Warning adult themes and language.
Chloe POV.
Chapter 14. (The next day)
You know what the worst thing is before starting a work day? Finding out your future fiancée is your estranged husband's training officer.
To tell or not to tell? It seems like a straight forward question but it's not...
It's like a backward coming out story only instead of telling everyone I'm gay, I will have to confess to fraternizing with a hetero. Part of me is outraged that Dov had the audacity to show up in my town, at my job, is working with my girlfriend. What a dick! Gail's not one to suffer fools easily so there is a chance that Dov's humor has driven her into silence. I have decided to set up a meeting with Mr. Epstein and find out what he wants, and even more disturbing, is he trying to blackmail me?
There was absolutely no way that I was going to work a shift today so I called in sick. Then like the manipulator I've become I texted Gail to make sure that she was on patrol. Once I was sure neither of them were at the station I got dressed and came to work. Fortunately, I have the element of surprise on my side which gives me the opportunity to figure out my shit.
The advantage of being Frank's daughter, is no one questions me about going into his office. I was able to go through his file cabinet and steal Dov's personal file. Then I snuck under his desk and began taking photos of the file with my phone. I was nearly finished with my mission when Frank entered the room. I quickly stashed the file in a desk drawer and crawled back under the desk.
From where I'm hidden can see the reflection of his combat boots against the floor. I hear a microwave door open and close. His office phone rings, he picks it up and switches it over to speaker. A familiar voice fills the space, "Franklin, the forensics doctor is my weakest link. Her friend started a fight the first day of practice."
Frank's gregarious laugh tunes out the hum of the microwave, "You've got to give them more laps. The moment they start acting up, laps!"
"How's Gail doing?" I wish I could record this conversation, Elaine's criticism is like a drug to Gail.
"She cut through her trainee like a hot knife in butter."
"Good."
"She wants to marry my little girl."
As the conversation drifts on I begin panicking as it sinks in; I will likely get caught down here. I can't think of a good enough excuse so I just crawl out from under the desk.
When Frank sees me he hangs up on Elaine. "Sugar bear, What are you doing here?"
He places a hand over my forehead. "Honey, you feel warm." He gestures to the phone and then back at me, "That phone call, can we just pretend it didn't happen?"
"Yeah." I sigh pulling him into another hug. The phone rings again and again because Elaine is a superior nag.
"Frank, about Gail." I can see the muscles in his back stiffen at the mention of her name.
"Do you think you could give us separate shifts for a while?"
He asks if everything is okay, I tell him I don't want to distract her while she's training the rookie. I leave Frank's office and head over to the desk I share with Andy McNally. It's covered in paperwork. Andy never finishes her paperwork, the woman is an audit waiting to happen. I login to my work computer, pull out my phone and find Dov Epstein's email in my photos. I begin to compose the most profound letter of my young adult life. It needs to be enticing enough to get Dov to meet me at the Penny without him having prior knowledge of my identity.
Dov,
Meet me at Penny when your shift is over.
Drinks are on me.
Your secret admirer.
Is it creepy? Yes. Is it adolescent? Yes. Will it work? I'm betting on the fact that Dov still has the same vices, beer and sex.
I spellcheck my email and press send. Then sit back and allow the past few minutes to marinate. HOLY SHIT, Gail wants to marry me! I close my eyes and reprise my mantra; All I need in life is to get an annulment from that Fucker Dov Epstein. I repeat it until my nerves are settled, and then I gather my things and head out of the station for phase two of my plan.
"The meeting," my life has become a Quentin Tarantino movie.
I hold the gold band between my thumb and index finger, then flick it sending it spinning across the table. It gets a lot of rotation because it's tinsel sprayed gold. Dov and I, bought them right before our wedding ceremony, which was presided over by a Prince impersonator. We were given two nights in a honeymoon suite, complimentary breakfast at Denny's, and two tickets to the, Purple Rain tribute show. I watch the ring spinning on the table; the metal turned my finger green. I slam my hand down, It's five o'clock, Dov shift ended a half hour ago. I look around the bar it's been just me and the day drinkers for hours. After sending my email, I went home and had a melt down over what I was going to wear. I was between sweat pants and khaki cargo shorts, I wanted to send the message that I could not be bothered with the thought of dressing up for him. The sweats made me feel fat and the cargo shorts made me look shorter so I decided on red boots, jeans, and one of Gail's loose sweaters.
