Chapter Ten

Lupo and Allison approached them next.

"Hey, man," Lupo greeted Mike.

"Hey," Mike said.

They shook hands.

"Hey, Connie!" said Lupo.

"Hey!" said Connie.

They shared a friendly hug.

"Hey!" Allison greeted Mike and Connie brightly.

"Hi!" Connie returned.

The two of them hugged.

"Hi, Allison," Mike said amiably.

He and Allison shook hands.

"Thank you so much for coming!" said Connie.

"Of course! Why wouldn't we?" said Allison. "I won't lie, I got choked up. The ceremony was just wonderful—so sweet."

"Thank you," Mike and Connie said at the same time.

"Definitely—no problem at all, it's true," Allison said kindly. "So when are you guys leaving on your honeymoon, and where are you going?"

"We are leaving Thursday morning, and we are going on a two-week cruise in the Caribbean," Connie replied, exchanging glances and smiles with Mike.

"Should be a lot of fun," said Mike. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Me, too," said Connie.

"Aw, that is so romantic. You'll have a blast," said Allison. "Congratulations, you two!"

"Thank you!" Mike and Connie said, again at the same time.

"And please don't worry about the office while you're gone, Connie. Don't worry at all. Jack and I have everything all worked out. Don't even give it a thought. You and Mike just enjoy your honeymoon—but as if I even have to tell you that," Allison said warmly.

Connie smiled.

"Thanks, Allison," she said.

She turned to Mike.

"I feel like having some of that punch. I haven't had any. Do you want some, honey?"

"Yeah, thanks," Mike said.

"Now that you say that, I think I'd like another glass," said Allison.

"Let's go get some," said Connie.

After the two of them were out of earshot—

"How're things between you and Allison?" asked Mike.

"Really good, really good," said Lupo. "It's nice to be dating someone again, you know? There was no time in college or at the police academy—definitely none while working intel overseas."

"Well not having enough time is a valid excuse—blind ambition isn't," said Mike. "You're a good guy. I'm glad you have Allison," he added.

"Thanks, man," said Lupo. "I'm glad you and Connie are married. It's obvious how happy you make each other."

"Thank you," Mike said sincerely. "I love her so much. I really would do anything for her."

"I know you would," Lupo said, also with sincerity. "You know, I misjudged you at first."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I just wrote you off as a self-important, sanctimonious bastard when I didn't even know you that well," Lupo explained.

"That's…not without merit," Mike said self-deprecatingly.

"Hey, man, we all have our moments," said Lupo.

"True, but still…You know, I have a confession to make," said Mike.

"What's that?"

"One of the reasons I was such a condescending prick to you at first was that at some point, I'd gotten it in my head that lawyers are above cops—but Jack and Connie showed me that that's not true at all. The second reason is that…"

Here, Mike hesitated for a moment.

Then—

"I thought you might be competition. You know what I mean," he said.

Lupo followed Mike's gaze over to where Connie stood with Allison by the punch bowl. Connie was holding two cups of punch, while Allison held one. The two of them were talking and laughing with Lacey and Charlie.

"I felt inferior to you," Mike admitted. "You got along with everyone right away, I was awkward…You were outgoing, I wasn't…You were friendly and easy to get along with, I wasn't…You never threw Connie under the bus, either—I did…You didn't get so carried away that you said and did things to hurt people—I did…I just thought you were a better person than me. I thought, 'why would she ever want me when she could have you?'"

Lupo stared at Mike for a moment and then blinked.

"You really thought that?" he then asked after a pause.

"Yeah, I did," said Mike. "I'd like to think I've gotten over myself at least a little bit. If I have, I owe it to her…I'm just grateful you were all able to forgive me—especially her."

"Sure she was—she loves you," said Lupo. "And you and B and I? We're friends. Like I said, everyone has their moments. Ed Green and I argued—B and I have argued. I've done things to piss off the Lieu before…But you know? Water under the bridge, man."

"Thank you," Mike said, humbled.

"No problem, seriously," said Lupo. "In our line of work, we deal with death all the time, so I say forgive, and life's too short to be pissed off and holding grudges."

"I think you make an excellent point," Mike agreed.

"Thanks," said Lupo. "You know—I've got a confession to make, too."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Lupo said.

Both he and Mike had gone back to watching Connie and Allison, who were still conversing with Lacey and Charlie.

