"Right there. Yes, hold it right there. Don't move," Rusty heard and groaned. He pounded on the door.
"Guys! Come on, seriously!" he groaned again. The door flung open, and he found the two of them staring back at him.
"Rusty, what's wrong? Do you need to get in here?" Sharon tilted her head slightly and asked. Rusty looked from one to the other, expecting a totally different sight, and instead, he just shook his head.
"I thought," he paused and shook his head again. "It sounded like, like, just, what are you doing?" he finally said, now flustered. He could tell his face was flushed.
"I'm helping Sharon with her hair," Andy said, as Sharon tapped his hand and started to let go of the curling iron. She had been having difficulty fixing her hair with her one hand in the cast. With it covering her thumb and wrist, it was really hard to maneuver it with the curling iron. She could do part of her hair with one hand, but as she worked toward the back, especially with how long it was, it was difficult. Rusty had heard the two in the bathroom and drawn some incorrect conclusions and instead found the two mostly dressed, standing in front of the bathroom mirror. Sharon was standing in front of Andy, looking in the mirror, and he was behind her, trying to curl her hair per her instructions.
"Do you know how strange you two look?" Rusty made a face and looked from one to the other. Sharon was standing there in a pajama pant set, a purple silk style set, and Andy was behind her in his classic boxers and t-shirt. Sharon turned to Rusty and glared again.
"Rusty, I don't see the problem. We are happy to step out of here if you need to use the bathroom now. Since you were still sleeping, and I knew I would need some extra time on my hair, Andy offered to help me with it before you got up. We're almost done, and I feel almost normal having my hair done as I want since this stupid cast," she held up her hand. Andy met Rusty's gaze and just nodded.
"Oh, ahh, I didn't realize you needed help with your hair, Sharon. I would have helped you if you needed. You could have asked," he explained.
She nodded, "I know. Thank you. I did ask; I asked Andy because I knew it wouldn't bother him. It wouldn't be your favorite thing to do."
"Just as she's asked me to help with zippers, shirt buttons, and-" he nodded as he started to trail off with his list. Sharon reached back with her good hand and swatted him on the chest. Both Sharon and Rusty heard him groan, and she just smiled at him in the bathroom mirror.
"Let's help me with tact," she enunciated and smirked at him. He slightly rolled his eyes and turned back to Rusty.
"So, do you need to get in here right now? We're almost done, or so I've been told. Sharon has a lot of hair," he flashed a grin at her in the mirror.
"You like my hair," Sharon pointed out to him.
"Love it, just like I love you," he smiled again. Rusty groaned, and Sharon closed her eyes to chuckle.
"No, I thought it was something else," Rusty waved them off. "Are you getting ready for Mass?"
"Yes, are you going?" Sharon eyed Rusty. He nodded quickly at her glare.
"Yeah, I'll go. Andy, you going?" Rusty asked.
"Yup," he said as he started on another strand of her hair. He looked in the mirror at Sharon, and she nodded when she wanted him to stop rolling her hair. He looked to Rusty, "Family day at church. Come with us, and I'll take you out to lunch."
Rusty eyed them, "I don't want to crash your day."
"Rusty!" Sharon said rather sternly, so much that Rusty jumped, and Andy almost jerked his hand on her hair. He patted her shoulder, and she turned slightly to face Rusty. "Rusty, I would like you to stop thinking of yourself as a third wheel. We all know that isn't the case. You have been going all over the place with Andy and me for a very long time," she gestured back to Andy. "That doesn't change. Rusty, like it or not, this is our family. Families are complicated and big. We have a lot of moving parts that compose our family. The three of us, here," she gestured meaning right now, "we are all family. When the kids visit, family. Andy's not going anywhere, ever," she said clearly. He glanced toward Rusty too. Rusty looked at each of them, and he nodded.
"I'll come to Mass and lunch. Thanks," he told them. "I'm going to get some breakfast."
"Hey, if you pull out the eggs, I'll do those if you want to shower, Rusty. I'm almost done with Sharon's hair," he explained and looked to her. She pointed to one more spot.
"I think that's the last place I can't reach," she smiled up at him. Rusty had meant to leave, to get breakfast started, but he continued to stand there and watch the two of them. Andy worked quietly, rolling up Sharon's hair while she watched in the mirror. She nodded when he had the curling iron in the spot she wanted, and the two were quiet for a few moments while they waited. She patted his hand again, and he pulled the rod out of her hair. When Andy had finished, she turned toward him, "Thank you, Sweetheart," she smiled and kissed him quickly. They both turned toward Rusty and found him not grimacing.
