Lennie unlocked his apartment's front door and let Anita in. He went straight way to the chair next to his closet and took his gun from his ankle holster and put it in his lock box.
"Is that your way of putting off this conversation or are you just getting temptation out of the way," Anita asked him with a laugh.
"Uh, neither. Just a force of habit, I started taking my gun off and putting it in the lock box as soon as I came home when Cathy was just a baby. Guess some habits are hard to break," he said with a grin as he removed his leather jacket and hung it in the closet.
"You want a cup of coffee or something?" he asked her, feeling awkward and not really wanting to get into the conversation immediately.
"No, I just want to sit down and talk about this," she said firmly.
"OK, how about over here," Lennie said and directed her to his couch.
Anita sat on the couch and allowed her shoes to fall off as she pulled her feet up and tucked them under herself on the couch. Lennie sat in the corner of the couch and laid his right arm along the back of the couch and his left arm on the couch's arm.
"You know what I'm gonna say," she said.
"Yeah, but I'm still gonna make you say it," he countered.
She sighed, "OK," she said and nodded, "we can't do this," she waved her hand between the two of them. "We can't have a relationship."
"Why not?" Lennie asked tersely. "Have I gotten all the signals wrong? Am I the only one with these kinds of feelings?"
"No, I care for you," Anita replied, and then looking down she continued more softly, "I love you," she said in an almost anguished tone.
"And I love you," Lennie said moving forward to capture one of her hands, "and that's all we need for a relationship".
"No, no it isn't," Anita said emphatically, though tears were forming in her eyes. "We can't ignore the anti-fraternization regulations."
"Why the hell not? We love each other, why should we let the fucking NYPD tell us we can't be together?" Lennie said hotly.
"Lennie, there are good reasons the department has the policy," Anita argued.
"Are you telling me that if we were lovers it would affect how you do your job or how I do mine?" he challenged her. "Would you make assignments differently? Handle disciplinary actions differently?"
"I, I don't know. " she answered and he looked at her with an expression that said he wasn't buying her prevarication, "Alright, no. No it wouldn't effect how I run the squad. I mean, I might be a little more careful about when I schedule you to be on call," he smiled at her when she said that, "and I'd have my heart in my mouth when you had to go out and make a tough arrest, but no it wouldn't change how I ran the squad."
"So why should that damn policy's existence mean we can't be together?" Lennie said beginning to feel that he was definitely winning this argument; he just needed to confront each reason Anita brought up head on.
"What if someone finds out about us and files a grievance?" she asked.
"First of all, I can't imagine anyone in the squad doing that, but if they do, we face what ever IAB investigation occurs. If IAB metes out some form of disciplinary action I can't imagine it would be that bad," he said.
"Oh really? And what if they take you permanently out of the field or force you off the force? Didn't you tell me being a detective is all you've ever wanted to do with your life" Anita countered.
"Kick me off the force for fraternizing? I don't think so," Lennie said.
"Are you forgetting that I'm not exactly the department's fair-haired girl? They'd probably love to do something really severe to both of us just to get back at me. I couldn't stand it if they did something to hurt you!" Anita said again very near to tears.
"The only things that are hurting me are the thought of us not being together and seeing tears in your eyes," Lennie said as he scooted closer to her and then pulled her back into his arms.
"Look if you are so worried about us getting caught in this anti-fraternization policy, I'll transfer out of the 2-7," he offered.
She turned a bit so she could see him better, "Are you crazy? You have to list a reason on the transfer request. What are you gonna say? I want to transfer so I can bang my lieutenant?" she asked.
"Hey, I don't want to bang you, I want to make love to you and the sooner the better," Lennie said and began kissing and caressing her.
Anita turned and put a hand in his chest and scooted back to her original position on the couch.
"Down boy, we haven't finished hashing this out yet," she countered.
Lennie sighed.
"Look, you think about when cops get transferred. They get transferred when they get promoted, when another cop retires, gets killed or severely injured or when there's a problem with another officer, none of those things are gonna play," she said.
