Author's Note: Ok, I've just updated this chapter. This is something that occurred to me while I was working on Chapter Nine. Here, I mentioned Valerie's busy week and Hardtop's date with her, but something told me that, in between the weekend of dates, and Hardtop's dinner with Valerie, I had to show some interaction between her and one of the other C.O.P.S. I thought a surprise movie with Barricade, followed by coffee and donuts (as described below) would be perfect. Those who give this a re-read, tell me if you like the improvement.
Chapter 8
Valerie stayed quiet on the way to Big Boss' headquarters. The whole way there, she'd been thinking about many things. She was mostly thinking about Jeremy, who had spent the whole afternoon at the Raines house. Thank God I let Jeremy eat over with Tyler, she thought. He'd have a crying fit if he saw me get kidnapped. But now, she was desperate to see him again.
When they arrived, Nightshade grabbed Valerie's arm and forced her into the building. Valerie was struggling herself free, but Nightshade gripped tighter. When they got to the floor with Big Boss' main office, she screamed, "Let go of me, you bitch! I can walk!" But Nightshade ignored her pleas.
In the office, Nightshade threw Valerie down on the floor and said, "Here she is, you guys. The woman of all your dreams."
She looked up and gasped. The men in the gang, including Big Boss, were all ugly, and she became frightened of them leering at her. Big Boss got up from his desk, and Valerie was shocked by his grossly overweight form. She didn't want to picture him naked. She was afraid of losing her meal. Big Boss looked like the type of man who didn't appreciate a mess on the floor.
"Oh my God," she said lowly. "I'm being pursued by a five foot tall human pig!"
"Actually, Valerie Boston," Big Boss said, "I prefer the term stocky crime lord."
He brought out his hand for her to take, but she refused. She stood up herself and barked, "Let's get this over with right now!" She looked around at the décor and furniture. "Although you have a nice place, I'd rather be anywhere but here right now! What do you want from me?"
Big Boss took her hand, and Valerie became even more frightened. The way his hand felt, she thought he was going to crush hers. But he was surprisingly gentle.
"Just yer pledge of love," he said slowly. "From the first time Buttons took yer picture, I thought of no one but you, see? What were you doin' with Mace, anyway? You know that–"
"If you're going to say that Mace belongs with Nightshade," she interrupted, "I can easily predict that he will break up with her as soon as he and the other C.O.P.S. come to rescue me. I mean, come on. A cop and a crook in love with one another? It's just not meant to be! And speaking of which, you're wasting your time, because I'm more interested in several of the C.O.P.S. Why, Barricade already bonded with my kid, and I fucked Sundown last night!"
"Bah!" Big Boss said. "You don't need those damn C.O.P.S. Lookit me, I've got ten times more love to give than any of those guys!" He proceeded to wrap his arms around her so tight, she couldn't move. Any tighter and she wouldn't breathe, either.
She became more apprehensive as he started whispering in his ear, "You don't know how valuable you are to us. Lookin' at you, I can tell we're going to be quite the romantic couple." He brought her over to face his gang, "An' if ya don't want me, I've got a host of other guys that need some love in their lives, too." She looked at Buttons, Turbo, Crusher and Dr. Badvibes, all flirting immensely with her. She was twitching, and felt sudden stomach pains.
"Where are the washrooms?" she moaned. "I have this sudden urge to puke."
Suddenly, she heard the office door fling open. She turned and saw another tall woman, short blonde haircut, butch-looking, and wearing too much makeup. Valerie shuddered. This was one ugly-looking woman.
"God, who the hell are you?" she asked her. "A fitness trainer on steroids?"
"You wish I was," the woman replied. "The name's Ms. Demeanor. And you must be that Valerie Boston chick Big Boss has been talking about." She was leering at Valerie to intimidate her. "So, which one of these guys do you want?"
Valerie screamed and stomped hard on Big Boss' foot. He released her, and she ran a few feet away from them. She screamed, "Let me out of here! I can't believe I'm trapped in here with a molten pot of uglies, a vixenous jewel thief and a butch pseudo-lesbian!" She glanced at Nightshade and Ms. Demeanor, who were shocked by what she said. "Yeah, you heard what I called you!"
