The Geary Series Boxed Set (46 page)

Mickey visited Angie every night shift that she worked for the following two weeks, he kissed her chastely the same way each time her left her. At the end of the first week, he had her weaned off junk food and onto healthier food. He had bribed the night chef to cook them dinner each night. He paid the menu price for the food plus a little extra for his trouble.

Angie worked five nights and then had two days off, she had been so tired that she didn’t see him on her days off during the first week. He had tried his best to get her come out for a date, offering to cook for her so she didn’t have to leave the house. She turned him down flat, sleep was more precious to her than romance. She declared she hated nights and the next three months would wreck havoc on her sleep. Her boss has conceded that indefinitely would only be three months. In truth, she was the most efficient night auditor he had employed. He wouldn’t reveal his opinion and would rather end her night shifts. She had planned on leaving the hotel at the end of the three-month period, Angie didn’t like being punished for something she didn’t do. There were plenty of hotels in the area, someone was bound to be hiring for a front of house position. Angie was counting the days until she could escape.

At the end of the second week, Mickey knew everything he wanted to know about Angie. He had pried and poked about in her childhood and teens, understanding her fears and triumphs. For a woman in her thirties, Angie surprised Mickey with her lack of planning for her future. He had everything planned, they were complete opposites.

Elijah and Lilly had returned from their honeymoon in Rome and Olivia wanted to throw a dinner for their return. Olivia had urged Mickey via several conversations, that he should bring Angie. She had emphasised that Jack and Elijah’s parents would be there too, so it would be more of a family dinner and not a double date. The dinner was due to be the next evening and Angie had to work a night shift.

Mickey pulled the door open at Blue’s and wandered through the tables to the bar. Taking a stool he waited for Pete to come and serve him. He hadn’t got anywhere with the art theft, his research told him that it would be up for auction somewhere, he just didn’t know where. He needed to find where, no one was talking and he was running out of time.

“Hey Mickey, it’s good to see you. Are you coming tomorrow night?” Elijah asked from behind him.

Mickey stepped off the stool and bear hugged Elijah and Jack, the two of them were dressed in jogging gear and looked worn out.

“You two stink, get a shower and then we can talk about tomorrow night,” Mickey suggested.

Jack and Elijah gave each other a knowing look and smothered him in a bear hug. Mickey easily got out of their stronghold and brushed his clothes down and straightened his hair back into shape.

“You two will never stop doing that will you,” Mickey said and pinched Elijah’s cheek, he knew it would annoy him. Jack stepped backwards holding up his hands in defeat, he did not want Mickey’s punishment of wedgies. He knew full well that being in a public place would not stop him.

Mickey had met Jack soon after meeting Elijah at Navy boot camp, he had become friends with them and had never looked back. He loved them as brothers, more so Elijah as he had spent more time in war torn combat. He thanked whoever had thrown him together with Elijah on that lonely day many times over the years. He had never met two people who were not blood related but were raised as brothers before. He had been an only child and envied the bond that they had.

“Probably not,” Jack answered, “come upstairs with us and grab some lunch, you look like you need to talk. Girl trouble? Have you finally found a girl you like, who maybe goes by the name of Angie?” Jack asked.

“Shut up. What’s for lunch?” Mickey asked, curious, as Elijah couldn’t cook.

“Whatever you can make out of the contents of my fridge,” Elijah answered and beckoned him forward with his head.

The three men took the private door next the bar entrance and disappeared into Elijah’s apartment. Mickey swiped a menu before they could see and shut the door as he brought up the rear. If there were nothing to cook, he could order from the kitchen.

He doubted Elijah had any food in his cupboards or fridge, he had been living at Lilly’s place since they had been married.

Elijah went to his old bedroom to shower and change and Jack used the guest room. Mickey wandered through to the kitchen and explored the contents of the kitchen. To his surprise, cans, packets and herbs were displayed in front of him. Looking in the fridge, it was stocked with plenty of options for lunch.

