The following week I talked to ma. She sounded happy and surprisingly she
didn't mention my sudden departure before dinner. I hadn't seen Lieu all
week but we'd been a little backed up with a new string of rapes taking
place. So far there were no fatalities but several women had been brutally
attacked. I wanted to string the guy up by a certain body part and I
suspected Cruz felt the same way.
I was watching her a little closer these days after hearing what Lieu had told me. I wanted to try to talk to him again and see if he'd give me more details but I suspected I had got all I was going to get from him.
Late that afternoon, we got word of another attack. This one was in progress when the call came in. With any luck, this string of attacks was about to come to an end. Cruz had taken the call while I was in the men's room so the location was a mystery to me as we weaved our way through traffic. It wasn't long before the neighborhood started to look a little too familiar. Faith met us at the scene. She was outside on the sidewalk watching for us to arrive. Cruz didn't pay any attention to her but I knew by the look in her eyes that I was about to come face to face with someone from my past.
I ran past Cruz, headed inside the small shop. There was a trail of blood that shook me to my core. I'd seen a lot of blood in my line of work but this was different. I breathed a small sigh of relief when the trail ended at Doc and Carlos working on a white male, approximately 25-30 years of age.
I glanced back, my eyes meeting Faith's.
"She's in the back," Faith replied, her hand on my shoulder and she gently pushed me in the direction of the back room. "Kim and Alex are with her."
In the back room, I spotted her a split second before she spotted me. I don't know what all happened next but she somehow made her way over to me, I wrapped my arms around Nicole, feeling her body tremble.
"What the hell happened?" Cruz replied from the doorway. A few officers turned to face her as I led Nicole to a chair.
"You feel up to answering a few questions?" I asked her, getting a nod from her.
"Is he dead?" Nicole asked, her voice a little shaky as she spoke.
"Were you here alone?" Cruz questioned.
"Yeah.Sheila went to lunch.one of my.my regulars called," Nicole replied through sobs as she tried to maintain her composure. "She wanted to pick up a gown.said she'd be here by 5.I came back..back here for the gown.just for a minute or two."
As Nicole paused to gain her composure once more, I reached out, taking her hand in mine. Hoping she would draw from my strength. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Faith. I wasn't sure what had actually happened to Nicole with this guy but I was glad Faith was there with me. This sort of thing just wasn't Cruz's forte.
"A man came in.said he had a tuxedo to pick up...I started to ask him his name. Before I could get my question out, he shoved me."
"Did he have a weapon.a gun or knife?" I asked.
"Not that I saw," Nicole responded.
"What happened next?" Cruz continued her questions. Despite Cruz's lack of compassion for what Nicole had been through, she managed to maintain her composure. She was taking control of her situation and not letting Cruz rattle her.
"I tried to stay calm but he was yelling all sorts of thing. He wasn't making sense. I don't know if he was drunk or on drugs or what. At one point he pushed me and I knocked over a rack of clothes. There was a mirror nearby and the rack hit the mirror, shattering it. I managed to get my hands on a piece of the broken mirror. He grabbed me by the hair, pulling me to my feet. As he did, I lashed out at him with the piece of mirror. That's when he got cut. He stumbled for a minute with his look on his face. He slapped me across the face, calling me a bitch. He reached for me, getting hold of my hair again. I thought he was going to kill me but then I felt him let go of me. When I looked over my shoulder, he was heading for the front door."
My past with Nicole hadn't ended well but right now she wasn't an ex- girlfriend, she was a victim of a horrible crime; one that she was lucky to survive.
"We're going to take her to Angel of Mercy," Kim replied, looking up at me. "She's going to need stitches for that hand."
I walked with them as they left, keeping her attention on myself as we passed the location where the attack had taken place. As I watched Boy 55 help her into the back of the bus, Faith filled us in on the details she had ascertained before we arrived. I listened to her until they asked for an officer to ride in the bus with the attacker
"The attacker tried to escape. Apparently the shop owner next door heard some noises and called it in. The neighboring shop owner came outside when he heard 55-Charlie approaching. The attacker tried to take him as a hostage. When that happened, the next guy shot him.
