Heavy Lies the Crown 4/9
Dec. 15th, 2011 06:52 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.
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 execs 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)
A/N: I’m in ‘ow’ mode right now, sittings a chore, but that doesn’t keep me and the back that thought it’d be nifty to remind me that I’m not a young pup anymore from getting this up. So yinz all read and enjoy. =0)
Ch. 4 – Rope
I prop myself in the doorway and watch Lee at the head of his classroom. I know I’m on time, he said two-forty-five, but…
Kids are still around.
Jill stands behind me and I watch a few students wave in our direction. A quick glance over my shoulder and I see she’s returning their greeting just as enthusiastically.
“Mr. Sherman, Mrs. Flemming and another lady are here,” an awkward looking boy pipes up from the front.
“Ah,” Lee spins around from the blackboard and I finally get a good look at him in his work attire. I can’t believe Jill lets him wear a padded elbow corduroy jacket. I thought those were banned in the 70’s. “Come in, come in,” he waves us in and motions towards the front of the class.
“Everyone, I’d like to introduce you to a very good friend of mine, Det. Nora Delaney of the New Orleans Police Department’s Special Crimes Unit. Det. Delaney’s in town visiting. What do we say?”
“Hello,” they semi-shout in unison.
I manage a wave and a grin before my hands get jammed back in my pockets.
“Okay class, we have just enough time to embarrass our new friend,” Lee claps his hands together and wiggles his eyebrows at me. “Anyone have questions for our visitor?”
Three hands shoot up in the air and I can’t help the laugh.
Thank God, I’m decent with kids…
Most days.
Having Rashad around has helped a lot. Plus the babysitting for little Reyna that Chris and Pat have conned Nikki and me in to.
“Apr…” Lee points to a girl with long brown hair and bright brown eyes.
“Have you ever seen a dead body?” she blurts before Lee finishes her name.
“I have,” I say and then point to the boy that informed Lee we were here. He hasn’t taken his eyes off Jill since we’ve come in.
“Hi, I’m Nathaniel and do you know your cities recidivism rate and how does that impact your job?”
My right eyebrow lifts all on its own as the rest of the class gives off a collective groan.
“Come on, Nate. Is there a reason you’re so lame? Just ‘cause you’ve added Mrs. Flemming to your spank bank…” a kid from the back yells.
A blonde haired girl from the front pipes up, “Eww, Tyler, why do you have to be so gross? We all know Nate’s become obsessed with crime and killers and whatever since last year when he found out Mrs. Flemming’s partner is in the F.B.I., but seriously, you’re just gross!”
“Nate,” a girl behind him claps him on the shoulder, but her eyes cut to Jill apologetically, “She’s gay, dude, and you’re, like, a kid and she’s so old enough to be your mom.”
“Okay, okay, everyone,” Lee finally calls a halt to the badgering. “If he’s interested in law enforcement, the reason is unimportant, unless he’s going to start breaking the law. Let’s leave Mrs. Flemming alone and apologize to Nate.”
There’s a halfhearted mumbled apology from the group and Nate’s face finally looks less like a tomato. I look at Jill who’s doing a damn fine job of hiding her grin.
“The answer is around seventy-five percent, Nate,” I finally answer the question.
He gives me a shy smile right before the bell rings.
It takes me more time to blink then it does for the kids to run from the class. Nate’s the last one out the door offering a shy parting glance and wave before he disappears out the door.
“Oh my God!” Jill finally speaks, “That was fucking priceless.”
“Jill! Language. Jesus woman, there are still kids around,” Lee barks.
Jill huffs and hisses, “If they know what a ‘spank bank’ is I’m sure they’ve heard the word ‘fuck’ before, Lee. Remove the stick and by the way, I thought I got rid of that jacket?” Her arms fold over her chest and she taps her foot.
I step back, deciding to let them work it out themselves.
A smirk appears on his face as he shoves a large stack of papers in his satchel. “You may not have or I may have purchased another.” He sticks his tongue out at her and moves towards the door.
I wince as she smacks him on the back of the head. Poor guy.