Big Boss brushed past Valerie and locked the office doors. "Youse ain't goin' nowhere, baby!" he ordered. "Not until we discuss plans for our first date!"
She walked up to him and slapped him. "Don't you dare call me baby, you understand?" she said through her teeth. "I am not, nor will I ever be, your baby, Big Boss!"
"Why doncha call me by my real name?" he suggested. "It's Babel. Brandon Babel." He took her hand again. "Now, you've got two choices, see? We can either talk about that date, or I can take you to a spare room in the back, an' we can get laid, just you an' me."
She snatched his hand away. "Fuck you!" she spat. She addressed all the men present. "I'd rather sleep with a dead horse than with any of you, you got that!"
Jeremy was still at Tyler's house at quarter to nine. They had been playing Scrabble and Sorry the whole evening. They were just about finished their second Scrabble game, Jeremy ahead of Tyler by about five points.
It was Tyler's turn. He looked at his remaining two letters. A "Z" and an "O." It would've been the perfect opportunity to spell zoo, except there wasn't a free "O" on the board. So he started searching for any free consonants. He found two "N's," an "R," and a "T." After a quick decision, he placed it next to an "N" to spell no. Three points on a Double Letter square.
Jeremy cheered as his turn came. He had an "I" and a "T" left. He used the other "N" to spell tin. Three points, plus with that "Z," he'd stolen Tyler's ten points to defeat him by twenty-five.
"Dang, Jeremy, but you're a wordy genius," Tyler commented.
Cindy had been watching the game end, and she announced, "All right, Tyler, it's almost time for you to have a bath and go to bed. Jeremy, I'll have Blackbelt drive you home, okay?" She relayed the request to her husband as the boys put the game away.
"Sure thing," Blackbelt replied. Just as Jeremy and Tyler started for the front hall, the phone rang. Cindy answered, and Bulletproof showed up on the video screen.
"I need to speak with Blackbelt, is he at home?" he asked.
"He is," Cindy answered. "He's just about to take Jeremy home. One second, please." She called for her husband, and he took the phone. "Bulletproof, what's up?"
"We just got a call from a Rhonda Shewfelt," Bulletproof told him. "She has said that Nightshade showed up at her house this evening to confront her sister, Valerie. She added that Nightshade took Valerie out of the house to see the Big Boss."
"What!" Blackbelt cried. "You mean Valerie Boston? That woman from last weekend's picnic?" He turned to Cindy and relayed the story to her. She became shocked, and he quickly turned back to Bulletproof.
"Bulletproof," he said, "I'm about to take her kid back to the house. You want me to stop by the Big Boss' headquarters to pick her up?"
"The Big Boss and his whole gang may be holding her hostage, and might also be armed and more dangerous than ever," Bulletproof warned. "I want all available units there immediately. I've already contacted Longarm and Highway at their homes."
"Right," Blackbelt said. "I'm already there, and I'm taking Jeremy with me."
When he hung up, Cindy pleaded, "For God's sake, Blackbelt, please be careful over there. And watch out for Jeremy. If you have him reunite with Valerie, please make sure he doesn't get hurt in all that crossfire. It'd be just horrible if something happened to them both."
He kissed her and promised, "She and Jeremy will be safe in their home when this is over." He rushed to the front hall, saw the boys, and said to Tyler, "You better say good night to Jeremy now, and get ready for tomorrow, son."
"I am right now," Tyler said. "I heard Mom panicking. What's going on?"
"I have to take Jeremy to Big Boss' headquarters," Blackbelt answered. "Nightshade just kidnapped his mother, and she's being held hostage."
Jeremy screamed and started to cry. He ran to Blackbelt and clung to him. He wailed, "Blackbelt! Why… did they… take Mom? What… are… they… doing… to her?"
"Don't cry, Jeremy," Blackbelt replied. "I'm sure they're not doing anything bad to your mother. But we have to go rescue her before they get the chance to. And that means we have to go right away."