I created a mental script in my head of all the most positive outcomes that can occur tonight. Dov can be happy to see me, and agree to a divorce based on the impulsive nature of our courtship. Best case scenario he keeps our marriage a secret and my world continues to be the happiest place on earth second to Disneyland. I am also ready for a worse case scenario where Dov is angry with me and pours the drink I offered to buy him over my head. I check the time on my phone, no matter what the outcome I'm about to rekindle my buried youth. I signal to my waitress that I need another drink, and send a text to Gail, I'll be home later.
I am drinking a red-headed slut, it felt appropriate in a self damning sort of way. I take the straw out and chug the rest back, "Chloe?" I hear him before I see him. I spit the ice I have in my mouth back into my glass and spring to my feet,"DOV!" I pull him into a hug, surprisingly he hugs me back. I rush him with a flurry of questions but give him no time to answer any them. He's wearing a black leather jacket, a blue flannel shirt, and old spice cologne. It throws my nose off because Gail wears Old Spice deodorant, it's a smell I equate with her. He takes off his jacket and settles into the booth opposite of me. We sit silently basking in each other's presence, Dov has an ageless face, his build is only slightly older then his face.
He smiles at me. I smile back at him. We dumbly smile at each other until the waitress comes by to take our order. He orders a Washington Apple, I tell her to make it two because I can't get myself to say, red-headed slut in front of him.
I nearly stop breathing when he knocks on the table and says, "Honey, I'm home." He then asks if that was too soon or if he should wait for our silver anniversary.
"Shut up," I want to be bold but I barely manage a whisper.
"SOOOOOO..." He starts. "I didn't know you were Canadian."
"I'm pretty sure I told you..." After we got married we tried to get to know each other so there was a lot of talking during sex. I massage my temples, I can see why Gail hates it when I talk during sex.
"Why are you here Epstein? "
He gives me a quizzical look, "I got an email. Thought it might be from this girl I work with..."
"Gail's GAY!" I jump up nearly causing our approaching waitress to drop our drinks. She hands me my Washington Apple, it taste like an apple flavored jolly rancher. I take reprieve in chugging it.
"Yeah, I know" He says softly, "We have good banter."
I drop my head into my hands if we were truly married I would have a full head of grey hair.
"Don't you want to know, how I know your training officer?"
He looks around suspiciously as if the room is full of informants. "What do you want Chloe?"
It's time for me to confess which comes as no relief to me. "Frank's my stepfather, Gail's my Girlfriend, and I'm a cop at Division 15."
I signal to the waitress to bring us another round as Dov stares at me speechless.
"What the fuck Chloe! Is this a sick joke?" I assure him it is not and continue on, "I need two things from you, confidentiality and a divorce."
He leans forward, "Okay," he says quietly, "but I've got some conditions."
For the second time within the last forty-eight hours I find myself suffering from heart sickness. I have to nip whatever power he thinks he has in the butt, so like a mob boss I threaten him with the power of Frank. I lean in forcing him to make eye contact with me, "if you say anything I will have you fired."
"If you have me fired I'll never grant you a divorce," He counters.
"Dov, I'm in a serious relationship and this." I wave between us."This thing we have it's adolescent bullshit. So don't be a creepy Aaron Carter clinger and hold onto the past. Lizzie McGuire grew up! She's married!"
I watch him signal the waitress whose passing out score cards. And I realize it's trivia night. SHIT. As he is reading over the scorecard he tells me to think of a team name.
"Dov, it's not a game it's my life!"
He glares at me, "were playing couples trivia! You owe me this!"
"How about the divorced?" I offer as a team name.
"How about the Aqueducts, it's a great and noble water system."
"Dov!" I reach across the table and grab the score card. "Please, this is serious."
"Chloe, your my wife!" When he says this I literally clamp my bar napkin over his mouth
"Please shut up!" I feel my eyes tear up." I hate that I cry so easily.
He gives me a curt nod and I remove the napkin. He goes back to the scorecard and jots down our names, "what's your last name Mrs. Epstein?"
"Price." I say cringing at his humor.
"Gail's is a Peck. Soooo... If you were to get married then your initials would be, C- Pee-Pee." I shoot him a glare but it only makes him laugh harder.
"What would it take for you to grant me a divorce in confidence?"
"What do you mean by confidence? Are you like extremely sure of yourself?" I can't tell if he is ignorant or playing a complex mind game.
"It means getting an annulment or divorce without telling Gail."
He picks up my wedding band and tries it on his pinkie finger. "Then what happens Chloe?"
I tell him I'm marrying Gail, and he jokes about being invited to the wedding. "You'll probably be forced to either attend it or work it." I say tired of being abused by his humor.
"Wow, then I guess I should thank Gail for getting you off my hands. Someone should tell her she's marrying a real class-act."
