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TALES OF ‘THE HOUSE’- EPISODE 2:
ERIKA AND JOE
Janet Rivenbark
If anyone is interested in reading Tales of The
House-Episode 1, it can be found in the 2022 Onzine TOGETHER FOREVER VOL. VI:
WHEN YOU WHISPERED MY NAME. It’s online at https://www.treasurechambers.com/Onzines/Onzines.html#2022
PROLOGUE:
Catherine was getting
off the elevator in the lobby Thursday morning and heard the doorbell ringing.
It couldn’t be Erika or Rita; they both had keys. Besides, the office didn’t
open until 9 a.m., and the first appointments weren’t until 10 a.m. It was only
7:45.
She was surprised to
see Joe with a huge bouquet of spring flowers as she walked to the front door.
“Happy first day in
business,” he said as she opened the door. He handed her the flowers.
“Thank you, Joe!” She
reached out and gave him a one-armed hug. “They’re beautiful.” She headed back
to the elevator. “Come on upstairs. I need to find a vase for these.”
Joe left his coat on
one of the hooks inside the door and followed her to the elevator, which was
barely big enough for two. The big bouquet made it a tight fit.
“How are things at
work?” she asked as they moved upward.
“Same stuff,
different day,” he told her with a grin. “We miss you.”
“You mean you miss
the unattached single woman willing to put in all those extra hours.”
Joe feigned a hurt
look as he followed her into the kitchen on the fourth floor. “I miss your
sunny disposition,” he grumped.
They joked as
Catherine found a vase, filled it with water, and put the flowers in it. They
were getting out of the elevator in the lobby when Rita let herself in the
front door.
“And you stole one of
our other valuable employees,” he retorted, hugging Rita.
“Better hours and
working conditions,” said Rita, gesturing at their surroundings. “Not to
mention better pay and benefits. Can you blame me?”
“Guess not,” Joe
conceded with a grin.
There was a large
round table in the middle of the lobby, and Catherine put the vase of flowers
on it.
“Perfect!” she
announced. “Now we can all enjoy them.”
She led him back to
her office, stopping in the kitchenette for coffee.
She handed a cup to
Joe, who took a sip and smiled.
“Real coffee,” he
commented. “Not sludge. Now I know why you and Rita left.”
“And it’s ready when
we get here,” she pointed out. “All I have to do is set up the pot before I
leave in the evening. The timer does the rest.”
They spent some time
in Catherine’s office, catching up. One of Joe’s sisters was pregnant, and his
mom was ecstatic to be a grandmother finally. Joe sounded like he was looking
forward to being ‘Uncle Joe.’
Joe was getting ready
to leave when they heard voices in the lobby. The next thing they knew, Erika
stepped into the office.
Both she and Joe were
surprised.
“You’re here early,”
said Catherine, glancing at the clock. “It’s not even nine; your first
appointment isn’t until ten.”
“Ah, yeah, but I’m
still getting used to that computer, and I want to make sure that I’ve got it
up and running and I have a chance to look over the information Rita got from
the client.” She turned and nodded at Joe. “Hi, Joe. How have you been?”
“Good,” he said in a
flat voice.
“I’d better get to my
desk,” Erika said and rushed out.
“I wondered if you
hired her,” he said. “You never said.”
“She’s really
motivated, Joe,” Catherine said in a low tone as they crossed the lobby.
“You think you can
trust her?” he asked, surprising her.
“Of course, I can.
She just made some bad decisions, Joe. I’m sure we’ve all been there and done
that. Seduced by the glamor of a cushy job, a big paycheck, and promises of
more and greater things in the future. You must admit you were tempted when she
hinted that Proctor & Brannigan were interested in hiring you.”
“I get it… I guess,”
Joe said. “But you weren’t the one she used to achieve her goals.”
“I know she’s a
beautiful woman, and you were captivated, but maybe you were using her just a
little bit too? Especially when she said that her boss had been following your
career.”
Joe frowned. “Not the
time or the place for this discussion,” he declared as he grabbed his coat and
turned for the door. He reached out and pulled her into a hug. “But I’ll admit
you’ve given me something to think about.”
She watched as he
walked out into the blustery March day.
🌇
“I was surprised to see Joe here this morning,” Erika said later when she
met Catherine at the coffee pot.
“Me too,” she said. “But Joe can be surprisingly thoughtful.”
