by Alexie Aaron
“Wait a moment.” I held up my hand. “I do not.” I quickly packed up my instrument.
“Rumor has it that you dated Elijah Broadhurst from Ely’s Coming.”
“The rumor is wrong. I worked for him and his band,” I corrected Ryan, but I didn’t tell him that I had dated one of the murderers of Elijah’s ex-wife.
“Are you dating someone now?” he asked, sucking in his gut.
“Yes I am,” I said, getting up. I tucked the music folder into my tote bag, and I was ready to bolt if this got uncomfortable.
“Is it serious?” he asked.
“Gosh, you’re full of questions. My private life is that, private. If you will excuse me, I have an appointment to get to.”
“Cin, rethink my offer. You won’t be disappointed.”
I smiled on the outside. Inside, I was promising myself never to do anything like this again. I walked quickly towards the exit. I rounded the corner and walked smack into Kyle Martel. “I’m sorry, sir.”
He grabbed my arms, more for balance than malice. “I should have been watching. You did well today. Too bad you play that instrument. I could use a principal clarinetist in the opera’s orchestra.”
“I play this for leisure,” I assured him, shaking off his hands. “It has been a pleasure to be under your baton though,” I lied.
“You take direction well. Are you seeing anyone?” he asked, his dark brooding eyes checking me out. He reached for one of my long auburn curls and played with it. I wanted to snatch my hair away and muss up his dark brown hair, but I knew he would take it the wrong way. His eyes returned to my face, and he suggested, “We could go somewhere quiet and get to know each other.”
What was it, hit on Cin day? I mean this child was younger than my son Alex. And what does my taking direction well have to do with dating… Oh. “I’m sorry, I’m in a relationship, Kyle,” I said, making motion to leave.
He grabbed my arm. His fingers were bruising me.
“Please, you’re hurting me,” I said as I pried his fingers off my arm.
“Oh, sorry,” he said, puzzled by my resistance. “I’m just surprised that you’d turn me down.”
“I’m in a relationship, and you’re a child,” I said through my teeth.
“But I’ve seen you with a young guy. Isn’t he your relationship?”
“Harry? No, he’s my partner. I’m dating a cop. A cop who’s not going to be too pleased that I’m going to show up to lunch with bruises,” I warned.
“Well, if you change your mind, I’d be happy to take you under my tutelage.”
I tried not to turn green, and I did my best to hold on to my breakfast. I didn’t want to rock the boat, so I just shook my head and exited stage left.
~
What was it about being in a relationship that drew all this unwanted attention? I had been sitting in dry dock for years without anyone wanting to take me out, but as soon as I had someone mooring his boat at my slip, the attention started.
Lieutenant Dave Buslowski, the lead investigator for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, was the captain of my relationship. He showed up one day after a ton of oleander flowers were dumped on my lawn, and even though I wasn’t looking for a relationship, I had to admit that I was attracted to him. He was older than me. Dave had retired from the CID of the military. He had joined the sheriff’s department when his daughter’s wedding had nearly cleaned out his savings account.
His military bearing, silver and sandy hair, along with his piercing blue eyes, made Dave Buslowski a handsome but dangerous man. He waited until his divorce was final before he made his first move. Big mistake. By that time, I had sailed into hazardous waters with Sidney Stoneridge. Although the short liaison was over when Dave made his intentions known, I still felt rather slutty for taking Dave into my bed so soon. He was a strong, ardent lover and protector. Best of all, he understood why I could not abandon Harry O’Rourke, no matter how the guy tested my patience and got me into trouble.
Harry was an old school chum of my son Alex. He was a handsome young man with dark Irish looks. His near black, curly hair was usually tamed with gel. Harry’s dark eyes took in every detail, which came in handy in our line of work. He had filled out. I suspected he was lifting weights. Gone was the scrawny boy that I’d picked up out of the rain after he ran away from his troubled home. He had matured by taking care of his dying mother after they were abandoned by his father. Alex had asked Harry to look out for me after the first of the serial murders in my community band. He didn’t leave when the case was solved. He stayed. I couldn’t get Harry to leave, and frankly, I thank my lucky stars he didn’t. He got me, and I him. We had developed an odd friendship that was hard to explain at times.
Dave was waiting for me at our favorite downtown Irish pub. I slid into the booth beside him and enjoyed how I fit perfectly with his arm around me. I was careful to pull down my cardigan sleeve, so I wouldn’t have to explain the red welts on my arm. Dave was on his late lunch hour, and I was on my way back home. The pub was pretty quiet during the day, an excellent place for a rendezvous.
“How was practice?” Dave asked.
“The practice went well, but you won’t believe the costume…” I went on to explain the problems with the pencil skirt. I lifted up the edge of my sundress to demonstrate.
“Cin!” He pushed the dress down. “I’m just here for lunch.”
I giggled. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”
“It’s going to get you a whole lot of unwanted attention when I pick you up, carry you to that bar and…”
“Dave!” I said, blushing. “I’ll behave. As it is, I’m going to need a cold shower.”
“Do you ever think about me during the day, freckles?” he asked.