"Well, I suppose I could put in an application for sergeant detective," Lennie said.
"Oh yeah, that wouldn't be suspicious at all, I mean you only passed the sergeant exam what -15 years ago? And you've never once applied for a promotion based on that exam. Makes me wonder why you bothered to take the stupid thing in the first place. After all this time they'd probably make you retake it," Anita said.
"OK, if I can't transfer, I'll retire. I've got plenty of years in," Lennie suggested.
"You, retire? And do what?" she asked.
"I don't know maybe start a PI business," Lennie suggested. Anita rolled her eyes at him.
"Look what's going on here. Didn't you just say you loved me?" Lennie asked a bit exasperated.
"Yes, I do and because I do, I want what's best for you. I'm not sure that being with me is what's best for you, not if it means you might lose the one thing you love to do!"
Lennie leaned forward again and took her face in his right hand. "Baby, being a detective isn't the only thing I love to do and I'm trying to tell you, I'm willing to give it up if we can be together."
"But I don't want you to have to give anything up," Anita whined.
"God, woman you're driving me nuts, just shut up and kiss me," Lennie ordered.
Anita looked shocked but complied and Lennie decided he'd wasted a lot time and words, this was how to convince her. After all actions speak louder than words. He eased out of the kiss and began setting forth a plan.
"This is what we're going to do. We're going to have a relationship. We'll be discreet about it until your divorce is through though. We are also going to investigate this fraternization policy and see if there is a way around it. OK?" Lennie asked, but in a way that said he really expected her to go along with him.
"OK," she said with a smile, realizing how much she'd wanted him to just take charge and convince her that their being together was the right thing.
"Well, I'm on a roll here, so I'm gonna make one more suggestion," Lennie said as he began moving closer to her, running his hands over her arms and legs.
"What's that?" Anita asked.
"Let's move to the bedroom," Lennie suggested as he motioned with his head toward the bedroom then stood and offered her his hand.
When she stood up, Anita quickly reached under her skirt and took off her thigh holster and gun. The action and the sudden appearance of her gun spooked Lennie for a second, but then Anita said "OK, but how about you put this in your lock box first?"
Lennie laughed a bit and said, "OK, I think things will probably go better without it," and he took the gun to the front closet.
He came back to her and led her by the hand to his bed. Something he saw on her face made him stop for a moment, "Anita, am I pushing you too fast here?"
"No, its just, it's been a long time and I, I'm afraid I may disappoint you," she said, looking down at her stocking covered feet.
Lennie made her lift her face to look at him by placing two fingers of his right hand under her chin.
"You'll never disappoint me," Lennie said and leaned down to kiss her mouth tenderly.
His words warmed her heart and Anita put her right hand behind his neck, burrowing her fingers into the hair at the back of his head. Her other hand began stroking his chest through the silk of his shirt. Lennie pulled her more tightly to him his strong hands grasping her at her left shoulder and right hip, trapping her hand between them. She pushed him away a bit and began working the buttons to his shirt, so she could touch his bare skin. When she got his shirt opened, she ran her fingers through his thick chest hair. Her red lacquered fingernails shone through the dark hairs that were shot with silver, as she searched out his nipples.
Lennie felt his skin catch fire with her touch and he knew his heart and mind would be fighting his body for control all night long. His body was screaming at him to make short work of Anita's clothes and throw her down on the bed and take her, but his heart and mind were telling him to take things slowly and savor their first time together. He began kissing her jaw line and moved toward her ear intending to suck her earlobe into his mouth but he encountered her gold hoop earring. She smiled up at him and took both earrings off and tossed them on the nightstand, then turned and pulled his shirttail out of his pants and then pushed his shirt off his shoulders.
"Hey, you're getting ahead of me, " he said, as he removed the gold chain belt at her waist.
She grinned and laughed at him and then gave a startled half yelp half laugh as he took the hem of her dress and pulled it over her head in one deft motion. He drank in the beautiful image of her in her bra, panties and stockings, but she looked self-conscious under his scrutiny. He knew that even a woman with as good a self-image as Anita had could still buy into the lies society told about what constituted a beautiful female body. To him she was feminine perfection, all soft round curves that his hands itched to hold. Before she could grow more self-conscious, he had to do something, say something.
