Chapter 6: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Today was a special day.
It was Nicole's birthday and she was having a Polly Pocket themed birthday party.
As Andy and Sharon decorated the patio and tables with pink and green streamers and Polly Pocket themed centerpieces, Francesca was in the kitchen working on the cake.
"So, is Nicole excited?" asked Sharon.
"Yeah. She's calling it her Polly Pocket party," answered Andy.
"It's so nice when they're this age and it's so easy to please them," said Sharon as she continued hanging streamers.
"Yeah. I can't even fathom what it's gonna be like when they're teenagers," said Andy.
"They'll probably be like us when we were teenagers," responded Sharon.
"It's hard to picture you as a rebellious teenager," replied Andy.
"You probably gave Francesca a lot of gray hairs," guessed Sharon.
"Probably," supplied Andy.
"I was a pretty mild teenager. My college years though were a different story," Sharon told him.
"What did you do? Drink too much once?" guessed Andy.
"That too. No, I met Jack and my parents hated him. Should have been a warning sign to me then of what was to come," said Sharon solemnly.
Andy wasn't sure what to say to that, so he said, "Well, at least you got the two great kiddos out of it."
"Yes, I did," said Sharon as she instantly brightened up.
"Well, this looks pretty good. Thanks again for all your help picking out the decorations and decorating. I'm a little lost when it comes to the world of little girls," said Andy.
"It was no problem. I'm glad I could help," Sharon smiled kindly at him.
"Why don't we see if my Ma needs any help in the kitchen with the food? Last I saw, she was decorating the cake," said Andy.
"Sounds like a plan," replied Sharon.
As they walked inside, they found Francesca putting the finishing touches on Nicole's birthday cake.
"That looks beautiful, Francesca," Sharon told her.
"Years of practice, dear," replied Francesca.
"Hey, Ma. Can we help with anything?" asked Andy.
"If you could put the snacks in bowls, that would be great, Andrew. Sharon, dear, if you could cut up the fruit, that would be amazing. Andy can help you after he's done with the snacks," explained Francesca.
With that, each got to work on their individual tasks.
As promised, after finishing with the snacks, Andy went to help Sharon with the fruit.
"Here, you can cut up the pineapple," Sharon told him.
"Okie dokie," replied Andy as he set out to cut up the pineapple.
"So, how's work been going for you?" Sharon asked him out of the blue.
"It's been okay. Been pretty slammed with cases the last few weeks. In fact, this is the first weekend I have off in I don't know how long," explained Andy.
"Me too. We've been slammed with all kinds of stuff as well. There must be something in the water," said Sharon.
"I think it's the full moon. All the weirdoes come out of the woodwork," replied Andy.
"Maybe. There's definitely been something going on these last few weeks," said Sharon.
"Yeah," said Andy.
"Enough shop talk you two," said Francesca.
"But, Ma. It's the only thing we have in common," whined Andy.
"I think you two have more in common than you might think," Francesca told them.
"Okay. So, tell me about your partner. Provenza, wasn't it?"
"Doesn't that count as shop talk?" asked Andy.
"Not exactly. Just tell her about Louie, Andrew," said Francesca.
"Okay. What do you want to know?" Andy asked Sharon.
"What's he like? You said he was a great friend of yours. What makes him such a good friend?" Sharon asked him.
"Well, he was really there for me after Sandra died and I was newly sober. Whenever I needed someone to talk to or to distract me for a while, he was always there. Still is," replied Andy.
"Do the kids like him?" Sharon asked him.
"Oh, they love him. They call him Uncle Louie," said Andy.
"That sounds nice. It's good that they have plenty of role models in their lives," replied Sharon.
Andy and Francesca both started laughing and Sharon was left feeling utterly confused.
"What? Do I have something on my face?" asked Sharon.
"No, dear," replied Francesca.
"It's just that Provenza isn't exactly a role model. He gets himself into a lot of trouble," said Andy.
"Sounds like somebody else I know," replied Sharon good naturedly as she smiled at Andy.
