Arriving at the venue, waiting for the valet to reach them, Sharon turned to Andy and said "Well Lieutenant, are you read to give the old man something to talk about?" as she raised her eyebrows in question.
"What did you have in mind?" he wanted to know.
"Decades in FID taught me many things. Mostly it taught me how to be sneaky, as you are well aware. I think that the fact we've been sneaking around for close to a year is testament to my skill set don't you?"
"Hey, I know you. I know you're sneaky. Hell, I've learned some new tricks in the stealth department myself lately... from the best" he chuckled as they locked eyes.
"Do you trust me?" she asked.
"With my life" he answered.
"Ok, just follow my lead then. I'll decide how to play it as we go along, depending on how overt the old coot wants to be" she decided.
The valet collected their car, and they headed into the ballroom along with a steady stream of other attendees, Andy using one hand on the small of her back, to guide Sharon through the crowd. Even after a year, Sharon marvelled at how that small gesture from him could be so completely different from the way it would feel from any other man. Andy exuded a calm sense of concern, whereas the same physical touch from someone else would convey a completely different message. She recalled Jack having done similar many years ago, and how much she had hated it. When he did it, it had an air of possession about it. It had always been like he was making a physical statement of "this is mine". Andy's barely perceptible touch, conveyed a simple "I want to make sure you get where you're going without bumping into too many people." She shook her head to clear it when she realised Andy was actually speaking to her.
"If you REALLY want to piss him off, call him Louie" Andy offered. "I tried it twice earlier today, and it took everything he had not to bite my head off, because he was too busy chastising me. He ignored me deliberately, but I think if you try, it'll push him over the top." "I'll reserve that for future reference" she told him with a tiny snort.
Reaching the ballroom itself, Andy offered her his elbow, and they walked in together, both glancing around to see who else might already be there. Her floor-length deep purple gown provided the perfect match to Andy's paler purple shirt and deep purple and red accessories, and her ever-present stilettos provided enough height to bring the top of her head level with his nose. Some couples blend easily into a crowd of well-dressed professional and semi-professional people. This couple couldn't help but stand out. There was no inequality visible. These were two incredibly attractive, powerful presences, standing side-by-side as equals. Perhaps that was why they'd managed to get away with a year of being a couple, without anyone actually pointing it out to them besides Rusty, who was in a more qualified position to judge.
Heads turned as they stood looking for their place in the crowd. It took five seconds for Provenza to make himself visible by waving both hands above his head, like ground control waving a plane onto the tarmac.
"Oh what a surprise" Andy whispered into her ear.
"At least Patrice is here to keep him under control" she chuckled back, as they headed toward the table he was waving from.
"Nice of you to join us Flynn, Captain." Provenza greeted them both.
"Bite me. Not everyone wants to be here early enough to watch the crowd roll in" Andy threw back at him.
"You two look... well if you don't mind me saying so... stunning" Patrice told Sharon, who blushed immediately, having never been very good at accepting compliments.
"Likewise Patrice!" she managed. "I'm glad you're here to referee this pair" she told the other woman, waving her hand between the two men.
"He's promised to be on his best behaviour" she promised, and the three of them had a chuckle at Provenza's expense while he stared at them open-mouthed.
"Well that's just lovely. I don't need any referee. I just need this idiot not to be an idiot, and we'll all be just fine" he stated.
Finding their place cards, Sharon was delighted to find by reading the place tags, that not only were they seated with Provenza and Patrice for Andy's sake, but that Andrea and Gavin had signed on to attend together, and had been seated with them as well, along with Steven Grove and his wife Natalie, and Mike & Kathy Tao. The rest of their own team had bowed out gracefully at the prospect of spending $500 on a single ticket, even if it was for charity.
The consummate gentleman, Andy offered Sharon her seat, and waited for her to settle, before taking his seat beside her.
"It's so nice to see there are SOME gentlemen left in this politically correct world Andy" Patrice told him, eyeing Provenza as she did so.
"Oh yeah.. he's just full of old-world charm" Provenza told her. "He's full of many things" he added, looking at Andy to make his point.
"Blow it out your.."
"Gentlemen!" Sharon interrupted. "Do we need to divide the sandbox tonight, or can the two of you play nicely?"
The table started to fill as the remaining guests filtered in. Gavin steered Andrea toward the table, eyeing Sharon and Andy as he approached.
"Well!" he exclaimed as he leant down to kiss her cheek "At least you had a REASON to turn me down I guess." he said looking between her and Andy.
"That grub Goldman had the audacity to ask me to come with him." Andrea said. "Imagine my delight when I found you had rejected Gavin's invitation, leaving him shattered, but available to save me from that fate." She added and giggled as she sat down beside Sharon.
