In the Nick of Time

by Laveen, Tiana

  “I am…” She slowly turned in his direction, her chin held high and a slight smirk on her face.

  “I know you are, but when it comes to fucking…” He looked her up and down and slicked his tongue over his teeth real nasty like. “You might be a warrior on the runway, but I’m a beast on the streets, on my work beat, and in between the sheets. You want to cum? I got you covered. You want respect? You already have that from me, and then some.”

  She smiled a bit, sucked her bottom lip.

  “Whew, Nick… you are full of surprises.” Her eyes hooded.

  “You like what I’m saying to you?”

  “You know that I do…”

  “Am I making you wet, baby? Is your pussy calling me?” he whispered in her ear as he lingered close to her neck, falling apart in a puddle of yearning right before her, telling her every damn sordid thought on his mind. The woman’s mouth dropped and he was sure she’d reached the highest landing of speechlessness…

  “…Yes,” she confessed.

  “Good, I can get you wetter… much wetter. Yeah, I’m a beast. The problem is though, I believe I’ve found my Beauty… I’m just telling you the truth.”

  “The truth…” she echoed, matching his intensity as she looked deep into his eyes.

  “Yeah, the truth, and I honestly want to fuck you… Fuck you so far into the land of sobriety that you can never get high off anything except my dick ever again.”

  She kept her cool, stayed quiet, offered no smile, no smirk, no surprised looks or twitching. No, she just kept staring at him as if he were giving her the sports scores. She matched his stance and his expression, reflecting back exactly what he was offering.

  “I think I’m good for you. Shit, I know I am. Do you believe love can grow in recovery?”

  She turned sharply in his direction. “Of course it can.”

  “You bet your beautiful ass it can.” He smiled and winked. “Why shouldn’t it? This is brand new soil, a new world for me, for us, and I can see shit perfectly! I haven’t been sober in almost a damn decade, Taryn. This is the first time in my life I am questioning nothing that I feel! I know what the hell I want. Get ready, get set, baby…’cause it’s you…”

  Life.

  Starts.

  Now!

  Chapter Eight

  “I told you I didn’t want any company! I can’t believe this!” Nick yelled as he clutched the cold, iron frame of the lobby door. Icicles dripped and melted in the distance; their plip plop dance along slick, half-liquefied ice puddles made a peculiar percussion as he stared at his visitor for a moment or two. Officer Tomas brushed past him as if he’d said nothing at all. His big, boxy shoulder pushed into his own as if he wanted to spar.

  “When have I ever listened to you, man?” He looked around the place and blew hot air into his hands. “It’s cold out there; made me wait forever to get buzzed in. They had to find you first, get permission. You sure made me stand out here long enough. And this was supposed to be a heat wave today… damn. Sure doesn’t feel like it.”

  “Screw the weather, I didn’t want to see anyone while I was in here, Tomas. Captain assured me he let you all know that.”

  “He did, but you didn’t tell me anything personally. You just ignored my calls and emails.”

  “Yeah, and that was for a reason.” He put his hands on his waist looking at the man, feeling all burnt up and miserable inside. Yet, a small part of him loathed to admit he was quite happy to see the guy, and if anyone had to see him in such a way, his partner, Officer Tomas, would be the guy he’d pick.

  “You gonna invite me in or what? I didn’t come all this way to stand here looking at all the paintings and listening to the music!” The easy listening classic, ‘Somebody’s Baby’ by Jackson Browne played lightly throughout the halls.

  “Invite you in? Invite you in?! You’re already inside the damn building.” Nick marched angrily down the hall, the man chasing behind him until they were walking shoulder to shoulder. It kinda reminded him of when they’d jump out the car, walk their beat… Tomas always had his back, but he refused to get all mushy and sentimental over the shit.

  “You know I don’t give a crap about you being mad. You were mad at me at least once a day beforehand,” the man joked as they passed the cafeteria. “Hey, smells good in there… like a deli. I didn’t have lunch.” He glanced down at his watch. “You don’t suppose I could get a bagel or sandwich or somethin’, do you?”