"I thought about it at first—way early on in the game, so to speak," he added.

He knew he needn't explain—Mike would know exactly what he was talking about.

And Mike did.

"But I never said a word: one, because I was way out of my league—which I still feel about Allison—and two, I've seen the way you and Connie look at each other. The very first time I saw it, I just thought, 'I've got no right to mess with that—no right at all'," Lupo said. "So I didn't. I wanted Connie to be happy, so I stood back and just let the pieces fall where they would."

"I—I don't know what to say…" Mike said quietly, completely moved.

"Hey, man, it's cool. I didn't really even do anything. I mean, everything turned out the way it was supposed to, right? You and Connie are married, and I have Allison," Lupo said.

"Yeah," Mike said, still feeling quite moved. "Allison's a lucky woman," he added.

"So is Connie," said Lupo.

He and Mike shook hands just as Connie and Allison came back to them.

"Well apparently some male bonding just happened," Connie said warmly, handing Mike his glass of punch.

"Thanks, honey," Mike said sweetly, taking the glass. "And you're right about the male bonding," he added.

"That's great," Connie said with a smile.

"Has Lacey always been that much of a riot?" asked Allison.

"She has since I've known her," Connie replied good-naturedly. "She brightened up law school for me and our mutual friends! Her comedic timing was perfect—it still is. I remember when we were all studying for the Bar exam. She would crack jokes at exactly the right times, especially where I was concerned…I remember when we got hired for the D.A.'s office. We went out to a bar, and she got so drunk. At one point, she turns to me, and by then she was slurring her speech, and she says, 'Is this prosecutorial misconduct?'"

Allison laughed.

Connie chuckled.

"Did you laugh?" Allison asked.

"Oh yeah!"

"Did she mean it as a joke, or was she serious?"

"I don't know, but it was hilarious. I about died!" said Connie.

"I wonder if she remembers that?" asked Allison.

"Probably not," Connie said, chuckling. "You know," she went on seriously, "somewhere along the line, I just…lost my sense of humor. It was like rearranging items on a shelf and pushing something all the way to the back so you can't see it, and then you forget it's even there…I think the heaviness of what I dealt with on the job got to me. Murder, grieving families…greed and dishonesty—so much greed and dishonesty…deception, selfishness, arrogance, betrayal, narcissism…The more I dealt with people like that, the more disgusted I became with them, so the more determined I became to convict them. It all took its toll on me. I became this way-too-serious, cynical hard-ass. Aside from that, I had no personality…"

Her sad excuse of a relationship with Marcus Woll and how it made her put up walls and not trust when it came to men also crossed her mind, but she didn't bring it up. She did not want to mention that pathetic son-of-a-bitch—not that day. Not to her family, not to her friends, and not to her husband. Not on the day of her wedding.

Connie then smiled and took hold of Mike's hand. He held her hand in return.

"But Mike changed that," she said warmly. "He brought the real me back out, especially my sense of humor."

Mike was looking at her with pleasant surprise.

"I did?" he asked her.

Connie nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, you did," she said. "I remember the first time we ever joked and laughed together. It felt so organic—like we'd been interacting with each other that way for a long time."

"It felt that way to me, too," Mike said warmly. "And I really did all that for you?"

"Yes, you did," Connie said tenderly.

"I'm glad, then," Mike said, kissing her hand before releasing it and placing his arm around her shoulders again.

Connie wrapped her arm around his waist again.

"You guys are so sweet," Allison said to them. "This is what love looks like, people."

Mike and Connie exchanged glances and smiles.

"So after you finish your punch, do you want to have another dance?" Lupo asked Allison, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah, absolutely!" Allison said brightly.

Once she finished her punch—

"Again, guys, thank you so much for inviting us!" she said to Mike and Connie.

"Of course!" said Connie.

"Yeah," Mike agreed. "You two aren't just colleagues—you're friends, too."

"Thanks, man," said Lupo, shaking hands with Mike again. "It was our pleasure."

"Exactly," said Allison. "Again, congratulations, you guys. You two are a gorgeous couple, and it truly shows how much you love each other."

"Thank you," Mike said, moved.

"Thank you, Allison," Connie said with a warm smile. "Thank you both so much for coming."

"You're welcome," Lupo and Allison said together.

The two of them then walked off, hand-in-hand.