“Yeah, he can. Did he bring the flowers?” Erika leaned on the counter.
“Yes. They are the perfect thing to liven up the lobby,” she answered as
she poured some coffee.
“You and Joe ‘an item’?” Erika asked.
Catherine looked at her for a moment before answering. “You really are
fond of him, aren’t you?”
“More than fond,” was all Erika said.
“Well, if it makes you feel better. Joe and I are not ‘an item.’ I love
him like a brother, and he’s one of my best friends, but my heart is with
someone else.”
“It’s not like I have any kind of a chance,” Erika pointed out as she
followed Catherine into her office.
“I wouldn’t write him off completely. Joe trusted you, and you betrayed
that trust. He doesn’t trust all that easily. Give him time to recover; you
never know what might happen. I imagine you’ll see him around here now and
then, and one of us might have reason to go to the DA's office occasionally.”
She shrugged and smiled as the intercom buzzed.
“Erika’s client is here,” Rita announced.
“She’ll be right out,” Catherine answered.
Erika left, looking like Catherine had given her as much to think about
as she had Joe.
🌇
It was over a week later when Rita walked into Catherine’s office with a
frown on her face. Catherine and Erika were going over some paperwork from a
client’s file.
“We have a problem,” she stated. She looked at Erika, but she handed
Catherine a file.
“What is it?” asked Erika.
“Your client, Ann Roth, has been arrested,” Rita told her.
“What? Why?” asked Erika.
“Looks like the charge is ‘attempted murder.’ It appears she hit her
husband with a rolling pin,” Catherine said as she flipped through the papers
in the file.
“No more than he deserved,” commented Erika. “But she had a restraining
order. How is it that he was close enough for her to hit him with a rolling
pin?”
Catherine handed Erika the file. “She came home from work and found him in
the apartment.”
Erika looked through the file. “I told her to have all the locks changed,”
said Erika with a shake of her head. “It says here that she hit him in the back
of the head and fractured his skull. He’s in the hospital.”
She shuffled the papers back into the file and stood.
“I’ll head downtown and talk to Ann; find out what happened,” she said.
“Let me know,” Catherine called after her. They’d all met Ann Roth and
had liked the woman and her three girls. “And find out where her daughters
are.”
🌇
Two hours later, Erika stopped at a pay phone and called the office.
“Cathy is with a client,” Rita told her. “What did you find out?”
“Long story,” Erika told her. “But tell Cathy the girls are with Ann’s
sister, so they are OK. They weren’t home when it happened. They were at
school.”
“That’s good to know. You coming back to the office?”
“Not yet. I’m going to the DA's office and talk to whoever will handle
this.”
The DA's office wasn’t far, so Erika braved the cold wind and walked. She
felt the need to fortify herself in case she should run into Joe.
It was a good thing she did because when she asked at the reception desk
if the ADA handling the Roth case was free, she was shown to Joe’s office.
“You’re handling this?” Erika asked, surprised that the DA, even the
interim DA, would take individual cases.
“I saw in the file who her law firm was,” he told her, waving her to a
seat in front of his desk.
“I’m handling her divorce and custody case. I’m not sure if we will
continue if there is a criminal trial. She might need a criminal lawyer.”
Joe got up and went to close his office door.
“I doubt there is anyone more qualified than Cathy to handle it if it
comes to that,” he told her as he returned to his desk. “There has been a new
development.”
“What, he didn’t die, did he?” Erika went pale at the thought. Something
Joe didn’t fail to notice.
“No, nothing like that,” he assured her. “I just had an update from the
hospital. He’s fine. It was only a minor concussion, not a fractured skull, as
originally thought. However, before he left the hospital, one of New York’s
finest went over to get his statement and find out if he wanted to press
charges. Roth told him that if his wife would get rid of the restraining order
and take him back, he’d drop the charges.”
“Why that sorry…” Erika began.
“Temper, temper, Miss Salven,” Joe said with a slight smile.
“It’s almost as if he wanted something like this to happen so he could
blackmail her,” she retorted.
“My thoughts, exactly,” Joe assured her. “You need to let your client
know that she shouldn’t even consider it if anyone approaches her with it.
