Author's Note: Hello, readers, it's me, and wow, how long has it been since my last update? A really long time. I've had so much going on in my life. I've posted on soap opera blogs, increasing my post count (one I have since dropped due to extreme nastiness) and I have been quite active on this site called Yahoo! Answers, where I'm asking questions (seldom) and answering them, and racking up points in the process – especially for getting Best Answer. I'm also my some personal changes in my life, including getting a great new job somewhere in the big city and (hopefully) getting a new place of my own so I can live independently. Anyway, that's all for now here. Read and enjoy.
Chapter 5
Bowzer and Debra had dated a couple of times since their first meeting at the park. As soon as they'd picked up her girls, after he privately told her his story about Valerie that day, he'd told her about some of the major arrests that got him and Blitz noticed by the C.O.P.S. team. She never responded, just smiled, and he could tell she was impressed.
Between that day and their first actual date, Debra had been thinking about Blitz's robotic form. So when they agreed to meet at Toretti's Family Pizza for dinner that Wednesday, she decided to ask him about it.
"So tell me, how did you get that computerized K-9 of yours?" she asked. "Was it provided to you when you first joined the team?"
"No, actually, I've had Blitz for some years now," Bowzer replied. "He actually started out as a normal dog. Around four years ago, we were chasing a getaway car that somehow lost control eventually. Blitz, with his keen eyes, noticed a little girl, probably around Emma's age, in the line of fire. He got out the child just in time, but got flattened by the reckless car a second later. Crashed into a concession stand!"
Debra cringed and started making gruesome faces.
Bowzer looked horrified. "Oh my God!" he cried. "Did that happen to your dog, too?"
"No, it's just that I'm glad the girls aren't here to hear this," she replied. "Stuff like this would be a bit much for them to handle."
Bowzer took another slice of pizza, and when he swallowed the first bite, he said, "So, enough about me. What about you? How are you making a living these days? Did you, um, have a career when you were married to Keith?"
Debra smiled and answered, "Actually, I've been a wedding planner for the past sixteen years. I've worked with a great number of couples, but I've earned more bread working with the richest families in all of Chicago."
He nodded in interest. "I'll bet you planned your own wedding, didn't you?"
"Well, I did the best I could on a five thousand dollar budget," she replied. "Twenty-five hundred went to the church alone; another one thousand went to the reception hall, and a total of nearly five hundred on bridesmaid dresses and wedding invitations. Much of the rest, I spent on decorations. My parents decided it was cheaper that I wear my mother's wedding dress – and my younger sister wore it when she got married, too – and with the help of my mother, sister, aunts and several female cousins, I made all the centerpieces for the reception hall tables, all the floral bouquets for all the church pews, and all the other decorations. The year before I got married, my father gave me an iPod for Christmas, along with this clock radio that works with it, then installed a downloading system and iTunes on my computer, and said I had to download my own music for the reception." She drank some Diet Coke and finished her current slice of pizza.
"Let me guess, not enough room in the budget for a deejay," Bowzer laughed.
"It was his idea of saving money," Debra said. "It was a nice gift, nonetheless. Thank God I have iTunes in my vendor list. I depend on them for making CD's. Forty-five dollars for a yearly membership, can you believe this? I'm all for abiding by the law, of course, but to have to pay for music is just wrong, in my opinion. Someone ought to do something."
She spent fifteen minutes talking about some of her most memorable clients. "Most of the brides and their families that I've worked with were very nice, and you should hear some of the things they said. One father even recommended me to the heads of his rival companies whose daughters were also getting married." But she also mentioned some of the "bridezillas" she encountered. "Five years ago, I worked with two brides who were having a dual ceremony – cousins Celeste Powers and Jennifer Brightman. Their father and uncle, David Powers – he owns a medium-sized software and accessories company in Chicago – informed me they have a seventy-five hundred dollar budget. You should've seen the church they wanted to marry in. That alone went over the budget – we're talking around fifteen thousand to conduct a wedding. This was an Irish Catholic cathedral, and the family wasn't even Irish Catholic to begin with! They wanted royal violet, hot pink and magenta silk flower bouquets on every pew, and those are damn expensive to put together. Plus ruby red poinsettias for the centerpieces at the reception hall, which they wanted to hold in this large, fancy ballroom hall downtown. They just wanted the fairy tale, I tell you. That kind of wedding would've cost about eight times the budget. I won't tell you all the horrible things they screamed at me when I told them it was too much, but they just bitched and complained at all the suggestions I gave them, constantly talking about a 'stingy budget.' I was about ready to give up on them. It was four months of unabashed hell, and I just did a happy dance when it was all over. Such spoiled brats! Stephanie and Emma behave much better than these two did!
"Another client I had started out okay, but unfortunately, she doesn't take to kindly to bad news, or if things don't go exactly the way she wants. Mind you, her demands were reasonable. However, she put up such a fuss at every gown fitting because she couldn't lose any weight, and kept bawling over the size ten dresses. Then, a week before the wedding, I learned that the centerpieces for the reception had not arrived, the hall workers suddenly got sick and could not set up, and the deejay cancelled at the last minute. I further learned that the ice sculpture they wanted had melted so the bride and groom looked like wrestling midgets. My client exploded when I broke the news. I had to beg my girls to gather up their friends to make all new decorations, while I had to find a band and a quick set-up crew. The guests raved over the décor and the set-up efforts, but the entertainment backfired. I was able to hire a wedding singer, but they all thought he was horrible. She was crying that her wedding was ruined, as if being a 'fat bride' wasn't enough!"
