.
FAMILY REUNION
Chapter Four
Butch was quite busy with the delivery man just outside of Uppercuts, Molly noted as she parked her car and slipped inside the building out of the chilly fall temps. She then proceeded up the stairs behind the bar that led right up to Thunder Investigations and peeked around to see Trent in the pin-drop silence typing away at his laptop.
"You got a moment?"
Trent lifted his head and smiled. "For you? Maybe even two or three."
Molly grinned and revealed herself fully, shedding her coat as she took a seat. "I saw Butch was pretty busy downstairs so I let myself in. I hope I didn't interrupt anything."
"No not at all. I can finish this police report later." Trent closed his laptop resolutely and rose to circle the table. He stooped low to plant a quick kiss on Molly's lips before he took her coat and hung it by his on the nearby hanger. Returning to the front of his desk, Trent balanced his weight on the corner and gave Molly his full attention. "Now as much as I'd like to believe that you just came here to see me, I have a feeling you're here for more than the company."
"You know me too well," Molly sighed, a smile teasing her lips. "To be honest the apartment is a little too quiet with Katheryn gone. Tommy briefly helped me plan a project last night that Carlos asked me to work on while they were gone. But today is my day off from the center and I can't stand having nothing to do."
"Well, Butch could always use another cook."
Molly deadpanned. "Very funny."
"Hey, I hear a good place just opened up a few blocks away. Would you like to try it out for lunch?"
"Sounds good," Molly replied happily. "To tell you the truth, I wanted to ask you something."
"Spill it," Trent grinned, knowing all too well those words had been stewing in Molly's mind for the past five minutes.
Molly relaxed in her chair, briefly stealing a glance from the sunlit window behind Trent. Trent noticed this and stretched in front of Molly with a smile to regain her attention. "I'm sorry," she chuckled. "Carlos," she finally confessed. "Has he been acting any differently lately to you?"
Trent chuckled. "He's been practically a different person since Katheryn happened to him. You'll have to be a little more specific."
"True," Molly laughed a little a little more, lightening the mood. "It's just that before he and Kath left yesterday, he asked me to do something that seemed rather odd. I don't know. I'm probably overthinking this whole thing."
"Well," Trent pried. "What did he ask you to do? Rob a bank?" Molly glared him down. "Just kidding. Seriously now. What did he say?"
Molly took a deep breath. "He asked me to take pictures of those water gardens over in Fort Worth."
"Do what?!"
"That's what I said. He said he wanted me to take the pictures and have them printed and sent to him privately so that Katheryn wouldn't know anything about it. He insisted I do it while they were away in Austin."
"Hmm," Trent thought for a moment. "That is strange. He's never talked about the water gardens from what I can remember. And none of our cases involved that place."
Suddenly, Molly gasped softly.
Trent's eyes flashed open wider. "What?! What is it?"
"He's going to propose! That's it!"
"You think he's finally going to do it?" A grin twisted at Trent's mouth doubtfully.
Molly couldn't stop smiling. "It's the only thing I can think of. And it's brilliant! Such a gorgeous place! And it explains why he wants me to take the pictures at dusk too. Best time of day for something that romantic!"
Trent stood off of his desk and circled around to reclaim his office chair. "Well then what do you say to having dinner tonight? I can pick you up early and we'll go snap those photos before we eat."
"I'd love that," Molly beamed. "But what about our lunch plans?"
"Who said anything about canceling our lunch plans?" Trent replied, his mouth twisting into a mischievous grin.
The first hour of their tour around the city passed far too quickly in Katheryn's opinion as she walked hand in hand with Carlos just behind the others. While they continued to eagerly explore, the two love birds were content to take in the view slowly and truly soak in the day. Thankfully, Theresa and Catalina still remembered the city fairly well since they were the two oldest of the little family group. Katheryn was amazed that although the city had undoubtedly changed drastically over the years, Carlos' mom seemed to still recall some areas and places she had visited in her younger days. There was one haunt where she remembered her husband taking her for dinner thirty years ago on a return trip from the United States to visit family members. There were still other places she could recall her feet having taken her on other countless and petty occasions. But Kath could see the light still twinkling in Catalina's eyes. This city was special to her. And although Katheryn had yet to learn any true history behind the city, the family history she was steadily learning about that it contained was almost just as special.
