“What?” I say, trying to laugh it off.
“You totally had sex today,” she says, not even caring that my father and brother are in the room. She’s reckless and she’s lucky as hell that I love her.
“Uh, Metal Gear is calling my name,” Howie says abruptly, getting up from the table. I wish I could join him.
“What happened?” Flora asks.
“Nothing happened,” I lie.
“Should I go too?” Dad asks.
“No,” I say at the same time Flora says “yes.”
“The store got robbed today. I’m fine. But I met someone.”
“Oh My God, who?”
“The police officer. We’re going on a date tonight,” I hedge. I hope we aren’t going anywhere but his bed, but my dad and my step-mom/best friend don’t need to know that right now. “And, uh I won’t be home tonight.”
“You’re an adult, Jodi. Just be safe. Use protection,” my dad says. How he managed to say it straight-faced, I’ll never know. You should have seen him for “The Talk” he gave me.
“Uh,” I say.
“Oh my God, I am going to be a mom and a grandma in the same year,” Flora says, and my dad just shakes his head.
“You’re crazy, Flora,” I reply but she’s probably not wrong. Today was a weird day. It sucked all day until a knight with a shiny badge came to help me.
I am a thousand percent sure I fell in love today and I can’t wait to get to know him better.
Paul
What the fuck was that? I ask myself as I walk into the locker room at the station. I’ve never fucked anyone but Jodi. Over the years, I've had plenty of opportunities, but those women weren’t right for me. One look at Jodi, my sweet innocent Jodi, and I turn into a fucking animal. I’m ready to marry her now, today. I need her by my side for the rest of my life. That’s going to happen sooner rather than later.
I look like Sonny Crockett in my white suit but it’s perfect for the date that I have planned for her. I scored some tickets to Ellen DeGeneres’ stand-up routine at the Laugh Shack in Baton Rouge. I’ve seen her perform before. She’s freaking hilarious. Mark my words, she’ll be huge one day. I leave my service weapon locked in the vault and head out to my personal vehicle, a 1973 Buick Riviera. White with black interior, it was my first big purchase when I turned twenty. Now, I have a house and a fan boat as well.
I have never done something so reckless before and certainly not on the job but with Jodi, I couldn't help myself. I wouldn't have been able to stop for anything. The damn mall could have caved in around us and I would have fucked her until death claimed us. I fell in love today, and I fell hard but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Growing up, I knew what love was. My parents showed me every day until they died in a car accident a few years ago. They were only children and so am I. I have no family to speak of and I threw myself into my career. Now, I want to go all-in with Jodi, and I don’t give a fuck how crazy that is.
I pull up to the address she gave me. It’s a nice two-story blue house with white shutters and a white picket fence. Very suburban. Very different from the New Orleans apartment I lived in with my parents and much larger than the bungalow house I own now. Getting out of the car, I knock on the door. A young pregnant girl answers the door. Did Jodi say she had a sister? She mentioned a brother when we were walking to her car, but not a sister, I am sure of it.
“You must be Jodi’s date. I’m her stepmom, Flora. Come in,” she says, stepping aside to let me in. Guess not on the sister. Inside, the house is neatly kept. There is a young boy watching MTV on the TV set. Whitesnake’s Here I Go Again is the video that’s playing. The kid is doing air guitars and everything.
“I am. Paul Lochlan, nice to meet you,” I say extending my hand to her. She shakes it. I am much more than a mere date but there is no need to tell her that, yet.
“Can I get you a drink, Paul?”
“No thanks. Is Jodi ready?” I ask looking at my watch. The show, which includes dinner, starts at eight-thirty. There is a warm-up comedian on first and I don’t want to miss that.
“She’ll be down in a minute. This is Howie, my stepson,” she says gesturing to the boy in the living room. “And this is my husband, Rudy. Rudy, this is Jodi’s date, Paul.” I shake hands with the man.