  “I can’t believe this.” Nick placed his hands on his hips and shook his head in disbelief. “Do you see any McDonalds arches above the doors, man? Is there a sign advertising the soup specials of the day? This ain’t no vacation, man! I’m in rehab! Drug rehabilitation!” He wanted to stomp, jump up and down in place like some crazy kid having a public temper tantrum.

  Tomas looked through him, rather than at him, as if he’d become suddenly invisible, a voice with no words, and words with no meaning.

  “Do they have chowder?” He stepped to the cafeteria door and opened it wider, causing the aroma of stewed vegetables and baked bread to pour out into the hall, mixing with ceaseless prattle and the clanking of silverware against plates. “I could go for something hot right now.”

  “Goddamn it.” Nick resigned himself, shoved the guy inside, and made his way towards the chow line. “Come on!” he barked.

  His colleague happily trailed behind him, grabbed a tray, and began to peruse the selection.

  “It’s on me.” He offered a chin check and a wonky smile.

  “How generous,” Nick rolled his eyes. “I know you saw the sign… It’s part of our fees, paid in advance.”

  “Nah, I didn’t see the sign. Okay.” The guy was barely listening as he pointed to one of the food preparers. “Hey, can I get a slice of pepperoni, please? Nah, my man… not that one, the other one… yeeeaaaah! Right there!”

  “What can I get for you, Nick?” The man with small, droopy black eyes and a hair net covering his dark locks asked as he passed Tomas a plate with a huge slice, soaked with gooey cheese.

  “I’ll just have a bowl of that sliced cantaloupe, a small chef salad, and a bread stick, José.” The guy nodded and disappeared to the back to return with two cellophane wrapped bowls.

  “Thanks.”

  They continued to move down the line until Tomas’ tray was practically completely covered with items, tilting to the far right from the weight.

  “You’re gonna need your stomach pumped,” Nick mumbled as they made their way to a small ivory table, stained with sticky goo and sprinkled with crumbs.

  “This is some good eating, right?” Tomas nodded happily as he surveyed his loot like some swashbuckler with a stash of gold.

  “Some of these people never clean their trash up, lazy bastards.” Nick placed his items down and removed several empty cups, stacking them as if he were about to do a magic trick, then tossed them in a nearby trashcan. The two were quiet for a moment as they got situated, took sips from their respective beverages, and ate a bite or two. 38 Special crooned over the speaker, ‘Caught Up In You.’

  “Alright, man,” Tomas said around a mouthful of food. “How the hell have you been?” He picked up his napkin and kept making a crinkly noise that soon got under Nick’s skin.

  “I’ve been hanging in there…been okay.” He looked down at his bowl of fruit and stabbed a rectangular piece of melon to near death.

  “Well.” Tomas looked around the place, his balled up napkin resting between his fingers. “You look good. You look real good.”

  “You gonna ask me out on a date now?” Nick goaded then popped the fruit in his mouth, smacking noisily with each hard chew.

  Tomas laughed lightly and shook his head.

  “We may as well have been married, as much as we were around one another.”

  Nick’s eyes rested on him for a spell, then he went at his fruit once more.

  “You know I have questions, right?” Tomas asked.

  “Everybody ha
s questions. What would make you any different? Not in the mood for an interview right now.”

  “Look.” Tomas reached for his paper cup of Sprite and took a swallow. Nick observed the effervescent bubbles from the drink dancing about, bubbling their way against the guy’s upper lip. “I’ve been your partner for a long ass time man, going on eight years. Do you know what people are asking me?”

  “Do I look like I give a crap what people are asking you, Tomas?” He snatched his ice-cold carton of milk from off the table and took a hard chug.

  “Look, stop giving me attitude! You’re gonna talk to me, I’m here, so just deal with it.”

  Seething with indignation, Nick popped another slice of sweetness against his tongue.

  “You might not give a crap, but you need to hear it. They want to know how the hell I didn’t know! I got addicts in my family, Nick.”

  “Who the hell doesn’t?”

  “Shut up and let me finish. My point is, we all knew their asses were using. But you? I had no idea! How is that even possible?! How could you keep some shit like this from me of all people?!”

