Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Delicate ❯ The Power and the Glory (Part I) ( Chapter 11 )

Delicate

Chapter Eleven:

The Power and the Glory

(Part I)

 

By: Irish

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

Ryo took a moment to smooth his clothes; slightly rumpled from the two hour drive out to his aunts, sharpening the pleat in his khakis and making sure his short-sleeved polo was neatly tucked in. Following the path that went around the house, Ryo paused in front of a window to check his reflection before continuing around to the garden where the party was being held.

 

He was nervous; he hadn't been to one of these things in years. He didn't have time. Not to mention that his chosen profession was not approved of, or hadn't been. He supposed since he had made detective and was well on his way to having Rose's job it might be more acceptable. Rounding the corner he opened the wooden gate and slipped into the back garden, taking a moment to look around.

 

It was much as he remembered it, rose bushes and hardwood trees, all neatly pruned, and not by his uncle. He had often practiced karate out here on the lawn, but now it was cluttered with elegant tables and chairs and even more elegant and far more expensive people. It was six hundred dollar sundresses and Armani as far as the eye could see. Ryo saw a couple pairs of stiletto sandals that probably cost more then his rent.

 

“Randy!” His aunt exclaimed, blindsiding him as she embraced him lightly, kissing his cheeks.

 

“Uh, hey.” He smiled, returning the greeting, standing back when Elena held his biceps and set him away from her a little.

 

“Look at you! I hardly recognize you! You look good.” She said, even as she adjusted his clothing to a higher plain of perfection.

 

“Thank you. You don't looks so bad yourself, not a day over twenty.” He winked, letting her fuss over him.

 

“Always such flirt.” She laughed, putting a hand on his shoulder and guiding him over towards the main patio. In her heeled sandals she was nearly as tall as her nephew, and Ryo chose to stand up a little straighter, feeling like an awkward teenager again.

 

“Well, you know me.” He smiled with teeth he knew were perfectly even and white. It was like falling into another dimension. He was glad he had left Bikky with Dee. If he was uncomfortable, Bikky was sure to be. The kid couldn't go more then five words with out blurting an expletive.

 

“Here dear, you remember Mary, don't you?” Elena had guided him over to a woman who Ryo vague recognized, even in his startlement, he didn't remember moving and now here he was, on the deck in front of his date for the day. She was pretty in a classic way, her straight blonde hair falling down her back nearly to her waist, light wispy bangs covering her forehead, but neatly trimmed not to hide her sweet blue eyes. The scar on her left cheek was in the shape of the Nike `swoosh' but really, it wasn't too bad.

 

“Of course.” He smiled again, feeling like he had Vaseline on his teeth as he took her limply proffered hand, holding it carefully a moment before releasing it again. It was the modern version of the archaic custom of hand kissing.

 

“Randy!” Her face lit up with her smile as she recognized him. “I haven't seen you since, well um…” She trailed off awkwardly. She hadn't seen him since his parents' funeral.

 

“It's been years.” He agreed quickly, not letting any awkwardness linger. “How are you? You look wonderful.” Relinquished by his aunt, he placed a light hand in the small of Mary's back, guiding her gently over to a patch of shade, both of them fair skinned.

 

“Thank you. You do too, I guess being a cop keeps you in good condition.” She smoothed a nervous hand over her hip, smoothing any crease that might have been in her pastel sundress.

 

“Detective, actually.” He smiled again, turning to face her. “What about you, what have you been up to?”

 

“Well let's see, I graduated from Smith about five years ago.” She paused to laugh softly “I hope that doesn't date me too much.”

 

“Not at all.” Ryo smiled indulgently. Date herself? Christ she was twenty-seven at the oldest…

 

“Good. Since then I've been working as a counselor for Lutheran Social Services, mostly working with the adoption agency.”

 

“That must be rewarding work.” He felt like his teeth were starting to crack as he kept smiling and nodding, and lying. What was he doing here? He hadn't belonged in this world since his parents died. He had intentionally moved away from it, made the choices he had to get away from this pomp and circumstance. Yet here he was. He could already feel the eyes of other guests skimming over him and Mary, feel Mary sizing him up. He had known when he had accepted to be set up with this girl it had been practically a pre-engagement, but now standing and facing it down, he wanted to get in his car and break the speed limit all the way back to Manhattan.

 

“It is. I just love seeing all the adorable little babies, and the parents who are so happy to get them, its really very touching.” She smiled, demure. She had a quiet gentle voice that went with the pastel color of her whole personality. “But listen to me babble, tell me about what its like being a cop in the city.”

 

And the dance had begun; already negotiations were in the works. It was his turn to prove what a provider and protector he was. Dee would have said `time to whip it out and show it around'.

 

“Constant.” Ryo chuckled “Unrelenting. I love it thought. It feels good to know I'm the good guy, but it's emptying the ocean with a thimble.” In other words `I work long hours, but sometimes my name shows up in the paper' Not the exact truth, but none of this was about truth.

 

“That must make it hard to meet someone, I couldn't believe it when your aunt said you were available, I thought for sure you would have been snatched up by now.” Another quiet laugh. `Are you divorced?'

 

“Well, I've dated a little, but nothing that worked out. It just wasn't the right time, you know? But I'm finally settled in.” `Never been married, but I promise everything is intact and it works, you interested?'

 

“That's good to hear. You live in the city I suppose, have you ever thought about coming back out this way, getting away from all the crime and violence?” `How much money do you make, would you consider relocating to the suburbs?'

 

“I have an apartment, its not the ritz, but hey, its not like I need a lot of room. I really like being in the city though, I mean, I became a cop so I could stop all that violence and crime.” Ryo grinned, it felt false, but it must have looked real enough because she smiled back.

