Water under the Bridge

by Sherryl Hancock

  “Open it,” Jet told her.

  Fadiyah opened the box and nestled inside black velvet was the most incredible ring Fadiyah had ever seen in her life. The center stone was a rectangular radiant cut red topaz, surrounded by small round cut stones in various colors ranging from orange to red and even a spring green. The band of the ring was lined with rectangular diamonds that winked and sparkled in the morning sunlight.

  “Oh Jet…” Fadiyah said, unable to even think of words to explain how beautiful she thought the ring was.

  For Jet, Fadiyah’s face said it all. “You needed something as exquisite and unique as you are,” she told Fadiyah, touching her face, smiling at her.

  “I love it,” Fadiyah said. “But…” she said, looking worried.

  “Don’t even ask about the money,” Jet said with a beatific smile.

  Considering the ring was made by designer Martin Katz, and topped out at eighteen carats for all the stones, the ring had cost a small fortune, but the way Jet saw it, it was for the rest of their lives.

  Fadiyah bit her lip unable to fathom how much the ring had cost Jet, but also knowing Jet was never likely to tell her. She was able to gauge easily by people’s reaction to it later that day.

  “Holy shit!” Sebastian said, glowering at ring, and looking at Jet. “You do not disappoint, Jet Fire, I will give you that.”

  Jet grinned.

  “Wow…” Kashena said, looking at the ring, then grinning at Jet. “Ya did good,” she said.

  Other comments were, “Hope it’s insured,” from Quinn, and “Cho! Co!” from Skyler. It was a Cajun expression for “Wow!” that caused Fadiyah to look confused and Jet to grin.

  The civil ceremony proceeded easily enough, and then everyone went into the city to Morton’s Steakhouse in Beverly Hills. Jet had reserved a private room. There were bottles of champagne, wine and outrageously expensive steaks. Everyone had a great time.

  At one point, Sebastian announced to the group that he and Ashley were not only getting married, but expecting a child. That announcement threw the party into a whole new level, with everyone congratulating the couple. Jet bought Sebastian a thousand dollar bottle of champagne, apologizing to Ashley that she couldn’t drink any. In the end, Jet, Kashena and Skyler helped him drink it.

  “So…” Kashena said to Sebastian, as the party was winding down. “Didn’t even tell me first, huh?” she asked.

  Sebastian grinned. “We wanted to announce it, Kash.” She nodded, clapping him on the shoulder. “Congratulations partner,” she said to him, truly happy for him. “It’s gonna be a beautiful kid, God help you if it’s a girl…”

  “Bite your tongue…” Sebastian said, scowling at her.

  Kashena laughed, shaking her head.

  Later, on a private plane, Jet looked over at Fadiyah. “You okay?” she asked. Fadiyah had seemed quite awestruck most of the day.

  Fadiyah nodded. “I am just trying to take everything in, Jet,” she said. “This has been such an amazing day.”

  “I’m glad,” Jet said smiling. “Mrs. Mathews,” she added.

  Fadiyah’s eyes widened, then she bit her lip. “That is my name now,” she said, sounding awestruck.

  “Yep,” Jet said, nodding.

  “I am so very lucky, Jet…” Fadiyah said.

  “You and me both, babe, you and me both,” Jet replied, kissing her deeply as the plane took off for Seattle, the one place Fadiyah wanted to go for their mini-honeymoon.

  Jet had been surprised, but willing to do whatever Fadiyah wanted.

  ***

  Shenin and Tyler had gone to their first counseling session, and it had been a rough one. The counselor had Shenin talk about the way she felt at that moment, and the way she wanted to feel going forward.

  Afterwards, Tyler had taken Shenin to look at the apartment she wanted to rent them. They’d already talked about selling the house in Maryland. Tyler’s threat had paid off and she was officially transferred to Los Angeles Air Force Base. The Air Force hadn’t been willing to lose Captain Tyler Hancock as an asset. Tyler wanted to sell the house in Maryland and planned to buy one in Los Angeles, telling Shenin that their life was in Los Angeles now. Shenin happily went along with whatever Tyler wanted, just happy that they were weathering the storm that had threatened to destroy them.

  That night, as they lay in bed, Tyler looked down at Shenin.

