Rick thought about the encounter on Friday night a lot during the next week. He felt increasingly uneasy about the whole thing, and was almost glad that they had parted without making any plans to hook up again.
King County was a conservative community and, despite this being the year 2010, Rick was sure that if it became known that the first thing he had done when served with his divorce papers was run to another man people would not be very accepting. As a sheriff's deputy he had a reputation to protect, and it mattered what people thought of him, or he wouldn't be able to do his job. Never mind what a custody judge would have to say on the matter.
And yet… Rick couldn't deny that he had more than enjoyed the night with Daryl, had felt drawn to him beyond the physical attraction, which was strong. There was something about the mix of suaveness, redneck wildness and vulnerability that made the image of the other man float back to the forefront of Rick's mind more often than he would have liked.
The week had started with other frustrations as well. Rick's lawyer was still brooding over the issue of Lori's intransigence and Rick hadn't seen his son in almost two weeks. He missed the boy, and seethed at the thought of the woman's stubbornness. Work was keeping him busy with an array of tedious small issues he didn't particularly enjoy, and by the Thursday he was ready for the full weekend off that was just around the corner.
Just after lunch, which had consisted of a sandwich eaten at his desk while slogging through some paperwork Rick's phone rang. He picked it up.
"Someone called Daryl for ya," came the rough voice of their desk clerk, Ernie. "Asked for you by name."
Rick's heartrate climbed immediately. How did Daryl get his last name? But then he realized he was being paranoid. He remembered that he had told the man where he worked, early on in the bar, and with the internet at his disposal it would be a 30-second job to find a mention of his full name. There was only one Rick on the force in King County.
He tried not to give away anything in his voice. "Right, Ern, thanks. Put him through."
Rick heard a click as the clerk put the phone down. "Officer Grimes speaking." Rick hoped Daryl would pick up on the formal tone and keep his end of the conversation in respectable limits.
"Hey Rick," he heard the other man say, and Rick's heart skipped a beat. It was unexpectedly pleasant to hear the dark timbre again. "Sorry to call you at work, but I couldn't think of another way to get in touch."
"That's ok." Rick hoped his voice sounded neutral to his colleagues, but not unfriendly to Daryl. "How can I help?"
There was a slight hesitation on the other end, and Rick thought he'd landed on the side of non-committal a little too firmly.
"I was wondering if we could get together again?" There was some hesitation in Daryl's voice, and Rick had to suppress a smile when he realized there was eagerness, too.
"What did you have in mind?" Rick lowered his voice just enough, he hoped, not to be obvious to anyone overhearing him.
"I have tickets to this show on Saturday night," Daryl continued. "It's a gallery opening in Atlanta. A friend of mine is exhibiting. I know," and now he sounded a mite anxious. "Sounds like an odd choice, but I thought it'd be a good place to hang out. And it's Atlanta…"
Rick agreed, it was an odd choice, but he had to admit that he didn't mind what they did, as long as he could see Daryl. He suddently realized that despite all the implications a continuation of this entailed he couldn't stand the idea of never seeing the other man again.
"Sure, sounds good," was all he said, though. "Why don't you give me your number? I'll be in touch."
Daryl seemed to accept the odd way Rick was responding for the workplace front it was and recited his cell number. Rick wrote it down on a piece of scrap paper but was sure he'd already committed it to memory. That was just the way his mind worked, zeroing in on the essential details.
He rang off after that and returned to his paperwork, glancing around surreptitiously. Nobody seemed to have paid him the slightest bit of attention, and he slowly relaxed.
After half an hour, when he was certain that nobody would connect his activities with the phone call any longer, Rick got up from his desk and went to the bathroom. He locked himself into a stall and leaned against the door. He keyed Daryl's number into his phonebook and started typing a message.
Sorry bout earlier. Lots of prying ears. Where r we going?
He only had to wait a few seconds for a reply.
'S ok, got that. Downtown Atlanta, sec, gonna send link 2 venue.
The link followed and after it another message.
8pm. C u there. Can't wait.
Rick hesitated a moment and then replied.
Me neither. Til Sat.
The weekend did not start well for Rick. As the lawyers were still dragging their heels and he hadn't seen Carl in two weeks now, he gave in to his desperation and actually phoned Lori again. He was determined to get her to agree to a meeting, to convince her to let him see Carl before the courts compelled her to.
She was having none of it. The phone rang for what felt like ages before she even picked up, and from the first Rick knew that this call had been a mistake.
"No, Rick, you can't see him now, and if I have anything to do with it, you'll never see him. You weren't there half the time for the last ten years, so I don't understand this interest all of a sudden."