"Ass-hole..." I hiss.
"Bitch." He sneers.
I expand on the wedding he will be forced to attend. "I'll have everything I ever wanted which is..."
"...A fairytale," he finishes for me. "Your all about the ceremony but I don't think you have what it takes to stay."
"That's your opinion, Dov"
"I'm sorry I can only draw from my experience of being married to you. You left me in a dirty Hotel without my cellphone and wallet."
"I'm sorry. Is that what you want to hear? IM FUCKING SORRY!" I look around and notice the bar is considerably more crowded then it was moments ago.
The first people to arrive for trivia night are Chris and Marlo, thankfully they order some beers and go straight to the pool table. Kenly and Lisa, arrive together they've been attached at hip ever since our first practice. later on, Andy McNally shows up with Traci and Steve, she asks me if I want to join her team for trivia. Dov picks up our scorecard and makes a show of telling her that were a team.
"Hey Chloe, thought you were sicky?" Andy says in a baby voice that no grown woman should ever use.
Dov tells Andy he invited me here to go over protocol, "I would ask Gail but she might just cut me if I get it wrong again."
McNally rolls her eyes at him, and turns to me. "Yeah, sometimes you just need a sick day."
Sometimes I truly question the animosity between Gail and Andy. I have never had a bad encounter with Andy, which makes me question whether it's something that Gail has embellished. She always telling me about her lonely childhood which may attribute to some of her more grandiose stories, or Gail happenings as I like to call them.
"Better not let Gail find out you got a new partner." Andy winks at me and turns to ask Dov a question about work. When she leaves Dov tells me his first condition. I have to stay for trivia night and make an avid effort to win.
Jane Luck shows up and goes around asking people if she can join their trivia teams. She threw a hissy fit the last time she lost, and knocked over a table now no one wants her on their team. She knows I will turn her down, so she makes a point of asking Dov to join our team. I pantomime to him a solid "no," and he informs her that our team is full. She calls him a cocksucker, and just as things are about to get abrasive, Lisa asks Jane to join her team. Luck agrees but warns Lisa, that just because she's on her team doesn't mean she's down for a threesome. Dov asks me how I know them so I start telling him about the Mermaid Mounds, and the now legendary fight between Luck and Lisa.
I catch a shift in his eyes that reaches something just beyond me. I shrink down and follow his line of vision, and see Gail has just entered the bar. The sight of her literally takes my breath away; she's wearing the leather jacket I bought her for christmas, black boots, and navy skinny jeans. She's a handsome woman. I turn back to Dov with new motivation to broker an understanding between us.
"What will it take for you to keep your pie hole shut?"
He narrows his eyes at me, "I want you to have to sex with me."
"Fuck, to-the-no! The Chloe express is not open to the Dov train."
He holds up the tinsel ring for me to see."Chloe, how would you rate our time together?"
"DOV!" I groan and look to Gail who has a shot of tequila and a beer. "Just so you know My girlfriend, a.k.a, your boss is going to kick your ass..."
"...I have always wanted to get feedback from you because you were my first."
"Oh my god Dov! SHUT UP!" Gail sees me and waves. I feel my throat going dry and my body physically becoming dizzy.
"I just want to know what I did right Chloe," he continues.
"Musky" It's the only word that I can think of, "Sex with you is Musky." I say plastering on a smile for Gail whose approaching our table.
As he is about to say something else, I stop Gail with a passionate kiss and the bar erupts in cheers led by my fellow Mermaids.
"Hey baby, what are you doing here?" I ask Gail who motions for everyone to settle down.
She hands me her beer because giving me the first sip is something she always does. "How are you feeling?"
I take a swig of her drink and pass it back, " better now that you're here." She gives me another kiss.
"You guys are so hot." I hear Dov comment.
"Thank you Douglas, but I will taser your balls if you continue staring," Gail snaps, she can be a poet with words.
"My name is not Douglas!" He yells.
"Don't know, don't care." Gail says him, and looks at me. "I'm glad your feeling better."
"What are you doing here?" I ask.
"Waiting for someone," She says casually.
I arch my eyebrow,"Really is it someone, or someone, someone?"
She graces me with a half-smile and points over to the door where Holly has just entered, "that's my someone."
Holly is wearing black leggings, pointed black heels, and an open top that exposes her cleavage. She smiles at Gail, who calls her over to join us. As Holly makes her way across the bar every man and woman takes a moment to stare at her ample breast. They look like something you would find on a Venetian vase, showcased in a museum exhibit on ancient erotic art. Lisa rushes up to Holly and begins giving anyone who will listen a play by-play of her augmentation procedure. She sends us a mortified look as a group of male cops begin circling around her like vultures to a dead body. Gail takes a shot of her tequila and goes to save Holly.
