Chapter 32
The following morning, Joey had been about to leave for school when she spotted Brian coming through. She knew her dad wasn't usually a morning person, and he'd been grumpy lately, but she had attributed that part to having a baby in the house. For once, however, Brilor had slept through the night and still wasn't awake yet.
Putting up her hands, Joey made a sign of the cross with her index fingers and stepped back.
"All right, we don't need smart ass comments from the teenage daughter section," Brian said, laughing.
"Wait, I need to check outside to see if hell froze over yet," she joked. "You're in a good mood."
"Your brother sleeping all the way through the night helped a bit. That and some….uh, 'quality time' with your mother before we went to sleep."
Joey made a face. "Say no more. Any plans for today?"
"I'll probably drop by the precinct for a bit to say hello to Marie and the captain, and then maybe terrorize Paul with my presence for awhile."
"Wow, some vacation. Most people would actually go somewhere like Hawaii."
"My trip for the year was done on your ma's and my honeymoon," Brian replied, "and no one has to be explained the outcome of that."
"Bri Bri," Joey giggled. "Anyway, I got to get to the bus stop."
"Fuck the bus stop this morning; I can drive you."
She lit up. "Really? Wow, thanks a lot, Dad."
Lorelei came in, carrying Brilor, who smiled at all of them. "Someone finally decided to wake up and honor us with his little presence," she said.
"Smells like it too," Brian replied, making a face. "What crawled up that kid and died?"
Joey gave him a gentle tickle, offering to change him. "Looks like Dad isn't the only one that's in a good mood. Come on, baby brother, let's get you a clean butt."
"Shouldn't you be getting off to school?" Lorelei asked.
"Usually, but Dad offered to take me this morning. I can change Bri Bri. No problem."
"I thought it would only make sense since I'm going down to the precinct for a bit anyway," Brian added.
"Brian, you're on vacation," Lorelei reminded him. "I think the precinct can survive two weeks without you."
"Sure, but I actually wanted to drop in to say hi to the captain and Marie anyway; I promised her and the captain's wife new pictures of the baby. Plus I'm having lunch with Paul."
"Didn't you just see him yesterday?" Lorelei wondered. "If some of us didn't know any better, we'd think you two were having an affair."
Brian laughed and struck a gay effect pose. "Oh yes, Paul is my secret lover. Seriously, though, I'm trying to get him in the DA's office. I figure since he's both on his way to law school soon, plus there's an opening for an investigator, it would be perfect for him. I don't know which one of us like to dig up shit on cases more."
"If he is as thorough as he was when he was on the force, it would work out well for him."
"Exactly my point, my love," he nodded. "Hey, Joey, you about ready to go?"
"Yeah, Dad. I just got to put Bri Bri's clean onesie on. I'll be right out."
"Kind of makes me wonder how we lucked out having a teenager that revels in changing her sibling's shitty diapers," Brian chuckled.
"And not act like she's dying a slow and painful death while doing it," Lorelei replied.
"Oh come on, Lor, you know I'm not cut out for the small ones. I'm used to them being Joey's age."
"Actually, you haven't done too bad with Brilor. He's bonded with you, and for reference, he's peed and spit up on me too. But, since we have him for at least the next eighteen years, we better buck up and enjoy it."
"Here's the little man with the clean butt," Joey said cheerfully, bringing out Brilor and giving him to Lorelei before gathering up her backpack. "Okay, another day of school hell ahead of me. Let's go, Dad."
Later that day:
Paul had just downed an entire can of Pepsi in less than five minutes before letting it rip, being rewarded with a dirty look from his best friend and former partner when people at nearby tables turned to stare.
"Fucking hell, Paul, were you raised by wolves? We're in an outdoor café."
"I was thirsty," he protested, "I can't help the carbonation made me gassy."
"Jesus Christ," Brian groaned, "and you wonder why you can't stay in a serious relationship."
"Cam and I have belching contests all the time. She's always kept me in a good mood. Speaking of which, you're terribly cheerful today. Did you get yet another raise or something?"
"Oh, I got a raise all right, but not the kind that has to do with work," Brian grinned.
"Wait a minute," Paul said. "I thought you and Lor couldn't do anything until she got cleared by the doctor on Friday, if in fact she does."
Brian grinned, "More than one way to work around that, my friend."
"Hang on," Paul said. "Did Lor by any chance….." he paused before announcing "give you a blow job?", finally figuring it out.
"For the love of Christ, Paul, could you say it any louder? I don't think the entire place heard you. Consider yourself lucky you're my best friend or I'd have no problem whacking off your balls and hanging them on the mantel."
"Well, that explains your cheerful demeanor today," Paul grinned knowingly. "I never thought I'd say this, buddy, but you are one lucky bastard."
"On the subject of lucky," Brian grinned back, "the DA wants you to call him. I think you may have won the job. He was pretty enthusiastic at the mention of your name anyway."
"Exactly how much time will this job take?" Paul wondered. "I mean, there's my regular clientele, school coming up, and of course with me and Cam getting serious….."
"Whoa, back your tanned ass up. You're getting serious with the model?"
Paul grinned again. "You know it."
"Holy shit," Brian kidded. "I never thought it would come to pass that I would see you in a relationship that lasted more than two weeks at a time. This must be a world record."
"Well excuse me for not meeting, dating, shacking up with, marrying, and knocking up a woman in less than a year like some people," Paul teased back.
"Strange things tend to happen when you find the right one," Brian smiled widely. "Whatever you're doing for a change, stick with it, and you'll be further ahead yet."
.