He opted for a baked omelette for them to share with tossed salad and set to work. He had been nominated cook as soon as Elijah tasted his homemade sandwiches. Jack and Elijah hadn’t bothered to learn how to cook, their excuse was they would marry a woman who could. Jack learned to cook eventually, but Elijah remained stoic. In the meantime they used his culinary skills, he didn’t mind, he liked cooking.

By the time Jack and Elijah had changed and returned to the kitchen, he had laid the table, dressed the salad and had the omelette warming in the oven.

“You pair of girls, how long does it take you two to shower and change?” Mickey cajoled.

“I needed to speak to Lilly,” Elijah said sheepishly. “I invited her over, hope there is enough for four.”

“I needed to speak to Olivia,” Jack offered.

Mickey laughed at their answers and guided them to take a seat at the table. He set another place for Lilly and took a seat at the table. They were filling their plates with food when the front door slammed. Lilly walked towards them and greeted Mickey and Jack with a kiss on the cheek and then promptly sat on Elijah’s lap and took his fork from his hands and started to eat his food.

“Why are you frowning Mickey?” Lilly asked with a mouthful of omelette.

He raised an eyebrow at her poor table manners and dismissed them. “No reason sweetheart, you’re looking lovely today, marriage suits you.”

“It would suit you too, how is the romance with Angie going?” Lilly responded immediately.

“Slowly, I don’t think she’s interested in a relationship. She doesn’t seem to be a long term planner. In fact planning further than the next meal seems too much for her.”

“Don’t let her cover fool you, she wants to be married and have babies. She does fancy you Mickey, but she doesn’t trust anyone so it may take some time for her to reveal her feelings.” Lilly said.

“Well, you can all stop worrying about my love life, I’ll let you know when there is another wedding. I think we’ve filled this year’s quota.” Mickey replied.

“Nonsense, get a ring on her finger, then we can all be married and raise our children together, they’ll all be the same age. It will be so different from what we had, none of us has cousins. I don’t want that to be the same for my kids.” Jack said, his honesty resonating through his words. Jack continued to eat his lunch and handed the conversation back to Lilly.

“I’ll try my best,” Mickey answered dryly, the picture Jack had painted sounded idyllic and definitely something he wanted.

“So, back to the frown, what’s up?” Lilly asked again.

“I’m having trouble at work, I can’t find a missing painting, do you know of any secret auctions for expensive artwork?” Mickey asked.

Lilly took Elijah’s plate and sat on the seat next to Mickey. Elijah took another plate from the kitchen and piled on another helping of food, he hoped that he had a better chance of keeping this one.

“Ah, this I can help with. There are auctions all the time for expensive art, in any form. Try looking on this site,” she said and took his phone and typed in a website address. “You’re looking for a cheap bureau or sideboard that has a very priced high bids on it. Don’t look at the item that is on sale, look at the painting hanging on the wall in the picture above the furniture. That is the item that is really up for sale.”

The men in the room stopped eating and stared.

“What’s wrong?” Lilly asked, helping herself to more salad.

“How do you know this stuff?” Elijah asked.

“I was a lawyer for a long time, plus I don’t just paint pictures I know about the industry.”

“Fair enough,” Jack said and carried on eating.

“That’s my girl,” Elijah said and blew her a kiss.

Mickey had stopped eating and rifled through the website looking for the artwork that was missing. He couldn’t see his painting, but there were hundreds of auction items to sift through. The others chatted about him and how they planned to fix up Mickey with Angie. He could hear their outrageous ideas, but he happily ignored them. He had found his painting, on the tenth auction item. He needed a plan to retrieve it. His client didn’t want to involve the police.

“Thanks for lunch, although technically I cooked it, I’ve got to get back to my office. I’ll see you tomorrow night.” Mickey announced and waved goodbye as he continued to stare at his phone.

“You’re welcome.” Lilly chimed out as she watched his retreating back.

Mickey had made progress in locating the painting, at least it's selling location. He had contacted his client and with his permission and bank balance put a bid on the auction item. He needed to wait until the bidding closed to see if he had accomplished his task.

