"Oh God no, you've got to be kidding me."
"I'm serious."
"No. We are leaving right now and we are going somewhere that doesn't have carollers and Santas and fluffy white crap that supposed to be snow!"
Faith pulled her purse, which had begun to slide down her shoulder, back up and shot Bosco a look. "You wanted to find something for your mom, and for me apparently and I think the mall is the best place to do that. Besides, where's all that Christmas cheer you were extolling the virtues of the other day?"
"I lost it the minute that I came face to face with a man dressed as an elf. Guys should not wear tights!" Bosco tried very hard to forget that mental picture.
Faith sighed. It was just like dealing with one of her children. "Let's just get this over with and if you behave, I promise that I'll cancel those red and green striped tights that I have on order for you and buy you something better."
"Fine, but you'd better be kidding about the tights. Where do we start?"
"How about that kiosk over there? It looks like they might have some neat stuff."
"Neat stuff. Oh joy."
Faith started towards the kiosk with Bosco trailing along behind her. A harried looking mother with a small boy on a leash ran past them. "Hey Bos," Faith said, stepping up to the kiosk. "You think I could get one of those leashes for you?"
"Real funny Yokas." Bosco muttered and picked up a wooden thing that vaguely resembled a elephant with a missing ear. "What the hell is this thing for? And what the hell is it?"
Faith took it from him and turned it around, looking at it from all angles. "Might be an elephant." she said finally. "An ugly wooden elephant that costs fifty bucks." She set it back down next to a wooden lion. It was a veritable safari at that kiosk.
"I don't think my mom wants that." Bosco said then reached over and picked up a candle. "What about this? This is nice."
"A candle?"
"Sure, why not? Candles are good. They're pretty, this one smells like strawberries and they're useful too. I'll just get her this, you want one too?"
"Uh," Faith reached over and took the candle out of Bosco's hands. "Don't you want to look around a little more? If you really like this candle, we can always come back and get it."
Bosco looked disappointed and gazed longingly at the candle. "Fine." he muttered. "Put it down. I guess we'll look around a bit more."
Faith set the candle back down and then glanced over at a green, wooden sign post. "Santa's this way Bosco. You wanna go see him?" Faith grinned, anticipating Bosco's response.
"Do you want to sit on Santa's lap?" Bosco asked. "You can tell him what a good girl you've been this year."
"Oh no, I thought you could sit on his lap and we could get your picture taken. Then I'll put it up at the front desk at the precinct. Officer Boscorelli meets Santa Claus."
"You're a real comedian, you know that Yokas? Look at me, I just can't stop laughing!"
Faith shrugged and tugged on her purse again. "Okay fine, we'll skip Santa this year. Do you want to check out the chocolate shop? I think there's one down that way."
"My mom likes fudge." Bosco said. "I'll get her some of that and then after we find something for you, we can go."
Faith checked her watch. "We still have five hours until our shift starts. I don't see why you're in such a rush." She weaved around a man laden down with parcels and then slowed her pace down so Bosco could catch up with her.
"I hate crowds. There's something about being here right now that makes me want to pull my gun and start shooting." Bosco replied, falling into step beside Faith.
Faith laughed slightly. "I know what you mean, but there's also something about being caught up in the Christmas rush that I always found appealing. Look around and you know that everyone is doing the same things you are."
"I suppose." Bosco said doubtfully. "Did you say that you've already finished your shopping?"
Faith nodded. "I did, but the more I think about it, the more I think that I should get something else for Em. I got a Gameboy for Charlie and all I got Emily was a sweater."
"You haven't mailed them yet?"
Faith shook her head. "No, I've been meaning to, but something always seems to come up. Like a snowstorm for instance. They're going to be late arriving but kids don't mind late presents. For them it's like Christmas all over again."
They reached the chocolate shop and stepped inside. It was crowded and the employees working behind the counter were struggling to keep up with the orders being shouted at them. Faith wormed her way between two other women and picked through a basket filled with gift bags. "Bosco," Faith held up a bag tied with a purple ribbon. "What about this?"
Bosco tried to step closer and ended up stepping on a woman's foot. The lady cried out in pain and glared at Bosco. "Sorry." Bosco said, not really sounding as if he meant it. "What about what?" he asked Faith.
Faith turned around and shoved the bag in Bosco's face. "This. It's got various kinds of fudge in it. Maple walnut, chocolate, chocolate ripple..."
Bosco took the bag and peered inside it. "Maybe."
"Maybe? You were all for getting the fudge and running before."
"Don't you think it's a little expensive?"
Faith glanced at the price marked on the outside of the box she'd pulled it from. "Twenty bucks isn't that bad for good fudge Bos."
"I'll think about it. I'm on a pretty tight budget this year."
"Aren't you always?" Faith asked. "Where does all your money go to anyway?"
Bosco took a step backwards and bumped into an older woman. The woman swung her bags at Bosco and muttered something about inconsiderate young men these days. "I have bills too." Bosco replied. He wisely chose to ignore the woman who had hit him. "Electricity, cable, gas, car insurance..."
