Rude closed his eyes, pressing his hands together as he thought. On one hand, he and Reno still hadn't gotten things completely worked out. However, this was important to the redhead, and Rude had made a promise to himself to stand by the man in everything he did. But, back to the other hand, did he want to jeapordize their rebudding relationship with an inevitably drawn out custody battle?
"If ya don't. .. I understand, but personally I think presenting a united front is best. ..despite everything, the bitch is gonna pull out every stop she has. If she finds your arrest, we might be fucked." Which of course was Reno-speak for "We need to inform Rufus that he needs to make sure that's buried deep."
"Which one?" Rude muttered ruefully. As he thought, he found the napkin crossing his lap to be rather facsinating and delightfully distracting from his racing thoughts.
"The one for Josh, and the one for the kid at the club."
"The petty thefts and drug ones are juvenille, which probably won't even be acessable to her lawyers."
"Couple of B&E's after I was 17..." Rude added. Gee, the more he thought about it, the more he wondered if his past was more or less checkered than Reno's.
"light charges. ..they'll be more worried about whether you're gonna be violent or not. but yeah, Rufus canbury those buggers deep. ..speaking of which, now that I can I prob'ly should inform him of Rennan's reappearance and what he needs ta do ta keep him away from any of the bitch's fam, eh?"
Rude nodded, reaching for his glass of wine as he continued to think over Reno's proposal. Could he live in the same house with Reno and a small child... with the way he was?
Reno had Rufus' phone dialed and waited for an answer.
"Hello?" Rufus answered, his voice a little gruff sounding.
"Boss. ..we have a situation. ..ya know the kid I had with Trish. ..well. ..he's not goin' back ta her if I can help it. ." He relayed everything he'd discovered. "I need ya ta bury Rude's two assault charges. ..bury 'em deep. ...as deep as ya damn well can. please. I don''t want her lawyers finding 'em."
"What?" Rufus replied, then followed with a quieter, "Tseng, hold on... stop that... hold ON a minute..." Rufus cleared his throat again. "I'll do what I can, but it may take a day or two."
"Allright. ..I'm gonna file the paperwork. ..like I said. ..he's not goin' back to her. .ever."
"And what has Rude said about this development?" Rufus asked carefully.
"He's.. .not happy. .but livin' with it for now. ..Rennan's far better off with us than he would be back with his mother, sir."
"I see. I'll try to get things taken care of by tomorrow evening." With that Rufus hung up, but before the phone clicked off, he moaned as Tseng went back to doing... whatever it was he was doing.
"I caught him while they were doin' the deed. ." Ren o chuckled.
Rude wasn't paying attention. He blinked, then breathed, then blinked again. Finally, he looked up and admitted, "I don't know the first thing about raising a child."
"you'll do better than she has."
But it wasn't his own flesh and blood. Rude felt... almost no more responsibility for the child than he did for any of the children during the whole Geostigma incident. And as for caring for the child's wellbeing... other than the fact that the boy was Reno's, he felt... nothing more than he would for any random child on the street. There was no connection. How could he be a good father-like figure without feeling connected to him? "How can you be sure?"
"Because it takes time. ..the connection's more'n genes you know. .it'll take time to happen, but it will.He's a lot like me as far as inner resilamce. ..though he's a lot mor polite. . .he'll grow on ya."
"But... I feel... nothing, Reno," Rude said brokenly, looking up as he said the redhead's name. He thought he should at least feel something towards the child... but he had nothing.
"Like I said, give it time. ..ya barely know him yet. ..an' you saved his life an' took carea him when I was physically unable to. should mean somethin'."
Rude neglected to mention he probably would've done that for any child. It probably wouldn't help the situation. "I..." he couldn't find words to express what he was feeling so he settled on taking another drink of his wine instead.
"At any rate. He likes you. ..maybe.. .you should sit down and try ta talk ta him some."
"What do a 28 year old and a five year old have to talk about?" Rude asked honestly. There was no sarcasm in his question. He really, honestly and a truly had no idea what he could talk to the boy about.
"what he wants from life when he gets older. ..every child has dreams, ya know. ..just. ..get ta know who he is as a person. ..I'm bettin' once ya do you'll like him."
