After Steve disappears upstairs, Aurie follows Tony to the nearby tutoring room. Settling in at one of the round tables full of computers he fires one up. Within minutes he's showing Aurie the new website portal.
Aurie is impressed with how it came out and a little upset that she's not going to be able to use it. It would've been very useful over the past year since it was hard coming in sometimes due to how far she lived. The portal gives program participants access to application forms for state services like food stamps and Medicaid, with online links to those websites. It also gives them access to the monthly stipends so they can see exactly what date they will receive their funds, how much, etcetera. They can check the program calendar for upcoming events and important deadlines as well as submit orders to the on-site store for pick up or delivery to their school.
Tony has her navigate through every nook and cranny of the website and takes notes on any useful comments and suggestions. Eventually, Gladys brings Aurie the paperwork she needs to take care of.
After giving the finished forms to Tony, Aurie realizes she needs to cancel her utilities and bank account. She opens a new browser page on the computer to log into each service and figure out what she needs to do. Tony leaves her alone, taking the forms with the intention of annoying Gladys.
Aurie takes care of everything online except the bank. Moving into the next room where an open-use phone is set up on a desk in the corner, Aurie settles into the seat and calls the bank. After waiting for several minutes, she speaks to a bank representative who walks her through the process of closing her account without having to come into a bank location. Fortunately, she remembers the address to the beach house she watched Steve write down for Chuy earlier and gives it to the phone rep so that whatever remaining funds can be mailed in check form to her.
Entering the room just as she's hanging up, Tony hands her a mail forwarding card, reminding her it's necessary since she's permanently moving to California. Grateful, Aurie takes it. She quickly fills it out and gives it to Gladys to take care of. With everything done and still no sign of Steve emerging from the Lair, Gladys pulled out a deck of cards and the trio settled behind her desk.
This is exactly how Luz and Steve find them, embroiled in a contentious poker game involving butterscotch, peppermints, and Smarties candy.
"What are you doing?" Luz asks, arching a brow.
"Five card draw," Tony answers.
"Poker?" Steve asks, incredulously amused.
"It teaches strategy while providing practical math lessons," Tony replies, not taking his eyes off his cards.
"More like lessons on how to cheat," Gladys mutters, earning Tony's glare.
"We're supposed to be preparing our kids for life, not Las Vegas," Luz rolls her eyes. "Anyways, game over. You, back to work," she pointedly orders Gladys. "You, show Steve around," she orders Tony. "C'mon, mija," she gestures at Aurie. "Clean up your 'winnings' so we can talk before you go."
"Your turn in the Lair," Tony smirks while gathering up the cards.
"The Lair?" Steve asks, watching Luz roll her eyes.
"It's everyone's favorite nickname for Luz's office since she's our resident momma bear," Gladys explains, helping Aurie gather the candy up and stuffing them into jars.
"You guys are looking anything but professional in front of Steve," Luz retorts, crossing her arms as Steve looks on in amusement.
Aurie smirks as she helps Gladys put the jars back onto her desk, making sure to pocket some Smarties before following Luz upstairs.
"Time for the grand tour," Tony gestures at Steve to follow him out of the room.
Although the building isn't very big, Tony takes his time showing Steve around. Walking through the different rooms, he details the history of the non-profit organization from its humble beginnings as a group home for homeless girls. He explains how the services vary depending on the student's needs, regardless if they are in a group home, in foster care, or living on their own.
"And this room is the Mini Mall," Tony states as they step into a room full of industrial shelves loaded with many items. "As you can see, there is a little of everything from basic non-perishable food items to personal care items. It's all donated so we don't have to charge the kids a dime. If they can't come in to get their stipend check and do some shopping, they can either call in to place their orders or can now place their orders online in the portal. We've got volunteers who make the weekly rounds to the schools dropping off their orders along with their checks at their school."
"This is impressive," Steve comments looking around. "You've got a great system in place."
"Have to," Tony replies, leading him out of the Mini Mall since a couple of kids stepped into the room to do some shopping. "We've got over 1,500 students from all over the greater Tucson metro area enrolled in our program. These kids want to stay in school and graduate, so we have to give them a solid support system."
"And is the stipend merely to supplement any support income they get from the state?" Steve asks, following Tony into his small office nearby.
"Yes," Tony nods as they settle into seats at his desk. "But they've got to earn it. It's based on good attendance at school and their grades. It's an added safety net of funds and can be up to $300 per month they can use as needed."
