Love Between Law and Life

Chapter 13: Yep, Dinner is a Date. You read that right.

            Bobbie checked her makeup in the car one more time, sighing heavily. She was decked out in a comfortable pair of jeans, a blouse and a simple, black cardigan – it was casual, but she still felt underdressed and honestly, a little stressed . She was sitting in her car at eight in the night, waiting for Florence to take her out for drinks. Of course the psychic had offered to meet her there or even pick her up herself since she knew where she lived now, but Bobbie couldn’t help the tiny protective, worried streak that rose up in her.

            Drinks, they were just going out for drinks. Friends did that all the time, so why was she freaking out so much? Bobbie sighed again, hands clutched tightly around the steering wheel as a nervous habit. Going out with Florence, that’s what was getting to her. Was it more than just drinks? Was this a date or just a casual offering? Florence had asked her, but she hadn’t clarified on that part. It was most likely just a normal day out… but Bobbie couldn’t help the spark of hope in her chest.

            Maybe one day, but today was just about having a good time with a friend. Nothing romantic, just two people getting to know each other. To find out if they were probably compatible and weren’t likely to kill each other if they mentioned the wrong movie. Bobbie nodded her head at the mirror and stared out at the top of the stair where the door opened, and Florence stepped out. Casual clothes as well – jeans, blouse and a jacket, the boots was a nice addition. The detective tore her eyes away as the psychic locked the door and made her way to the car with a smile.

            “Hello.” Florence greeted with a grin, pulled the seat belt across. Bobbie felt her face grow a little red as she caught glint of a pair of hoop earrings at the top curve of the ear. It looked good, very much suited with the messy pixie cut and added style to the patch of grey hair at front. “How do I look?”

            “This is a side I don’t get to see very often.” Bobbie tried to play it off smooth, clearing her throat and sending a cheeky grin to look normal, “Looks good. And me?”

            “Absolutely fantastic, babe.” Florence fluttered her eyes and waved her hands, voice dropping low in her attempt to copy some sort of accent.

            “Four for the accent, but ten for the compliment. I’ll take it.” This pulled a laugh out of both of them as Bobbie pulled off her parking spot and drove back onto the mostly empty this side of town main road.

            “So, where are we headed?”

            “I figured Victor would have a spot open for us, if that’s okay with you.” Victor was the owner of the bar the Erza and Maxine had frequented. Was it weird to go back to a place where you know your suspects had been and only found the place because your suspects had been there? Definitely, but Victor was a kind and easy person to work with and since they’d taken time out of the busy man’s day, the least they could do is repay him by spending the night.

            “I got to admit, I didn’t think this place would light up so much at night.” Florence whistles lowly, taking in all little blues strung to the ceiling of the open bar. It was pretty busy, but not crowded. Most of the occupants seemed to be more content to spend the night out under the stars, most of the chairs and tables just outside the establishment occupied.

            The atmosphere was welcoming, a few individuals nodding their heads and nodding in greeting as they passed by the tables, never stopping their conversation. Bobbie seemed a little uncomfortable with all the attention, which wasn’t too surprising, Florence supposed people in the city preferred to keep their heads down in case of trouble.

            “And well well well, never had I thought I’d get to serve you to beautiful ladies.” Victor waved his hand in greeting, surprised look melting into a more welcoming one. “Business or pleasure?”

            “Just night out, Mr Akana. Taking a break from all the hustle bustle. I hope we will be of no bother?” Bobbie smiles easily, holding the conversation much smoother than Florence would ever be able to manage. Victor laughed long and hard, startling some of the customers already at the bar from the sports show airing on the screen just above the glass shelf.

            “Never a bother, and while I’m at it, never a need to be so formal. This ain’t the mainland, you don’t got to use all your fancy talk.” He waved his hand to the few empty seats to the back, where there was a view of the night sky. “Take your pick, just drinks, or you’re getting something to eat to?”

            “We’ll have whatever you think is a good idea, better to leave the professionals up to it.” Bobbie shrugged, glancing at Florence to check for her approval. The psychic didn’t mind at all, Victor looked like a good guy and someone who knows his drinks, and the mystery should be fun.

            “Alright, somehmm fancy but casual, I could work with that. Take seat, I’ll have your stuff over in a bit.” Florence moved to the furthest table in the back, taking the one that let her back be to the crowd while waving the other to Bobbie. She figured the detective would be a little more comfortable with the wall to her back and being able to keep an eye on her surroundings. From the look of relief and appreciation shot at her, score one for Florence.

            “So, this is kind of fun.” She jibed, resting her head on the back of her hands as she leaned her elbows on the table.

            “You already think so? But we just got here.” Her partner shot back with a mock incredulous look, pressing a hand to her chest to add to the effect. “Looks like we’re off to a good start.”

            “Indeed. So, I guess this is the whole mingle part.” Florence grinned and winked, “But I didn’t really come prepared to tell stories so…?”    