She then started explaining about the client who made the nasty comment at her husband's funeral, but Bowzer touched her hand to stop her. "It's okay," he said. "I kind of overheard at the church. That wasn't very nice of her. I wanted to go up there and tell her off, but my colleagues who came with me told me not to."
Debra took the hand that was touching hers. "Thank you for saying that," she replied. "Nice to know that some people can be compassionate."
She began to wonder why she never approached Bowzer there at Keith's funeral. She knew she was in mourning and in no mood to talk to any strangers. But perhaps she never really noticed him, and never really introduced herself to any members of C.O.P.S. who had come. She suddenly began to regret that, but then wondered what might have happened if she met and fell in love with Bowzer so soon.
"You're awfully quiet now," he said. "How quickly you went from being a chatterbox to this."
"I was just thinking what would've happened if you and I had met and hit it off right there at the service," she said. "Would you have made me happy again? Of course, that means you wouldn't have had to deal with that slut you dated."
"But everyone would criticize you for bouncing back so soon," Bowzer said. "And your girls wouldn't have very much respect for you… or me. I think that time at the park was just the right time." He kissed the back of her hand.
Almost a week later, Bowzer was driving over to Debra's house for dinner, eager to get to know the family better. Blitz was barking happily in shotgun, and his master smiled. He was a little disturbed when he turned on Ravenell Street, where Debra lived. It was the same street that Rhonda Shewfelt, his ex-girlfriend's sister, lived on. His stomach felt uneasy as he passed Rhonda's house, and he thought he would lose concentration on his driving. Thankfully, Debra's address was fifteen houses away, on the opposite end of the street.
His uneasiness suddenly disappeared when he parked onto Debra's driveway. When he let Blitz out, he smiled and rubbed his steel torso. He said, "If Debra and her girls were friendly with Dodger as the family pet, they can sure get used to you."
When he rang the doorbell, he was surprised to see Emma greeting him. Blitz was barking with happiness when he saw her.
"Emma?" Bowzer guessed. "I recognize Blitz's reaction to you. Where's your mother?"
"Hi, Bowzer!" Emma replied. "Mom's in the kitchen, still cooking. We're having a really delicious lasagna with potato salad."
"Emma!" she heard her mother call. "That was supposed to be a surprise!" Soon, Bowzer saw Debra join her daughter in the front hall. She let him and Blitz in, and the new couple kissed.
"Glad you could make it, handsome," she grinned.
Bowzer could smell the dinner from the hall. "Could your little girl be right?" he asked. "Is that lasagna I smell?"
"Double stuffed with meat," Debra said. "Just the way Keith liked it. Of course, that's also how he liked cannelloni. I kept making them that way after he died, for the girls."
"That's wonderful," Bowzer replied. "Nice that you have something for them to remember their father by."
Debra began to peel potatoes for the salad. "Emma, she said, "could you please go get Stephanie from her room? I'll need her help with this salad."
Bowzer smiled and said, "So, Debra, you never really told me about your girls while we were running."
"I didn't?" she wondered. Soon, Stephanie entered the kitchen, and Bowzer started to wonder just how tall she was. "Well, Stephanie here is eleven years old and just started sixth grade, and Emma is eight and in third grade."
"Stephanie's eleven?" he repeated. He asked her to stand by her mother. Next to Debra, he observed that Stephanie was around half a foot shorter than her. He asked, "Stephanie, exactly how tall are you?"
"Oh, around five-foot-three," she answered. "I know, I'm tall enough to pass for fifteen. I get that a lot in my class."
Stephanie put on a pot of water to boil, and chopped the peeled potatoes into cubes while her mother was preparing all the other ingredients. The girl said, "As you could probably guess, Bowzer, I'm very physically inclined. I enjoy running to school and back. Beats having to put up with noisy freaks on the school bus to and fro."
"Thankfully, you can walk to school and home in our neighborhood," Debra added. "Speaking of which, how's your homework coming along?"
"Finished my Social Studies just as Emma came to get me, now all I have is Math," she answered.
While the potatoes were boiling, Debra was talking about the upcoming Halloween. She said, "Emma's really excited about going. Just this weekend, I took her and Stephanie costume shopping. We found this pretty pink princess outfit that looked so precious on her. At the store, I ran into a woman named Nancy Klassen; she has a daughter in Emma's class and one of those PTA mothers. You want to know how political this woman is? We're electing a president this year, so she buys a Statue of Liberty costume for her daughter, and has told me that she's going to spray-paint a flashlight and an old princess crown of hers that looks like the one on the statue, both light blue. She also told me that she's spent many a lunch hour typing up these political flyers that her kid's going to pass out to the candy people, reminding them the importance of voting. I think this woman's obsessed."
"And what about Stephanie?" Bowzer asked.
"I'm going as a female cop," Stephanie replied. "I also signed up to receive one of those UNICEF boxes that people put money in. Oh, and my school's having a Halloween school spirit day on the thirtieth. We're going to having classes in our costumes."
"Nice," Bowzer replied, then turned to Debra. "Um, Deb, are these girls going trick-or treating with friends?"
