Chapter Nine
Promptly at 8 pm there was a knock on Maura's door. She hadn't done herself any favors by coming home early. She had been ready to go since 6 and had been pacing around the house trying to not keep looking at the clock every five minutes. She couldn't remember when she had been this anxious about a date. If she thought about it she would probably have to admit she had never been this excited about the prospect of any date she had prior to that night.
So when the knocking sound alerted her that Jane was in fact there it took a conscious effort for Maura not to run to the door to answer it. She forced herself to walk at a normal pace as she made her way to the front door. When she put her hand on the doorknob she released a breath and opened the door.
"Good evening Jane," she greeted as the door swung open.
"Good evening Maura," Jane answered back.
Maura immediately smiled. Jane looked amazing. She was wearing a dark blue button down blouse loosely unbuttoned down to her chest. She had a black camisole underneath and was wearing black dress pants. Her hair was draped over her shoulders and she had an amazing smile. She held up a single pink rose handing it to Maura.
"Thornless," Jane said as Maura accepted the rose. "I didn't want you to hurt your hands." Jane took in Maura's appearance and the flutter of her heart she had come to expect every time she saw Maura made it's expected appearance. Simply breathtaking. Maura was wearing a simple red dress but no dress ever looked 'simple' on her. The dress highlighted all the right curves of Maura's figure and Jane had to force herself not to stare.
Maura smiled and stepped aside letting Jane enter the house. Jane stopped ogling her date and entered the house. "You look great," Maura told Jane.
"You are stunning," Jane replied. Both women exchanged smiles each understanding exactly why the other was causing their heart to race.
Maura headed into the kitchen to get a vase and Jane followed. As Maura was adding water to the vase she heard Jane gasp and then call out. "Am I ever going to get used to seeing your turtle coming at me?"
Maura couldn't contain the laugh. "Bass is a tortoise Jane. I've told you that. I highly doubt that Bass was 'coming at you'. And yes, I would think at some point you will in fact become accustomed to seeing him in his home environment."
"Can't you at least put a bell on him or something. He's always sneaking up on me and it's starting to freak me out a little."
Maura again laughed. "He likes you. He just wants to say hello." She couldn't help the flashback to the first time Jane had encountered Bass.
The first time Jane ever went to Maura's house was to drop her off after having a few drinks at the Robber. Maura had invited Jane in for a cup of coffee and Jane had accepted. They made their way into the home and Maura headed into the kitchen to start brewing the coffee. Jane had followed. Maura then offered to give Jane a quick tour of the house. It was during this tour that Jane was first introduced to Bass.
They had just come out of the dining room and were walking towards the living room area when Bass rounded the opposite entryway corner. His presence startled Jane.
"What the hell?!" Jane exclaimed turning to Maura and looking confused. "You have a monster turtle walking in your hallway."
Maura stifled a giggle. "He's an African Spurred Tortoise Jane. He is not a turtle."
"You have a tur...tortoise as a pet?" she asked as she couldn't take her eyes off the turtle who was slowly making his way into the living room seemingly without a care in the world.
"That's Bass. I've had him since I was ten years old," she said with a smile.
Jane finally turned to look at Maura. There was no mistaking the pure affection she had for her turtle. It was etched all over her face as she talked about him. "He's named after Dr. William Bass a prominent forensic anthropologist."
As Jane took in the sight of the turtle she found Maura's choice of pet somewhat fitting for what she would describe as Maura's personality. Odd and a bit quirky but in a compelling and adorable way. A monster turtle just seemed to fit. She looked again over to Bass and then back to Maura. "At least he's never given you any noise complaints." She thought about that for a second, "Has he?"
Maura freely chuckled. "No. Bass is more the strong silent type," she answered walking on and continuing with the tour of the house.
"So," Jane said pulling Maura from her thoughts. Maura hadn't heard her enter the kitchen. "Ready to go?"
"Yes. But now can you tell me where we are going?" Maura asked.
"You'll just have to wait and see. Come on," Jane said and she extended her hand for Maura to take. The women walked out of the house hand in hand.