Faith put the fudge back into the box. "I still think you should have more money left over than you do, but fine. Do you want to look somewhere else now?"
Bosco nodded eagerly. "Let's get out of this story. The people in here are crazy." Bosco directed the last comment towards the older woman with the shopping bags.
_______________
"I can't believe we've been here for two hours already and we haven't bought anything!" Bosco complained as he dipped his fries into some ketchup. He and Faith were taking a break for lunch in the foodcourt.
"Well if you wouldn't keep saying no to everything but cheap candles." Faith replied and stabbed at her salad with her fork. A piece of lettuce jumped off the plate and landed on her lap. "Dammit." Faith muttered and picked up a napkin and dabbed at the salad dressing that was now adorning her jeans.
"Maybe I will get her that bag of fudge." Bosco said and popped another fry into his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment and then said, "That just leaves you."
Faith looked up from her dabbing. "I already told you that you don't need to get me anything."
Bosco picked up his drink and took a sip. "Not even a candle?" he said, setting the cup back down.
"No Bosco, not even a candle."
"Is this all part of the Faith Yokas pity party?" Bosco asked.
"The Faith Yokas pity party?" Faith repeated and crumpled up her napkin. She squeezed it in her hand and then threw it onto her tray.
"Yeah, the whole my husband left me and took my children so now I'm not going to let anyone do anything nice for me ever again thing."
"It's got nothing to do with that Bosco." Faith said and narrowed her eyes slightly. "You hardly ever buy me a card let alone a present, why suddenly start now?"
"Because I used to be a horrible person and now I'm a changed man?" Bosco looked at Faith, hoping his explanation would pass.
Faith shook her head. "No, it's because you feel sorry for me."
Bosco stood up and gathered up his garbage onto his tray. "I don't feel sorry for you Faith." he said. "I feel sorry with you." He picked up his tray and walked over to the nearest garbage can.
Faith picked up her own tray and followed him. "You feel sorry with me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She watched Bosco dump his garbage into the trash can.
"You're upset that Fred left." Bosco said, setting his tray on top of the trash can. "And I'm feeling sorry about that with you." Faith frowned and pushed open the trash can flap and threw the tray in. Bosco looked at the flap. "I'm no expert on these things Faith, but I think you're only supposed to throw the garbage in, not the entire tray."
"It slipped from my hand!" Faith said and peered into the trash. "I can see it in there."
"Take it out." Bosco said, also peering in.
"I'm not reaching into the trash!"
"Oh come on, you've had your hands in much worse." Bosco said. "You have two kids. Dirty diapers, puke..."
Faith sighed and stuck one arm into the can. "I can't quite reach it!" she said and tried to shove her arm in further. "I can feel it, but I can't pick it up. Are your arms longer than mine?"
Bosco looked at his arms and shrugged. "Maybe, I'll give it a try." Faith pulled her arm out and Bosco stuck his in.
"Can you reach it?" Faith asked, peering over Bosco's shoulder.
Bosco grunted. "Just a little bit further..."
"Well, well, well, Bosco and Yokas. I thought that was you! Picking through the trash now are we?"
Faith looked up and immediately wanted to crawl inside the trash can. "Sergeant Christopher." she said, nodding her head slightly.
Christopher smiled; a small, evil smile. Bosco gave another grunt and removed his arm from the trash, with the tray in hand. "Got it!" he said triumphantly and set the tray down on top of his own. "Jason." Bosco muttered and wiped something green off his sleeve.
"The police department must not be paying well these days if its officers have to go dumpster diving." Christopher said.
"Faith accidentally threw her tray in." Bosco said hotly. "We weren't dumpster diving."
"Oh Yokas," Christopher said, turning his gaze from Bosco to Faith. "I heard about your husband. That's so sad when that happens."
"That's none of your business." Faith said, clenching her fists. "Who told you about that?"
Christopher shrugged. "Word gets around Yokas, no one told me. When you start getting your superior officers to do you favours, someone's going to know about it."
Bosco was glaring at Christopher. "Down Bosco." Faith muttered and glanced at Bosco from the corner of her eye.
Christopher grinned smugly and straightened his jacket. "Well, now that I've gotten my holiday shopping finished, I think I'll head back into the city again." He gave the few bags he held in his hand a swing. "You two had better not be late for your shift."
"Don't worry about us." Bosco said and Christopher turned around and walked away. "Who the hell does he have to buy presents for?" Bosco asked once Christopher was safe distance away.
Faith shrugged. "Satan."
Bosco laughed. "I guess we'd better hurry up and buy something. Christopher will probably put us on a skewer and roast us for dinner if we're late today. Didn't you say that you wanted to get something else for Em?"
Faith nodded. "I wanted to check out that accessories store that was next to the lingerie place. Maybe get her a necklace or a pair of earrings."
"Do you want some lingerie?"
Faith looked at Bosco, her eyes wide. "Excuse me?"