"Yeah, I'm escorting a large group," she said. "Stephanie and Emma are bringing along three friends that they made on the first day of school."
The lasagna was ready nearly twenty minutes later, just as the potatoes had been drained and mixed into the salad. Bowzer waited until everyone was served before speaking to the girls.
"So, Stephanie, Emma, I'm just dying to know," he said, "what do you want to be when you get older and you're out of high school?"
Stephanie spoke first. "I'm going to see about a college that has a good criminal justice program, and go to the police academy. I want to be a police officer, just like Dad was. Maybe I'll go into the K-9 unit and have a partner just like Dodger." She took a deep breath to keep from crying, and shook her head a bit to keep from remembering.
Bowzer began to take an interest in her, something that told him Stephanie would be perfect to mentor. He touched the back of her hand. "You know," he said, "you seem like the perfect one to be a cop. I mean, the way you're so physically inclined. How fast can you run? You know, there's this indoor track at the pet gym I go to with Blitz when the weather gets cold. Maybe one of these days, you can accompany Blitz and me."
"I'd love to," Stephanie replied.
Then he smiled at Emma. "And what about you, Emma? What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"I don't know yet," Emma said quickly.
Debra pointed at Stephanie. "You should see her school process book. You know, that book that has her school pictures, and all the information about her homeroom, teacher's name and everything? Both the girls have one. Anyway, for this one, I had to check off 'police officer' in the 'When I Grow Up' section. Kindergarten to grade five. I'm sure this year won't be any different. As for Emma, I'm trying to get her into the wedding and event planning business. I think it'd be nice if someone followed in my footsteps. I tend to take both my girls to work with me on their school holidays, and Emma enjoys making frilly decorations for weddings I plan, don't you, Emma?"
"Yes, Mom," the younger girl replied.
When he finished his first serving, Bowzer told Debra, "That was delicious. You really are a good cook."
"Thank you," Debra replied. "Would you like another slice?"
"I would, please!" Emma said.
Bowzer smiled and added, "Me, too, please."
"None for me," Stephanie refused. "It's very good, but an aspiring girl cop needs to watch her waistline. May I be excused? My Math awaits." Debra nodded and Stephanie left.
When they were finished their second servings, Bowzer said to Debra, "After we get these dishes, I was thinking maybe you, me and the girls can take Blitz for a walk."
"That sounds like a good idea," she replied. She ran the dishwater, waiting for it to get hot. "I'll wash, you dry."
Five minutes later, Debra put the lasagna pan in last and let it soak, just as Bowzer dried the cooking pot for the potatoes. When they were getting ready for their walk, he offered to put her jacket on her. He did, and she kissed his cheek and said, "Thank you, Bowzer. You're so sweet."
She went to Stephanie's room to see her adding and subtracting groups of multi-digit numbers. "How much longer will this take you?" she asked.
"Five to ten minutes," her daughter answered. "It's okay, you, Bowzer and Emma can go on without me." She grinned. "If I get done before you get home, I'll work even further. Do another page of problems. I'll impress the smarts out of Mrs. Decker."
"Oh, yes, your teacher will call me from work saying you murdered the grade curve." Debra immediately walked out. She saw that Bowzer and Emma already had their jackets on, and Blitz was barking eagerly, so she put on her own coat and shoes quickly and wordlessly.
It was a crisp evening in late October, and already starting to get dark. As the new couple left the driveway, Emma suddenly asked, "Bowzer, doesn't Blitz like to walk on a leash or something?"
He laughed and answered, "No, Emma, he doesn't need one. Didn't I tell you that Blitz can think like a human being? He will normally walk or run beside me, but I'll usually tell him to heel if he sees a dog he perceives to be threatening."
As they were walking, Debra began to think of how Bowzer and Stephanie started to bond, and she had an idea. "Bowzer," she said, "what are you planning to do for Halloween this weekend? Is this when you start community service?"
"Yeah, apparently there's this women's shelter that immediately wants to take me as soon as my suspension's over," he said. "I'm planning on doing the old 'nine-to-five' routine with that Saturdays and Sundays. Should take me about nine weekends to finish one hundred fifty hours."
"Because I was thinking maybe you can come over Halloween night and tend to Stephanie's group, while I go around with Emma," Debra suggested.
Bowzer smiled. "I'd like that, thank you." They kissed.
A few miles down the road, they saw a maroon car slowing down beside them, driving the same direction and pace they were walking. The passenger windows were dark and seemed to be one-sided – whoever was driving could see them but they couldn't see the driver. The driver saw Debra and tried to flirt.
They stopped and the car stopped with them. Moments later, the driver stepped out and revealed himself. He wore a purplish maroon buttoned shirt and tan slacks that Debra thought looked tacky, and big brown loafers that she almost mistook for clown shoes. His face looked like a wrinkling pear, his brown hair looked like it can't be combed properly, and a strange model of eyeglasses that would look good on a rock star. Bowzer especially noticed the man's oversized brain encased in an acrylic glass dome. He was shocked and could tell who this person was. Blitz immediately began to growl.
"Dr. Badvibes!" he nearly shouted. "What do you think you're doing here?!"
Dr. Badvibes folded his arms and pouted at the K-9 expert. "Really, kind officer," he replied. "Is that any way to greet someone who just happens to be in the neighborhood?"
