"The road of true love is filled with pot holes and speed bumps...and a detour or two."
Hope Is Born Again
John stood over beside the long table covered with a variety of food and took a sip of his scotch and water. He kept telling himself that it was only a couple of hours out of his life, but as the Christmas music droned on, he wondered if maybe he could duck out. After all, he reasoned, he did his part by showing up.
"Hey, you made it!" Lionel greeted enthusiastically and gave his partner a firm pat on the back. He scanned the three piece suit. "You clean up good," he complimented.
"You've seen me in regular clothes, Lionel."
"This is the first time I've seen you dressed up for a Christmas party," Lionel corrected. "Usually you take someone's shift so you can duck out of celebrations."
"I'm helping my fellow man."
"And we thank you. But now you're here. Sam's going to be glad you made it."
"Where is she?" John looked around for the hostess.
"Waiting for Joss."
John raised his eyebrows. "Joss?"
"That's the name of your date, wise guy. Seems she's running a little late."
"Or maybe she backed out."
"No," Lionel denied. "She gave her word. And Joss is pretty good at keeping it. You won't find a better person to be on your side."
"What does she do?" John asked. His curiosity was slowly being peaked.
"Ah. Now you want to know a little bit about her. I'm sensing the life coming back to you, my friend."
"Maybe."
"She's a lawyer. Used to work for the courthouse with some big legal firm, but after her husband died, she took a break. She and Sam went to college together and when we moved back here, they decided to open their own law firm. They provide legal aid assistance to people who can't afford an attorney by the hour."
"Sounds commendable."
"She's good people. Doing a bang up job raising her son. He's a pistol just like his mom," Lionel praised.
"Kids..."
"Now don't get all excited, Wonderboy. He's ten, so it isn't as though you'll be on diaper duty. Besides, it doesn't matter how old he is; you don't get in with his mom, you don't get in at all."
"Sounds logical."
Lionel looked at the glass in his friend's hand. "Get you another shot of courage?"
John looked at the level. It was his first one, and if he nursed it, he would still be good to drive home at the end of the night.
"I'm good." He tried not to be obvious as he stared at the door. "Wait!" he called to Lionel who was walking away. "Maybe one more."
"On its way."
John turned his attention to the tree.
At that same moment, Joss walked up to the wide porch and stomped her feet to remove the bits of snow that clung to her boots. Pulling them off, she placed them next to the door to dry, then reached down to slip her heels on. Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand to knock. At that same moment, the door swung open.
"Joss! You made it!" Samantha greeted happily. "Come in! Come in!" She escorted Joss into the foyer. "Here, let me take your coat. Can I get you something to drink?"
"Apple cider?"
"Sure." Samantha hung the coat in the closet. "Go ahead and make yourself at home," she invited. "I'll be back in a minute."
Drawn to the large room filled with people, Joss looked around and decided to take a place in the corner. She wasn't about to put herself out there until she had sized everyone up.
As she looked around, she caught something out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head, she saw a tall man with dark hair standing on the far side of the room. Since he had his back to her, she was unable to see what he looked like, but if his suit was any statement, he definitely had impeccable taste in clothes. That was more than a plus in her book.
Just as he began to turn around, a couple walked over and blocked her view.
"Ugh!"
"What's wrong?" Samantha appeared out of nowhere to hand Joss a glass of the requested apple cider.
"Nothing." Joss sipped. "Okay, I lied. I saw this guy standing over there," she nodded with her head in said direction, "and my view got blocked."
Samantha was intrigued. "Oh? What does he look like?"
"I don't know. He's tall, dark hair, and a nice suit. Haven't seen his face, though."
Samantha stood on tip-toe to scan the area. "Oh!" she breathed. "That's John. Your date."
Joss smiled. "I might have to forgive you for pushing me into this."
"I'll have to call him over." Raising her hand, she called out: "John!" She looked at Joss. "Here he comes."
"How do I look?" Joss asked. She couldn't believe how nervous she was now that the moment had arrived.
