A/N: Sorry for the (slightly) late posting. Had some bad news about a family member and it threw me a little off-kilter for a few days. Anyways, enjoy!
Chapter 6: Mixed Signals
On Saturday, Andy was waiting for Sharon and her children to meet him at the entrance to the Natural History Museum like they'd planned a few days previously.
A few minutes later, he saw Sharon jogging across the parking lot holding each of her two childrens' hands.
Andy met them halfway and said, "There's no need to rush. We've got all day."
"Yeah, but we're super late. It's been one of those mornings. Sorry about that," apologized Sharon.
"No need to apologize. I totally get it," Andy told her.
"Well, thank you," said Sharon as she smiled at Andy, which didn't go unnoticed by nine year old Emily.
Andy bent down so he was relatively at eye level with the two children as he waited for Sharon to make the introductions and smiled as he said, "It's not a problem."
"Ricky, this is my friend, Andy. We go to school together just like you and Sam," Sharon pointed out as she introduced her son to Andy.
"Nice to meet you," Andy held out his hand to shake Ricky's, which Ricky surprisingly took.
"Nice to meet you too," said Ricky a little shyly.
Andy then turned his attention to Emily, who was looking every bit unimpressed.
"Emily, this is Andy. Can you say hello?" asked Sharon.
"Hi," replied Emily shortly.
"Hello, Emily. It's nice to meet you," Andy told her.
Sharon nudged Emily who huffed and under her breath said, "Nice to meet you too."
Not wanting to upset the girl any further, Andy stood up and simply smiled a friendly smile at her.
She was every bit her mother's daughter, Andy thought to himself as he turned his attention back to Sharon and asked, "Ready to go inside?"
"Sure," replied Sharon as they walked the rest of the way across the parking lot and towards the Natural History Museum.
Andy handed the ticket taker his tickets for all four of them and they entered the museum.
"Ricky? Can you tell Andy thank you?" Sharon asked her son.
"Thank you, Andy," Ricky told him.
"You're welcome, bud," said Andy to Ricky.
"Emily?" Sharon asked expectantly.
"Thanks," said Emily with a bit of an attitude.
Sharon just looked at Andy and rolled her eyes at her daughter's attitude towards him.
"Are we ready to explore?" asked Andy.
"Sure," replied Sharon.
"Where should we start?" Andy asked them.
"The dinosaurs!" exclaimed Ricky.
"Alright. We can do that," said Andy as he headed towards the dinosaur fossil room.
Ricky followed Andy's lead and Sharon turned to see Emily still standing near the entrance to the museum.
"Emily Grace, I am not gonna deal with you being pouty and rude all day. Let's go," said Sharon firmly.
"Are you trying to replace dad?" asked Emily point blank.
"No. Why would you think that?" asked Sharon.
"The way you look at him and the way you two smile at each other,," Emily pointed out.
"Emily. Andy & I are just friends. If that were to ever change, I'd talk to you and your brother about it first. You two are my number one priority," said Sharon.
"Fine," said Emily with a slight huff.
"Now that we've gotten that straightened out, can you try being nice to him?"
"Yeah, I guess," said Emily as she rolled her eyes.
"Good. Try losing the attitude as well," said Sharon.
"Alright," Emily agreed.
"Okay, let's catch up to your brother and Andy at the dinosaur exhibit," said Sharon as Emily reluctantly followed her.
Once they caught up with Andy & Ricky, Ricky yelled, "Mommy, look at the big dinosaur! He's so big!"
"Yes, I see. He is tall," replied Sharon.
"Do you mind if I put him on my shoulders so he can see the dinosaur better?" Andy asked Sharon.
"No. Go ahead," answered Sharon.
"Hey bud. Would you like to ride on my shoulders so you can see the dinosaurs better?" Andy asked Ricky.
Sharon smiled at the interaction as Ricky exclaimed, "Yes!"
"Alright. I'm gonna kneel down and you can climb up my back. Don't worry though, I'll take your hands when you climb onto my shoulders so you don't fall. Plus, I'm sure it'll make your mom feel a little bit more at ease with what we're doing," said Andy as he looked at Sharon and smiled as Ricky climbed up his back and onto his shoulders, where Andy reached up and took his hands.
"Look, Mommy, Emily! I'm so high!" shouted Ricky excitedly.