            “Well, we could always go twenty questions?”

            “I’ve told you my life story already, what more could you possibly need?” Florence snorts lightly, getting lost in the mirthful blue eyes for a few seconds before she ducked her head and fiddled with the little glass decoration in the middle of the table.

            “I mean, technically I’ve told you mines to, but we’ve never really gotten to talk beyond the van.” Bobbie wrinkles her nose, eyes a little unfocused as thought she was already pulling up a memorized list of questions. “Favourite colour? Preferred animal? Uh… I don’t know, favourite movie?”

            “Favourite colour?” Florence raised her eyebrow with a smirk, “Alright Roberta Rhodes, what’s your favourite colour?”

            “Ugh, don’t call me that, I sound too old to exist.” She groaned, a pained look crossing her face.

            “You are old.”

            “Thus, don’t remind me. When you do, I feel all the aches and pains I’ve accumulated over the years.” She huffs, rubbing her shoulder as though she really were in pain. “Favourite colour? I’d say brown.”

            “Brown? Not a usually a chosen colour for most people. Usually they head for the normal ones.”

            “I don’t like being like everyone else.” She shrugs, “Brown’s nice. It’s a rich colour, like good soil or bronze paint, I don’t know, I just like it.”

            “Alright, fair enough.” Florence nods in acceptance. “I’m a sort of normal so I like blue, any shade of blue really. Navy or light, they all look nice.”

            “Cool, uh… I guess we don’t have to hit the conventional questions, so what’s your favourite time of day?”

            “Ooo, this one is new… but I’d say late night or early morning.”

            “Why is that?”

            “It’s peaceful, quiet. Time to think, I guess. And coffee of course, being up at either time gives me the excuse that it a perfectly reasonable to drink it.” She waves her hand with a very serious look, a determined look that dared the detective to prove her wrong.

            “Fair enough.” Bobbie laughs at that one, trying to smother it with her hand, “Early morning for me definitely, but more because I like to work out when the place is still pretty cool compared to the rest of the day.”

            “Ugh, what did we talk about early morning work and horrors. I remember distinctly having this conversation with you over the phone.” Florence groans and falls back dramatically on the back of her seat. Bobbie does have to bite her lip his time to stop the laugh, but Florence couldn’t help but be lost in the instinctive move for a couple seconds before she droned on. “Not natural and that is just torture.”

            “I always forget that you’re not a morning person.”

            “I am a morning person, I’m just not a torture myself at the c***k of dawn kind of person.”

            “And this is why I’ll live longer than you.” She winks at Florence and just like that, they fall back into their playful bickering.

            “Oh ho ho, is that so?” She sends a wicked smile at her, crossing her arms over her chest. “Just for that, I’ll outlive you.”

            “Oh yea, how so?”

            “My vindictive self will not go down easily. I will live through the sheer stubbornness  just to annoy you.”

            “Old fashioned for the mainlander, you seem sort of the classy type for this and a Mojito for the partner. Complex, but sweet and just enough citrus to level out.” Victor comes over personally to set out the drinks for them, cutting into the conversation easily. He grins at the exaggerated look of appreciation on Florence’s face.

            “Awe, are you calling me sour?” She pulls of a pout with just enough humour to show she was just joking around; the bartender laughs and sets the plate of wings on the table between them.

            “Sour? Never. I believe it’s more a dash of salt, sass is important.” Florence does let out an unintentional bark of laugher at this, covering her mouth with mirthful eyes.

            “See Bobbie, this guy gets me.”

            “And this guy is also getting money off you.”

            “She’s right.” Victor guffaws, pressing a hand to his stomach as his face melts into pure humour. “Enjoy ladies, just tell me if you need anything else.”

            “Will do, thank you very much Victor.”

            The drinks were absolutely perfect, and the wings allowed them the chance to drop any pretence of being formal and neat around each other. It was just was they needed to really break the stigma built into them about going on dates. They talked about everything under the sun, from Bobbie enjoying her place at the beach house to Florence having to physically restrain Kahula from painting the walls of the bookstore in all sorts of neon for one reason or the other.

            Between the both of them, they surprisingly had a lot of stories to tell. Most people preferred to leave their work of the table when talking but Bobbie felt like it gave her the chance to really talk and express herself. She felt even more comfortable by the way Florence hung on to every story. Between both of their jobs, there was quite an array of interesting things to talk about.

            “Come on.” Florence grinned and grabbed the detective’s arm, she stuttered and fumbled with the cheque, raising her hand to alert Victor that they were leaving. After some arguing and banter, they’d settled to split the bill in half, it made it more fun to be honest.

            “W-what?”

            “Come on, trust me, I want to show you something!” She pulls a little more insistently, careful to not actually put any force behind the move. It was more of an eager tug to show Bobbie which direction she wanted her to go. The detective rolls her eyes and huff, nodding at Victor as she obliges and lets herself be dragged out of the mostly now quiet bar.