The mad scientist proceeded to open the passenger door. "Come out, Buzzbomb," he said. "There are some really nice people I want you to meet." He was looking especially at Debra, then activated what looked to be a robot passenger ramp. They saw a robot that looked as if he wore two basins like sandwich bread for a body. This robot had a buzzsaw for one arm and a clamper for the other, and had an acrylic glass dome on his head like his master. Bowzer, Debra and Emma heard him speak in robot dialect that turned slow and lovey-dovey once he spotted Emma. He went towards the girl and wrapped his arms around her.
"Aw, isn't that sweet," Dr. Badvibes cooed. "It seems my robot really loves you, little girl." He looked up at Debra. "And you must be her mother. Who are you, my sweet?"
"My name is Debra Janeway," she replied. "I'm actually an Empire City socialite who frequents parties thrown by the wealthy and popular. I'm into professional sports, and have been married four times to infamous sports agents in this town. My daughter here just happens to belong to my third husband. And yes, I'm still legally married, but am in the middle of a divorce. Bowzer here is just helping me out financially. Most importantly, I have a fondness for men who have the smarts, builds and leadership skills of a professional football quarterback. I'm not into geeky mad scientist types like you. So please, kindly take your robot's filthy and dangerous hands off my daughter, take your car and go away."
Dr. Badvibes looked unconvinced. "You don't look like my visual definition of a socialite, Debra dear," he said. "And I don't believe you've been married four times, either. I think you look beautiful, nevertheless. And you say you're into rich men. Why, I make an annual sum of three hundred thousand dollars, probably more than this very member of C.O.P.S. that you're with. And my robot there seems to love little children. Another plus for me. Perhaps we can go out to a movie Friday night. I read there will be a space thriller festival."
"Forget it!" Debra snapped. "I already have a man right here!"
"You heard her!" Bowzer snapped as he took out his communication device. "So why don't you and your robot take your car out of here before I contact Bulletproof and charge you for harassment?"
"Suit yourself," Dr. Badvibes said, then called for Buzzbomb. "Come, Buzzbomb. It's time for us to move along!" The robot took his arms away from Emma and wheeled back into the car. When Dr. Badvibes drove off, Debra started to cry.
Before Bowzer could ask what was wrong, she wailed, "Oh, Bowzer, I must be a very ugly woman to attract a nerd like that so suddenly! Please say something to make me feel beautiful!"
"I hate to break this to you, sweetheart," he said, "but you also attracted one of the Big Boss' famous criminal henchmen." That made Debra cry harder, and she spent the rest of the walk crying on her boyfriend's shoulder.
"Don't cry, Debra," Bowzer said. "I know a few chocolate desserts from heart. I'll make some up for you and both girls when we get home."
Since her first date with Sundown, Lorna had decided to start up her own business from home. She planned a business providing two services – cooking and catering for social events, and housecleaning for the public. She spent two days writing a proposal that the bank approved for a loan. She knew she had lots of cooking and cleaning equipment in her apartment, so that Saturday, she bought some cookbooks for fancy dishes for the catering part of her business. She asked Jackson to design a website for her and spent a week typing out information for it, including her personal "About Me" page.
She didn't tell Sundown about it for over two weeks – when she was ready to go into business! The night before Halloween, over a steak dinner at a fancy grill restaurant, she revealed her plan.
"I spent the day after reflecting on my life as a housewife," she said, "all the meals I cooked for Stuart and the boys, an' how I was a slave to my mop an' vacuum cleaner, just happily wiping off kitchen counters. I thought maybe I'd share those services with the rest of Empire City."
"That's a mighty good idea," he replied. "Cleanin' houses fer people when you aren't caterin' to weddin's an' reunion dinners. I reckon you might make a lotta money with this."
Sundown immediately started thinking about the proposal Valerie came to him with a week ago, moonlighting a model for Texas Pride jeans. He had talked with Bulletproof about this in the past week, but neither of them had come to a decision yet. He decided to share this with Lorna.
"And speakin' of jobs," he said, "ya remember me tellin' ya 'bout Valerie Boston an' her career in advertisin'? Late last month, she did an advertisin' campaign for a jeans company housed in our native Texas called Texas Pride. I won't git into the grisly details, but when her original assignment got off track due to a crime the C.O.P.S. were stoppin' at the modelin' agency she was workin', Valerie decided to fill in some time by havin' me model four different colors of jeans in a separate project. Just last week, she came to Bulletproof wit a letter in hand, which he passed along to me. Texas Pride wants me to work as their jeans model."
Lorna was immediately awed, and began to stare at him. She was picturing him modeling jeans in cowboy shirts and T-shirts. She immediately felt herself quivering lustfully as she pictured him shirtless, too. She could definitely see him as a model still active at his age, if he was never part of the Texas Rangers.
"I think you should take this opportunity, and have Bulletproof give them his blessing," she said. "Even at your age, you'd still have the looks to be in pictures, photos, silver screen or television. Oh, but if ya moved to Hollywood an' got into show business, you could've been a modern-day Clark Gable. Hell, you could've outshined George Clooney and Tom Selleck even."
He blushed a little and replied a soft, "Why, thank you, ma'am."
"I'm serious, Sundown," she replied. "You know the only reason why I was attracted to you when we met at that country club, was because I thought ya looked so damn good. Did anyone ever tell you that?"
