dan that I had an emergency…”
“I could tell him you needed to stop for tampons,” Benny snickers, “the way you’ve been stomping around here; I know he’d believe me.”
“Hey, now…” I try to cut in.
“Nuh-huh, ever since Nora had to go, you’ve been grumping around here like a ‘gator with a toothache,” he laughs at me and I sigh.
“Well…” I suck my teeth and shoot back, “Like you aren’t as bad when Little Miss Granola has cut you off for one reason or another.” I really wish I could see his face right now, but I can’t.
I don’t mind being partnered with him during our rotation, but he’s right, I’d rather have Nora with me. Ever since she and I got the reassignment a while back, Dan’s taken to rotating the detectives in the unit. He’s got all of us on some weird, convoluted schedule that makes all six of us in S.C.U. partner with each other over a given period of time.
“Hey, maybe it’s cause of the position Dan’s being bent over his desk by the brass? Maybe if I tell him to take it missionary, it’ll open him up more and get his Chakras flowing right. Let’s face it doggie style can cut off circulation.”
“Oh, jeez. Benny really? Do I need to think about that this early in the morning?” I whine.
“I’m just sayin’ they’ve got our Lieu. bent every which way and I, for one, would like to see it change,” Benny gripes as I hear Dan call out in the background.
“Hmm, it’s a sad, sad thing, seeing that man get put through the ringer,” I agree with my partner. I also manage to find a space right in front of the station and park Bruce quickly. “I’m here. I’ll see you in ten minutes. You want anything from the café?”
I hop out of the car and hear him sputter, “You’re here? Get up here! You can still make the meeting and avoid the wrath of your boss.”
I shake my head as I lock up the car. “Nope, I need coffee and I really don’t want to be there for that. You want anything or not?”
“The regular,” he snips before disconnecting.
The smirk on my face won’t threaten to leave for a few minutes more as I make my away across the street. The less of those “roll-outs” I attend, the better.
Tension creeps slowly along the back of my neck and north. Sitting in Bruce when it’s hotter than hell, even with the air conditioner on, is not my idea of a good time. Yet, here I sit. Benny too.
I roll my head in large circles trying to release the pain that’s turning into a sizable tension headache. Dan and his ridiculous need to prove that he has the best unit in the N.O.P.D. I’m gonna start going back to my chiropractor and have him bill Harney personally.
I’m not even sure why we’re on this case to begin with. It was assigned to detectives over in the Fourth and all of a sudden, we get asked to join…?
That doesn’t make…”Ben, go over the details with me again?” I ask, wincing as my lower back twinges.
My partner in the passenger seat laughs and chides, “If you’d been to…”
“Ben,” I warn, “details, now.”
“Fine,” he huffs and reiterates the case once again, “Oh-three-forty-three a call to dispatch from a cellular line requesting paramedics off Berhman and Odeon in the Fourth. Detectives Desiree Yoshimitsu and her partner Will McCreary were the responding. The vic’s name is Deron Doyle lives about three blocks up from where he was found. Assaulted from the first account. Kid, age twenty-two, had a lacerated liver and a punctured lung from a broken rib. Went in to surgery immediately and coded on the operating table. Assault got upgraded to murder and here we are.” Benny looks at me out of the corner of his eye and adds, “Anything else, mon petit?”
I finally crack a grin six hours into our shift and answer, “That’ll do, mon cheri.” That earns me a glare and I can’t help laughing before I ask, “So when’s Yoshimitsu and McCreary supposed to meet us? ‘Cause sittin’ here any longer and the leather in my shoes is liable to melt.”
I look on, smiling, as Benny scratches his three day old beard.
“Don’t think about it, Benny, just accept that it’s hotter than the sphincter of Hades and we’re sittin’ smack dab in it.” I step on the gas a little and rev the engine. I don’t think it’ll help any, but we’ve been sitting here for the last forty minutes. Maybe it’ll help cool down the air a little.
“They said two,” he answers absently and looks at his watch. “Which was twenty minutes ago.” His brow creases as he removes his phone from the top of the dashboard and scrolls through a menu. I hear the redial response as he holds it up to his ear and speaks, “Hey, it’s Armstrong and Beaumont, you two held up?”
