by Rita Hestand
Daniel looked at her, then him. "My folks still do it every now and then."
"Yeah?" Tony twisted his head in question. "What are you the Brady Bunch or something?"
Daniel snickered. "My folks are dead, so it's just a big house with all my sibling there. When my brother Mitch got married, his wife cooks a lot, so we tend to all gather at the table when she does. It's kind of nice. We do talk about our day and stuff. And I guess for a while, it is like the Brady Bunch. She sort of brought us all together again, and we like it."
"How big a family you got?" Tony asked.
"Three brothers and a sister. My oldest brother has a five-year-old son, Mike. I think when he married he brought a lot of stability to our family. Anyway, it isn't something we'd been doing before, but I kind of like it. It's a way of keeping up with each other, you know." Daniel shot Tony a smile and then looked at Gabby. "How about you, do you live alone or with family?"
Gabby hesitated. "I live alone in an apartment. I eat alone most of the time unless I have company, friends over or something."
"And the boyfriend?"
"I probably gave everyone the wrong impression. Jeffrey is not really my boyfriend. He's a fellow teacher and we've only gone out a time or two, nothing serious or heavy. Not on a steady basis." She informed him.
Tony smiled and looked at Daniel.
"The one you called?"
"Yeah, but it's not real serious." She sighed. "It's not serious at all. I mean, he's a teacher. Sometimes I think we have too much in common. He's a teacher. He has the same kinds of problems I have. He's pretty at home kind of guy. So far our dates have been to go eat, and once a bowling date."
"I've been told it isn't where you go, or what you do, but who you are with that makes the difference." Daniel told her.
"Like you would know. I can tell you date for one thing. And we won't bring that up at the table."
"Yes ma'am." Daniel nodded. "I date blonde bimbos I guess, but I do manage to take them places."
"Oh yeah, where?" She challenged.
"To the State Fair, to the Dallas Summer Musicals, to museums and sometimes country concerts. And I like to try new restaurants in town too." He told her. "I've even taken one to church."
She looked quizzical but smiled. "To church?"
Tony stared in disbelief too.
"She was Catholic, and we had to go or she wouldn't go out with me." Daniel chuckled.
Tony laughed.
"So Tony, are you into girls yet?" Daniel asked him.
"Nah…I mean, I notice them, but they don't seem to notice me that much. I'm not on any school teams, I don't make great grades. I'm not popular."
"Well, that's a good run down on the negative side, now what's your positive side?" Gabby asked him.
"I like working with my hands, building stuff. I once helped my dad build a cabinet for a guy's house. I can fix things that are broke. I'm kind of good with plumbing. But around girls I'm kind of shy." Tony hung his head. "And they aren't interested in that kind of stuff."
"You are a terrific looking kid, Tony." Gabby added.
Tony shrugged.
"Dad brings girls home all the time. But they usually go in the bedroom and stay all night, when he does. One time he brought a woman in with a daughter, and she stayed out with me. We watched television together, and then we played Sorry."
"Sorry, the board game?" Daniel asked.
"Yeah, she brought it with her. She taught me to play. She was close to my age so we sort of got along. But that was only once, she never came back." Tony said playing at his salad.
"Eat those greens they are good for you." Gabby told him.
"Man, you'd make a great mother."
Gabby's cheeks turned pink.
"Maybe someday." Gabby murmured.
"Isn't the teacher interested in getting married?" Daniel didn't know why he continued to press the issue, but maybe because it kept him further away from her.
"We haven't come that far. And I wouldn't marry him."
Daniel made a face, "Why not? What's wrong with him?"
"He's a Leave it to Beaver kind of man. You ever watch that show?"
Daniel snarled his nose up, "Not since I was a kid."
"He's the kind of man who comes home from work and wants his dinner on the table pronto, his slippers by his chair and his wife dressed like she was about to go somewhere."
"Not your style huh?" Daniel chuckled.