  Nick shrugged and unwrapped his salad; the limp green lettuce looked as if it had seen better days. He balled the plastic up into a tight ball and tossed it over to the side of the table in disgust.

  “I thought we were friends. I thought we were better than this!” Tomas continued, not letting up.

  “Don’t make this about you, okay? It wasn’t about you.” He kept his head down as he shoved a mouthful of Romaine between his lips, worked it over good and hard while a small cherry tomato burst inside of his mouth, leaking its seedy guts all over the place.

  “You coulda called and told me…”

  “And said what? ‘A Tomas, pull over. Guess what, man? My blood type isn’t O negative; it’s one hundred proof! I’m a raging alcoholic, a ruthless drunk, now let’s go arrest some other drunks today. Hello hypocrisy, how the hell are ya?!’”

  “You know damn well what I mean, Nick. I had to learn about it after Captain called us all in the meeting room talking about Nick’s gone, he has some personal issues to address, get back to work. You think that was fair? You think that was the right way for me to find out?!”

  “A lot of things in life aren’t fair, Tomas.”

  “Yo, really?! Really, Nick? This is all I get, huh? After all of these damn years? Fuck you, Nick.” The man angrily tossed his damn napkin onto the table. His left eye twitched a little just as Nick recalled it would when his temper flared. “This shit isn’t right and you know it!”

  Nick slowly looked away, then lazily glared at the guy.

  “Fine. You want to know what the deal was? I was trying to protect you. The less you knew, the better. I did it because I care about you.”

  “So you suffered in silence? You got high in silence? You were drinking… in silence. Did you drink when you were with me? I never smelled it… not once! I gotta nose like a blood hound.”

  Nick sat back in his seat, and briefly closed his eyes.

  Fuck. I knew this was going to happen…

  “Yeah, Tomas, I drank sometimes when we were together. I drank first thing in the morning. I drank in the afternoon sometimes, too. When we had to help with the graveyard shift every now and again, I’d do it then, too. I took charcoal pills to cover the smell. That shit tastes awful, but it masked the odor and I also gargled mouthwash.”

  “Charcoal pills?” The guy rolled his eyes. “You had it down to a science, huh?”

  “Pretty much.” Nick dabbed at the corner of his mouth and leaned forward, both hands on the table. “Look, Tomas. You’re my friend, more like a brother. You have to understand, I have a lot of guilt that I’m still working through. You think I have an attitude with you? It’s became I’m embarrassed and didn’t want to have to do this with you right now. But you’re here, just like you said. I’m sorry, okay?” He shrugged, raised his hands in exasperation, and placed them back down. “I just don’t have any answer for you that is going to make it okay, so you can understand it, you know? It’s a sickness. I’m sick, brother… I did what I needed to do to protect the sickness, instead of trying to get well.” He leaned back in his seat, looked briefly over to his right at two guys playing a game of cards. “Now, I’m doing the opposite. I’m trying to get better, to get my life back. I fucked up, man… I fucked up big time.”

  Tomas sat there for a while, rolling his tongue around in his mouth, then crossed his arms over his heaving chest.

  “I’m just tryin’ to understand.” He nodded, a sad smile on his face. “I uh, I came down here to see how you were, see how you were doing.”

  “I know. And now that you’re here, I’m glad.”

  They grinned at one another as Paul Simon crooned, ‘50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.’

  “Once I looked at you, I guess I got a little angry, wanted some answers. I miss you, man. I fucking miss the hell out of you. It’s not the same without you there.”

  “I miss all of you, too… I think about you every day, Tomas.”

  “I should kidnap ya,” Tomas joked. “I should put you over my shoulder and haul your ass outta here.”

  Nick tilted his head to the side and chuckled a bit.