Considering the restraining order, the fact that he was in the apartment when
she came home, and the police records of all the times they’ve been called to
the apartment to find Mrs. Roth in need of medical care, he doesn’t have a
snowball’s chance in hell of making any charges stick. She’s going to have to
go before a magistrate.” He glanced at his watch. “Probably within the hour,
but I’ve already recommended that she be released without bail. I’ve talked to
his lawyer, and I think I’ve convinced him to get his client to drop the
charges.”
“Thanks, Joe,” she smiled at him as she stood. “I should probably get
back there so I can take her home and talk to her.”
It was almost 5:00 by the time Erika got back to the office.
“… and that is how it all worked out,” she said as she finished telling
Catherine what had happened. “I guess it really does pay to know someone in the
District Attorney’s office.”
“It’s good to know they will be OK,” Catherine said. “Did the girls go
home?”
“No. It’s Friday, and Ann’s sister used the excuse that they were going
to have a sleepover with her girls, so they are staying for tonight. Ann called
in sick for tonight’s shift; it will allow her to relax and regroup.” She got
up to leave, then turned back. “Oh, and I got a locksmith over, and he rekeyed
the locks on the apartment door. Ann, her sister, and the building manager are
the only people with keys. I paid for it.”
“Does the manager understand that he’s not to let her husband into the
apartment if he should ask?” asked Catherine.
“Yes. I made that abundantly clear,” said Erika.
“And Erika, take what you paid the locksmith out of petty cash,”
Catherine called after her as she left the office.
Catherine leaned back in her chair and sighed.
TGIF! she thought. It had been a busy week, and she looked forward to a quiet
evening with Vincent.
Erika went to her office, gathered her briefcase, and was passing Rita’s
vacant desk when the phone began ringing. She glanced at the clock. It wasn’t
quite 5:00 yet, so she picked up the phone and answered.
“Chandler Law,” she said. “Erika Salven. May I help you?”
“Just the person I wanted to talk to,” said a familiar voice.
“You want to talk to me, Joe?” she asked, puzzled.
“Yeah. I was just wondering. I remember you telling me that you like jazz
and I heard that there will be some jazz musicians at a little place I know
tomorrow night. Would you be interested?” he asked.
“With you?” she asked.
“Yes, with me,” he answered.
“Are you asking me on a date, Mr. Maxwell?” she asked, surprise creeping
into her voice.
“You might want to call it that. Or we could call it ‘two people sharing
a common interest.' Would you like to go?”
“I think I would,” she said, smiling.
“I’ll pick you up at 7:00 tomorrow evening?” he asked.
“How about I meet you there,” she suggested, “about 7:30? Just tell me
where.”
“Done. It’s a new place across the street from Katz’s Deli. Do you know
where that is?”
“Everyone knows where Katz’s Deli is,” she told him. “I’ve been there a
few times.”
When she hung up, she stood in stunned silence for a moment. Catherine
saw her when she came out of her office.
“Everything OK, Erika?” she asked.
“Yeah… fine… that was Joe. He asked me on a date.”
Catherine broke into a grin. “See, I told you. You just have to let him
work it out for himself.”
🌇
The next day seemed to pass very slowly for Erika. She did her usual
Saturday chores: shopping, laundry, and cleaning, but when she finished, it was
still only 4:00. If she’d been in her old place, she could have taken a long,
leisurely bath, but this apartment only had a shower, and she was lucky if the
water was more than just tepid when she showered… which she did.
Good God! she thought as she tried to decide between two
outfits. I’m as bad as a 16-year-old girl getting ready for the school
dance. She finally tossed a pair of tailored dress pants onto the bed and
went in search of a sweater. She settled on a teal turtleneck that she knew
would go well with her hair and eyes. After all, he did say ‘two people
sharing a common interest,’ her more practical side pointed out, but then
her positive side took over and pointed out that at least it was a step in the
right direction and showed that Joe was willing to try.
When Erika exited the cab in front of the club, Joe was waiting. There
was a short line, but they were inside at a table in a short time.
The waitress arrived. Joe ordered a beer, and Erika ordered a glass of
wine.
They were waiting for the show to start, so it was relatively quiet, and
they could talk.
“Did you get things straightened out with your client?” Joe asked.
“I think so. As you probably know, the restraining order is still in
effect. I told her not to take the deal if it was offered. And we had the locks
changed. He’s not going to get in again. She said that she will have to talk to
her girls and make sure that they know not to let him in or go anywhere with
him.”
“It’s always hard to make the kids understand,” he commented.