"What? Me? I'm a perfect angel. Tell her, Ma," said Andy.
"You were not. You were a holy terror. Especially as a teenager," Francesca told him.
Sharon started laughing at that.
"Wasn't everybody a terror at that age?" asked Andy, trying desperately to defend himself.
"No. If we're talking about perfect angels here, then that would be me," said Sharon.
"That's not fair. Your parents aren't here to rat you out and tell the truth," accused Andy.
"And they likely won't be either considering they live in Pennsylvania," retorted Sharon.
"Is that where you're originally from, dear?" asked Francesca curiously.
"Yes. Born and raised Pennsylvania girl. My parents actually own a farmhouse in the country," Sharon told her.
"Is it a working farm?" asked Francesca.
"Not exactly. We never raised animals on it or anything, but the previous owner did," replied Sharon.
"I just can't picture you as a country girl," Andy told her.
"Andrew?!" exclaimed Francesca.
"It's quite all right, Francesca. I'm growing to appreciate his needling. He's right, though. I'm much more in my element in a big city like Los Angeles," Sharon told them.
"See, Ma. I told you," said Andy.
"Andrew, don't sass your mother," ordered Francesca.
"How about you Andy? How was growing up in New Jersey?" asked Sharon.
"Oh, it was lots of fun. Although, I definitely do not miss the snow and having to fight against the weather every time I go out," said Andy.
"Me neither," added Francesca.
"I know what that's like. We had lots of snow in Pennsylvania too. I certainly don't miss that part of it," said Sharon.
The three continued talking and preparing for Nicole's birthday party for the next hour or so, before it was finally time for the guests to arrive and the party to start.
After a few games, food, and cake and ice cream, it was time for presents.
Andy handed each gift one at a time for Nicole to open, while Sharon wrote down what presents were from who so they'd be able to write thank you notes to people later.
Finally, it was time for the last gift, which was from Sharon, Ricky, and Emily.
As Nicole opened it, she exclaimed, "It's the Polly Pocket Mega Mall!"
"That's from Sharon, Emily, and Ricky. What do you say to Sharon?" prompted Andy.
Nicole surprised all of them by running over to Sharon and nearly knocking her over with a huge hug and a, "Thank you, Sharon! I love it!"
Andy and Sharon exchanged surprised looks before Sharon hugged Nicole back and replied to her with, "Emily helped me pick it out. I'm glad you love it."
Nicole gave Emily and Ricky huge hugs too before going back to her pile of presents and sitting down with the Mega Mall to open it.
Across the room, Sharon caught the older woman's eye and Francesca gave her a knowing smile.
The two women looked on as Nicole enjoyed her gifts and felt the most heartwarming feeling that the party had been a success.
As Francesca and the children sent the guests off with goodie bags, a goodbye, and a thank you, Andy and Sharon were out on the patio taking down the decorations and cleaning up.
"I know we have our differences, but I wanted to thank you for making Nicole's birthday so special. This by far has been her best birthday party ever and I'm eternally grateful to you for that," Andy told Sharon.
"Oh, it was my pleasure. I'm just glad I could make her day special," replied Sharon as she smiled at Andy.
"I try to do that for her, but it's always missing a little something. If there's one thing I'm not, it's an expert on girls," admitted Andy.
"Oh, I'm hardly an expert, either. I think as long as we try our best as parents to provide for them, they'll love us either way. When she looks back on this day, it's not going to be about having all the gifts, but the feeling the party gave her. We each make that happen on our own, and that's something you should be proud of," Sharon told him.
"You're right. I'm just saying that combining our efforts, we don't make a bad team," replied Andy.
"Not a bad team at all," said Sharon as she gave Andy a soft, heartwarming smile.
Andy's admission about them making a good team made her feel a little uneasy, but it was hard to explain why. Maybe it was because she wasn't sure how he'd meant it and that made her feel awkward and uncomfortable. Maybe it was because she might just see something in him and that thought scared her.