"So, you two," he gestured, "like will do anything for each other?"
Sharon nodded casually, "Yes, Rusty. That's what loving someone is," she gestured again, "being a family, helping each other, and just all the ordinary things. It's more than romance; I hope you understand that. Yes, romance is a big part of it," she smiled quickly at Andy, "but, there's so much more. I hope you will see that and find it one day."
"Yeah, I get it, at least I think," he pursed his lips. "I guess it's just weird seeing Andy help you around here, like doing the cleaning and all and just helping you. I never saw that with my mom and any of her boyfriends. Then, when I came here, it was just you and me, most of the time. Like cooking dinner didn't seem like a big deal, but I guess I see that it's about everyone chipping in to help."
"First, I'm not just one of a string of boyfriends," Andy winked at Rusty. He kissed Sharon on her head, and she reached up and patted his arm again. "Second, you've known me as long as you've known Sharon. I know I haven't been living with you and raising you like she has, but I'd like to think that I do have a pretty good understanding of you and what things have been like for you before you came to live with Sharon and even now. I also hope you see me as someone you can talk to about anything, whenever you need. I think we connect well about your other mom, Sharon. Now, third, as Sharon said, this is what families do. We work as a team, all of us. We do it because we love each other, and yes," he smirked at Rusty, "I love you too."
"Thanks," Rusty started to turn red again. "I, umm, guess I'll get ready for church."
"We'll get out of here," Sharon turned and gestured toward Andy. He nodded at Rusty too, and the two walked out of the bathroom through the master bedroom.
"Can you like put some clothes on, Andy?" Rusty groaned. "Families do laundry too, even if I really don't want to do yours." Sharon and Andy could be heard laughing in the other room, and Rusty closed the bathroom door and started getting ready for the day.
It was almost a half hour later when Rusty reappeared in the kitchen. Andy was at the stove, now in his dress pants, but in a white undershirt, while Sharon was standing at the toaster waiting on the wheat bread to finish. Rusty eyed the table, and three place settings were out, awaiting their family breakfast.
"Smells good," he told them. He eyed the settings and noted no drinks had been poured, so he walked to the refrigerator and pulled out the orange juice. "Either of you want juice?"
"I'll have a small glass," Andy told him. "I'm still drinking my coffee," he gestured to the mug on the counter. Sharon nodded too.
"Same," she pointed to her mug, sitting next to the toaster. Rusty poured the drinks, and he sat, waiting for the food. Andy's phone rang, and he stepped to the table to answer it.
"It's Provenza," he told the two as he picked up the phone.
"We're not on call," Sharon said somewhat to herself, but the others heard it too. Andy answered.
"Provenza, what's going on this morning?" he asked.
"Flynn, Patrice and I were talking about lunch. She suggested I see if you and the captain want to join us," he explained.
"Oh, lunch today," Andy looked toward Sharon with a questionable expression.
"Yes, today. I'll hang up, so you can call her, unless you want Patrice to call her," he told Andy.
"No need," Andy shook his head. "She's right here. We're getting ready to eat."
"Eat?" Provenza asked.
"Yeah, you know, breakfast, most important meal of the day" Andy smirked. "Rusty, can you get the eggs?" he asked as he was still on the phone and gestured to the stove. Sharon turned toward them, as her focus had been on the toast. She looked to Andy, but Rusty was already moving. "Let me ask her."
"I see, well, that answers one question I was going to ask you when I got you alone," Provenza told him. "Go ahead and ask."
Andy cupped the phone and turned to Sharon who was walking to the table, the plate of toast in hand, "Provenza wanted to know if we would like to join them for lunch?"
"That sounds nice," she smiled. She turned to Rusty, "Rusty, how does lunch sound with them?" He started to frown, and Sharon quickly amended, "Rusty, this is not an imposition. We are asking if you would like to eat with all of us. One family eating with another. Lieutenant Provenza is a good friend of yours, so this isn't something strange."
"Sure," Rusty thought a moment and nodded. "Thanks, Sharon."
Sharon turned back to Andy, "Okay with you?"
"Yeah, sure, great with me," he nodded, and he pulled the phone back up to speak. "We're good for lunch, all three of us. We're going to Mass soon, so it needs to be after that."
"Mass," he grumbled. "Fine. Sounds like you've turned into the happy little family."
"Yeah, what about it?" Andy said. "Just text me the details about lunch, and we'll see you then."