"Cool," said Emily to her brother.
Sharon mouthed a "thank you," to Emily before they all continued exploring the dinosaur exhibit.
After the dinosaur exhibit and the Hall of Birds, Andy set Ricky back down on the ground.
Sharon suggested they go out to the Nature Gardens for a little while for some fresh air and to see the Butterfly Pavilion, knowing Emily might enjoy the butterflies.
Once they got to the Butterfly Pavilion, Emily asked excitedly, "Mom, can I go inside?"
"Sure, honey. Take your brother with you. Ricky, be gentle," warned Sharon.
They each showed the leader of the exhibit their hand stamps and she granted them entrance into the exhibit, showing them each what to do and what not to do.
Once Sharon was confident that her children were being taken care of, she said out loud, "Oh, thank god."
"What?" asked Andy.
"Don't tell me you didn't notice an attitude the size of California on my daughter," said Sharon.
"Oh, I saw it. Nicole will do the same thing sometimes too. I find it best to ignore that sort of behavior and let them come out of it on their own," Andy told Sharon.
"I'm sorry about that," said Sharon.
"Sharon, quit apologizing. It's not a big deal," said Andy.
"Okay. If you say so," said Sharon as she rolled her eyes at him.
"You know, she gets it from you," Andy pointed out.
"What?" asked Sharon.
"The way you just rolled your eyes. It's the same way Emily rolled hers earlier," said Andy as he chuckled at the parallel.
"Oh my god . Really?" asked Sharon.
"Yeah," replied Andy as he smiled at Sharon.
"It's also rather fitting for her not to like me at first. Especially given her age and the fact that you didn't like me at first either. She's the spitting image of you, actually," observed Andy.
"Not sure if that was a compliment or not, but I'll take it," said Sharon.
"It was," replied Andy confidently.
Sharon blushed at his words and turned to see the children coming out of the Butterfly Pavilion and quickly schooled her features.
"Mom! It was awesome! We got to see all kinds of different butterflies and they were just flying around and landing on us," Emily told Sharon excitedly.
"Wow! That's amazing sweetie! Which one was your favorite?" asked Sharon attentively.
"Probably the black and blue ones. They were so brightly colored and beautiful," Emily told her mother.
"What about you, Ricky? What was your favorite part?" asked Andy.
"When the orange and black one landed on top of my nose," said Ricky.
"They're called monarch butterflies," Emily supplied for him.
"That's so cool!" said Sharon with enthusiasm in her voice.
"Yeah it is!" said Andy with equal enthusiasm in his voice.
Emily smiled slightly at the scene before her. It was like they were one big happy family.
Emily still had some reservations about Andy and him trying to take her father's place, but he seemed like a good guy.
"Where should we go next?" asked Andy.
"I think we should let Emily pick. Em?" asked Sharon, snapping her daughter out of her reverie.
"How about the Age of Mammals exhibit?" suggested Emily tentatively.
"Good choice. Let's go," said Andy to the three of them.
"Thanks," said Emily with a small smile on her face as she said it and rolled her eyes afterwards at herself.
"You're welcome," Andy smiled kindly at her as they all made their way towards the Age of Mammals exhibit.
Once they arrived at the exhibit, Emily took Ricky's hand and led him around the room, telling him about the facts listed on the placard next to each animal.
Sharon and Andy hung back a bit and watched them as they talked.
"She seems like a good big sister," mentioned Andy.
"She is. She's had to grow up fast not having a father. She's a big help at home when it's just the three of us," said Sharon.
"That's good. They seem to get along fairly well," Andy commented as they watched the kids looking at zebra & tiger skeletons.
"So do your kids," said Sharon as she flashed Andy a smile.
"They're not always angels like they were that day at the bookshop," countered Andy.
"Well, these two aren't either. They fight over plenty of things when it's just me around," said Sharon.
"I think that's normal sibling behavior though. I know me and my brother and sisters used to fight like cats and dogs," shared Andy.
"Oh, me too. My sister and brother and I argued over plenty of things over the years. Who got to ride shotgun, nail polish, and eventually boys, just to name a few," said Sharon.
"Sounds like typical childhood and teenage dramas," said Andy.
"Yeah, it was," said Sharon wistfully.
"What about your parents? Where are they now that they've retired from the bookshop?" asked Andy curiously.