Tyler said goodbye to Jeremy, and Blackbelt took the boy to his police car. The officer revved it up, grinned at Jeremy and said, "Jeremy, it's crime-fighting time!"
"For the last fucking time," Valerie lamented at the bad guys, "I'm not going out with ANY of you! You're all as ugly and dumb as a mutated jellyfish!"
"I resent that remark!" Dr. Badvibes protested. "I'm probably smarter than all of the C.O.P.S. put together. Just give me one chance, and I can show you just how mannerly I can be."
"Well, since you're so polite," Valerie said, "I suppose I can ease up on you. But the answer is still 'no.' Sorry, but you're not my type. You're a little on the nerdy and scrawny side. And I don't go for mad scientists, either."
She turned back to Big Boss. "As for you, if you ever want to sleep with me, I'll have to put a bag over your head first. Yes, you're that ugly! And if you took me out to dinner, they'd have to find a special sofa for you to sit on. You'd destroy all the regular ones with your fat ass!"
"Stop with the insults, Valerie," Big Boss replied. "Why doncha just admit that ya wanna date me, see? Just get it over with! Say yes when I ask you out!"
Outside the headquarters, Blackbelt, Longarm and Highway joined the other C.O.P.S. in Valerie's rescue. "Excellent, all are present and accounted for!" Bulletproof said. "Now, let's move out. We've got an innocent mother to save!" They all ran into the building, to the elevators to the top floor.
Meanwhile, even Berserko was still harassing Valerie. "C'mon, Auntie Valerie!" he said. "We all know you want Unca Big Boss just as much as he wants you. Now, why doncha come outta the closet with your lil' feelin's?"
Valerie quickly slapped him. She said, "Call me 'Auntie Valerie' again, and something even worse is going to happen to you, got it? I wouldn't marry your uncle if he were the last man alive after the world ended!"
She walked quickly over to the doors and started pounding on them. "Get me the hell out of here!" she screamed. "I want my son! I want my sister! And I have to get up early in the morning!"
Big Boss walked over, took her arm and threw her against his desk. "Youse ain't goin' nowhere until we set our date!" he insisted. "Now, I'll clear my schedule for this Friday night, see? I know a classy four-star restaurant where I'll treat ya to a nice vegetarian dinner. Then, there's a 'Gangster's Paradise' matinee down at the bijou, see? Afterwards, I'll take ya to this classic nightclub, it's got a 1930's look to it, we'll have a few cocktails. You an' me, we're gonna have so much fun."
Before Valerie could respond, she saw the doors bang open, and Bulletproof yelling, "Freeze! C.O.P.S.! You're all under arrest!" His team of officers were behind him, including Blackbelt. As they all ran inside, she heard a familiar voice yelling, "Mom!" She saw Jeremy starting towards her.
"Jeremy!" she screamed. She ran over to hold him.
Suddenly, the crooks prepared their weapons, as did the C.O.P.S. Valerie was horrified to be trapped in the middle. But, just as Buttons was about to start shooting, Hardtop grabbed the mother and son and quickly pulled them out of the way, taking them to nearby bathroom.
Soon, everyone with a weapon began firing at one another. But it seemed as if the crooks were holding on their weapons so tightly, like they refused to leave their hands. The C.O.P.S were constantly ducking to avoid getting shot, as were the crooks. The whole office was getting shot up in the process, glass tinkling, papers flying everywhere. Luckily, Blackbelt managed to jump out over his group to the crooks. Using his martial arts skills, he kicked some weapons out of their hands, then gave them high-kicks and "power punches" to the crooks who were defenseless.
Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Hardtop was holding Valerie, asking, "Are you okay, ma'am?"
"Yeah," she answered. "Now that you are the others are here. By the way, what's with this 'ma'am' crap? You can call me 'Valerie,' you know."
"Sure thing… Valerie." he said.
They soon found themselves staring into each other's faces, focusing on their blue eyes. She started running her fingers through his light brown hair. He was touching the ends of her hair.