I can’t hear the reply, but I see the bob of his head and hear the hum of his disapproval. “…right, ‘cause we wanted to take the case from you two?” His lips smack together and he snaps back, “Look detective, we wouldn’t be involved if it wasn’t for our lieu, so can the pissing contest and put your hose away. Either you want to do your damn job and help the vic or you want to manage your close rate and ignore your job.”
I cock my head to the side to try and listen. Benny’s pretty worked up and from personal experience, getting him pissed off’s a pretty hard thing to do. Usually you have to try, damn hard, to get him to his current level of distress. The tips of his ears are red, his nostrils are flared and if he busts a vein…
“It’s called protect and serve, asshole. Look it up or turn in your badge.” His phone snaps shut and my eyebrows climb into my bangs.
“I take it they weren’t too happy about having us take the case?” I venture a few minutes later.
“The stupid…” he huffs and stuffs the phone in his breast pocket, “I’m not one to call a woman a bitch, don’t really care for the term at all, but sometimes, some women…”
“She was a bitch, Benny, it’s okay. I’ll call her one for you,” I say patting his arm. “So, where does that leave us?” I ask now that we’re not going to be meeting the detectives that responded.
He shrugs. “Square fucking one.” He slouches down in the leather, bucket seats and props his head on his fist.
My fingers drum across the steering wheel as I chew on my lower lip. “All right, let’s go check out the scene first, figure out what we can learn from that. Then we can hit up the hospital, see what the doctors there can tell us,” I decide and put the car in drive.
“Sounds like a plan,” he perks up and asks, “Maybe after the hospital, we go grab a quick bite and then talk to the next of kin. Report said notification was done when the kid was brought in, but I’m not sure what kinda questioning was done.”
Bobbing my head, I amend the agreement, “If it’s not too late. Darius and Rashad are at some bru-ha-ha with my daddy and no one’s home to let Mister out for his walk.”
“Seems fair. Dom and Rosalie wanted me to come over after work tonight anyhow. I think Jo was gonna come with me.”
I maneuver around a tow truck and head towards the scene. At least it’s a start. The notes from the other detectives would have helped but, doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.
The house is a little too quiet when I make it home. The clock above the stove tells me I should have been home three hours ago. After the hospital, it became pretty clear Benny and I weren’t going to be done soon, so I swung by earlier and let Mister out for a short walk before we went back to work.
The corners of my mouth angle down as Mister’s only greeting is a small tail thump from the corner of the living room. Reba’s probably upstairs curled up on a pillow. I sigh and toss my keys and purse on the kitchen counter. “Yeah,” I grumble in Mister’s general direction, “I miss her too, buddy.”
Deciding today was a bust, I head to the fridge and grab my favorite scotch from the top and set it down. Pulling a clean rock glass from the cupboard, I fill it with a few cubes of ice and pour a finger or two. I leave the bottle there and head into my too quiet home. I frown as the throbbing in my feet and head become a little too pronounced.
Plopping down on the couch, I set the glass on the coffee table and slip my shoes off. I watch Mister pad up to me and I reach out patting the seat next to me. His fury little eyebrows skirt between me and the spot I’ve indicated before he jumps and curls into the couch. “Good boy,” I coo and scratch his back end.
“Now, let’s see if me and your mama can quit playing phone tag and actually have a conversation with each other.”
I pull my cell phone free from its belt holster, hit Nora’s designated speed dial, ‘2’, and wait for her to pick up by sipping my drink. It burns all the way through to my stomach and I close my eyes at the sensation.
“Delaney,” Nora picks up and I stifle the urge to squeal in triumph.
“Thank you, Lord,” I say instead, “If I got your voicemail one more time…” I threaten, smiling into the phone.
Her laughter is music to my poor ears as I set my glass down and slump over resting my head on Mister’s backend. I pull my feet up and swing them over the opposite arm of the couch. “Yeah, well, I kept getting yours to, Nik. I know how it feels,” she replies. “Long day?”
“Hmm-uh-huh,” I mumble and just listen to her breathe through the phone. “Dan pulled a case from the Fourth that he has Benny and me working. Georgia and I are still on that robbery case and Rashad started school today,” I fill her in before switching gears, “Enough about me though. What’s going on and when are you coming home?” I ask
She sighs and I hear her shuffle and a door close before she answers, “I don’t know, to either of those questions.” My frown deepens as she continues quietly, “Ann’s stuck out of the country on a case. Jill’s a basket case and Linda’s really not in much better shape.”