“I swear, Lee, how in the hell I dated such a fashion disaster and have remained friends with you for so long… clueless I tell you. I’m clueless!” Jill motions for me to follow and I listen to them bicker all the way out to our cars.
“I’ll follow you back to your place,” Jill tells him and I follow her back to her car.
We hop in and head towards Lee’s apartment thankful that Linda and I could get Jill to agree to a night away. She needs it and truthfully, I love the woman, but if I had to look at that hospital room another night, I’m not sure there would have been a hospital left in the morning.
“Hmmm,” Jill purrs and I roll my head in her direction, “Nora, good call on staying in tonight,” she raises her hand for a high five and I accommodate. “Lee, your music selection this evening is acceptable as well. Shirley Manson…hmm…I wouldn’t kick that woman out bed.”
“Hell, yeah,” Lee leans forward and manages a sloppy fist bump with his friend. “Their debut is still on my top ten list of favorite albums ever.”
I plant my tongue in my cheek and shake my head. “You two are worse than teenagers,” I admonish and point my beer bottle in their direction. I squint at the coffee table and count around nine empty bottles…
Huh, no wonder my face is numb.
Good beer too.
“Oh please, give me a fucking break Nor,” Jill pokes me in the shoulder. “She’s sexy as fuck and her voice…” Jill visibly shivers. “Auditorily orgasmic. Period. End of story.”
“Is ‘auditorily’ even a word?” I ask instead of taking the bait.
“No clue,” she shrugs.
“Nope,” Lee answers, “but she just made it one and man, am I gonna feel this tomorrow. You’re lucky tomorrow’s Friday. This hangover’s gonna be killer.” He kills the rest of his beer and puts it in one of the empty holders of the six-pack. “We’re also out of beer.”
“You still have the Flor de Caña?” Jill asks as she polishes off her own bottle.
I look at mine and see it’s just as empty.
Well, okay then.
Lee hoists himself up and disappears into the kitchen. A cupboard door opens and shuts before he rounds the corner with more alcohol in his hand. “Here we go,” Lee sets a bottle of…I squint at the label, rum, down on the coffee table and three tumblers. “Just what the doc ordered for mind numbing bliss. Some of the best rum thirty bucks can buy.”
“Yummy,” Jill claps her hands together and licks her lips. “You done with that?” she asks me pointing to my empty bottle.
I hand it off and she dumps hers and mine in the remaining two slots on the last six-pack.
“You,” she points to Lee, “continue to do a fine job of pouring. I’m gonna go toss these in the recycle bin.” She manages to stand with relative grace, but fumbles slightly with the two packs of empty bottles. “Shit.” I reach out and grab her elbow to steady her.
“You want help?” I ask not too sure she can make it to the kitchen and back without falling or running into something.
“Nope. I’m good.” For added affect she makes a show of squaring her shoulders and strutting to the kitchen.
I shrug. She only wobbles once. I cock my head to the side and watch her retreat. I really can’t complain about the view either.
Jill’s in much better shape than I thought.
“That’s my girl!” Lee crows as she makes her way back in and Lee hands her her drink. He gives me mine and they both plop back down on the couch.
“I can hold my liquor,” Jill says indignantly.
I hold me free hand up. “Wasn’t sayin’ you couldn’t. You just looked a little shaky there for a second.”
“You should have seen her at her first runway show.” Lee smirks from the opposite end of the couch. “Jilly was so wasted…”
“As were you and a third of the models were also stoned. How they managed…,” she shrugs it off.
I quirk an eyebrow in interest, settle back against the arm of the couch and rest my feet in Jill’s lap. “I sense a story. Fess up, Jill.”
She rolls her eyes and elbows Lee in the ribs. “You just had to open up your big mouth. Asshole,” she gripes before turning to me. “I brought asswipe here to my first runway show in New York. First everything really. It was the coveted Fashion Week in the city and I was booked pretty steady. The night before the first show, we went out and partied with a group of models that were on our floor. Shit faced. I tell you.” She pokes my shin for emphasis and sips her rum. “So we’re hammered and end up drinking pretty much straight through to the morning of my first appearance. Drunker than a skunk, I managed to get through the whole thing.”
