Thank you Craig Johnson and Warner Horizon for bringing these characters to life on page and screen #LongLiveLongmire
Vic had always followed her gut. It usually didn't lead her astray. And she prided herself on her ability to see through the bullshit and glimpse the truth. At least at work that had been true. It was evident to anyone who looked at her service record and commendations that she was a damn good cop. So how was it she was seemingly incompetent when it came to her personal life? She hadn't dated much in high school. Never really had time for it and not too many adolescent boys are not intimidated by an attractive intelligent girl who isn't afraid to speak her mind and has zero interest in being homecoming queen or president of the student government. She just hadn't been able to tolerate the idea of dealing with their little boy insecurities or being with someone who couldn't keep up with her. Sure, there were a few boys who had asked her out but it never ended well. Once they tried to get demanding about her time, or why she never wore her hair down or got too handsy she was likely to break their nose in response. It was one of the side-effects of growing up the only girl in a house with three brothers. Once she started on the path to law enforcement, she had all but sealed the deal that she would always be viewed as a hard ass who no one wanted to bother with trying to date. And she couldn't keep track of the number of times people had assumed she was a lesbian. All that had changed when she met Gorski. He seemed to get her and she allowed herself to be blinded by his attentions. He took advantage of what seems to be the one area where her bull shit detector is broken: men. After she found out the truth about Ed being married she said she would never let it happen again, she fell back on her teenaged assertion that she didn't need a man to make her life complete.
She had met Shaun two months before she had discovered what a douchebag Gorski was. She still remembers the day she first saw him. It was early on a Friday and she had been to the gym working out her regular frustrations on a punching bag. She decided to grab a coffee for the walk home and had ducked into a little hole in the wall that didn't use faux European sounding names to describe their offerings. Shaun had been in front of her in line and had ordered a large dark roast with two sugars, the same thing she had on her mind. When he had turned away from the counter he had almost run into her for looking at the papers in his hand.
"Watch it buddy."
He had looked up at her and slowly smiled. "Sorry, I didn't see you. Not usually too many people in here. Most seem to prefer that froofy coffee house down the street."
Vic had nodded in agreement and stepped aside to let him pass. Their morning coffee meetings continued a few times a week and eventually they started to talk, about simple things: The weather, the Eagles and the shitty season they had been having, the drama of city politics. He wasn't someone with whom she may have normally spent time, but they did have something in common. Shaun was driven and ambitious at work just like she was. That was probably what drew her to him the most; he didn't seem threatened by her career. When her relationship with Gorski had blown up, she didn't make it in for coffee for a few days. She needed to break up her routine a bit and she had taken to getting into the station early to avoid having to run into Gorski on the stairs since he was less than pleased with her decision to end things. It was the next Wednesday when she arrived at her desk to find a large dark roast with two sugars. It was in it's typical nondescript cup with "Have missed our little chats" and a phone number written on the side in pen. It was a simple gesture, but something no one had every done before. I took her several more day until she sat at the kitchen table at her apartment and dialed his number and really started down the path that eventually brought her to to this place.
That all seems so long ago now. Sure, they may have gotten married a little quickly, but he was so different from the relationship she had been in before that he had been like a breath of fresh air. She had no idea that he was more of the same, just in a different package. Turns out he was no better than Gorski had been, lying to her to get her to move from Philly. Whatever problems they have had in their marriage all pale in the knowledge of that betrayal. Sure, she didn't like how he had become increasingly more controlling and turns out having a husband obsessed with work was less desireable than she had realized it would be but she could deal with those things. They hadn't been really happy for a while, but it was tolerable, nothing a few nights sleeping apart couldn't repair. Well, that along with some great make-up sex. They had never had a problem in that department. Besides, she wasn't one to give up easily. She had made the committment to marry the man, so she would tough it out, just like she had pushed through things her entire life. But she was getting tired of fighting and the older she got, the more she longed for a relationship that wasn't so hard.
So what was her gut telling her now and should she follow it? Her husband, the man who is supposed to be the one person she could trust completely had lied to her. This wasn't just a little lie either. She had always said that being lied to was the kiss of death, a deal breaker. She hated it more than anything in a relationship, friendship or otherwise. It made her question everything Shaun had ever told her and everything their marriage had been about.
She smelled coffee and could hear Shaun moving around downstairs. Her head was still hurting but not as intensely as it had the first 24 hours. Thankfully the nausea had gone away. She slowly sat up on the edge of the bed. What day was it anyway? She reached for her phone on the bedside table but it wasn't there. That's strange. She always keeps it there when she is in bed, in case she gets a call from work. She must have left it downstairs in the fog of returning home from the hospital and that awful realization of how she had really ended up in Wyoming. She was sure her phone was probably in the kitchen and there was no reason to put this conversation off any longer than she already had. She pushed herself to standing and started toward the stairs.