I left Faith's that morning feeling pretty damn good. I figured it was
about time I felt something besides regret, agitation, and the feeling that
I my life was spinning out of control.
I showed up at my ma's door not realizing it wasn't yet seven o'clock. I'd knocked on the door and was surprised when she answered it in less than a minute. Ma being up this early was about as likely as me standing there at her door at that early hour. I could tell she was surprised to see me but for some reason I didn't think the hour was it.
"Maurice?" she replied, standing there with a bowl in her hand.
"Hey ma," I replied as I entering her apartment, closing the door behind me. "You expecting someone else?"
"I was just making some breakfast, that's all," she replied as she continued stirring whatever she had in that bowl.
"Ah huh, must be some breakfast," I replied taking a seat at the table. "Two plates.you wake up hungry this morning?"
"No, I'm not 'that' hungry," she said taking the plate from me and putting it back on the table.
"You're making breakfast.you got two plates on the table.you say you're not very hungry.you sure as hell weren't expecting me for breakfast."
"I'm having breakfast with Lieu," ma stammered out just as the doorbell rang.
"That must be him," I replied, answering her door. "Morning Lieu."
"Boscorelli."
"Yeah I know, you weren't expecting to see me either," I replied watching the look on his face. "So, you having breakfast with ma this morning?"
"Yeah, she invited me over for breakfast since I'm working the early shift," Lieu explained.
"That explains that, right ma?"
"Yes I guess it does," she replied with a happy look on her face. That look should have told me something. But, I'd missed it.
"So why don't you tell me what my son is doing at my door at seven in the morning?" ma replied although it was really a question.
"He's not on his way to work," Lieu offered.
"I was just stopping by on my way home," I explained.
"On your way home from where?" Ma asked.
"What am I, five years old?" I stated. I had nothing to hide but I enjoyed the game with ma.
"No, you're not five years old but I am still your mother. Can't I ask about my son?"
"Sure you can ask. Doesn't mean I'm going to answer," I teased before finally giving in. " I was at Faith's place."
"Faith Yokas? You were with Faith? All night? Does her husband know about this?" ma questioned.
"Yes.yes.yes.and I don't know," I answered, getting a glare from ma. "I gave her a ride home after work.we talked for a while.I fell asleep on her couch.I woke up there around six.any more questions?"
"Yeah, does her husband know about this?" ma asked her question again.
"Hell, I don't know. Maybe Fred knew; maybe he didn't," I replied explaining myself.
"Well wasn't he there?" ma continued her line of questioning.
"Hey Lieu, you need any detectives down at the precinct?" I questioned, gesturing my head in ma's direction. Lieu just laughed.
"I don't know what Fred knows ma. Like I said, I fell asleep on the couch. I wasn't in Faith's bedroom."
"A ha," was all ma managed to reply.
"Faith and me.we haven't been talking much lately. I don't mean just cause we weren't working together. I mean as friends. I didn't realize til we were working yesterday that I missed working with her; missed talking like we did."
"So the two of you got things worked out?" Lieu asked. I answered his question with a look. He continued.
"I couldn't help notice that things were a little off between the two of you."
"Yeah, everything's fine. Like I said, we talked at her place last night.cleared the air and all."
"Glad to hear it," Lieu replied. "I'd hate to have to assign you a new partner. I don't know how she does it but Faith seems to be able to tolerate you."
"She thought I was an ass once too Lieu," I explained, the words almost coming straight from Faith. "I guess I just grew on her."
"I love Faith, she's such a nice gal," ma explained her point of view. "Too bad she's married. You need someone like her Maurice."
"You always did like Faith ma," I replied. Ma and Faith were a lot alike. Must be part of the reason why Faith had been such a big part of my life for as long as she had.
"I liked Nicole too," ma said, getting my attention. "Did I tell you she called me?"
"No, but she said she was going to call you," I answered.
"Nicole?" Lieu asked.
"One of Maurice's old girlfriends," Ma replied.
"You still talk to ex-girlfriends?" Lieu asked. The look on his face, basically described as total shock, said it all.
"Not usually," I answered. "That guy we brought in a while back.the one committing the attacks on women? His last attack was on Nicole."
"I remember that," Lieu acknowledged. "That was Nicole?"
"Yeah, that's Nicole?"
"Beautiful girl," Lieu replied, his description accurate. "I got the impression she had money?"
"Her family has money," I replied.
"Where'd you ever meet a girl like that?"
"That was three or four years ago, I don't remember where we met," I commented, recalling a conversation I'd had one night with Nicole. "Actually the reason we started going out was to piss off her daddy."
"I take it daddy didn't like her choice in dates?"
"Her daddy didn't care for her dating a street cop, that I can tell you."