"Oh, they live in Florida now, have a timeshare in Park City that they come and visit during Christmas. They lived in LA all they're lives and come for plenty of visits, but mostly they wanted to get out of the hustle and bustle of such a big city like LA," said Sharon.
"That's nice. Do you ever visit them in Florida?" asked Andy, making conversation as the kids continued walking through the exhibit.
"Sometimes. Usually once a year, sometime in the Summer months, when the kids are out of school. I have a couple friends who help run the bookstore while I'm gone for a week or two with the kids in Florida. I've also thought of hiring some more permanent help with the bookshop, but we'll see," said Sharon.
"That's cool," said Andy.
"What about you? Are you close with your family?" asked Sharon.
"Yeah. Mostly my mom and siblings though. My dad was very verbally and physically abusive whenever he drank. He's probably on the streets or dead by now. Not too sure and not sure I wanna know. My mom left him when I was around 14 and he tried to beat the shit out of me for defending my mother," Andy told her.
"Oh my god! That's terrible, Andy," said Sharon as she placed her hand comfortingly on his shoulder for a moment.
"Yeah, it was. We all got away from him though. I think part of the reason my mom left him was so that I wouldn't have a murder record for killing the son of a bitch. Got in a couple tussles with him over the years. I promised that no matter what, I would never be that way towards my kids or significant other. To this day, I keep that promise, despite ending up with some of the same problems he has," said Andy.
"It's not surprising that you'd end up with a drinking problem after all of that trauma. I mean how is one supposed to process all of that?" asked Sharon.
"I go to the gym a lot to keep my mind focused on what's important and not my past. It's hard running away from your demons though. I also box to get out any anger or pent up aggression I might have. Also, being a cop helps too. I get to help people out of bad situations. That's the best part of the job," Andy told her.
"That's good, Andy," said Sharon before Ricky & Emily approached them and Ricky began pulling on Andy's pant leg.
"Andy! Andy! We saw a zebra and a tiger and a bat!" said Ricky excitedly.
"That's so cool, bud," Andy told him.
"So, Andy's gonna come back to the house and have dinner with us tonight. Are you two okay with that?" asked Sharon.
"Yeah!" exclaimed Ricky.
"Sure," Emily laughed at Ricky's enthusiasm.
"Okay, let's head out then. I think we've seen everything," said Sharon.
Andy walked Sharon and the children to her car.
After Sharon had started the engine, she said to Andy," It's 46 Evergreen Way."
"Alright. I'll meet you guys there soon," said Andy, having a clear idea of where Sharon's house was located.
He, after all, had patrolled the streets of Los Angeles and its neighboring communities for years and still traveled them a fair bit as a Sergeant, and knew almost exactly where Sharon's house was located with a simple address.
Once they both arrived at Sharon's Spanish style house, Andy pulled his car in behind Sharon's in the driveway as he'd be the one leaving eventually.
Just as Sharon was about to get out of the car, Andy held the car door open for her.
"Thanks," said Sharon.
Ricky and Emily followed their mother's lead and got out of the car around the same time she did.
As they all walked towards the door, Sharon fumbled around in her purse looking for her keys.
When she finally located them in the front pocket, she stuck the key in the door and unlocked it before saying, "Come on in. Sorry if it's not the cleanest it could be. Like I said, it's been one of those days."
"It's fine, Sharon. Looks better than my house," commented Andy.
Once they were all inside, Sharon shut the door and suggested to Ricky and Emily, "Why don't you two go play in your rooms for a bit while I get dinner started?"
Both children complied and headed down the hallway towards their rooms while Andy followed Sharon into the kitchen.
"So, how's work been this week?" asked Andy, making conversation.
"Good. No peculiar customers this week. Just your run of the mill readers," said Sharon.
"Good. I'm glad," said Andy as Sharon began getting ingredients for what looked like spaghetti and a side salad out of the fridge and kitchen cabinets.
"Hope spaghetti's okay with you. We've mostly gone out for coffee. So, I wasn't entirely sure what you'd like to eat, but figured that spaghetti was a safe choice given your Italian heritage," said Sharon nervously as she buzzed around the kitchen getting things ready.