  “Can you share anything about Iraq with me?” she asked gently.

  Shenin looked up at her, knowing that Tyler was just trying to understand and help her through everything. She nodded slowly, looking contemplative.

  “I remember the smell,” she said. “Like dirt and sweat.” She swallowed convulsively. “I had your riding kerchief and I remember just holding it to my nose and trying to breathe you in…” Her voice trailed off as she saw tears spring to Tyler’s eyes.

  She reached up, touching Tyler’s cheek, her own eyes glazed with tears.

  “I knew that I couldn’t tell you what happened, I knew it would hurt you too much… I tried to pretend it wasn’t happening and I just kept my thoughts on you. Even then, Ty, you were the reason I survived,” she said, her voice a soft whisper.

  “Going forward,” Tyler said, after a few long moments. “What are you afraid of?” Shenin drew in a breath again, blowing it out slowly. “I don’t know if I can have kids, Ty…” she said, her voice trembling. “I don’t know if my body will handle it.”

  Tyler nodded. “Well, we can get that checked out,” she said.

  For a couple of years they’d discussed at length that Shenin was going to be the one to carry a baby. They’d had tests and had found that Tyler was really not designed for having babies. The doctors had warned that Tyler would have a really rough time in labor and Shenin hadn’t been willing to take that chance. She still wasn’t.

  “If you can’t, we can adopt if you want to,” Tyler said. “It’s not important,” she said, shaking her head. “You being healthy and us being together is what’s important.”

  Shenin nodded, knowing that Tyler meant mentally healthy.

  “And all the rest?” Shenin asked, wondering if she and Tyler would ever really be past everything.

  “Water under the bridge, babe…” Tyler said, smiling.

  Epilogue

  “Kash?” Jet queried, knocking lightly on Kashena’s office door.

  “Come on in, Jet,” Kashena said, smiling.

  Jet walked into the office, noting the blond with the black roots sitting there. She had an interesting biker chick look to her. Jet thought she looked vaguely familiar.

  “Jet, this is Lyric Falco,” Kashena said, gesturing to the woman. “Lyric, this is Jet Mathews, she’s my best informant development asset,” she said, winking at Jet.

  Lyric’s sky-blue eyes sparkled as she extended her hand to Jet. “Good to meet you,” Lyric said, her smile warm.

  “Lyric has come to us asking for some help,” Kashena told Jet. “She’s working with the AG’s human trafficking task force, and she’s hoping we can help out with some informant information if we have any.”

  Jet nodded, her mind already running through her list, thinking about what would relate.

  Lyric’s cell phone rang at that point.

  “Damnit,” Lyric said, grinning, pulling out her phone and looking at the display. “Sorry, this is the wife, she’s called twice, so I gotta take it, excuse me.”

  Kashena nodded, understanding all too well. Jet grinned.

  Lyric picked up the call. “Hey honey, what’s up?” she asked. She listened for a moment, and tried to subdue a grin, but apparently her wife could tell. “No, I swear I’m not smiling…” she said, quirking a grin at Jet and Kashena. “Babe… honey… babe… Savanna!” she finally said when she obviously wasn’t going to get a word in edgewise. “You know Cody, she’s gonna do what she wants anyway… I know, but honey, she’s old enough now to make those decisions for herself… Okay, okay, what’s she trying to buy? That’s a N
inja, right? She’s got a Ninja, why would she buy another one?” she asked then, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. “Okay, okay, wait, babe… It’s how many?” Lyric gave a low whistle. “Nice…” Then she grimaced when apparently that got her into trouble. “No, I’m not saying… Honey… she’s twenty-two, we really can’t tell her she can’t have it…” She rolled her eyes again. “Yeah, I can talk to her babe, but… I know, but… Yes, sometimes she listens to me, but… if… honey… babe… Savanna, you’re killin’ me right now, okay?” Lyric said, not looking too put out by the prospect.

  Kashena and Jet watched the woman talk on the phone and easily sensing that she was very much in love with her wife, even when her wife was obviously being somewhat difficult.

  “Okay, babe, send me the article on the Kawasaki, I’ll read it, and talk to Cody later okay? No, she won’t buy it without talking to me, you’re right about that… Okay, send me the article. Okay, I love you too, I’ll call you later.”