"Patrice has somewhere in mind. I'll see you in a couple hours," he said and hung up the phone. Andy turned to the table where both Sharon and Rusty were now seated. He joined them, and he smiled at Sharon.
"Hope it's okay we eat with them," he said.
"Of course," she smiled. "Rusty, okay with you?"
"Yeah, I haven't talked to Lieutenant Provenza in awhile. Patrice is funny with him; she doesn't put up with his mess."
"That's the truth," Andy nodded. The food was passed around, and the three settled into their lunch. Breakfast didn't last long, and while Rusty cleaned up the dishes, Andy got his shower. Sharon sat at the table to work on her nails, and that is where Andy found her a bit later. He and Rusty traded bathroom spots so Rusty could finish his hair.
"Need some help?" he asked Sharon.
She sighed, "No, I'll manage. I'm trying to finish my nails. I really need to just get them done, but I chipped a couple and need to do a quick touch up."
"I'll be glad to help, but if you are putting on all new polish, it seems like more than a touch up," he chuckled as he pulled out the chair to sit next to her. She was sitting at the kitchen counter, one place he knew she liked to do her nails if not in the bathroom. He gestured for her to hand him the polish, and she grimaced as she turned to him. "You don't have to do this. I'll manage. Really, I just need to go get them done. I generally prefer to do my own fingernails, but I can make an exception."
"I thought you liked going to the nail salon?" he asked.
She sighed, "I know this is odd, but I like going for a pedicure. I don't like anyone touching my fingers, mainly because I come home and just seem to mess them up anyway. My feet are different; I like to have them pampered, but not my hands."
Andy nodded as he chuckled, "Good to know. Why didn't I know that? I just always assumed when you would go, it was for everything."
"I don't make it normal conversation to discuss my nails," she teased. "Usually, when I do come home from the salon, I do my fingernails too, so I suppose it always looks like they have been done too. Plus, I wear such a light color, it's not a big deal for me to do my nails. They look rough without any polish on them right now, and I would just like to look presentable, especially now that lunch is involved."
"Hand them over," he smirked. "Get it-hand?"
Sharon groaned at his joke, and she shook her head, "You're terrible."
"You still love me," he leaned in and kissed her quickly. Sharon sighed and handed him the bottle of polish. He joined her at the counter where he sat down next to her at the barstool. She gave him a soft smile.
"Thank you for helping me. I feel like I'm relying on everyone for everything," she sighed.
"Nah," he shrugged. "You aren't. You're just in need of a little extra help right now. I can do that. I'd do anything for you. I hope you know that."
"I do," she said and patted his arm with her free hand. The two were quiet while he started working on her nails. She nodded as he worked, "I'm impressed, which scares me a little. I don't know why you are good at this."
He winked, "I'm just gifted." Sharon burst out laughing, and the two chuckled while Andy continued working on her nails. They both glanced up when they saw Rusty walk into the kitchen, dressed and ready for church.
"Wait, are you doing her nails?" Rusty started to laugh as he walked closer. "You are!"
"Well, she can't do them with her thumb in that cast. I can do the rest of her nails for her," he nodded. "She could have asked you. Be grateful I'm here."
"You two are so much like an old married couple," Rusty grumbled. Andy and Sharon continued to chuckle, and he winked at her. She just shook her head, and the Andy worked on finishing her nails.
The rest of Sunday morning continued smoothly. Sharon was delighted to sit between Andy and Rusty at Mass; she often went alone, but Andy had promised he wanted to come more often with her. Mass rang longer than they had anticipated, 15 minutes longer, and when they exited the church, Andy found several text messages waiting for him from Provenza. They saw the priest ahead, greeting parishioners, and the three made their way to him to greet him as they left.
"Sharon, good to see you," he smiled as she walked up to him, a smile on her face.
"Father, nice to see you," she said as she shook his hand.
"What happened here?" he asked, eyeing her and making eye contact with Andy and Rusty as well.
"A slight accident," she sighed and shook her head.
"Work? Did you get injured at work?" he asked.
"Home," she nodded. "I tripped over Andy's shoes at home." The priest turned toward Andy, and he gave him a guilty nod.
"Yeah, turns out the police captain here isn't even safe in her own home," he groaned. "It's been quite a week."
"I see that," the priest nodded. "Andy, good to see you," he said and shook his hand. "Rusty, good to see you too. Nice you all came together."
"Yes, I thought so too," Sharon smiled brightly. "I enjoy having two of my guys here with me."