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

When he got back in his car again, well after dark, with Mary's phone number in his pocket, and her name penciled in on his calendar for next week, he sat for long moments in the quiet darkness. His ears rang in the silence, and he felt like someone had taken the top of his head off, and scooped everything out of him. Hollowed out. It had been like a day of hostage negotiations.

 

Ryo finally managed to turn the key in the ignition and get his Saturn into gear and pointed towards the interstate. After a few minutes he even managed to turn on the radio. Already he could see the next year in front of him, more blatant than the road. They would see each other once a week for a month or two, towards the end he might start with the good night kisses. After that things would get `serious', they would find erroneous reasons to see each other, he'd send her flowers, they would go to more `society functions' together. The making out and heavy petting would start somewhere in there. Ryo wasn't sure yet if it would lead to sex, or if it would have to wait until after they were married. Ryo didn't care either way, but he couldn't gage how Mary felt about premarital bliss. Regardless, there would be a lot more to the physical aspect. After six or eight months, he would be expected to propose, especially if they had been having sex.

 

It would be a `sudden' engagement; there would be a token protest by both families, even though Mary's mom would already be reserving the church and country club. The engagement would last quite a while though, at least another six months, a full year would be better. Another chance for her to decide if they were going to have sex, now that he had given his `down payment' in the form of diamonds and gold. Eventually there would be a wedding, the service would be small, tasteful and expensive, the reception huge. Wedding night sex, a honeymoon in a foreign country. Then the babies would come.

 

That made Ryo smile, and he tried to focus on that as he drove. It would be nice, he thought, to have girls. Lyn and Andrew's kids were so adorable. Twins, twin girls that would be perfect. And one boy, maybe older then the girls, the eldest son as it were. Maybe a dog or two, that would be nice.

 

Visions of babies and white picket fences dancing in his head, he was startled when his phone rang. He fumbled for it with one hand, trying to keep his eyes on the road. What was it with him and phones?

 

“McLean.” He answered a little curtly; there were only three people that called his cell, Bikky, Dee and Work. Considering the first two were in the same place, Ryo assumed it was the precinct.

 

“Dad?”

 

“Oh, Bikky, hi!” Ryo was sure his voice cracked,

 

“Um… hey. Should I call back later?” Bikky hesitated. Ryo could hear Dee in the background, only Dee could make that much noise in the kitchen.

 

“No, no sorry sport, I was just being an air head, you know how I am.” Ryo smiled a little, taking a deep breath.

 

“Yeah, not shit. How did your thing go today?”

 

“Thing? Oh, yeah that, it was good, pretty dull; you know all little sandwiches and noses in the air. You would have hated it, or gotten yourself in heaps of trouble. Bull in a china shop.” He chuckled, holding the phone against his shoulder as he returned both hands to the wheel.

 

“Man, how do you stand it? Dullsville.”

 

“Hey you always accuse me of being boring. What's up? Did you need something?” It wasn't often Bikky called him, and when he did it was because he needed money, permission, or rescuing.

 

“Not really. Dee and Cal and I had just been playing cards. Cal just went home, and Dee's doing dishes, I just thought I would say hi.”

 

Guilt twisted Ryo's stomach. He had been planning his perfect life, with his wife and kids; Bikky hadn't even entered into the equation. What the hell was wrong with him? The guilt was compounded knowing that that was the one thing Bikky was most insecure about, that he would lose his dad, again. Ryo knew that, went to lengths and pains to reassure Bikky that he was loved and wanted, and here he was writing him out of his life. What the fuck?

 

“Well hey there kiddo. What game did you play?”

 

“Egyptian Rat Screw.” Bikky said, then more muffled, as he held the phone away from his mouth, or so Ryo presumed “Shut the hell up Dee, you are so damn loud!”

 

Ryo smiled a little to himself, Dee did tend to be loud, often disappearing into his own little world when he was doing household chores, not paying attention to pots banging together, or cupboard doors slamming.

 

“What's Egyptian what now?” Ryo asked once he had Bikky's attention again.

 

“You know, Egyptian rat screw, its kinda like slap jack. Dee is such a pain in the ass. We had to make a new rule because his hand was always first down. He had to clap twice before he went for the cards.”

 

Dee was a fast draw; it didn't surprise Ryo that he was good at that kind of a game. He felt sort of a warm stone of nostalgia in his stomach and cleared his throat. The three of them used to play cards sometimes. Dee and Bikky used to make up new rules to games, or just make up games entirely, stringing Ryo along until he had properly embarrassed himself.

 

“Sounds fair enough. Its pretty late, are you ready for bed?”

 

“Yeah,” Bikky sighed, and Ryo could almost hear him roll his eyes. “I've brushed my teeth and everything too. Geez, you're bossy even when I'm not at home.”

 

“That's my job half pint. See you Monday?” Ryo suddenly missed Bikky like crazy. The idea of going home to an empty apartment made his heart ache.

 

“Duh,” Again Ryo could practically hear the boy roll his eyes. “I'll see you Monday. Get home safe.”

 

“I will. Go to bed. I love you.” Ryo blinked, his eyes burning.

 

“Yeah yeah, you too. Good night.” Bikky hung up and Ryo pressed the cancel button on his cell phone with a deep sigh, wiping his eyes.

 

“Damned allergies.” He muttered to himself, knowing that allergies had nothing to do with the heat and dampness in his eyes. He was a wreck. He knew he should drive over to Dee's, get down on his knees and beg Dee to take him back. That would fix what was wrong with his eyes… and the rest of his life. But then he imagined bringing Dee to his aunts for Christmas, of having guys on the force, out side the department, finding out. No… he was just infatuated with Dee, that was all. Mary was the horse to bet on.