R&I
They chatted casually as Jane drove to their destination. Maura had known Jane now for just over two months and she was still surprised at just how easy conversation came between them. She had never felt as at ease with anyone before Jane. She still was not sure about the reason behind that but was grateful for it.
Jane turned down an alley forcing Maura to turn questioning her. They had been in the heart of the city when Jane suddenly took this turn. Jane felt Maura looking at her and smiled. "What?" Jane asked trying to sound innocent.
"Where are you taking me?" Maura asked.
"Just because I may not be going in the front door, don't rush to judgement Dr. Isles," was all Jane offered.
"It's not exactly fair that you know where we are going and I don't," Maura pointed out.
"Well, you can plan our next date if that makes you feel any better," Jane replied.
"What makes you think there will be a second date? That's awfully presumptuous Detective," Maura teased.
Jane smiled as she stopped and parked the car. "I prefer to think of it as being hopefully optimistic." She got out the car and walked around to the passenger side to open the car door for Maura. Maura looked around but unfortunately none of the businesses seemed to have signs on their backdoors so she still had no idea where this first stop had taken them. Jane took Maura's hand in hers again and they walked together towards a door.
Maura was completely confused when Jane knocked on the door instead of just entering. They waited for the someone to answer the door. Within a few seconds the door opened and a tall man wearing a suit answered the door.
"Good evening Detective. Dr. Isles. This way please," he said and turned around walking back towards where he came from. Jane followed without comment and with Maura in tow.
It wasn't until they had made their way into the heart of their location that Maura even realized that they were at a restaurant of some sort. She looked at Jane for an explanation but all Jane did was lead Maura to their table. She pulled out the chair for Maura who took a seat and she let the man who answered the door pull out her seat for her.
Once both women were seated the man from the door turned his attention to Jane. "Alonzo will be out shortly to explain the menu but in the meantime he has pulled several bottles of wine from his personal cellar which he highly recommends."
Jane looked at Maura. "Wine?"
Maura simply nodded still trying to catch up on what was going on. Jane looked at the man and answered, "Tell him I trust his choices and send what he thinks is best." The man nodded and walked towards the kitchen.
As soon as they were alone Maura had to ask. "Jane? Where are we and why are we the only ones here?"
Jane smiled. "I arranged for us to have a private dinner which is why no one else is here."
"You closed the restaurant?" Maura asked surprised.
"Not technically. I didn't." She looked up and saw someone walking towards them. "He did," she finished her thought as she stood up to greet the man walking towards the table.
"Jane," the man exclaimed as he pulled the detective into an embrace. "E 'così bella vederti di nuovo il mio cara!"
"It's good to see you too Alonzo. It has been too long," Jane said as she broke the hug and turned her attention to Maura. "Alonzo, this is Dr. Maura Isles. Maura, this is a dear friend of mine, chef and owner of this restaurant, Alonzo Conti."
"Una tale bellezza! Dr. Isles, it is my pleasure," the chef greeted warmly taking ahold of Maura's hand and kissing the top of it.
"Grazie," Maura answered and both Jane and Alonzo smiled knowing Maura understood Italian. "And it's a pleasure to meet you as well."
Alonzo turned his attention to Jane who had retaken her seat. "Wine is coming. I'm just finishing up on a sampling of appetizers for you both. The main course will be ready in about thirty minutes. So please relax, enjoy yourselves and I will check in with you after I've seen to your meals."
Alonzo returned to the kitchen as a waiter entered and set up wine for the women. The waiter then brought in an appetizer course made up of an Antipasto platter and Parma Prosciutto. As they started to sample the food Maura had to ask.
"Jane, how do you know Alonzo?" She was curious how Jane knew someone who would be willing to close his restaurant for a private meal on a weekend night.
Jane smiled but it seemed to be a sad smile. Maura hadn't expected that kind of look from Jane. "I helped out his daughter a few years ago," she offered.
Maura looked and Jane and knew there was more to the story. She leaned back in her chair and waited for Jane to continue.
"Before I was promoted to Homicide I did a stretch with Vice. A few years ago Alonzo's daughter, Adrianna, got involved with all the wrong people. She ended up getting pulled into a prostitution ring and had some issues with drugs. I helped bust the prostitution ring. During the interview it became very clear to me that she was a good kid who had been pulled into a bad situation.