"Well, I certainly hope they are helping you with that hand," he nodded to her cast.
"You have no idea," Rusty shook his head. "Andy is now giving manicures." Andy threw a glare at Rusty, while Sharon rolled her eyes. Father Stan grinned and glanced toward Sharon's hands.
"Andy, if you get in trouble with that boss of yours, it looks like you have a future profession in the nail business," he chuckled.
"I'll keep that in mind," Andy nodded and grinned. "Lucky for me, my boss thinks I'm a pretty good catch," he winked at Sharon.
"A catch? You're more like hazardous to her health," Rusty smirked toward Andy. He flashed a fake smile, and the group all chuckled.
"Well, it's really good to see all of you. Everyone looks happy, even with the injury," he nodded to Sharon. "Give my best to the rest of the family."
"We will," Sharon smiled. "In fact, Andy and I have plans to see Ricky soon. I'll make sure to tell him in person."
"Really?" he looked between them. "That's great to hear," he smiled. "I'm glad you two are doing so well. Rusty, you make sure neither of them lands back in the hospital. It's a good thing they have you around to check on them."
"I'm seeing that," he nodded and grinned.
"Well, I won't keep you," he squeezed Sharon's arm. "Take care, and I hope that hand feels better soon."
They started toward the car, away from Father Stan, while Andy replied to Provenza's text messages. "Guy is all worried we are going to cancel," Andy chuckled. He typed a message out on his phone.
"Did you explain we just now got out of church?" Sharon asked, glancing over at Andy on the phone.
"Yeah, I did," he shook his head. "He just flipped out because he couldn't reach us. The place for brunch isn't far. We should be there in 10 minutes." The three got into Andy's car, and he drove through traffic to the restaurant. After they parked, they walked inside and found Provenza and Patrice already at their table.
"Flynn, over here," they heard, even though they had already spotted the couple. The three walked toward them, with Rusty in front, followed by Sharon, and then Andy behind her.
"Hey, Lieutenant Provenza, Patrice," Rusty nodded to them. He walked toward Provenza and sat down next to him at the round table. Sharon moved toward Patrice, which left Andy between Sharon and Rusty with a good view of Provenza almost across the table. Patrice and Sharon embraced, while the men nodded at each other.
"Sorry we were running behind," Sharon said as Andy held her chair. She patted his hand, and then he sat down next to her. Rusty was already looking at the menu.
"Oh, it's no problem," Patrice smiled. "Louie just can't relax," she chuckled. "Sharon, how is that hand? I heard that you tripped over Andy's shoes?"
"It's sore, but I'm managing," she told Patrice. "It's more of an annoyance than anything, and yes, I tripped over his shoes. It was just an accident, but I'm being well taken care of at home," she smiled toward Andy.
"Oh, it's way more than that," Rusty snapped up his head to contribute to the conversation. "Today, Andy was painting Sharon's nails and doing her hair. It's beyond helping. It's crazy."
"Hey, wise guy," Andy glanced at Rusty with a smirk, "I'm sure Sharon would love you to help her with her hair this week. Be my guest. In fact, try helping with zippers, shirt buttons," he grinned.
"Stop," Sharon said, and she shook her head. "Hmm, obviously, we are so comfortable with each other we are almost arguing in public."
"Sorry, Sharon," Rusty mumbled. Andy rolled his eyes at Rusty, and then they all turned their attention back to Provenza and Patrice.
"How are you, Lieutenant? Sharon asked, looking at Provenza.
"Fine, just hungry," he nodded and glanced at the menu.
"Louie, you've looked at that menu for almost 10 minutes. I know you are sure of what you want to eat. Why don't you participate in the conversation?" Patrice asked.
"What? I don't really want to discuss Flynn painting nails," he grumbled.
"Let's discuss anything else," Andy crossed his arms and flashed a fake smile at Provenza.
"Hi, may I take your drink orders?" the waitress appeared and spent time getting everyone's order. When she left, the table was quiet as the group studied the menu. Patrice broke the silence after several moments when it looked like everyone was ready to order.
"It's so nice you don't have to work this weekend," she smiled at Sharon. "Louie and I went to the botanical garden yesterday and spent a couple hours walking around. It was a lovely afternoon."
"That sounds very nice," Sharon smiled. "Andy and I spent yesterday evening with Nicole and her family. We also had a great evening."
"Oh, I bet those boys are getting big," Patrice smiled. "That last cookout at your house, what, early last fall, they were full of energy," Patrice smiled.