"You are so beautiful, so desirable," he told her in a voice thick with desire, and then he held her tight to him so she could feel his arousal through the fabric of his trousers. He could feel his body growing more and more impatient, but it was his full intention to make slow, worshipful love to her. He intended to let his fingers and tongue caress and lave her body into frenzy. He wanted to hear her whimper with pleasure under his gentle ministrations, then and only then would he allow himself the joy of joining their bodies as one.
She suddenly became more assertive, unbuckling his belt and undoing the fastener to his trousers then unzipping them and pushing them down. When he realized he was "being pantsed", he toed off his shoes as well. Soon he was standing in front of her in boxers and socks, he said, "I'm the one who should feel self-conscious. I'm just an old, pot bellied, knobby kneed white guy".
"I don't agree," Anita said, "besides even if you were, you're my knobby kneed white guy, "she emphasized her point by pressing her hand against him through his boxers.
To get even, he deftly snapped open her strapless bra and then held her ample breasts in his large hands. Anita didn't want to think what his dexterity with the clasp implied about the number of women he'd been with and with his kneading her breasts and rubbing her nipples with his thumbs she wasn't really in any condition to think anyway.
Soon they were both nude and he was lowering her to the bed. The way she reacted to him let him know she'd probably never been with a man who didn't just rush to the "main event" so to speak, regardless of whether she was ready for that or not. Even if he weren't with the woman he loved, he wouldn't be so insensitive. He tried to clue her in by telling her he hoped she wasn't disappointed, but he just wasn't a "slam, bam and thank you ma'am" kind of man. She was perplexed at first, but as Lennie began his quest to please her, to love her thoroughly, she began to understand and to have the most satisfying sexual experience of her life.
After he brought her to a second climax with his very talented hands, he finally allowed himself to be where he had so longed to be, inside the woman he loved. It didn't take long for him to bring her to the edge again and the sound of his lover calling his name sent him over the edge with her. Before collapsing exhausted from their lovemaking, he reversed their positions, so she was laid part way on top of him as he sprawled on his back.
She kissed him and then noticed that his face was wet. "Lennie, are you crying?
He brushed at the tears on his face and said, "Sorry".
"No, don't apologize. You haven't done anything wrong. I just wondered why you were crying," she said.
"I guess I was just overwhelmed. Making love to you was the most amazing thing I've ever experienced in my life and-" she silenced him with a kiss.
"Oh Lennie," she said, as she laid her head on his chest. He stroked her hair and tucked her into his side. He realized that she understood him and felt as he did. In a short time she felt his breathing slow and knew he had fallen asleep. She raised her head to look at him a bit. He seemed younger and more relaxed in his sleep and he looked truly happy.
A short time later, Lennie woke and made love to her again and then a bit later yet again. Anita was amazed that a man Lennie's age had such recuperative powers and that he couldn't stop saying how beautiful she was and how much he loved her. After the last time they made love he "spooned" behind her with his arms wrapped around her, his left hand on her right breast and his right hand on her belly, his head on the pillow next to hers. Anita realized it was getting late and if they were to, as Lennie put it "be discreet", she needed to get home. She tried to move his hands aside without waking him but he started awake and clutched her to him.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"I have to go home, Lennie, it's getting late," she answered.
"No, please stay," Lennie requested.
"Lennie, if we are going to 'be discreet' I can't stay here tonight. My SUV is parked down in your apartment building's parking lot," she explained as she began to get dressed, deciding to omit her stockings as just too hard to struggle into so late at night or rather early in the morning.
"OK, I know you're right," he said reluctantly. "I'll get dressed and walk you down to the car," he began pulling on his boxers.
"Alright, I was going to argue with you but I know you'd feel uneasy if you didn't," she agreed with him.
They got dressed without any further discussion both quietly wishing things didn't have to be this way.
"I'll get your gun down, " Lennie offered.