"Oh, God," he whispered. "Valerie, I can't get over just how beautiful you are."
She replied, "You're something of a pretty boy yourself, uh… uh… what's your name again?"
"Hardtop."
"Hardtop," she finished. "All right."
Hardtop couldn't keep his sudden romantic urges to himself anymore. He brought his face closer to hers and kissed her passionately. She put her arms on his back and started groping it, as she let him kiss her lips and chin. Jeremy was watching all this, and turned his head away when he couldn't take anymore.
"Mommmm!" he cried. "Must… you do… that… in… public? In front… of me? Kissing… is… gross!"
"Oh, Jeremy!" Valerie said. "What are you, six? People kissing when they're in love is perfectly natural, and you know it."
Hardtop chuckled and said, "You sure have a cute little boy. I guess I can tell where he gets that from. Listen, how would you like to go out with me Friday night?"
She smiled back and replied, "I'd love to. That was so sweet of you to say that."
"I'll see if I can find a thrifty restaurant," he said. "Women like you deserve to dine there. Then I hear this club, the White Apple Palace, is holding a poetry reading that night. I think it'll be a very romantic evening for us."
"I'm in. I love hearing and reading poetry." She almost added that Tom never wrote her poetry when they were together, but stopped herself. She was certain Hardtop wouldn't want to hear it.
When they were sure the commotion was over, Hardtop, Valerie and Jeremy walked back into the office. She smiled at the C.O.P.S. placing the crooks in handcuffs. A few feet from her, she could hear Nightshade pleading with Mace for another chance.
"Mace, please!" she screamed. "Please think about all those happy times we shared over the year. All the places we've been to, our pledge for marriage. That's what we've been talking about, for crissake! And why have you been ignoring and avoiding me! You love me, Mace, and you know it! You know it's me you want, not her! You don't love Valerie! You love me just as I love you! I've been reforming for you, you know! I've never even come back here for assignments. The Big Boss never put me up to this, anyway. Oh, Mace, you know I deserve another chance with you! Please!"
Before Mace could say anything, Valerie called, "Bitch, did you honestly think Mace would come crawling back to you, after you kidnapped me, and tried to make me into the Big Boss' love slave? Have you been doing crack? I think that hot hunk of man would have to be insane to do that!"
Mace grinned at her. "My sentiments exactly!" he declared. "Thank you, Valerie." He strutted over to her, put his arms around her, and tumbled her to the ground. "Hot hunk of man, now am I? God, but I love ya already, baby!" He gave her a most lustrous kiss, lustier than what he'd given her at the pool, right in front of everyone. She could hear Nightshade screaming, "No! Valerie, you sluuuuuut!" as she was being carried out.
Valerie awoke at six o'clock the next morning. She was still vengeful because of what Teresa learned about her and Mace. She was certain everyone at the agency would know about what happened at the pool. She was prepared for everyone asking her personal questions, calling her filthy names. Maybe they wouldn't call her names; she only slept with one policeman that they know of. Still, she was thinking about which knife to take to work with her, to kill Teresa with.
She had a bowl of cereal with one of those microwave breakfast meals – sausage links, eggs and hash browns, along with instant tea. She wanted to get to work early today. Besides confronting that gossipy secretary, she was also starting work producing that "Pretty and Plump" commercial.
Rhonda walked into the kitchen just as Valerie started eating. "Valerie, it's seven o'clock, and you're already having breakfast?" She asked. "Usually, we sit down together as a family at eight."
"I have that commercial to shoot today, remember?" Valerie asked. "I think we start shooting around nine. Also, before I do that, I need to pick some bones with Teresa Laird." She bit into a sausage and swallowed. "Methinks that the episode with Nightshade and her friends last night would've never happened if it weren't for her!"
As she drove towards the agency, she saw Teresa's red Honda pull into the parking lot. Since nobody except Mr. Lancer and Mr. Sussex had any reserved spaces, she parked her car closely beside her, and purposely opened her door to hit Teresa's passenger door.