"I'll ride with him," I called out.
"He says anything I wanna hear about it later," Cruz called out as I left.
"Damn it," Cruz grumbled under her breath. "The guy called the police. He should have waited and not taken things into his own hands."
"The important thing here is the attacker is off the streets. Nobody else is going to get hurt," Faith replied much to Cruz's dissatisfaction.
"Yeah but it could have went the other way very easily, she replied. "The little blond rich bitch could have been killed along with the guy next door."
"Yeah but they didn't," Faith continued. "And the young woman who was attacked...her name's Nicole, not the blonde rich bitch."
"Who is she anyway?" Cruz practically spat out at Faith.
"She's an ex girlfriend of Bosco's," Faith filled in the blanks, getting the response she'd expected. "I wouldn't go calling her any names in front of him if I were you."
"Well, you're not me so if I were you, I'd keep your mind on your own business," Cruz replied, creating a scene with Faith who wasn't about to back down.
"Just so you know, at one time, he talked about marrying her. You might want to keep that in mind."
Having said what was on her mind, Faith left the room. She wasn't about to stoop to Cruz's level.
Cruz left the scene, arriving at the hospital. She questioned a couple nurses about the location of the attacker.
"I'm sorry, he didn't make it," one nurse replied.
"You seen Officer Boscorelli?" she asked.
"He's in treatment room four," the nurse replied.
Cruz found Bosco in with Nicole. As she watched Bosco sitting beside her bed, his hand in hers, Faith's words rang through her mind. 'At one time, he talked about marrying her.'
Pissed off, Cruz left Angel of Mercy. She made it out to the car before pulling out her cell phone and dialing Bosco's number.
"Boscorelli."
"Hey, where are you?" she asked as calmly as possible.
"I'm at the hospital,' he replied. "Hey look, the attacker...he didn't make it. Doc says the gunshot to his chest was the cause of death."
"Damn," Cruz mumbled. "I'm a few minutes away. How bout if I stop by and pick you up and we can head back to the station. Shift's about over and I'm ready to call it a day if you get my drift."
"Yeah sure fine with me." I replied. "I told ma I'd stop by the bar tonight so maybe we can get together later."
"Sure that'd be great." Cruz replied, seething beneath her somewhat calm exterior.
An hour later, I made my way to my car. I left the precinct headed in one direction.Angel of Mercy.
"You ready to get outta here?" I asked, seeing Nicole sitting in a chair and not on the hospital gurney.
"More than ready," she replied. "I hate these places."
"What the doctor say," I asked, already noticing a bandage on her right arm.
"He put eight stitches in my hand where I cut it on the mirror. I got some bruises on my stomach. From what I hear about this guy, I'm one of the lucky ones."
"Yeah, you are," I replied. "He's really messed up some women; both mentally and physically."
"You know something Bosco," Nicole replied as we got into my car. "Honestly I hadn't thought about you in a long while. Then today, when that guy came in.I really wished we were still going out.maybe you'd drop in like you used to do. But, I did remember something you said once about your job."
"What' that?" I asked, curious as to what I might have said that Nicole would remember given her recent situation.
"You said once that to do your job, you have to stay calm and stay in control of your own mind. Don't let anyone get inside your head and mess up your way of thinking."
"I said that?" I questioned. It wasn't something I remember saying but then Nicole and I didn't do a lot of talking. But, it did sound like something I'd day.
"Yes you did," she assured me. "When that guy shoved me towards the back room, I kept thinking that I had to stay calm. I can't say for certain that staying calm made me think to grab a piece of that mirror but you never know. Maybe it did."
"When we pulled up in front of your store today and I saw Faith," I started to say. I didn't continue for a minute. Nicole read the look on my face.
"You thought something had happened to me?"
"I knew what the call was in regards to and I've seen first hand some of this guys victims."
"I admit I felt a lot better when Faith got there. Maybe it was because she's a woman.maybe because she was a familiar face.I can't be certain. But then when you walked into that back room.how come you weren't with Faith?"