"Do you continue supporting the kids after they graduate from high school?"
"We've got our alumni program that continues helping them as they transition. Whether that's pursuing a college education, figuring out their career paths, or getting a job, we keep supporting them as much as we can. We've got an Eighty-two percent high school graduation rate. I don't remember our college rate right now."
"Remarkable," Steve smiles. "I almost feel bad about taking Aurie out of here. I know she thinks very highly of this program and now I understand why."
"We're definitely going to miss her around here," Tony smiles back. "She was one of those kids who struggled a lot at first. She didn't seem to understand there were no strings attached to the help we offered her, except the expectation to try to do her best in school. It didn't take long for her to catch on and really apply herself."
"Her grades improved a lot?"
"Not at all," Tony replies nonchalantly, surprising Steve. "She's needed to come in a lot for tutoring, which has been hard for her."
Steve sighs heavily.
"I got a copy of her school records earlier when I withdrew her, but I didn't look at her grades."
"Don't expect to be wowed in a good way or you'll be sorely disappointed," Tony smirks, causing Steve to chuckle. "She's struggled with most of her schoolwork. It's obvious there are gaps in her foundational learning. I was pretty sure she was going to have to repeat the school year, something I was hoping to be wrong about since that can negatively affect her chance of success in the long run."
"Good to know," Steve nods. "I don't want to overwhelm her by shoving her into the California school system ill-prepared."
"She's probably going to need a lot of tutoring." Tony pauses in thought. "California ends its school year in June and starts it in September, right?"
"Yes."
"Since you're pulling her out before the school year ends here right before Memorial Day next month that may be helpful to her. She'll have plenty of time to start summer school and strengthen her knowledge."
Steve considers his suggestion before nodding.
"That's a great idea. It'll also give her the chance to make friends before the school year begins."
"I'm not sure that's going to happen. That'll depend if she decides to become more sociable instead of the 'child of darkness' she tends to be." He grins at Steve's confused expression. "At least whenever she's here, she keeps to herself a lot and seems to expect the worst of people. She doesn't even participate in any sports or after-school clubs."
"She works, so she may not have enough time in the day," Steve reasons.
"She uses work as an excuse," Tony counters. "It wouldn't be hard to make the time and I've encouraged her to participate, especially since it looks good when it comes time to apply to college. We had to badger her to attend our social events then try to keep her at said events and practically hog-tie her to get her in a group picture."
"That's surprising," Steve muses thoughtfully. "I know she's in a few group photos she has in her backpack."
"I think those were from our holiday party. Nearly took an act of God just to keep her still long enough to take a picture. She always tries ducking out of sight or shifting to the background. Our running theory is since she's such an anti-social butterfly, taking pictures with others means she's closer to them than she wants to admit. Because she's fine if she's got to take pictures by herself," Tony shrugs. "And originally we thought that was her being a narcissist, but it became clear she isn't like that."
"So don't worry about her being the life of the party," Steve observes.
"Bingo."
Both men chuckle until they hear Luz and Aurie talking to Gladys in the other room.
"And I think Luz is done with your daughter," Tony comments, rising to his feet.
Standing up, Steve follows him back to the reception area as a tearful Gladys hugs Aurie.
"I know you're going to be busy hanging out with all those valley girls and surfer dudes but try to send us a postcard once in a while, so we know you're okay."
"My turn," Tony smiles, taking his turn to hug Aurie when Gladys releases her. "And a postcard ain't gonna cut it. You've got to at least call around the holidays. Maybe even send each of us a $50 gift card or warm socks for Christmas."
Gladys playfully swats him on the arm while joining the others in chuckling.
"It's getting late, and you better get going, mija," Luz smiles while stepping forward to hug Aurie. After a minute she pulls back and looks the girl in the eyes. "You've got my card and can call me." At Aurie's nod, Luz releases her and looks at both Steve and her. "You both take care and have a safe trip back."
"We will," Steve nods. "It was nice meeting all of you."
Allowing Steve to usher her out, Aurie waves back at them as they head out the door. They walk to the truck in silence. Once they're settled inside, Steve starts the engine before looking over at her. He can tell she's done for the day.
"Since it's getting close to sunset, do you feel up to showing me that overlook you told me about? Or do you want to go back to the hotel?"