"They still are, more if possible," he grinned. "They were all worried about Sharon's cast, and well, really, they thought it was pretty cool."
"Yes, it was adorned with police stickers, which I removed before Mass," she chuckled.
The waitress reappeared, and the table started to order. Rusty ordered a double cheeseburger with fries. Provenza decided on a chicken sandwich and changed his fry order to a side salad after Patrice glanced his way. Patrice and Sharon both ordered the grilled chicken covered in a mango sauce. They also decided on the same side of cucumber salad, and Andy ordered a veggie wrap with a cup of soup. The group started in on small talk while they waited for the food to arrive. Patrice and Sharon began talking, while the guys talked to Rusty about some of his classes. It didn't take too long for the food, and once the waitress served everyone, they began to eat. Sharon glanced toward Andy, and she rolled her eyes slightly. Andy picked up on it, and he nodded to help her.
Provenza eyed them as he looked across the table, "Flynn, what, is she five?"
Andy paused; he had been helping Sharon with her chicken. It was extremely hard and awkward for her to try and cut meat. In the time she'd had her cast, she'd discovered that it was very awkward. Not having use of her thumb really put a damper on things, and she couldn't grip her knife any other way because of the bulky cast. The unspoken communication between the two made it easy for Andy to understand she needed help without her having to ask for it. Here, he'd reached over to help cut her chicken, and the two hadn't made a big deal about it, until Provenza commented. Now, everyone was watching.
"What? You try cutting anything with a hand like she has right now," he nodded to her. "I'm helping her."
"Captain, would you like a bib too?" Provenza chuckled.
"Louie! Be nice! That was terrible," Patrice snapped, and Sharon started to sigh at the comments. She glanced to Andy.
"I can manage," she told him.
"Right, which is why you looked to me for help," he pointed out. "Let me help so you can enjoy your meal in peace. Provenza, maybe you should try not using your hand and see how you like it," he smirked.
"Sorry, Captain," Provenza told her. "Flynn just looks like he's taking the grandkids out to dinner."
"Hmm, well, that's how I feel too, Lieutenant. I don't like having to ask for help. I've considered only ordering basic things for the foreseeable future because of it, ordering anything not requiring a knife."
Rusty chuckled, "That wouldn't last long. You use a knife for almost everything."
"Hmm, yes, I realize that." She looked to Patrice who patted her arm, and Sharon smiled at her, "It's not even been a week, and I'm hating this cast."
"I know, Sharon," Patrice smiled. "Andy, I think it's very sweet of you to help her as you have been doing. I can't imagine asking Louie to help with my hair or nails," she smiled. "That might be a disaster." Provenza made a face in agreement with her that it wouldn't be a good idea. "You two have really been dealing with a lot lately, and when it seems like things are getting back on track, I know it's been one thing after another. Sharon, perhaps we need a little retail therapy to get your mind off the cast."
"That sounds like a great idea," Andy added. "Sharon needs to find a few things to go over her cast. She was having trouble finding dress shirts that didn't get stuck on her arm."
"Retail therapy does sound enjoyable," Sharon smiled. "I'd like that."
"Great!" Patrice exclaimed. "Are you doing anything the rest of the day?"
She glanced around, and she shook her head, "No, I don't believe we are doing anything. Andy was going to go home and work in his yard. I had planned to help him, that is, before the cast. We'd talked about it last weekend."
Patrice nodded and looked to Provenza, "Louie, I think we've got our plans. I'll take Sharon out in our car, and we can go shopping for the afternoon. You can catch a ride with Andy and Rusty," she looked at him. He started to nod, and she finished, "You can ride with them, and I'm sure Andy wouldn't mind the help in the yard. You know, I know how much you and your best friend like helping each other and considering just how badly you feel about Sharon's being somewhat limited in her gardening, well, this sounds like a great afternoon. Rusty, I won't speak for you, but the guys can work at Andy's place, and when we're done shopping, I can come and pick you up and drop off Sharon. How does that sound?"
Andy started to chuckle and smiled at Sharon, while Provenza glared at the group. Rusty looked around, and Andy grinned at him, "Rusty, see how a family really sticks together?"
"Wait, what?" Rusty frowned as he realized he had been roped into the afternoon chores.
"Patrice, it sounds like a lot of work to me," Provenza grumbled.
"Maybe," Patrice nodded, "but think how nice it will feel to help your good friends Andy and Sharon," she added. "That's what friends are for, Louie."