"I wasn't with Faith 'cause I've been working a lot of anti-crime," I explained.
"Anti-crime?"
"It's a special unit. I still work out of the same precinct. I split my time between street patrol and anti-crime."
"I think I like your partnering with Faith a little more than this other woman," Nicole replied, drawing my attention. It wasn't that I hadn't been paying attention to her, it was just that when she referred to Cruz, it made me think.
"Sgt Cruz, she's with anti-crime," I explained.
"She's a little cold if you ask me."
"Here we are," I replied, changing the subject as we arrived at Nicole apartment.
"You coming up?" Nicole asked as she struggled to get out of my car. I sensed that her injuries were a little more serious that she was letting on. Not that I could blame her for not wanting to stay in the hospital 'cause in that aspect, she was a lot like me.
"Sure," I replied, helping her from the car. We made it upstairs without any more problems. The fact that there was an elevator in her building was a big help.
Nicole and I did something that night that we hadn't done before.we talked.a lot.
I was surprised at the number of questions and by her memory of the 55th precinct. I'd forgotten about her being at the Camelot Cup game. She'd met a lot of people that night. She asked about Faith and I told her about what'd happened with Emily. 'Sometimes kids do things that don't make sense. When they think about it later, it doesn't make any more sense to them than it does to their parents at the time it happens.'
"You talk like you're speaking from experience."
"Yeah, I did a few things I can't believe I ever did, haven't we all?" she admitted without going into any further detail.
"Yeah, I suppose I gave my ma a few gray hairs," I said with a laugh.
"How is your mother?" she questioned. I recalled how much she and ma had gotten along. The two of them were a lot alike.
"I think she has a new boyfriend," I stated quite calmly.
"Oh yeah, nice guy I hope?" she replied.
"Yeah he's a nice guy," I said with a tone that made her turn to face me.
"So you've met the guy?"
"I've done more than meet him, I introduced the two of them," I explained as her eyes grew wide before she broke into laughter.
"You did what?" she said between laughs.
"I introduced them, he's one of my bosses," I continued explaining as she continued laughing until her already injured ribs were hurting.
"Rose is dating a cop?"
"No, actually he's a Lieutenant."
"Nice guy I take it?"
"Yeah, Lieu's a good guy," I replied as she smiled. She really was enjoying the fact that I'd fixed ma up with a guy.
"I'm sorry," she said snickering. "I just find it funny that you'd fix your mom up with a guy, especially a cop. I can't believe she's interested in another cop given that she already worries enough about you."
"Yeah me too," I admitted. "Last time I take anyone to ma's bar."
"I take it you're not too happy with her and this Lieutenant?"
"No, its not that, I mean Lieu's a nice guy and I seriously doubt he'd ever hurt her, not like my dad and all the other jag-offs she's dated. It's just a little weird that's all."
"Well, I'm happy for her. She deserves a nice guy."
"Cant argue with you there."
"So what about you?" she inquired. The subject of my love life as Nicole was referring to was almost a closed subject. Almost meaning I didn't want to talk about it. Almost meaning that it wasn't closed until Nicole said so.
"Anyone serious?"
"Na, not really," I sidestepped the issue. "Last serious relationship I was in was with you and we know how that ended."
"Yeah I guess we do," she smiled as she recalled the night outside the precinct. "If I remember correctly I had to ask twice for my key back."
"The way I remember it, you threw my stuff in the street."
"Yeah, and you deserved it."
"Yeah I did," I admitted much to the surprise of Nicole. "I had no right questioning you about your past relationships."
"You mean my past lovers?"
"Them too."
"So what made you decide to work this Anti-crime thing?' she asked, quickly changing the subject. I was all for talking about anything but my love life or lack of a love life. Hell, Cruz was hardly a love life. She was more like a control freak who wanted to control everything about my life including sex . She may be a sergeant at work but when it came to matters of certain parts of my anatomy.let's just say I'm the captain of that ship and she was about to become a woman overboard.
"Faith's husband Fred, he had a heart attack and she was spending a lot of time at the hospital. The opportunity to work Anti-crime came up and I thought it sounded better than riding solo."