"It's not that I don't like him, Reno..."
"You love me, right. .? He's my blood. ..no way you could be in the same house with him for any period of time WITHOUT endin' up feelin' attached...trust me on this. ..ya know how very rarely I'm wrong."
Rude kept to himself just how frequent Reno's 'rarely' really was. "He can't be your kid," Rude said, his smile growing slightly as he spoke. "He's quiet. He's polite. He's repectful. He's quiet..."
"He's also strong. ..with a quick smile, a love of racing games, and he has quite a mouth on him when you aren't lookin', prob'ly gleaned from his mom. . .I heard him say 'fuckin' renault' whil he was playin' gran tourismo earlier."
Rude raised an eyebrow. "How many times have I heard you say worse about that game?"
"Exactly. ...plus, he looks just like me." he laughed.
Rude just shook his head with that slight smile of his, his face saying more than words could.
Reno leaned in for a kiss. ..somehow. ..the two of them talking about his son like this. . .just felt RIGHT.
"You know what this means?" Rude said, his tone halfway between serious and joking. "You have to keep your mouth shut when I pound you into the bed now."
"I know. ..nothin' more embarassin' than walkin' in on your parents fuckin."
Rude shuddered. "Can we not talk about that, please?"
Reno laughed softly. "You didn't. ..did you?"
Rude nodded. "Twice."
Reno cracked up laughing then. "Oh. ..boy. .."
Rude just shuddered once, then tried to change the subject before Reno started digging. "So... are you coming back tonite or tomorrow?"
"I'm gonna pick up our stuff as soon's I head over to the courthouse. ..gonna file the paperwork, 'sgonna take until tomorrow for it to get ta Trish anyway and by that time the boss should have that shit buried deeper than the Lifestream."
"Hope so," Rude said softly.
"I got faith. ..but here comes the check. .you wanna make the courthouse run with me, or you gonna go back to the house?"
Rude took a deep breath. "I think... I'd rather head back to the house. If you don't mind."
"Allright. .I should only be a couple hours..." He brushed Rude's lips one more time.. .his face despite it all held a determined but lightened expression. ..he knew they could do this.
At least one of them had overwhelming buckets of faith. Rude nodded, paid for dinner, then walked Reno out to his car. "Call me if you need anything."
"Will do. "
It took him 20 minuts to get to the courthouse.
Rude, on the other hand, had gone to their new place to clean up a bit. Even with Reno only being gone, what, a day? the place needed a little tidying up.
"'scuse me...I need ta file custody papers for my son...where do I hafta go to do that?" He gave the desk clerk a charming smile.
"Are you currently married to the mother?" she asked blandly.
"No ma'am, I'm not." He shudders a bit at that thought.
An eyebrow was raised. "How old is the child"
"He's five years old. His mom well.. .she an' I haven't talked since she had him, more her decision than mine. ..and a few things have recently come ta light that lead me ta believe he won't be safe residing with her."
The other eyebrow raised. This woman must've studied the Rudolph Urar Book of Expressive Eyebrows extensively. "Do you have an attorney retained, or will you within the next 48 hours?"
"Gonna be my next stop. By the way. ..you remind me o'my partner. He does the eyebrow thing, too." he chuckled.
The woman's smile lasted almost long enough for it to be registered by the human eye. "Have you filed a police report regarding your suspected mistreatment of the child? Have you made child protective services aware of this suspected mistreatment?"
"The doctor should have by now. report should be under Rennan Kendrick.. .Dr O'neil was the attending physician."
"Give me a minute to check the fax machine," the woman said, getting up and walking across the office towards the machine. After going through the paperwork, she called to another woman out of Reno's sight. "Hey, Janice? Yeah, did you pick up some paperwork from a Dr. O'Neill regarding a Rennan Kendrick?" A frown crossed her face before she walked quickly back towards Reno. "Could I Have your name again, sir?"
"Reno Tarshil, ma'am."
"I'll need you to sit over there," she said, pointing to a row of metal folding chairs along the hallway wall. "Officer Roderick will be with you in a moment."