Confused, Aurie looks over at him.
"Since we got everything else done, I thought you'd want me to get quitting my job out of the way or maybe start packing up my apartment."
"We can do both tomorrow," he shrugs. "I just wanted to try taking care of withdrawing you from school and Youth On Their Own today before they closed for the weekend. Everything else we've got all weekend to take care of."
"Oh, okay," Aurie quietly replies. After a moment of thought, she adds, "Watching the sunset from Gate's Pass would be nice."
"All right," he smiles. "Tell me how to get there."
At her nod, she directs him to head south. Traffic is heavy due to the early stages of rush hour. Comparing it to LA traffic, Steve doesn't mind. Traffic is flowing and is considerably lighter. It's not long before she has him turn west. Within a few minutes, the road starts climbing and winding through some foothills. It's not long before they're pulling into a paved parking lot.
Stepping out of the truck, Steve takes a moment to look around. He takes in the steep, craggy hills liberally dusted with Saguaro cacti surrounding them. Deepening shadows signal the early stages of sunset.
"This is beautiful," he comments as Aurie is closing the door.
"It's even better at the overlook," she gestures to a low wall nearby.
Together they walk over. There are only a couple of other people milling about as they step onto the sidewalk. Reaching the low wall under a simple canopy, Steve is amazed at the view spread out before them.
The overlook sits at the bottom of a sort of 'V' formation between two steep points of the mountain. The landscape drops down steep slopes ahead, giving them a clear view of the valley stretching out below. Steve makes out some structures and roads in the distance.
"Looks like it's going to be a nice sunset," Steve comments. "I'm glad this area was preserved as a park and not ruined by development."
Aurie leans forward on the wall to rest her forearms before replying.
"There is development, but it respects the land. You can hardly see it, but the Sonoran Desert Museum is down there. From what I'm told, it's kind of a specialized zoo. The buildings and everything blend with the landscape and most of the animals are from here in the Sonoran Desert."
"You sound like you haven't been there."
"No," Aurie shakes her head. "Even at student rates, it was too expensive. And anyone I'd want to go with didn't have a car. And here they don't seem to do that kind of field trip in high school." She raises her left hand to point out a cluster of buildings. "I'm pretty sure that's Old Tucson Studios."
"As in a movie studio?" Steve frowns in confusion.
"Yeah," she nods. "It's been around for decades. They do tours and have rides there. Filmed lots of westerns, like 'Gunfight at the OK Corral.'"
"Really?" he asks, pleasantly surprised. "I knew movies were filmed in Arizona, but I thought they used actual ghost towns." Pausing briefly in thought, he adds, "The studio is probably a lot more convenient and safer to film at."
"Probably," Aurie nods. "Chuy said it nearly burned down years ago. They lost a lot of buildings, movie memorabilia, and costumes. He said it was really bad."
"I bet. Doesn't sound like you've ever been there either."
"Nope and for the same reasons," she shrugs. "Also, near the museum is Saguaro National Monument West."
"I wish I brought a camera," Steve mutters in awe at the incredible sunset unfolding before them.
They fall into a companionable silence as cloud-streaked gold skies give way to vibrant shades of red, orange, gold, and violet. It's not long before the sun completely disappears on the horizon.
"That was incredible," he smiles at Aurie. "Thank you for bringing me out here."
"You may have the ocean in California, but I think Arizona still has the best sunsets," she returns his smile.
"It's a strong argument."
Straightening up, she walks with him back to the truck.
"Is it too far out of the way to get back into Tucson if we go down the road into the valley?" he asks as they settle into the truck. "Because I'm curious about the twisty road you mentioned before."
"Kinda. We'll eventually end up on a highway that turns into one of the main roads in Tucson, but it takes a lot longer."
"Hmmm, I'd like to drive it, but I'm getting hungry."
"You wouldn't see much because it's so dark and you've got to pay more attention to the road. Chuy's cousin Ricardo took us out for a ride one night. Drove like a lunatic even though the road is narrow with no lights. Scared the shit out of Chuy and I, but Ricardo deservedly got nailed by a Sheriff's deputy."
Steve considers it while reaching out to turn the ignition on.
"Then let's skip it and come out when it's daylight." Backing out of the space, he smiles and adds, "I wouldn't mind coming out to watch another sunset."