  Finally Lyric hung up the phone, looking over at Jet and Kashena and sensing that she was in company of ‘family,’ the gay community’s term for other gays. “My wife gets a bit fanatical when our daughter is going off the rails a bit.”

  “Your daughter is Cody Falco?” Jet asked.

  “Yeah,” Lyric said, “you know her?”

  “Uh,” Jet said, grinning. “Yeah, we’ve, uh, met,” she said, her tone attempting discretion.

  “Don’t worry, I know my kid is rather prolific with women,” Lyric said, grinning.

  “Well, more recently she was of aid to my partner’s girlfriend,” Kashena said. “So she’s earned her stripes with us.”

  “What kind of bike is she looking at?” Jet asked, having gathered enough from the conversation to ask.

  “It’s a new one, Kawasaki ZX-10R, a new version of a Ninja, but apparently it’s pretty fast, two hundred and seven horsepower. You know bikes?” Lyric asked.

  “Yeah,” Jet said, nodding. “Some anyway. I’m actually selling my Ducati right now.”

  Lyric looked shocked. “What model?”

  “Superleggera,” Jet said, grinning. “Think your daughter would be interested?”

  “Why would you sell a Leggera? And no, my kid doesn’t have that kind of money…”

  “Well, I’m looking to buy something my wife can ride with me on. Leggera’s really aren’t designed for passengers, ya know?”

  “Man, I’d love to get my hands on a Leggera,” Lyric said, shaking her head ruefully. “But the wife would kill me…” Then she gave Jet a sideways glance. “How much you selling it for?”

  Jet tilted her head, pursing her lips. “Cop to cop, I’d sell it for forty-five k.”

  Lyric looked back at her stunned. “How old?”

  “’Bout two years,” Jet said.

  “That’s a sixty-five thousand dollar bike, how can you afford to lose that much?” Lyric asked, so shocked, she wasn’t worried about sounding rude.

  Jet laughed, glancing at Kashena. “Don’t worry, I’m good.”

  Lyric looked considering. “Would you consider a trade?”

  “What do ya got?” Jet asked, raising a black eyebrow.

  “I have a custom Indian Roadmaster, worth about forty thousand, or I have a Harley Ultra Limited Low worth about thirty five, I’d give ya the difference… That is if the wife would buy off on it.”

  Jet considered the offer, nodding. “I’d have to see the bikes, and test them, but it’s definitely not out of the realm of possibilities…”

  Lyric, grinned, nodding. “My wife will likely be kicking me out tonight, but we’ll just see what we see.”

  “So, getting back to this,” Kashena said, grinning.

  “Oh, shit, sorry,” Lyric said, grimacing.

  “No worries,” Kashena said. “I have a Chief Deputy Attorney General for a wife, I get the hazards.”

  “At the AG’s office?” Lyric asked. “Who?”

  “Sierra Youngblood-Marshal,” Kashena said.

  Lyric looked surprised, but nodded. “Never would have guessed that one,” she said, grinning. “But great lady, she kicks ass in a courtroom.”

  Kashena nodded, grinning. “Yeah, Sierra’s pretty stealth, and a damned good lawyer too,” she said.

  Lyric nodded. “Anyway, I’m trying to see about getting some informants in the area of these gangs that are running girls, we’re getting a lot of reports of gangs crossing enemy lines and joining forces, and it’s not a good thing. We’re noticing a serious uptick in prostitution and white slavery rings and the child porn market is booming, a lot of fresh meat. We gotta get a handle on it, and it was suggested that your unit might be of help.”

  Jet nodded. “I can definitely start tapping some of my sources, and also develop some new ones if you want to give me some ideas of what areas to work…” Jet said.

  “You speak Spanish?” Lyric asked.

  “And German, French, Arabic and some Farsi, why?” Jet said.

  Lyric blinked a couple of times, surprised by the list Jet rattled off.

  “She does that, it’s annoying,” Kashena said, grinning.

  “You really speak all of those?” Lyric asked.

  Jet nodded, not looking too impressed with herself. “I was thinking about learning Russian, how’s that trade going?”

  Lyric gave a short laugh. “As soon as you learn it call me, I got a few Russians I need to have some good conversations with.”

  Jet grinned, nodding. “Okay, so Mexicans, who?”