"Yes ma'am." He sat tapping his fingers nervously on his leg
Within minutes a young, probably fresh from the academy officer walked up to the redhead. "Reno Tarshil?" he asked.
"Yes sir?"
Officer Roderick handed Reno a paper. "This is a missing person's report for Rennan Kendrick. It was filed yesterday by his mother. Do you know where the boy is?"
"He is currently in my physical custody sir. ..he was within the posession of the hijackers that had been robbing President Shinra's supply shipments"
"According to the leader of said hijackers, she had sold the boy to them to pay off a debt she owed them. I would have you question him, but he's now decesed,"
Roderick shook his head almost sadly. "I'm sorry, sir, but I'll have to ask you to relinquish custody of him to the state. Between your being here to file for custody and the mother's filing of the missing person's report, along with Dr. O'Neill's recommendations... I have to put him in a foster home until the state can determine which, if either you or the mother, is the better parent."
Reno nodded,. "Understood, sir. ..but if I may request one thing. ..he be allowed to stay with Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart? Ms Lockhart is a registered foster parent, which if you look in your records you will notice, and I trust her."
"I will see what I can do," the Roderick said. "I'll let you get back to filing your custody papers, and I will be by your address tomorrow morning to pick up the child. I don't think I have to remind you that fleeing with the boy will not do you any good."
"wouldn't thinka doin' it sir. ..by the book. ..I already lost five yearsa my son's life through no faulta my own. ..I have no intentiona losing the rest of it."
With a nod, Officer Roderick went back into the office, nodded to the clerk at the counter, then disappeared back into the office... somewhere.
"Allright, let me get ta doin' this so I can spend the resta the afternoon with my husband an' my kid, please. .."
"Husband?" the clerk asked, her eyebrow again raised much like said husband's as she handed over the rest of the paperwork for Reno to fill out.
"Yeah, husband." He smirked. "At any rate, . ." He fills out the rest of the paperwork. "I think I'll take him to Gold Saucer in the chopper today. I doubt he's ever ridden in a chopper. .." Ah, the perks of working for Shinra.
The woman made a noncommittal noise, then went about notarizing and filing his paperwork. It was her way of silently dismissing Reno.
He stepped outside calling Rude "Yeah, 'sall filed. ..but she filed a missing persons report, you BELIEVE that shit?"
Rude grunted. He could honestly say he thought he knew Trish, but after the events of the past day or so, he wasn't so sure.
"She's gonna try ta keep custody. ..even after she sold him...AFTER she beat him. .she must be outta her fuckin' skull. ..anyway, figured take the three o'us to Gold Saucer for the day. ..he has to go into a foster home tomorrow morning. ..he's not gonna be happy about that."
"Why?" Rude asked. He wasn't entirely sure why the boy would have to go into foster care when Reno was obviously -- and he hated to admit it -- the more fit parent of the two.
"Because she's fuckin' fightin' back. ..they have to do the whole by the book shit."
Rude grunted in acknowledgement. He neglected to mention that he currently had his hand around himself, laying on the bed, having given up cleaning in favour of a little self love.
"Anyway, gonna go by 'Lena's for Livewire, and then come back there for an hour or so. ..an' save somea that for me"
"Once I've claimed me a bitta that we'll go pick up Rennan an' then the chopper."
Rude was certain Reno heard his breath hitch. "How did you...?"
"I know you, Rude. ..when you make that partifcular noise it's usually 'cause you're tryin' ta keep your breathing even so I won't know what you're doing."
"And just what AM I doing?" Rude asked, his voice dropping slightly.
"You're thinkin' o'me with your hand wrapped around yourself pretty damn tight. ..an' I must say that's hot."
Rude's breath made a shuddering sound as he exhaled and shifted how he was holding the phone.
"Picture. .my tongue. ..running right up the bottom. ..hittin' that spot on the vein you love me to hit. ..the one that makes you shake."
Rude's breath came quickly as his hand slid more of the lube over his arousal. He hadn't intended it for anything more than a little stress relief, a little alone time before things got hectic again. But with Reno on the phone... "Yeah... love that spot..." he muttered.
"Licking your piercing while my throat vibrates around you. .."
Another shuddering breath through which Reno's name is interspersed.