"Beautiful. What's that?" She nodded at the gift bag in Joss' hands.
"Just a little gift I picked up on the way over. Thought it might help break the ice."
"Hey Sam," John greeted.
"Hi John. I want you to meet Joss Carter." She turned to her friend. "Joss, I want you to meet John Reese."
Joss turned around. Then she froze as her eyes widened.
"You!" she whispered.
"You're Joss?"
Samantha nervously look from John to Joss, and back. "You two know each other?" she asked while trying to maintain the peace.
"He's the cop who wrote me the ticket," Joss seethed. "And caused me to drop my milk."
"That was you?"
John looked uncomfortable. "It was an accident. I did offer to pay for a new one."
"Maybe if you hadn't written me the ticket, I wouldn't have dropped the milk, then you wouldn't have had to offer to buy me a new one," she returned.
"The meter was expired."
"The meter said it had twenty minutes."
"The law is the law."
"I know the law, pal," Joss stated. "I do it for a living."
"Does anyone want any refills?" Samantha jumped in to help cool things down. "Joss, let me show you the new-"
"Then you would know that you were in violation." John looked down at Joss' hands. "What's that?"
"Your Christmas Present. My mother always said not to show up for a date empty handed." Joss thrust the bag at John. "I hope you like a rose`."
John took the bag and pulled the bottle out. "Good year. You have great taste," he complimented. "I didn't get you anything."
"Yeah, you did," she contradicted. "You gave me a parking ticket."
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry doesn't give me sixty dollars."
"I'll give you the money."
Joss looked insulted. "No, thanks. I have the money."
"Joss..." Samantha tried to put herself between the warring parties.
Joss turned toward her friend. "I'm sorry, Sam, but I have to go."
"You just got here," she pleaded taking Joss' hand in hers. "Besides, you promised me two hours."
Joss shook her head. "I want to, but I can't. I just remembered that I was supposed to make a gingerbread house with Taylor. Give my apologies to Lionel." She turned on her heel and walked away.
Speechless, John and Samantha looked at one another. Both waited for the someone to speak.
Oblivious to what happened, Lionel sauntered up to the pair. In his hands he carried a small plate filled with a variety of foods. Popping a grape in his mouth, he looked around and asked, "What did I miss?"
With her hands on her hips, Samantha looked at him. "Lionel Fusco, you have some explaining to do."
********
"How was I supposed to know that Joss was the woman John gave a ticket to?" Lionel pleaded in self-defense.
"Oh? It never crossed your mind?" Samantha crossed her arms over her breasts and shot him a look that could kill. All around them the catering staff were cleaning up the remnants of the party.
"Look, Sam, I ducked into the store for five minutes. I saw the car by the meter, and I made a joke about the expiration. I never thought John would actually write the ticket. And I didn't know that it was Joss' car."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. By the time I got outside, everything was over and done, and she had driven off. I told him to look her up, but he told me to mind my own business."
Samantha gave him a look of disbelief. "You didn't push him?"
"I didn't see the need to cry over spilled milk," Lionel said with a grin. "And for the record, you could have told me that Joss got a parking ticket. Maybe I could have put two and two together and saved us this heartache."
"This isn't the first parking ticket Joss has gotten, or maybe I would have said something. And if you want to put two and two together..." She left the sentence hanging as she turned and hurried up the stairs. For a long minute Lionel thought he had been abandoned, but he decided to use that time figuring out how to plead his case.
Footsteps on the stairs made him look up. Blinking twice, he realized that in Samantha's arms she carried a pillow and blanket.
"Put these two together and figure out where you're sleeping tonight." She brushed a lock of hair from her face. "Good night, Lionel. I have to finish cleaning up." Without another word, she left him standing alone in the middle of the foyer.
Out of politeness, the catering staff looked at Lionel with a mixture of curiosity and sympathy, then went back to their task.
Squeezing the pillow, Lionel looked toward the family room and the couch that had his name on it. "Well, this is another fine mess you got yourself into, Lionel."