"After we busted the entire ring I asked the DA to place Adrianna in a diversion program and rehab to get her help instead of a criminal record. He agreed and Adrianna was able to complete rehab, go back to school and she turned her life around. Alonzo has always been appreciative of the assistance I offered his daughter."
"That was very kind of you to help that girl out," Maura said. Jan'es kindness towards others was something Maura admired.
"It was nothing. When you've been a cop for as long as I have you learn to recognize the ones who are just in over their heads. Adrianna was one of those. I'd rather try to help give someone a second chance instead of just putting another person into the system."
The waiter returned with more food. This time he brought out a Risotto and Raviolone Aperto. Both were excellent. The conversation between the two continued.
"So, you've met my family," Jane said shifting the conversation away from herself. "But I still don't know very much about yours. You don't talk about them very much."
Maura sighed almost as a reflex. Jane noticed it immediately.
"Maura, if it's not a topic you want to discuss that's ok. We can talk about something else," Jane said now feeling bad for even bringing up the topic.
"No, it's alright. There's just," she paused trying to think of the best way to explain her family. "It's just that there's not really that much to tell."
Jane looked at Maura trying to figure out if she really wanted to talk about it or if she was just being polite. Maura filled in the silence.
"I'm not exactly close with my parents. I'm an only child. I've told you that they adopted me when I was a baby. But they weren't very involved in my life growing up. They were both busy and both had jobs that required significant travel. I was raised by nannies and house staff more than anyone else."
Jane took in Maura's look and tone. It wasn't bitter but it felt resigned. And sad. Jane seemed to realize early on that Maura's life may have been rather lonely. Not wanting her to be upset but not really knowing what to say Jane reached across the table and grabbed Maura's hand. She felt the need to reassure the woman across from her that she wasn't alone in that moment. And, she hoped, Maura wasn't going to be alone in the future either.
It seemed to work. Maura squeezed Jane's hand and looked at her. What she saw reflected back at her took her by surprise. The few times in her life she had ever tried to explain her family or childhood she found the person listening to her always seemed to have a look of pity cross their face. Maura didn't want pity. A part of her was afraid that was what she would see in Jane's face when she looked up.
Instead she found something completely different. Looking up into Jane's eyes she saw compassion and understanding. Not judgement. Not pity. Just openness and compassion. She had to fight hard not to have her eyes tear up in that moment. She didn't want Jane to think she had made her sad. She wasn't sad. She, too, now was starting to feel hopefully optimistic.
"No family is perfect Maura," Jane offered. "It's a shame that they have missed out on experiencing just how amazing their daughter turned out to be."
Maura didn't know how to respond to that. She couldn't stop the single tear the fell from her eye. Jane was about to say something more but Alonzo was making his way back towards their table. Jane released Maura's hand and Maura wiped away the tear trying to compose herself before the chef made it to the table.
If he sensed he had interrupted a moment he hid it very well. "For the main course I have prepared both Branzino and a Roasted Lamb chop and Osso Bucco dish." Waiters were busy clearing the plates from the second course and placing the main course on the table. He looked at Jane. "How has everything been so far?"
"The food has been excellent Alonzo," she said with a smile. Sensing Maura still needed a minute to compose herself she continued to chat with Alonzo. "How's Adrianna?"
Alonzo's face lit up the room at just the mention of his daughter. "Il mio amata! She graduates from college this year. Can you believe it?"
Jane smiled. She knew Adrianna had been away at school but she hadn't realized she was almost done. "Rhode Island School of Design, right?" she asked.
"Sì amica mio. She has such a talent. You should see the paintings she has done over the last few years. She's considering graduate school. Dove il tempo? One day she's a little girl and the next she's a grown woman."
The waiters finished with the food set up and had walked away. Alonzo looked at them both and added one last thing before leaving them alone. "Please don't let this old man keep you from enjoying the rest of your meal. I'll stop by one more time to say good night," and with that he made his way back into the kitchen.
"He really seems like a nice man," Maura said.
Jane nodded. "His daughter is his whole life. His wife passed away a few years ago and Adrianna and this restaurant are all he has left."
