Love Nip (15 page)

“Dammit
, Axle! Why didn’t you stop me?” I smacked his arm as I climbed off his desk.

He laughed.
“Cause it’s so much more fun to watch you try to be the big bad detective with the scoop.”

I walked back
to my desk in defeat. After opening the brown folder I went through every bit of information I had. Each member had their own file, which stated everything from their occupation to their favorite color. If they were a vampire it would surely say it in their file. The only one that even remotely had a past, besides Dee-Dee, was Richie. He tried to rob a
Piggly Wiggly
in the eighth grade. An old lady grabbed his gun and smacked him with her purse. He got off with a hundred and twenty hours of community service and a forever broken manhood. I gave up later that afternoon and decided to call it a day. I grabbed my purse and logged off the computer. I waved to Gavin and began to search for my keys. I looked up to see Robert at the door waiting for me.

“May I walk you to your car?”
he asked, seeming uneasy about something.

“
I guess,” I replied slowly as I wondered what he was up to.

We began to walk toward the elevator in silence. As
the doors closed he pressed the button marked lobby and turned to face me.

“I wa
nted to see if you would like to have dinner Thursday night,” he requested.

I smiled
. “Sure, Robert. Where are we going?”

“Well
, that’s the thing. I want you to meet someone.” He blushed.

I laughed
at his embarrassment, “Robert, are you finally introducing your girlfriend to your kid?”

“Oh no, nothing like that
.”

“Then who is it?”

“My mother.”

After hearing the news that I would finally meet my grandmother for the first time I did what any normal girl would do … I went shopping. There wasn’t a single outfit in my closet that I could imagine wearing to meet her. After hours of shopping I decided on a simple blue floral dress and some cute cowboy boots. It screamed ‘I’m an innocent country girl, but I have issues’. I threw my bags on the bed and took a shower. After I was dressed I heard a knock. I prayed the entire walk to the door that it was Axle. I looked out and saw Dee-Dee smiling at me.

“Well howd
y.” I opened the door and let her come in.

“How’s life treating you?”
she greeted me.

“Like a red
-headed step child,” I joked.

“Hmm, interesting
word choice.” She chuckled.

“What can I do you for?” I asked as I
walked into the kitchen to get a drink. I opened the fridge and realized I was out of beer so I settled on two Cokes.

“I just wanted
to see how the investigation is going, I haven’t seen you or the hottie around lately.” She tried to play it off as simple conversation but I saw right through it.

I t
ook a sip of my Coke and handed her the second bottle. She wore black leggings and a blue jean mini skirt. Her black vest was wrapped over a red t-shirt and her chucks matched. “You know I can’t tell you anything, right?”

“Oh yeah I was just wondering if there was any leads
, that’s all.” She smiled sweetly. No matter how much I wanted to be skeptical about the girl I couldn’t help but like her.

“Nope, nothing new
.” I should have asked Robert if it was okay to tell people what we learned, but since I didn’t know I felt it would be safer to keep quiet.

“Okeydokey,
well …” She nodded as she looked for something else to talk about. “Oh, my boyfriend’s band is playing on Thursday night at The Nuclear Bar, I was wondering if you would like to go.”

“Yeah, that sounds great. C
an I bring some friends and make it a girls’ night out?” I asked suddenly excited. Kimmy was the only girl friend I had ever had. Being able to go out with a group of girls sounded like a dream come true and I really wanted to get to know Riley some more.

“The more the merrier,”
she replied.

“So how is your photography class going?” I asked.

“It was a bust, I’m not so good with a camera. Turns out there’s more than just point and shoot.”

“Oh
, sorry to hear that. Did you have a new hobby in mind?” I finished my soda and walked over to recycle the bottle.

“Not really, I was thinking about singing. The equipment they have nowadays you don’t really have to be a good singer to sing. They can make your voice sound good, you just have to stand up on stage and look pretty
.” She flashed me a brilliant smile as if she was practicing.

“
Good luck with that.” I chuckled. “Can I get your opinion on something?” I asked, picking up my shopping bag.

“Sure,”
she stated.

“Well, it’s a
long story but I’m meeting my grandmother for the first time Thursday. I picked an outfit, but I’m not sure if it’s all right for the occasion,” I said, taking the dress out of the bag.

“Yo
u have to try it on! This is huge,” she exclaimed, shoving me to the room.

I laughed and shut the door behind
me. After I got the dress and boots on I took a look in the mirror. I couldn’t decide if I should leave my hair down or put it up. I pulled it into a messy bun and secured it with a rubber band. I walked out to show Dee-Dee.

“Wow, you look good,” she stated.

“You don’t think the dress is too short? It feels too short,” I asked, playing with the hem as I attempted to pull it down.

“It
’s cute. You look like a fashionable country girl,” she offered, looking me over.

“Thanks, so hair up or down?” I asked.

She cocked her head to the side and made a duck face as she thought it over. “Up, definitely. Well, maybe down.”

“Wow thank
you for your excellent insight,” I answered sarcastically.