Andy stopped her by putting his hands on her shoulders for a few moments and told Sharon, "Relax. Spaghetti is perfect. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Ummm…yeah. I guess you could keep an eye on the water for the pasta and watch the pasta once it's cooking. You're probably a much better judge of pasta doneness than I am," said Sharon.
"Okay. Got it," said Andy as he stood at the ready at the stove.
"So, how was work at the LAPD this week?" asked Sharon.
"Quiet, thankfully. Mostly a lot of paperwork that had built up," said Andy.
"Well, at least you weren't getting shot at or questioning suspects without an attorney," joked Sharon.
Andy smiled at the slight jab and said, "Yeah. I guess there's that."
Meanwhile, as they were talking, Sharon was busy chopping up vegetables for the side salad.
There was a slight lull in conversation before Andy mentioned, "Seems like the kids had a good time today."
"Yeah. Thank you again," said Sharon gratefully.
"No problem," replied Andy as he smiled at Sharon again.
Sharon smiled back at him and they looked at each other a little too long before Sharon returned her eyes to the carrots she was about to chop up.
Sharon decided to cut the awkwardness by saying, " You should bring your kids next time."
"Yeah. Our kids are around the same ages. They should meet. Not sure why neither of us thought of that before," said Andy.
"Yeah. I think they'd get along great," said Sharon as she continued cutting vegetables.
Meanwhile, the pot of water on the stove began boiling and Andy opened the package of spaghetti and stuck it in the large pot.
"You don't break the spaghetti?" asked Sharon.
"God, no! That's pasta sacrilege," said Andy dramatically.
Sharon couldn't help laughing at his reaction before she said, "You should've seen your face. It was like I asked you something offensive."
Andy smiled at a smiling Sharon and realized he was staring a little too long before returning his attention back to the pasta and Sharon to cutting the remaining vegetables.
"I take my pasta very seriously," said Andy in an effort to cut the palpable tension between them.
"Clearly," said Sharon as she laughed again at the seriousness in his voice.
"What kind of sauce are we having with it?" asked Andy.
"Don't freak out, but all I've got is jarred pasta sauce. I didn't have time to make some in the crock pot before we left to meet you at the museum," said Sharon nervously.
"No big deal. Do you have oregano, basil, and some minced onion?" asked Andy.
"Yeah," replied Sharon.
"We can doctor that sauce right up and you won't even know it's jarred sauce afterwards," said Andy as he stirred the spaghetti.
"How did you learn to do that?" asked Sharon.
"What? Doctoring a jarred sauce? Mostly out of necessity, living alone, and working long hours. Doesn't always leave time to babysit from scratch sauce," Andy told her.
"Where did you learn to cook?" asked Sharon.
"My mom and my grandmother mostly. We wouldn't always have the money to buy all the ingredients necessary to make a sauce from scratch. Especially after my mom left my dad. So, we'd sometimes have to get the jarred stuff and doctor it a bit with a few spices and some garlic. I also make a mean Mediterranean pasta with a butter based sauce and fish on top," said Andy a bit cockily.
"Mmhmm," moaned Sharon affirmatively.
Andy couldn't help the physical reaction to hearing that sound come out of Sharon's mouth.
Luckily, he looked down and thank god it wasn't noticeable.
"Maybe I'll make it for you sometime," offered Andy.
"Well, the kids don't really eat whole fish. The closest they get to eating fish is fish sticks," said Sharon.
"Maybe a night where neither of us have our kids then," suggested Andy.
"Andy…" Sharon trailed off warningly.
"I meant nothing by it, Sharon. Just two friends having a meal together," said Andy, sensing Sharon's discomfort.
"Maybe," Sharon told him, not wanting to completely outright reject his offer.
In fact, a man cooking her dinner sounded both attractive and a dream.
They each turned their attention back to their separate tasks, with Andy grabbing the sauce out of the cabinet Sharon directed him to and told him where the pots and pans were.
Andy opted for a large frying pan and poured the entirety of the jarred sauce and found garlic in Sharon's fridge and minced that up before tossing it and the spices in with the sauce and stirring it.
All the while, Andy also periodically tested the spaghetti for its doneness.
"Spaghetti's almost done. Just gotta let this sauce heat up and then I can toss the spaghetti in with it," Andy told Sharon.
"Great," said Sharon as she smiled at Andy.
Andy smiled back at her and he swore he saw her blushing before she looked away from him.