"Then me licking you clean afterward. ..just 'cause I love how you taste."
A gasp, a shudder, and Rude was spilling himself all over his chest and stomach.
"I'll be there in about an hour. ..do me a favor an' stay naked, eh?"
Rude figured it was best not to mention that he was actually wearing a pair of ancient jean shorts that he never wore in front of anyone. He made an affirmative noise, then looked around for a sock or something to clean himself off with.
It took all of 15 minutes for him to get to Elena's. He knocked on the door gently.
Elena opened the door. "Shh," she told Reno quietly. "I just got him to take a nap. Poor thing probably hasn't slept much in days."
"'Lena...c'n I talk to you out here a few before I take Livewire back ta the house?"
She nodded, grabbing her water bottle and closing the door gently. "So?" she asked.
"The bitch is gonna put up a fight, 'Lena. ..she filed a missing persons report yesterday. They're makin' him go to a foster home until they've setttled the custody."
"What?" she said, trying to keep her voice down. "She can't do that... She essentially gave him up."
Hands her a copy of the report he'd been given by the officer "Here it is. ..right here. I knew I shouldn'ta killed that asshole."
"Do you have a lawyer? Are you getting one?" she asked.
"Yeah, gonna do that before I go home. ..then we're gonna go to gold saucer for the day with Rennan. ..figured let him enjoy himself a little"
"This is going to rip that poor boy apart," Elena said, shaking her head.
"I know, yo.. .I know. ..I asked 'em to let him stay with Tifa at least so I can drop by an' see'im."
"There's that, at least... if you can get it..." Elena said slowly.
"Yeah. ..I hate ta do this to him. ..but I can't let him go back there. . .I know what it felt like ta be hit. . .I can't let him go back to that without a fight. ..no one fought for me. ..I'm gonna make damn sure he has someone ta fight for him."
"Reno..." Elena's voice held much sorrow. She could see how much it hurt him just knowing Rennan could possibly end up back in the care of his mother, and she had to admire the strong front he was holding up, however... "You don't have to put on that face for me. I know it's hard, but you don't have to be strong for my sake."
He just shook his head. "I gotta be strong for him, 'Lena. ..if I fall apart. ..who's gonna be there ta fight for him? He's got no one but us, 'Lena."
"I never said you had to be strong for me," Elena said, pulling Reno close for a hug.
He leaned against her, he was shaking, even though his eyes were dry. "If I fall apart now, 'Lena. ..I may never find all th'pieces.. ."
You've got one little redheaded piece sleeping inside right now, and one big bald piece waiting for you at home. Don't tell me you won't be able to find the most important pieces," she said harshly as he held him tighter.
"An if I lose my son. Laney. ..?"
"Do you honestly think they won't let you keep him?" Elena asked.
"I had 'em bury Rude's records, Laney, but if they manage to find 'em anyway. ...shit. "
"'salready a strike against me not having a mother figure in the house. .you know there're still plentya bigots that think two men can't possibly raise a kid right."
"Trish was a ShinRa secretary. How much money could she possibly have stored away for a lawyer?" Elena asked. "And if you think the judge is too much of a bigot, your attorney can request to have a different one see the case. With as much love as you've shown that boy in the less than 24 hours you've had him, they'd be sending him to his death if they gave him back to her."
He nodded, but the fear of losing his baby was clear in those green eyes. "I just hope ta God they don't manage ta uncover Rude's record. ...if the do, I'm FUCKED Laney."
"What about your own?" she asked, knowing full well that Reno's rap sheet was just as long, if not longer, than Rude's.
"I'mm not too worried about mine, a few drug charges, and an auto theft, but nothin' that would keep me from havin' him there, most of 'em where juvie." Which of course meant the records would be sealed.
"Have a little faith," Elena said with a smile, pulling back just enough from the hug to touch her nose to Reno's. "They'll probably ask that smart little boy of yours who he wants to live with, and even at that age, what they want weighs heavily on who gets him."
Reno nods "Guess I better get to the law offices before they close, huh?"
"That would be wise," she said with a tiny smile.
"Oh, I need that hard copy of the doctor's report, for the lawyer."