She thought of kissing him right there in the restaurant, but her conscious told her to stop. She suddenly grabbed the ledge of the table and leaned back in her chair without tipping it, as a way of telling herself, "Put on the brakes, woman." She somehow knew public affections could embarrass her, and scare Sundown. But he looked at her strange.
"Is there a problem, Lorna?" he asked. "Ladies don't normally grab the table an' lean back like that."
"Sorry, just stopping myself from getting all lustful," she said. "Don't wanna do anything in public that I'll regret." She sat up straight and pulled her chair in. "But, really, I'm think you should take that modeling gig with the Texas Pride company. I think some moonlighting oughta be good fer you."
"Y'know what, yer absolutely right." He reached across to take her hand. "I reckon maybe I will."
When they were finished their meal, Sundown led Lorna from the restaurant, opened the passenger side of his truck, and she was awed when he got her settled inside. She cooed and said, "Sundown, you're just too much. I always appreciate men going the extra mile in gentleman-like behavior." When he got settled, "So, what's our next stop? I'm hoping it's that country club we met at. It was such a magical night. I would sure love to recreate it."
He shook his head. "Nope. I'm reckonin' maybe we go see a movie. There's this nice-lookin' western romance that's opens in the theaters this weekend, an' it had me thinkin' 'bout you an' me. Hope you don't mind dinner an' a movie. I know some women reckon it's a little cliché, but –"
"Sundown, just because something's been done a million times before, it don't make it cliché," Lorna assured him. "Let's head 'er out!"
They arrived at the Golden Gate movie theater, where Sundown spied the movie he was talking about. "Ah, here we are," he declared. "The Miracle Lady. You'll love this one, Lorna."
They walked inside, and she was looking around at all the advertising of movies scheduled to open in the next three months. While her date was paying for the tickets, she noticed a bald, muscle-bound man in a jailbird outfit walk inside. Seconds later, she started feeling confused and uneasy as the jailbird man made eye contact with her and started flirting.
She went up to Sundown, tugged on his shirt and pointed at the flirter. "Sundown, do you know who that is, that man a few yards down? He seems to be romantically interested with me, too."
Sundown looked at him and gasped. He quickly took her in the direction of theater number five, where their movie was playing – away from the known stranger. When he was sure the man wasn't coming after them, he whispered as lowly as he can, "That man you just saw an' asked about in the lobby, that there's Rock Crusher. He's a member of one of Empire City's most crooked criminal gang. You ever heard of the Big Boss?"
Lorna shook her head. "Other than reading about him in the papers, no," she answered.
"Ooh, that man is quite dangerous," Sundown warned her. "He's responsible fer all the crimes that have been takin' place here – lootin', trafficin' racketeerin' – with the exceptions of drug pushin' an' prostitution, you name it, he's done it. Best not to caught up wit him or any of his group, Rock Crusher included. That Big Boss will think of nothin' to kill or injure you wit one punch if you don't do what he says."
Now Lorna looked fearful. "Right, I'll keep that in mind."
Just then, they noticed Rock Crusher headed their way. Sundown and Lorna looked horrified, but before they could say anything, they heard Rock Crusher say loudly, "Well, well, well, ain't ya Lorna Waters? I think I heard about you on the news. Ain't you some sort of death penalty advocate?"
She looked shocked and disgusted, like she wanted to be nauseous. But she took a few breaths and answered calmly, "No, I'm not a death penalty advocate. I've actually been anti-death penalty since losing my husband to it two years ago."
"Lorna!" Sundown cried. "Don't you tell him so much 'bout yerself!" He glared directly at Rock Crusher. "An' what in tarnations are ya doin' here, Crusher? Tryin' to hit on my date?"
"I think yer date looks very pretty there, copper," Crusher answered. "Almost as pretty as Valerie, in fact."
Lorna looked halfway flattered. "Why, thank you," she replied. "An', yes, I know all about this Valerie that Sundown here used to date. But you're not really my type. I like my men toned an' athletic, but not all big an' bulging. Too much muscle an' mass equals too much power in my books. See, I want a man who looks like he stepped from the pages of GQ, but he has to be gentleman enough to let me do what I wish, because I'm a lady who knows her limits. I'm so sorry."
Then she grabbed her date's arm and hurriedly walked into the theater. "C'mon, Sundown, we're gonna be late fer the movie."
They sat in the middle row, just in time for the opening previews. During those and the opening credits, Lorna stared at the entrance way just in case Rock Crusher came in. After five minutes of staring, the doors closed, and Crusher did not come in. Lorna sat back, focused on the movie. Later, as she felt the romance of the movie began, she rested her head upon Sundown's shoulder.
About forty minutes into the movie, Lorna felt like getting some refreshments. She turned to Sundown and whispered, "I'm heading to the snack bar. Want me to get you something, a soda or some popcorn?"
"Maybe I'll have a regular Coke an' some nachos wit cheese on top," he whispered back. Lorna nodded and got up. But just as she left, she saw Crusher standing outside the theater, with a grimacing smile.
"Rock Crusher?" she cried. "How long have you been standin' out here?"
"Long enough to ask ya if you'd like to ditch this place and go wit me," Crusher answered.
She walked quickly to the snack counter, looking peeved. "Yer wastin' yer time, Crusher," she said. "I am here with someone else, and I intend to enjoy the night wit him."
