Richard woke up early. He stretched and looked to the window where the sun was slowly raising. School would start in one week. On one side he was excited about it, because he was eager for the new knowledge that the teachers would fill his brain with. He had read a lot about astronomy over the summer, but he wanted to learn more.
On the other side, he was a bit afraid that his new schoolmates would suck like the old ones. He decided to take a ride with his bike to learn the way to his school and maybe see some of them in the neighborhood. He decided that it would be a good distraction from his somber thoughts.
Sighing he stood to find Miranda in the kitchen, making fresh pancakes. "Thank god." He mumbled as he strode to the breakfast counter to have a seat and watch her. Her breakfast was a welcome change to his mothers healthy diet.
She said Goodmorning in her cheery way and gave him a warm smile. They talked about the weather and his plan to take a bike ride. She seemed to be okay with it and he wondered if his mum had explained her the rules for his bikerides: never leave a certain perimeter, don't talk to strangers and never accept any sweets. As if he was still a small kid. He rolled his eyes as he rode the bike out of the garage into the bright sunshine.
Richard started by driving down the street towards the school. There weren't many kids outside which was probably due to the early morning hours. It was still a bit cold, and he clenched his teeth at the cold wind fighting with his hoodie. The helmet didn't do much of a protection either.
He found the school easily and stood a while on the other side of the street to take a closer look. Modern building with huge windows. He took it as a good sign because this probably also promised fairly new and modern equipment and labs. Satisfied he continued down the street and after a few turns he found the creek he had spotted on google maps a few days earlier.
It was a very shallow creek but still nice. The clear water ran down and he attached his bike with a small chain against a tree before following a small trail until he found a nice spot. There was a huge flat stone next to the water. Only thing was, that there was already a girl of his age on it.
He wondered if he should dare to join her or go home and come back later. By the time he had decided to go back home, the girl turned her head and smiled at him. A book was sitting in her lap, and she quickly marked the page before closing it to greet him.
"Good morning." The girl said and Richard forced his feet to step forward while looking cool at the same time. "HI!" he replied, raising his right arm in greeting. The girl smiled at him. "Early riser?" she asked teasingly, reminding him of the detective. Maybe all people here in Boston were cheery and bright as if there were no problems in the world. He found it kind of creepy.
"Most of the time yes." He replied. "And you?" he sat down next to her while he spoke. She pushed a strand of dark hair out of her face and smiled somewhat sadly. "Only if my parents get into a fight."
Richard swallowed and he didn't know what to say, but he caught another smile from her. "They are getting a divorce. At least that's what I heard this morning. Might not be the worst idea." She claimed, setting her book aside. He caught a quick glimpse of it. It was an adventure book from his favorite author.
"My parents are divorced. But since long. I hardly remember dad. He had cheated on her on multiple occasions." He offered, hoping that it was the right thing to say. "Did your dad cheat on your mum?" he dared to ask.
The girl gave a chuckle. "I don't know. I actually have two mums. Their lesbians. I think the main problem here are the working hours."
He nodded while processing the information. He picked up a small shallow stone to make it jump on the water and felt her eyes on him as he succeeded. They followed the stone that jumped three times.
"Very impressive." She said with her smile.
They talked some more, finding out, that she attended the same school as him. Maybe they would have some classes together. He hoped so because she was really nice.
"I'm Maddie by the way." She introduced herself after a while and he said "Richard". Then his phone rang, and he gave her an apologetic smile as he picked up because it was his mother. None of the kids had noticed that it was already 2pm. They had had so much fun talking and dangling their feet into the water hole that they had forgotten time.
Richard rolled his eyes as he got scolded for not being home for lunch on time. "I have to go." He said, feeling sorry to end the day already. "Lunch is waiting." Then he paused to think. "Have you eaten breakfast?" he asked on a hunch, thinking that Maddie had told him that her parents had fought. There was a chance that she simply had sneaked out without grabbing a bite.
Maddie shook her head, smiling as always, although it was a sad smile now. "I might get some sandwich when I return home, but I don't really wanna go home now. Mum is packing her stuff."
Richards, heart faltered a bit and he offered "My mum always cooks too much. And I bet she's made some of her healthy sandwiches with salad and stuff. But she wouldn't mind if you came."
