“Just aight?” I laugh.
“I’m not copping to anything else.”
“Okay. Go on.”
“I just want to make sure you’re happy with me.”
“Look, I miss Brooklyn. Part of me still misses Corrine. I’ve even thought about moving to a new place. Some place she and I didn’t share together. You and I have been pretty open with each other, but we haven’t had real conversations about our future. If you want a future with me, that’s what I want with you, and I think it’s just the human experience to figure the rest of this shit out as we go along. Does that work for you?”
“Yeah,” he says. “I think I might call my pops.”
Another bit of shocking news. “To say what?”
“Not sure. I might just cuss his ass out. I’ll figure it out.”
“Well, I’m here if you want to work out a script beforehand. I’d love to cuss out your dad.”
He looks at the floor and just nods. He’s done with this conversation, which is fine. I think we’re on the same page. I need a little time to get Brooklyn out of my system and I just have to accept the weird rolling trauma that still pops up when it comes to Corrine. That doesn’t change the fact that we still have each other and a whole weekend to spend together.
“You want to order dinner or walk somewhere?” I ask him.
“There’s fucking tourists everywhere. Let’s order.”
“Okay, let me just change.” Just then, my cellphone rings in my pocket. I pull it out and a nerve in my neck pinches on itself when I see the name on the screen. “It’s Brooklyn,” I say.
Shaw sighs. “Answer it.”
I hit accept and put it on speaker phone. “Ms. Lewis.”
“Hi Vaughn.” Her voice sounds strange and overly cautious.
“I’m here with Shaw. You’re on speaker.”
“Oh, hi Shaw.”
“Hey Brook.” He’s looking at the floor.
“I won’t keep you guys. I know you’re probably ready to get your Fourth of July weekend started, but I just talked to Detective Jansen. I don’t think he planned on calling you guys, so I thought I should.”
“What did he have to say?”
“They aren’t going to open the case up for review.”
“Work your D.A. magic?” Shaw says. Brooklyn lets out a nervous laugh.
“Not quite. He did come down and interview me again, but I reminded him that they’d already reviewed all of my phone records and stuff the first time around. The fiancée is always a suspect and they had cleared me. And, I reminded him that Vaughn never would have found me without the information he and his partner gave him.”
“That is true,” I say.
“In any event, it’s over. They won't be bothering you. I just wanted to let you know so you weren’t walking around looking over your shoulder for however long.”
“We appreciate that.”
There’s silence on the other end. I know there are things I want to tell her, but I don’t get a chance.
“You two have a good weekend,” she says.
“You too,” I say. And she ends the call.