"Fred's okay though right?"
"Yeah physically he's okay but emotionally the guys out there," I explained with some of my best facial expressions. Nicole laughed but even my expressions weren't enough for her.
"Emotionally he's out where?"
"Well, he claims he saw Jesus and ever since the surgery you don't see the guy without hearing some 'praise the Lord' crap."
"Oh Lord," Nicole said before grinning as she realized what she'd said. "I hope Faith hasn't turned into Tammy Faye Baker."
"No, she hasn't changed much," I replied. The image of Faith as Tammy Faye was a little unsettling. "I don't know how she lives with the guy. He drives me crazy."
"Short trip Maurice," Nicole couldn't pass that one up.
"You know of everyone I know who knows me, you and ma are the only ones who call me by my given name."
"Maurice?" she repeated, raising her eyebrows at me.
"So what's going on with you and Faith?" I knew that question was going to come up at some point. I was just hoping it was later.
"I don't know. I still see her now and then."
"Obviously she's back at work because she was there today. So why aren't the two of you working together?"
"Like I said, I split my time."
"I know what you said Maurice. What I'm asking is why are you still working Anti-crime if Faith is back?"
"I don't know; it's just something different I guess."
"You guess? Well, if you want my opinion which I know you don't but I'm going to give it to you anyway..I think you belong with Faith. I was there today too you know? The way you interact with Faith versus how you do your job with that Sergeant lady.there's no comparison..none. You and Faith have been partners for what.eight years. You guys are a good thing. You balance one another. I think it'd crazy to give that up for some Anti-crime thing."
"So tell me what you really think?"
"This Sergeant lady isn't worth your time. She's cold.she doesn't have an ounce of compassion in her body. And Faith.she's got her head on straight.she thinks before she reacts. If you were in a tough spot, I mean a really tough spot.you know Faith would give her life for you. What do you think this Sergeant would do? You think she'd be there because honestly, I have my doubts. Serious doubts! You know Faith.you've trusted her for eight years. Eight years, Bosco. She's been to hell and back with you. Look, you give up on working with Faith and it will be the second serious mistake you've made in your life. "And the first mistake?"
"Breaking up with me of course," she replied, almost getting the words out before laughing. Of course, the pillow she tossed at me sort of drove the point home too.
"Yeah, yeah, so we all make mistakes," I said in my defense.
"Well one of us did anyway. There is one big difference between you breaking up with me and you breaking up with Faith."
"Faith and I haven't slept together?"
"Okay maybe there's two differences," she continued after frowning at me. "You haven't messed things up with Faith yet."
"You think so do you?"
"I know so. I saw the two of you today. The two of you don't even have to talk. You can communicate without words. I bet you guys finish each others sentences too."
"Yeah, well."
"Yeah well, you know I'm right. Question is, what are you going to do about it?"
"Nothing tonight," I replied, getting to my feet. "I should get home and let you get some sleep."
"Some things never change," she said, smiling that evil smile I'd seen too many times. "I never did get much sleep with you here."
"Yeah I don't remember hearing you complain?"
"I wasn't complaining, just stating the facts."
"You gonna be alright here by yourself?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine. If not, you're the first person I'll call."
"I'm going to hold you to that."
"You know maybe I'll give your mom a call tomorrow. She might need some new lingerie for this new man in her life."
"Don't even go there," I replied with a glare. "That is one image I can live without."
"You're no fun at all," she said. "Fine but I am going to call her."
I managed to make it to the door before Nicole caught my attention.
"Thanks for everything today," she said before placing a soft kiss on my lips. "Take care of yourself."
"I will."
"And think about what I said."
"I will."
By the time I left Nicole's it was well into morning. I did take her advice. I thought a lot about what we had talked about. I thought about what Lieu and I had discussed. I thought about the past eight years of my life. And I thought about the one person who had been a part of my life longer than anyone besides my ma. Nicole was right. I knew it was time to make some serious decisions about my life and my career. I just hoped it wasn't too late. A lot of things had happened both on the job and off. The first thing I had to do was clear up a few things that had happened while working in anti-crime. I wasn't sure what the results would be but I had to clear my name and my conscience. After that, I hoped the rest would fall into place.