Lee rolls his eyes. “She’s a horrible story teller. You left out the bits about you and that one blonde on the balcony of the club we were at.”
Jill’s face flushes and she shakes her head. “No way. I’m not telling that story. I wasn’t really…” Her eyes narrow and she hisses, “I hate you sometimes.”
My brows knit together and I ask, “Remind me again how you ended up in modeling?”
Jill shrugs, “I was walking around campus and was spotted by some photographer that was helping with an open casting call. One thing led to another and here I am. I wasn’t in my right mind when I took the offer, but it’s worked out.”
Lee half snort-half snickers, “You were a damn basket case and who said you’re in your right mind now?”
I snicker. Lee’s got a point. “Had Ann left Virginia yet?” I ask trying to get some sense of a timeline.
Jill shakes her head. “It’s so stupid. Like why did I wait so long? What the fuck was wrong with me?”
“You wouldn’t listen…” Lee reminds her. “The fact that you hadn’t looked at a guy after me should have given you enough…evidence. Stubborn. You’re just stubborn.”
“Can it, Sherman, or I’ll tell Nora about the next day,” Jill warns and Lee quickly quiets down.
A grin develops as I sip my drink. “When I get back, you two are gonna talk.” I stand, a little shaky at first and amend, “I need to go call Nik, but I want the details.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Jill waves me away.
Lee isn’t as kind, “If you rub one out, you’re washing the sheets!”
“Yeah, don’t leave our poor Lee here with the scent in the air. You’ll give’im blue balls!”
My face reddens as I slam his bedroom door. They really are the most juvenile thirty-somethings I’ve ever met.
“When are you coming home?” Jill asks as she tucks her free arm under the one that’s bent holding the phone to her ear.
Last night was a good reprieve, but man, the hangover this morning wasn’t nearly as welcome as the numbness the night before.
“Annie,” Jill warns, “You’ve been gone for a week. In case you forgot, you left me Friday and it’s Friday, again,” Jill less than gently reminds her wife.
I wince in sympathy for Ann. You can’t control the length of the case. Not really and make sure that it’s done right.
“I know,” Jill sighs as I listen to the one sided conversation, “I just…I know, I know…Nora’s been great,” Jill brightens and winks at me. “Excellent cuddle partner as per usual. Although…I guess it won’t hurt to tell you that I want a divorce. Nora and I are running away to Barbados.”
I roll my eyes at her and decide it’s best if I give her some privacy. Leaving her bedroom, I spot Linda in the living room and say, “Ann’s on the phone. I need to go call Nikki. Be right back.” I head out to the front porch and quietly shut the front door.
Flipping my phone open, I hit ‘2’ and ‘send.’ The swing on the front porch is padded and comfortable as I sit down and wait for Nikki to pick up.
It takes three rings, “Beaumont.”
“Detective,” I reply and hear her giggle.
“Sugga, I was just tellin’ Jen that if you didn’t call me within the hour I was going to start suspecting things,” she teases me.
I snort. “Yeah, well, according to Jill, her and Ann are getting a divorce right before she and I runaway to Barbados. You want to counter offer before I take her up on her’s?”
“Hmm, how about you get your cute ass back down to the Big Easy and I remind you how much you love me?”
“Sold,” I say.
“You are a pushover, Nora dear. So how is everything? Recovering from your night soaked in alcohol?” she asks, still slightly amused by my drunken call to her last night.
At least I stripped his sheets. He’s lucky I even did that.
“Headache. I’ve been sucking down water like I usually do coffee. Not too bad really. What are you up to?” I wonder and start the swing in an easy arc, back and forth. My feet skid across the concrete porch.
“Jen and I are looking for an outfit for tomorrow’s dinner”
“Wait, I thought that was last night?” My mouth turns down as I try to remember the details.
“It was, but if you remember what I told you last night, there was a busted water main in the venue’s kitchen. We had to run interference and put out the two dozen fires…” I hear a loud cough in the background. Nikki amends, “Jen had to put out the two-dozen fires and reorganize everything for tomorrow night.”