"You ever actually meet him.either of her parents for that matter?"
"Yeah I met them once. Nicole invited me to the opera with her parents."
"You went to the opera?" Too much information.the look on Lieu's face was that of total shock.
"Yeah, me at the opera, you believe that?" I described the night for him. "Tuxedo, limo, the whole nine yards."
"I bet you looked handsome," ma replied taking my face in her hands and acting just like a mom.
"I felt like a waiter. Faith said I looked nice though."
"Faith got to see you all dressed up and I didn't?"
"No big deal. I changed in a restaurant bathroom. No way was I changing at the station. Anyway, Faith fixed my tie for me."
"So Faith was dressing you too?" ma inquired.
"Just fixed my tie ma," I explained. "No big deal."
"I seem to remember Nicole making a comment about you getting dressed," ma said with a devious smile. She was going to embarrass me that morning if it was the last thing she did.
"Remember that?" she continued looking at me and then to Lieu. "One morning I called Nicole at her apartment and she told me how she was watching my son get dressed."
Lieu didn't say a word but the look on his face spoke volumes. We were both men after all. Sometimes guys don't have to talk to communicate. I figured I could let ma win meaning I get embarrassed. Or I could explain what'd happened that particular morning meaning I take control of the conversation. I chose the latter.
"Nicole liked watching me dress," I continued. "I thought she liked watching me undress but I guess she liked it both ways."
Having said that, I'd embarrassed my mother so I figured it was time to go. Picking up my jacket, I headed for the door.
"I should get going," I replied. "You two enjoy your breakfast."
Since it was only seven thirty and it'd been a morning of surprises, I figured I might as well surprise one more person. Twenty minutes later I knocked on Nicole's door.
"Hey, good morning," she greeted me with a hug. "I didn't expect to see you this morning."
"I've had that effect on people today," I explained drawing a confused look from Nicole.
"I stopped by ma's this morning. She was surprised to see me. Turns out she was having breakfast with a certain Lieutenant."
"So did he spend the night too?" Nicole asked.
"No, he showed up at her door while I was there," I explained. "I gave her a hard time about it."
"Maurice.you and your mother.."
"Don't feel bad for her. She can dish it out better than she takes it."
"Meaning what exactly?"
"I gave Faith a ride home last night. We talked for a while before I fell asleep on her couch. Woke up there this morning. I think ma got the wrong idea."
"You and Faith huh?"
"Ma seems to think so. She doesn't really think that me and Faith have something going on but she sure as hell enjoyed ribbing me about it."
"You and Faith are such a cute couple," Nicole teased, pinching my cheek as she did. Just to clarify, that'd be the one on my face. The smile on her face and her laugh as she said it gave her away. "Your mom's sweet. Did she tell you we talked?"
"She mentioned it although she didn't say what you talked about." If that sounded like a question, there'd be a reason for that.
"We talked about a lot of things, mostly you.of course your mom always did like to talk about her son."
"Yeah I know."
"I told her all about the attack at my store and how you and Faith were there. And I told her about you coming by the hospital to take me home. And I might have mentioned something about you leaving here very early the following morning."
"Ah huh. I'm sure she loved hearing that," I said, shaking my head as I spoke.
"You mom's actually very protective of you."
"Oh yeah.unless it involves Faith and me and sleep or you and me and dressing. Then that sweet adoring women turns into a vulture."
"So how long has she been seeing the cop now?"
"About a month I guess," I replied, trying to think how long it'd been since I'd introduced them.
"I got the impression from talking to her that she really likes this guy," Nicole explained, not taking her eyes off me as she spoke. "How do you feel about the two of them?"
"What can I say?" I replied, shrugging my shoulders. "I mean she seems happy with him. He's a decent enough guy. Hell, he's better than decent. I mean I respect the guy. When did I ever like anyone she's seeing much less respect the guy?"
"Well, I'm happy for her. I mean the way she talks about this guy.he seems nice.very nice. If she's happy, then I'm happy for her."
"I guess I am too," I replied before pausing.
"Hey, she'll always be your mom. The two of you have a special bond and not even the nicest guy in the world can change that."
"I know.it's just."
"It's just that you've had her to yourself for so long that it's not easy sharing her with another man.even one who treats her the way she deserves to be treated."
"Yeah," I nodded. "Look, I can see that I got you out of bed and I need some sleep myself."
"You could sleep here you know?"
"When did I ever sleep here?"
"Never.come on.be adventurous.nothing wrong with trying new things. Besides, my bed's already warm."
"Just sleep?" I asked. "Nothing else?"
"Nope, nothing else. Of course I wouldn't complain if I happen to fall asleep snuggled up next to a warm body."
