Settled In
Time passed slowly as Brandi and Jinx began unpacking what belongings they'd brought with them. Marshal Townsend gave them as much space as she could while she waited for her partner to arrive. In one of the bedrooms, Brandi sat just staring at the surroundings. The walls were bare, hardly lived in. Even the bed seemed as if no one had slept in it. As she sat there, her suitcase half empty, she couldn't stop wondering if she'd really done the right thing. Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. Townsend stuck her head in.
"How's it going in here?"
Brandi rubbed at her eyes for a moment and stood up. "Uh…it's going ok I guess. Thanks."
Townsend nodded. "Let me know if you need anything."
In the next room, Jinx simply laid down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. The Marshal had spent a good ten minutes listening to the woman rant about how her children were ruining her life. Thankfully, her partner had arrived. The two Marshals sequestered themselves in the kitchen to speak in private.
"How are they doing?'
"Well…Brandi still looks a little dazed by the whole situation and her mother…could use a really good therapist."
He let out a soft laugh. "Got to love the job, you get all the crazies."
Their conversation was cut short by Brandi wandering in. "Oh…sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt or anything."
"No need to apologize. It's your kitchen," Greene replied.
"I did the right thing, right?" It came out before she could stop herself. She let out a nervous laugh and sunk into one of the chairs by the table.
Greene and Townsend shared a look and Greene took a seat across from Brandi. "You're not sure you did?" He'd always been able to connect with his witnesses.
Brandi exhaled slowly and looked at the man seated across from her. "I don't know…I mean….I didn't want to hurt Chuck. I love him but it just wasn't…it wasn't fair. He was using me." She didn't notice Townsend leave the room.
"It's hard to make the right decision sometimes but it's going to be fine. He's not going to hurt you or use you anymore. We're going to make sure of that."
"Thanks." She looked down at her hands. She'd needed someone to reaffirm her decision. She looked up to see Greene giving her a kind smile and she couldn't help but smile back. "My Mom thinks I'm nuts…that I'm ruining her life."
He didn't know what to say. It was clear that Jinx wasn't altogether there or stable. But it wasn't his place to point that out. So he just reached across the table and gave her hand a squeeze.
"You'll adjust. Just give it some time."
"Time…yeah. Ok."
He stood and motioned for her to follow suit. "Come on. Let's get you acquainted with your new identity."
Brandi followed him into the small living room to find her mother and the other Marshal going over Jinx's new identity. Greene handed Brandi a folder and watched her sit down to examine it. She opened it to find a picture of herself with the name Brandi Rawley printed neatly beside it. She couldn't help but snicker a little at the name. It sounded…strange to her. But that didn't matter; it was who she was now.
"If you have any questions, just let us know," Greene said, leaning over her shoulder.
She gave a brief nod before feeling the weight on the back of the chair shift. Marshals Greene and Townsend left mother and daughter to get familiar with their new identities. They would return in the morning to get them situated with jobs and funds.
Evening passed quickly and Brandi found herself more exhausted than she'd realized. She kept her eyes open long enough to bid goodnight to her mother before crawling into the barely-slept-in bed and passing out.
Jinx sat in the living room nursing a cup of lukewarm tea until the early hours of the morning. She could barely process all that happened in the last few days. To find out one daughter was a federal Marshal and the other had to be placed in the government's protection just to avoid a jail sentence was beyond anything she'd ever expected. Certainly her life had not been normal or simple, but she thought she could at least make some sense out of it.
The next morning, Brandi awoke to find her mother slumped over on the couch, tea cup hanging precariously from one hand. As gently as possible, Brandi pried the handle from her mother's fingers. She stood for a moment, just taking her mother in.
"We'll get through this…we have to."
Just as she headed for the kitchen, a sharp knock resounded on the door. She paused for a moment, uncertain as to who would be knocking on their door this early. Shrugging her nervousness off, she opened the door to find Marshal Greene standing across the threshold.
"Morning," he greeted.
Brandi immediately began tugging at her hair, averting her gaze in embarrassment. "Hi...I…uh come in."
He walked into the apartment and shut the door softly behind him. "I didn't wake you did I?"
"No…I've been up for a while." She waved her mother's cup of tea as weak evidence to back her claim. Feeling very awkward, she set the cup down on the table next to her.
"So…can I get you something…Coffee?"
"No thanks. I stopped by to see if you wanted to go out to grab something to eat and see our little town."
Brandi glanced at Jinx, still oblivious to everything around her. "Sure. Just give me a minute to put something else on."
He gave her a polite nod and watched her walk into her room. She emerged minutes later, purse in hand. Brandi paused next to the couch. A part of her felt guilty for leaving her mother alone in a new place so soon but they would both have to get acquainted with the town. She hastily found a blanket and draped it over Jinx's sleeping form.
"Let's go," she said, turning to face Greene.
"After you."
The drive from the apartment to a twenty-four hour diner was quiet as Brandi took in the new sights. She'd been so tired the previous day she hadn't noticed what was around her.
"Don't worry…you'll find your way around easily enough." His voice broke her private musings.
Another minute or two and the car pulled to a complete stop in the parking lot. They climbed out and made their way inside. Shortly, the pair found themselves sitting at a table glancing over menus.
"So…Marshal-"
He cut her off. "Please, call me Aaron. We're supposed to be friends, remember."
She nodded. "Right…friends. So…what happens now? I mean we're in the program…what do we do now?"
He cleared his throat as the waitress approached. "Can you give us a minute? I don't think we're ready yet."
The waitress nodded and walked back the way she'd come. Brandi turned back to Aaron, eyebrow raised.
"It's best if people don't hear us talking about this. But, to answer your question, the next step is to get you and your mom jobs. We have limited funds that we start all witnesses out with. But after a point, you've got to be self sustaining."
"How long is that…like…ok. We're not so good about you know…supporting ourselves."
"How did you afford where you lived in New Mexico?"
"I lived with my sister. It was her house. I didn't really work. And…when I was with Chuck…he supported me too."
Aaron reached across the table and lightly patted her hand. "I'll make sure you make it. I promise."
She blushed. "Thanks." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the waitress moving back towards them. "So…what's good here?"
He laughed and flipped through the menu. "They've got pretty decent omelets."
"That sounds really good." Brandi set her menu down just as the waitress reached their table.
"Ready to order?"
Both Brandi and Aaron nodded. They placed their orders and settled in to wait. Some five minutes later the waitress returned with their drinks.
"Your orders should be up soon."
"So…what is there to do for fun around here? Are there any good clubs or anything like that?"
"Uh well…I suppose some time I could show you the night life. It's not much but we like it."
Brandi couldn't help but laugh at his facial expression. He was trying to look serious but he couldn't keep a straight face. As the morning light shone through the window to their left, she noticed how it reflected in his eyes. He was definitely attractive.
Aaron caught her staring and cleared his throat, trying to snap her back to reality. She gave him a confused look for a moment before realizing he'd noticed.
"I'm sorry…you must think I'm so spacey."
"No, not at all."
"I bet you say that to all your wit-friends." She caught herself.