"Aw, come on!" he replied following her. "What's that cowboy cop got that I don't?"
She stared at him, unfazed. "Fer starters, how 'bout looks that don't suggest he's slower an' dumber than a turtle?"
"Aw, you must've mistaken me fer my pal, Berserko." When they arrived at the snack bar, "Look, Lorna, I may not be the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but I'm just a lil' bit smarter than he is. Just ask Big Boss."
Lorna turned to him, eyes widened. "Not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, huh?" she repeated. "I'm rather shocked that yer vocabulary contains that word. D'ya even know what a chandelier is?" She quickly turned to the person at the counter. "I'll have two Cokes, one regular an' one diet, one medium nachos with cheese an' fer myself…" She was selectively examining the assorted candy bars. "…one Caramilk bar, one Nestle Crunch, one package of Reese's peanut butter cups, and one large bag of M&M's, please?" She retrieved a small purse and presented a twenty-dollar bill. "An' while yer at it, could you please do somethin' 'bout the man behind me? He seems a lil' lost." When her order was ready, Rock Crusher offered to carry it, but she refused.
"I ain't no weak woman, I can carry this myself, thank you!" she spat.
He followed her back to the theater, begging, "Aw, come on, just give me one chance. I may be a crook, but I'm really a nice guy."
"Ain't there a jailbreak movie playin' somewhere in the opposite wing?" Lorna replied.
Now, Crusher got down on his knees. "Pleeeeeeeeeeease? I promise I'll treat ya nice."
Lorna sighed and rolled her eyes. "Gee, Crusher, I didn't realize you were so dumb, you couldn't master the meanin' of the word, 'no,'" she said. "Look, I've made up my mind. Now kindly leave me alone." Just then, another patron opened the door for her, en route to the bathroom. She quickly walked inside.
Sundown was shocked by Lorna's wares upon receiving his nachos. "All that chocolate?" he whispered.
"I'm gonna be needin' this," she whispered. "That Crusher tried to hound me fer a date. What'd I miss?" Sundown quickly filled her in.
They spent the next hour concentrating on the movie, the heroine trying to romance each member of an outlaw gang to turn them into lawmen. Partway through viewing, Sundown put his arm around Lorna, and they were falling deeper in love along with the couple on the screen. When the movie was over, they walked out holding hands.
"Wasn't that so beautiful, Sundown?" Lorna asked. "Now if that sweet young lady could make a miracle like that, turning bad guys good, then maybe a handsome lawman like yourself can show an entire metropolis that your girlfriend is not a psychotic widow."
"Darlin', I promise I'll do anythin' you ask me to help ya prove that," he replied.
They noticed Rock Crusher leaving the mini-food court, just across from the snack counter. He headed directly for the couple. "So, Lorna, you still won't change yer mind and dump the cowboy cop fer me?" he asked.
Sundown and Lorna ignored him as they left the movie theater.
"So yer not even gonna answer me?" Crusher asked as he followed them to Sundown's truck. "C'mon, I don't turn ya off that much, now do I? Ya know, I've been pretty lonely since that Valerie lady threw me an' the other guys over. I don't deserve that. You know you can do better than those C.O.P.S. who keep buggin' us. So what d'ya say?"
Sundown became annoyed as he escorted Lorna into the truck. "Can't ya take a hint from the lady, Crusher?" he bellowed. "Buzz off before I git Bulletproof on the horn an' have ya thrown to the hoosegow!" He got in himself and drove off quickly.
Lorna was fiddling with the radio knobs, trying to find a certain country radio show. "Got a station that play slow songs all evenin'?" she wondered. "I sure could use somethin' mellow."
When he completed his first day of community service the next day, Bowzer drove directly to Debra's house. It was a quarter to six, and he saw some trick-or-treaters whom were already active on Debra's street.
He rang the doorbell and was happy to see Debra, as well as Emma wearing a long pink dress and princess hat, carrying a treat bag. He smiled at the girl and said, "Well, somebody's ready for trick-or-treating."
"Stephanie will be just a few minutes," Debra said. "She's getting her costume ready as we speak. And the girls have eaten already, so you don't have to worry."
They saw some cars pull up alongside the front curb. Two witches – one with green hair, one with red hair – getting out, as well as a clown, a ghost, another princess, and a child dressed as a tiger. Debra held the door open for them, but they all greeted her with, "Trick or treat."
She let them all in, just as Stephanie arrived in her costume, with her Halloween bag. The green-haired witch, the clown and the ghost all greeted Stephanie, as the other three were talking excitedly with Emma.
Debra quickly interrupted them by saying, "Everyone, settle down, please! Why don't you all gather together and introduce yourselves to Bowzer here?"
Stephanie did so, then introduced the witch, the clown and the ghost, respectively. "This is Jamie, Rebecca and Eric. Everyone, this is Mom's friend, Bowzer. He's from this really cool police team, C.O.P.S."
"What?" Eric replied. "Mrs. Janeway is dating an actual member of C.O.P.S.? That is so cool."
Emma then introduced the other witch, the princess and the tiger. "Bowzer, meet Natalie, Sarah and Leigha."
Out of curiosity, Bowzer asked lowly, "Debra, when did you meet these kids?"