“Yes. Maybe too much. Especially when I’m in that pool. I think about when you had me pressed against the wall and…”
“That bar is looking pretty good right now,” Dave warned.
“Are you sure you have to go back to work?” I asked.
“Yes, but I’d like to take you out tonight.”
“Couldn’t we stay in? Investigate that recliner again?”
“I get the feeling you’re just using me for sex.”
“I am.”
“Well, then you bring supper. We’re going to be hungry later with what I have planned.”
I moved closer to Dave and held up my hand to my ear. “Whisper it to me.”
He did. My eyes widened.
Our drinks came. My hand was shaking, but I managed to knock back the whiskey, much to Dave’s surprise.
“Sorry, I needed that. You should warn a gal before you say such things,” I complained.
“I wasn’t just saying them. It was a promise.”
I started coughing. I got up and walked quickly into the washroom. I splashed cold water on my face. I was repairing my makeup when another diner walked in. I smiled, recognizing one of the chorus members of the opera cast, and exited quickly, not wanting to make small talk. I walked back to see that our meals had arrived.
Dave looked up concerned. “Are you alright?”
“Yes. I needed to cool down a bit.”
“Did I scare you?”
“No. Surprised me, that’s all.”
Dave smiled. “I want so to please you, but I may need you to guide me. Tell me what you like.”
“I’m not that experienced, Dave. Let’s discover things together.”
“I like it when you call me Dave,” he said.
“Don’t I always call you Dave?” I asked.
“You call me Buslowski.”
“Ball-busting Buslowski,” I said.
He gave me a sour look.
“Well, you were.”
“What changed?” he asked.
“I did,” I said, smiling.
Verismo
Harry had spoiled me. After he arrived on my doorstep, he took over cooking. He had rearranged the cupboards, and I couldn’t find where he kept my pans
if my life depended on it. My intention today was to make some kind of casserole thing to take over to Buslowski’s. I ended up making shepherd’s pie. I made two of them, one for Harry and one to take over. Harry and I had the whole house to ourselves these days. My son Alex was touring with his band, and Luke was spending his free time with the diaper queen. Noelle, my daughter, had secured a position at a prestigious private college in England and was going to give teaching a try.
Harry and I shared the house. He had taken over Noelle’s old room with her blessing, and as soon as Luke moved out of the pool house, Harry planned on turning it into his office. Presently, we were sharing the den. Aside from Harry, I may just get my empty nest back. I looked around. Did I really want it back?
The house, at one time, was filled with priests, cops, and wayward teenagers. I laughed remembering how Harry had turned the kitchen into a diner for the police who were working on the tons of oleander in my front yard.
“Lucy, I’m home!” Harry shouted.
For a moment, I wasn’t sure if this was a flashback or the real deal. But the very real deal was standing in front of me holding a bottle of champagne.
“I take it you closed the investigation,” I said.
“Yes, and we got paid.”
“Um, you did all the work. You get to keep the money, after taxes,” I said.
“I could do that, but I’d rather put it into the pot. Speaking of pots, what are you cooking?”
“Shepherd’s pie, two of them. I’m bringing dinner over to Buslowski’s.”
“Booty call.”
“It’s not a booty call if you bring food,” I argued.
“It still is. Not that I’m being critical. Since you’ve been getting laid, you’re much more agreeable.”
“Am I really?” I said through my teeth.
Harry looked at me with his near black eyes and smiled widely. “You know, I always thought that I’d come home to find you defrocking a priest, maybe two of them, but I’m happy that you decided on someone with connections we can use.”
“How perceptive. I’m not using Buslowski. I really like him.”
“I hope so, because he’s so into you that the old boy can’t see straight.”
“What exactly does that mean?” I asked.
He didn’t say anything.
“Try for another metaphor,” I challenged.
“He’s so lost in you that it would take a bloodhound and six US Marshals to find him.”
I laughed. “That’s better. Do you really think he’s that smitten?”
“He’ll never tell you, but he gave up a promotion to be with you.”
“I heard that, and I feel guilty. I’m worried that I may have thrown the three words around before either of us were ready.”
“Whoa, hold the horses, I thought you were in love with him.”
“I don’t know. I worry he may be the rebound man.”
“You gave up Father Michael for Buslowski.”
“I think it was my loins talking.”
“So, tell me, where do you two stand?”
“I think we are in a relationship. Which means, I have to stop having one-night stands with killers, and he has to take me out occasionally.”
“But you’re humping like rabbits.”
“Yes,” I said smiling.
“It’s not what I was hoping for, but I didn’t want to see Buslowski moving in either.”
“You really hate sharing the den, don’t you?”
“He pounds on the keys. He upsets the computer.”
“Someone at the opera assumed you and I were a couple.”
“Oh gross.”
“Yep, I thought that’s how you’d react.”
“Who was it?”
“My conductor. He was hitting on me, assuming I was into younger studs like yourself.”
“I am rather studly, aren’t I?” He put his hands through his blue-black hair and stood up and displayed his perfect postured body.
It was my turn to say, “Oh gross.”
“So is this going to become a problem with your conductor?”