"No, not at all." She sighed again and they bother stared at her. "Well you see, I have papers to grade when I get home. I spend probably two hours on the computer, and I eat anytime I want to. I stay up later than I should, and I'm grumpy without my coffee in the morning. And I wouldn't be caught dead in high heels and pearls. I have no routine at home. And I like it that way."
Daniel had to laugh at that.
But he soon realized that her way of living wasn't so bad. Not a routine about her. And she wouldn't spend all her time trying to please a man. That appealed to him. It meant he wouldn't have to adjust to her time schedule. But why was he thinking like this? He wasn't going to marry her; he hardly knew her. It's just that her kind of woman was hard to find.
"That strikes me as funny. I mean, I pictured you as more structured. Full of routines, habits, that sort of thing."
"Is your sister the teacher a structured woman?"
"Well, no, come to think of it, she isn't." Dan turned his head in question. "Is there a reason I'm not seeing."
"Do you know why?" She blinked effectively.
"No, tell us." Daniel looked at Tony and smiled.
"We get plenty of structure with our work. Rules, routines, things that have to be done at a certain time. When we go home, we want to relax. I sometime come home, jump in the tub, and put my pjs on to finish my work. I might nibble on tuna fish, or a salad. And on Saturdays…the morning is filled with Tom and Jerry cartoons. Just to make me laugh. My mother used to say that a good belly laugh is good for what ails you."
Daniel eyes were glittering into hers now with pure amusement.
"Can I come live with you?" Tony asked.
Daniel was thinking the same thing!
Chapter Eight
Gabby stood at the sink, washing the dishes by hand, even though there was a dishwasher. Daniel figured it was because she wanted something to do. Her strokes to the dish ever so slow, as though her mind was a million miles away. Dan watched her for a moment. Tony went to his room early.
"You know you don't have to do the dishes all the time or cook every night." Dan said quietly not looking directly at her.
She didn't answer.
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers twice.
She blinked and glanced at him.
Finishing she dried her hands and came to sit at the edge of the couch.
"I said you don't have to do the dishes all the time, we could all take turns."
She stretched her leg out and pushed him with her foot, playfully. "It passes time. Besides, I don't see either of you picking up the plates and moving toward the sink. And I don't want to have to inspect them to see if you got them clean."
He smiled despite himself.
He looked down at her foot. He snickered. "You have pretty feet."
It just came out and he didn't know why. She was being playful and he felt the same.
"Feet?" She repeated, and looked big eyed at him. Then her gaze narrowed on his expression. "Pretty feet?" She repeated.
He glanced at her for a moment, "Not everyone has pretty feet."
"Really?" She laughed. "Really, and you’re an expert on pretty feet?"
"I'm serious. I used to paint my sister's toenails for her all the time. She liked to wear flip-flops a lot and I told her she could wear them anywhere if she'd paint her toenails. She didn't, so I did. She had pretty feet too."
Gabby laughed aloud now, "Pretty feet! What's pretty about feet?"
Determined to make her see, he pulled her foot to him once more and look
ed at it. "Long, slim toes, slightly narrowed, and tapered feet, you know some people's feet are short and fat, some are long and wide. Some are just plain skinny, but yours are small and tapered. Dainty you might say."
She laughed again.
"You got any polish, I'll polish them for you?"
"You kidding, right?" She was completely baffled by this strange request. She looked at him and he read her mind. She thought him a pervert. He laughed.
"You must be bored out of your mind."
"You could say that." He grinned. His sister Leanne used to say the same thing when he wanted to paint her toenails.
It seemed like home to Daniel.
"Okay, maybe I got a foot fetish, humor me, will ya?" He chuckled.
"Alright, you are on. But if you mess them up, you are in trouble, buster." She cackled all the way down the hall.
Daniel chuckled, actually looking at her feet kept him from looking at the rest of her. Boredom did a lot of things to the imagination and right now he needed distractions.
She brought back a pale pink. He looked at the color then her lips, wrong move. Those lips enticed, so he'd think about them while he painted her toes.
