A Child is Torn: Innocence Lost (17 page)

“I ran into the doctor earlier. We’re going to dinner.”

The Captain got up and started putting away the rest of Marty’s clothes.

“Pop, I can do that, leave it. I’ll do it when I get home.”

“With a little luck, Marty, maybe you won’t come home.” He winked. “Unless, of course, she lives with her mother.” He paused for a second, and then continued. “You know, Marty, maybe you ought to think about getting a place of your own. I mean, this isn’t exactly an ideal situation for your social life.”

“Pop, it’s fine. I wouldn’t want it any other way. Besides, why would I leave? I have it great—you cook, clean, do the laundry. You’re the best wife anyone could ask for!”

The Captain gave smirked, shaking his head. “You know what I mean.”

“Dad, look. This is just a second date. Stop worrying, I’m fine, and… I don’t think she lives with her mother. I already checked.”

“Whatever you do, don’t tell her that. She’ll think you’re some kind of crazy cop stalker, like that guy in that movie…What was the name of that movie? You know, the one with Ray Liotta and Kurt Russell. Liotta played a crazy cop—”

“Unlawful Entry.”

“Yeah, that’s the one. We don’t want the pretty doctor thinking you’re some kind of psychotic cop.”

“No Pop, we don’t. Let me just get through this date.”

He walked over to Marty and fixed his collar. “She’s gotta love you son; she’d be crazy not to.” He grabbed Marty’s face in one hand. “Who couldn’t love this face?”

“Knock it off, Dad. I’ve got to run. I don’t want to be late—we already had a bad start.” He grabbed his leather jacket, took one more look at himself in the mirror, and then gave his dad a kiss on the top of his head.

“Catch you later, Captain. Wish me luck.”

“Good luck you don’t need, just have a good time.”

“Thanks, Pop,” he said as he raced down the steps and out of the house.

Marty got to Hope’s house with five minutes to spare. He took a deep breath, grabbed some mints from his console, and steeled himself for the walk to her door. She lived in a small, ranch-style, cream-colored house. It could probably use a new paint job, and the gutters were full of fallen leaves. The path to her door was landscaped with neatly trimmed hedges; he thought perhaps she had a gardener, but not a man around to take on the bigger tasks. He thought about offering his services, but decided it was a bit too soon.

He knocked at the door. When it opened, he was stunned; he caught himself gaping. She was wearing a green silk top which matched her eyes and her long, wavy brown hair hung over her shoulders in soft curls. He marveled at the way her blouse laid flat against her stomach and tucked around her tiny waist. Her jeans hugged her hips and legs, and she wore suede boots that came just below her knees.

“Hi, just let me grab my jacket, and we can go. Come on in. Can I get you a drink?”

He could tell from her voice that she was probably just as nervous as he was. He entered the living room and the first thing he noticed was a very large flat-screen TV.

“Nice,” he commented, admiring it.

“My ex got the lawn mower and the dog; I got the TV.”

“I don’t know about the dog, but you probably got the better end of the deal.”

“Yeah, it killed him to give it up, but I’m sure he bought himself a bigger and better one. His new wife is bigger, anyway!” She emphasized bigger as she glanced down at her chest.

“You know the old saying, about small packages.” He helped her into her jacket. “Um, you may want to get rid of this.” He tugged the price tag sticking off her shirt.

“Oops.”

“Here.” Marty took out a small pocketknife and very carefully cut it off.

“Thanks,” she said, her cheeks turning a soft shade of pink. She grabbed her keys off a small marble table by the door, and walked out with him, locking the door behind her.

They made some small talk in the car until they got to the restaurant. It was late and the weekday dinner crowd had already come and gone, which was fine with Marty. The temperature outside had dropped considerably and the owner had lit the stone fireplace. They chose a table nearby.

Trina was not there and so a new waitress that Marty didn’t know set down menus and asked what they wanted to drink. When she was gone he turned to Hope. “I’m glad I caught you speeding today, but try not to do it again.”

“Yes sir, officer. And why are you glad?” She leaned forward, putting her elbows on the table. The waitress came over with the drinks and took their orders.

Tapping his fingers nervously on the table, Marty replied, “Because, I think we both had a misunderstanding. I thought you weren’t interested in dating a cop; you thought I didn’t like you. We were both wrong. At least, you were.”

She smiled, “Did I really give the impression I wasn’t interested in dating you? I’m really sorry, I… maybe I did. You know, it’s been a while. I don’t date much. My work is my first priority.”

“Bad marriage?”

She took a breath. “You could say that.”

“Mind if I ask? You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” he said, wondering whether he was making a mistake, asking something this personal, this soon.

“No, it’s okay. We met in college. We were both premed. We dated all through college… ended up he hated med school and he dropped out to go work for his dad. They own a chain of franchise restaurants throughout the state. Richard traveled a lot. What I didn’t know was he also played around a lot. While I was home thinking I had a happy marriage and making plans for a family, he was, well, looking for a more endowed and exciting woman. He found her, end of story.”

“Sorry, his loss.”