I'd been at Nicole's apartment for almost a half hour. It was only then that I took off my coat.
to be continued..
I showed up at my ma's door not realizing it wasn't yet seven o'clock. I'd knocked on the door and was surprised when she answered it in less than a minute. Ma being up this early was about as likely as me standing there at her door at that early hour. I could tell she was surprised to see me but for some reason I didn't think the hour was it.
"Maurice?" she replied, standing there with a bowl in her hand.
"Hey ma," I replied as I entering her apartment, closing the door behind me. "You expecting someone else?"
"I was just making some breakfast, that's all," she replied as she continued stirring whatever she had in that bowl.
"Ah huh, must be some breakfast," I replied taking a seat at the table. "Two plates.you wake up hungry this morning?"
"No, I'm not 'that' hungry," she said taking the plate from me and putting it back on the table.
"You're making breakfast.you got two plates on the table.you say you're not very hungry.you sure as hell weren't expecting me for breakfast."
"I'm having breakfast with Lieu," ma stammered out just as the doorbell rang.
"That must be him," I replied, answering her door. "Morning Lieu."
"Boscorelli."
"Yeah I know, you weren't expecting to see me either," I replied watching the look on his face. "So, you having breakfast with ma this morning?"
"Yeah, she invited me over for breakfast since I'm working the early shift," Lieu explained.
"That explains that, right ma?"
"Yes I guess it does," she replied with a happy look on her face. That look should have told me something. But, I'd missed it.
"So why don't you tell me what my son is doing at my door at seven in the morning?" ma replied although it was really a question.
"He's not on his way to work," Lieu offered.
"I was just stopping by on my way home," I explained.
"On your way home from where?" Ma asked.
"What am I, five years old?" I stated. I had nothing to hide but I enjoyed the game with ma.
"No, you're not five years old but I am still your mother. Can't I ask about my son?"
"Sure you can ask. Doesn't mean I'm going to answer," I teased before finally giving in. " I was at Faith's place."
"Faith Yokas? You were with Faith? All night? Does her husband know about this?" ma questioned.
"Yes.yes.yes.and I don't know," I answered, getting a glare from ma. "I gave her a ride home after work.we talked for a while.I fell asleep on her couch.I woke up there around six.any more questions?"
"Yeah, does her husband know about this?" ma asked her question again.
"Hell, I don't know. Maybe Fred knew; maybe he didn't," I replied explaining myself.
"Well wasn't he there?" ma continued her line of questioning.
"Hey Lieu, you need any detectives down at the precinct?" I questioned, gesturing my head in ma's direction. Lieu just laughed.
"I don't know what Fred knows ma. Like I said, I fell asleep on the couch. I wasn't in Faith's bedroom."
"A ha," was all ma managed to reply.
"Faith and me.we haven't been talking much lately. I don't mean just cause we weren't working together. I mean as friends. I didn't realize til we were working yesterday that I missed working with her; missed talking like we did."
"So the two of you got things worked out?" Lieu asked. I answered his question with a look. He continued.
"I couldn't help notice that things were a little off between the two of you."
"Yeah, everything's fine. Like I said, we talked at her place last night.cleared the air and all."
"Glad to hear it," Lieu replied. "I'd hate to have to assign you a new partner. I don't know how she does it but Faith seems to be able to tolerate you."
"She thought I was an ass once too Lieu," I explained, the words almost coming straight from Faith. "I guess I just grew on her."
"I love Faith, she's such a nice gal," ma explained her point of view. "Too bad she's married. You need someone like her Maurice."
"You always did like Faith ma," I replied. Ma and Faith were a lot alike. Must be part of the reason why Faith had been such a big part of my life for as long as she had.
"I liked Nicole too," ma said, getting my attention. "Did I tell you she called me?"
"No, but she said she was going to call you," I answered.
"Nicole?" Lieu asked.
"One of Maurice's old girlfriends," Ma replied.
"You still talk to ex-girlfriends?" Lieu asked. The look on his face, basically described as total shock, said it all.
"Not usually," I answered. "That guy we brought in a while back.the one committing the attacks on women? His last attack was on Nicole."
"I remember that," Lieu acknowledged. "That was Nicole?"
"Yeah, that's Nicole?"
"Beautiful girl," Lieu replied, his description accurate. "I got the impression she had money?"
"Her family has money," I replied.
"Where'd you ever meet a girl like that?"
"That was three or four years ago, I don't remember where we met," I commented, recalling a conversation I'd had one night with Nicole. "Actually the reason we started going out was to piss off her daddy."
"I take it daddy didn't like her choice in dates?"
"Her daddy didn't care for her dating a street cop, that I can tell you."
"You ever actually meet him.either of her parents for that matter?"
