I curled my lip and looked away. The memory of my father and mother having sex last night hit me right in the gut, causing me to instantly lose my appetite.
Thankfully, lunch progressed without any talk of panties, babies, or images of my parents getting it on. Mom had started to mention babies, but one quick look of warning from me had her changing the subject quickly.
My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out to see it was the station. “It’s the station; let me grab this outside.”
There was a back door over by the restrooms that led to an outdoor area. I quickly made my way there as I answered the phone.
“This is Mike.”
“Mike, it’s Bill. Listen, I know it is your weekend off, but would you mind coming in for just a few hours tomorrow? My niece is being baptized at our church in the morning and the officer who was going to cover me is sick. I would really love to be there.”
“Sure, I don’t mind at all. Why are you working on a Sunday?” I asked.
He sighed in frustration. “I’m trying to cover a few extra shifts to buy Louise a trip to Hawaii for our anniversary. And hopefully it will help with the whole ‘trying to get pregnant’ thing.”
I smiled. “I don’t mind at all. I’ve got my dad in town, so I’ll probably let him ride along with me.”
“Great! Thanks so much.”
“No problem at all, Bill.”
I hit End and headed back in. Marie was at the table, talking to my mother. “This isn’t going to turn out good,” I whispered.
Sydney looked up and smiled at me as I walked back to the table. Leaning down, I kissed her on the cheek.
“Everything okay here?” I asked, taking my seat again.
She nodded and quirked a brow. “Your mom has been invited to the Red Hat Society tea tomorrow.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
Sydney pressed her lips together tightly to keep from laughing as she shook her head.
“Syd, maybe that’s not such a good idea.”
“They’re going to gossip regardless. But maybe if they’re drunk, they won’t remember the gossip. It’ll be fun for her. And Marie would give me hell at the clinic if I intervened. Look at how well your mom and Marie are getting along. Marie will keep her distracted… hopefully.”
We turned to look at the two women. They were deep in conversation. I glanced to the right and saw my father talking to a guy at the next table.
“Who is Dad talking to?”
With a half shrug, Sydney replied, “No clue. He struck up a conversation with him.”
I closed my eyes and exhaled a breath. “They exhaust me.”
Sydney took my hand in hers and flashed me a naughty grin. “This would be the perfect time to sneak away, Officer Murphy. You did promise…”
Licking my lips, I let my gaze drift to her mouth and back up to those beautiful eyes. “If I didn’t think my parents would somehow manage to find us, I would say let’s do it. But we still have an afternoon of sightseeing.”