As they continued to trace a path through the city, Katheryn's first impressions were ones of fascination and intrigue. Most of all, she realized just how different Mexico City was in contrast to how she had always perceived it to be like. For some reason she had always pictured it as some poor village with thatched roofs dotting the landscape while goats and cows roamed the dirt streets. While the city was far from being a bustling New York City or such, it still was a place filled with far more modern touches than one might think. Freeways, skyscrapers, and modern cars scattered across the landscape briefly gave her a contradictory taste against what her ignorance had fed her over the years.
"Thanks for bringing me here," Katheryn suddenly whispered, leaning in to Carlos while they were alone briefly.
Startled slightly, Carlos shot her a crooked smile. "You're welcome. But why exactly?"
"I don't know," she confessed with a fading smile as she thought through his question. "It just feels good to see the world from another perspective. Sometimes you spend so long in one place that it takes traveling to another country entirely to really feel human again." She laughed. "I sound silly."
"No!" Carlos quickly corrected Kath as they stopped to wait for their turn to cross the street, rejoining the others. "I understand. At least I think I do."
Suddenly, Hector and Carmen's little one began making a fuss. Her little arms flailed into the air as her shrieks became louder. Carmen was almost to tears and overcome.
Not quite sure if it was her place or not, Katheryn dove in and asked Carmen if she would like her to hold the child. Carmen consented rather quickly, and instantly Katheryn knew she had gone insane. She had absolutely no experience with babies outside of the H.O.P.E. center. And even then she was never over the daycare center alone. She was far from being an expert on these things! But not wanting to embarrass herself, Kath put on a strong front and began bobbing the child in her harms, hushing her and cradling her closely. By some miracle of divine intervention, the child began to calm down.
Carmen stepped forward and handed Katheryn the baby's bottle of juice. "Maybe she needs some food. Something's been the matter with her for days. Hector and I have barely gotten any sleep or time together because she's been crying nonstop it seems like. I just feel so helpless." She wiped a tear away and turned to Hector.
Theresa immediately realized what was going on. Laying her hand on the little one's forehead she turned to Carmen. "Why didn't you tell us what was going on? Sam is okay. She just has a small fever. She's teething, sweetheart. Nothing to be worried about." Theresa offered her niece a broad smile to ease her worries.
"That—that's all?" Carmen asked calmly, refusing to let herself cry any longer.
At Theresa's reassuring nod, Carmen looked over to Katheryn to see her baby's head resting gently against the newcomer's shoulder. She was sucking her thumb now and seemed to be content in Kath's embrace.
Meanwhile, Carlos couldn't help but smile while Hector and Jesse watched with intrigue. It seemed like a miracle indeed.
Katheryn's mind swirled with emotion as everyone watched the sleeping child. Had she made a mark on the family? A right of passage in a way that proved her worth? That's ridiculous, she scolded herself silently. But she still couldn't wipe the notion from her mind.
Trent parked his Corvette a long enough distance away from the Water Gardens that they would have to walk several minutes. Thankfully, Molly didn't seem to mind. She said the walk would be rather nice. And at that the couple began the sunset-bathed trek towards the famous gardens of Fort Worth. At one point, Trent managed to secure his hand in hers, drawing a smile from the young woman and a chuckle from a near passersby. But neither of them cared. To think that they might just be helping their dearest friend with the biggest day of his life seemed to plant the love bug right in the middle of them both.
Needless to say, the day had Trent in a very thoughtful mood. The idea of popping the question seemed rather enticing as he looked at Molly's bright smile and her blonde curls. He had a feeling he'd be next to pop the question. But he wouldn't dare steal his best friend's thunder. There would be plenty of time to think about his own future once they knew for sure what was up Carlos' sleeve.
