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Chapter 3: Los Angeles
The summer was coming to an end and he was still not working. Somehow he was getting checks in the mail, some sort of leave money that was credited to him. It was enough to get by for the month, plus the money he had in his savings – he wasn't going to be going broke anytime soon. He had been in and out of meetings with the LAPD, a lawyer, and Raydor. It was the last one where he had gotten a phone call from his ex-wife – she had sent the kids to LA from New York, to spend time with him.
He picked them up from the airport, thanked their chaperone, and took them, one in each hand to his car. That had been two weeks ago and the meetings he was supposed to be in, he wasn't. There was just no time. Not that he wanted to be in a meeting, but it was with his lawyer, that he realized he had to make some choices. The job or his kids?
He was laying out towels for his daughter Nicole when he heard the faint sound of the doorbell sound through his house. Andy gave the girl a smile and set a warm hand on her shoulder before going for the house.
The floor plan was a simple one. A front room with a hallway off to the left. Down the hallway was the master bed, a bathroom, and another room which he used most often than not as his office. Tucked in a corner on the other side of the bathroom was the kid's bedroom and the laundry room.
Coming in from the outside, Andy immediately stepped into his eating area with his kitchen to his right and his living room to the left. One gigantic open space that worked well when it came to parties. Not that he had many but, when the guys came over to watch a game or two, they could sit in the kitchen and still be able to see the TV.
A smile grew as he opened the door. Sharon Raydor was on the other side in a dress with sandals encasing her feet. She had a file in her hand, something else for him no doubt. He hadn't seen her in two weeks now and he was thinking about calling her. But she beat him to the punch, dropping by unannounced. She had a knack for doing that.
"Hey," he said, unlocking the secondary screen door and opening it towards her. "Come on in."
He stepped aside and allowed her in, reaching behind her to close the door and to lock it. He did the same with the front door and locked both of the top and bottom lock. Precautions and occupational hazard.
"You have a lovely home," she commented, stepping onto the carpet of his sitting room.
The sitting room had a couch, two rocking chairs, a fireplace and a bay window. The window was where he had found Nicole sitting at this morning, her nose in a fantasy book.
"The kids are out in the back," he pointed. "They want to swim."
She nodded and followed him out, closing the sliding door behind her.
"Kids," Andy said a little loud. "C'mere. I want you to meet someone."
Andy's son was itching to get into the pool. The boy had looked from the pool to the man who had beckoned him over. Sharon smiled inwardly. She had seen that look on her own son before.
"This is Sharon," he introduced. "She's been helping me with work stuff."
Both kids looked at the woman, smiled, and then nodded their heads as a form of greeting. They were quiet and when Andy made a motion for them to do something, the children let out a sigh. With a slight role of the eye both kids went back to their activities that were interrupted before they had been called over. Andy gave her an apologetic look which she simply waved off.
"Dad, can I go into the pool now?" the boy called.
"Go ahead," he said.
Andy offered Sharon one of the chairs that sat under the overhang. She slid right into the low seated chair, her back at a tilt instantly.
"What brings you over to this side of town?" Andy asked after a moment of silence.
"You're going before a board," she said, holding up the file. "A team of six officers will hear out your case, determine whether or not your actions were fit and they'll decide from there about your future with the LAPD."
"I thought we had made a deal already," he said flipping the folder open.
"That was before we found out you were being framed," she pointed out. "This is a new deal. A proper deal. The right way to go about things."
"You and your rules," he muttered, reading over the sheet.
He was to report to the PAB building in two weeks. There was a date, a time, and someone to report to. He felt a sense of relief. This mess was finally finally going to be over.
"My rules help people save their jobs," she pointed out.
It made him smile, which in turn made her smile and he liked her smile. He liked a lot of things about her. She was funny. Quick witted and her dry sense of humor was attractive.
He had opened his mouth to say something else but it fell away due to Nicole walking over from her lounger.
"What are we going to eat for lunch?" Nicole questioned.
Andy wrapped an arm around the girl's thin waist and pulled her to him.
"What are you in the mood for?"
"Burgers!" She said happily. "And hot dogs."
Andy nodded and winked at Nicole pressing a kiss to her cheek. He had missed his daughter. He had missed both of his kids.
"Hey bud!" Andy shouted, getting his son's attention. "Burgers and dogs sound good?"
The kid gave him a thumbs up before diving into the water from the stairs.
Sharon laughed and shook her head. She smiled at Nicole who was smiling at her father. It was a heartwarming sight. A silver lining to Andy Flynn's terrible few months.
"Go back to your book," Andy nudged. "I'll let you know when they're done."
It was enough for Nicole to go back to her towel covered chair.
"You want to stay for lunch?" Andy asked. "Or do you need to get back to the office?"
"I have a day off," she said honestly.
"Good," he said with a light groan and standing. "You're staying."
He offered her his hand to help her out of the chair. He knew how hard they were to get out of. Her hand was small compared to his, yet it fit easily enough. He folded his fingers around hers and tugged her a little.
Sharon looked back to see Nicole was engaged in whatever it was that she was reading. Andy's son was doing tricks off the side of the pool, staying in the shallow side. He trusted his kids enough to leave them alone. It helped, she supposed, that while he washed his hands at the sink of his kitchen he could look out and see them.
She rotated her wrist, flexed her fingers as she stood on the other side of the island and watched as Andy prepared himself to begin cooking the burgers and hot dogs his kids asked for. She held her hand. It was a thought that made her feel like she was young –younger – again. The giddy feeling added to the warmth that floated into her cheeks. She shook her head and leaned against the tiled top and tried to push it aside.
"Your kids are incredibly behaved," she pointed out.
