So I sat down last night and literally words just came flowing out of me. In my opinion, this chapter could have been a million times better, but I just don't like writing Elaine. Maybe as the story goes on it'll get easier for me. Anyways, no beta, so mistakes are mine and all mine and, there are more than likely a good amount. I don't know.
As always, I don't own Rookie Blue, the characters, and the heartbreaking story lines.
I will literally give you $200 to tell mom I got food poisoning and can't come tonight.
Detective Brother: like hell, if I have to be there, you have to be there.
$300? :D
Detective Brother: nope.
Whatever, moms cooking will kill both of us anyway.
In my opinion the Peck house hold has always been too large and too pretentious. It was the biggest house on the street, with the biggest yard and the most expensive looking cars parked in the drive. For the longest time I never invited anyone over because I hated the place so much. I still hate it, but it is home after all.
Nothing has changed in it in the last 25 years either, at least not that I can remember, sure I painted my room a couple times and the furniture was newer. But it isn't like Elaine and Bill spent much time there anyways. They spent half the time I was in high school in other provinces and cities at various conferences and what not.
Reluctantly I pull in the driveway in the same spot I always have since I bought my first car. The walk up to the front door is too lengthy and every single time since moving out that I make it I feel like I've aged a year by the time I reach the porch. I take a deep breath in preparing myself for the night that is sure to be draining and completely horrible.
The door creeks open and instantly the smell of steak hits me. I hadn't realized how hungry I actually was until I smelled what I can only assume is the doings of my father. I drop my coat on the bench by the front door and kick my boots off calling out into the house, "Helllllloooooo?"
"Hey little sis," I hear Steve call from the sitting room to my right.
"Dad cooked, huh?"
"Appears so, mom's not even here. I'd be surprised if she even showed up. Dad said she's been in conferences all day."
"Then why the hell did I have to cancel plans to come here?" I huff as I plop down onto the couch next to him.
"Like you ever have plans. What stay at home with Chris and Dov playing video games?"
"I moved out of that frat house like a month ago," I narrow my eyes and glare at him.
"Oh yeah, that's right," I slap him on the knee.
"Asshat."
The sliding door in the kitchen coming from outside opens slowly and the smell of grilled vegetables fill the house. I pop up to my feet. I might hate these weekly family dinners, but I love them when dad decides to cook. Only because he actually uses spices and I don't have to put a pound of pepper on everything to make it have flavor.
I reach for a piece of zucchini out of the bowl, my dad taps the top of my hand with the tongs in his free one and clicks his tongue at me. "What have I said about stickin' your grubby hands in my hard work?" He asks giving me the token Peck glare. The one I do well, but never as well as him.
"Sorry pops," I plop down on one of the stools sitting at the island. "So, does Elaine plan on joining us this evening?"
He checks the watch on his wrist while setting the bowl on the counter in front of me. How the hell am I supposed to keep my hands out of it if he's gonna just let it sit there. I glance down at the bowl contemplating grabbing another piece of zucchini, but decide not to.
"She should be home any minute now, she's been in and out of meetings and conference calls all day. Prepare yourself, she might be a little more," he makes a movement with his hands trying to decide on a good word to describe my mother.
"Yeah, yeah, dad. I know what you mean. I'll definitely need a beer to get through this dinner then. Want one?"
I slide off the stool and make my way towards the refrigerator my father giving me a grunt I've come to recognize as a 'no'. As I pull the beer from the fridge the front door clicks open and slams shut. My mother's heels click against the wood floor as she makes her way towards the kitchen. I pop the top off the beer in my hand and take a long swig off the bottle and set it back on the counter top.
Without a word to the three of us my mother drops her briefcase at the table right outside the dining room. She makes her way into the kitchen pulling out a wine glass and her most expensive bottle of wine off the rack in the corner of the room. My dad and I watch her quietly as she depletes one glass of wine quickly pouring herself another one. After a couple minutes spent in complete silence she sets her glass down on the island next to my beer and looks at me with her hand on her hips.
"What, no 'hello mother'?" She asks raising her eye brows at me.
"Hello mother." I parrot her pulling my beer to my lips to take another drink.
"Don't act so excited to see me. Haven't I told you to get rid of those boots? They're tasteless." She glances down at my shoes and then back up to me again.
"They're comfortable mother."
"They're hideous. Make you look gayer than you are."
"Elaine," my father states, both our attention going to him, "you're crossing the line. Just because you've had a rough day doesn't mean you need to be rude to our daughter."
My mother finishes off the second glass of her wine and sets the glass down hard on the counter. On cue Steve walks in from the sitting room raising his glass of bourbon as a toast.
"Looks like the Peck clan is getting drunk tonight."
"Shut the fuck up Steve," I groan finishing my beer off and grabbing another one.
"Hello darling. You look well," my mother envelops Steve in a hug.
Of course she hugs Steve and just tells me that I'm looking too gay. Why be mean to the precious boy wonder? The picture perfect Peckling. My whole life up until this moment has been nothing but Steve, Steve, Steve. Regardless of what good I may do, everything is all about Steve. First in his class all through high school. Graduated college with honors. Ended the academy in the first spot. Made detective his first year. There is definitely no way in competing with him.