"So is the forensic doctor single," Dov asks.
"She's GAY!" I yell at Dov, who mutters something about the water being spiked. "One look at you is enough to turn a woman." I revel in the panic that seeps across his face, the man's weakness is definitely his prowess.
The game of trivia is by no means challenging, but it is six rounds long which makes it an alcoholic marathon. The questions are all either sports related or based on popular culture. Dov and Holly are in a nerd off for the lead, while Gail is chipping away at Dov's mentality. In round four Gail turned the trivia match into a drinking game so now when someone gets a question wrong they have to take a shot of house Tequila. I know she specifically chose the house brand to make it diabolically harder to stomach. If she ever gets promoted to detective she will definitely be the cliche bad cop interrogator. The game in the sixth round has become heated, Dov and I have moved to a table across from Gail and Holly. The bottle of tequila is sitting on a chair between us, and everyone in the bar has circled up to watch the game. We missed the last question, which was 'Name the Third Most Winning Team in NHL History.' I have stopped providing answers and started taking shots in Dov's place since he's a better match against Holly's nerd knowledge. I can tell by the glazed over look in Gail's eyes that she's going to have a bad hangover tomorrow, Holly is completely drunk yet somehow still functioning. I catch Gail glancing at Holly's boobs and find myself staring at them as well. Were not the only one's Kenly's been looking, followed by Luck, Traci, Steve, Andy, Lisa, Marlo, and Chris. It's like a drunk domino effect, and though part of me wants to compare it to women whose periods get synced, I know that would be inaccurate.
"Come on Douglas that was an easy one." Lisa taunts.
I reach across the table to pour a shot but Gail stops me. " No Chloe, I want to see him fall under the table after I win." She hands him the bottle and I warn him not to do it. He sneers at me and makes a wager with Gail, that If the mighty Aqueducts win she has to get his name tattooed on her.
"I'll tattoo it on my ass-hole. But if I win you have to put peck on your pecker," she says with Holly cheering her on. The energy in the bar erupts as people begin making their bets, Gail and Dov shake over it.
Dov pours himself another shot as the waitress reads the last question. It's a Disney question that is near to my heart. I look at Gail whose whispering the answer in Holly's ear.
The question is... Name the two songs performed by Sebastian the crab, from Disney's The Little Mermaid. I give Dov the answers which he immediately shouts out,"Under the Sea, and Kiss that Girl!" People begin clapping for our team and Dov tells Gail to prepare her ass-hole.
"Just one second!" Holly shouts over the voices in the room, "Their answer is incorrect. The correct answer is Under the Sea and Kiss THE Girl! Go fuck yourself Douglas" Holly shouts making gun fingers at Dov and myself. The waitress overseeing the game takes a moment to reference google and confirms that the song is in fact, Kiss the Girl.
Dov buries his head in his arms as Gail gloats about the tattoo he's got coming. "I want you to get it in Pink," she tells him.
"Bite me Casper!"
"Don't be such a sore loser. You lost because your a loser and losers, lose."
"Gail!" I peel her away from Dov before he can say anything that may compromise me. "Let's Go!" I grab her by the nape of her sweater and pull her toward the door. Dov makes a joke about Gail being whipped and it catches on with Tweedle-dee and Twiddle-dumb, also know as Lisa and Luck. Holly helps me by gathering Gail's coat and purse. Things get a little pushy between us as she leans over me to shout out more obscenities to Dov.
Once were outside and I have Gail's undivided attention she halts. "We just won free drinks."
"Stop being a jerk to Dov. He's your trainee not your whipping boy!" I say helping her into her coat.
She tentatively asks me if she can stay, and I tell her it's time to go. She tells me she wants to stay longer, and we have a drunken argument in the parking lot that results in neither of us going anywhere soon.
I shove past her, "IM NOT YOUR MOTHER GAIL! If you want to stay, then stay!" I begin walking even though the spinning floor is making me nauseous.
She grabs my wrist and pulls me back so hard that I nearly trip over myself. "Your drunk." She says coldly.
"Your drunk," I retort trying to get around her but she blocks me.
"Chloe, were too drunk to leave." Her solution to being drunk is going back inside and drinking more, which means she is more drunk then me. It has already been an emotionally draining day and I am ready for bed.
"I'm staying and so are you," Gail slurs.