“Yeah. They love their dad. They’ve never seen his rages; they’ve seen
the aftermath, but Ann has always passed the injuries off as her own
clumsiness. They don’t know what he's capable of. He’s always been good to
them.”
“How old are they?” Joe asked.
“Ten, eight, and six,” she told him as someone introduced the musicians.
An hour and a half later, they were back on the sidewalk. And Joe
suggested they head across the street to Katz’s and get something to eat.
The crowd wasn’t too bad, and they gave their orders at the counter.
“Why don’t you go find us a table,” Joe suggested. “I’ll find you when
the order is up.”
Erika found seats near the back along the wall, and Joe joined her a few
minutes later.
He set the tray on a vacant table next to them and put their food on
their table.
“Switched to beer, I see,” he said as he took off his coat and sat beside
her.
“This,” she said, pointing at the pastrami on rye and fries, “goes down
so much better with beer.”
“I have to agree,” he said.
They were both quiet for a while as they ate.
“Is this an awkward silence?” Erika finally asked.
Joe shook his head, finished chewing, and swallowed.
“No, I think I would call it a hungry silence,” he told her. “I haven’t
eaten since lunch.”
She nodded in agreement. “Neither have I.” She didn’t add that she’d
skipped lunch because she was too nervous. “It’s a wonder those drinks didn’t
go straight to my head.”
After that, the conversation was light. Joe mentioned his impending
unclehood, and Erika congratulated him.
“You are going to be one of those uncles, aren’t you?” she added.
“What do you mean, ‘one of those uncles’?” he asked.
“The one who spoils all his nieces and nephews.”
“Isn’t that what uncles are supposed to do? I have an uncle Vito,
actually, he’s a great uncle. He’s my mom’s youngest uncle, and they are the
same age; he always took me to baseball games. I was convinced that only uncles
could take kids to sporting events. Imagine my surprise when I learned that my
friend Brian’s dad took him to games.”
“Wasn’t your dad a baseball fan?” Erika asked.
“My dad was a cop, always working. He was killed when I was fourteen.”
Joe took a bite of his sandwich.
“I’m sorry, Joe. I didn’t know.” She knew she’d touched on a sore
subject.
“Not many do. He was a cop in the South Bronx, 52nd Precinct, near
our home. He usually walked to and from work. He was getting off work after
working the 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. shift, and two guys jumped him. He was only a
block from home. They took his gun and his watch… and slit his throat… and left
him to bleed to death on the sidewalk. They were juveniles, only fourteen years
old, so nobody went to trial.”
“Oh my God, Joe. They were the same age as you,” she
exclaimed.
“Yeah, and I was a total innocent compared to them. Since
they were juveniles, their names were never released in the press, but word got
out in the neighborhood. Everyone knew who they were. And it was probably good that
they were in juvenile detention until they turned 18."
"You would have gone after them?” she asked.
“Yeah, and I would probably be buried right next to my dad.
They weren’t just kids playing around. They were gang members, and Dad likely
wasn’t their first murder, just the one they got caught for. I had to take
myself off a case a few years ago because one of them was the perp. But, I’m
happy to say that it was his third strike, and they sent him up for life.”
“And the other one?” she asked.
“Dead. Killed in a gang fight about six years ago.”
They were both quiet as they finished their sandwiches.
“I should have gotten a piece of cheesecake for us to split,”
Joe said after he swallowed his last bite.
“No! Oh, please don’t say cheesecake. I love it, but I think
I will burst just thinking about it. You are going to have to roll me out to
the cab. I don’t think I can move.”
They were both laughing as they walked outside a little
while later.
“I don’t know where you live; Cathy did mention you’d
moved,” Joe said. “Will we be able to share a cab?”
“Actually, I live not far from you,” she told him. “So
sharing would be nice.”
They were settled in the cab and had given their addresses
before Joe spoke again.
“I could have picked you up at your place,” he pointed out.
“I know, but I wanted to leave us both an out if things got
too awkward,” she told him.
“So, how do you think it went?” he asked with a mischievous
grin.
“How do you think it went?” she countered.
“I think it went pretty well… got a little too serious there
for a few minutes, but all in all, I think it was… well.. pretty damn good!”
“Me too,” she agreed.
“So, next time, you’ll let me pick you up at your place?” he
asked.
“There’s going to be a next time?” she threw back at him.