She got out and slammed her door. Teresa ran to her passenger's side to examine the dent Valerie had left. She gave a haughty glare, ready for a catfight.
"You're paying for that damage, Valerie Boston!" she spat. "I'll tell Mr. Lancer, and he'll make sure this comes out of your salary!"
"Well, that was for telling everyone about my private pool date with Sgt. Mace!" Valerie spat. "You called everyone to tell them, didn't you?"
"Maybe I did! Of course, that's for me to know and for you to find out." Teresa started towards the agency, with Valerie following her. "Yesterday, this redhead who called herself 'Nightshade' came, and showed me this picture of you and Mace seemingly doing it on a raft. Don't think I don't know about those C.O.P.S., and what they do all the time. Maybe it would help if you read the newspaper headlines every morning."
"Fuck you, Teresa! Because of that, Nightshade came to Rhonda's house, kidnapped me, and literally took me to her leader. If those C.O.P.S. hadn't come to rescue me, that fucking Big Boss and all his goons would've taken their turns with me!"
Teresa made a sharp turn towards her and grinned. "So that Big Boss wants you, too? God, but you're quite the easy one, Valerie. I can't wait to tell everyone."
Valerie stomped her foot so hard, she almost broke her pump heel. "Dammit, Teresa! You're lucky there's no one else around, so I can check in without being harassed." She quickly punched her time card into the clock. "And you should also be lucky that I'm in charge producing that commercial at the Empire City Park today. With any luck, I won't have any of my team members asking me stuff that has nothing to do with work!"
She started for the main doors. "I've worked too hard to deal with this crap, Teresa!"
She opened her car to get in, then looked at the dent on Teresa's passenger door. Just for revenge, she slammed her door into Teresa's twice more, making an even bigger dent. She revved her car up and drove to the park, laughing evilly. That would teach her to gossip about a woman with a respectable salary!
It had been Valerie's busiest week yet. She spent that whole Monday morning watching fat models trundle down a fancy runway. Thank God it continued to be warm with no rain. That afternoon, she had the video crew editing and copying, and set up an appointment with Marina Brown, the owner of Pretty and Plump, for Wednesday morning. Meantime, Valerie had been preparing her speech for the meeting, and even previewed the commercial with her bosses. Mr. Sussex jokingly remarked, "It'll definitely make plus-size modeling more popular than ever."
Luckily, Brown approved of the commercial. Valerie mentioned that the fashion show concept was Nicole's idea, and she was impressed. She said, "Honey, if your niece can come up with ideas like that, then she definitely can have a place in this game."
That afternoon, Valerie took Jeremy to their appointment at Prince Richard School for the Handicapped. She told the headmaster, "Jeremy seems to be very skillful in reading computers, geography, and even some music. But I'm afraid he's not good in anything else." She showed him Jeremy's report cards from Rysher. "His past teachers have commented that his handwriting can be sloppy, but assignments are mostly readable when typed out on the computer. They've even mentioned that when they testified in my divorce. It's improved somewhat over the years, but not much." She also revealed Jeremy's barriers and habits, including his slow speech, head-turning and sudden outbursts.
He went through a series of reading, speech and psychological tests. It took at least three hours, during which he was moving his head around three times. Afterwards, the headmaster saw just how serious Jeremy's conditions were. He said to Valerie, "Mrs. Boston, I have a feeling you've given us a very good candidate for our school. Here at Prince Richard, we teach our children things we believe they might be able to handle, like basic reading, mathematics, science and computers. But in the case of your son, I think Math and Science may definitely be out the question. We'll analyze the results and our interview, and see what courses may be available for Jeremy." Valerie got up and shook hands. "Thank you, Mrs. Boston. We'll be in touch by the start of next week at the latest."
"Thank you, sir," she replied. She gave her work phone number, her cell number, and Rhonda's phone number. "I'm in the process of moving into a new home, and I still don't know when I'll officially be changing addresses."
"That's perfectly understandable, ma'am. You'll be hearing from us soon."