The girl seemed to ponder his offer for a while and then stood reluctantly. He could sense that she was hungry. "Okay." She said and followed him to his bike. As she was living close to the creek she had come by foot, and they walked together all the way to his home.
Maddie was allowed to stay until dinner under the premises that she would call home to tell her parents about her whereabouts. Then they drove her home.
"Thank you for the sandwiches and for allowing me to stay until this evening Ms. Isles." Maddie politely said before hopping out of the car and walking towards a blonde woman that was already waiting for her on the porch.
R&I
Richard drove, down to the creek with a bag of sandwiches and his swimshorts. Maddie hadn't said if she would be there today, but it would be nice if she was, he decided. He had also taken some sandwiches for her in case she would be there.
After chaining his bike to the tree, he followed the small trail like the previous morning and ended up at the spot which was empty today. He sighed and put down his bag to sit on the stone, staring at the water.
After a while he unpacked his bag and pulled out the book he was currently reading, cursing himself for not asking if they would meet up again.
Two hours later, when he was laying in the sun to dry from his jump into the waterhole, he heard some footsteps. Or rather the rustling of the trees. He watched and waited until Maddie appeared. He greeted her with a smile, and she replied with one of her own smiles.
"Just in time for lunch." He stated and sat up to take the paper bag out of his backpack. She held up one lunchbag of her own while walking towards him. They swapped sandwiches and chatted, spending a nice day at the creek until it was time for both to go home. On his drive through the streets, Richard thought about Maddie telling him, that one of her mums had indeed moved to a hotel the previous day. But when he had told her that he was sorry, she had just waved it off. "It's better that way." She had confided as if it wasn't affecting her at all. But he could see through the lie. Yet he didn't comment on it and changed topic instead.
It was almost time for dinner when he moved his bike into their driveway, where a dark cruiser was sitting. Curious about who it belonged to, he quickly pushed his bike into the garage and made his way into the house.
He already heard the deep voice from the detective as he opened the door and realized that it was her police cruiser that was parked outside. It must be, he mused, as he walked into the house to find his mother with the detective in the kitchen.
The brunette was sitting at the breakfastcounter, nursing a beer while his mother was cooking dinner. He paused because they had never had beer in the house. Not even when his dad was still living with them. The detective noticed him and shot him a smile. "If the sox continue to lose we will need to find a new favorite team." She joked, referring to the last game. The sox had lost two games in a row now and Richard had to admit that he was quite disappointed.
Maura studied him and his dirty clothes critically. "I think someone needs to take a shower before dinner." She stated with a wink and he grumbled. He passed the brunette who gave him a smile and offered her hand for a fistbump which made him chuckle. "Dinner will be ready in 15 minutes." His mother called after him as he made his way up the stairs.
His hopes that the detective would stay for dinner got fulfilled and as he felt les shy, he asked if she watched every game of the Sox. "Unfortunately, not. I have crappy working hours." She stated and he chuckled when his mother scolded the tall woman: "Language, detective!"
The brunette rolled her eyes and chuckled when she saw an amused grin cross Richards face. Instead of commenting she shoved another fork of pasta into her mouth. Richard assumed that they only got mac and cheese tonight because of the detectives visit. He realized that if it was up to him, the brunette could come by more often. Not only because of the food but also because she was fun.
He watched her tease his mum, which made him chuckle sometimes. It wasn't in a bad way, more in a friendship like way and he liked it. He knew that his mother too was sometimes lonely, and the detective seemed to have the ability to cheer her up. And despite his mother scolding her here and there and staying serious, he could tell that she liked the detective too – at least somehow.
Whilst the first dinner had been rather awkward, it was more relaxed tonight. The detective appeared to be less nervous. "So, which team should we choose?" he asked, referring to the detectives remark that they needed a new favorite team.
He watched her take a sip from the bottle. Her face was pensive. "I have no clue." She admitted. "Who would you go for?" He thought that her dark voice was comforting. "Me either. It's difficult. The bears are having a good season, but I don't like their attitude." He stated slowly.