I sigh myself and run a hand over my face, rubbing my tired eyes. She hasn’t been gone more than a week and…
I’m kind of pathetic.
“I’m sorry, Nor. Is there anything they need? Anything I can do?” I ask, putting a cap on my internal pity-party and direct the sympathy where it should go.
“Not really, we’ve been at the hospital nearly the entire time I’ve been here.” She pauses and takes a breath. “I just don’t know what to do. The doctor’s are pretty reserved. The surgery went well, they said. It’s the recovery. Apparently, John’s caught something that’s…one of the nurses says it happens, compromised immune system. If it turns into pneumonia…” she trails off and doesn’t say what the outcome of that would be.
It’s still a little weird to think the man I know is that sick. Jill’s dad isn’t a big guy, wiry and slim, but he didn’t seem…
A heart attack.
From everything I knew, he was in such good shape.
I shake my head and offer, “Mister misses you,” trying to break the tension.
She laughs ruefully and asks, “He the only one?”
“Rashad asked about you. Pat and Chris haven’t said much. Your mama’s been putting the screws to
Bobby for some more information,” I shrug, “Other than that, it’s same ole, same ole.”
“No one else?” she asks, the playful note in her voice warms me.
“Only me, every second, sug, only me,” I finally admit and quietly add, “You know, I was thinking this morning that this is the longest we’ve been apart in…”
“You’ll never get this,” she teases me.
“Six years, tomorrow, Nora Marie. It’s taken me a while, but, I’m putting to pasture the myth about old dogs and new tricks.” I grin as she whistles into the phone.
“I miss you too. I didn’t think…” she stops and starts again, “When Jill called, you know my immediate response was yes. I just didn’t think about leaving you for – well, I wasn’t really sure how long.”
“It’s okay. I would have done the same thing if she’d of called me. Just tell her that we love her. I’ll see if maybe I can get a longer weekend, three or four days, even if it means I work ten straight, to get up there.” I shift and feel Mister sink a little further into the cushions. Our dog makes quite the comfy pillow.
“If you can swing it, with me out, I’m sure Dan has his hands full trying to keep you in line,” she teases me.
“Ha! Try Benny. I think he may have made good on the threat this morning of telling Dan I had stop at the store for tampons,” I snicker. “I think I’ve been a bit…’Nora-esque’ since you’ve been up there.”
“Ah, well, then apologize to him for me, will you? You being a bitch isn’t near as much fun when I do it,” Nora states and I can tell she’s smiling.
“Just because…” I try to defend.
“I’m bark and little bite. You, baby, are little bark and all teeth. Seriously though, our anniversary is tomorrow and I’m here. You’re there and neither the twain shall meet.”
Hmm, maybe…no, not with the cases open, I can’t.
“Well, we may not be able to meet, meet, but what about I pencil you in tomorrow night and you can tell me what you’re wearing?” I ask, dropping my voice. “What are you wearing now that we’re on the subject? A pick me up wouldn’t be bad.” I drag a finger tip over my stomach lightly, like Nora would do if she were lying with me on the couch.
“Nik, please,” she whines, “As much as I want to answer that question…”
I sigh, “Not the time or the place?” I venture.
“I’m sorry,” she says gently. “I would…”
“I know. So I’ll consider this a rain check for another day, but I will be thinking of you tonight.” I wiggle my eyebrows for her even though she can’t see me.
“Hmm, don’t be a tease or at least give me the details a bit later,” she breathes. “But you sound tired and I should go track down Jill and Linda.”
“Okay,” I sigh for the millionth time, “love you, Delaney.”
“Me too, Beaumont. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
“You better, sugga, or there will be hell to pay,” I warn her before disconnecting.
I lift up, toss the phone on to the coffee table and then flop back down earning a disgruntled huff from Mister.
This just kinda sucks.
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Date: 2011-11-24 03:24 pm (UTC)Happy thanksgiving!
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Date: 2011-11-29 05:46 am (UTC)Thank you. I hope yours was good one as well. Mine wasn't bad. People lite comparatively, so...
Take care and more coming up.
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Date: 2011-11-25 01:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-29 05:47 am (UTC)Thanks!