Nikki’s loud laughter startled Eric for a second. Then he looked at his mommy and also started laughing. That set Nikki off even more until everyone around the table was smiling.
“What’s so funny, Nix?” Francine looked perplexed, yet was smiling. Some of the weight on my chest lifted. It was good to see Francine’s smile.
“You... oh... I can’t.” Nikki laughed harder.
“Nikki helped Roxy do her hair.” I’d heard the giggles coming from their side of the apartment for more than two hours before Francine and Manny had arrived for dinner. “I think I overheard Nikki say that she stole that blouse from your wardrobe.”
“You little minx!” Francine glared at Nikki, but there was no malice in her micro-expressions. “You betrayed me. You stole from me. I thought we were in this together.”
“Nah.” Nikki wiped laughter-tears from her cheeks. “I’m in it with the one who gives me the most wicked fun.”
Roxy raised her fist and bumped it against Nikki’s. Then she turned a fake loving smile towards Francine. “At least now I know you love my curly, messy hair and my unique sense of fashion.”
“Oh, man.” Francine leaned back in her chair, looked at the two women, then nodded reluctantly. “Well played, ladies. Well played.”
“What’s happening at Interpol?” Colin’s question put an immediate damper on the atmosphere around the table.
Manny stabbed at his food, then put his utensils down. “They’ve agreed to put the blame where it belongs. Three of the officers who ordered the op took responsibility. I think they’re also making this out to be a teachable moment so everyone can see that even the higher-ups are willing to take responsibility for their screw-ups. Bloody hell. Anyway, the two team members who survived will receive full pension with benefits when they leave.”
“They’re leaving?” Colin frowned. “Do they want to or are they being asked to?”
“They want to. These poor buggers are badly hurt. It will take months of physio before they’re able to get around. I doubt they’ll ever pass another physical that would get them into the field.” Manny’s lips thinned. “They are also emotionally banged up. That might take years of therapy before they’re okay. If ever.”
“That’s rough.” Colin looked at Francine as he said this. He had been more concerned about me and Caelan than Fran?ois’ demise. He’d told me he hated how that situation had ended, but knew and accepted that none of us could have prevented the outcome. I agreed. I wished Francine looked at it the same way.
“Yes, those two are taking it hard.” Manny sighed. “I can’t remember the last time I was that bloody angry. I was going to get the big guy to go and beat up those idiots in charge.”
“Aw.” Vinnie tilted his head. “You know I would’ve done it for you, old man.”
The doorbell rang. Vinnie’s light-heartedness disappeared. He and Pink both got up, their hands going to the backs of their pants where their guns were hidden under their shirts. At the door, Vinnie looked through the peephole, then relaxed as he opened the door. “I hope you don’t mind, but we got started without you.”
“No problem.” Phillip came in, took off his winter coat and hung it on the hanger next to my coat.
Daniel followed him and smiled when he looked at the table. He walked towards us, his eyes on Eric. “How’s the little man doing?”
“He’s loving his mommy’s food.” Nikki got up and kissed Phillip on his cheek. Then she wrapped her arms around Daniel and gave him a long hug before pushing him towards the table.
“Good evening, everyone. My apologies for being late.” Phillip sat down in his usual place and looked at the dishes on the table. “I won’t be eating. We had dinner with Caelan.”
Daniel nodded. “I’m surprised that white food can be tasty and filling.”
“How’s he doing today?” I had visited Caelan the first two days after the explosion. Today, I’d needed to be away from his intensity.
“He’s struggling.” Phillip nodded when Vinnie held out a bottle of red wine. He took it and slowly poured it into his glass. Phillip was back to his usual composed self. He’d told me he had long ago accepted that Fran?ois would never live up to his potential. Phillip put the bottle down. “His legs are still hurting from the bruises.”
“The dude really did a number on himself.” Vinnie shook his head. “I saw his legs at the hospital. Scrawny little sticks, but he managed to beat the shit out of himself.”
“Vinster.” Francine opened her eyes wide and tilted her head towards Eric. “We want his first words to be ‘Mommy’ and ‘Francine is fabulous’.”
“Dream on, girl.” Roxy winked at Francine. “He’ll say ‘Roxy rocks’. Then he’ll say ‘Mommy’.”
Francine stared at her for a second, then both women burst out laughing. I sighed.
“We missed you, Rox.” Nikki handed Eric a slice of red pepper. “Don’t leave us again for so long.”
As Nikki said this, my eyes narrowed. I pointed at her face. “What was that?”
“What was what?” She looked up, then fell back in her chair. “Dammit. You saw that? Why did you see that?”
Manny jerked at the worried sound in Nikki’s voice. “What did she see? You’re not pregnant again, are you?”
“What?” Nikki’s shock was evident in the high pitch of the word. “No.”
“Oh, little punk.” Vinnie crossed his arms and shook his head. “What the... something have you done?”
Nikki laughed. “Something? Really?”
“Hey, I didn’t have enough time.” He lowered his chin and stared at her. “Whassup, little punk?”
She swallowed, then looked at Pink. My eyes narrowed even more. I was watching her inner conflict playing across her face. She inhaled deeply, pushed her shoulders back and lifted her chin. Then her shoulders dropped, her voice low. “I don’t know how to say this.”
Pink reached out and put his hand over hers. “Do you want me to do this?”
“You motherfucker.” Vinnie jumped up and shook his fist at Pink while staring at their hands. “What’s that? Huh? What’s that?”
“Oh, keep your panties on, big punk.” Nikki rolled her eyes. Then she turned her hand and interlaced her fingers with Pink’s. Her fingers tightened around his until her knuckles turned white.
I could no longer watch her discomfort. This was extremely difficult for me, but I knew how important it was for her. “Nikki.” I waited until she looked at me. “Ignore the posturing. Tell us about your flat and about Pink.”
“Huh? What?” She stared at me, everyone else forgotten. “How do you know?”
“Really?” I gave her a look that she had once said is my ‘are-you-really-that-dumb’ look. “Your nonverbal cues the last few months have been increasingly obvious.” I looked at Pink. “As have yours.”
Colin winked at Nikki. “So are you going to let us tell everything or would you two like to say something?”
“You were right.” Pink squeezed Nikki’s hand and blinked a few times. “This is much harder than I thought.”
“They see and know frigging everything.” Nikki inhaled slowly and cleared her throat. “I bought the flat downstairs. I signed the final sales agreement yesterday. Pink and I... well, we’ve kinda hit it off and he—”
“I care deeply for Nikki and Eric.” He looked at me. “I know you can see it.”
“I do.” And it reassured me. Even though it didn’t make this easier.
“Then you know that I’ll be okay to move into my new flat, because Pink will be with me.”
I stared at Nikki. “You will be okay because you are you. Being with Pink will enrich your life.”
Tears gathered in Nikki’s eyes.
“Now just wait a bloody minute.” Manny slapped his hand on the table. “Why are you moving?”
“Um, because I’m an adult? Because I want to build my own life.” She sniffed and looked at me. “Like Doc G did.”
“Well, I don’t know about this.” Manny rubbed his hand over his head. He jerked when Francine took his hand and held it against her heart.
“Well, I know about this.” She winked at Nikki. “Nix is fabulous because she’s a part of us. She’s smart and she’ll be just fine.”