He'd met a lot of pretty women in his line of work, but very few that spelled out an attraction he couldn't resist. He supposed living with someone day after day also increased the attraction. The fact that he couldn't run away from her, made it impossible to ignore. So, this distraction helped.
Timidly she put her foot up against him again.
He inspected her toenails, they were tapered nicely he wouldn't have to file them. He took the polish and painted her toes perfectly.
But instead of grabbing her other foot, he propped it on his leg. "Let this one dry, then I'll paint the other one." He smiled.
"I can't believe this. No man has ever painted my toenails. And I sure didn't expect you to offer."
"What?"
"I'm letting a cop paint my toenails." She chuckled. "No one would ever believe me if I told them."
"Check it out, see how good I am."
She came closer to inspect her toenails. She looked up and the way he was looking at her shocked her.
"What do you think," He barely murmured his voice going low like a whisper. Those pink lips were too close.
She backed away, leaning at the other end of the couch. "I think I'll let you paint the other one." She replied a little raspy.
"Told ya, I’m good at this." He smiled.
"Well everyone has to be good at something."
It got very quiet, and she was almost asleep when he started to pull her other foot toward him. She propped herself better so he could reach it easily.
"You don't have to do this, you know." She told him in a soft voice.
"I know but it gives me something to do." He answered. "You'll think of a million little things to entertain yourself when you have to. Believe me, I know."
She nodded, and obviously tried to watch the movie she wasn't into.
He finished her foot.
Then he looked at her, as though there was absolutely nothing else he could do.
"You sleepy?" He asked.
"A little…"
"Put your head in my lap and prop your foot on the end of the couch, it's too hard to sleep on, believe me, I've tried."
It was the truth, but he suddenly wanted to be close to her and he couldn't think of a legitimate reason to do so. He knew it was unwise, but he put off his feelings for so long and suddenly he realized there was no reason to ignore the attraction he was feeling.
She hesitated.
He put a throw pillow on his lap and invited her to lay down.
"I could go lay down on my bed." She offered.
"Yeah, but you might mess your foot up. Relax, I'm not the big bad wolf. By now you should trust me a little."
"Are you sure?" She chuckled.
When she looked into his eyes everything stood still for a moment. Then he patted the pillow, "Come on, relax."
She moved to lay her head in his lap and suddenly her eyes opened and met his serious face.
"Can't relax?" He asked softly.
"Can't sleep." She murmured.
"I had a dog once, I used to scratch him behind the ears, think that might help?" He asked with a grin.
"No…" She barely breathed.
"Are you tense?" He asked.
"Very!" She nodded.
His hand came about her face, and he began rubbing her temple. "How about that?" He whispered.
The tension between them was like a tightrope. She licked her lips.
He stared. He bent his head, she raised hers, they were only a couple of inches from kissing when Tony ran into the room and threw the lights on.
"Man it's dark in here." Tony said as Gabby flew up and he turned away.
"Sorry, turns out this movie is kind of scary." Gabby barely managed to say.
"Oh yeah, scoot over, I'll watch it. The game's not very good, my team's losing." Tony said and piled a pillow on his side of the couch. "Yeah, they put all the scary movies on just before Halloween."
If he knew he interrupted them, he didn't act like it, and they were both thankful.
It wasn't in the cards. He wasn't supposed to be seducing the witness. Daniel kicked himself several times for wanting to. Why had he let this little red-head get to him? Control was what he needed.
He couldn't help but wonder if he'd have kissed her if he'd have found out if he liked it, or if she really wasn't his type.
One thing he knew for sure, she was as ready for it as he was. And just as afraid of it, as he was.
"Your toenails dry?" He asked.
"I think so." She sounded a bit breathy.
He straightened himself so everyone would have plenty of room on the couch, but when he did, he put his hand down beside her and somehow her hand fit against his perfectly. He didn't know if it was an accident or not, but when he looked at her he saw her face.