To be continued.
I was watching her a little closer these days after hearing what Lieu had told me. I wanted to try to talk to him again and see if he'd give me more details but I suspected I had got all I was going to get from him.
Late that afternoon, we got word of another attack. This one was in progress when the call came in. With any luck, this string of attacks was about to come to an end. Cruz had taken the call while I was in the men's room so the location was a mystery to me as we weaved our way through traffic. It wasn't long before the neighborhood started to look a little too familiar. Faith met us at the scene. She was outside on the sidewalk watching for us to arrive. Cruz didn't pay any attention to her but I knew by the look in her eyes that I was about to come face to face with someone from my past.
I ran past Cruz, headed inside the small shop. There was a trail of blood that shook me to my core. I'd seen a lot of blood in my line of work but this was different. I breathed a small sigh of relief when the trail ended at Doc and Carlos working on a white male, approximately 25-30 years of age.
I glanced back, my eyes meeting Faith's.
"She's in the back," Faith replied, her hand on my shoulder and she gently pushed me in the direction of the back room. "Kim and Alex are with her."
In the back room, I spotted her a split second before she spotted me. I don't know what all happened next but she somehow made her way over to me, I wrapped my arms around Nicole, feeling her body tremble.
"What the hell happened?" Cruz replied from the doorway. A few officers turned to face her as I led Nicole to a chair.
"You feel up to answering a few questions?" I asked her, getting a nod from her.
"Is he dead?" Nicole asked, her voice a little shaky as she spoke.
"Were you here alone?" Cruz questioned.
"Yeah.Sheila went to lunch.one of my.my regulars called," Nicole replied through sobs as she tried to maintain her composure. "She wanted to pick up a gown.said she'd be here by 5.I came back..back here for the gown.just for a minute or two."
As Nicole paused to gain her composure once more, I reached out, taking her hand in mine. Hoping she would draw from my strength. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Faith. I wasn't sure what had actually happened to Nicole with this guy but I was glad Faith was there with me. This sort of thing just wasn't Cruz's forte.
"A man came in.said he had a tuxedo to pick up...I started to ask him his name. Before I could get my question out, he shoved me."
"Did he have a weapon.a gun or knife?" I asked.
"Not that I saw," Nicole responded.
"What happened next?" Cruz continued her questions. Despite Cruz's lack of compassion for what Nicole had been through, she managed to maintain her composure. She was taking control of her situation and not letting Cruz rattle her.
"I tried to stay calm but he was yelling all sorts of thing. He wasn't making sense. I don't know if he was drunk or on drugs or what. At one point he pushed me and I knocked over a rack of clothes. There was a mirror nearby and the rack hit the mirror, shattering it. I managed to get my hands on a piece of the broken mirror. He grabbed me by the hair, pulling me to my feet. As he did, I lashed out at him with the piece of mirror. That's when he got cut. He stumbled for a minute with his look on his face. He slapped me across the face, calling me a bitch. He reached for me, getting hold of my hair again. I thought he was going to kill me but then I felt him let go of me. When I looked over my shoulder, he was heading for the front door."
My past with Nicole hadn't ended well but right now she wasn't an ex- girlfriend, she was a victim of a horrible crime; one that she was lucky to survive.
"We're going to take her to Angel of Mercy," Kim replied, looking up at me. "She's going to need stitches for that hand."
I walked with them as they left, keeping her attention on myself as we passed the location where the attack had taken place. As I watched Boy 55 help her into the back of the bus, Faith filled us in on the details she had ascertained before we arrived. I listened to her until they asked for an officer to ride in the bus with the attacker
"The attacker tried to escape. Apparently the shop owner next door heard some noises and called it in. The neighboring shop owner came outside when he heard 55-Charlie approaching. The attacker tried to take him as a hostage. When that happened, the next guy shot him.
"I'll ride with him," I called out.
"He says anything I wanna hear about it later," Cruz called out as I left.