"And maybe bring a disposable camera," Aurie smiles. As he pulls back onto the road and drives back into the city, she adds. "There's a couple of food trailers I know of that I think you'll like, especially if you've never had tortas."
"Tortas? As in tortillas?"
"No," she shakes her head again. "Tortas are basically Mexican sandwiches. Tortillas are still just tortillas."
"Okay," Steve nods. "I'd like to try one."
"The bread and ingredients are what makes them different than most deli sandwiches, which are usually done on sliced bread or long rolls. Bolillo rolls are used in tortas. They're tapered on both ends and are a little like French baguettes."
"Okay, now you're making me really hungry," Steve grins.
"We're almost there," Aurie smiles back.
Within minutes she directs him to pull into a closed gas station. Under the canopy where the pumps used to be is a food truck. Bistro lights strung from the canopy to the truck light up the surrounding area , including small tables and chairs set up for customers to eat.
Following Aurie's example, Steve orders a barbacoa torta. Once they get their plates, they settle in at a table.
"You're right, this isn't a typical deli sandwich," he frowns at his food in confusion. "I can't figure out what's in it."
Aurie finishes chewing the bite she'd taken of hers before speaking.
"First, it's lined with refried pinto beans then they put barbacoa beef on top. Barbacoa can be any meat but is marinated in a chili-seasoned sauce and slow-cooked until it's so tender it shreds easily. Then there's queso fresco, which is a crumbly white cheese. They also put in smashed avocado, lettuce, and tomato. The streaks on top is Mexican crema. Kinda like sour cream or mayonnaise."
"That's a pretty hearty sandwich," he observes, causing Aurie to grin.
"It's really filling and good."
Deciding to finally try it, Steve takes his first bite and then hums in pleasure.
"Mmmm, this is good."
She doesn't say anything as she focuses back on her food but is glad he likes it since it's one of her favorite foods. They comfortably eat in silence. Steve's relieved she's nowhere near as tense as she was after their encounter with Deputy Borden. Seems like watching the sunset put her in a considerably better mood and made her more talkative even if it's only about food and sunsets.
After dinner, they return to the hotel. Once inside their room, Steve has her sit sideways on the sofa and hike up her shirt so he can change the bandage on her wound. Removing the old bandage, he leans in for a closer look.
"Well, Dad's going to be happy to hear this is looking pretty good," he comments. "It's not inflamed or looking like it's getting infected.
"It doesn't hurt or anything. When you're done, I'll go take the antibiotic they prescribed."
Humming in approval, he applies a new dressing. When he's finished, he has her face him so he can replace the wrap on her left forearm and see how that wound is doing. Determining it's doing just as good, he rewraps it for her then she thanks him and heads off into her room, returning moments later with a tablet in her hand. She steps into the kitchenette and gets a glass of water.
Having discarded the wrappers for the bandages, Steve sits on the sofa looking through his cell phone and notices a missed call from Ellen at about the time they were enjoying the sunset. Figuring the reception for his cell service must be bad there, he decides he'll call her back in a minute. Looking up at Aurie, he watches her swallow the tablet.
"I missed a call from Ellen," he informs Aurie. "I'll go into the other room and try calling her back. If you're ready, try calling Mrs. Novak's mom from in here on the hotel phone so we'll know when to meet her to visit the graves."
"Okay," she nods. "I've got her number in my notebook. Please tell Ellen I said hi."
"Sure thing," he smiles. Standing up he walks into his room.
Aurie adds more water to her glass. With it in hand, she wanders back into her room. Setting it down on the nightstand, she grabs her backpack and pulls out a notebook. Rifling through it, she finds the page she has a couple of phone numbers jotted down. She returns with it to the main room and settles in the desk chair at the far end. She picks up the handset and starts dialing.
Meanwhile, Steve changes into comfortable shorts and a loose-fitting hoodie before stretching out on the bed and dialing Ellen.
"I know you've got a new girl in your life, but you don't have to ignore my calls. There's room for both of us," Ellen's playfully indignant voice answers on the first ring.
"Well, you know my father is a showman at heart and he always says never completely fulfill expectations. You've always gotta leave 'em wanting more. So naturally I couldn't answer when you called and had to keep you waiting," he teases.
"So, I'd be on pins and needles anxiously wanting more?"