"No leave it, I'll just put it on here tomorrow," she told him.
"OK, are you warm enough? Here take this," he said as he placed a white shawl around her shoulders as he opened the apartment's front door.
"And before you ask, it's my daughter Julia's. She forgot it the last time she visited and she said just to keep it for when she came back, " Lennie explained as they walked downstairs and toward the parking lot.
"You sure she'd want her Dad's new girlfriend wearing it?" Anita asked.
"First of all, you are not just Dad's new girlfriend, you're the love of her Dad's life. Second this is my Julia; she's the loving one. She'd give you the shawl herself for making her Dad so happy," Lennie smiled at her and kissed her, he meant it to be a gentle goodnight kiss but he couldn't help himself and the two of them got lost in each other for a few minutes.
"OK, I have to go now," she said as she pushed out of his embrace and turned and unlocked her SUV.
"Drive safely baby, and call me when you get home," Lennie said as he leaned in the driver's window for another kiss. He watched as she drove away and then turned to go back to his apartment and await her call.
When Anita turned onto her street she checked the time on the clock on the dash. It was 1:05AM, she thought everyone would probably be asleep at her home, but she noticed the lights on in the living room. Of course that didn't mean anything it was almost more common for Stefan to forget to turn the lights off than to remember. She decided to take her heels off, as they'd make a lot of noise on the parquet floor in the entryway, which might wake Stefan and Don up if they were sleeping.
Stefan decided he'd make a snack and then watch the late night movie, so he was just going from the living room to the kitchen, when he saw her sneaking in with her shoes in her hand. He laughed; he just couldn't help himself.
"What are you laughing at? " she asked, though she had a good idea.
"You, it just looks so funny to see my mama sneaking into the house with her shoes in her hands like I'd do if I was trying to sneak in late and not wake you up," he managed to explain over his laughter.
"I was not sneaking in, I was trying to be quiet, hoping you were in bed by this hour and had just forgotten to turn off the lights," Anita retorted in mock consternation.
"Ah Mom, its not that late, besides tomorrow's Saturday, I don't have to get up and go to school or anything. I was going to make myself a late night snack, you want something?" he asked.
"OK, I wouldn't mind a bite of something, I guess," she replied as she realized she was hungry and she wanted to spend some time with her son, but promising herself that she'd be quick about it, because she wanted to go upstairs to her bedroom to call Lennie and let him know she'd made it home safely, so he wouldn't worry.
"How about milk and apple pie, Mom?" Stefan asked.
"That sounds good to me," she answered, then she and her son set about getting dessert plates and forks and glasses of milk out.
"Well, you finally drag yourself home did you," Don Van Buren said to his wife in a voice dripping with scorn.
"Didn't know I was expected at some certain hour," Anita replied trying not to rise to the baiting.
"Well, your old boss, George Michaels, called three hours ago, seemed real shocked you weren't already home," Don added.
Stefan sensed that things were about to get ugly between his parents and he really didn't want to be in the middle of it, but on the other hand he thought his presence might calm them.
"Did he leave a message?" Anita asked wondering what Michaels wanted.
"No, just a number. I put it over there by the phone," Don answered.
Anita went to get the message.
"What happened to your stockings and your earrings, Anita? Did you leave 'em at your boyfriend's apartment?" Don asked tauntingly.
"Don't see how any of that's your business anymore," she answered.
"Well, if I'm gonna have to take messages from one boyfriend while you're out banging another one, I think maybe I should know something," he said.
"Don, do you have to act like a jerk in front of your son?" Anita asked beginning to get angry with her soon to be ex-husband.
"Me? I'm not the one comes sneaking into the house at 1AM reeking of sex. Let me give you a little advice, Anita. Next time you go sweating up the sheets with your white detective boyfriend, take a shower afterwards," Don said with scorn.
Stefan began slowly stalking towards his father saying, "Dad, you damn well better be drunk if you're gonna talk to my mom that way. 'Cause I swear if your sober and talking to her like that I'm gonna kick your sorry ass out of this house".