“How come you keep answering my questions with more
questions? And, yeah, there will be a next time… that is, if you want it,” he
quickly added.
“I’d like that, Joe. Call me.” She handed him one of her
business cards. “My home number is on the back.”
The cab pulled up to the curb.
“This is the lady’s stop,” the cabbie told them. When she
reached into her purse for the fare, Joe waved her off.
She got out, stood on the curb, and watched the cab drive
off before going to her apartment.
🌇
“So, how did it go?” asked Catherine when she saw Erika on
Monday morning.
“I think it went very well,” Erika said with a grin.
“You have a second date?”
“Not yet, but I gave him my home number and told him to call
me when he suggested it.”
“I told you that he just needed time,” Catherine told her
with a smile.
She’d seen Joe through several crushes in the time
she’d known him: Gina from California, Cassie, a lawyer in the Public
Defender’s office, and even a new neighbor, but none seemed to be quite what
there had been with Erika. After that breakup, she’d felt the same way Joe had:
Erika had just used him to benefit her law firm and her career. But since she’d
gotten to know Erika, she’d rethought that conclusion. She was sure now that
Erika really did like Joe. She wouldn’t go so far as to say ‘love,’ but a spark
was there.
🌇
The roof quickly became one of Catherine and Vincent’s favorite places,
even when it was chilly.
The all-season room behind the stairs was a great place to hang out when
it was rainy or extremely cold. The large roof garden on the front was lovely,
but it was the small terrace on the back, behind the all-season room, that
seemed to become their private world, much like the terrace at Catherine’s old
place had been. It was about the same size, and she’d put all the furniture
from the old balcony there. It wasn’t as high up, only the sixth floor and
maybe 70 feet above the ground, but it overlooked the backyard and was quiet
and private.
They were sitting on that small balcony the following Friday evening, and
Catherine was telling Vincent all about her week.
“So things have been going well?” he asked.
“Better than I thought they would this early. The District Attorney’s
Office has been referring clients to us. We’ve set up a sliding fee scale and
only charge what our clients can afford, and we don’t charge some of them
anything.”
“How do you manage that?”
“Well, we are applying for non-profit status, and once we are granted
that, I will start asking for donations. I want to be able to add a couple more
attornies to the staff.”
“You aren’t going to hire any more away from the DA’s office, are you?”
Vincent asked with a grin.
“No.” Catherine chuckled. “Joe would never forgive me, and I think I’d
like to keep an all-female staff just to make our clients more comfortable.
Most of the attornies with the DA are men. But I do know of a couple of women at
Chandler and Coolidge.”
“I’m sure Mr. Maxwell will be grateful… Have you seen him lately?”
“Not since he was here on our first day. He stopped by to wish us luck.
But Erika has seen him a couple of times since then. Once in an official
capacity and once personal.”
“She’s seeing him?”
“I don’t know yet, but she’s been out with him once, and she said he’d
suggested they get together again. She gave him her number.”
“I’m surprised that he could forgive her so easily.”
“I don’t think it was easy, but I think there was a spark there,
something more than his usual flings and crushes. It has been over two years.
He’s had a lot of time to think about it. Although, he didn’t sound all that
forgiving when we talked the last time I saw him.”
“But, she was cleared of all the charges,” he pointed out.
“Yes, and it was the DA that cleared her. And even the BAR Association
didn’t pursue anything. She never lost her license to practice law.”
🌇
Erika had just finished her weekly Saturday chores and was heading out to
the market when her phone rang. She considered letting the answering machine
pick it up but decided against it.
“Hello?” she said after picking up the handset.
“Erika! It’s Joe. Sorry I didn’t call earlier in the week, but it’s been
crazy at the office. How have you been?”
“Hi, Joe. I’m good. We’ve been busy too,” she was happy to hear his voice;
she’d begun to wonder if he’d felt he’d made a mistake.
“I was just wondering. A friend just called. He has tickets to the
theater, and he can’t make it tonight. He offered them to me. I know it’s short
notice, but would you like to go?” he asked.
“I’d love to,” she said without thinking. “I haven’t been to a show in
ages.”
“Great! I’m at the office right now, so I will have to run. Curtain is at
8:00. I’ll pick you up at 6:30?”
“Sounds good,” she said. “I’ll see you then.”
After she hung up, she started to laugh at herself.
I didn’t even ask what show it was, she admonished herself with a shake
of her head.