Bosco shrugged. "It was just a question. I'm still going to get you something and I thought maybe you'd want some sexy lingerie."
"Yes Bosco, I want some lingerie, never mind that I have no one that wants to see me in it. I'm going to wear that itchy, uncomfortable stuff on the off chance that I get lucky after a night at the bar."
Bosco held up a hand. "Whoa! I didn't need to know that much! I just thought that women liked that kind of stuff."
"Maybe some do, but I don't. Give me plain cotton any day."
"Granny panties." Bosco said under his breath.
"Pardon?"
"I said granny panties!"
Faith gave Bosco a look of disbelief. "Are you going to tell me that you only like girls that wear lacy thongs and push-up bras?"
"I can't believe I'm having this discussion with you."
"You started it." Faith said and stepped aside for a young man who was trying to reach the trash can.
"I just asked you if you wanted some lingerie for Christmas! I didn't need to know about your underwear preference or discuss what I want my girlfriends to wear under their clothes!"
The young man throwing out his garbage looked at Bosco. "I hear you man." he said and then walked away.
"See!" Bosco said. "That guy agrees with me."
"Alright, fine. This discussion is over. Let's just go to the accessories store and forget all about underwear."
"Fine." Bosco started walking out of the foodcourt. Faith hurried to catch up with him and Bosco looked at her. "But aren't you even going to ask me about boxers or briefs?"
"I already know that one Bosco. You parade around in the locker room, or did you forget about that?"
Bosco looked indignant. "I do not."
Faith nodded. "Yeah, you do."
"Do not."
"Yes."
"No."
______________
It was almost two o'clock and Bosco was sitting on a bench while Faith dashed into the ladies' room. He had picked up the fudge for his mom and Faith had bought a pair of earrings and a necklace for Emily. Bosco had tried to convince Faith to let him buy her a sweater she'd been admiring but she had walked away and pretended she didn't like it that much.
"Geez Faith, could you take any longer?" Bosco said to himself. "This bench isn't exactly comfortable." He shifted his butt around and grimaced.
A middle-aged woman sat down next to Bosco and dumped a pile of bags at her feet. Bosco looked at her and gave her a half smile. The woman kicked a bag that had fallen over. "Every year I have to buy more things." she said and then looked at the two small bags Bosco was holding. "Guess you didn't have much to buy huh?"
"Not that many people in my life." Bosco replied, not really wanting to get into a conversation with the woman.
"Oh come on, a handsome guy like you? You must have a wife, if not a girlfriend."
Bosco shook his head. "Not at the moment. Can't seem to hold onto any of them."
The woman snorted and pushed her greying hair back from her face. "Who are sitting here waiting for then?"
"How did you know that I'm waiting for someone?"
The woman smiled. "I heard you, before I sat down. You said something about Faith taking too long. Faith must be someone."
Bosco looked down at his hands. "Oh, she's my partner. I'm a cop, she's a cop. We're partners."
"And friends if you're shopping with her." The woman gave her bag another kick and looked at Bosco, waiting for confirmation.
"Yeah, she's my friend." Bosco said, wondering why this woman was being so nosy. He looked towards the bathroom door as it opened and prayed that it would be Faith walking out but it wasn't. It was a young mother with a small baby in her arms.
"Me, I have to buy presents for the kids, for the husband, for my sisters, for my brothers, for my co-workers, for the neighbours..."
"Sounds expensive." Bosco said, not taking his eyes off the door.
"Extremely. I spent over two hundred dollars today alone. So do you just buy a gift for your partner and that's it?"
Bosco felt slightly guilty about not wanting to spend even twenty dollars on some fudge for his mother and said, "Uh no, actually she won't let me get her anything. I had to buy something for my mom and this other bag isn't mine."
"Did you just snatch it from some poor, helpless old lady?"
Bosco raised his eyebrows. "No, it's Faith's!"
"Relax, I was just kidding. You said that you're a cop, so I doubt that you go around mugging old women." The woman chuckled.
The bathroom door opened again and Bosco was greatly relieved to see Faith's blonde head appear. He stood up and smiled at the woman. "She's finally done." he said. "Nice talking to you."
"Is she that pretty blonde?" The woman was looking in Faith's direction. Faith was making a beeline for the bench.
"Yeah, that's her." Bosco said and then turned towards Faith. "What the hell took you so long? Did you fall in or somethin'?"
"Does it matter what took me so long?" Faith asked. "Besides, I see that you've made a friend."
"She's not a friend." Bosco muttered out of the corner of his mouth. "She's just being nosy."
Faith took her bag from Bosco's hand. "If you say so. We'd better get going and hope the traffic isn't too bad on the way back into the city."
Bosco cast one last glance towards the nosy woman and then he and Faith hurried through the mall and out into the parking lot. "Where did we park?" Faith asked, looking around at the multitude of cars scattered about.
"Over there I think." Bosco said, pointing to his left. "I remember thinking it was by that big post."
"Sounds about right." Faith pulled her jacket close around her. "It's freezing out here."
"It's December. It's always freezing out here."