"Stefan, stop it, it's all right," Anita told her son.
"No, its not Mom. He's the one who's been out whoring around for years. I know cause when I found out about that last chick, I talked to Ric and he told me about a bunch of other women he knew about. And now that you and him are finally getting divorced, he's got no call saying stuff like that to you, even if it's true," Stefan argued.
Anita felt like Stefan had slapped her with those last four words-even if it's true.
"Do you think it's true?" she said in a shocked voice.
Don Van Buren suddenly felt a twinge of guilt, he'd caused all this mess because he was suddenly jealous and he had no right to be. He'd given up the right to think of himself as Anita's husband a long time ago. He realized he felt jealous not because he was still in love with Anita but more because he knew that the man she'd been with was very lucky; Anita wasn't a woman who would give herself to meaningless affairs, unlike the women he'd been involved with. No, Anita would only give herself to a man she loved. She wasn't like he'd tried to suggest with the insult he'd hurled at her.
Stefan looked at his Mom, he realized he'd really hurt her by even hinting that he thought she was capable of acting like his Dad was suggesting and yet he also knew he had some doubts. As much as he thought his Dad was being an asshole, was his Mom so naive as to not realize the way things looked? He saw the crushed look on her face and knew what he had to say whether he totally believed it or not.
"No, Mama I don't think that. But I'm not a little boy anymore either. Dad is out of line, but he's right about your needing to be a little more discreet. You can't rub your affair in his face like this. A man has his pride," he told her.
"Is that what I've done? Have I hurt your pride?" Anita asked Don, actually wanting to know his reasons for acting like such a jerk.
"No, not really. I was just envious. I know you Anita. You wouldn't be with this man if you weren't in love with him. You're just not the kind to have a meaningless affair. I guess I'm just disappointed that we grew apart 'cause you're a hell of a woman. And I'm even more disappointed that I haven't been able to find someone special like you have," Don admitted.
"Hey, can we chalk this up to it being late and that maybe the two of you shouldn't be living in the same house anymore?" Stefan suggested. "I mean none of my friends' parents continued to live in the same house after they filed for divorce," he concluded as he returned to the chore of getting pie out for everyone, his dad included.
"Well, you might have a point, son. Maybe we need to figure out who's gonna keep the house and who's gonna move out," Don said as he grabbed a piece of pie, thinking the normal activity of the three of them eating a late night snack would return things to normal.
"Hey, maybe you can move in with your boyfriend, Mom," Stefan suggested as he handed his mom her piece of pie.
Before Anita could say anything, Don said, "No she can't do that".
Anita looked at Don startled.
"Why not?" Stefan asked.
"Department regulations against it. Huh, 'Nita?" Don was secretly pleased to see his soon to be ex-wife so astounded and before she could answer he continued, "What's a matter? Are you surprised that I know who your lover is?"
"Yes, very surprised," she admitted.
"Oh, it took me a minute to figure it out, but when I thought about it, I knew. You talk about him all the time. He's the one, who makes you laugh, and he makes you the angriest too, when he screws up," Don explained.
"Well you're right that we can't live together, we shouldn't even be together-"
"Mom, do you love this guy?" Stefan asked.
"Yes Stefan, I do," she answered simply.
"Then you should be together. If the police department has some policy against you being with this guy then that's just whack, don't pay any attention to it," her son told her.
"Well thanks for the vote of confidence," Anita said. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable standing here talking about her lover with her soon to be ex-husband and son and she knew she needed to call him soon or he'd be worried.
"Look I'm gonna take my snack upstairs and make my phone calls. By the way, not that I owe anyone an explanation or anything but I'd join a convent before I dated George Michaels. Having to call him back is strictly business," Anita said as she took her milk and pie and George's number up stairs.
Lennie was beginning to worry about Anita; she should have been home for a while now. He'd call but some how he was pretty sure that would push the envelope on what was 'discreet'. He decided he'd make a sandwich, for some reason he was terribly hungry. He grinned to himself at his private joke. Just as he put his empty plate and glass in the sink the phone rang.
