Undercover Chapter 8
We had two full days left to go before Joe was set to leave on an undercover trip which could take between four and six months. I knew it could take longer. Our child is due February 26 and, if all goes as planned he will be done with the mission and home in four months, which will make it December 14. If it was really 6 months, that would mean he'd be home around February 14, our first married Valentine's Day. Just in time to see another body pop out of mine in a very unpleasant manner. Yippee.
He'd been working overtime steadily trying to get things ready for his absence. He had cleaned out the spare bedroom upstairs, leaving only a dresser that I thought we could use for the baby. He'd fixed the garbage disposal, and the lock on the backdoor. His honey–do list was getting shorter and he was becoming increasingly worried about leaving me anyway. Who could blame him? I had taken a tumble down the stairs delivering an FTA to the Police Station and had my right hand in a splint with a bad sprang. I was tremendously impressed with how adept my husband was at putting my hair into a pony tail. His was long enough at this point to go into a pony tail as well. He looked pretty cute that way. He said if he was going to be the long-hair type he was considering getting his ear pierced. I thought this would be very sexy. Then he said he just couldn't see a dad with a piercing. I think having a baby is making him feel old.
It was making me feel old as well. In a moment of weakness, I had agreed to join the health club where Joe goes and spends half of his life, it seems. I knew I needed to get more exercise and he had arranged a meeting with a personal trainer for me so I could learn how to use the equipment and figure out what exercise regimen would be the most beneficial for me and the baby. Suddenly, all of a sudden doing the horizontal mambo wasn't enough. He wanted me to work out, too. It was really Doctor's orders. I was just being sort of pissy with Joe because he was actually asking me to do it instead of ignoring it like I wanted to.
He'd taken the day off to work on things at home with me and I'd already had a pretty good week financially after catching several skips without major difficulty, so I had no problem hanging out at home with him. We were both really homebodies at heart. We liked to get out and do things, too, but if you asked if we wanted to go on a trip, or just stay at home together, chances are we'd pick home.
On this day, Joe had brought me breakfast in bed. He'd made scrambled eggs with lots of cheese and toast with his mother's homemade plum jelly. When he brought it up to me, he was wearing sweats and no shirt. He was barefoot and his hair was a mess. I am such a lucky girl! We both hung out in bed with Bob and read the paper and then got up and showered, dressed, and were ready to go shopping for groceries when I remembered that there were some scary things in the refrigerator that should be cleaned out. I'd tried to do it the day before but the sight and smell got to me and I didn't get very far. He gallantly took care of the unpleasant task and we were again heading out the door. When we opened it, there stood his mother and Grandma Bella. "Hello. Come in," I said.
Joe shot me a look. I was varying from his schedule. That may mean no sex this afternoon and I would be in a lot of trouble if that were the case. Well, the horse was out of the barn by now, because they were both peering inside. Joe stepped up and said, "We were just heading out to the grocery store. What brings you here?" He was smiling and acting charming as always, but got the point across that we are on a schedule here!
His mother smiled and said, "You mentioned you were preparing a room for the baby. I wanted to let you know the cradle is ready for you to pick up anytime you are ready for it."
"Oh, how nice." I crooned. "You didn't have to get us a cradle. That is so sweet!" Maybe she really didn't hate me after all. Joe said she liked me, but it's hard to believe with Mrs. Morelli.
"Oh, Cupcake." Joe explained with a lot of drama in his voice for his mother's benefit. "It's a family cradle with an incredibly long story. Many generations of Morelli's have used the cradle. Just smile and say 'thank you.'"
"Thank you." I smiled like he said.
"I'll come get it this evening, okay?" He said, sort of ushering his mother and his Grandmother out the door and toward their car.
Grandma Bella had a vision, but it must not have been an important one because Joe's mom quieted her and said it was time to go. I'd never seen Grandma Bella stifle her urge to share a vision, but I guess some of them are more important than others. I'm convinced that some of them are just brought on by drinking too much wine, but I think it's too early in the day for that kind.
After Grandma Bella was settled in the car and Joe had shut her door for her, he walked around with his Mother to the driver's door and opened it. "Thank you, Sweetheart. Are you still going out of town soon?" She asked with her hand lovingly resting on his cheek. She obviously still didn't approve.
"Yeah. I'll go tomorrow night. I love you, Mom. Stephanie will need your help while I'm gone, but try not to drive her crazy, okay?" He gave her a peck on the cheek and closed her door behind her.