Faith stepped over a patch of ice and they hurried across the parking lot. They walked up and down a few aisles, but couldn't find Bosco's car. "I could have sworn this is where we parked." Bosco muttered and glanced up at the post. "I remember reading the hit and run sign on that post!"
Faith nodded. "I do too, but I don't see your car."
"Great, just great. We're going to be late for work because I can't find my damn car!" Bosco stomped his foot on the ground to emphasize his anger.
"It's gotta be around here somewhere." Faith said reasonably. "We just have to keep looking."
"Did you lock your door?"
Faith looked at Bosco. "What kind of question is that? Of course I locked my door! You don't think that someone stole the car do you?"
Bosco gritted his teeth. "It's a nice car." he said. "Son of a bitch!"
"Calm down Bos. Let's just look around a bit more." Faith touched Bosco's shoulder and they headed towards the next aisle over.
Ten minutes later they still hadn't found the car and Bosco was more than a little pissed off. "I can't believe some jag-off actually stole my car! You don't steal a cop's car!"
"What, you have an 'I'm a cop' sign on your car now?"
"No, but the bastards should know!" Bosco clenched his fists and wanted to punch the nearest object.
"I guess we'd better make a call to the nearest precinct and report it." Faith said and sighed. "We're going to be late for work."
"My car got stolen, Yokas! Do you think I care that we're going to be late for work?"
________________
"So let me get this straight, you're Officer Boscorelli from the 5-5 and your car was stolen in our precinct?"
"Yes, I was shopping at your mall, which by the way sucks! And when my partner and I went to leave, my car was gone!" Bosco slammed his fist down on the desk and stared defiantly at the officer taking his report.
Faith stood behind Bosco and winced as his fist hit the desk. The officer sitting behind the desk flinched but didn't back away. "Can you give me a description of the car?"
"A blue 1973 Mach I Mustang."
"License plate number?" Bosco rattled off the license number. "Nice car." the officer said. "Shame that somebody stole it."
"You're preaching to the choir here buddy." Bosco said and glared at the officer.
"You know the drill I'm sure." the officer said. "We'll send a description of the vehicle out over the radio and hopefully something turns up."
"Great. Can I use your phone?"
The officer nodded and then stood up. "I'll get the description out now."
Bosco picked up the phone and dialled the number for the 5-5. Faith raked a hand through her hair and listened as Bosco yelled at whoever answered the phone. She checked her watch and saw that they were already late for their shift. Christopher and Swersky were going to be pissed.
"We'll be there when we get there!" Bosco yelled and then slammed down the phone.
"Who did you talk to?" Faith asked even though she had a pretty good idea who it was.
"Christopher." Bosco replied. "Says that when we get there, he wants to see us immediately. He's probably got us all set up for some babysitting job or worse."
Faith offered Bosco a small smile. "I guess we'd better find a train station and get to work."
Bosco nodded and they left the office that they were. "Hey you!" Bosco called over to a young officer who was at the front desk. "Where's the nearest train station?"
"Three blocks east and then one block north. It's not hard to spot."
"Thanks." Faith replied and she and Bosco stepped outside.
It was snowing again, hard pellets of snow this time. Bosco shook his head. "Could this day get any worse?"
"Knock on wood Bos. I'm sure it could, but I doubt that it will."
"I'm telling you now, if these morons in this precinct don't get their act together and find the bastard that stole my car, you and I are driving over here and getting the job done ourselves!"
"I think this is slightly out of our sector." Faith replied. "I doubt Christopher would be too happy to find out that we've taken off."
"Screw Christopher, it's my car."
They reached the train station and walked down the steps to the platform. A small crowd of people was waiting, some were reading newspapers and drinking coffee and others just stood there and attempted to look suitably bored.
Bosco leaned against a wall that was covered with graffiti and crossed his arms. Faith stood beside him, but didn't lean against the wall. "It's going to take us at least an hour to get to the precinct." Faith said and looked at her watch again. "It'll be 5:00 by the time we're ready to start patrol."
"Are you trying to tell me that this is my fault?" Bosco titled his head to the side and looked at Faith.
"No, I'm not saying that, I'm just saying that this is probably going to go down on our records. Christopher knows that we're late because we were shopping."
"We're late because my car got stolen, not because we were shopping."
"You know that's not how he's going to see it." Faith said and sighed. A few more people descended the stairs and joined the crowd on the platform.
"You want me to talk to him? Tell him that it's my fault? Maybe he won't put anything in your jacket. God knows I'm already screwed up enough. Another note won't matter much."
Faith shook her head. "No, don't do that."
A low rumble came from down the tracks and people began to move closer to the edge of the platform. Bosco and Faith joined them. The train pulled up and the doors slid open. A few people got off the train and then everyone piled on in. Bosco and Faith found themselves standing. "You look tired." Bosco commented as the doors slid shut again.
Faith nodded. "I am. With everyone that's gone on these past few days..."
"Christmas can be a real bitch." Bosco said and grabbed ahold of a pole as the train began to move.
