Good Deed

On Monday, I had dinner with Lauren and Kinsley.  I filled them in on the phone call I had gotten, and they were both shocked.  Kinsley was especially confused, since she didn't know about my parents, so I had to back up and explain that first.

When I was done explaining, Lauren asked if I was going to meet them.  "I have no idea," I replied, shaking my head.  "I'm definitely curious, but what if they're crazy people and they just want to turn me into a skin suit or something?"

Kinsley laughed and Lauren rolled her eyes.  "You're way too small to make a good skin suit.  A lampshade is far more likely."  I groaned. 

"I'd be a little nervous too," Kinsley reassured me.  "I mean, you don't really know anything about them.  And it's sort of weird that they just found you."

"Hey, why don't you have James check them out?" Lauren suggested, her face lighting up. 

"Oh, good idea!" Kinsley agreed.  I considered this for a minute and realized it was a decent idea.  We talked a little longer about it, then conversation turned to other topics.

Brody called while I was getting ready for bed later that night.  We talked about our days a little, then he asked me, "So, make any headway on deciding if you're going to meet them or not?"  I told him about my conversation with Lauren and Kinsley, and that I was thinking about asking James for some help.  I was curious what Brody would think of the idea, since he wasn't James's biggest fan.  "That's not a half bad idea," he admitted.  "I think you should do it, if you think having some more information will help you decide."

"I don't think it can hurt," I replied.  We talked awhile longer, making plans to have dinner the next day before saying goodnight.  I planned to call James the next day.

I called James on my lunch break, hoping he'd answer.  He did, on the second ring.

"Hey Liv," James said with his normal easy confidence.  I returned his greeting.  "What's up?" he asked curiously.

"I want to hire you," I replied.

"You want to hire me?" he repeated.  "For what?"

I told him about what I wanted.  It ended up being a long explanation because he didn't know about my family situation, and when I finally finished, he was quiet for several seconds.  Finally, he said, "Wow.  Okay, so how much information do you want?"

"Just the basics, I think.  I mean, I literally know next to nothing about them.  I don't even know Nadine's husband's name.  My main concern is that I want to know if they're actually who they're saying they are, and then just a little background info so I can decide if I want to meet them or not."

"So basically you know what to know who they are, where they live, what they do, if they're murderers, that kind of stuff?" he asked.  I confirmed with a laugh.  "Yeah, I can do that.  But I'm not going to let you pay me for that.  I can knock it out in an hour, provided I don't stumble upon anything too outrageous."

"So?  This is your job, you should be compensated for it," I protested.

He laughed.  "Not a chance, Liv.  Let me do this for you.  If it helps, we can call it my good deed for the year."  We argued back and forth for a little longer, with him finally talking me into just letting him do it.

"So what do you need from me?" I asked, when it was clear that I was going to lose the battle.

"Anything you have.  Sanders is a really common last name, so any identifying information that can help me narrow the information down right away will help.  Date or place of birth, address, stuff like that."

I frowned and thought for a second.  "I don't know anything but her name and their home phone number," I admitted.  "Oh, wait!  What about information on their son?  Would that help?  My mom might know some of that stuff."

"That should work," he replied.  "Send it to me in an email.  I'll take a look tomorrow or the day after and let you know when I've got some stuff for you, okay?"  I agreed and we said goodbye.  I called my mom as soon as we hung up and told her what I needed.  15 minutes later I had an email with Alan Sanders's date of birth, place of birth, and some criminal history stuff.  I forwarded it to James and got back to work.

After work I met Brody for dinner.  He kissed me lightly and asked if I had called James.  I told him about our conversation, but then I changed the subject.  I'd had about enough of it now.

We had a really nice dinner together.  Brody's phone didn't ring at all.  I felt like I had forgotten what it was like to have dinner with him without his phone interrupting at least once.  I was getting used to it, and it didn't bother me nearly as much as it used to, but I still loved having a meal with him without it ringing.

When we got to my house, we sprawled across the couch, finishing an open bottle of wine from the weekend.  "I was thinking," Brody said suddenly. I sat up and raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.  "Feel free to say no, but I was wondering if it would be okay if I left some clothes here.  Not like, moving in or anything, but a couple shirts, a jacket, pants.  That way if we ever decide spur of the moment to do something after work, or if I'm stuck at work late, or if I just want to stay, I don't have to worry about not having clothes for work."  He slid his eyes sideways to look at me, and he looked a little nervous.

I grinned.  "I love that idea," I said.

"You do?" he asked, looking a little surprised and a lot relieved.

"Yes!" I exclaimed.  "It sucks when I really want you to stay but you don't have clothes.  And if it means I get to spend more time with you, even if it's sleeping, I'm definitely in favor of it."