“I don’t remember that at all,” I admit shaking my head.
“Do you remember any of that conversation, sugga?” Nikki’s tone is three shades improper and I blush.
“The highlights. So why a new dress?” I ask trying to change the subject. Jen’s next to her and well…I’m not real comfortable around her yet.
She’s okay most days.
Just not when I’m not there to keep an eye on her appreciative gaze of my partner.
“I want something different. We’re at shop number two on Magazine.”
“Oh dear Lord,” I mumble and wipe my hand down my face. “Didn’t you blow your wardrobe budget on that new dress and the matching shoes?”
“Yes, I did, but,” she sing songs, “since you haven’t spent your allotment, I thought I would for you.”
I roll my eyes. Really, what else am I left with for a response?
“Patrick still going with you?” I wonder, hoping that he or Chris will accompany her still. I talked to Pat on Wednesday and that was still the plan, but things changed obviously.
“He is. I think he’s more excited about going out on a Saturday night than I am,” Nikki admits.
I smile thinking about my ten month old niece. Chris and Patrick started the adoption paperwork shortly after they moved into their home. She’s been with us for the last four months and everyone’s needed to adjust. “Yeah, Reyna’s taken their social life and…”
“Made it non-existent,” Nikki fills in for me. “Although, your mom’s in hog heaven when she gets to watch her.”
“Hey, at least we haven’t gotten any more donor pamphlets or adoption applications,” I remind her.
“She’s happy when the boys get it together enough to manage a night out and she can watch her granddaughter,” Nikki agrees. “Or if Chris needs to travel for work.”
“I’m happy you won’t be going alone. Tell Pat thank you for me?” I ask softly. I would have hated every second of it, but I would have gone with her.
“Will do sug. Now, I need to go, these dresses are not cooperating and I need to find something suitable. Love you, Nor.”
“Love you too. Tell Jen I said hello,” I say figuring I might as well earn a few brownie points for playing nice.
“I may,” I hear the smirk in her voice before the line goes dead.
Yeah, she saw right through that one.
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 execs 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)
A/N: I’m in ‘ow’ mode right now, sittings a chore, but that doesn’t keep me and the back that thought it’d be nifty to remind me that I’m not a young pup anymore from getting this up. So yinz all read and enjoy. =0)
I prop myself in the doorway and watch Lee at the head of his classroom. I know I’m on time, he said two-forty-five, but…
Kids are still around.
Jill stands behind me and I watch a few students wave in our direction. A quick glance over my shoulder and I see she’s returning their greeting just as enthusiastically.
“Mr. Sherman, Mrs. Flemming and another lady are here,” an awkward looking boy pipes up from the front.
“Ah,” Lee spins around from the blackboard and I finally get a good look at him in his work attire. I can’t believe Jill lets him wear a padded elbow corduroy jacket. I thought those were banned in the 70’s. “Come in, come in,” he waves us in and motions towards the front of the class.
“Everyone, I’d like to introduce you to a very good friend of mine, Det. Nora Delaney of the New Orleans Police Department’s Special Crimes Unit. Det. Delaney’s in town visiting. What do we say?”
“Hello,” they semi-shout in unison.
I manage a wave and a grin before my hands get jammed back in my pockets.
“Okay class, we have just enough time to embarrass our new friend,” Lee claps his hands together and wiggles his eyebrows at me. “Anyone have questions for our visitor?”
Three hands shoot up in the air and I can’t help the laugh.
Thank God, I’m decent with kids…
Most days.
Having Rashad around has helped a lot. Plus the babysitting for little Reyna that Chris and Pat have conned Nikki and me in to.
“Apr…” Lee points to a girl with long brown hair and bright brown eyes.
“Have you ever seen a dead body?” she blurts before Lee finishes her name.
“I have,” I say and then point to the boy that informed Lee we were here. He hasn’t taken his eyes off Jill since we’ve come in.
“Hi, I’m Nathaniel and do you know your cities recidivism rate and how does that impact your job?”