"Of course. Then I wouldn't be in as much trouble for not calling back sooner." He fondly smiles as he waits for her laughter to die down. "I'm sorry for not answering your call earlier. Aurie and I were watching the sunset up in a nearby mountain park and I didn't know I didn't have service."
"That's okay, you'll make it up to me later," she teases, causing him to laugh. "Sounds like you two are getting along better."
"I think we are, but I'll tell you about our trip so far in a minute. How are you doing? Are you still up north on that story?"
"I'm good. Tired because I'm pretty much on the go from sunup to long after sundown. I'm still here and this story is shaping up to be huge. It has involved a lot of research. I think once it hits the presses, California is going to lose another privately owned regional energy corporation thanks to the lawsuits that are likely to hit them."
"Better than letting the corruption continue. It only benefits the greedy few."
"Absolutely," Ellen agrees. "Not much else going on except I miss you," she fondly sighs.
"Me too," Steve smiles. "So, I guess that means it's my turn."
"That's what I love about you. You may be a slightly slow cop, but you catch on eventually."
"Gee thanks," he smirks, causing her to laugh. "Well, a lot has happened, so get comfy."
"You've only been gone two days. I know you have a lot to accomplish, but it can't be that much."
"Oh, you'll see."
Without further prompting, Steve details everything. What takes more time are the conclusions and observations he's drawn so far. He also answers any of Ellen's questions as they come up. She mostly lets him talk without interruption. When he finishes, she lets out a low whistle.
"Mishayla is right. Your middle name should be 'convoluted."
"Don't you start," he playfully grouses, causing her to laugh.
"Aurie clearly takes after you by climbing into that wreck without thinking to save that baby," Ellen comments, calming from laughing. "That I know of it wasn't reported up here, but by the time I get back to the hotel, I just go right to bed. She did a great job."
"I'm proud of her for doing that," Steve fondly agrees. "Though I'm still mad she risked herself like that too."
"See? You're already getting the hang of being a father," she quips, causing him to laugh. "And although we were sure she'd experience trauma, I did not expect a murder-suicide."
"I think there's more to that story she hasn't shared with anyone yet," Steve sighs heavily. "She's struggling with deciding if she's going to file a complaint against Deputy Borden since she doesn't expect to see any results, but I suggested she talk to you."
"It seems like the story has been covered already," Ellen points out.
"Probably only what's available in the press release and police report. I haven't had time to look into it, but I bet there isn't much about the history of physical abuse and abuse of authority. Likely any news coverage indicated that Deputy Novak just snapped and murdered his family before killing himself."
"Well, when she's ready I'll be happy to help in any way I can. But if this story turns out better than it's sounding so far, she may be doing me more of a favor than I for her," she laughs, causing Steve to chuckle.
"She relaxed when I suggested she talk to you, so we'll just have to see if she decides to share what she knows. She even said to tell you 'hi' when I told her I was going to call you. She seems to really like you."
"The feeling is mutual. Tell her I said 'hi' back."
"I will."
"Anyways, it sounds like you two are starting to connect, but I think it's baby steps. Dr. de la Torre is right. You are going to have to sit down with her and discuss the future and set expectations. It probably won't fix everything, but it's a place to start. Might make Aurie more inclined to start opening up to you more and work with you on building a relationship."
"Yeah, I know," Steve sighs heavily. "It may have to wait until we get back to Malibu. Dealing with Deputy Borden on top of being withdrawn from school and saying goodbye at Youth On Their Own is a lot for one day. It'd be too much to try having that conversation now. I'm going to keep letting her set the pace."
"That's all you can do. Otherwise, she'll shut down and wait until she can legally take off on you."
"And that's the last thing I want," Steve sighs again.
"And I love you even more for putting in the effort to incorporate her into your life when you were totally wrong about not being her father and could've walked away."
"Is that an 'I told you so'?"
"Absolutely," Ellen quips as they laugh together.
"Okay, so this time you were right," Steve counters.
"What do you mean 'this time'?" she playfully protests. Before he can answer, she sighs heavily. "Well, as much as I'd love to keep teasing you about me being right, again, it's late and I'm beat. I need to get some sleep."
"All right," Steve grudgingly concedes. "Get some rest. I love you and miss you."
"Me too," she softly replies. "Goodnight."
Reluctantly, Steve hangs up the phone, glaring at it in his hand before placing it on the nightstand. Glancing at the digital clock, he realizes he's been talking to Ellen for over an hour. Wondering if Aurie headed off to bed, he eases to his feet and heads into the main room.