Elena held up her hand. "I'll grab it." She paused before she opened the door again, looking back at Reno. "He really is cute when he sleeps. Reminds me of you." With that, she had the door open and was already making her way to the kitchen, stepping around the makeshift fort of a dining room table.
Reno watched his son. ..noticing how he'd already in just the last 24 hours begun acting more like the little boy of five he was instead of the frightened animal he'd been when they'd found him.
Elena stood back, papers in hand, just watching Reno watch Rennan. After a moment, she touched the redhead's shoulder, keeping her slight laugh to herself when he jumped just a hair. "Never used to be able to do that," she said softly, handing him the papers.
"Thanks...he's already, in just this past day, starting to act like a normal kid. ..how could they take this from him? I don't get it. ..
She gestured for him to follow her back into the kitchen to let the boy sleep in peace. "They are the impartial third party. It's... what they're supposed to do."
"They'll see. ..they hafta see. ..I. ..I gotta go, Laney. .I'll let you know what the lawyer says."
"Call me 10 minutes before you come by to get him, and I'll have him ready to go." She smiled, pressing a light kiss to the tip of his nose. "Take care of yourself, or else how can you show them that you'll take care of him?"
"I know, Laney. ."With that, he was out the door. ..it took anotther 15 for him to get to the lawyer's office. "I need ta see an attorney about a custody case." He said to the receptionist.
"Do you have an appointment?" the woman asked, still attempting to organize the disaster of files and papers that claimed to be her desk.
"Reno Tarshil ma'am, called from the courthouse." She'd immediatly know. .'The Turk's kid.' was what they were already calling the case in legal circles.
"Uh huh," she said, more to herself than Reno. She shuffled through the pile on her desk, searching for the file that had already been sent from the courthouse. "Turk's kid... Turk's kid..." She looked up at him. "Kid doens't have the same last name as you, right?" she asked.
"No ma'am.. .he doesn't. ...though if I get full custody I have ever intention o'changin' that."
"Most of 'em do," she said, again more to herself than Reno. After another moment, she let out an "Ah ha!" and magically pulled a file folder out without letting any of the ones on top of it fall. "Let me see if Ms. Berry's ready for you." With that, she took the file with her down the hallway, knocked on one of the farther doors, then went in.
Reno leaned against the wall, he looked NERVOUS.
The clicking of the secretary's heels heralded her return. She flopped back down in her chair with a "She'll be up in a moment."
"Thank ya ma'am...they say she's onea the most vicious custody attorneys on the easern continent. ..I feel priviledged to be able ta hire her."
"She hasn't taken your case yet," the secretary said carefully. She leaned forward over her desk, glancing first down the hallway to see if said attorney was coming yet. "She usually doesn't take cases from men... But you didn't hear that from me"
"Ah.. .well. . .we'll see what happens. .." He gives that charming smile, but the worry and tension could still be seen underneath it,.
The secretary smiled back, then went back to her attempt to make sense of the chaos on her desk.
Within a minute, a tall, thin woman dressed in a fitted black suit rounded the corner. Her hair was pulled up into a loose bun, away from her face. Were it not for the cynical, almost harsh look on her face, she would be a rather pretty woman. "Reno Tarshill?" she asked.
Michael TW Kelley: "Yes, ma'am." He has the doctor's report and the police report, as well as the recordings from the car's survelliance equipment he'd not thought to give to the police officer . .all of the evidence he'd been able to dredge up against his ex girlfriend.
She raised a sharp looking eyebrow. "I see you've come prepared. Good. Come with me." She didn't wait for Reno as she walked quickly back to her office, sitting at her immaculate desk. "Please," she said, indicating one of the wooden chairs that were facing her desk.
Reno sat. "Yes, ma'am. ..as soon as I discovered what had been occuring I did my best to get all my ducks in a row. I don't want him going back into that situation. Despite what Miss Kendrick might put about to others, I love my son, and have tried to maintain contact with him. Unfortunatly due to circumstances beyond my control a custody battle was neither advisable nor really possible up to this point."
"Are you still employed by ShinRa Inc., Mr. Tarshil?"
"Yes ma'am, I am. steadily so for the past 7, almost 8 years." His wedding band would flash in the dim light, ever since they'd gotten pretty much back together it had never left his finger.