And that night, Barricade decided to surprise her by showing up at Rhonda's house unannounced to take her to the movies. They went to see Hatfield Loves McCoy, a romantic comedy about that old American family feud set in modern-day time, and the Hatfield boy who was determined to get the McCoy girl, in attempt to marry her and finally end the feud, but she wanted no part of it. After the movie, Barricade and Valerie went to Sweet Marie's Donuts, the C.O.P.S.' favorite donut shop, for coffee and donuts. She talked about her appointment with Prince Richard's, then they debated the concept of the movie. They talked about whether a Hatfield-McCoy marriage would happen in real life.
"You're kidding me, right, Valerie?" Barricade asked. "That feud started in 1863, and had been going on for almost thirty years, for God's sake. I've been to the Hatfield-McCoy Reunion Festival several times. Judging by what I saw, the current generations are still going at it. Strong, I might add."
"Why they still name pride as one of the seven deadly sins," Valerie laughed. "The more prideful members might still have hairs up their asses about ancient history, but I'm sure that if a boy from one family and a girl from the other fell in love deeply enough, they'd be able to understand. Besides, they officially called a truce almost two decades ago. Something like a happy marriage should've happened already by now."
"That would make good publicity, wouldn't it?" Barricade sipped some coffee and took a bite on a glazed donut. "But still, I think they'd have to be out of their minds to marry some of their family members off to each other. I think I asked some of them about it, and they just laughed it off."
"Sounds like there's too much harmony in those families." She took another jelly donut. "But we still need to be optimistic."
Finally, Friday night came. Hardtop had called three nights earlier to say he would pick her up from work. She tried to pass up, saying "I don't want Teresa announcing to the whole agency which one of you guys I'm dating this time."
But he had assured her, "Every working woman wants her date to pick her up at work. It'll be nothing. I just wait for you to come out of your office in your best outfit, and off we go from there."
That proved to be a big mistake, because Teresa could easily identify him as he said, "I'm here for Valerie Boston." He didn't even give his name. Moreover, when Valerie met him at the reception desk (in a scarlet red dress, matching high heels and full makeup,) Teresa turned on her megaphone and said, "Attention all employees! Our advertising dynamo, Valerie Boston, is about to go out on yet another date with a member of C.O.P.S., Officer–"
Valerie stopped her, but it was too late. Co-workers had left their offices to glance at her and Hardtop. Thankfully, neither Cindy nor Elise were in that crowd. Right away, the comments started.
"First Mace, then Hardtop? My, but Valerie can't seem to make a decision."
"She never told me she had a fetish for authority figures."
"You've got to be kidding me. He looks to be at least eight years younger than her."
Humiliated, Valerie grabbed Hardtop and led him out of the agency to her car. She told him, "We're all one big happy family… unfortunately."
He insisted on driving, saying, "I've made reservations at this hotel to have dinner in their restaurant. It's less expensive than all those four-star places." She looked at him strangely. Did Mace tell him that she didn't like her men spending so much money on her? Or was Hardtop a stickler for budgeting his money? If it was the latter, then she wondered what his home looked like.
Hardtop drove onto Amazon. Valerie cringed, thinking about that high bill Mace had to pay from Vivaldi. She looked somewhat apprehensive as she said, "Uh, Hardtop, I think this is where most of the expensive restaurants are. Are you sure the place you reserved is on this street?"
"I checked the address when I made the call," he answered. "The meals they have cost twenty to forty bucks."
"Twenty at the cheapest? Didn't you say this was a family restaurant?"
"Hey, this is Empire City. What did you expect, chicken fingers and fries for $5.39? A Coke for $1.75? C'mon, this city's not that cheap."
"Sorry, I keep expecting this to be more like Parrish." She sighed, looking homesick, but trying not to show it too much. "Well, it has to be better than seventy-five and fifty dollars, right? This city's nice, but I can't believe how expensive stuff can be. It's as if you're expected to be extravagant."
"Extravagant, no. But you do have to have a lot of money."