“I set him straight.”
“Isn’t he the crazy one, Kyle Martel?”
“Yes. Crazy genius Martel.”
“So you’re in your forties and Kyle… Is he even legal?”
“I haven’t a clue. It’s a non-issue,” I said, rubbing my injured arm.
“What’s that?”
“What?”
Harry moved around the kitchen island and inspected my arm. “Are you and Buslowski into a little bondage?”
“No. Kyle got a little rough.”
“I’ll go down there and set him straight.”
“No, I handled it. I only have to get through Saturday’s performance, and then I’ll never have to see Kyle again.”
“I’m coming with you to dress rehearsal,” Harry said.
“You can’t. It’s a closed rehearsal. But I do have a ticket to the gala for you. You get to wear a tux.”
“Is Buslowski going?”
“No, he’s on duty this weekend.”
“So, I’m your plus one. This is going to confuse Kyle.”
“I didn’t really think that far. Maybe Dwayne from band? He owes me a favor…”
“No. I’m going,” Harry insisted. “What are you doing tomorrow?”
“I have a costume fitting at three, but until then I’m free. Why?”
“I’m going to the range to learn to shoot a gun. I thought you should too.”
“I don’t like guns, Harry.”
“In our line of work...”
“Sorry, I don’t want one. I’ll come out and support you, but I’m not going to handle one. Am I clear?”
“Yes, but I want to remind you, your boyfriend has a gun.”
“He’s a cop. The only thing he wants me to handle is…”
“Stop!” Harry said, putting his hands over his ears. He left the kitchen. I put the bottle of champagne in the refrigerator and put the timer on for my food. I had enough time for a leisurely bath.
~
Dave and I dined on the food I brought. We sat together in his large chair, spooning up the pie as we watched Justified. I had given him a boxed set after he mentioned that he had only seen a few of them, and because of his schedule and lack of DVR, he missed too many to form an opinion. I brought over one of Luke’s castoff Blu-ray players. We sat together, watching a few shows. After that, he listened to my unintentional Kentucky accent.
“Are you aware you’ve gone full country on me, Cin?”
“Nonsense, it’s all in your imagination. Would you like some more pie?”
He helped me put the rest of the meal away before we sat and looked through furniture catalogs together.
“I think you need a desk more than a sofa,” I said, looking around. “You’re going to hurt your back hunched over that laptop on the coffee table.”
He nodded. “I’ve got quite a crick in my neck as it is.”
I got up, wetted down a dishtowel and microwaved it for a minute. I took the hot towel and put it around his neck for a few minutes before I took it off and began to massage.
“That feels so… ouch.”
“Sorry, don’t know my own strength. How’s this?”
“Better. I imagine playing that instrument has strengthened your hands.”
“Maybe. But I’ve always been strong. I was a bit of a tomboy when I was a girl.”
“Really. What kind of sports did you play?”
“Softball, field hockey, all the lesbian sports.”
Dave laughed. “Continue…”
“I was horrible at track, but I could throw a mean javelin.”
“I didn’t know girls competed in javelin.”
“They didn’t in my town, but I had two older brothers, and we watched a lot of Tarzan movies. I was the native, Sean was Tarzan, and Kevin was Cheetah.”
“You weren’t very PC in those days.”
“Where
I grew up, there was no diversity, so I didn’t know whether I was PC or not. We only could afford a black and white television, and I thought everyone was the same. I still do, Dave.”
“Tell me about you as a native?”
“I wore a grass skirt over my play clothes. I chased my brothers around, throwing homemade spears at them. They dug traps in the field next door, and once, they hung me upside down from the big maple tree, until my mother found out and put a stop to it.”
“I’m glad someone was looking out for you,” he said, amused.
“Tell me about your family?” I asked, working my hands down his shoulders, enjoying the muscles I found there.
“I’m the youngest of seven brothers…”
“Sounds like a movie script,” I said, suspicious.
Dave smiled. “Only child, grew up a Navy brat, end of story.”
“Hmmm, seems to me that you could flesh out the story a bit.”
“I could, but I have something important to talk to you about,” he said, grabbing my hand.
I walked around, sat on the arm of the chair, and looked down at him. “You have my full attention.”
“My daughter is pregnant.”
“Congratulations, Grandpa!” I said. “Is it a boy or a girl? Or are they waiting until the birth to find out? When is it coming?”
“Hold on there,” he said. “She’s asked me to spend Thanksgiving with her and her family. My ex is going to be there.”
“She’s your daughter too. Go and bring all sorts of noisy presents for the little one.”
“She didn’t invite you.”
“I would have been shocked if she had. Are you worried that I’m going to be mad? That is so sweet, but I understand. You and Alice have just recently divorced. Your daughter is going to try to get you two back together, and she doesn’t want a hot redhead bouncing around on her daddy.”
Dave burst out laughing.
“You go and have a good time. I’ll miss you, but I’m going to support you and your daughter’s relationship. Daddies are very important to daughters.”
Dave pulled me to him. “This is why I love you so much, Cin. You’re a big picture person. Alice wants us to drive up together.”