She filed that wedding band into the back of her mind for questioning later. "And are you still a member of the Administrative Research Division?" She refused to use that silly 'Turks' nickname the department had been given.
"Yes, ma'am. I am." He hoped that would not be too great a mark against him, it is after all how he had found his son to begin with.
"I am well aware that the deparment should have been named the Assassination and Torture for Intelligence Department, Mr. Tarshill. As is everyone else." Her voice was as sharp as her jawline.
"A lot has changed since the current adminstration took over, ma'am. ..I have as many regrets as about anyone else who worked under Jack."
"Your face was on the evening news during the Sector 7 plate drop," she said, almost offhandedly. "Many people have yet to forget those they lose." She paused. "However, you occupation and your fathering abilities may be two sepearte things, correct?"
"Yes ma'am, much different. I have. ..personal experience with actions of the sort she has alledgegly perpetrated against Rennan., therefor I know how damaging they can be to a young psyche."
"Paint me a picture of this woman," she said, picking up a pen and writing Reno's name at the top of a legal pad.
"I thought when I met her that she was a nice girl. .then again, I was 17 then, what did I really know? I did think it odd she was pushing for a serious comittment within 2 months of the beginning of our relationship. Pushing for the steps I at that young age was not ready for uis what caused our breakup. ..according to my son she has been basically telling her what a horrid person I am. ..when I found him, he was in the hands of the band of hijackers that has been responsible for the theft of multiple truckloads of supplies Shinra Corp has been using to assist in the rebuilding efforts. The leader said she had SOLD him to them."
"And did you try to make contact with the child at any time between his birth and the incident with the hijackers a few days ago?"
"Yes ma'am. ..though I did not know of his existance even until he was 2 1/2. .at the time I saw him he was in front of Midgar Toys, I approached her, and asked her for her phone number so I could have contact with my son and she said that I was 'a sicko fag that did not deserve to raise a child.'"
"Are you, Mr. Tarshill..." she paused, looking for the best way to say it, but ended up with, "A homosexual?"
"Yes ma'am...bi-sexual in actuallity, but I am living openly in a homosexual marriage at this time yes."
"Are you aware that such marriages are newly legal, and only legal in some areas of the world? And that there are some that would consider your choice of partners to not be the best place for a child to be raised?"
"Yes ma'am.. though I don't see why your choice of whom to love should have anything to do with your skill in parenting."
"That is not something I chose to debate," she said, slightly less sharp than her previous tone. "However, for whatever reason, some people believe that a child needs a strong female figure in his or her life, regardless. I am just warning you of the difficulties we could face against your ex-wife."
"ex-girlfriend" he corrected "I am now GLAD I never married her.But yes, I am very much aware of the difficulities. I only know I am able to provide my son a stable home with two parents in a fairly stable relationship, Heck, he'd even have a pet."
Ms. Berry laughed, and her laugh was completely unlike the rest of her, rich and full. Perhaps she wasn't as harsh and heartless as some people made her out to be. "And, what, Mr. Tarshill, do you plan to bring up when you are asked about child care? About your job requiring you to be gone from the home for extended periods of time? Will your husband be there to oversee the child, or will you have a nanny of some sort?"
"I had intended on providing child care of course, mostly likely with a miss Tifa Lockhart, who is a cerified day care provider as well as certified with the government as a foster parent."
"I am well aware of Miss Lockhart's credentials," Ms. Berry said. "I finalized the paperwork for her to fully adopt that Denzel boy. Bright boy, but terribly quiet." She paused, going back to her notes on the legal pad. "Now, this husband of yours... Tell me about him."
"He's been my partner ever since I started with the company.. ..usually a quiet sort, though he talks more around me usually. Aside from a few rough patches we've been exclusive for 6 1/2 years."
"Define 'rough patches'," She asked, perusing through the open file marked 'Kendrick, Rennan / Tarshill, Reno (father) / custody'.