“Thanks. I’m starting to come to terms with that. I was angry for a very long time.” She closed her eyes for a second. “I even thought of getting a boob job to try and win him back. But Diane—thanks heavens for Di—she sat down with me, commiserated with me, and listened to me rant and rave. We sat for days watching old black-and-white tear jerkers while she helped me consume several pints of Häagen-Daz until I came to my senses.”

He laughed picturing her sitting in front of the big screen, shoveling mint chocolate-chip ice cream into her mouth.

“Mint chocolate chip?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“How did you know?” she laughed.

“You just look like a mint chocolate-chip kind of gal. I’m partial to Rocky Road, myself.”

“Okay, enough about me. What about you, Officer Keal?”

“What do you want to know?” He took a sip of his beer. His nervousness continued to slip away.

“Never married?”

“No, came close once, but didn’t work out. Let’s just say she also had a wondering eye.”

“Her loss.”

He smiled, dimples appearing again.

“So, why did you become a cop? Subconscious desire to be the hero, or just a psychological need to be in control?”

“Maybe a little bit of both. Mostly because my family has always been in the civil service. They’re either cops or firemen.”

“Your dad is retired from the Department of —Corrections you said, right?”

He nodded.

“Who else in your family is in civil service?”

“Okay, maybe I should handcuff you to the chair so you can’t leave when I tell you the rest.”

She gave him a confused look, and he noticed the small mole above her lip again. Every time he looked at her, it was like seeing her for the first time, again and again.

“I have seven brothers and one sister. Three brothers—one of them, my twin—are in NYFD, four are in the NYPD, and my sister’s husband is a cop on Long Island.”

“Nine? Nine children? God, your mother had her hands full.”

“More like my dad. My mother passed away when I was nine. My sister, Mary, and my dad pretty much raised most of us.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…”

“No, it’s okay. They both did a hell of a job.”

“I should say. Nine kids…your dad never remarried?”

“Nope, my mother was his first and only love and he was completely devoted to her. Besides, my dad knew damn well no woman was going to take on what he had.”

The waitress came back with their order. When the conversation stopped, Hope noticed Marty was drumming his fingers against the table.

“Are you nervous?” She motioned toward his hands.

“I guess so, just a nervous habit. Anything else you’d like to know? Bring it on, I’m an open book.”

He swallowed a forkful of mashed potatoes. “Mmmm, good. You want a taste?” He lifted the fork up to her mouth. She smiled as she took a bite.

“You’re right, they’re good.”

He dipped a napkin into a glass of water and gently wiped some gravy off the corner of her mouth.

“Did you say you had a twin? Identical or fraternal?”

“Yeah, identical. Tommy. He’s eight minutes older and never lets me forget it. We’re identical in looks, but nothing alike personality-wise.”

“Do I detect a little sibling rivalry?”

“We drove the Captain crazy.”

He wished she needed him to wipe her face again; he just wanted a reason to touch her. Her eyes were mesmerizing. They were an intense shade of aqua green, reminding him of the color of the ocean in the Caribbean.

“Is your niece the only grandchild, the one you were shopping for?”

He choked on his drink, struggling to gain his composure.

“Heck no. I have seventeen nephews, and Patty is the only girl. Spoiled rotten, too.”

Her eyes widen and her eyebrows were raised slightly.

“I bet. I can imagine what goes on at Christmas time.”

“Trust me, you don’t want to know. Rug rats all over the place. How about you? Any brothers or sisters?

“One brother, Lenny. One sister-in-law, Paula
—
she’s like my own sister; two nieces, and one nephew on the way.”

“Ha, you get away cheap at Christmas.”

“Chanukah.” She looked down, seeming unsure of herself.

“Ah, the Festival of Lights.”

She looked at him curiously.

“Justin’s half-Jewish. He’s like a brother to me. His dad is Jewish and his mom is Catholic. Justin calls himself a half-breed. They celebrate both holidays and because we grew up together, I got to celebrate both. With him being an only child, his parents kind of adopted me, and my family adopted him.”

“I’m sure that’s what your dad needed, another kid around.” She rubbed her stomach. “God, that was good. I’m so stuffed.”

He didn’t want the evening to end. “Too stuffed for desert? They have the best deserts here.” His fingers started to dance again.

“No, no desert. But I will have some coffee.”

Marty got the waitress’s attention and asked for two cups of coffee.

“So, tell me. What made you go to work at Armistace? That’s got to be one of the most draining jobs.” He hoped she wasn’t too bored with him yet.

She leaned back in her chair and pushed some stray strands of hair back from her face. “It’s draining, but I love it. Actually, I guess you could say it was luck. I had just passed the boards and Judy had posted a notice on the university’s bulletin board. It was perfect; I grew up not too far from here and I knew the area. Richard didn’t care where he lived because he traveled for his job. So, that’s the story.”

“I can tell the kids are really well taken care of. It didn’t used to be like that,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“This goes back sixty years ago, way before you got there, well, before either of us were even born.”

He had piqued her curiosity. She nodded for him to go on.