"Hello," he said with almost a question in his voice.
"Hi Lennie," she said.
"Hi baby, I was beginning to worry about you," Lennie said. He walked to the bedroom and lay down on "his' side of the bed.
"I'm sorry, I thought when I got home everyone would be asleep but Don and Stefan were both awake and we had a little scene and then I had to call Michaels," she explained.
"What do you mean a little scene?" Lennie asked concerned.
"Oh, Michaels had called several hours earlier and expected I'd be home by then. Well Don's not stupid, he added things up and made some rude comments and Stefan got upset with him," she explained.
"Oh great!" Lennie said.
"No it's OK. It's all settled now and it's probably for the best," Anita told him.
"Well OK, as long as your alright," Lennie said gently, deciding to let it go but making a mental note to ask for more details later.
"I am OK but I miss you," she said.
"I miss you too. Hey, why don't you come over tomorrow? We can spend the day together before we have to go to the pool hall?" Lennie suggested.
"All right, I'll be there about 10, we can make brunch together."
"OK. Say what did Michaels want?" Lennie asked.
"He wanted to let us know that the AV technician that reads lips said that we were successful because some one said, you were just what the 'boss' wanted for his guest," Anita answered.
"Uh, did you say one of the AV techs reads lips?" Lennie asked with a bit of concern.
"Yeah I did," she said with a bit of emphasis.
"Guess maybe we better be careful when we whisper things to one another tomorrow evening," Lennie said thinking about what he'd whispered to her after their first kiss.
"Yeah, well it may be a bit late for that," she replied.
"Yeah, well if it is, it is. I'm not gonna regret anything we've said or done," he said emphatically. "Are you?" he asked sounding unsure.
"No, I'm not gonna second guess and I'm never gonna regret making loving to you," Anita said softly.
"Oh, baby I love you so much. I wish you were here with me right now," he said.
"I know, just be patient, OK? I'm gonna say goodnight now. You sleep well," she said tenderly.
"Sweet dreams, baby," Lennie said as he hung up.
Lennie found it hard to fall asleep. He kept thinking about Anita. Not just making love to her tonight either; he found himself thinking back to when he first met her, trying to figure out when he first fell in love with her, remembering telling himself he couldn't be in love with her because she was married and his boss, then remembering giving into the fact that whether or not he was supposed to be in love with her he was, he couldn't help it.
He finally fell asleep about 3AM, which made it rather obnoxious when someone started knocking on his door at 8:30AM. He sat up groggily and yelled, "Just a minute," then he grabbed his slacks from the evening before and after pulling them on, he took his shirt with him trying to get it on as he went to his front door.
"Who is it?" he yelled as he was crossing the living room.
"It's Ed," his partner replied from the other side of the door.
"Oh, OK," Lennie said. Still pretty much asleep, he flipped the deadbolt and slipped the chain, then let the door fall open as he turned to go to his kitchen.
"Come on in, Ed. I'm gonna put on a pot of coffee, you want some?" Lennie asked trying to be a good host even though he was sleepy.
"Sure. Uh, you OK partner? I mean you're usually pretty functional by this time of day. Usually you'd be showered, which by the way partner you could really use, shaved, dressed and most of the way through your second cup of coffee, and since its Saturday and you're not on call, you'd probably be doping out the racing form for a trip to the OTB," Ed observed.
Lennie looked at Ed with an unreadable expression and then said, "Well, tell you what, you baby-sit the coffee pot while I go take that shower, and get dressed and then maybe you'll tell me why you're here."
Ed started doing something he couldn't believe he'd ever do. He started snooping around in his partner's apartment, not that he had to look very hard. The lieutenant's earrings and stockings were in Lennie's bedroom in clear sight. Of course maybe there was an innocent explanation for those items being there. There might be an innocent explanation for the love bite on Lennie's neck too. And maybe, maybe...