Her attention was pulled by black and white framed photos that sat on a cabinet. In one was Andy, younger than he was now, with a newborn baby. Another was next to it, which she immediately recognized as the boy who was currently in the pool, on his father's shoulders. Both of them had matching smiles. The third was of Andy, his wife Sharon assumed, and their children.
"I can't take any credit," he shrugged. "Nicole hates me yet loves her step-father."
"At least she doesn't throw a tantrum when you're around," she shrugged. "That's a point in the Flynn column."
Andy shrugged as he pulled condiments out of the fridge. He turned and pulled two bowels down and slid them towards Sharon when she met him at the island.
"What about you?" He asked, not taking his eyes off her while he reached up to the top of the fridge and pulled down a bag of chips. "You have kids?"
'Nevermind' was the next word ready to come out of his mouth when he saw the flash of pain in her eyes. 'You don't have to answer that' was going to follow when she looked out and onto his kids. 'Idiot' was the word spinning through his mind when she righted her head and found the grout of the tile interesting.
"I do," she nodded, looking up, tilting her head. She gave him a small, sad, smile. "I have two. Emily and Ricky."
"How old?"
"10 and 13," she said with a smile. "Emily turns 14 next month."
"Not much older than those guys," he said, pointing to his own children. "Where are they? If you don't mind me asking."
She sighed and swallowed hard.
"My husband has the kids," she said. "Ex-husband actually."
And nodded and reached out to her. "You don't have to say anything."
Sharon shrugged and came over onto the other side of the island. She flipped the lever for the sink and let her hands get soaked by the warmth of it. She nudged him out of her way with her hip, a smile curling at the corner of her mouth, maybe as an apology for bumping him out of the way. She looked up as the water covered her hands, the suds of the soap slipping between her fingers, she watched as his children played in the backyard.
Nicole had joined her brother in the pool. The girl was splashing the water around her, laughing as it hit her brother and he jumped away. It only spurred her on more. Eventually, once he got his head above it, he splashed her back. A water war that thrilled the children.
"I had custody," she said, her eyes still focused on the splashing children. "My husband was, still is, a drunk and I divorced him for it. Somehow, he got a judge to overturn the initial ruling and granted him full custody."
"How?"
"Jack is a lawyer," she said. "A very good one."
Andy bit his tongue. Sharon knew about his own past. How could she not after spending so much time with him recently, knowing his jacket inside and out, enough to toss old cases from when he was a rookie in Internal Affair's faces. She had done her research. It was impressive. It was time consuming. Time she apparently had.
"He found a piece of the custodial agreement that he managed to persuade the judge I didn't do," she shrugged. "He pulled other things, case files from work, time cards, whatever he needed to prove I was not around enough to provide for my kids."
"You were making the money," he said saddling up to her. "You had a job. How were you not providing for them?"
She shut off the water and reached blindly for the towel that rested to her left. He was impressed that the woman who had been in the kitchen for less than ten minutes already knew the layout of things. Of course, the woman was a detective, a cop, she knew how to take in her surroundings fairly quickly. With a small smile, she dried her hands and looked up at him.
"It was a case," she said. "Isn't it always a case?"
She dropped the towel and turned around, her back to the children, her eyes focused on the fridge filled with magnets, children's drawings, and photos. Hers had been like that. She still has a drawing of her sons in her room, a card written by Emily the previous year for Mother's Day – it was all she had of them.
Andy had shrugged a shoulder. There was a difference than falling into a rabbit hole and jumping into one. Falling into it meant you were blind to your surroundings, so focused on the task or tasks at hand, that the rest of the world is just blurred. Jumping into it is the conscious decision to allow whatever it is to consume you. Both things is consuming. Jumping or falling. Jumping at the chance to drink, falling into bed drunk; some call it an occupation hazard. Others call it reality.
"Where are they now?"
"Las Vegas," she said, emphasizing it with a hint of anger, guilt, and annoyance. "He got custody and left."
"You don't get to see them at all?"
"Every other holiday," she informed him. "And that's if he manages to get away from the office on time."
He shook his head. This was a mess. She was a mess. He couldn't fathom how someone would take his own children away from their mother. Kids needed their mother more than a father. He had come to realize that over the last few years.
Andy turned and pressed a hand to her shoulder. She was still leaning back against the sink and he was facing the window, taking a look at his kids. They were both calm now, the two of them doing laps in the pool.
He brushed his thumb against the top of her shoulder. It was a sign of understanding. He felt her relax under his touch. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her profile. She had turned her head and he had turned his. His hand was still on her shoulder and he found himself leaning in.
A gentle brush of lip had been interrupted by Nicole. The sliding glass door had opened just when Andy was going to brush his thumb against her jaw. He was going to turn towards her. He was going to deepen whatever it was that was happening between them. It was electric.
"Daddy," Nicole was saying as she came into the house. "Do we have chips?"
Andy had his back to her and Sharon was already looking over his shoulder and smiling at the girl. She had detached herself and he couldn't figure out if it was because she was embarrassed or she wanted to tend to his daughter's request.
He slipped his eyes closed and took a deep breath. In through the nose and out through the mouth. When he opened them and turned, Nicole was already out of the room and headed back into the backyard towards her book. Sharon was rolling up the top of the bag, her eyes averted. He didn't notice the faint blush across her cheeks.
"Go to dinner with me," he said.
She looked up, her hands paused on the sides of the bag. She tilted her head and nodded. He smiled and went to the meat in front of him.
Was it a violation of ethics? Absolutely. If he didn't get fired and this – whatever it was – turned into something more, they would have to report it. Andy Flynn was fine. He just didn't want to be in trouble for his impulses. He was the one who kissed her after all.
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Happy Fourth of July to all my US readers!