They stopped at the Golden Fingers Hotel. At the registration desk, Hardtop said, "We made reservations for the restaurant here." The desk clerk nodded slowly and directed them. This looked very bad to Valerie. It was as if he thought she was too old to date Hardtop. She looked back as Hardtop opened the restaurant door, and he was still staring.
When they were seated, she started looking around at the décor. Golden walls lined with booths, and round tables in the center of the dining room. Six crystal chandeliers on the ceiling. Each booth had a potted plant on the wall, the pots painted in silver and bronze stripes.
"How elegant," she said. "It's almost like those ritzy places I've been to on business trips."
They ordered coffee, received menus, and Valerie explored the dinner entrées section. She was attracted to the herb salmon with baked potato and vegetables. A healthy meal to help keep her trim for Hardtop and his colleagues. But the steak burger with her choice of fries and potato was tempting.
"I don't know," she said. "What are you having, Hardtop?"
"There's a good chicken meal on here," he said. "Three pieces of the golden fried stuff with French fries."
Valerie searched that section for it, and found it below the broiled lobster. "Twenty-one dollars, huh? Oh, but that sounds way too fattening. The herb salmon is only thirty. Hmm, you want to split the bill if I have this, Hardtop? I don't want you to spend so much money so I can have a good dinner."
"Sure, we can pay for our own meals." He lowered his menu for a glimpse of her. "I really do like you, Valerie. I like that a woman doesn't want to be spoiled."
The waiter came back, and Valerie ordered her herb salmon first. He smiled at her and said, "Very good, ma'am." He glanced at Hardtop. "And what would your little brother like?"
Valerie and Hardtop's faces were as red as apples. She couldn't believe the waiter suggested that he was too young for her. She corrected him, "Uh, actually, I'm his date."
"Really?" he asked, staring at Hardtop again. Hardtop ordered, "Uh, I'll have the three-piece chicken dinner with French fries, please."
Valerie glared at the waiter as he went back to the kitchen. "I can't believe he actually said that," she said lowly. "That's one serviceman who's not getting a tip."
"What in hell was that 'little brother' comment about?" Hardtop mused. "I think I was more embarrassed than you were."
"He could guess our ages, I'll bet," she answered. "I know it's not proper for me to tell you, but I'm pushing forty. I think I've only got another month to go before my birthday. And you're, what, thirty-one?"
"Thirty-three," he corrected. He studied her face, hair and body above the table. "But truthfully, you don't look a day over thirty." She blushed and said a soft, "thank you."
They spent the time waiting for the food talking about their careers. Valerie talked about her accomplishments at the agency, her two projects that the clients bought. Now, "No sooner do I get back from my appointment with my son's potential school, that I learn that one of the other salaried managers, Catherine Regis, is sick because of her diabetes. She must have been so stressed out; that plays a damn good part in neglecting to care for yourself. So, the bosses ask me to take over her project – a brochure for Evie Cosmetics about a new product they're launching this summer, the Derm-Active Skin Solution, for acne problems."
"Pull that one off, and you'll be looking at a big first paycheck," Hardtop grinned.
He wanted to hear more about Jeremy, so Valerie just talked about his condition, and the appointment at Prince Richard's. She talked about Jeremy's academic strengths, and the tests he did. "I'm confident that he'll be accepted, and given a special schedule based upon what he can learn."
Then she asked about Hardtop. He replied, "I'm a vehicle expert for C.O.P.S., and speaking as one, I must say I was less than impressed driving your station wagon."
"But, Hardtop, my father got me that for me when I graduated college," she protested. "I especially use the back for luggage space. I tend to travel some, and will do so as I advance here. And we're putting the finishing touches on furnishing my new house, so Jeremy and I will need it for all our suitcases and boxes. Rhonda and Karen say we should be able to move tomorrow."
"But nobody drives station wagons anymore. They haven't for at least ten years." He sipped some of his coffee. "Nowadays, cars are being built with extra trunk spaces, so you can hold up to three big boxes and suitcases each."
Valerie widened her eyes and smiled a bit. "Wow, you do know a lot about cars. But I probably can't afford it. They're around what, eighty thousand?"