We had an uneventful trip to the grocery store and had just put away the last of the food when Bob barfed up a big wad of grass and Bob gunk on the kitchen floor. This caused me to barf up a big wad of Stephanie gunk on the kitchen floor. Poor Joe. He just sighed and pointed me up the stairs to go change clothes. I could hear him mumbling in Italian as he cleaned everything up. Who was going to do this after he's gone? I can't do it. It makes me sick.
I still didn't feel very well and thought I would lie down for a few minutes. I snuggled into our cozy bed. I loved this room. When Joe was cleaning up, painting and updating the rest of the house, I talked him into leaving our bedroom alone. It just felt like home. Joe's Aunt Rose had left him this house. This bedroom sports faded floral wallpaper with a green background and comfy white curtains. The air here seems more substantial than the air in the rest of the world. It's like it has more oxygen or something. Laying here filled me with a sense of loving and being loved. Joe popped his head around the corner to check on me. "Feeling okay?"
I held my hand out to him and said, "Yes. I'm sorry about the mess." He took my hand and joined me on the bed. I'd brushed my teeth and I pulled him to me for a kiss. His hands roamed over my body for a minute or two. I started to pull his t-shirt off over his head, wanting to feel his naked body next to mine. He caught my hand and stopped my forward progress.
"Hold that thought, Cupcake." He was smiling and looking all sexy and sweet. "We need to get to the gym."
"You mean I have to forgo sex for working out? I thought you were trying to make me like exercising. This is not a good way to start." I was giving him my best pout and giving it my best shot to win him over to the dark side.
"Not gonna work, Sweetie. I'm meeting Dunphy at 3 and you have a meeting with the trainer at the same time." He tossed me some clothes but I opted to choose my own. I had tried to entice myself into starting to work out by buying some really cute workout clothes once and I was determined to wear them before I was too big. I was ready pretty quickly and presented myself in the kitchen for inspection.
"Ooh. That's nice." Joe spun me around, taking care to look at the way the spandex stretched across my butt and boobs. He peeked inside my top and winked at me. I guess he was looking to see if I packed everything. "I bet you can lure me back into the bedroom after the gym." He grinned.
"Do you and Dunphy work out every day during the day?" I had never been on salary. My jobs were always hourly and when you weren't at work, you didn't get paid.
"Yeah. We both work weird hours so it's just easier to pick a time in the afternoon. It's not like I don't put in my 40 hours a week." This is a true statement. He'd worked at least 60 hours this week alone.
When we got to the gym, I was feeling pretty conspicuous. Joe didn't come here every day, but close enough. He explained that he and Dunphy did cardio three times a week and lifted weights at least twice a week. I laughed when Joe said he was worried about getting flabby in Detroit because he wouldn't be able to maintain his workout regimen. I realized quickly he was serious. I guess vanity is pretty important when you've always been good looking and hot.
Joe and Dunphy were legendary figures in this gym. They had started coming here years ago when they were in the police academy. They are both great looking guys and this gym was a source of many of their romantic conquests in the past. Also, they had both turned out to be nice men and were on the board of directors of the gym now. This status netted them some special attention and many special privileges. Everyone on the staff, of course knew them both. Since they had both been around so much for such a long period of time, they knew everything about everything. If the air conditioner was acting up, they knew where to whack it to get it started.
While everyone else had to present their keycard at the door, Joe and Dunphy were allowed to swipe their own cards in the computer and go on in. They also rang up their own purchases in the store, you know, like bottles of water and vitamins and stuff. They were on the hiring committee and oddly enough, they picked out the shirts and shorts the staff wore. When Dunphy got some poor girl pregnant who worked here several years ago, he didn't marry her, but he and Joe put in some elbow grease and enlisted other cops to turn one of the lesser used aerobics studios into a nice childcare facility and got the board to pass some bylaws that made the childcare here topnotch. It was a really nice place to work and to exercise and everyone knew it had a lot to do with Joe and Dunphy's presence. They were bonafide big shots. And they liked it.
I didn't realize it until we walked in, but Marc's mistress, Shelly, was the office manager here. Joe dropped me off with her and told her to add me to his membership. Joe didn't dislike Shelly, he just disliked the family situation. He sort of thought of her as another sister. She'd been around for a long time, afterall, and somehow in Joe's mind, that still represented loyalty and love. He gave her a peck on the cheek and went on to help one of the office staff who was having trouble with a printer.
After Shelly was done with me, she called up the personal trainer who I was to meet with. Jennifer, the 90 pound, perky blonde trainer just gushed about Joe and what a great guy he always was. She took me on a tour of the facility. There were 3 swimming pools. There was a water aerobics class going on in one of them for senior citizens and a swimming class for toddlers in another. I got a little misty eyed watching the little ones and knowing that I was growing one right now. The third pool was the only outdoor pool and it would rival any resort in Cancun for the number of young peacocks that were on display for everyone to see. I could imagine Joe had been one of those guys not all that long ago.