The main course was just as good as the previous dishes. Jane hesitated to bring up the subject of Maura's family again but there were things she wanted to know. "Maura, I don't want you to be sad or upset but I'm curious about you and I'm not sure how to go about asking without upsetting you again," said trying to test the water.
"I'm fine Jane. Really. What do you want to know?" she gave Jane a reassuring smile.
"Well, you know I've spent my entire life in Boston. Where have you lived?" Jane hoped Maura would be alright talking more about her life than her parents specifically. That was clearly a delicate subject and Jane wanted to stay on the right side of it.
"Well, from what I have been told I was born here in Boston. Or at least that is where the adoption process occurred. My mother is an artist and my father is a professor and at the time they adopted me they were both teaching here in the Boston area. When I was three we moved to New York. When I was ten I went away to boarding school in Europe where I stayed until I graduated high school. My undergraduate work was done here at BCU. I went to Harvard for medical school and I obtained two PhDs from UCSF while living and working in San Francisco until I agreed to take the Chief ME job here in Boston."
"And why did you take this job? Not that I'm not glad that you said yes," Jane offered up.
Maura smiled at that comment but thought about how to answer the question. "It was a chance to get back to Boston. I've always loved this city. Plus it was a Chief examiner position. The offer was too good to pass up."
"Well, I for one, am glad to welcome you back to a city you love."
The waiter returned and cleared the dishes from the main course. He set up for coffee and dessert both of which the women were looking forward to. Coffee was brought out followed shortly thereafter by Tiramisu. The ladies were just finishing up both when Alonzo made what would be his last appearance at their table.
"I trust the meal was satisfactory?" he asked in earnest.
"The entire meal was excellent," Maura answered first. "Thank you."
"Any time I can cook for Jane it is my pleasure. But when she asked me to prepare of meal for a beautiful woman it became my honor."
Jane watched the interaction between the chef and the doctor. "You outdid yourself Alonzo. I can't thank you enough."
"È donna sciocca. When will you ever learn it is I who could never do enough to thank you?" Jane and Alonzo shared an embrace and he looked back at Maura. "This woman," he nodded towards Jane, "she has an amazing heart. You should consider yourself a lucky lady to have her in your life. You look after her for me." He smiled at Maura and then turned again to Jane not giving Maura a chance to respond. "I shall leave you two alone. Stay as long as you want. I do hope I get a chance to cook for you both again." He again took Maura's hand and kissed to top before disappearing into the kitchen for the final time.
"Dinner was fabulous Jane," Maura said. "This has been an enjoyable evening."
"I would agree with you," Jane replied. "But this was simply dinner. The evening has only just begun." She stood up and reached out her hand to pull Maura up from the table. "Are you ready for what's next?"
Maura had no idea what to expect but knew the answer she was going to give. "Lead the way," she said and they headed out into the night.
R&I
"Where are we going?" Maura asked for the third time since they had returned to the car and Jane had started driving.
"You really don't like surprises do you?" Jane asked with a smile.
"I'm just not used to them. I'm used to knowing what's going on all the time."
"Well, then tonight is a completely new experience for you. You will find out soon enough, We are almost there," she said. She knew it was driving Maura nuts not to know what else was planned for the night but she felt it was adding to the enjoyment of the evening.
After a few minutes Jane pulled up to their final destination. Maura looked at where they were and turned her attention to Jane. "What...?" but she didn't finish the thought. Jane had already exited the car and was walking around to open the passenger door for Maura again.
"Jane, they are closed," was the first thing she got out still shocked at their destination.
Jane gave a sly smile. "They are closed to the public. But as you may have noticed that doesn't seem to apply to us this evening." As she had earlier, she took Maura's hand and they walked towards the entrance.
As they approached the front entrance they again had to wait for the doors to be opened. This time they were greeted by a woman. "Good evening Detective. This must be Dr. Isles," the woman extended her hand to greet Maura. "Dr. Isles, my name is Jessica and I will be your guide for the evening."
Maura seemed be to a step behind in comprehension all night and now was no different. She managed a quick greeting still trying to figure out how Jane had managed to pull off this part of the evening.
Jessica turned to Jane. "Would you still like to start with the new exhibit?"