"Guess we have to stick with the sox then, huh?" she replied with a wink. He had to agree for lack or better alternative. He knew that they were going to settle in the living room to talk about the old case again while he walked upstairs to brush his teeth and got ready for bed.
R&I
The holidays were quickly coming to an end. Too quick for Richards taste who had now that he had finally found two people he really liked apart from Marina. As it was raining on this day, he was forced to stay at home, wondering what Maddie was up to.
He thought that with 13, almost 14, he was old enough to get a mobile phone to stay in touch with Maddie. But he doubted that Maddie would get one. Her parents seemed to be almost as strict as his mother. And especially now that they were getting a divorce, they left Maddie often with contradictory rules. He really wished that he had a way to reach out for her. They could watch some movies or talk like they did at the creek.
Instead, he was condemned to be on his own. Literally, because Marina had called earlier this morning to tell his mum that she couldn't come. He was glad though that he had been able to convince her that he was old enough to stay alone at home. The alternative would have been for her to take him to her working place which would have probably bored him to death.
He was mulling over the fact that he didn't even know where Maddie lived when he heard the main door open. Assuming that his mother had somehow managed to get the day off, he rolled his eyes and stayed put.
But the footsteps coming up the stairs, where definitely not his mothers which made him fall into a sudden panic. He jumped of the bed and hid behind the door, his dusty baseball bat firmly in hand as he waited for the door to be pushed open by the unknown intruder.
"Richard?" the voice sounded a bit insecure, but he recognized it as the detectives. What was she doing here? He wondered as he stepped out of his hiding place to greet her. Her eyes fell on the baseball bat and he swung it a bit as if he had just been practicing not to look like a scared idiot.
Her long arm moved forward to brush some dust of the tip of the stick and she chuckled. He noticed that she was not in one of her usual suits but a pair of blue jeans and a shirt. "Your mother called and asked if I would like to keep you company for the day." She stated. "In other words, you need to baby sit me?" he sounded angrier than intended, knowing that it wasn't her fault. It was probably her day off, judging by the leisure clothes.
She simply nodded and shrugged. "She loves you a lot and she's worried, that's all." She said. "And she gave you a key to the house?" Richard asked in disbelieve. His cautious mother never gave a key to anyone.
The detective looked surprised and nodded. "Yes, why?" she asked, and he explained his prior thoughts to her. "Yeah, well, I hope that she wouldn't trust anybody with her keys. We see too much on our jobs." She said as he decided to move towards the bed as he began feeling uncomfortable in his position.
"Do you have kids?" he asked, walking over to sit on his bed. He turned when the room fell into an eerie silence after the detective had hitched a deep breath.
Dear diary,
As you might have notice, I'm not much of a regular writer. Moreover, I was busy hanging out with this girl called Maddie. But I couldn't see her today because it's raining, and I don't know where she lives. Otherwise, I could have passed by her house and asked if she wanted to do something. So instead, I've got Jane to baby sit me. It was her day off and mum didn't want to leave me alone after Marina said that she couldn't come. Some family urgency as far as I learned.
Anyways, I had a fun day with the detective. We practiced throwing balls in the afternoon, when the rain was lighter. She knows how to play chess, which we did until lunch. She's actually pretty good at it but claims that its boring.
Mum can't know that we practiced in the rain. She would totally flip if she knew. But it was real fun. Jane made me promise to keep it a secret.
I asked her today if she had kids, but she didn't really answer. Seems like there are a lot of people with secrets in this town.
Anyways, Jane cooked some real Italian ragout for pasta, and we ate dinner together. She left after helping mum cleaning up. I'm looking forward for tomorrow when the weather is supposed to be better and I can do stuff either with Jane or Maddie. Jane has too many sick days, hours and holiday so she is going to have the rest of the week off.
I asked her about what lesbians are today. Obviously, it happens that women can fall in love with each other as well. I mean, I assumed as much after Maddie told me about her parents.
But it's still hard to wrap my mind around it. Jane said that a woman was born lesbian gay or heterosexual – even bi. And if she is lesbian, she won't fall in love with a man. So, I was thinking that mum was probably not one, because she had been married to my dad, which is bummer, because if she and Jane were both lesbians they could fall in love and Jane would be my second mum. This would really be fun. As I've said: bummer because Jane is really cool!