Before Ed could rouse himself from his reverie and get out of Lennie's bedroom, Lennie emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped round his waist. He gave Ed a cool look but didn't say anything, then went to his dresser drawer and turned his back to Ed while he went through the drawers, pulling out an A-shirt, boxers and a pair of socks. Looking at Lennie's back as Lennie reached under the towel to put his boxers on, Ed tried to decide whether there could be an innocent explanation for the scratch marks on Lennie's shoulders as well.
"So is it that she's married or that she's your boss that turns you on?" Ed asked in an insolent voice. Lennie turned around quickly and stepped over to Ed getting into his personal space.
"You know what Ed, because you're my partner and because you don't really know what you're talking about, I'm not gonna knock you on your ass. But I am gonna ask you to get whatever business you wanted to discuss with me over quick and then get the hell out of here. Then maybe, you and I oughta think about requesting new partners," Lennie said in a tightly controlled voice.
"Whoa Lennie, calm down. I'm sorry if I came at this wrong. You gotta know what this looks like though. I mean I came here to warn you not to go playing with fire and it looks like you've already been burnt," Ed was shaking his head and he seemed truly upset.
Lennie began to realize that his partner didn't really bear him any ill will but he didn't have all the facts. "Go pour a couple of cups of coffee and let me finish getting dressed," Lennie ordered the younger man in a controlled tone of voice.
Lennie came into the kitchen wearing a long sleeve, button front blue shirt and a pair of navy pants, he sat down at the kitchen table and took one of the cups of coffee from Ed.
"I put sugar in it for you," Ed said sounding like a kid hoping that since he'd done something right without being asked that he might get some lenience. Lennie shook his head, he couldn't believe how much like a spooked kid Ed looked right now. It touched him because he realized Ed didn't want to lose him as a partner.
"Look, I overreacted a bit back there. I know you think you understand what's going on but you don't," Lennie stopped and looked at Ed waiting to see if the younger man would interrupt him.
"Anita is in the process of getting a divorce. She and her husband haven't really been any more to each other but partners in parenting their sons for many years. I've been in love with her for a long time but I never did anything about it, because I learned my lesson a long time ago concerning married women," Lennie stopped and took a sip of his coffee.
"When I learned she was getting a divorce I was happy. I wanted to find out if she had any feelings for me, but I was trying to give her time. Then we got this undercover assignment and things got pushed along a lot faster than either of us would have liked, but neither of us regrets what happened between us. And as to her being my boss, well it's only a problem because the NYPD says it is. Of course if you want to make trouble for us, I guess you can do that, but I'm hoping you won't," Lennie stopped and waited for Ed to respond.
"So you really love her?" Ed asked. Lennie felt relieved that that was the kid's first question.
"Yeah, Ed, I really do," Lennie said smiling shyly.
"But I thought your two failed marriages had sort of turned you off on love and romance and all that stuff," Ed said, teasing the older man a bit.
"Now, I've told you before, I'm not turned off of love just marriage. In fact, if Anita says something about getting married I'll probably bolt," Lennie said with a laugh.
"You better not, I'm not letting you hurt the Lieu," Ed teased his partner and felt a great sense of relief that things were back to normal between the two of them. He'd never tell Lennie but he felt like the older man was a second father to him, one who didn't disapprove of what he was doing. If he and Lennie were ever to part on bad terms it would be devastating to him.
"You just watch my back and she'll be fine," Lennie requested.
"Hey Lennie, what about her being your boss, what are you gonna do about that?" Ed asked.
"I don't know exactly. Look it's not like she and I have had a lot of time to discuss these issues. We spent a little time last night making up our mind to go ahead and be together, maybe today we can talk about exactly how we make it work. I'm thinking we'll just keep our personal lives and professional lives separate and there shouldn't be any problems," Lennie answered.
"You gonna move in together? How you gonna keep the department from figuring out that you're living together if you do that?" Ed asked.
"Hey, whoa, like I said we haven't had time to work through all of this. She's coming over in," Lennie checked the clock, "about an hour and maybe we'll get around to figuring it out then. Speaking of her coming over I need to go to the grocery store. She wants to cook 'brunch'," Lennie said his voice putting quotes around the last word.