*
**
*

The work
week went by slower than ever. We decided to sit on the information we received and wait to see what happened next. I was upset when I found out we were waiting, every moment we waited was that much closer to finding Maggie dead. Axle still wasn’t talking to me and I didn’t blame him. I couldn’t even bring myself to start a conversation. He found things to do and was out of office most of the week.

Thursday after work I shot out of the building and broke every law to get home quickly. Robert was picking me up at six
, which gave me plenty of time to get ready, but my nerves caused me to feel rushed. After taking a long shower I threw some gel in my hair and let it curl naturally. I rarely wore my hair curly because I hated the way it looked, but I figured my grandmother would probably like it. I slipped into my dress and put on the boots. Since the dress was dark blue I traced dark blue eyeliner on my lids and colored the rest brown and blue. I smeared some lip gloss over my naturally reddened lips. After teasing my hair with the dryer I braided a few strands back. My feet began to ache, so I searched for socks to put on but I’ve never been one to keep things in order. My sock drawer had multiple single socks askew. I finally gave up and tossed on a matching pair of hot pink socks to keep from getting blisters. I looked in the mirror to make sure the socks were hidden. My life isn’t the least bit glamorous, but I love fashion. The outfit, the makeup, the hair, it all came together to form a new side of myself. I couldn’t help but feel a little proud of my appearance.

A knock on the door pulled me away from the mirror. I opened the door to find Robert standing in the hall. He wore jeans and a green polo shirt. His
hair was gelled and made him look years younger.

“Emily, you look great. Are you ready to go?”
he greeted me.

The butterflies began fluttering in my stomach. I was minutes away from meeting my grandmother. A moment I dreamed of most of my life. Words had escaped my train of thought so I nodded in reply.
Grabbing my purse, I locked up. We took the highway to the outskirts of the city. After making a few lefts and rights we pulled into a driveway. Before me was a tiny brick house; the blue shutters matched the assortment of flowers in the front garden. We hopped out and walked to the door. Robert didn’t even bother knocking, he just walked right in.

“Mom?”
he called out.

I thought I would pass out from
the nerves. I clutched my purse for comfort.

A woman popped into view down a short hallway. She looked the same age as my mother. Her curly blond
e hair swayed in a bob over her shoulders. She wore blue jeans and a beautiful purple shirt. My grandmother wasn’t what I had expected at all.

“Oh
my,” she breathed in awe as our eyes met.

“Mom, this is Emily,” Robert introduced
proudly.

She stepped close to me, her eyes never leaving mine
. “Emily.” Her eyes glistened in the light.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I told her. As much as I wished I had met her sooner at that moment I didn’t care. I had her in my life now.

“You can’t know how long I’ve waited for this day,” she whispered. Her voice quivered as she spoke.

“I guess twenty
-three years,” I joked. She was such a beautiful woman.

“You definitely
got my humor.” She winked and giggled. “Please come in, let’s eat.”

I wasn’t sure what to call my grandmother and I had forgotten to ask Robert for her name. She took us into the dining room and went back to the kitchen to get the food.

“Robert, what do I call her?” I whispered.

He chuckled
. “I suppose you could call her grandmother if you wanted.”

I glared at him
. “This is serious. I don’t know what to call her.”

He grinned
. “Hey, Mom, what do you want Emily to call you?”

She popped
her head into the room and smiled at me. “You can call me Grandmother.”

Sounded a bit old fashion to me, but I didn’t care. My grandmother began to bring dishes into the dining room. I followed her back into the
kitchen to help. After a few trips back and forth we finally sat down to eat.

“Mom
, you really didn’t have to cook so much,” Robert stated.

“Th
is looks like Christmas dinner,” I exclaimed as I filled my plate.

Pride lit up her face
. “I’m glad you approve.”

After we ate enough food to feed a small army
, we cleared the table. My grandmother began washing dishes, I dried, and Robert put them away.

“So, Emily, how is life?” she asked.

I dried a plate and handed it to Robert. “It’s fine, I’m working with Robert now.

Her expression said she didn’t like my answer
. “Do you have a special man in your life?”

I blushed
. “I wouldn’t say that.”

“Emily is dating Axle,” Robert offered.

The mention of Axle’s name made me sad. “We’re not dating, exactly.”

“Oh that’s disappointing,” Grandmother said.

“Why’s that?” I asked.

“I thought Axle was saving himself for me
.” She frowned.

I snickered, “
Well he’s not taken so you still have a shot.”

“I
f you guys aren’t dating, then what do you call it?” Robert asked, taking a bowl away from me. Apparently I wasn’t paying attention to my drying duties.

“We are discussing
things,” I tried to explain. I didn’t want to tell her that we were taking a break because then it would have opened a new box of drama I wasn’t ready to get into.

“Honey, the only thing you should be discussing with that man is which position to
—”

“
Mom
!” Robert interrupted.

“What? All I’m saying is that is one fine man and you can’t let something that sexy slip away. You need to claim your property before someone else does
. Like me.” She smiled sweetly nudging my arm.