God, Sharon was giving him some seriously mixed signals tonight.
Maybe she was scared or a little timid about the idea of them together because of her practically ex-husband or she was afraid of what her kids would think about it.
Andy thought those were all valid concerns.
He was also the type of guy who jumped headfirst into a relationship instead of really thinking about the implications.
Maybe Sharon was right in taking things slow.
After all, they each had exes and children with those exes.
It would be a challenge to blend their two families, but personally he was ready for that challenge.
Maybe Sharon wasn't though and he had to of course consider her and her feelings into the equation if they were ever to be together.
Andy went about tossing the pasta with the doctored sauce and combining the two when Sharon snapped him out of his reverie when she said, "Salad's done. What kind of dressing do you like? We've got Italian and ranch."
"Italian is fine. What dressing do the kids usually eat?" asked Andy.
"Usually ranch. I prefer the Italian myself. So, we'll get both out, then," announced Sharon as she walked to the dining room and put the salad and dressings on the table before coming back into the kitchen to get silverware for setting the table.
"Spaghetti will be ready in a couple minutes," Andy raised his voice an octave so Sharon would hear him in the next room.
"Okay. I'll go tell the kids to wash up in a minute," said Sharon as she put the finishing touches on the table.
At the last minute, she decided to light a couple of tapered candles before heading down towards Emily & Ricky's rooms to tell them dinner was ready.
After they all washed their hands in the kitchen sink, Ricky and Emily went to sit at the dining room table, and Andy asked Sharon, "Do you have a large bowl I can put this in? If not we can dish it out of the pan."
"Yeah, I've got one right under here," said Sharon as she bent down to retrieve the large plastic bowl and matching spoon, giving Andy a nice view of her jean clad ass.
Again, he looked down to make sure his erection wasn't noticeable and luckily it wasn't.
Was she doing these things on purpose just to torture him or was it just him?
He'd definitely need a cold shower after all this.
Sharon stood up and caught him looking at her and smiled slightly at the attention before saying, "Here you go."
"Thanks," replied Andy as he quickly snapped out of his reverie, which he hoped wasn't that apparent.
Andy poured the noodles and sauce into the large bowl and followed Sharon into the dining room before setting the large bowl and spoon on the table and saying, "Dinner is served."
"You two are in for a treat tonight. Andy made spaghetti the Italian way…at least mostly," said Sharon as she flashed Andy a smile before starting to dish out food to her children and then herself before passing the bowls to Andy to serve himself.
"Andy, do you have any kids?" asked Emily point blank.
"Yeah, I do. I have a daughter about your age and a son about Ricky's age. Their names are Nicole and Brandon," Andy answered.
"Have you met them?" Emily asked Sharon.
"Yeah, I have. Once at the bookstore. They're very nice kids. I think you and Ricky would get along well with them," said Sharon, starting to feel like this was going to be the Spanish inquisition.
"In fact, your mom and I were just talking about the four of you meeting sometime," mentioned Andy.
"How would you feel about that, Emily?" asked Sharon timidly.
"I'd like that," said Emily nonchalantly.
Sharon and Andy both exchanged surprised looks before Sharon asked, "What about you, Ricky?"
"I think it would be cool," Ricky told her.
"Well, it's settled then. We can set up a playdate whenever you have them next, then," Sharon told Andy.
"I've got them next weekend. Maybe we can do it on Saturday?" suggested Andy.
"Saturday sounds good," said Sharon as she smiled widely at Andy from across the table.
"Great," said Andy as he smiled back at Sharon.
Good god! They were being so obvious about the fact that they liked each other, Emily thought to herself as she rolled her eyes.
The day had started out a bit rocky, but it was shaping up to be a nice evening, Sharon thought to herself as they all continued eating their dinner.
This was good, Andy thought to himself, they were making progress here.
Maybe taking things slow would be good for both him and Sharon.
One thing that wasn't good about it though was all the cold showers he saw in his future.
Oh well, Sharon was worth a hundred cold showers and then some, he thought as they smiled across the table between the tapered candles at each other.
Emily just rolled her eyes again at the obviousness of it all and continued eating her meal as the conversation between the four of them flowed freely.
A/N: Thanks so much for reading this latest chapter! Feel free to leave a review if you'd like to. It would be greatly appreciated!