"Emma has invited her friends over here to play regularly," Debra replied. "Stephanie had Jamie and Becky over here to dinner less than a month ago, and she and Eric were seen playing computer games here. Don't worry, they're perfectly harmless. Now remember the plan – you're with Stephanie's group and I have Emma's group."
"Right," he agreed. "I was thinking we can split up, you go down the street one way, and I go down the other. If you can turn onto a street with more houses, you can. I'll have Stephanie and her friends cross the street to do the houses on the other side, then turn on a street."
"All right," Debra agreed.
"I'll bet my friends get more candy than your friends," Emma challenged.
Stephanie grinned back at her. "You're on."
Everyone left the house then. While Debra would go up walkways and front porches with Emma's group, Bowzer would stay at driveways while Stephanie and her friends. Whenever they spotted an unlit house, they encouraged the children to keep walking. Bowzer became extremely nervous as he approached Rhonda's house, thinking of what he did to Valerie. If Rhonda was at the door, she'd be disgusted to see him. Perhaps he should stand on the other side of the front lawn, and make himself invisible while Stephanie was getting candy and UNICEF money. He turned his back away from the house and tried to act cool.
As Rhonda was giving the children candy, she happened to spot the back of Bowzer's head. She winced and said, "Oh my God, is that Bowzer with you kids?"
"Uh, yeah it is, why?" Stephanie answered.
"That man has the nerve to show his face on my street after what he did to my sister!" Rhonda spat. "Unless he's on his way to shaping up, I hope he isn't with any one of your mothers. If they decide to juggle him with other men, he just may get vicious if he gets the short end of the stick!"
Stephanie decided to keep her mouth shut, not tell her that he was friendly with her mother. She just said, "Thank you," and they left.
She called to Bowzer at the end of the driveway. "That woman at the door seems to know you," she said. "What's this about you and her sister? What did you do that made her so mad?"
He groaned loudly, uncomfortable at the thought of telling her something so mature. "I'll have your mother tell you when your older, okay, Stephanie?" he replied. "Let's carry on." He thought of Rhonda's son, Caleb, then, and wondered if he was in the neighborhood somewhere. They've interacted somewhat around Valerie a few times. Perhaps that boy would recognize him.
Meanwhile, Debra was turning onto Channing Street with Emma and her friends. They started with the houses on the right side of the street. About halfway through, they came to an unfamiliar white house with orange, black and white streamers on the tree in the front yard, glowing ghosts and goblins in the living room window, and various jack-o-lanterns shaped like various scary monsters and aliens. Sarah rang the doorbell, and just as the girls were ready to say "Trick or treat," Debra noticed Dr. Badvibes at the door, dressed like a mad scientist seen in various horror movies.
"Dr. Badvibes!" she cried. "I thought you criminals were supposed to stay in your homes with the lights out on Halloween."
"Really now, who do you think I am?" Dr. Badvibes replied as he put candy in treat bags. "I'm only trying to hand out Halloween cheer to children. It's my civic duty, is that so wrong?" Soon, Buzzbomb joined him and he was bleeping love towards all the girls. He opened his arms for free hugs.
"Girls, don't touch that robot!" Debra warned. "Why don't you all thank the nice man, then wait for me at the driveway?" The girls all nodded and obeyed her, leaving quickly.
"Nice man," Debra repeated. "I can't believe I said that about you, Badvibes." She noticed him gazing at her lovingly. "And what in hell are you doing?"
"I'm just curious to know if you're doing this alone," he answered.
"I'm not," she answered. "I have Bowzer working somewhere in the neighborhood with Stephanie and her friends. If you're asking me to come in for a few minutes, the answer is no. I have a route to finish with these girls, and we're going back out for another route later on."
"Still with that copper, are you?" Dr. Badvibes replied. "A man who'll just bore you to death with stories of all those captures he's had?" He stepped out of his house. "Wouldn't you rather go out with someone who'll show you a real good time?"
"Why, so you can bore me to death by talking about your favorite articles from Popular Science over dinner, followed by a boring-ass Star Wars marathon? I'd sooner shove rubber bullets up my nose."
Dr. Badvibes folded his arms and glowered. "Don't try to dodge me, Debra dear. I know you professional-looking single mothers, always trying to prove yourselves to society that you can have it all, enough money to support the children and enough time to spend with them all at once. I really admire women of your position. You need a man of brilliance, a scientist like myself. I can teach your children all they'll need to know about the sciences so they can at least have lucrative careers at NASA."
Debra sighed and replied, "Okay, maybe I'm not the socialite you didn't believe I was earlier. But I am a police widow, and am deciding to marry another officer. My eldest daughter wants to be a cop like my husband was, and she wouldn't be happy if she knew I was dating a known criminal. And if assumption serves me correctly, this Big Boss you're supposedly working for is probably dangerous and criminal as you are. Don't think I've forgotten that confrontation you had with Bowzer. I'll have you know that he's told me all about your criminal ways as soon as we got home from that walk." She turned and noticed kids were passing this house, so she concluded her speech. "So please understand that I'm not the slightest bit interested in you or your robot. Now I want you to go away, leave me alone, and get me out of your thoughts completely."
She turned and walked away quickly. But as soon as she got onto the driveway, she turned back and added, "And please lock your door, turn off your lights and put your candy away! Children shouldn't be anywhere near you. You're no different than a sex offender! If Bowzer and Stephanie were to see you, I'm sure they'd arrest you on sight! Especially Stephanie when you look at her costume!" This prompted a mother to make her children pass the house as well.