Jennifer handed me a class schedule that listed Yoga, Pilates, Cycle Training, and several other things that I was clueless about. She pointed out the Mommy and Me classes specifically. I hadn't told her I was pregnant and I wasn't showing yet, so I guess word has gotten around. She took me by the child-care facility and Joe was right. It was impressive. They proudly boasted that they only hired licensed child-care providers. The room was clean and bright. I thought I'd feel comfortable leaving baby Muffin here after he was born.
We finally covered the weight room where I saw Joe leaning over someone who was working on her legs. Gilman. Grrr. Okay, Stephanie, get over it. Deal with it. I was still talking to myself about it when Jennifer pointed through the windows to a large gym with several basketball goals and a boxing ring in the corner. She headed upstairs. There was an impressive display of machines which she called cardio equipment. I had no idea what that meant, but Joe had mentioned it, too, so I guessed it was a good thing.
I felt a slap on the rearend and Joe walked by on his way to his machine. Dunphy was just climbing on. "What is that machine?" I asked Jennifer.
"That's an elliptical trainer. It works on both your arms and legs. Since you aren't accustomed to doing cardio on a regular basis, I think we'll start you on the treadmill. That way, you just have to walk. Our initial goal will be for you to burn 300 calories in 30 minutes." That didn't sound hard. I could eat 300 calories in 2 minutes.
Jennifer pointed out all the other kinds of machines on the floor and then led me to a treadmill. She showed me the controls and where to hold on so it would calculate my calories. She started it and told me she'd come back and check on me in 15 minutes. I had a perfect view of Morelli. I was facing him and he was facing me with a bank of TVs in the middle. There were also rows of exercise bikes between us, so he was a good 20 yards away. He was looking mighty fine. He and Dunphy were obviously immune to the "No Horseplay" rules posted every 5 feet on the walls and they were wrestling, pushing and bumping each other like a couple of kids.
I noticed it was almost like a sign had popped up somewhere that said, "Sweaty Greek Gods Working Out Here." Every woman in the place suddenly had an overwhelming urge to use an elliptical machine. All of these scantily clad little bimbos that could be daughters to these guys were flirting with them! Joe and Dunphy had some little sign language thing going on, too. Dunphy would point out a girl walking by on the track and Joe would shake his head yes or no. He was the master of the sexy smirk. I could spot it anywhere. I couldn't figure out if they were rating the girls or what. There were a couple of little groups of two or three girls just hanging around them, flipping their blonde hair over their shoulders and preening, but not making eye contact with either man. This is ridiculous. Then Terri had to show up. She stood in front of Joe and they talked for a minute. She was wearing a little outfit that had a bare midriff. He indicated where I was and she looked over her shoulder at me. I gave a little finger wave, but I was having a hard time keeping up the pace of the treadmill. I looked down. I'd been on here for 6 minutes and I'd burned 11 calories. It has to be broken, I thought. I slowed it down like Jennifer showed me.
Joe was wearing a brown t-shirt and you could see the V of sweat forming on his chest. I was getting hot just watching him. Dunphy wasn't as athletically inclined as Joe and his shirt was already soaked. He wasn't going nearly as fast as Joe and he didn't look as happy about it either. Joe was just cruising along, talking to everyone who walked by and to Dunphy. He was in his element. He loved to sweat. The sweatier the better. I guess opposites do attract because there are many days that the only goal I have is to not break a sweat.
Terri Gilman must have been immune to the 'no horseplay' warnings as well because she suddenly leapt on Joe's machine with her left foot sharing the pedals with his right foot and then she caught Dunphy's machine with her right foot. The guys were still going different speeds and Joe took the opportunity to speed up and Dunphy slowed way down. This difference in speeds was throwing Gilman off balance and she grabbed both of their shirts to steady herself. I guess Dunphy must have a hairy back or Gilman had sharpened her nails or something because he let out a pretty good yelp. They were all three laughing when another girl jumped up on the pedal with Joe's left foot. This was a dark haired girl. I noticed that Dunphy had left the party so now Joe had a girl on each side of him and was looking fine with it.
Terri reached up with her towel and wiped Joe's brow. This was the last straw. I did what any indignant wife would do. I planted both feet, placed my hands on my hips and narrowed my eyes. Unfortunately, I forgot I was on a moving treadmill. It's a good thing I had slowed it down. The force with which I was flung off the back wasn't nearly as much as it would have been if it were still going faster. Lucky for me, Dunphy was standing behind me and caught me easily. I didn't even attract much attention. It was then that I noticed that the brunette on Joe's machine was his sister Mary. Okay. Maybe Gilman is like a sister after all.