"I'm serious."
"No. We are leaving right now and we are going somewhere that doesn't have carollers and Santas and fluffy white crap that supposed to be snow!"
Faith pulled her purse, which had begun to slide down her shoulder, back up and shot Bosco a look. "You wanted to find something for your mom, and for me apparently and I think the mall is the best place to do that. Besides, where's all that Christmas cheer you were extolling the virtues of the other day?"
"I lost it the minute that I came face to face with a man dressed as an elf. Guys should not wear tights!" Bosco tried very hard to forget that mental picture.
Faith sighed. It was just like dealing with one of her children. "Let's just get this over with and if you behave, I promise that I'll cancel those red and green striped tights that I have on order for you and buy you something better."
"Fine, but you'd better be kidding about the tights. Where do we start?"
"How about that kiosk over there? It looks like they might have some neat stuff."
"Neat stuff. Oh joy."
Faith started towards the kiosk with Bosco trailing along behind her. A harried looking mother with a small boy on a leash ran past them. "Hey Bos," Faith said, stepping up to the kiosk. "You think I could get one of those leashes for you?"
"Real funny Yokas." Bosco muttered and picked up a wooden thing that vaguely resembled a elephant with a missing ear. "What the hell is this thing for? And what the hell is it?"
Faith took it from him and turned it around, looking at it from all angles. "Might be an elephant." she said finally. "An ugly wooden elephant that costs fifty bucks." She set it back down next to a wooden lion. It was a veritable safari at that kiosk.
"I don't think my mom wants that." Bosco said then reached over and picked up a candle. "What about this? This is nice."
"A candle?"
"Sure, why not? Candles are good. They're pretty, this one smells like strawberries and they're useful too. I'll just get her this, you want one too?"
"Uh," Faith reached over and took the candle out of Bosco's hands. "Don't you want to look around a little more? If you really like this candle, we can always come back and get it."
Bosco looked disappointed and gazed longingly at the candle. "Fine." he muttered. "Put it down. I guess we'll look around a bit more."
Faith set the candle back down and then glanced over at a green, wooden sign post. "Santa's this way Bosco. You wanna go see him?" Faith grinned, anticipating Bosco's response.
"Do you want to sit on Santa's lap?" Bosco asked. "You can tell him what a good girl you've been this year."
"Oh no, I thought you could sit on his lap and we could get your picture taken. Then I'll put it up at the front desk at the precinct. Officer Boscorelli meets Santa Claus."
"You're a real comedian, you know that Yokas? Look at me, I just can't stop laughing!"
Faith shrugged and tugged on her purse again. "Okay fine, we'll skip Santa this year. Do you want to check out the chocolate shop? I think there's one down that way."
"My mom likes fudge." Bosco said. "I'll get her some of that and then after we find something for you, we can go."
Faith checked her watch. "We still have five hours until our shift starts. I don't see why you're in such a rush." She weaved around a man laden down with parcels and then slowed her pace down so Bosco could catch up with her.
"I hate crowds. There's something about being here right now that makes me want to pull my gun and start shooting." Bosco replied, falling into step beside Faith.
Faith laughed slightly. "I know what you mean, but there's also something about being caught up in the Christmas rush that I always found appealing. Look around and you know that everyone is doing the same things you are."
"I suppose." Bosco said doubtfully. "Did you say that you've already finished your shopping?"
Faith nodded. "I did, but the more I think about it, the more I think that I should get something else for Em. I got a Gameboy for Charlie and all I got Emily was a sweater."
"You haven't mailed them yet?"
Faith shook her head. "No, I've been meaning to, but something always seems to come up. Like a snowstorm for instance. They're going to be late arriving but kids don't mind late presents. For them it's like Christmas all over again."
They reached the chocolate shop and stepped inside. It was crowded and the employees working behind the counter were struggling to keep up with the orders being shouted at them. Faith wormed her way between two other women and picked through a basket filled with gift bags. "Bosco," Faith held up a bag tied with a purple ribbon. "What about this?"
Bosco tried to step closer and ended up stepping on a woman's foot. The lady cried out in pain and glared at Bosco. "Sorry." Bosco said, not really sounding as if he meant it. "What about what?" he asked Faith.
Faith turned around and shoved the bag in Bosco's face. "This. It's got various kinds of fudge in it. Maple walnut, chocolate, chocolate ripple..."
Bosco took the bag and peered inside it. "Maybe."
"Maybe? You were all for getting the fudge and running before."
"Don't you think it's a little expensive?"
Faith glanced at the price marked on the outside of the box she'd pulled it from. "Twenty bucks isn't that bad for good fudge Bos."
"I'll think about it. I'm on a pretty tight budget this year."
"Aren't you always?" Faith asked. "Where does all your money go to anyway?"
Bosco took a step backwards and bumped into an older woman. The woman swung her bags at Bosco and muttered something about inconsiderate young men these days. "I have bills too." Bosco replied. He wisely chose to ignore the woman who had hit him. "Electricity, cable, gas, car insurance..."
