CHAPTER EIGHT

"It's about time I got to know at least someone else in your family." Jessica looked at Nicky and batted her long, thick eyelashes. "I still haven't met your mother. David won't even let me talk to her on the phone when he calls her on Fridays."

"She wouldn't like you, anyway." Nicky sneered "You're not good enough for her precious Davey. You're a Gentile, and you tricked him into marrying you by getting pregnant. That's two strikes against you as far as Ma is concerned."

"Shut up about Ma, Nicky," Starsky warned him sharply. "At least I try to help her out each month, that's a hell of lot more then you do!"

"How the fuck would you know?" Nicky demanded, raising his voice. "You're not there listening to her whine all the time about not having enough money. I am!" His eyes narrowed. "Do you know what she did with the last check you sent? She loaned most of it to old man Marky who lives down the street. I'm the one who had to pay the electric bill so they wouldn't shut off the lights."

Starsky felt his infamous temper rise, but he held his tongue. The animosity between the two brothers went deep with Nicky believing that Starsky had always been their mother's favorite, while Starsky still bore old resentments towards his mother for sending him three thousand miles away from home while she kept Nicky with her. Every time the two brothers got together, Nicky seemed to take pleasure in deliberately baiting his older brother.

"You didn't pay the electric bill," Starsky said in a deceptively calm voice. "I did. I sent Ma an extra check last month to cover it.'

"That's right," Jessica sneered. "He can send his mom extra money, but he can't give me enough money to buy a new dress."

"You have enough clothes," Starsky said with a sigh. Their food hadn't arrived yet, and they were already bickering. Nicky just sat there with a smirk on his face as he watched the exchange between the two.

"How long are you going to be in town, Nick?" Jessica asked as she turned her attention from one brother to the other. She smiled sweetly as she turned on the charm.

"A few days, maybe a week or two," Nicky said. "Depends on how things go with this business deal I'm working on."

"Where are you staying?"

"At a motel over on Lincoln."

"Why don't you stay with us?" Jessica suggested. "There's no need to waste money on a motel."

"Jess, we don't have the room," Starsky reminded her; annoyed that she extended the invitation without consulting him first.

"I'm sure Nick wouldn't mind sleeping on the couch," Jessica said. "You seem to think it's comfortable enough."

"Hey, I'm fine," Nicky said cheerfully "I kinda like my privacy, if you get my drift."

"Well, if you change your mind, the door is always open," Jessica said, glancing at Starsky as she spoke. "Even if your brother does seem to have forgotten his manners. He should have invited you to stay with us in the first place."

The conversation was cut short by the timely arrival of their food. For several minutes they ate in silence.

"So, Nick," she said. "Is there anyone special back in New York?"

"No, I kinda like to play it loose. No strings and no commitments, ya know?"

"Must run in the family…David doesn't do very well with commitments either." She glanced at her husband with obvious contempt. "Do you dear? If it weren't for this kid, he probably would have walked out on me a long time ago."

"Naw, not Davey," Nick said sarcastically. "He's too straight-arrow for that. Always plays by the rules…does the right thing."

"Alright," Starsky said, his patience worn thin. " 's time to go."

"I don't wanna leave yet," She whined. "I'm having a good time for a change."

"I said it's time to go," Starsky said sharply as he rose to his feet. He reached out and took her wrist, pulling Jessica to her feet.

She glared at him as she twisted free.

"Don't touch me!" she hissed. "If you can't touch me in bed, then you have no right to put your hands on me anywhere else! Or is that how you prove you're a man? Grab me by the arm and treat me like your possession?" She looked at Nicky. "I won't even begin to apologize for his behavior." Her eyes shot daggers at her husband. "I just wish everyone who thinks he's some kinda saint could see him now."

"No problem," Nicky answered with an irritating smile. "I'm used to Davey's little tantrums."

"Just remember what I said," Jessica told him. "The door is always open. Stop by anytime." She brushed past Starsky and strolled through the crowd to the exit. Starsky followed, his mood darkening by the minute. The dual assault by Nicky and Jessica had grated on his nerves and pushed the volatile brunet closer to the edge.

Neither Starsky nor Jessica spoke on the drive home. When Starsky turned off the ignition, Jessica shoved open her door and climbed out of the car. By the time Starsky followed her inside, she was already in the bedroom with the door firmly closed. He sighed as he headed for the bathroom to take a shower.

He stripped and stepped into the tub. Turning on the faucet, he yelped when he was hit by a blast of icy cold water. No amount of adjusting changed the temperature of the water. Turning off the faucet, he wrapped a towel around his waist and went into the kitchen where he turned on the burners on the stove. Nothing. Just as he suspected, the gas was shut off.

"Fucking great," he muttered as he turned back to the bathroom. Now he would have to go by the gas company tomorrow and spend money he didn't have to get the gas back on. He knew he had written a check for the bill this month but Jessica obviously hadn't paid it. They were getting dangerously behind on everything and shut off notices were becoming the norm.

He pulled back on the clothes he had just discarded and left the apartment. It was still early. Hutch would still be awake. He doubted if Jessica would even notice that he was gone, and even if she did, he doubted if she would even care. They were quickly becoming two strangers with the same last name sharing the same living space.

Hutch didn't seem surprised to see him. Starsky knew that he probably wasn't. This was the only place where he felt at peace anymore, and it was more his home now then his own apartment.

"I take it things did not go well tonight," Hutch commented dryly.

"You could say that." Starsky grumbled. "If it wasn't Jessica pointing out my shortcomings, it was Nick. It was like they were trying to see who could get in the biggest dig first." Starsky sighed wearily. "Then when we got home, there was no hot water because Jess must not have paid the gas bill."

"I don't know what to tell you, buddy. You know you're always welcome here shower's free, and the water's hot if you want to take one."

"Maybe later. Right now I just need to relax for a bit and forget about Nicky and Jessie and this whole mess that's my life."

"Well, if it's any consolation, the baby will be here in a couple of months and things can start to get back to normal," Hutch said quietly

"Normal," Starsky snorted "I don't even know what that is anymore."

Hutch went into the kitchen and returned with two cold beers. Starsky gratefully accepted one. He didn't feel the need to get wasted. That didn't make things any better. He just needed to relax and enjoy Hutch's company.

The two spent the rest of the evening watching TV. There was no need for conversation. They were comfortable enough with each other's company that they didn't need to talk. Shortly after eleven, Starsky took a shower and both men turned in for the night.

The next morning, Starsky stopped by the gas company on his way to work to take care of business. He arranged to have future payments taken directly out of his bank account so a similar situation didn't happen again.