"Damn it," Cruz grumbled under her breath. "The guy called the police. He should have waited and not taken things into his own hands."
"The important thing here is the attacker is off the streets. Nobody else is going to get hurt," Faith replied much to Cruz's dissatisfaction.
"Yeah but it could have went the other way very easily, she replied. "The little blond rich bitch could have been killed along with the guy next door."
"Yeah but they didn't," Faith continued. "And the young woman who was attacked...her name's Nicole, not the blonde rich bitch."
"Who is she anyway?" Cruz practically spat out at Faith.
"She's an ex girlfriend of Bosco's," Faith filled in the blanks, getting the response she'd expected. "I wouldn't go calling her any names in front of him if I were you."
"Well, you're not me so if I were you, I'd keep your mind on your own business," Cruz replied, creating a scene with Faith who wasn't about to back down.
"Just so you know, at one time, he talked about marrying her. You might want to keep that in mind."
Having said what was on her mind, Faith left the room. She wasn't about to stoop to Cruz's level.
Cruz left the scene, arriving at the hospital. She questioned a couple nurses about the location of the attacker.
"I'm sorry, he didn't make it," one nurse replied.
"You seen Officer Boscorelli?" she asked.
"He's in treatment room four," the nurse replied.
Cruz found Bosco in with Nicole. As she watched Bosco sitting beside her bed, his hand in hers, Faith's words rang through her mind. 'At one time, he talked about marrying her.'
Pissed off, Cruz left Angel of Mercy. She made it out to the car before pulling out her cell phone and dialing Bosco's number.
"Boscorelli."
"Hey, where are you?" she asked as calmly as possible.
"I'm at the hospital,' he replied. "Hey look, the attacker...he didn't make it. Doc says the gunshot to his chest was the cause of death."
"Damn," Cruz mumbled. "I'm a few minutes away. How bout if I stop by and pick you up and we can head back to the station. Shift's about over and I'm ready to call it a day if you get my drift."
"Yeah sure fine with me." I replied. "I told ma I'd stop by the bar tonight so maybe we can get together later."
"Sure that'd be great." Cruz replied, seething beneath her somewhat calm exterior.
An hour later, I made my way to my car. I left the precinct headed in one direction.Angel of Mercy.
"You ready to get outta here?" I asked, seeing Nicole sitting in a chair and not on the hospital gurney.
"More than ready," she replied. "I hate these places."
"What the doctor say," I asked, already noticing a bandage on her right arm.
"He put eight stitches in my hand where I cut it on the mirror. I got some bruises on my stomach. From what I hear about this guy, I'm one of the lucky ones."
"Yeah, you are," I replied. "He's really messed up some women; both mentally and physically."
"You know something Bosco," Nicole replied as we got into my car. "Honestly I hadn't thought about you in a long while. Then today, when that guy came in.I really wished we were still going out.maybe you'd drop in like you used to do. But, I did remember something you said once about your job."
"What' that?" I asked, curious as to what I might have said that Nicole would remember given her recent situation.
"You said once that to do your job, you have to stay calm and stay in control of your own mind. Don't let anyone get inside your head and mess up your way of thinking."
"I said that?" I questioned. It wasn't something I remember saying but then Nicole and I didn't do a lot of talking. But, it did sound like something I'd day.
"Yes you did," she assured me. "When that guy shoved me towards the back room, I kept thinking that I had to stay calm. I can't say for certain that staying calm made me think to grab a piece of that mirror but you never know. Maybe it did."
"When we pulled up in front of your store today and I saw Faith," I started to say. I didn't continue for a minute. Nicole read the look on my face.
"You thought something had happened to me?"
"I knew what the call was in regards to and I've seen first hand some of this guys victims."
"I admit I felt a lot better when Faith got there. Maybe it was because she's a woman.maybe because she was a familiar face.I can't be certain. But then when you walked into that back room.how come you weren't with Faith?"
"I wasn't with Faith 'cause I've been working a lot of anti-crime," I explained.
"Anti-crime?"
"It's a special unit. I still work out of the same precinct. I split my time between street patrol and anti-crime."