Faith put the fudge back into the box. "I still think you should have more money left over than you do, but fine. Do you want to look somewhere else now?"
Bosco nodded eagerly. "Let's get out of this story. The people in here are crazy." Bosco directed the last comment towards the older woman with the shopping bags.
_______________
"I can't believe we've been here for two hours already and we haven't bought anything!" Bosco complained as he dipped his fries into some ketchup. He and Faith were taking a break for lunch in the foodcourt.
"Well if you wouldn't keep saying no to everything but cheap candles." Faith replied and stabbed at her salad with her fork. A piece of lettuce jumped off the plate and landed on her lap. "Dammit." Faith muttered and picked up a napkin and dabbed at the salad dressing that was now adorning her jeans.
"Maybe I will get her that bag of fudge." Bosco said and popped another fry into his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment and then said, "That just leaves you."
Faith looked up from her dabbing. "I already told you that you don't need to get me anything."
Bosco picked up his drink and took a sip. "Not even a candle?" he said, setting the cup back down.
"No Bosco, not even a candle."
"Is this all part of the Faith Yokas pity party?" Bosco asked.
"The Faith Yokas pity party?" Faith repeated and crumpled up her napkin. She squeezed it in her hand and then threw it onto her tray.
"Yeah, the whole my husband left me and took my children so now I'm not going to let anyone do anything nice for me ever again thing."
"It's got nothing to do with that Bosco." Faith said and narrowed her eyes slightly. "You hardly ever buy me a card let alone a present, why suddenly start now?"
"Because I used to be a horrible person and now I'm a changed man?" Bosco looked at Faith, hoping his explanation would pass.
Faith shook her head. "No, it's because you feel sorry for me."
Bosco stood up and gathered up his garbage onto his tray. "I don't feel sorry for you Faith." he said. "I feel sorry with you." He picked up his tray and walked over to the nearest garbage can.
Faith picked up her own tray and followed him. "You feel sorry with me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She watched Bosco dump his garbage into the trash can.
"You're upset that Fred left." Bosco said, setting his tray on top of the trash can. "And I'm feeling sorry about that with you." Faith frowned and pushed open the trash can flap and threw the tray in. Bosco looked at the flap. "I'm no expert on these things Faith, but I think you're only supposed to throw the garbage in, not the entire tray."
"It slipped from my hand!" Faith said and peered into the trash. "I can see it in there."
"Take it out." Bosco said, also peering in.
"I'm not reaching into the trash!"
"Oh come on, you've had your hands in much worse." Bosco said. "You have two kids. Dirty diapers, puke..."
Faith sighed and stuck one arm into the can. "I can't quite reach it!" she said and tried to shove her arm in further. "I can feel it, but I can't pick it up. Are your arms longer than mine?"
Bosco looked at his arms and shrugged. "Maybe, I'll give it a try." Faith pulled her arm out and Bosco stuck his in.
"Can you reach it?" Faith asked, peering over Bosco's shoulder.
Bosco grunted. "Just a little bit further..."
"Well, well, well, Bosco and Yokas. I thought that was you! Picking through the trash now are we?"
Faith looked up and immediately wanted to crawl inside the trash can. "Sergeant Christopher." she said, nodding her head slightly.
Christopher smiled; a small, evil smile. Bosco gave another grunt and removed his arm from the trash, with the tray in hand. "Got it!" he said triumphantly and set the tray down on top of his own. "Jason." Bosco muttered and wiped something green off his sleeve.
"The police department must not be paying well these days if its officers have to go dumpster diving." Christopher said.
"Faith accidentally threw her tray in." Bosco said hotly. "We weren't dumpster diving."
"Oh Yokas," Christopher said, turning his gaze from Bosco to Faith. "I heard about your husband. That's so sad when that happens."
"That's none of your business." Faith said, clenching her fists. "Who told you about that?"
Christopher shrugged. "Word gets around Yokas, no one told me. When you start getting your superior officers to do you favours, someone's going to know about it."
Bosco was glaring at Christopher. "Down Bosco." Faith muttered and glanced at Bosco from the corner of her eye.
Christopher grinned smugly and straightened his jacket. "Well, now that I've gotten my holiday shopping finished, I think I'll head back into the city again." He gave the few bags he held in his hand a swing. "You two had better not be late for your shift."
"Don't worry about us." Bosco said and Christopher turned around and walked away. "Who the hell does he have to buy presents for?" Bosco asked once Christopher was safe distance away.
Faith shrugged. "Satan."
Bosco laughed. "I guess we'd better hurry up and buy something. Christopher will probably put us on a skewer and roast us for dinner if we're late today. Didn't you say that you wanted to get something else for Em?"
Faith nodded. "I wanted to check out that accessories store that was next to the lingerie place. Maybe get her a necklace or a pair of earrings."
"Do you want some lingerie?"
Faith looked at Bosco, her eyes wide. "Excuse me?"
Bosco shrugged. "It was just a question. I'm still going to get you something and I thought maybe you'd want some sexy lingerie."