Jane nodded. "If that would be alright with you."
Maura looked at Jane. "Not Monet?" she asked suddenly excited.
Jessica stepped in to answer that question. "Yes actually. The Museum has the new Monet exhibit set to be open to the public next week. Detective Rizzoli has secured a private viewing for you both. If you will follow me," she said as she started heading into the museum.
"Jane!" exclaimed Maura. "How did you manage this?"
They were following their guide who was at least trying to appear as if she wasn't listening to their conversation.
"That is a longer story than how I managed to arrange dinner," Jane admitted. "Don't worry about the how. Just enjoy the what."
The three made their way across the courtyard of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum towards the room that housed the Monet exhibit. Once Jane dismissed Maura's questions about the private viewing Maura couldn't help but turn her attention to Jessica who was more than willing to fill in the two on the history of the temporary exhibit.
As they entered the room it was impossible not to be immediately taken by the beautiful works of art. Monet's work had always been a favorite for Jane and she was happy to see Maura's excitement to see the works. They let Jessica spend the next hour and a half walking through piece by piece explaining the history of the works. Not surprisingly to Jane, Maura knew most of what Jessica was pointing out.
The works were incredible. They had several of the Haystack series that Maura particularly enjoyed as well as several from his Water Lilies and Weeping Willow series. But the one Jane liked the most, or at least stared at the most was a work entitled Charing Cross Bridge. At one point she looked at Maura and spoke.
"I don't know what it is about this painting. But I've always been drawn to it. Monet's works are brilliant. All of them. But I would have to say this is the one I could find myself being perfectly content looking at everyday."
Maura smiled. She would have to admit that Jane had not struck her as one to have an appreciation of art but the more time she spent with the detective the more she was learning about her. And she liked everything she was discovering.
They eventually made their way through each piece of the exhibit. Jessica had been extremely patient with them both allowing them time to admire each piece for as long as they had wanted and she had discreetly walked away when conversation turned personal between the two.
"Detective, I am at your disposal for the entire time you choose to stay here. We can visit any room you both would care to see. I've been instructed to allow you and Dr. Isles to have the 'run of the place' so we can go wherever you would like to go next."
Jane smiled at the thought. "Jessica, you have been amazing and we both thank you. Would it be possible for Dr. Isles and I to simply stroll through the Courtyard before we call it an evening?" It was getting late and Jane just wanted to spend some time alone with Maura. They both had been through the rest of the museum several times before and there wasn't anything either desperately wanted to see. She had really brought Maura here for the sneak peak of the Monet exhibit.
"That would be just fine," she said with a smile. "I'll be here if you need anything or have any questions but please enjoy the Courtyard." And with that she walked off leaving the two alone.
R&I
Jane again took Maura's hand and they made their way towards the Courtyard. As they walked she looked down at their intertwined hands. She was surprised she kept reaching for Maura's hand all night. She normally wasn't much for hand holding but it just always seemed to be the right thing to do with Maura. Maura had never pulled away from her attempts but she suddenly wondered if it bothered her.
"I seem to have a habit of reaching for your hand," Jane pointed out. "Does that bother you?"
Maura looked at Jane as they walked and then down at their hands still joined together. "Not one bit," was her answer. This brought a smile on the faces of them both. They slowly strolled through the Courtyard suddenly liking the fact that they were now alone.
"I don't know how you managed this Jane," Maura said.
"I told you, that's a long story. I promise to tell you one day. Just not tonight."
Maura chose not to push Jane on that end. Instead, given that they now had some privacy she started to tread into a different personal pool of sorts. "Can I ask you something?"
Jane turned to look at Maura, "You can ask me anything you want."
"Are you...have you..." she paused not sure how to phrase the question without offending Jane.
"Have I dated women before?" Jane finished Maura's question.
Maura merely nodded. She was curious about Jane's past involvements.
They happened to be walking towards a bench in the Courtyard and Jane moved them both over to the bench to sit down. She turned into Maura to answer the question. "Yes. Or actually maybe the better answer is 'sort of'. I've been attracted to women in the past. Not many. But a few. I 'dated' a woman once but I'm not really sure the things we did should count as 'dating'. I was young and I had no idea what I was doing. So in the end we never did much. It was that way with men for me too. Attracted to a few. Again, not many but a few. Attraction lead to activities I would barely classify as dates. But nothing would ever really come of it. I'm not sure what that makes me. I've never been big on labels. For me, its been more about an attraction regardless of gender. And I've felt that attraction for both genders at different times in my life.