Rick took a deep breath. She was being unfair, and she knew it. Yes, he'd been busy, but half the time was certainly an exaggeration. "You have no right to keep me away from Carl."
Lori laughed. "No right? I have every right, I am his mother. Right now, all you are interested in is getting your revenge on me, and you want to use our son against me!"
Rick was puzzled by the paranoia. Lori hadn't been like that ever before, and Rick had an inkling that these accusations didn't stem from her own overwrought thoughts.
"What do you mean, revenge? Are you out of your mind?"
There was another harsh laugh at the other end. "Are you calling me insane now, Rick? Is that your new angle? Oh, Shane was so right about you!"
For a moment Rick thought he hadn't heard right. "What has Shane got to do with this?" He was genuinely confused, but a bitter fear started to coalesce at the pit of his stomach.
There was a silence on the other end, then, "I suppose it doesn't matter now… I am sleeping with Shane, Rick. In fact, I have been for the last two years."
Rick didn't hear anything after that through the rushing in his ears. The hand holding his phone fell limply into his lap, and he started at it, not comprehending what he was seeing. He sat like this for a minute, then his fingers automatically found the off button, and his cell went blank.
He stayed seated on the sofa for over an hour, not moving, hardly aware he was even breathing. His mind was mostly blank, the only thought repeating itself over and over being, Why didn't I see this?
Rick eventually forced himself to get up. He went about his chores in a daze. He made himself lunch absent-mindedly and didn't even remember eating it afterwards. In the late afternoon, when the truth had sunk in somewhat and the shock had been replaced with anger for both Lori and Shane he remembered his plans for the evening.
Rick seriously considered sending Daryl an apologetic message, but in the end he decided to go as planned. He sure as hell needed distraction, otherwise he'd just work himself into a rage.
He spotted Daryl before the other man saw him. He was outside the venue, one of these trendy galleries that had sprung up all over the city in recent years. As Rick strolled up to the entrance he saw that Daryl was busy with his phone. Rick slowed his step, to prolong the opportunity of just watching Daryl without the man being any the wiser.
Daryl was wearing a light blue shirt under a leather jacket, and he looked relaxed and suave, like he had when he had first approached Rick. As if feeling the gaze on himself Daryl finally looked up. The smile that spread over his face when he saw Rick told him that he had done the right thing in coming.
Daryl waited for Rick to draw level. "I wasn't sure you'd come, you know," he said in a low voice.
Rick considered for a moment how much to tell the other man. He decided to stick with an approximation of the truth, for now. "I almost didn't. Long story," he added when Daryl looked quizzical. "I am here now."
Rick tried to smile but wasn't too sure his attempt was convincing. Daryl looked wary, almost hurt. Before he could ask any questions Rick spoke again. "So, tell me what it is we're seeing tonight."
Daryl motioned him to the entrance and as they stepped into the cavernous space he started to explain the art installations on display. The room was not yet very busy, and after handing over two tickets to a smiling girl in a smart suit Daryl led Rick to a corner of the room.
"These are all Glenn's," he said. Rick must have looked his confusion, and Daryl elaborated. "My friend, the one who got me the tickets. He's really good." Daryl pointed out a particular picture. "I wish I could paint like that."
Rick looked at him. "You paint?" Daryl looked a little uncomfortable, as though he didn't normally discuss this interest of his. "A little. Nothing like this, though." And he indicated to Rick to follow him, as he commented on the pictures.
Rick was only half listening to the explanations. He caught himself staring at Daryl several times, mesmerized by the grace with which he moved as well as his evident knowledge about the art they were viewing. He didn't overanalyze or elaborate too much on the paintings, but would stand in front of each for a long while, looking, and pointing out one or another particular feature to Rick.
All the while, even with the distraction provided by Daryl, Rick's mind was still half numb. He just couldn't believe what Lori, and Shane for that matter, had done right under his nose. He kept thinking back to all the times he'd slept with Lori in the last two years and felt an increasing rage at the thought that Shane had been with her in the same way (and who knew what else) as he. He had not the smallest inkling what he would do when confronted with his alleged best friend come Monday.
Daryl was looking at him again with a worried expression. "Am I boring you?" he asked, and Rick shook his head. "No, Daryl, you aren't." He sighed. "I am not really in the best frame of mind for this sort of thing tonight, I'm afraid. Maybe I should just go…" Daryl looked stricken, but quickly controlled his face.
"Well, if you're not in the mood for this, we can do something else? I can always come back some other time and look at the rest."
Rick was about to protest, but then thought better of it. If he was being honest with himself he would like nothing better now than take that man home and get a repeat of the last Friday night. Anything to seriously take his mind off Lori and Shane.