Chapter 3
Bobby walked Alex back to her table, where she hastily attached her shoes to her little handbag so she wouldn't forget them .She had no intention of putting them back on, she just didn't want to loose them. They were expensive.
Her head emerged from under the table and she rejoined the party.
"So, how was the dance?" Reynolds asked.
"It was pretty good," she answered.
"It was more than pretty good- you were out there for half an hour before the Commissioner came up to you," Martin cut in. Both Alex and Bobby blushed. "Oooh, time for desert," said Martin with enthusiasm.
"Oh yah," Alex said as a chocolate mousse was placed in front of her.
"Did you know that 60percent of women surveyed said they'd rather go without a man than chocolate?" said Bobby conversationally.
Alex slowly pulled the fork out of her mouth, savoring every last bit of chocolate. "I believe it," she finally said. "I could melt right here." They all laughed andAlex caught Bobby's eyes.
After a while Deakins, Martin, and Reynolds all got into a conversation about the two Detectives' retirement, leaving the newbies, Alex and Bobby, to fend for themselves.
After more talking and conversation Alex still wasn't sure about Bobby. She had heard that he could be a little weird, but she couldn't find any evidence of "weird" past him obviously being a nerd.
He seemed shy at first, but once she had brushed upon the subject of criminal motive he was off like a rocket, talking faster and more excitedly than she even thought possible from Anna, and that was saying a lot. She smiled at how enthusiastic he was about the subject, but after a while began to compare him to a chatty teenager crossed with a know-it-all.
It's true she was interested in all of that, but she was much more ready to attribute the basic emotions and common stupidity to a majority of crimes. But she didn't dwell on it. Bobby was… unusual, she had decided. Sweet, but unusual.
In truth, Bobby was just so happy to have somebody listen to him, someone who was interested. Also, someone who was younger than the usual old fart. He had always felt like he was a big fish in a small (rapidly aging) pond. Now that there was someone who was actually younger than him, he didn't feel so large- even ifthey weren'tpartners.He felt like he might actually fit in for the first time in a long time. Of course, "fit in" was a relative term...
Eventually the evening wore down (Alex had managed to get both Reynolds and Martin to offer up their chocolate mousse to her), and they all stood up to say goodbye. Alex shook everybody's hand at the table. She said goodbye to Deakins who said, "See you in a week!"
She said Goodbye to Detectives Martin and Reynolds, who both insisted on giving her a kiss on the cheek and promising to make sure she got their old desks for her and her new partner (at which point they gave a gleaming look towards Goren).
Finally she came to Goren who said, "It was a pleasure to meet you. I'll see you at work," and nothing more.
Alex turned and left, but little did she know that one of the straps on her shoes (which were strapped to her purse) had broken. The shoe toppled to the floor and she left without noticing...