He finds her sitting at the desk on the hotel phone. She didn't notice him entering the room. Slouched low in the office chair with her back to the wall of his room, she has her left leg extended, using her foot to playfully swivel side to side by alternately pushing each side of the desk leg.
Needing some water, Steve heads into the kitchenette, intending to return to his room and call his dad until her conversation captures his attention.
"Yeah, well, I guess it might've been okay except for the horny puta they made my advocate." Aurie pauses before grousing, "She didn't even pretend to listen to me. She just wanted to keep sexting her boyfriend." Another pause. "She was! So, I started saying really stupid shit to provoke her and she'd just go 'uh huh' and 'okay'." She pauses briefly again. "I tried telling the judge, but he was such a jerk about it. If it didn't come out of the puta's mouth, he wasn't hearing it. Then he had the bailiff drag me out. When they brought me back, everything was decided."
The silence stretches out even longer as she listens to whomever she's talking to before she responds again.
"I know, but whatever. That's what happened, and I'll probably be in California by the end of this weekend. Nearly everything's done here. I just wanted to let you know I found my father and got my citizenship, so you don't have to worry about having to arrest and deport me." She pauses briefly to laugh. "Yeah. Thank you for everything." Aurie pauses again and sadly smiles. "Okay, take care. Goodbye."
With a heavy sigh, Aurie sits up straighter in the chair and reaches over to place the handset on the cradle.
"Was that Agent Coronado?" Steve asks, startling her into twitching badly and dropping the handset onto the desktop with a clatter.
"Aye dios mio!" she gasps. "I didn't hear you come in." Calming, she adds, "Yes, it was her."
"Have you called Mrs. Novak's mom?" he asks, crossing the room to the desk.
"I called her first," she replies, picking up the handset and successfully putting it back in place. "Which was a good thing because it turns out she likes to go to bed early and I caught her just in time." Meeting his gaze, she adds, "She says she's going out of town tomorrow, but can meet us at the entrance to the cemetery at ten Sunday morning."
"We can do that," Steve nods. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but did I hear you call your court advocate a 'puta'? Doesn't that mean 'bitch' in Spanish?"
"Pretty much," Aurie uncomfortably shrugs.
"She was just doing her job," he shrugs, non-plussed. "I get that you're not happy with her, but did she really do anything that bad to justify being called that?"
Aurie gapes at him before looking away briefly to shake her head in confusion.
"If that's how everyone in the California courts does their job, then I'd like to get one and get paid to be a lazy ass."
Reaching for her notebook, she closes it. Taking it in hand she slides the chair back to stand up.
"What is that supposed to mean?" he asks, stopping her in place. "You accused her of lying in court then said nothing more about it. If you're just mad at her for not elaborating to the judge about what you talked about with her then I'd like to know why you're disrespecting a court representative like that."
"She disrespected me a lot more than I'm doing to her," Aurie snorts in derision, moving around the desk.
"Then explain it so I'll understand," he insists, taking a step towards her.
"Doesn't matter," she snaps with a glare. "Sure, as hell wasn't important to the judge when I tried telling him in court. But I was just being a brat and causing unnecessary drama, wasn't I?" she sarcastically asks.
Steve grimaces as she stalks toward her room.
"Aurie, wait," he calls out, stopping her as she reaches her door. "Let's not fall into this routine of arguing and getting nowhere."
With her right hand clutching the doorknob and her left resting on the frame near her head, she doesn't look at him and waits for him to continue, causing him to sigh heavily.
"I know I screwed up. I got mad when you rightfully challenged me, and we should've talked about the hearing and everything right then. I was wrong to call you a brat and say you were causing a scene. If what you're implying is true, then that was the right time to inform Judge Dobrik. I'm sorry and I want to hear what happened."
The room falls silent as he watches her take a deep breath. He takes a couple of steps closer to her. Finally, she angrily looks over at him.
"We didn't talk," she quietly states. "She just asked what I thought about the hearing. I thought it was weird she wasn't taking notes or looking at me and it didn't take long to realize she wasn't even fucking listening. Before you ask how I know, I tested her. I got a glimpse of her phone screen, and she was texting her boyfriend who happens to be black, so I started saying really stupid shit like asking if she's a chocolate chaser."
"Chocolate chaser?" Steve interrupts, uncertain he heard her right.
