I listen to the three women on the deck below let out surprised screams. They stumble and fumble before the door to downstairs opens and closes. I go back into Anna’s and rub Bane’s head to let him know he did good, since he’s been in training to sniff out drugs, and that’s the first time he’s been alerted outside of a training situation.
“What happened?” Anna asks, and I notice that at some point she’s put on a shirt. I go to the kitchen to get a cup of water and flip on the coffeepot.
“The Golden Girls were outside getting high. Bane must have smelled it,” I say. I then go to the bathroom, take care of business, and brush my teeth before shutting off the light. I then find Anna just where I left her with a wide-eyed look on her face.
“They were getting high again?” she asks, and I narrow my eyes on her. “I—”
“I don’t want to know.” I hold up my hand, palm out. “I’m going to pretend it didn’t happen, because the idea of dragging the three of them down to the station and dealing with them on my day off is too much for me to think about right now.”
“I don’t think they do it often,” she says, chewing the inside of her cheek.
“Baby, I don’t care if people smoke weed, but it’s not legal in South Carolina, which makes it a crime. And since I’m a cop, I’m on the side of the law when it comes to dealing with it.”
“I get that. I’ll talk to them,” she offers, and I shake my head.
“You are not talking to them about it. They are all grown—very grown—women who know they shouldn’t be smoking pot. They don’t need you to tell them that.”
“I actually think they might have a whole Freaky Friday thing going on, like they switched consciousness with three sixteen-year-old girls. Only unlike that movie, they don’t want to change back, because now they have an excuse to do whatever they want, and that excuse is they’re old.”
I laugh at her explanation, then mutter, “You might be right. Maybe I should search for three teen girls who spend their time knitting, baking cookies, and taking care of a bunch of cats.”
“If you find them, I can contact a witch; then you can lock the six of them in a cell together, and we’ll force them to return to their bodies,” she says with a laugh, and I grin.
“Where are you gonna find a witch?”
“Online.” She shrugs. “You can find anything with the help of Google.”
“True.” I pour her a cup of coffee and add creamer and sugar, and then I pour myself a cup and take both to the bed. I hand hers over, then sit with my back to the headboard.
“I need a TV,” she says, sitting back and then taking a sip from her mug.
“You don’t.”
“Yeah, I do. I know you like to watch the news in the mornings. I should get one for when you’re here.”
“Anna, we love each other, and last night we spoke about having kids one day. I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking that means it’s time for us to talk about you moving in with me.”
“You want me to move in with you?”
“Yeah.” I frown. “You do realize we haven’t spent a night apart since the first night we spent together, and more often than not, you’re at my place. Plus, I like this place, but it’s not exactly where I see us living or raising a family. I can span the space in three steps.”
“Okay,” she says, taking another sip of coffee. “I’ll talk to Edie later today and see how much time she needs before I can break my lease without hurting her pocket.”
“That was surprisingly easy,” I mumble to myself, and she laughs.
“Do you want me to argue with you about it to make you feel better?”
“No, just talk to Edie and let me know what she says. Then we’ll get you completely moved in—not that you seem to have much.” I look around.
“None of this is mine. Well, besides the clothes in the closet, stuff in the bathroom, and the bedding.”
“You said you had a place in Chicago. You didn’t have house shit?”
“No, I did. I still have my stuff in storage there. But I’ll probably just let it go if I’m going to move in with you.”
“Why wouldn’t you keep it?”
“Well, none of it would exactly fit in with the theme you have going on at your house, and none of it holds any real sentimental value. Plus I have no real desire to go back to Chicago to get it all and then drive it back here.”
“If we live together, it will be our house. I want you to be comfortable there and add your touch.”