As the twosome approached the edge of the gardens, Molly gasped softly. "This is so beautiful, Trent. No wonder Carlos' wants to do it here."
"Now hold on," Trent cautioned. "We don't know for sure he's going to propose."
"But what else could it possibly be?" Molly reasoned to which Trent shrugged his shoulders softly and looked out over the gorgeous landscape. "I mean it's not like he and Kath are with each other all the time. He could have easily taken the photos for himself unless he really wanted to make absolutely sure a certain woman never saw him take the photos."
Trent let a smile slip away. "Okay! Alright! He's going to propose. When do you think he'll do it?"
Molly slapped at his stomach softly. "Well, I don't have the slightest idea about that, Trent Malloy."
"Oh, I see," Trent chuckled.
"Besides," Molly glared and inserted a quick wink. "You're the private investigator. You figure it out."
With that Molly frolicked away and began carefully tracing a path from one structure to another that made up the unique paths within the gardens. Trent was careful to follow, suddenly concerned that Molly might trip or get her foot stuck in between each stepping stone. It was a silly notion he knew. She may not be the warrior woman that Katheryn was. But Molly could take care of herself just fine.
About half way across the gardens, Molly paused and reached for the camera dangling from around her neck and began snapping a few pictures onto it. She made sure to get as much of the gardens in the view and didn't miss an opportunity to capture the sunset while she was at it.
"So how's the detective business coming?" Molly suddenly surprised Trent by asking.
Trent raised an eyebrow in thought, realizing he was still silent and trying to take in the fact that Molly was more curious about the business than usual. "It—it's going okay. Funds could be greater here and there. I'm a lousy bookkeeper. Just ask Carlos. Why do you ask?"
Molly shrugged and snapped another picture as she turned around to face the other side of the gardens. "No reason in particular. I guess I'm just trying to be more proactive in taking an interest in what the people I care about are doing."
"I see." The comment made joy well in Trent's heart; but it also confused him. Molly was always interested in others. She was about the most caring woman he knew next to his own mother. "I, um, I have the feeling you're not telling me the whole truth."
"Yeah," Molly cleared her throat nervously. "That seems to be a trend today." She stopped taking pictures so that she could face Trent. "Okay. No more dancing around the truth. I need to ask you a favor."
"Name it. Anything."
"Well, I didn't make a big deal about it. But before Katheryn and Carlos left, some kid poured coffee all over Kath and she was delayed in leaving on the trip. I didn't say anything because I knew Kath would want to stay and sort things out. But I thought I might have recognized the kid from the H.O.P.E. center. I guess Katheryn was too stunned to even see his face. But he's been coming around our apartment several times lately. I'm assuming he has a family member that lives there."
"What do you need me to do though? Pouring coffee on someone isn't exactly illegal," Trent pointed out in jest.
"I know," Molly smiled. But her smile faded as quickly as it had come. "If he is who I think he is, his name is Will. William Brent. He's a part of the tutoring classes Alex just started for kids needing extra study on the side. He's about sixteen years old. But the kicker is he's been in a gang. Josie told me he's been arrested a few times. I guess part of me was hoping we could look at records or something to see exactly what he's done. And maybe that will explain why he's been coming by our apartment a lot. I mean if someone is living in our building now that's up to know good, I think we should know about it."
"Yeah, you're right," Trent confessed, his brows furrowed in thought. "Unfortunately, it's sort of illegal for me to tap into police records on my own. Carlos barely gets away with it thanks to Marita's replacement over at the precinct." Trent smirked.
"What? Do those two have a history?"
"Yeah. Sorta. Now what I can do is ask around. Maybe the Rangers know of some activity with the gang he's been in since Alex knows about him."
"Good idea."
Trent winked reassuringly. "I'll visit headquarters first things in the morning. How does that sound?"
"Sounds great," Molly beamed and then went back to snapping photos. "Just a few more oughta do it. And then operation 'Stellar Sandoval Proposal' will be officially underway."