My right eyebrow lifts all on its own as the rest of the class gives off a collective groan.
“Come on, Nate. Is there a reason you’re so lame? Just ‘cause you’ve added Mrs. Flemming to your spank bank…” a kid from the back yells.
A blonde haired girl from the front pipes up, “Eww, Tyler, why do you have to be so gross? We all know Nate’s become obsessed with crime and killers and whatever since last year when he found out Mrs. Flemming’s partner is in the F.B.I., but seriously, you’re just gross!”
“Nate,” a girl behind him claps him on the shoulder, but her eyes cut to Jill apologetically, “She’s gay, dude, and you’re, like, a kid and she’s so old enough to be your mom.”
“Okay, okay, everyone,” Lee finally calls a halt to the badgering. “If he’s interested in law enforcement, the reason is unimportant, unless he’s going to start breaking the law. Let’s leave Mrs. Flemming alone and apologize to Nate.”
There’s a halfhearted mumbled apology from the group and Nate’s face finally looks less like a tomato. I look at Jill who’s doing a damn fine job of hiding her grin.
“The answer is around seventy-five percent, Nate,” I finally answer the question.
He gives me a shy smile right before the bell rings.
It takes me more time to blink then it does for the kids to run from the class. Nate’s the last one out the door offering a shy parting glance and wave before he disappears out the door.
“Oh my God!” Jill finally speaks, “That was fucking priceless.”
“Jill! Language. Jesus woman, there are still kids around,” Lee barks.
Jill huffs and hisses, “If they know what a ‘spank bank’ is I’m sure they’ve heard the word ‘fuck’ before, Lee. Remove the stick and by the way, I thought I got rid of that jacket?” Her arms fold over her chest and she taps her foot.
I step back, deciding to let them work it out themselves.
A smirk appears on his face as he shoves a large stack of papers in his satchel. “You may not have or I may have purchased another.” He sticks his tongue out at her and moves towards the door.
I wince as she smacks him on the back of the head. Poor guy.
“I swear, Lee, how in the hell I dated such a fashion disaster and have remained friends with you for so long… clueless I tell you. I’m clueless!” Jill motions for me to follow and I listen to them bicker all the way out to our cars.
“I’ll follow you back to your place,” Jill tells him and I follow her back to her car.
We hop in and head towards Lee’s apartment thankful that Linda and I could get Jill to agree to a night away. She needs it and truthfully, I love the woman, but if I had to look at that hospital room another night, I’m not sure there would have been a hospital left in the morning.
“Hmmm,” Jill purrs and I roll my head in her direction, “Nora, good call on staying in tonight,” she raises her hand for a high five and I accommodate. “Lee, your music selection this evening is acceptable as well. Shirley Manson…hmm…I wouldn’t kick that woman out bed.”
“Hell, yeah,” Lee leans forward and manages a sloppy fist bump with his friend. “Their debut is still on my top ten list of favorite albums ever.”
I plant my tongue in my cheek and shake my head. “You two are worse than teenagers,” I admonish and point my beer bottle in their direction. I squint at the coffee table and count around nine empty bottles…
Huh, no wonder my face is numb.
Good beer too.
“Oh please, give me a fucking break Nor,” Jill pokes me in the shoulder. “She’s sexy as fuck and her voice…” Jill visibly shivers. “Auditorily orgasmic. Period. End of story.”
“Is ‘auditorily’ even a word?” I ask instead of taking the bait.
“No clue,” she shrugs.
“Nope,” Lee answers, “but she just made it one and man, am I gonna feel this tomorrow. You’re lucky tomorrow’s Friday. This hangover’s gonna be killer.” He kills the rest of his beer and puts it in one of the empty holders of the six-pack. “We’re also out of beer.”
“You still have the Flor de Caña?” Jill asks as she polishes off her own bottle.
I look at mine and see it’s just as empty.
Well, okay then.
Lee hoists himself up and disappears into the kitchen. A cupboard door opens and shuts before he rounds the corner with more alcohol in his hand. “Here we go,” Lee sets a bottle of…I squint at the label, rum, down on the coffee table and three tumblers. “Just what the doc ordered for mind numbing bliss. Some of the best rum thirty bucks can buy.”