She looked at him for a second, and smiled. "Good movie, huh?"
"Yeah, I'm enjoying it." He smiled at her.
But about that time what Tony had said earlier about his dad taking women to his bedroom, had Daniel thinking that the kid had saved him from making a mistake.
She held his hand to let him know, it was all right, and she'd been a willing participant, but he knew better.
He wanted her in the worst way now.
And he also knew it wasn't right.
He'd have to cool his ardor.
Their hands sweat into each other and instead of letting her go, he entwined them. How could he let someone like her go? It was the last thing he wanted.
But when all else failed he pulled out the big guns to discourage him, she was the Senator's daughter!
That thought sobered him.
There was a murder in the movie and Tony shouted out, "No…why he'd do that!"
Gabby and Daniel stared at the distress on Tony's face. He was taking it far too personally and Daniel sensed that something else was causing the outburst.
Suddenly Daniel sprang into protective mode.
"Because he's a bad guy Tony." Dan blurted.
"But there wasn't any need for him doing that…" Tony cried. Daniel and Gabby both looked at him as real tears ran down his face. This wasn't about the movie and Daniel knew it now.
Daniel got up and came to kneel in front of Tony. "Have you witnessed something like that yourself?"
Tony glanced at him, wiped at his eyes and clammed up.
"Have you Tony?"
Tony gulped, he tried to fold himself in the fetal position, but there wasn't room, Gabby was right beside him, her hand on his leg. "If I tell you, it'll get my dad in a lot of trouble."
"Tony, your dad is in a lot of trouble anyway. I'm sorry to have to tell you. So if there is something else we need to know, maybe you should tell me. It might make you sleep better."
"I sleep alright."
"No you don't son. We have been living toget
her and every night, you've had bad dreams. So level with me Tony. Tell me what is bothering you. I know there is something going on with you."
"Look," He said, his voice strangled. "I didn't see the murder, but I saw my dad…and another guy."
"What were they doing?"
Tony turned away again, hiding his face in the pillow. Then he cried out in a muffled voice. "They were stuffing him into a trash bin and rolling him out the door. I heard the shot that was fired that killed him too."
"Who was it, do you know?" Daniel asked.
"He was a cop!" Tony yelled.
Daniel stared at the kid. "I'm sorry Tony," His hand went to Tony's shoulder. "I had to ask that. When did this happen?"
"Six months ago. He had come to take me to CPS. He stumbled on my dad fixing to haul his stash to a buyer. He caught him red-handed, and my dad wasted him. I heard the gunshot, I thought it was the TV at first. But when I opened my door, I saw my dad and Moretti, my dad's friend stuffing him in a trash container in the living room and then they hauled him out in the hallway."
"Dear God, Tony, how awful for you." Gabby reached to pull him to her.
"Do you know the cop's name?"
"No, but he was in uniform. That's how I knew he was a cop."
Daniel sat on the floor between Gabby and Tony.
Daniel inhaled a breath. "It's okay Tony. What you've told me tonight is between you and me for now. It's up to you if you are willing to testify. But either way it's your choice. I'm certainly not going to force you. But…I will say this, sometimes confessing something like that, makes it easier to forget it. I know he's your father and you're bound to have some feelings for him. But there will come a day when you have to make a decision for yourself if you can testify."
"Will I have to testify now?"
Daniel exhaled and looked at Tony's tear-stained face. "I don't know. Maybe they can just take a written statement from you, or maybe they can do a closed door confession in the judge's office. But you'll have to consent to it. So I guess it's up to you. I won't even say anything, if you don't want me to."
"They'll put my dad away a long time won't they?" Tony asked.
"Yeah, if they get a conviction. And the only way they'll get that is if you testify." Daniel said and he looked at Gabby for support. "I can tell this has been weighing on you for some time, Tony. It's good that you told me. And there is no pressure from me. What you just told me, right now, is between you, me and Gabby. But if you agreed to testify, that's another matter."