"Well, partner, you better go get those groceries then," Ed said as he got up and got ready to leave.
"Any idea what I should buy considering the frig and the pantry are pretty bare?" Lennie asked.
"Everything you can imagine for breakfast and lunch and some flowers," Ed advised Lennie. "Man, I can't believe I'm telling my partner how to romance the boss," he added.
"Get out of here," Lennie said as he punched the younger man in the shoulder.
Lennie had just finished putting away the groceries, when he heard a knock at the front door. He rushed to the door eagerly and when he opened it he found Anita with a suit bag and a small suitcase.
"Hey," he said and gave her a little kiss. "What's all this?" he asked as he took the suit bag and suitcase from her.
"Well, I've got what I'm gonna wear tonight in there," Anita said indicating the suit bag "and some clothes for tomorrow in here," she said indicating the small suitcase.
"You're gonna stay tonight?" he asked obviously pleased.
"Well unless you don't want me to?" she teased
He put the suit bag and suitcase down and pulled Anita into his arms.
"Let me show you how much I want you to stay," he said as he began kissing her and maneuvering them back towards the bed.
"Lennie stop," she said with a laugh. "Let's get something to eat and then spend some time talking some things over, OK?"
"OK, I am pretty hungry," he agreed. "And I probably will need the energy," he added with a wolfish grin
She proceeded to the kitchen where she praised him for thinking to buy flowers, and then scolded him for not having put them in water yet. After the flowers were taken care of she made them a wonderful omelet which they ate with fresh sliced fruit and toast and scads of coffee as they discussed their situation. Lennie told her about Ed's visit and he got some more details about the scene with her soon to be ex. They talked about how they wanted their relationship to proceed and whom they would allow to know about it and what they would do if someone inadvertently found out about them.
"What would you normally do on a Saturday?" Anita asked Lennie as they washed the dishes.
"Well that depends, if I'm not on call and I don't have any special plans, I'd probably get the weekly chores out of the way. Clean the apartment, do the laundry, shop for groceries and then maybe go to a movie or just crash in front of the TV," he answered, then added with a laugh, "Real exciting life huh?"
"Actually sounds fine to me, how about I help you with some of those things and then we crash in front of the TV for a while?" she asked.
"Are you sure you want to do that?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yep, I'm sure," she replied.
Lennie almost laughed when he saw how efficient Anita was in getting the cleaning chores organized. He'd never gotten his apartment cleaned and the laundry done so quickly before but then he'd never had a partner to share doing them with either. Of course he'd done his best to slow things down by trying to talk her into making love instead of making the bed. When the chores were done they snuggled up in his big leather easy chair and watched classic movies.
As Casablanca was ending he yawned, "Oh, I didn't get enough sleep last night."
He pushed up out of the easy chair forcing Anita to stand up with him, "Come on woman, help me mess up those fresh sheets and then let me hold you while I sleep, " he said as he led her to the bedroom.
Lennie wrapped his arms around Anita after making love to her. As he felt himself growing drowsy he thought, if things went wrong tonight at the pool hall and he didn't make it out alive, at least he'd finally been truly happy; he'd finally found a woman who loved him for who he was. He might become a better man with Anita in his life, but not a different man.
Then a thought that chilled him to the bone entered his mind. What if something went wrong and she was killed? He wouldn't be able to handle that. He instinctively held her closer and Anita turned in his arms to look at him.
"What's wrong, honey?" she asked.
"Nothing, baby," Lennie tried to reassure her.
"Don't lie to me, mister. I hate that!" Anita said.
"OK, I just - I -I'm worried about tonight. I don't want anything to go wrong. I couldn't handle it if something happened to you," Lennie finally managed.
"Nothing's gonna go wrong, Lennie," she told him emphatically.
"You know how I know that?" she asked and he shook his head.
"There are three things I know about my man. He's the best pool player, the best lover and the best cop there ever was. I know you won't let anything bad happen to me," she said with confidence.
"As my grandmother used to say, from your lips to God's ears," Lennie said and held her close to him and drifted off to sleep.