"I think I like your partnering with Faith a little more than this other woman," Nicole replied, drawing my attention. It wasn't that I hadn't been paying attention to her, it was just that when she referred to Cruz, it made me think.
"Sgt Cruz, she's with anti-crime," I explained.
"She's a little cold if you ask me."
"Here we are," I replied, changing the subject as we arrived at Nicole apartment.
"You coming up?" Nicole asked as she struggled to get out of my car. I sensed that her injuries were a little more serious that she was letting on. Not that I could blame her for not wanting to stay in the hospital 'cause in that aspect, she was a lot like me.
"Sure," I replied, helping her from the car. We made it upstairs without any more problems. The fact that there was an elevator in her building was a big help.
Nicole and I did something that night that we hadn't done before.we talked.a lot.
I was surprised at the number of questions and by her memory of the 55th precinct. I'd forgotten about her being at the Camelot Cup game. She'd met a lot of people that night. She asked about Faith and I told her about what'd happened with Emily. 'Sometimes kids do things that don't make sense. When they think about it later, it doesn't make any more sense to them than it does to their parents at the time it happens.'
"You talk like you're speaking from experience."
"Yeah, I did a few things I can't believe I ever did, haven't we all?" she admitted without going into any further detail.
"Yeah, I suppose I gave my ma a few gray hairs," I said with a laugh.
"How is your mother?" she questioned. I recalled how much she and ma had gotten along. The two of them were a lot alike.
"I think she has a new boyfriend," I stated quite calmly.
"Oh yeah, nice guy I hope?" she replied.
"Yeah he's a nice guy," I said with a tone that made her turn to face me.
"So you've met the guy?"
"I've done more than meet him, I introduced the two of them," I explained as her eyes grew wide before she broke into laughter.
"You did what?" she said between laughs.
"I introduced them, he's one of my bosses," I continued explaining as she continued laughing until her already injured ribs were hurting.
"Rose is dating a cop?"
"No, actually he's a Lieutenant."
"Nice guy I take it?"
"Yeah, Lieu's a good guy," I replied as she smiled. She really was enjoying the fact that I'd fixed ma up with a guy.
"I'm sorry," she said snickering. "I just find it funny that you'd fix your mom up with a guy, especially a cop. I can't believe she's interested in another cop given that she already worries enough about you."
"Yeah me too," I admitted. "Last time I take anyone to ma's bar."
"I take it you're not too happy with her and this Lieutenant?"
"No, its not that, I mean Lieu's a nice guy and I seriously doubt he'd ever hurt her, not like my dad and all the other jag-offs she's dated. It's just a little weird that's all."
"Well, I'm happy for her. She deserves a nice guy."
"Cant argue with you there."
"So what about you?" she inquired. The subject of my love life as Nicole was referring to was almost a closed subject. Almost meaning I didn't want to talk about it. Almost meaning that it wasn't closed until Nicole said so.
"Anyone serious?"
"Na, not really," I sidestepped the issue. "Last serious relationship I was in was with you and we know how that ended."
"Yeah I guess we do," she smiled as she recalled the night outside the precinct. "If I remember correctly I had to ask twice for my key back."
"The way I remember it, you threw my stuff in the street."
"Yeah, and you deserved it."
"Yeah I did," I admitted much to the surprise of Nicole. "I had no right questioning you about your past relationships."
"You mean my past lovers?"
"Them too."
"So what made you decide to work this Anti-crime thing?' she asked, quickly changing the subject. I was all for talking about anything but my love life or lack of a love life. Hell, Cruz was hardly a love life. She was more like a control freak who wanted to control everything about my life including sex . She may be a sergeant at work but when it came to matters of certain parts of my anatomy.let's just say I'm the captain of that ship and she was about to become a woman overboard.
"Faith's husband Fred, he had a heart attack and she was spending a lot of time at the hospital. The opportunity to work Anti-crime came up and I thought it sounded better than riding solo."
"Fred's okay though right?"
"Yeah physically he's okay but emotionally the guys out there," I explained with some of my best facial expressions. Nicole laughed but even my expressions weren't enough for her.