  “The ESR in North East LA, and the BTLs in Central LA…” Lyric said.

  Jet nodded. “Yeah, I can see what I’ve got… I think I might have a way in. Give me a week or so, okay?”

  Lyric looked shocked, but nodded. “That would be incredible,” she said nodding.

  Jet took out a business card and wrote her cell number on the back, handing it to Lyric.

  “Call me if you want to check out the Ducati,” she said, grinning.

  “That’s just mean…” Lyric said, grinning too.

  That evening Lyric walked into a heated discussion between her wife and their twenty-two year old daughter, Cody.

  “Mom, its street legal!” Cody was insisting.

  “I don’t care, Cody, you don’t need a bike with that much power, you’ll get yourself killed!” Savanna was saying her light cocoa colored eyes flashing.

  “Okay, okay, easy in here…” Lyric said, setting down her gear bag, and moving to kiss her wife’s lips.

  Lyric looked over at Cody, still not used to the green in her hair or the makeup she wore.

  “You,” she said, pointing at Cody. “Go take a shower, you’re freaking me out with that shit,” she said, gesturing to Cody’s face and hair. “And you,” she said, looking at Savanna, “come upstairs with me, I want to show you something…”

  “Where have I heard that one before?” Cody said, grinning.

  Lyric smacked her daughter on the butt. “Smart ass!”

  Then she took her wife’s hand, leading her upstairs to their master suite. Closing the door behind them, Lyric turned to Savanna, pulling her close and kissing her deeply. Savanna moaned softly, pressing against Lyric’s five foot eight frame.

  “Not fair,” she murmured against Lyric’s lips.

  “All’s fair babe…” Lyric murmured in reply.

  They kissed for a few minutes, simply enjoying being close and in each other’s arms.

  “Okay, okay,” Savanna said, finally forcing herself away from Lyric’s lips. “What are you buttering me up for?”

  Lyric grinned. “Okay, hear me out…” she said, which immediately had Savanna’s eyes rolling. “Now stop that…” Lyric said, grinning wider. “I have a chance to buy a sixty-five thousand dollar bike for forty-five…”

  Savanna gave Lyric a really? look. “I called you to get you to talk Cody out of buying another bike, how did it result in you wanting another one?”

  “Well, when you called I was in a meeting…” L
yric said. “And it just so happened one of the people I was meeting with heard the conversation and is selling a Ducati Superleggera…”

  “Oh Jesus,” Savanna said. “Why does that sound really, really fast?”

  “Because it’s really, really fast…” Lyric said, smiling with her blue eyes sparkling in excitement.

  “Don’t smile at me like that…” Savanna said, looking heavenward as if asking for strength.

  “Like what?” Lyric asked, her smile seemingly growing brighter.

  “Like that, damn it Lyric!” Savanna said, biting her lip. “You know I can’t resist you when you do that…” she said, sighing. “And it’s damned unfair of you to do it to me…”

  Lyric shrugged. “Hey, babe, a girl’s gotta use what she’s got…”

  “And you have that damned perfect smile with those damnable blue eyes of yours…” Savanna said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “What are you going to give up to buy the Leggera?”

  “All business,” Lyric said, winking. “I like that in a woman.”

  “Keep talking,” Savanna said, her tone sassy now. “Or you’ll be giving up both the Indian and the Harley…”

  “But then you won’t be able to ride with me babe…” Lyric said, her tone convincing.

  “Maybe I’ll learn to ride myself,” Savanna said, her tone haughty.

  “And maybe Elvis isn’t really dead…” Lyric muttered.

  “I heard that!” Savanna said, grinning.

  It was true, Savanna wasn’t likely to learn to ride a motorcycle. She didn’t like all the extra work needed to ride a bike. She much more enjoyed holding on to Lyric as she did the hard work, plus it was a nice feeling to ride behind her wife.

  “I said it loud enough for you to hear that, babe,” Lyric said, grinning.

  “So which one?” Savanna said.

  “Dunno, I offered either of them, it would be up to Jet.”

  “Jet?” Savanna repeated.

  “Yeah, that’s her name,” Lyric said.

  “Interesting,” Savanna said, nodding.

  “Well?” Lyric asked her tone quizzical.