"Yeah, a white chick who sluts after black men because of their big dicks." Straightening up to face him better, she couldn't help smirking at his shocked expression. "It's a thing. Those girls don't care about personality, they want some street cred and stereotypical big dicks in their vanilla world."
"I'll ask about how you know all this later," he shakes his head slightly with a frown. "You mentioned to Agent Coronado that your advocate was 'sexting', what's that?"
"Telling someone over text how you want to fuck them and how you want them to fuck you."
Inwardly, Aurie enjoys seeing the war of emotions on his face. Obviously, he didn't think she knew anything about sex. She spares him further discomfort by deciding to move on because she wants this stupid conversation to be over with already.
"She didn't answer when I asked if she was a chocolate chaser. Then I really went for it and asked if she enjoyed being the double stuffed filling of an Oreo gang bang." At Steve's renewed confused frown, she adds, "Like she was getting teamed by two or more black men." She ignores his expression switching to shock. "The puta was so into her phone she only nodded and said uh-huh, yeah. I stopped talking, which didn't bother her at all since she was too busy drooling over the dick pics he kept sending her."
"So, during all this, she didn't bother hiding her phone screen from you?" he asks, a bit skeptical.
"She mostly did but would drop her phone a bit if she got overly excited. And I saw a lot more than I wanted to when we were in court because the bailiff sat me right behind her. She's delusional if she thinks her boyfriend's pencil dick is that big, but whatever."
Wiping a frustrated hand down his face, Steve takes a deep, calming breath.
"Okay, what she was doing is unacceptable for any court employee and we've got to file a formal complaint against her."
"Why?" Aurie asks in confusion.
"Because her job as an advocate is to be the voice of minors in court," he points out like it should be obvious.
"Nothing's gonna happen. She's probably done this so much she isn't afraid of being caught."
"All the more reason to report her. She's probably gotten away with it so long because no one said anything before."
"Why would they when no one would listen? Like when I tried. Thanks to Judge Dobrik being such a jerk, she was so confident nothing would happen she threatened to ask him to order me to apologize. Then I called her bluff."
"I remember her taking off down the hallway." With a roll of his eyes, he grudgingly adds, "And I know I'm going to regret asking about this, but she looked like she was going to pass out when you called her 'Flappy Lips'. Why?"
"'Cause her man was saying shit like, 'I can't wait to feel your flappy lips wrapped around my dick like a hotdog bun.' He was talking about her lower lips." Aurie points down toward her crotch when he looks confused again before looking shocked. "She texted back he can do whatever he wanted with his Dickey D as long as he gives it to her good. When I used both nicknames, she realized I knew a lot more than she expected."
"Okay," he begins with a deep breath. "I'm going to put in a complaint on her. If anything comes of it, are you willing to answer any questions to support it?"
"I guess," she shrugs. "Nothing's going to happen. I don't care either way as long as she's not my advocate again."
"It's possible if we don't complain."
Aurie pauses in thought before replying.
"If that happens, I'm so gonna screw with her into a nervous breakdown or until she snaps."
"I don't doubt that for a second," he smirks. Becoming serious, he asks, "If she had done her job correctly and listened to you, what would've been your objections or concerns?"
Aurie's gaze snaps to him in surprise. She looks away before quietly answering him.
"Doesn't matter. The judge made his ruling without knowing any of that."
"I'm not the judge and it matters to me," Steve counters.
"I thought you didn't want to argue and get nowhere?" she asks in frustration, still not looking at him. Not giving him a chance to answer, she continues, "Any objections or concerns I might've had wasn't considered important enough to factor into the decision. It sure as hell doesn't matter now. It won't change a damn thing." She takes another calming breath. "It's been a long ass, shitty day and I'm tired. Can I go to bed now?"
Seeing they've reached another stalemate, Steve releases another sigh of frustration.
"Although I still want to know, we can talk about this later. Get some rest. We don't have to get up early tomorrow, so sleep as late as you like. Have a good night."
"Goodnight," she quietly replies before disappearing into her room.
Stepping over to the kitchenette, Steve picks up his water glass and heads into his room, deciding since it's too late for a stress-relieving jog he should call his dad to help him calm down.
Puta- In case you forgot, means 'bitch'. Pronounced poo-tah
Aye dios mio!- Oh, my god! Pronounced ai dee-ohs mee-oh