"Emotionally he's out where?"
"Well, he claims he saw Jesus and ever since the surgery you don't see the guy without hearing some 'praise the Lord' crap."
"Oh Lord," Nicole said before grinning as she realized what she'd said. "I hope Faith hasn't turned into Tammy Faye Baker."
"No, she hasn't changed much," I replied. The image of Faith as Tammy Faye was a little unsettling. "I don't know how she lives with the guy. He drives me crazy."
"Short trip Maurice," Nicole couldn't pass that one up.
"You know of everyone I know who knows me, you and ma are the only ones who call me by my given name."
"Maurice?" she repeated, raising her eyebrows at me.
"So what's going on with you and Faith?" I knew that question was going to come up at some point. I was just hoping it was later.
"I don't know. I still see her now and then."
"Obviously she's back at work because she was there today. So why aren't the two of you working together?"
"Like I said, I split my time."
"I know what you said Maurice. What I'm asking is why are you still working Anti-crime if Faith is back?"
"I don't know; it's just something different I guess."
"You guess? Well, if you want my opinion which I know you don't but I'm going to give it to you anyway..I think you belong with Faith. I was there today too you know? The way you interact with Faith versus how you do your job with that Sergeant lady.there's no comparison..none. You and Faith have been partners for what.eight years. You guys are a good thing. You balance one another. I think it'd crazy to give that up for some Anti-crime thing."
"So tell me what you really think?"
"This Sergeant lady isn't worth your time. She's cold.she doesn't have an ounce of compassion in her body. And Faith.she's got her head on straight.she thinks before she reacts. If you were in a tough spot, I mean a really tough spot.you know Faith would give her life for you. What do you think this Sergeant would do? You think she'd be there because honestly, I have my doubts. Serious doubts! You know Faith.you've trusted her for eight years. Eight years, Bosco. She's been to hell and back with you. Look, you give up on working with Faith and it will be the second serious mistake you've made in your life. "And the first mistake?"
"Breaking up with me of course," she replied, almost getting the words out before laughing. Of course, the pillow she tossed at me sort of drove the point home too.
"Yeah, yeah, so we all make mistakes," I said in my defense.
"Well one of us did anyway. There is one big difference between you breaking up with me and you breaking up with Faith."
"Faith and I haven't slept together?"
"Okay maybe there's two differences," she continued after frowning at me. "You haven't messed things up with Faith yet."
"You think so do you?"
"I know so. I saw the two of you today. The two of you don't even have to talk. You can communicate without words. I bet you guys finish each others sentences too."
"Yeah, well."
"Yeah well, you know I'm right. Question is, what are you going to do about it?"
"Nothing tonight," I replied, getting to my feet. "I should get home and let you get some sleep."
"Some things never change," she said, smiling that evil smile I'd seen too many times. "I never did get much sleep with you here."
"Yeah I don't remember hearing you complain?"
"I wasn't complaining, just stating the facts."
"You gonna be alright here by yourself?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine. If not, you're the first person I'll call."
"I'm going to hold you to that."
"You know maybe I'll give your mom a call tomorrow. She might need some new lingerie for this new man in her life."
"Don't even go there," I replied with a glare. "That is one image I can live without."
"You're no fun at all," she said. "Fine but I am going to call her."
I managed to make it to the door before Nicole caught my attention.
"Thanks for everything today," she said before placing a soft kiss on my lips. "Take care of yourself."
"I will."
"And think about what I said."
"I will."
By the time I left Nicole's it was well into morning. I did take her advice. I thought a lot about what we had talked about. I thought about what Lieu and I had discussed. I thought about the past eight years of my life. And I thought about the one person who had been a part of my life longer than anyone besides my ma. Nicole was right. I knew it was time to make some serious decisions about my life and my career. I just hoped it wasn't too late. A lot of things had happened both on the job and off. The first thing I had to do was clear up a few things that had happened while working in anti-crime. I wasn't sure what the results would be but I had to clear my name and my conscience. After that, I hoped the rest would fall into place.
To be continued.