Later, just before 6:30, Erika was checking herself in the mirror. She’d
chosen to wear something similar to what she’d worn the previous weekend:
tailored pants and a sweater, only this time she’d chosen brighter colors and a
blazer. Joe hadn’t said anything about dinner afterward, but she wanted to fit
in anywhere he chose if he did intend to suggest dinner.
“What play is it?” she asked after they were settled in the back of the
cab.
“You know, I didn’t think to ask,” he told her with a laugh. Craig just
told me to go to the box office at the Eugene O’Neill Theater and give them my
name.”
Erika was pleased to know that he’d been in the same state she’d been in.
They were both pleasantly surprised when they got to the theater.
“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” Erika said. “I saw the movie on TV years ago.
I’ve always wanted to see it on stage. And I love Kathleen Turner and Charles
Durning.”
🌇
When they left the theater, Joe suggested having dinner at a place up the
street.
“Don’t you usually need reservations at any of the places around here?”
she asked as they strolled up the street.
“Not at this place… at least I don’t. We might not get the best table in
the house, but we will get a table,” he assured her.
“What? The DA has connections?” she asked with a grin.
“Family connections,” he assured her. “My uncle… my mom’s brother owns
the place.”
They reached the restaurant, and Joe opened the door for her. The
heavenly smells of Italy wafted out, and Erika drew in a deep breath.
“I didn’t realize I was hungry until I smelled that,” she
said.
The head waiter at the podium inside the door saw Joe and
broke into a grin.
“È da un po' che non
vieni qui, cugino[i],”
the man said as he hugged Joe.
“Non ho avuto nessuno su cui volessi impressionare[ii],” Joe
answered. Then he turned to Erika. “This is Erika. Erika, this is my cousin,
Sal.”
Sal shook hands with Erika. “Great to meet you!” He
turned back to Joe. “The family table in the back is open. Is that all right?”
“That is perfect. It’s quieter than the table next to the
kitchen.”
They followed Sal through the crowded restaurant to a
table in the back. It was set for four, but Sal picked up two place settings.
After they were seated, he handed them menus and took their drink orders.
“What would you like to drink? Something from the bar,
wine, or something softer?”
Joe looked to Erika to see what she wanted.
“Other than some water, I’ll let you pick the wine,” she
said.
Joe ordered, and Sal left.
“With a name like Maxwell? How did you become Italian?”
she asked.
“I never told you,” he said with a grin. “My mom is
Italian, and my dad was Scottish. They were both Catholic, so it worked.”
“That is an interesting combination,” she mused. “Haggis
with spaghetti sauce?”
Joe rolled his eyes and made a face. “Mom’s parents were
born in Italy, but she and all her brothers and sisters were born here. Dad’s
family has been here for several generations. His family wasn’t much into
Scottish food. I was raised on Italian food. This place is almost as good as my
mom’s.”
“Don’t let Dad hear you say that,” said a man as he
approached the table with a bottle of wine and two glasses. “He’s libel to have
you thrown out, family or no family.”
“Erika, this is another cousin, Sal’s brother Tony.”
Tony greeted Erika and then poured their wine.
“Sorry, I can’t stay and talk,” he said, setting the
bottle down. “But it’s busy tonight... maybe later.”
Throughout dinner and the rest of the evening, Erika met
several more of Joe’s cousins.
“Are all the employees family?” she asked after they were
settled in the cab and headed back to her place.
“Not all, but about half. And everyone in the kitchen is
family. I worked there when I was in high school. Mom has a lot of brothers and
sisters, and it’s her oldest brother who owns the restaurant. He likes to
employ family. He says it keeps the younger ones out of trouble and gives the
older ones a way to support their families.”
When they reached Erika’s, she invited him in.
She took his coat and invited him to sit.
“Would you like something to drink?” she asked.
“I think I’ve had enough for tonight,” Joe said with a
smile as he sat.
“The wine was good,” she agreed. “Something else? Coffee
or a soft drink?”
“A soft drink sounds good,” he agreed.
She went to the kitchen and was back in a few minutes.
“You kept your furniture,” he commented as she joined him
on the couch.
“What would fit,” she said. “Didn’t make sense to get rid
of it and then have to buy more.” She kicked off her shoes and put her feet on
the coffee table.
Joe moved closer and put his arm around her. She snuggled
in closer.