"Yeah I met them once. Nicole invited me to the opera with her parents."
"You went to the opera?" Too much information.the look on Lieu's face was that of total shock.
"Yeah, me at the opera, you believe that?" I described the night for him. "Tuxedo, limo, the whole nine yards."
"I bet you looked handsome," ma replied taking my face in her hands and acting just like a mom.
"I felt like a waiter. Faith said I looked nice though."
"Faith got to see you all dressed up and I didn't?"
"No big deal. I changed in a restaurant bathroom. No way was I changing at the station. Anyway, Faith fixed my tie for me."
"So Faith was dressing you too?" ma inquired.
"Just fixed my tie ma," I explained. "No big deal."
"I seem to remember Nicole making a comment about you getting dressed," ma said with a devious smile. She was going to embarrass me that morning if it was the last thing she did.
"Remember that?" she continued looking at me and then to Lieu. "One morning I called Nicole at her apartment and she told me how she was watching my son get dressed."
Lieu didn't say a word but the look on his face spoke volumes. We were both men after all. Sometimes guys don't have to talk to communicate. I figured I could let ma win meaning I get embarrassed. Or I could explain what'd happened that particular morning meaning I take control of the conversation. I chose the latter.
"Nicole liked watching me dress," I continued. "I thought she liked watching me undress but I guess she liked it both ways."
Having said that, I'd embarrassed my mother so I figured it was time to go. Picking up my jacket, I headed for the door.
"I should get going," I replied. "You two enjoy your breakfast."
Since it was only seven thirty and it'd been a morning of surprises, I figured I might as well surprise one more person. Twenty minutes later I knocked on Nicole's door.
"Hey, good morning," she greeted me with a hug. "I didn't expect to see you this morning."
"I've had that effect on people today," I explained drawing a confused look from Nicole.
"I stopped by ma's this morning. She was surprised to see me. Turns out she was having breakfast with a certain Lieutenant."
"So did he spend the night too?" Nicole asked.
"No, he showed up at her door while I was there," I explained. "I gave her a hard time about it."
"Maurice.you and your mother.."
"Don't feel bad for her. She can dish it out better than she takes it."
"Meaning what exactly?"
"I gave Faith a ride home last night. We talked for a while before I fell asleep on her couch. Woke up there this morning. I think ma got the wrong idea."
"You and Faith huh?"
"Ma seems to think so. She doesn't really think that me and Faith have something going on but she sure as hell enjoyed ribbing me about it."
"You and Faith are such a cute couple," Nicole teased, pinching my cheek as she did. Just to clarify, that'd be the one on my face. The smile on her face and her laugh as she said it gave her away. "Your mom's sweet. Did she tell you we talked?"
"She mentioned it although she didn't say what you talked about." If that sounded like a question, there'd be a reason for that.
"We talked about a lot of things, mostly you.of course your mom always did like to talk about her son."
"Yeah I know."
"I told her all about the attack at my store and how you and Faith were there. And I told her about you coming by the hospital to take me home. And I might have mentioned something about you leaving here very early the following morning."
"Ah huh. I'm sure she loved hearing that," I said, shaking my head as I spoke.
"You mom's actually very protective of you."
"Oh yeah.unless it involves Faith and me and sleep or you and me and dressing. Then that sweet adoring women turns into a vulture."
"So how long has she been seeing the cop now?"
"About a month I guess," I replied, trying to think how long it'd been since I'd introduced them.
"I got the impression from talking to her that she really likes this guy," Nicole explained, not taking her eyes off me as she spoke. "How do you feel about the two of them?"
"What can I say?" I replied, shrugging my shoulders. "I mean she seems happy with him. He's a decent enough guy. Hell, he's better than decent. I mean I respect the guy. When did I ever like anyone she's seeing much less respect the guy?"
"Well, I'm happy for her. I mean the way she talks about this guy.he seems nice.very nice. If she's happy, then I'm happy for her."
"I guess I am too," I replied before pausing.
"Hey, she'll always be your mom. The two of you have a special bond and not even the nicest guy in the world can change that."
"I know.it's just."
"It's just that you've had her to yourself for so long that it's not easy sharing her with another man.even one who treats her the way she deserves to be treated."
"Yeah," I nodded. "Look, I can see that I got you out of bed and I need some sleep myself."
"You could sleep here you know?"
"When did I ever sleep here?"
"Never.come on.be adventurous.nothing wrong with trying new things. Besides, my bed's already warm."
"Just sleep?" I asked. "Nothing else?"
"Nope, nothing else. Of course I wouldn't complain if I happen to fall asleep snuggled up next to a warm body."
I'd been at Nicole's apartment for almost a half hour. It was only then that I took off my coat.
to be continued..