"Yes Bosco, I want some lingerie, never mind that I have no one that wants to see me in it. I'm going to wear that itchy, uncomfortable stuff on the off chance that I get lucky after a night at the bar."
Bosco held up a hand. "Whoa! I didn't need to know that much! I just thought that women liked that kind of stuff."
"Maybe some do, but I don't. Give me plain cotton any day."
"Granny panties." Bosco said under his breath.
"Pardon?"
"I said granny panties!"
Faith gave Bosco a look of disbelief. "Are you going to tell me that you only like girls that wear lacy thongs and push-up bras?"
"I can't believe I'm having this discussion with you."
"You started it." Faith said and stepped aside for a young man who was trying to reach the trash can.
"I just asked you if you wanted some lingerie for Christmas! I didn't need to know about your underwear preference or discuss what I want my girlfriends to wear under their clothes!"
The young man throwing out his garbage looked at Bosco. "I hear you man." he said and then walked away.
"See!" Bosco said. "That guy agrees with me."
"Alright, fine. This discussion is over. Let's just go to the accessories store and forget all about underwear."
"Fine." Bosco started walking out of the foodcourt. Faith hurried to catch up with him and Bosco looked at her. "But aren't you even going to ask me about boxers or briefs?"
"I already know that one Bosco. You parade around in the locker room, or did you forget about that?"
Bosco looked indignant. "I do not."
Faith nodded. "Yeah, you do."
"Do not."
"Yes."
"No."
______________
It was almost two o'clock and Bosco was sitting on a bench while Faith dashed into the ladies' room. He had picked up the fudge for his mom and Faith had bought a pair of earrings and a necklace for Emily. Bosco had tried to convince Faith to let him buy her a sweater she'd been admiring but she had walked away and pretended she didn't like it that much.
"Geez Faith, could you take any longer?" Bosco said to himself. "This bench isn't exactly comfortable." He shifted his butt around and grimaced.
A middle-aged woman sat down next to Bosco and dumped a pile of bags at her feet. Bosco looked at her and gave her a half smile. The woman kicked a bag that had fallen over. "Every year I have to buy more things." she said and then looked at the two small bags Bosco was holding. "Guess you didn't have much to buy huh?"
"Not that many people in my life." Bosco replied, not really wanting to get into a conversation with the woman.
"Oh come on, a handsome guy like you? You must have a wife, if not a girlfriend."
Bosco shook his head. "Not at the moment. Can't seem to hold onto any of them."
The woman snorted and pushed her greying hair back from her face. "Who are sitting here waiting for then?"
"How did you know that I'm waiting for someone?"
The woman smiled. "I heard you, before I sat down. You said something about Faith taking too long. Faith must be someone."
Bosco looked down at his hands. "Oh, she's my partner. I'm a cop, she's a cop. We're partners."
"And friends if you're shopping with her." The woman gave her bag another kick and looked at Bosco, waiting for confirmation.
"Yeah, she's my friend." Bosco said, wondering why this woman was being so nosy. He looked towards the bathroom door as it opened and prayed that it would be Faith walking out but it wasn't. It was a young mother with a small baby in her arms.
"Me, I have to buy presents for the kids, for the husband, for my sisters, for my brothers, for my co-workers, for the neighbours..."
"Sounds expensive." Bosco said, not taking his eyes off the door.
"Extremely. I spent over two hundred dollars today alone. So do you just buy a gift for your partner and that's it?"
Bosco felt slightly guilty about not wanting to spend even twenty dollars on some fudge for his mother and said, "Uh no, actually she won't let me get her anything. I had to buy something for my mom and this other bag isn't mine."
"Did you just snatch it from some poor, helpless old lady?"
Bosco raised his eyebrows. "No, it's Faith's!"
"Relax, I was just kidding. You said that you're a cop, so I doubt that you go around mugging old women." The woman chuckled.
The bathroom door opened again and Bosco was greatly relieved to see Faith's blonde head appear. He stood up and smiled at the woman. "She's finally done." he said. "Nice talking to you."
"Is she that pretty blonde?" The woman was looking in Faith's direction. Faith was making a beeline for the bench.
"Yeah, that's her." Bosco said and then turned towards Faith. "What the hell took you so long? Did you fall in or somethin'?"
"Does it matter what took me so long?" Faith asked. "Besides, I see that you've made a friend."
"She's not a friend." Bosco muttered out of the corner of his mouth. "She's just being nosy."
Faith took her bag from Bosco's hand. "If you say so. We'd better get going and hope the traffic isn't too bad on the way back into the city."
Bosco cast one last glance towards the nosy woman and then he and Faith hurried through the mall and out into the parking lot. "Where did we park?" Faith asked, looking around at the multitude of cars scattered about.
"Over there I think." Bosco said, pointing to his left. "I remember thinking it was by that big post."
"Sounds about right." Faith pulled her jacket close around her. "It's freezing out here."
"It's December. It's always freezing out here."