  “That’s funny… Hey, you know, I remember sitting on my stoop one time when I was about eight years old and watching all the cars and travel buses going up and down the street.” He moved his finger back and forth, as if a long line of vehicles were parading by right at that second for the two to see. “I wanted to be in one of those cars, and never come back. I wanted someone to jump out of his or her big, shiny automobile, kidnap me, and take me to a land of milk and honey. I used to have crazy ideas like that as a child,” he hooted grimly. “I used to see news stories about kids being abducted, too. Shit, I even knew a kid that had been grabbed right up the street from me and never heard from again. I envied her for a day or two…”

  “Maaaan.” Tomas swayed back and forth in his seat. “I can’t even imagine you being like that, you know? You just seem so different now.”

  “Well, we change, we grow. Sometimes we grow down into the ground instead of up towards the clouds. I think I grew crooked.” He smiled wide, showing all of his teeth.

  “Me too.”

  “Nah.” Nick scratched between his brows with his index finger. “Tomas, you’re one of the good guys, true blue. People would call it stages or phases, you know, when I would be running around as a kid, getting into trouble. It wasn’t a phase; something was going on with me, something wrong. Anyway, I would ask God to have some lady stop at a red light, see me sitting there, come grab me and take me to her nice, big penthouse uptown.”

  Tomas burst out laughing, causing Nick to offer an awkward grin.

  “You wanted the big time, huh?”

  “Yeah.” He nodded. “In my mind she was always a blond lady with long, wavy hair, a silky red scarf tied around her neck and white gloves, that would go all the way up to her elbows, you know, like in the old movies. She’d smell like lilacs and have a mouth covered in China red lipstick…looking like a damn 1950’s movie star. She’d have a lot of money too and would be crazy about little ol’ me. Tell me she always wanted a son just like me… And then we’d live happily ever after.”

  “Were you drinkin’ too then, man?!” Tomas joked, slapping his knee.

  “Nope, just had a crazy imagination is all. None of that ever happened, obviously. I was so bad, I couldn’t even get kidnapped.” He rubbed his hands together like a homeless guy about to put them before a trashcan lit for heat.

  Tomas burst out laughing, “You’re a real character, Vitale. Hey, let me ask you something.” He took another sip of his Sprite.

  “Yeah… did you get enough to eat, hog?”

  “Yeah. The pizza was a little greasy, but it was good.”

  Nick nodded.

  “So, you had a question. What is it?”

  “You’re in here, but to me, you were really headed in the right direc
tion. Shows looks can be deceiving.”

  Nick nodded.

  “Honestly, I think you were born to do this, Nick. I loved working with you, man, because you are just as dedicated as I am. I know you didn’t have it easy as a kid, we’ve talked a lot, you know? But how could you go from wanting to be kidnapped to wanting to help? I find you confusing, but… I’m asking the questions now, and I hope you humor me, and tell the truth.”

  “Of course I will; it’s time. I need to—”

  “You’re coming back, right?”

  “What? To work? If you all will have me.” He clicked his teeth and winked.

  “It’s not in my hands.” Tomas threw up his arms. “But you best believe I’m rooting for you. I need my old partner back; I need you like, yesterday. Anyway though, tell me about it.” He scooted his chair in closer and waited.

  “Well, you already know a bit about my history, but after a while, some things get played out, or you get bored, or shit catches up with you.”

  “What did you do?”

  I did what all kids do when left with no other options. I grew up.” He took another deep breath. “I stayed in B-Ville and drank, stole, and ran the streets until after many years of facing few to no consequences for my actions, I was finally busted. The day of reckoning had arrived!” He threw his hands in the air and shook them, laughing at his own misfortune.

  “Who shot ya!” Tomas bobbed his head as he did his imitation of Biggie Smalls.

  Nick burst out laughing.

  “Man… you brought back some memories with that. Let me tell you though, the day things changed—at least my perception, I should say—is a day I’ll never forget. One autumn afternoon, two police officers nabbed my ass as a suspect for stealing inside a department store. They apparently had new cameras installed, and I hadn’t staked out the place again to find out. So anyway, I walked in there, cocky and bold, getting ready to do my usual monthly purge, not knowing guys like me had been set up for the kill. Anyway, there I was in the middle of the net for capture, so to speak. I didn’t even have a chance to get anything this time around. My luck had run out.