“I had a good time tonight,” she told him. “Thank you for
thinking of me when your friend offered you the tickets. And the food at your
uncle’s restaurant is out of this world. Makes me wish my ancestors were
Italian.”
“Where does Salvin come from?” Joe asked.
“My great-grandparents came here from England, but they
were descended from the Norman invaders, so I guess it’s French. I’ve never
really paid a lot of attention.”
Joe leaned down and kissed the top of her head. She
tipped her head back, and he kissed her lightly on the lips. One kiss led to
another, and before they knew it, they were both breathing heavily.
“You know,” Joe began, looking down at Erika after they
regained their breath. “I think we need some time…”
Erika looked up quickly, and Joe could tell she was alarmed.
“No… not that… I mean time together, somewhere we can talk
and figure this out.”
“How do you mean?” she asked warily, moving away and turning
to face him.
“Well, we have a history… a history that is… let’s face it…
kind of rocky. And although you did something that wasn’t exactly ethical, I
also messed up. I didn’t give you the benefit of the doubt and judged too
quickly. And as Cathy pointed out to me, I was probably using you as much as
you were using me. When you told me that your boss had been following my
career, it kinda blinded me to a lot of things. All I could see was a ladder
into the stratosphere. The kind of job every lawyer dreams of.”
“But not with Proctor &
Brannigan,” she said wryly. “Maybe something more like Chandler &
Coolidge.”
“Nah, I don’t think
corporate law is for me,” he said with a grin.
“But you don’t want
to go into criminal defense… You are too ethical for that. I can’t see you putting
your all into a defense of someone who you know is guilty.”
Joe was thoughtful
for a moment. “You’re probably right about that one.” He agreed.
“So sticking with the
DA’s office is probably still more up your alley. You want to put away the bad
guys. But then you have to look to your future. If you stick with me, that
could jeopardize your political career, what with the black marks in my background.
“Hey, I’m not that
sure that I have a political career. I’m only Interim DA for the rest of
John’s term.”
“But the mayor
appointed you to fill the term for the next couple of years because he thought
you had potential. He said so when he made the announcement. He wants you to
run in the next election, giving you the time to prove yourself to the people.
The Proctor & Brannigan thing was all over the news and the papers; my name
was right in there with them. That might not do you any good,” she protested.
“But you were
cleared,” he pointed out.
“People don’t
remember things like that,” she told him. “They remember the bad stuff, the
dirt.”
“Are you saying you
don’t want to continue this?” he asked.
“No! It’s not that. I
do want to continue to see you. I want to see where this takes us, too, but I
just want to make sure you realize that a relationship with me might not be the
best career move for you. Hell, if you don’t run for DA and get elected, the
next DA just might decide that I’m a hindrance or a distraction, and he might
fire you. Then where would you be?”
“Maybe Cathy would
put in a good word for me at Chandler & Coolidge,” he said with a chuckle.
“But you just said
that corporate law wasn’t for you. You wouldn’t be happy.”
“Yeah, but at what
they pay, it would be easier to be miserable,” he joked.
“Speaking of which…
you got quite the pay increase when you were appointed DA. Can I be nosey and ask
why you still live where you are?”
“I saved the
difference for a while, then had Cathy refer me to an investment broker. I’ve
been investing. Hopefully, no matter what happens, I’ll be able to keep it up
and wind up with a nice nest egg to retire on in 25-30 years or so.”
“It’s nice to know
that you didn’t go crazy with it,” she said with a smile. “But we are getting off-topic
here.”
“That is why I think
it would be nice for us, just the two of us, to get away somewhere that we have
an uninterrupted conversation about where we both want this to go,” he reminded
her.
“All right… Let me
think about it, OK?”
🌇
Monday at work was quiet,
and Erika was in the lobby with Rita when Catherine joined them.
“What happened to our
clients?” Catherine asked as she pulled a chair over and sat.
“Mrs. Michaelsen
called and rescheduled. She said one of her kids was sick and had to stay home
from school. She’ll be in on Friday, and there aren’t any more until 1 p.m.”
Catherine shrugged.
“So, did I miss anything?” she asked with a grin. “Any juicy gossip?”
Both Rita and Erika
laughed.
“Now that you mention
it,” Erika volunteered. “Joe suggested we go away together for a couple of days
to talk and decide where we would like this to go.”