"I'm leaving!" She grabs my other wrist and starts asking for a hug. She thinks she's being cute but it's annoying and clingy. When I relent and allow her to hug me, she reaches around into my pocket and pulls out my keys.
"Gail..." I reach for my keys and she holds them up over my head. "GAIL!"
She walks me around the passenger side of the car and opens the door, "Stay here while I get your purse."
Annoyed that she is treating me like a child I make a grab for my keys. We wrestle for them but she quickly gains the upper hand, "You're a fucking cop! You know you can't drive." She pins me against the car crushing the air out of my chest.
I burst into tears, "I wasn't going to drive!"
Gail is a notoriously angry drunk, and it usually comes out in the form of cheap verbal shots. The last stage of her inebriation is cruelty, and I can see it taking over as were fighting. She twist my wrists slightly harder, and digs her knees into me so I can't move; she's like a bull who gets pissed off over seeing the color red.
"Gail, we don't need to drink more."
"Let her go!" It's Holly.
I'm reminded of all the times I caught Gail staring at her boobs tonight and I want to kick her. Holly pulls Gail off me and I smack her upside the head.
From the door of the bar I can hear oohs and aahs coming from people watching our fight. "Don't you ever touch me like that again, GAIL PECK!" I'm overwhelmed with the need to move so I just start walking. In the distance I can hear Gail calling after to me but I don't have words for her.
Dov and I, were a blissfully married couple until the end of the conference. The plan was for me to ditch the church group and stay in Las Vegas, until we had saved enough money to travel. On the eve of our last night together, I left his wallet and his cellphone at the front desk to make it harder for him to follow me. I returned home with new reverence for the saying, "What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas."
"CHLOE! Wait!" I turn around to see Dov running toward me, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have tried to impose conditions on you. I was being an asshole. Please, let me buy you a cab home!"
"Dov, your stature has nothing to do with your jealously." He calls a cab company that puts him on hold, and while he's waiting for an attendant he begins telling me about the virtues of table tennis...
Later that night I have a dream that I'm late for work it feels so real that when I wake up, I think I'm late for work. Then I remember it's Saturday, and I don't have to be at work today. The room is dark and I reach underneath my pillow to check my cellphone, it's four in the morning. I have only been sleeping for a few hours. I feel a warm muskiness all over my body, juxtaposing against the chills caused by my body temperature dropping from the alcohol. I'm not exactly sober, but I'm sober enough to realize the gravity of the situation. I look across and see my bed mate lightly snoring. Gail only snores when she is drunk. Once my eyes adjust to the darkness of the room I look around and start to mentally locate my clothing. My boots, one is under the bed the other is behind the door. My jeans are draped over the rolling chair that is in front of an expensive looking desktop. Gail's sweater has made it safely into the laundry bin, and my purse is on the floor next to the bed. I take a few slow breaths to choke down the vomit that threatens to come up. I wrap my arms around my front giving myself an impromptu hug. I steel my mind and begin counting down from 5...,4...,3...,2...,1.
In one smooth motion I lift the covers just enough to slip out of bed. I grab my jeans, sweater, boots, and change with trembling hands. I grab my purse making sure that my cellphone is on silent. The door creaks as I open it, I stop moving and stand perfectly still for what feels like a half hour. Then I make a dash for it in foreign territory, I run through dark rooms until I come upon a heavy wooden door. I let myself out into the freezing morning and book it down the street running until I feel my panty-less thighs began to chafe. I collapse on the side of the road and begin gagging, for the second time in my life Dov Epstein has manipulated me into having sex with him.
I check my cellphone, I've got a million messages from my family and friends. Though it's clear that I have many people in life who care about me I don't have one person I can call now. The worst part is that I don't even know where I am. When the cab rolled up to Dov's house his credit card wouldn't go through. He had to sneak cash out his grandmother's purse to pay the balance. He said I could sleep in the guest bedroom, and crawled into bed next to me. What started out as drunken spooning evolved into something else as my body responded to the Old Spice. We had drunk people sex, I imagined it was Gail doing me with a strap-on but it was nothing like the quality I'm used too, it wasn't Gail. As I stumble along further I can feel the bile building in my throat. Before falling asleep Dov told me that he would do everything in his power to grant me my secret divorce, I realize now that was me acting out my own adolescent bullshit. I have created an emergency to escape another situation. The bile in my throat finally reaches a climax and I purge hot liquor onto the side of the road. I see a flash of blue and red lights, a cop car cruises by me and parks a hundred feet away. I give chase to it and as I approach I hear the automatic doors unlock. I walk around to the passenger side of the car and peer in, "Chloe Price, you look like you need a ride," Oliver Shaw is my Angel.