Faith stepped over a patch of ice and they hurried across the parking lot. They walked up and down a few aisles, but couldn't find Bosco's car. "I could have sworn this is where we parked." Bosco muttered and glanced up at the post. "I remember reading the hit and run sign on that post!"
Faith nodded. "I do too, but I don't see your car."
"Great, just great. We're going to be late for work because I can't find my damn car!" Bosco stomped his foot on the ground to emphasize his anger.
"It's gotta be around here somewhere." Faith said reasonably. "We just have to keep looking."
"Did you lock your door?"
Faith looked at Bosco. "What kind of question is that? Of course I locked my door! You don't think that someone stole the car do you?"
Bosco gritted his teeth. "It's a nice car." he said. "Son of a bitch!"
"Calm down Bos. Let's just look around a bit more." Faith touched Bosco's shoulder and they headed towards the next aisle over.
Ten minutes later they still hadn't found the car and Bosco was more than a little pissed off. "I can't believe some jag-off actually stole my car! You don't steal a cop's car!"
"What, you have an 'I'm a cop' sign on your car now?"
"No, but the bastards should know!" Bosco clenched his fists and wanted to punch the nearest object.
"I guess we'd better make a call to the nearest precinct and report it." Faith said and sighed. "We're going to be late for work."
"My car got stolen, Yokas! Do you think I care that we're going to be late for work?"
________________
"So let me get this straight, you're Officer Boscorelli from the 5-5 and your car was stolen in our precinct?"
"Yes, I was shopping at your mall, which by the way sucks! And when my partner and I went to leave, my car was gone!" Bosco slammed his fist down on the desk and stared defiantly at the officer taking his report.
Faith stood behind Bosco and winced as his fist hit the desk. The officer sitting behind the desk flinched but didn't back away. "Can you give me a description of the car?"
"A blue 1973 Mach I Mustang."
"License plate number?" Bosco rattled off the license number. "Nice car." the officer said. "Shame that somebody stole it."
"You're preaching to the choir here buddy." Bosco said and glared at the officer.
"You know the drill I'm sure." the officer said. "We'll send a description of the vehicle out over the radio and hopefully something turns up."
"Great. Can I use your phone?"
The officer nodded and then stood up. "I'll get the description out now."
Bosco picked up the phone and dialled the number for the 5-5. Faith raked a hand through her hair and listened as Bosco yelled at whoever answered the phone. She checked her watch and saw that they were already late for their shift. Christopher and Swersky were going to be pissed.
"We'll be there when we get there!" Bosco yelled and then slammed down the phone.
"Who did you talk to?" Faith asked even though she had a pretty good idea who it was.
"Christopher." Bosco replied. "Says that when we get there, he wants to see us immediately. He's probably got us all set up for some babysitting job or worse."
Faith offered Bosco a small smile. "I guess we'd better find a train station and get to work."
Bosco nodded and they left the office that they were. "Hey you!" Bosco called over to a young officer who was at the front desk. "Where's the nearest train station?"
"Three blocks east and then one block north. It's not hard to spot."
"Thanks." Faith replied and she and Bosco stepped outside.
It was snowing again, hard pellets of snow this time. Bosco shook his head. "Could this day get any worse?"
"Knock on wood Bos. I'm sure it could, but I doubt that it will."
"I'm telling you now, if these morons in this precinct don't get their act together and find the bastard that stole my car, you and I are driving over here and getting the job done ourselves!"
"I think this is slightly out of our sector." Faith replied. "I doubt Christopher would be too happy to find out that we've taken off."
"Screw Christopher, it's my car."
They reached the train station and walked down the steps to the platform. A small crowd of people was waiting, some were reading newspapers and drinking coffee and others just stood there and attempted to look suitably bored.
Bosco leaned against a wall that was covered with graffiti and crossed his arms. Faith stood beside him, but didn't lean against the wall. "It's going to take us at least an hour to get to the precinct." Faith said and looked at her watch again. "It'll be 5:00 by the time we're ready to start patrol."
"Are you trying to tell me that this is my fault?" Bosco titled his head to the side and looked at Faith.
"No, I'm not saying that, I'm just saying that this is probably going to go down on our records. Christopher knows that we're late because we were shopping."
"We're late because my car got stolen, not because we were shopping."
"You know that's not how he's going to see it." Faith said and sighed. A few more people descended the stairs and joined the crowd on the platform.
"You want me to talk to him? Tell him that it's my fault? Maybe he won't put anything in your jacket. God knows I'm already screwed up enough. Another note won't matter much."
Faith shook her head. "No, don't do that."
A low rumble came from down the tracks and people began to move closer to the edge of the platform. Bosco and Faith joined them. The train pulled up and the doors slid open. A few people got off the train and then everyone piled on in. Bosco and Faith found themselves standing. "You look tired." Bosco commented as the doors slid shut again.
Faith nodded. "I am. With everyone that's gone on these past few days..."
"Christmas can be a real bitch." Bosco said and grabbed ahold of a pole as the train began to move.