He used the bathroom to shower and change for the dinner at Olivia and Jack’s place. He spent more time than usual primping and preening, he hadn’t seen Angie for three days. Splashing on his aftershave, he observed his reflection. He kept the stubble which Angie had said she liked, using the clippers to trim his beard. It was itchy and irritating, but she liked it so the beard stayed.

Satisfied with his casual clothing of jeans and a t-shirt, he laced up his new boots. He hadn’t bought anything new for a while, Angie brought out his need to impress. Ironically, she probably wouldn’t notice but he wanted to make an effort. She always looked groomed, dressed well, even in her hotel uniform.

Leaving his office, he sauntered down the corridor, whistling a tune. Habit dictated he look into the boardroom surreptitiously in case the lovers had returned. The room and all the offices were empty, it was after seven in the evening and he was running late. Hurrying to Olivia and Jack’s he stopped off to pick up a bottle of red wine from the local off-licence.

He arrived at their house at half past seven, a little late but they would still be gossiping at this stage and the food that Olivia cooked was never time sensitive. He pressed the buzzer on their front door and was greeted with a click of the door and no words.

He shut the front door and heard the heckle, “It’s about time Mickey, where the hell have you been?” Olivia bellowed down the stairwell from three flights up.

“I brought wine.” He offered, raising the bottle high enough for Olivia to squint at.

“Fine, you’re forgiven, but as punishment you have to run up all forty-five stairs without stopping. Go.” Olivia ordered.

Mickey chuckled and ran up the three flights of stairs as ordered, he reached the top, jogging on the spot and kissed her cheek. He showed no signs of being out of breath.

“Show off, I still enjoy seeing you do it, come on in, you’re the last to arrive.”

Olivia led Mickey in, down the white-walled corridor and into the end room where everyone was assembled. They stood in one group listening to Michael talked about Elijah when he was ten years old. It was probably about his accident-prone nature.

“And he finally hit the brakes and then went straight over the handlebars, landing in a heap at the feet of his brother,” Michael said.

The group laughed heartily while Elijah grimaced at the memory.

“He’s never been any different, I’m always saving his arse in some scrape or another,” Mickey added.

He shook hands with Michael and kissed Ruth’s cheek. He adored these two people, when he was home on shore leave he gravitated to Elijah’s home rather than his own. He had always been made welcome and expected, the spare room was always made up ready for him. He valued their counsel too, Michael was also in the armed forces, what he did, Mickey didn’t know. He had a desk job in the government, but that was as far as he knew. He had researched him thoroughly but didn’t know any more than Michael had volunteered through general conversation. Ruth, his wife, stood by his side, laughing at his jokes and scolding him when he became too lewd. They were good people to be in the company of. He greeted Elijah and Jack next with hugs and much slapping of backs.

“How are you Mickey, you smell great, when is Angie coming, we’re starving?” Jack asked.

“Angie is working tonight, I’ll see her later and take her some dinner,” Mickey answered.

“You are such a sweet man Mickey, she’s bound to fall for you, who wouldn’t? I’ll save some dinner for you take to her.” Lilly said and hugged him.

“Stop trying to fix us up, if she wants to be in a relationship, then I’m sure she’ll let me know soon enough. She is definitely wearing the trousers, I’m having to control myself.”

“Hold up, you’re waiting for her to tell you that she wants a relationship but you have to keep your distance. You are a stupid fool, Mickey.” Olivia said from the living room door.

“Yeah, what she said,” Jack said and clinked glasses with Elijah.

The laughter he heard and the realisation of what he said sunk in, he was a stupid fool, he would kiss her soundly tonight and stop with the chaste pecks on her lips.

Mickey handed Olivia his bottle of wine and took a glass of an already opened bottle of red.

“Dinner is ready, come on through,” Olivia said and winked at Mickey.

