Page 19 of I Do, or Dye Trying
“Yes, he is,” I told them. “Dorchester and I have the most knowledge about this case, so it only makes sense for us to split up to work with the newest members of the team. Switching partners keeps things interesting.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Dorchester said with a sarcastic sneer. “Some of us don’t get propositioned with such things.”
“Huh?” Whitworth asked.
“Long story,” I told my newest temporary partner, slapping him on the shoulder on our way out of the conference room. “Say, did you know that Dorchester used to date Prosecutor Buxton?” I made sure to say it loud enough for Dorchester to hear.
“Gabe,” he said in a warning tone, but I didn’t stop to acknowledge him.
“Really?” Whitworth asked.
“Yep. You should’ve seen Dorchester blushing at our meeting this morning,” I added.
“Blush? Dorchester doesn’t blush,” Whitworth remarked.
“Oh, but he does.”
By that time, I was far enough away from Dorchester that I couldn’t quite make out what he was saying, but Adrian’s laughter over the situation rang loudly down the hall. The four of us working together sounded like a bad idea at first, but I realized it might actually be an enjoyable experience.
“Can I play the bad cop today?” Whitworth asked.
“Sure, what the hell,” I responded. New day, new team, so why not try to be the good cop for once.
MERE,CHAZ, ANDI spent hours chatting and gossiping like we hadn’t done in ages and it felt amazing. The hard truth was that our lives were changing and evolving; finding time for just the three amigos had become difficult, which meant we had to enjoy it while we could. I told them all about my vacation because there hadn’t been much of an opportunity during the Sunday barbecue. Our primary focus had been on eating then later it was all about winning cornhole. Meredith gave us an update on how things were going with Harley. I could tell my best girl was as in love with her man as I was with mine and it made my heart soar. Chaz talked about his writing a lot, such as what his process was like and where he found inspiration. I was fascinated that he could just sit down and create a fictional world from his imagination. I was happy for him and excited that he’d found his passion.
I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner when Gabe called me. “Come to the hospital! Right now!”
“What? Why? Are you hurt?” It seemed like a rational question to ask at the time, but once my heart stopped racing, I realized that he couldn’t be injured too seriously if he was the one dialing me.
“Sally Ann’s water broke! Adrian’s a hot-fucking-mess right now. We’re having a baby!” Gabe said excitedly like we were the ones bringing baby Adrianna home. It hit me right in the feels, and I realized what an amazing dad he was going to make someday. First, we were going to be the best damn uncles to a precious little girl.
“I’m on my way!”
I checked to make sure the pets were good on food and water before I hopped in Princess and zoomed towards the hospital. I might’ve done some rolling stops at intersections and drove a little over the speed limit in my haste to get there, which resulted in me getting pulled over. The incident occurred outside of town on a county road about the midpoint between my home and the hospital.
I knew the sheriff’s deputy busted me when I zoomed by the church parking lot where he sat running a radar gun. Sure enough, he pulled onto the road behind me and flipped on his lights. “Fuck!” I pulled over and sat with my hands on the steering wheel as my mother had taught me.
“Never reach for anything because they don’t know if you’re going for your insurance card or a gun. Flip on your interior lights if it’s dark out, roll down your window, and wait until the officer approaches your car and can see what you’re doing before you move again.”My mom never missed an episode of20/20,60 Minutes, orDateline.My favorite was her advice on what to do if someone tried to pull me into a car. “If they point a gun at you, run in a zig-zag pattern to make it harder for them to shoot you. Even if they do shoot you, it would be better than getting in the car and having them do God knows what to you.”I hoped like hell that advice never came in handy.
“License and registration, please,” the deputy said when he approached my car. “Where are you headed to so fast, Mr. Roman?” he asked once I handed the items to him.
“I’m sorry I was driving so fast, Deputy. My friend is in the hospital having a baby, and I want to be with her,” I told him.
“How happy would your friend be if you ended up in the morgue because of your carelessness, or worse, what if you hurt someone else with your selfishness?” he demanded hotly.
Stay calm, Josh. Stay calm.“Deputy, I accept full responsibility for driving twelve miles over the speed limit, but I’d hardly classify it as careless or selfish. I wasn’t driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Now, can you please write my ticket so I can get back on my way to the hospital?”
“I don’t think I like your attitude,” he said snidely before he walked away.
“Yeah, you’re not the first, and I promise that you won’t be the last,” I said to myself. “I know I don’t like yours.”
He was back with my driver’s license and insurance card faster than I expected. I noticed he didn’t include a ticket or a written warning when he handed them back to me. “I’m sorry about that, Mr. Roman. You’re free to go now. Slow it down; okay?”
“Wait a minute,” I said when he started to walk away. “You were all gloom and doom five minutes ago with your morgue talk. Where’s your fire and brimstone now?” I asked although I suspected I knew the answer. Did Gabe have some alert placed on my license so I wouldn’t get a ticket?
“I didn’t realize that you were…”
“Oh no,” I said, stopping him before he could continue. “I did the crime; now I’ll pay the fine. I want the ticket, Deputy.”