“Hmm, sounds
serious,” Rita said with a grin. Where are you going?”
“We haven’t decided,”
Erika said. “I’m supposed to be making up my mind if I want to go.”
“Do you?” asked
Catherine.
“Absolutely. I’d love
to have a couple of days alone with Joe. I’d love to talk about our
relationship, but I honestly don’t know where we could go where we could do
that. There are hotels, but hotels aren’t that private, and we need someplace
private where we wouldn’t constantly have to stop to go out to get a meal or
have a lot of people around—someplace casual. And I definitely don’t think we
should share a room, at least not to begin with. ”
Catherine was
thoughtful for a moment.
“You could go to
Connecticut,” she finally said.
“Connecticut? What’s
in Connecticut?” asked Erika.
“I have a house on a
lake up there about two hours from the city. It’s very private in the middle of
about 10 wooded acres. The lake is still too cold to swim this time of year,
but the woods are beautiful in the spring. You could walk. The house has four
bedrooms, a master suite on the first floor, and three more bedrooms and two
baths on the second floor, so you wouldn’t have to share if you didn’t want
to,” she winked at Erika, who grinned back. “It’s easy and quick to get to. You
could go up on a Friday night and wouldn’t have to return until Sunday evening.
There’s a kitchen; you can cook and won’t have to go out.”
“But I’m not much of
a cook,” Erika protested. “Except for breakfast.”
“But Joe can cook,”
Catherine pointed out. “His mom taught him when she taught her girls. Let him
cook dinner for you. You can cook breakfast.”
“That actually sounds
great. I’ll talk to Joe and see what he thinks of it.”
🌇
“Joe says ‘OK’ and
‘thank you,’” Erika told Catherine later that week.
Catherine looked up and
grinned. “When do you want to go?” she asked.
“Easter weekend?
Unless, of course, you were planning on using it then.”
“No, I haven’t been
up there in a while. I thought I might go up sometime this summer or next fall.”
“Joe said that his
office will close at noon on Good Friday, and they won’t return to work until
Tuesday.”
“Same as us,”
Catherine observed. “You’ll be able to drive up on Friday afternoon and won’t
have to return until Monday evening. I’ll let the caretakers know someone will
be there. The caretaker’s wife will go in and clean, turn on the fridge water
heater, and turn the heat up. There’s a fireplace and plenty of wood in the
back if you want a fire. And there are plenty of towels in all the bathrooms.
You just need to take whatever food you want, but some canned goods and staples
are in the pantry.” She looked at Erika. “Do either of you have a car?” she
asked.
“No,” Erika laughed.
“A parking place costs almost as much as apartment rent,” she reminded
Catherine. “He said he’d rent a car.”
🌇
The following Friday,
Joe picked up Erika and they headed out of town. Catherine had given them
directions to the house, but she’d also told them they would pass through a
small town with a grocery store about fifteen minutes before they reached the
turn-off.
“It was a good idea
for us to shop together,” Erika commented as they entered the store.
“One cart or two?”
Joe asked.
“One, we can make
sure neither of us picks something that the other hates.”
“So you’re cooking
breakfast three mornings. What are you planning?” he asked.
“The usual,” she
said. “Eggs… I make a mean omelet… bacon or ham… whichever you prefer, and
biscuits, muffins, or toast. I can make pancakes, too, if you want.”
“Too sweet in the
morning. But the rest sounds great. I’m doing dinners. What about lunches?”
“Sandwiches?” she
suggested. “Or we could do brunch and dinner and skip lunch.”
“Planning to sleep
in?” he asked.
“Maybe. It depends on
how late we stay up.”
🌇
On Tuesday morning,
Catherine and Rita were waiting none too patiently to hear the outcome of Erika
and Joe’s long weekend. They let Erika get her coffee before they started their
questioning.
“Well?” asked Rita.
“It’s a deep
subject,” quipped Erika as she turned toward her office.
“Erika Salvin, get
your butt back here and tell us how it went!” demanded Catherine.
“Is that an order,
Boss?” asked Erika as she tried to hide her expression in her coffee cup.
“No, it’s a very
strong request, as your friend,” Catherine said.
“Well,” Erika turned
back toward her office, then looked over her shoulder at the other two women.
“You can tell your caretaker that his wife will only have to change the sheets
on the bed in the downstairs master.” She winked at her friends and then
escaped to her office.
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