Both women jumped off and Joe looked visibly relieved. I hadn't thought about it but I guess he'd been working pretty hard to support the three of them on the machine.
I watched while both of the hitchhikers walked away. Terri stopped and said something to one of the groups of little girls that were standing around watching the guys work out and they moved along their way. It was silly, but I was actually intimidated to walk over and talk to my husband. I finally just started walking around the track. Dunphy had switched to a machine that Jennifer had called a crosstrainer, but Joe was in the zone on the elliptical. He was not looking around at anyone anymore and a couple of people had walked over to talk to him and they had to touch him to get his attention. He really took all this very seriously.
Jennifer caught up with me. I was halfway around the track wondering if my sister would come get me if I called her since it didn't look like Joe was ready to stop anytime soon. Just as soon as I got rid of Jennifer, I'll be damned if Gilman didn't approach Joe again. This time she handed him a new towel and a new bottle of water. I guess I should have thought to do that. It was nice. Not the sort of thing a sister would do, but the sort of thing that a wife should do.
Terri joined me on the track and in no time had caught up with me. She had to slow her pace considerably to mine. "Hi, Steph. You are being such a doll about this little adventure that I cooked up for Joe and I. If I were in your shoes, I'm not sure I would be so understanding."
I looked at her, trying to judge her motives. Was she being nice or hateful? I'm gonna go with hateful. I will fight back with nice. "Well, Terri, it's hard to see him go, but I know he's anxious to help you get things settled."
"I guess the next time you see him, you'll be big as a barn, huh? I'm glad I'm not pregnant. I can't imagine letting my body go like that." Okay. Definitely hateful. Fight fire with fire.
I smiled at her as only the pregnant wife of your ex-lover could. "Joe wanted a baby even more than I did. He's thrilled about it and likes the changes it has made to my body so far. I can imagine your concern if you ever got pregnant. All that plastic surgery down the drain. Besides I don't think you could breastfeed with those implants." I'd timed my comments perfectly. Joe walked up behind me and caught my hand.
"See you, Terri." I said as I adjusted my stride to his. Okay, his cool down stride was faster than my workout stride. I was having a hard time keeping up, but he slowed down to talk to one of the front desk girls who was doing a walk through of the gym.
"Ready to go, Hotstuff?" He asked as he wiped his face off again.
"Sure." On the way in I hadn't noticed it, but there was a big pegboard on the wall just inside the club with numbered pegs for people to hang their car keys while they worked out. Joe and Dunphy didn't use numbers. They had personalized spots. Joe's had a big "M", for Morelli, I assume, and Dunphy's had a "D". Joe grabbed his keys as we were going by. I noticed that on either side of the M there were smaller letters. OH before it and HO after it.
I asked, "What are the OH and the HO for around your initial?"
Joe grinned, and chuckled, "Well, Honey, Lula works out here sometimes and she told the girls at the front that she nicknamed me Officer Hottie, so they put the OH up a couple of years ago. The HO is new. They put it up while we were on our honeymoon. I'm told it means 'hands off'."
I liked that. A warning to all the little girls. I keep saying little girls. They were probably between 16 and 25. I had been 16 when Joe took my virginity. I knew what those eyes could do to a 16 year old girl, even though he wouldn't dream of it now.
He was quiet on the way home. "I've been thinking about your suggestion involving Ranger. As much as I hate it, you are right. The only safe thing to do is to tell him myself. I left him a message today. I hope he calls me back soon so I can meet with him this evening." Joe was holding my hand as he drove. "I'm going to tell him in no uncertain terms that I am telling him as a professional courtesy and that I expect him to keep his contact with you on a professional level. I don't want to hear that he or his buddies are running your errands or moving furniture for you. We have friends for that. I don't count Ranger a friend. You okay with that plan?" I nodded my head.
Unfortunately, I didn't really consider Ranger a friend either anymore. He hadn't taken the news well that Joe and I were getting married. He had told me in no uncertain terms that he didn't want a relationship, but he also didn't want me to have one with anyone else. It had been just incredibly uncomfortable between Ranger and I. It had been pretty openly hostile between Ranger and Joe.
I'm sure a psychologist would have a field day studying the dynamics between Joe, me and Terri Gilman and then between Joe, me and Ranger, too. Joe and Terri had been 'together' in many capacities for most of their lives. I was in and out of it, for years, too, but now I just hated Gilman for still being a breathing human being. Even if she left Joe alone I think I would still be jealous. She and Joe were personal 'friends' and professional enemies who followed the adage, 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'.