“Yummy,” Jill claps her hands together and licks her lips. “You done with that?” she asks me pointing to my empty bottle.
I hand it off and she dumps hers and mine in the remaining two slots on the last six-pack.
“You,” she points to Lee, “continue to do a fine job of pouring. I’m gonna go toss these in the recycle bin.” She manages to stand with relative grace, but fumbles slightly with the two packs of empty bottles. “Shit.” I reach out and grab her elbow to steady her.
“You want help?” I ask not too sure she can make it to the kitchen and back without falling or running into something.
“Nope. I’m good.” For added affect she makes a show of squaring her shoulders and strutting to the kitchen.
I shrug. She only wobbles once. I cock my head to the side and watch her retreat. I really can’t complain about the view either.
Jill’s in much better shape than I thought.
“That’s my girl!” Lee crows as she makes her way back in and Lee hands her her drink. He gives me mine and they both plop back down on the couch.
“I can hold my liquor,” Jill says indignantly.
I hold me free hand up. “Wasn’t sayin’ you couldn’t. You just looked a little shaky there for a second.”
“You should have seen her at her first runway show.” Lee smirks from the opposite end of the couch. “Jilly was so wasted…”
“As were you and a third of the models were also stoned. How they managed…,” she shrugs it off.
I quirk an eyebrow in interest, settle back against the arm of the couch and rest my feet in Jill’s lap. “I sense a story. Fess up, Jill.”
She rolls her eyes and elbows Lee in the ribs. “You just had to open up your big mouth. Asshole,” she gripes before turning to me. “I brought asswipe here to my first runway show in New York. First everything really. It was the coveted Fashion Week in the city and I was booked pretty steady. The night before the first show, we went out and partied with a group of models that were on our floor. Shit faced. I tell you.” She pokes my shin for emphasis and sips her rum. “So we’re hammered and end up drinking pretty much straight through to the morning of my first appearance. Drunker than a skunk, I managed to get through the whole thing.”
Lee rolls his eyes. “She’s a horrible story teller. You left out the bits about you and that one blonde on the balcony of the club we were at.”
Jill’s face flushes and she shakes her head. “No way. I’m not telling that story. I wasn’t really…” Her eyes narrow and she hisses, “I hate you sometimes.”
My brows knit together and I ask, “Remind me again how you ended up in modeling?”
Jill shrugs, “I was walking around campus and was spotted by some photographer that was helping with an open casting call. One thing led to another and here I am. I wasn’t in my right mind when I took the offer, but it’s worked out.”
Lee half snort-half snickers, “You were a damn basket case and who said you’re in your right mind now?”
I snicker. Lee’s got a point. “Had Ann left Virginia yet?” I ask trying to get some sense of a timeline.
Jill shakes her head. “It’s so stupid. Like why did I wait so long? What the fuck was wrong with me?”
“You wouldn’t listen…” Lee reminds her. “The fact that you hadn’t looked at a guy after me should have given you enough…evidence. Stubborn. You’re just stubborn.”
“Can it, Sherman, or I’ll tell Nora about the next day,” Jill warns and Lee quickly quiets down.
A grin develops as I sip my drink. “When I get back, you two are gonna talk.” I stand, a little shaky at first and amend, “I need to go call Nik, but I want the details.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Jill waves me away.
Lee isn’t as kind, “If you rub one out, you’re washing the sheets!”
“Yeah, don’t leave our poor Lee here with the scent in the air. You’ll give’im blue balls!”
My face reddens as I slam his bedroom door. They really are the most juvenile thirty-somethings I’ve ever met.
“When are you coming home?” Jill asks as she tucks her free arm under the one that’s bent holding the phone to her ear.
Last night was a good reprieve, but man, the hangover this morning wasn’t nearly as welcome as the numbness the night before.
“Annie,” Jill warns, “You’ve been gone for a week. In case you forgot, you left me Friday and it’s Friday, again,” Jill less than gently reminds her wife.