"He had a few anger issues from a past relationship to work through.. .which is why it had not been wise to seek custody when I first discovered his existance. we have since worked through those issues, and there have been no further incidents, most of those were vocal only, and directed only at me, the only one which could even have been construed as physical was during meteor, and he did not strike me, things have been pretty much stable since we had the breakthrough." He gives her documentation of the counseling session, he knew it would come up. "I also intend to attend counseling for my own issues, ones which will nto have impact on my ability to raise my son."
"While the counseling is good," she said, looking over the papers Reno had given her. She paused for a moment. "Have you ever been diagnosed with a mental illness?"
"No ma'am..aside from ptsd, which considering my own raising is really no big surprise."
"Would you be able to pass a mental examination? And a drug screening?"
"Yes, ma'am. ..I do admit to illicit drug use, but have since stopped. and yes, I would wllingly submit to the exam"
She closed the file in front of her. "This will be a difficult case to win, Reno," she said, using the redhead's first name for the first time since meeting him. "However, I have never shied away from a difficult case. Please leave your number with my secretary and I will call you in a few days."
"Yes, ma'am. In the meantime. ..I'm going to go enjoy some time with my son."
"That would be wise. You have some time to make up," she said, standing and holding out her hand for Reno to shake. "I'll be in touch."
Reno shook, before striding out to the secretary, giving her the numbers both for the condo and his cell. Then he turns back "Thank you so much, ma'am. ..you've really given me a chance at something I never thought I'd have."
"Don't thank me yet," she said, then went back to his file with a look of dismissal.
Reno strode out, calling Elena first as he walked back out toward the car.
"Reno?" she asked, and Reno would hear Rennan's laughter in the background.
"Yeah. ..she said she'd be in touch in a few days. ..said it'd be tough, but I'm willing to do anything I have to in order to help Rennan."
"That's good... Rennan!" Elena laughed. Reno would hear a slight scuffle over the line. "Yes, yes, I'm coming outside. Yes, I won't forget the ball. Just give me a minute. Auntie Elena isn't as young as she used to be!"
"I don't wanna lose him. ..I promised Rude I'd call to tell him how things went. ..I guess I'd better. Tell Rennan Papa loves him very much and has a surprise for him, ok?"
"Tell him yourself," Elena said, then handed the phone to the boy with a, "Now where is that softball"
"Hey, slugger. ."
"Papa?" Rennan said, voice taking on an almost reverant tone. "Papa! Auntie Elena's teaching me to play softball! She's gonna throw the ball, then I'm supposed to hit it! I'm not very good at it, but she says I'll get better if we practice!"
"Yeah, you will. ..Papa's got a surprise for you this afternoon as soon as I get our things home. ..have you ever been to Gold Saucer?"
"Noooo..." the boy replied, and one could almost see his stance taking on a hint of shyness.
"How would you like to go?"
"Really? You mean it?" Rennan's voice got more excited as he spoke.
"Yes, I do. ..You'll get to fly in a chopper, too."
"Wow!" Reno would certainly hear Rennan running and nearly crashing into Elena. "Auntie Elena! Papa's gonna take me to the Gold Saucer! In a chop-mer!" Thankfully, the phone was held a little way from the boy's head, otherwise Reno might have a little hearing difficulty for the next few days
Reno laughed. "Listen, Papa's gotta call Rude, ok? I'll be by to pick you up in about an hour."
"Rude's the big bald man, right?" Rennan asked, his tone dropping into near shyness again.
"Yeah. .he's startin' ta like you. ..He won't hurt you. .he's just gotta get used to you. .he's also Papa's hussband. ..we'll win him, right?"
The boy frowned, not quite understanding all of his Papa's words. "Papa... how long's a hour?"
"When the big hand goes all the way around to the. .." he looked at his watch. "The 5 again, I'll be there, k?"
"Oh. Okay!" With that the phone was dropped, Elena was heard to say Rennan's name again, then the woman picked up the phone. "Reno? You still there?"
"Yeah."
My neighbor's out walking his dog, and Rennan's taken quite a fancy to the little thing," Elena laughed. "So, when will you be picking him up for this excursion?"
"Hour from now. I gotta call Rude and tell him how stuff went."
"Okay. Then I'm going to feed him, maybe get him a bath and see if I can wash his clothes before you get here."
"allright" with that he hung up and called Rude.