I ended up rifling through the cupboards for something a bit stronger than beer. Dad was right when he said mom was going to be, well, mom. Settling on a bottle of scotch I head out to the dining room table to enjoy just a little bit more passive aggressive conversation. Whenever Elaine is around I just try to stay quiet, mostly because she thinks that everything that comes out of my mouth is absurd, even if it relates completely to the conversation we're having.
"I talked to Frankie today, he told me you were doing quite well as Deputy Chief Crenshaw's daughter."
"She has a lot of potential, we haven't really had any crazy calls lately, so it's really too soon to tell how she's actually doing," I stuff a fork full of food into my mouth.
"Well you should be going fantastically with her, not just well. And what did I tell you about eating like you've never eaten before?"
"Sorry," I mumble under my breath and reach for my glass of scotch.
"No mumbling either, I raised you better than that, Gail."
I can't help but to scoff at that statement. As if she raised me at all, half the time she wasn't around and the other half when she was around she was too busy praising Steve or working. "I met her today. What as her name? Oh, Gwenn, today, she really does seem like a lovely girl."
"Quinn?" I ask, rolling my eyes.
"I called her Gwenn all day today. She never corrected me, I'm pretty sure her name is Gwenn."
"Sure," I finish off the glass of scotch and push my barely eaten plate away from me.
"She has a brother too, really nice boy. His name was Carl, I think. You should go out with him sometime!" She takes a small sip off her wine glass and continues eating.
"No thank you."
"Gail, he's really nice, you should give him a shot."
"Elaine," my dad says sternly. "Leave the poor girl alone, if she doesn't want to go out with this young man, its fine."
"She's seeing someone," Steve pipes up from the other side of the table. I shoot daggers at him before adverting my eyes to play with the rim of my glass.
"No I'm not," I say quietly.
"You said you canceled plans to be here, that definitely, in Gail speak, means you're seeing someone." Steve continues not letting it down.
"Why didn't you invite her?" my dad asks, setting his silverware down on the edge of his plate.
"Subject her to Peck family dinner? I don't quite think were there yet," I hear my mother scoff.
"You act like these family dinners are like getting a tooth extracted."
"Well, I've never had a tooth extracted, but I'm sure it would be more pleasant than being here," I reach for the bottle of scotch and pour another glass, draining it quickly.
Mother ignored me for the rest of the evening, occasionally reminding the room that Steve was the ideal child to have. She kept asking him about Traci and Leo and why they couldn't make it. She asked how Guns and Gangs was going even though she already knew the answer. I kept pouring myself glass after glass, noticing the occasional glances my father was giving me.
He knew how much I hated dealing with my mother on bad days and I'm sure he hated dealing with her just as much as I did when she was in her moods. After about forty-five minutes of listen to my mother and Steve gossip my dad asked if I would help him clean up the table. I agreed, anything that would get me away from being in the same room as that lady. I stood up quite quickly and stumbled back a little bit, giggling to myself.
Steve offered a smile and my mother just shook her head at me. Add this to the list of reasons I disappoint her: getting sloshed at family dinner. After clearing the plates with my father I plopped down on the sofa in the sitting room pulling my phone out, seeing a text from Holly. I smiled to myself and opened it.
How's Peck family dinner?
Acccidnety gat drink.
How do you accidently get drunk at dinner?
If yod habe mrt mu mim yius know.
Is it bad that I know what you're actually trying to text me?
No. Cime oivk mw up?
Right on cue my phone begins vibrating and Holly's face pops up on my screen. I answer it with a long 'Hellllllllloooooooo' followed by my parents address. Holly tells me she'd be there within the hour and that she would text me when she got there. I hear my dad walk in and look up right as he sits himself down next to me.
"So, who's the girl?"
"What?"
"I'm assuming that's who you were talking to. Asking her to come pick you up? Does she work for the division?"
"Kind of," I shrug flipping my phone over in my hands. "She works in the morgue."
"She's a smart girl then. Doesn't have to deal with the lip of the people on the streets," he laughs and places his hands on mine stilling them. "Don't let what your mother said affect you. She loves you just as much as Steve."
"She has a bad way of showing it. I swear if it wouldn't give her a bad name she would makes fliers that said 'THIS IS WHAT A BAD COP LOOKS LIKE:' and it would be a photo of my face under it." I make a gesture in the air with my hands.
"You're not a bad cop. Staff Sargent Best certainly doesn't think so. Especially if he trusts you to be Deputy Chief Crenshaw's daughters TO." I shrug my shoulders again and look off into the dining room where Steve and my mom are still sat, talking in now hushed tones. My phone vibrates in my hands and I check the screen. The words 'here' flashing through the notification bar.
"Well, rides here," I stand up and peek my head into the dining room. "Unimportant Peck child out." I wave to Steve and my mom and before either of them can say anything to my comment I make a quick exit, my dad following quickly behind me.
"Damn, nice ride she has," my dad comments standing on the porch next to me.
"Doctor's make a lot more money than us street cops do," I wrap my arms around his midsection hugging him quickly. He hugs me back tightly, kissing the top of my head.
"I love you, gigs."
"I love you too dad," I turn to walk down the steps towards Holly's car, my dad waving to Holly. She waves back politely once I open the door. She doesn't even ask if I want to go home, just backs out of the driveway and silently starts driving towards her place.
Annnnnnnnnnnd. There you go, I'm hoping one more chapter to be up before the weekend is out. We'll see, work might get in the way.
Let me know how bad it was!
K.