            It was late night, nearing midnight but Florence didn’t feel the slightest bit tired. She felt excited, exhilarated, it’d been a while since she’d really gotten time for herself and enjoyed it. Bobbie chuckles as she moves the tugging hand to latch onto it, shrugging her shoulders when the psychic raised her eyebrows.

            They trudged past the chairs and tables outside, letting the noise fade around them. The bar was close to the beach, and it was late enough that a lot of people weren’t around. “Where are we going?”

            “You’ll see!” She grins at the second huff that’s directed at her but her heart beams when Bobbie follows along. She drags her to the part where concrete met sand, smiling at her brightly before taking a step over the invisible threshold. Bobbie glances at their shoes and opens her mouth to protest before looking into Florence’s eyes and sighing. The detective steps in the sand and gives the psychic an expectant look. “You’re gonna enjoy this.”

            They continue on further to the shore where the waves where loud and the wind was cold. Florence stops just at the edge of the reach of the waves and takes a deep breath before looking at Bobbie’s slightly confused expression. “You do know that I have a beach at the house, right?”

            “Yea, I do… but does your house have this?” Florence raises her head to the sky and allows the little skipping dance of her heart for the first time as Bobbie follows her action and gasps. The moon is big and bright in the sky, the night is clear enough of clouds that they could faintly see the stars. It’s a little difficult with all the artificial lighting around them, but it was still beautiful. “And before you start, I always say… each view is a little bit different. That’s the beauty of it.”

            “It’s…amazing.” Bobbie sounds a little bit breathless as she cranes her head high to catch sight of the entire sky, as if she were trying to imprint it in her mind.

            “I bet you don’t have these kind of views back on the main land.” Florence teases as she finds herself caught more on the sight of Bobbie’s awestruck face than the sky above. Could you blame her? She could see the night sky anytime she wanted, but she wasn’t sure how long she’d get to see Bobbie’s calm expression.

            “Nope, not in the city. I would’ve never thought…” The thought trails off, the detective not really sure how to string the words together, if she even had the words at all to describe how she was feeling. She sighed and it sound a little sad and nostalgic, Bobbie lowers her head and stares at the reflection in the constantly moving waves. “Why bring me out here?”

            “I figured… you said you didn’t feel like you belonged anywhere, you were planning to go back home once you settled into how everything had changed.” Florence doesn’t let her gaze fall, letting her expression soften as she rubs a thumb in circles on the back of the palm of the hand still latched around her fingers. “You can see the moon from anywhere. If you decided to ever return to New York, you could just look up and see the moon and remember how many friends you’ve made along the way.”

            “Friends?” Oh bless her heart, the poor detective sounded so confused but so hopeful. Florence smiles and moves in front of Bobbie, tilting her head just enough to catch sight of Bobbie’s ridiculously blue eyes. The water is cold, the sand is sinking beneath her feet and her hands are a little shaky, but she ignores it in favour of taking the detective’s other hand. The psychic allows the second that it takes to settle her racing heart before squeezing her pair of hands in her own.

            “Captain Akamu, Victor, Tua, Pika, Kahula, Leo, Kaleo…me.”

            “You?”

            “Yea… me.” Florence lets Bobbie step a little closer, the world fading around them, and for a few seconds, it was just the two of them.  The light of the night sky falling on their shoulders, the wind rustling their clothes. Florence didn’t know was Bobbie was feeling or seeing but she could stop the way her heart hammered in her chest. It was too soon, one part her brain screamed, the part of her that was so desperate not to lose the deep friendship she’d built with the detective. The other part of her whispered softly for her to continue, to see what could happen.

            Florence closed the distance and rested her forehead on Bobbie’s lowered one, hearing the shaky exhale of breath. They stayed like that for a few seconds before Florence felt Bobbie titled her head ever so slightly. They moved in and Florence could feel her hear soar.

            A presence appeared to her side and she pulled away with a gasp, the spell around them broken. A strike of fear shoots through her and suddenly the freezing water of the sea, the battering of the wind and the shaking of her straining feet catch up to her with startling speed. Bobbie looks at her with an odd expression, as if trying to understand what was happing.

            Florence pants hard as she tries to get understand the suddenly freezing feeling that seems to be trying to solidify her blood. Her light grip on Bobbie’s hand turns into something harsh and clutching. She sees the flinch but can’t seem to bring enough air in her lungs to make words and apologise, bowing slightly.

            The psychic takes a shaky step back and turns in the direction of the interference. Bobbie is talking to her, but the words are muffled and nonsensible. Standing to the side of them with an apologetic look is Noelani, and beside her an unknown’s face she could barely make out.

            So much for a peaceful night out. She wasn’t sure she had enough words in the English and Hawaiian language to apologise to Bobbie for ruining her best night out. Ghosts, no sense of priorities or manners, honestly.