I wince in sympathy for Ann. You can’t control the length of the case. Not really and make sure that it’s done right.
“I know,” Jill sighs as I listen to the one sided conversation, “I just…I know, I know…Nora’s been great,” Jill brightens and winks at me. “Excellent cuddle partner as per usual. Although…I guess it won’t hurt to tell you that I want a divorce. Nora and I are running away to Barbados.”
I roll my eyes at her and decide it’s best if I give her some privacy. Leaving her bedroom, I spot Linda in the living room and say, “Ann’s on the phone. I need to go call Nikki. Be right back.” I head out to the front porch and quietly shut the front door.
Flipping my phone open, I hit ‘2’ and ‘send.’ The swing on the front porch is padded and comfortable as I sit down and wait for Nikki to pick up.
It takes three rings, “Beaumont.”
“Detective,” I reply and hear her giggle.
“Sugga, I was just tellin’ Jen that if you didn’t call me within the hour I was going to start suspecting things,” she teases me.
I snort. “Yeah, well, according to Jill, her and Ann are getting a divorce right before she and I runaway to Barbados. You want to counter offer before I take her up on her’s?”
“Hmm, how about you get your cute ass back down to the Big Easy and I remind you how much you love me?”
“Sold,” I say.
“You are a pushover, Nora dear. So how is everything? Recovering from your night soaked in alcohol?” she asks, still slightly amused by my drunken call to her last night.
At least I stripped his sheets. He’s lucky I even did that.
“Headache. I’ve been sucking down water like I usually do coffee. Not too bad really. What are you up to?” I wonder and start the swing in an easy arc, back and forth. My feet skid across the concrete porch.
“Jen and I are looking for an outfit for tomorrow’s dinner”
“Wait, I thought that was last night?” My mouth turns down as I try to remember the details.
“It was, but if you remember what I told you last night, there was a busted water main in the venue’s kitchen. We had to run interference and put out the two dozen fires…” I hear a loud cough in the background. Nikki amends, “Jen had to put out the two-dozen fires and reorganize everything for tomorrow night.”
“I don’t remember that at all,” I admit shaking my head.
“Do you remember any of that conversation, sugga?” Nikki’s tone is three shades improper and I blush.
“The highlights. So why a new dress?” I ask trying to change the subject. Jen’s next to her and well…I’m not real comfortable around her yet.
She’s okay most days.
Just not when I’m not there to keep an eye on her appreciative gaze of my partner.
“I want something different. We’re at shop number two on Magazine.”
“Oh dear Lord,” I mumble and wipe my hand down my face. “Didn’t you blow your wardrobe budget on that new dress and the matching shoes?”
“Yes, I did, but,” she sing songs, “since you haven’t spent your allotment, I thought I would for you.”
I roll my eyes. Really, what else am I left with for a response?
“Patrick still going with you?” I wonder, hoping that he or Chris will accompany her still. I talked to Pat on Wednesday and that was still the plan, but things changed obviously.
“He is. I think he’s more excited about going out on a Saturday night than I am,” Nikki admits.
I smile thinking about my ten month old niece. Chris and Patrick started the adoption paperwork shortly after they moved into their home. She’s been with us for the last four months and everyone’s needed to adjust. “Yeah, Reyna’s taken their social life and…”
“Made it non-existent,” Nikki fills in for me. “Although, your mom’s in hog heaven when she gets to watch her.”
“Hey, at least we haven’t gotten any more donor pamphlets or adoption applications,” I remind her.
“She’s happy when the boys get it together enough to manage a night out and she can watch her granddaughter,” Nikki agrees. “Or if Chris needs to travel for work.”
“I’m happy you won’t be going alone. Tell Pat thank you for me?” I ask softly. I would have hated every second of it, but I would have gone with her.
“Will do sug. Now, I need to go, these dresses are not cooperating and I need to find something suitable. Love you, Nor.”
“Love you too. Tell Jen I said hello,” I say figuring I might as well earn a few brownie points for playing nice.
“I may,” I hear the smirk in her voice before the line goes dead.
Yeah, she saw right through that one.
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