Author's Note: Good evening, everybody. Over 800 reviews! That's a first for me and it's just awesome! Thanks so much for all of them and keep them coming, y'all! Even though I write mainly to hold onto the remnants of sanity, knowing that my work is enjoyed fuels the Muses nicely.
Although the daily update chain is ending today, this fic is not. I'm glad you guys responded well to my choice of Merry Man beau and there will be some Val vs. Helen and the Burg drama in the wake of it, the beginnings of it starting in this chapter.
My big sister was called in to work at an unholy hour of the morning so the shopping trip was 86'd but I did find some decent enough clothing in the house before buying new socks and a huge reusable water bottle. I am ready to become a gym rat again and I'm actually looking forward to it. Thanks for the support this week and I'll be sure to update in a timelier manner, perhaps taking on two fics a week instead of just one. I'll have to figure that out as I go. Enjoy today's chapter!
Disclaimer: "Honestly, it's not mine!"
"How'd he get in?"
"Picked the lock."
"How'd you get in?"
"Picked the lock…look, get yourself a couple of deadbolts…and lock that shit up."
-Ranger and Stephanie in One for the Money (2012)
Val's cell phone rang and she looked away from Bobby to the screen. Promptly, she paled and I peeked over at the screen. Ah. The Burg Grapevine never fails to deliver.
Earlier, we spotted Morelli on the lower level with Jeanne Ellen Burrows (…seriously?), obviously looking around for our group. The look of annoyance on his face had been downright comical when a very tipsy Lula had given him a finger wave/ double one fingered salute combo before closing the black french doors of our VIP section. Flow was another RangeMan client right across the bridge and a good 20 minutes from the Burg. As soon as the owner spotted the company SUVs, we had been ushered past the line and straight upstairs to an area that was more like an apartment than anything else. It even had its own bathroom and a door that led down to the kitchen for our privacy.
Although said privacy kept us away from an immediate confrontation (and knowing him and his companion, there's gonna be a confrontation…), apparently the little jackass wasn't above siccing Helen Plum on us like a damned pitbull. Well, more Val than me. After what happened at Dinner, she cut off all direct contact with me, preferring to use my less than amused Dad and Gram as intermediaries…
"She'll keep calling until you answer." I informed her with Yoda like Zen.
"What do I say to her?", she fretted before knocking back another blue jello shot.
"Say what you really feel. It's not like she can kill you for it."
She absorbed that and her lips pursed as the ringing started up again without a 10 second interval.
"What if she says I can't come to the house anymore?"
I scoffed and rolled my eyes.
"Let her try. Dad and Gram will tear her face out if she tried to keep you and the girls away. Seriously, Val. Just answer it. I'm here."
And matter of factly, Bobby slid one of his hands into hers, making knowing smiles go to the rest of our faces. Lester had already been smacked upside the head twice for crooning about a 'love connection…' between them but neither has denied anything yet…
She looked visibly stronger and I could see her jaw set determinedly as she pressed the answer key.
"Hello… hi, mom…oh, the girls are fine…they're with Mary Lou's husband and kids…I'm out with Stephanie and her friends, mother but I suppose you already knew that…who told you that…Gina Marcello needs to mind her own business and to go pick up her husband from Stark Street… he's been cheating on her for years, even before I left for California…well, I'd rather be divorced than cheated on…what does the fact that Steve cheated on me have to do with you? It has absolutely nothing to do with you…I don't care about what the neighbors or your friends are saying… oh really? Well, I'd like to see them deal with seeing their husband porking the barely legal babysitter in their own bed that they just bought from the Sleep Number Store…oh, I'm sorry…I meant fucking the barely legal babysitter in their own bed that they just bought from the Sleep Number Store!"
Excuse me while I fish my jaw out of cleavage…I've created a monster! Dr. Frankenstein better watch out…and is that a wolf grin I'm seeing on the good doctor's face?
"…and so what if I have been talking to someone…he is not a thug, he's a nice doctor and he even served in the military…the closest Steve ever got to military service is going to the Star Spangled Delite three streets over from the old house on his lunch break…right now, Bobby and I are just friends but once I get my head on straight and if he's interested in more, then…there is absolutely nothing wrong with him or Ranger for that matter…you're just mad because neither one of them are from the Burg! Okay, so who do you suggest for me, then? I knew you'd say him… mother, he's got a girlfriend now and even if he didn't, after all the hell he put Stephanie through, the only thing I'd want to do to Joseph Morelli would be to feed his penis to one of those goats Vinnie likes to violate all the time…if he's what's considered a good man is in the Burg, then I'm certainly gonna look elsewhere...well, we'll just have to agree to disagree then, mother…do you really think Daddy's gonna let you keep his oldest daughter and granddaughters out of his house that he paid for with his money just because you're angry? He may have before but I don't think he will now… that's not my problem either and if you're gonna be like this, I don't want you on my phone or my voicemail...I haven't lost my mind, mother. I've finally found it again and a backbone to go with it...good-bye, mother... Good-bye, Mother."
Val calmly hung up the phone and thunderous applause filled the room, along with a few 'dog pound' whoops from Lou and Lester. In response, she matter of factly rested her head on Bobby's shoulder, letting him play with her hair gently.
All I can do right now is grin. Go, Val, go…