As for me and Ranger, we chose to work together. I admire his abilities as a bounty hunter and security specialist. We didn't 'need' each other. I could have buddied up with someone else, but I liked him. Maybe I liked him a little too much. We'd slept together just once and it was while Joe and I were broken up, but we both decided it wasn't a good idea to pursue the relationship further.
He certainly didn't need me professionally. He had told me several times I just served as comic relief for him and his employees. Joe didn't like Ranger because he had a pretty flagrant disregard of and disrespect for the law. Unfortunately, that meant that, while Ranger may capture and bring people in, the legal system couldn't keep them behind bars because laws were broken in the process. As Ranger's protégé, I was guilty of my share of that myself. Joe pointed out that it was futile to even bring them in if it couldn't do good long term. Ranger liked the notches on his belt for the captures. Joe liked the law protecting the citizens. They were just diametrically opposed and I vacillated between them like a moth drawn by two flames.
I missed the easy camaraderie with Ranger, but I didn't miss the tension he drew me into. I'd forgotten what it was like to be in a steady, easy relationship. You know, one that wasn't constantly filled with angst and struggle. Poor Joe. That's just what he provided me and what I had NOT been providing for him lately. I made a mental note to chill. Joe deserved the life he wanted. So did I. Lucky for us, they were the same life.
I guess the exercise and then the drive combined with all the thinking had lulled me to sleep. Joe was trying to wake me up when we got home. "C'mon Cupcake. We're here. Let's go in. You can take a nap. I need to take a shower." He's right. He did need a shower. And I knew just the girl to give him one. My wrist was a little better. I think I can handle it - so to speak.
Ranger called just as we were walking in the house. Joe asked him to come by our place at 7pm, but Ranger said he was busy on a job. They settled on 9pm. I was dragging Joe toward the shower while he was talking with Ranger on the phone. He cut the call as short as he could and said, "Patience, Petunia. There's plenty to go around." He wrapped me in his big, sweaty arms and nailed me with the best kiss ever. At a very inopportune time in the shower, Joe asked, "What the hell did you say to Gilman? She was major pissed when I caught up with you on the track."
"Hmmm. I don't remember." I gave him a palms up. "Let's not talk about her right now." I was busy reminding him why he'd married me instead of her. It took me almost two hours, but I'm pretty sure he didn't care why she was mad anymore by the time I was done with him. He looked pretty damn satisfied. He was starting to make noise about being hungry. I rolled over to call Pino's. I guess he liked what he saw because he hung the phone up before I had a chance to order.
"God, your body is beautiful." He was whispering in my ear and caressing both of my breasts. "Stephanie," Joe rolled me onto my back so that I could see his face. "You know how I feel about you, don't you?"
How do you answer this question? "Yes, but tell me again," is what came from my mouth.
"I adore you. I think you are smart and beautiful. I've never seen anyone as beautiful as you." This was high praise coming from Joseph Morelli. "I have always been incredibly attracted to you, but," BUT? What does he mean 'but'?
"I've never felt this way about anyone. It's like you woke me up or something when you told me you were pregnant." I have to admit, I had no idea what he was talking about. "I knew you were special. Like you were my soulmate or something. I just didn't know what that meant until you were carrying my child." Joe wasn't a guy who would proclaim his undying love lightly.
I could tell he was grasping for the words. "I'm sorry I'm fumbling this, I just need you to know that when I say 'I love you', I mean it. I always have, but they mean even more now than they did 3 weeks ago. Those may be the only words you hear out of me in the next few weeks, but I want you to hear them often and to know that they are real. Those three words mean so much more to me than 3 words should convey."
Joe's cell phone rang. It was Dunphy. I knew Joe wouldn't have answered it for many people. Gilman was having a meltdown of a sort. Joe needed to come right away. I understood. He loved me. He loved our child and the family that we would eventually lead together. He wanted to stay with me but he couldn't. He had to go.
I encouraged him and said that I would be here when he got home. I also assured him that I would convey 'our' message to Ranger if he wasn't back by 9pm. He wasn't. He wasn't home by midnight or by 4 a.m. either. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
At 9pm sharp, our doorbell rang, not surprisingly. I really didn't feel like it was right for me to meet with Ranger alone. I didn't have a good track record with him. He could talk me into trusting him when I shouldn't. I thought about people I could trust with our secret. Joe's mom knew. My mom knew. My dad knew. Okay, I didn't have much choice. "Daddy? What are you doing? Do you have time to come over here? Alone? RIGHT NOW?" I couldn't believe I was asking.