"Don't think I can't look you up in the phone book, or reach information for your number!" Dr. Badvibes called. "I'll make you mine yet!"
Debra ignored him as she gathered up her group and continued. She felt like turning back to swear at him, but she couldn't do that around a group of eight-year-olds.
Emma was telling her friends, "That's the same man that Mom, Bowzer and I met on our walk a few nights ago. He's really scary and weird-looking."
"Yes, Emma, he is scary and weird-looking, isn't he?" Debra agreed. She pointed at the opposite side of the road. "Your sister and Bowzer will likely start here on that side. If we meet, I'm telling him exactly what happened. God, but why didn't we think to bring along a cell phone?"
When Debra's group was on the other side, she and Bowzer met at the house directly across from Dr. Badvibes. She pointed at the house, which was still lit, and they saw the mad scientist still handing out candy. She told him about how he tried to ask her out, and convince her to leave Bowzer for him.
The K-9 officer sighed unhappily and turned to Stephanie. He said, "Stephanie, we are passing that house when we get over to that side, understand?" Then he said to Debra, "Deb, if you can keep what you said fresh in your mind until the trick-or-treating is done, we'll go down to C.O.P.S. headquarters afterward and report this to Bulletproof. This is crazy!"
"Sounds good," she agreed, then they kissed quickly and continued on. "I'll see you back at the house!" She said nothing as the girls continued getting their treats, still thinking about the unexpected confrontation.
Meanwhile, Nightshade had spent just a little over a week recovering from Mace's romantic ties with Cheryl. She never bothered with Halloween this year, just remained in her barely-lit apartment all night, watching a "girl movie," the end table lamps in the living room being the only light. She got enough courage to dial information and ask for Cheryl's phone number two days ago.
She called around five times in the past two nights, and her children answered four of those times. Each time, they said the same thing: "Mom's out with Mace tonight." The third and fourth time, she swore she heard Danielle saying something snarky to her. Something like, "Listen, bitch, I'm not going to tell Mom you called if you're trying to harass her. If you call here again, I'm going to get Mace to have his C.O.P.S. team arrest your ass!" The fifth time, she got Cheryl's answering machine, so she shouted into it, "Cheryl Raleigh? Bitch, this is Nightshade calling. Listen, I know you must be around somewhere, and I know for a fact that you have the love of my life, Mace! Give me a call at 565-0880. We need to talk, you cop-chasing slut!"
She called the house again tonight, eleven at night. She had to be at home, all the trick-or-treaters were at home in their beds at this time. She imagined Mace and Cheryl already having sex on her living room couch as the phone rang. But just after the third ring, she saw Cheryl's image on the video screen.
"Is this Cheryl Raleigh?" Nightshade spat.
"Well, hello to you, too," Cheryl replied. "Let me guess, you must be Rafaella Diamond, the one they call 'Nightshade.' My kids gave me four messages from you, and you left one nasty message on my machine that I thought was so rude, I never bothered returning it."
"Don't get smart with me, slut," Nightshade blasted. "I heard from Ms. Demeanor that you were seen at some club with my man – my man – and she showed me video of the two of you dancing on her cell."
"Yes, that was us," Cheryl bragged. "And just in case you're wondering, he's over here right now. We brought my boys, Jacob and Brett, back from trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. Danielle's at a Halloween party sleepover at a friend's house. The boys are in bed now and Mace and I are all alone. In fact, he was in the middle of fucking me when you called."
"You fucking little bitch!" Nightshade screamed. "I'll have you know that Mace was in love with me long before he even knew you existed!"
"Gee, your language really doesn't match your classy look," Cheryl replied. "And yes, Mace told me all about that fake-ass romance that he shared with you. You're a cat burglar, right? And he's a member of the SWAT team. Talk about a really bad crossing of the stars. But hey, at least Juliet was never into stealing jewelry when Romeo met her."
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Nightshade shook her head to get the next negative thought eradicated. "Listen, you non-charging whore, I still love Mace more than you'll ever care to know. We had history! We were going to get married! An actual wedding and everything! I believe in fighting to get what I want, and believe me, Mace will be mine once again! The only reason why he's not budging is because he let his damn C.O.P.S. team persuade him that I've gone back to my old cat burglar ways. He refuses to see a changed woman! And if you hadn't come around and interfered–"
"And speaking of stars crossing," Cheryl added, "I've seen mismatched couples on soap operas that had more chemistry than you and Mace ever had. Somehow, I just don't see that old flame rekindling. Look, you may have pulled this off with his last girlfriend, from what I heard, but you're not going to get past me. I'm too smart to swallow your bullshit. You and Mace were long over before I came into his life, and he has no more interest in you. Learn to take 'no' for an answer, girlie. Now please hang up and don't dial again." She clicked off the screen.
Infuriated, Nightshade slammed down the phone and went to the bathroom to scream. When she came out, she said to herself, "Why doesn't that stupid bitch get her own cop?" She retrieved a two-litre pail of chocolate chip mint ice cream and went back to living room to console herself. She was inwardly blessed that the current scene in the movie wasn't a love or kissing scene. She'd hate to throw anything at the television.