Elijah threw his arm around Mickey as they walked to the dining room offering suggestions on how to seduce Angie. Mickey roared at his audacity and reminded him of how long he was experienced in bed. That shut Elijah up quickly, so Jack came to his rescue and offered his expertise. Mickey knew of Jack philandering ways and didn’t dare mock him. Mickey wasn’t in Jack’s league but didn’t want to have his past, he would rather not have the pain and hurt that went with his exciting lifestyle.

His open nature to sex and his stories kept him entertained but that all stopped when Jack finally met Olivia in person. How easily he changed his lust for love once he met her.

He sat next to Lilly at the dinner table, the food had been placed down the centre. A large dish of lasagne was in front of him, the edges still bubbling. Salad and bread were also on the table. It was a feast and he couldn’t wait to get stuck in. His eating habits were all over the place since he was mirroring Angie’s shifts and had become nocturnal. This meal was breakfast to him.

“Ruth, tell me how you met Michael? I adore a good love story.” Olivia asked, Jack took her hand and kissed her wrist.

“Ah, we met in University, I moved into halls of residence and bumped into Michael in the communal lounge on my first evening. Since then, we were inseparable.” Ruth explained, piling salad onto her place and putting another piece of bread on her plate after her husband stole the first one. The bread basket was out of his reach and he was starving.

“Oh really, I thought you met at school, my mother said you were all in school together,” Lilly asked.

Michael shifted and looked at Ruth, she nodded her consent.

“We were in school together, but I didn’t really know Ruth at the time, she wouldn’t look my way although I tried my best to get her to notice me. Sadly, Evan had her total devotion.” Michael said.

“That’s not exactly correct, I knew you existed but I’m a one boy at a time kind of girl and you won me in the end. It was fate that brought us back together after you moved away.” Ruth said.

Michael took her face in his hands and kissed her lips and then her nose. “I did win you in the end and thank you for putting up with me ever since.”

“What was my mum like in school, did you know her, Michael?” Lilly asked.

“I knew her very well, she was a sweet, shy girl who loved to play backgammon. Ravishing, intelligent, whip-smart, she was destined to be a lawyer, but something happened after I left. She moved away with her sister to Brighton, I visited once.” Michael paused to take a sip of his wine. “She was a bitter woman, she’d grown up ten years in the year I hadn’t seen her. I didn’t see her again until Jack’s wedding. I didn’t get to speak to her because she kept avoiding me. I don’t know what happened to her, but she wasn’t always the woman you have described. It’s a shame really that she didn’t pursue her career, she would have been formidable.” He said and started eating his food.

Lilly pondered on what she had heard, she had learned far more about her mother this evening than she had known her entire life.

“Did you ever date her?” Lilly asked.

“No, we were just friends,” Michael answered he was becoming increasingly uncomfortable, hoping that Lilly would stop with the questions.

“Thanks for the insight, it’s difficult to see that she was a happy, loving person. I wonder what happened to her all those years ago?”

“It’s probably best left in the past, she’s not going to change now. I much preferred her sister, she was far more carefree, although she seems more broken than her sister.” Michael said and took a fork full of lasagne to stop him revealing any more than he wanted to.

“I love Aunt Jane, she’s always been my champion. Her shop in Brighton is fantastic, I love going there to visit. I haven’t been since the court case I worked on with Elizabeth.” Lilly said full of enthusiasm, her aunt was the happiest member of her family and she wished she could find more time to spend with her. Now that she was no longer employed she toyed with the idea of visiting Brighton.

“We should go and visit the seaside, it would be a fun trip, we could all go. Hey, Mickey, get Angie to come, we can have a long weekend.” Elijah offered.

“Sounds good to me,” Jack said, he was engrossed in the conversation he was having via text on his phone as well as taking part in the conversation around the table. He needed to get back to work soon.

Everyone else nodded their agreement and soon talk moved from Gale and the past to Brighton and the future. Michael was relieved at the diversion, but Mickey had spotted the look on his face. There was more to this story and he was curious to find out, a gut reaction to wanting to know what else there was to know.