Hardtop paused, then, "Ooh, hadn't thought of that. Well, I'm sure if you save enough, you'll be able to afford it in six months."
Their meals arrived, and Valerie was delighted by the look of four salmon fillets with lemon on top, the buttery potato, and mixture of corn, peas and carrots. She was glad she didn't order the chicken. She convinced herself the skin and the grease would make her gain weight. Everything was going well until the waiter returned with the coffee.
"Would you and your little brother like some more coffee?" he asked Valerie.
She gave him an evil look, like she'd stayed up all night without getting sleepy. "I told you, he's my date!" she said through her teeth.
When he was gone, she looked at Hardtop and said, "Hey, why don't you give me your fork, and I'll give you a piece of my salmon." He lent it to her, and she speared a strip of her salmon, and fed it to him.
"Ahh, that tasted wonderful," he said. "I'll have to order this next time I come here. Do you want a piece of chicken?"
She shook her head. "I only eat the broiled stuff. All that grease is disgusting and unhealthy for me."
The waiter came to take their dishes and offer more coffee. Valerie said, "No more coffee for me, please."
"None for me, either," Hardtop said.
"Fine then, sir," the waiter said. "Would you and your big sister like to see the dessert table?"
Infuriated, Valerie pounded the table and quickly stood up. "That's it!" she yelled. "Can't an older woman have a romantic dinner date with a younger man without being subjected to the same stupid comments like that! If I were a man and he were a woman, you wouldn't keep commenting about the age difference!"
All conversations in the restaurant stopped then, and everyone was staring at Valerie and Hardtop. She looked around at them, and could probably tell what they were thinking. To her, half the room thought, Why did she talk so loudly, and act so rude to that waiter? Maybe she wanted to take that back. But the other half probably thought, What is a man so young doing with a woman so old? They were staring at her old lady face and hair. Too bad the restaurant had no windows; she desperately wanted to jump out of one.
Worse, in the silence, Hardtop heard footsteps approaching. He turned and saw an African-American woman wearing a purple jacket and skirt with a white blouse. Her hairdo looked a little funky, yet poofy. Yet Valerie could recognize her almost easily.
"Hey, I know you," she said to her. "You're, uh… uh… uh…"
"Whitney Morgan," the woman replied.
"Yeah! Whitney Morgan, the newswoman!" Valerie said enthusiastically. "I watch you whenever I catch the news. My sister, Karen, says you're really good."
"Thank you," Whitney said. She looked at Hardtop and asked, "Uh, who is this woman, and what are you doing with her?"
Valerie suddenly looked surprised. "What? What do you mean, what is he doing with me? What, are you…?" She was now staring at Hardtop, too. "Hardtop, what's going on here? You never told me about Ms. Morgan here. What, is she your girlfriend or something?"
"It's only a little crush, Valerie," Hardtop explained. He turned to Whitney. "Whitney, you know this. I like you and all, but…"
But Valerie was already disgusted. "Well, this is just great. At first, I was nervous about going out with you because of the fact that I was older than you. But now you spring THIS on me! Now I really want to pull the tablecloth out and put it over my head!"
"Valerie, I'm sorry!" Hardtop cried. "Let me explain!"
"What's to explain?" she asked. "Turns out you have a crush on another woman, and it'll eventually get bigger. Hardtop, I don't think we should see each other anymore. I'm paying for my meal and I'm leaving." On her way out, she addressed Whitney. "Look, Ms. Morgan, I'm sorry I ever got involved with your boyfriend. You can have him now." She paid her half of the bill on her way out.
She felt uneasy and ashamed as she drove back to Rhonda's house. It was the most embarrassing date she ever had. Thank God they didn't make it to the poetry reading. She didn't even have anything written for it, let alone anything she could dedicate to Hardtop.
A/N: So that's Chapter Eight updated. As mentioned before, I may bring Commissioner Highwater (borrowed character) in to interact at Valerie's business. Working on Chapter Nine now, and I'm hoping to get it up by the end of this month. See you then.