"I'll be honest with you. I haven't felt an attraction for either sex in a long time. I haven't dated anyone one for well over two years. To people who ask, especially my mother, I blame my job. The nature of the work. The hours. It's tough to try to balance a personal life given the things I have to see and do and a daily basis. You've seen it. In fact I'm sure you've seen worse things than I have over the years. Having that as a day job sometimes felt like it blocked a real chance for a relationship outside of all of that. Regardless of gender, it has been my experience that most people hate what I do as a job or have some sick fascination with the idea of me and handcuffs."
At that comment both women laughed. After a minute Jane continued.
"While I blame the job, the more accurate truth would be I just haven't met anyone that I felt was worth the effort of trying to create that balance. Trying to make it work. I haven't found myself wanting to try for a long time. Until you. I know this is our first date and I don't want to get all heavy on you this soon but I will say that I do find myself attracted to you. I was from the minute I met you.
"But, I do want you to know that no matter what may or may not happen with us as an 'us', I have come to value our friendship. That's something I do even less than date."
Maura looked at Jane confused by what she just meant.
"I make friends, real friends, even less frequently than I date," clarified Jane. "So please know that no matter what I want us to always be friends. If dating or whatever this may be doesn't end up working out I will always want to be your friend. I will always want to be in your life."
Maura had sat quietly listening to Jane. What she heard made her heart soar. The certainty that Jane stated that she wanted Maura as a friend was enough to almost break her. But the openness with which Jane was talking about herself and her past got to her too. She knew she needed to respond but she wanted to say all the right things.
"I will always want you as a friend Jane. I've never met anyone like you before. I have always put people into one of two categories. Those who don't like or understand me and those who don't understand me but tolerate me. No one has ever both liked and understood me. Until I met you.
"You don't fit into the categories I have set for people in my life Jane. From the day I met you, you haven't fit. And although that sounds wrong it's never felt more right to me. Ever. You like me. You want to spend time with me because you like spending time with me. And somehow, magically, you seem to understand me and my awkwardness and that hasn't driven you away.
"In a sense we very something in common. I've dated both men and women too. But I've never been with anyone who understood me. I'd classify my previous experiences as fulfilling physical needs. And that's been about it. I've never have any sort of emotional attachment with anyone before.
"But it feels different with you. I'm highly attracted to you but it's not just about the physical attraction for me. I want your company. I want your sense of humor. I want your insight to the human interactions that can confuse me at times. I want your perspective on the mundane things in life because you have this way of making them anything but mundane. I want you in my life."
Maura was quiet for a minute and just took in Jane. The physical desire was undeniable. For them both. But what was getting to Maura was the openness and kindness she found in Jane's eyes. No one had ever looked at her the way Jane looked as her. Like she wasn't looking at her but within her. And she never acted like she didn't like what she saw. That too was new for Maura.
Jane allowed Maura to look at her in silence for a moment. She had been given a chance to speak without interruption and she had wanted to give Maura the same courtesy. She could tell Maura was trying to put together something in her mind so she didn't mind patiently waiting for her to get to where she wanted to be. In that moment, Jane knew she would wait forever for Maura if that was what Maura needed.
But Jane wouldn't have to wait forever for what Maura did next. Maura decided there really wasn't the right collection of words to thoroughly explain to Jane just exactly how she was feeling in that moment. So instead of words, she opted for a different means of communication.
Maura leaned into Jane raising her hand to gently place it on Jane's cheek. Letting it rest there for a moment she closed the rest of the distance between her lips and Jane's. The kiss was sheer perfection. Both open and wanting the contact. It wasn't timid. It wasn't mild. It was the perfect blend of want and tenderness. And for both ladies the simplicity of the kiss spoke volumes about what each wanted and where each woman was at in that moment.
They both were exactly where that wanted to be. Getting completely lost in the moment and in each other.