Mike carried three containers of pasta and a small pizza from Mama's, his favorite Italian diner for the last several years.
As Mike got in the car, Steve remarked, "I never tire of the smell of Mama's pasta. I can't wait to dig in. Thanks, by the way. You didn't need to pay."
"Don't worry about it," Mike answered hastily. "That took longer than expected. Let's move it. I don't want Jeannie to beat us to the house. I want time to get everything set up and some proper place settings put out."
Steve grinned at his doting partner and Mike took note. "You know she takes care of us when she's home, so I don't want her to think she has to do this at her own homecoming, Wiseguy!" Mike replied.
Shaking his head, Steve made a U-turn to get them on track to DeHaro Street. Sighing with relief, Mike looked at his watch and knew they still had about a half hour before Jeannie arrived home. Steve grabbed the food from the back floorboard and trudged up the countless steps behind Mike.
Twenty minutes later, the detectives settled in, prepared the table settings, chilled some celebratory wine and popped the food into the over to stay warm. Waiting for his daughter's arrival, Mike began pacing across his living room floor.
Tiring of the constant motion, Steve tried to calm his partner down. "She'll get here fine, Mike. Don't worry!"
"Don't worry, he says. This is Jeannie's first drive so far, you know."
"At least she didn't try to do it all day, right? She stopped somewhere along the way?" Steve asked.
"Yes, she has a schoolmate from north of Los Angeles. She stayed there last night."
"Well, that's good. And she's called you at her pitstops, right?"
"Of course, she has. I had her call collect each time."
"And you said she called you about an hour ago…" Steve began.
'But that was two hours ago, so now I'm starting to get worried," Mike snapped back.
Seconds later, like clockwork, they could hear the front door opening. Mike ran over to greet his daughter and gave the young woman a bear hug.
Being a foot shorter than her father, it was not uncommon for the older man to lift her off her feet in a tight bear hug, swaying back and forth. Steve could see the look on Jeannie's face: part elation and part oxygen deprivation.
"Mike, I think Jeannie is about to pass out from lack of air. You might want to put her down," Steve remarked dryly.
Mike heard the request and did so quickly. "Are you okay, Sweetheart? I didn't hurt you?"
"No, Mike, you didn't. Steve was just being dramatic." At that moment, she ran over and gave Steve a hug as well along with a well placed peck on the cheek. "It's good to see you, Steve."
"Likewise. We have dinner for you, but of course my question top of mind is about your car. Did you get here okay? What did you decide to buy?" Steve asked.
"Well take a look out the door, Steve. It's the blue one parked behind the Galaxy," Jeannie instructed.
Steve saw the smaller car. "It's a Ford! Why did I figure that? But it's a baby Ford. Is that a Maverick?" he asked as he started down the steps.
Jeannie and Mike followed closely behind, sharing between the three of them, a once in a lifetime moment of the young woman's first new car.