"Gavin knew perfectly well that Andy had offered to escort me tonight" she told Andrea.
"Oh hey, no question about it" Gavin interjected "If that man had asked me, I'd have ditched myself too!"
It was Andy's turn to blush, as he stood to go to the bar. Provenza took this as his opportunity to get him alone and remind him of the fool he was not going to make of himself.
"Flynn! Wait up. Don't think I've EVER seen you this quiet. Nice to know you decided to actually listen to me for a change."
"Why don't you go play a nice little game of hide-and-go-fuck-yourself Provenza?" Andy answered him.
"Andy... I'm only looking out for you. It's what friends DO!" "So I'm supposed to be grateful you think I'm an idiot? I'm supposed to say thank you for the fact that you think Sharon couldn't possibly be in any way interested in a lowlife like me? Gee... who the fuck needs enemies with a friend like you Provenza? Listen, I don't give a flying fuck at a rolling donut what you or anyone else thinks, and I would very much appreciate it if you shut your fucking pie-hole on the subject. Do we understand each other?"
"Crystal clear Flynn." he answered as he turned and headed back to the table.
Andy gave himself 2 minutes silence at the bar, to regain his composure, and headed back with drinks.
Having witnessed the flushed face and generally grumpier-than-usual demeanour of the older man who returned to the table first, Sharon guessed that the two had had words. She decided it was time to put paid to Provenza's underestimation of his friend, at least where she was concerned. By the time Andy returned, the table had filled completely with the arrival of the Taos and Groves. All being fairly well acquainted through interactions at work, they were all chatting away pleasantly when Andy reached them. As he put their drinks on the table, Sharon reached out and touched his arm to get his attention. The minute their eyes locked, he felt the tension drain away. She had an uncanny ability to identify and diffuse his temper in a way nobody had ever done. Her touch told him not only that she understood what had most probably just happened, but also reassured him that none of it mattered, because she was right there, beside him... with him.
Provenza noted the gesture and grunted, sure it was a sympathetic pat on the head for the Captain's new puppy.
Just as their meals were being brought to the table, Andrea reached over and whispered to Sharon "Don't look now but..."
She didn't need to say more.
Jack Raydor strode toward their table, with his joker-like smile pasted into place.
"Sha-Ron... you look wonderful. I thought you detested these functions" he said as he circled his arm around the twenty-something blonde who giggled up to his side.
"Jack" she answered, without missing a beat "With the right company, any function can be delightful." With that statement, she put one hand on Andy's knee, and levelled her most potent Darth Raydor glare at her ex-husband.
"I see you have new toys to play with Jack. Don't let us keep you." she finished and leaned up to whisper in Andy's ear.
"I have no idea what I'm whispering in your ear Andy, but LAUGH... NOW" she giggled, and on cue, Andy responded in kind, their laughter serving to completely obliterate anyone's interest in the Jack and Barbie show.
Jack wandered away pouting at having been dismissed.
"I hate him." was heard from the other side of the table, and all eyes turned simultaneously to Mike Tao who had been chatting with the Groves.
"Did I actually say that out loud?" Mike asked, looking a little embarrassed and the entire table erupted with laughter. Steven Grove slapped a hand on Mike's shoulder and told him "All good Mike. You were just giving life to what the whole table was thinking."
"Are you alright?" Andy asked her quietly.
"Yeah I'm fine. I didn't need to see him tonight, but then I don't need to see him EVER. No big deal."
"I should have asked him if he picked his date up after school, but I didn't think of it fast enough." Andy chuckled.
"My mother taught me to give my old toys to the less fortunate" Sharon told him "and I didn't think of that in time either."
Andrea noticed for the first time exactly how comfortable Sharon and Andy appeared to be together, when having eaten half of their respective meals, they swapped plates.
"Excuse me. What did you just do?" she stared Sharon down defying her not to answer.
"What are you talking about?" Sharon asked her, truly not sure what she was asking.
"I saw that too" Gavin piped in, raising his eyebrows.
"Well since everyone's noticing" Groves turned his attention to them "did you just switch plates?"
"Well, we both liked the sound of the salmon as well as the pasta option" Andy answered for her with a shrug and a Flynn grin a mile wide.
Provenza looked up wide-eyed as though seeing his friend for the very first time. "It's like I don't even KNOW you anymore Flynn." he grumbled.
"Good grief! Is it a big deal?" Sharon asked.
"Not for a couple it's not" Gavin squinted an accusation at her "But you're going to get Flynn's cooties Sharon." Andy stifled his laughter, thinking about the kind of cooties they'd shared over the past year, and the people around them who had not a clue. As if reading his mind, Sharon glanced at him and blushed.