CHAPTER 78

     Teddy and Ravenna weren't in the room when they got back. Dylan looked up and smiled as they returned in a better mood than they had been earlier

           "Back to normal parents?" she teased. They both nodded and joined her at the table. "Good,because I'm really looking up to both of you. You have to lead by example."

            "Yeah,yeah," Carly said jokingly. "I'm wondering though, which one of you is going to handle Teddy's girl problems? Because that's not something to be a part of." They all laughed knowing what Carly meant. Looking at the young boy,that would be a tough experience speaking honestly. 

             "Speaking of,are they still looking for the other pieces, how many are not yet found?" 

 Dylan counted the pieces on the table.

              "Five blacks and one white."

  Carl put his hand inside his pocket and retrieved five the remaining black pieces. They looked at him in surprise.

              "You had those all along?" Carly asked and shoved him aside. "Where did you get them?"

     Carl started laughing, "I peeped and saw her hide them on the top shelf above the TV."

              "You are a cheat. No one was supposed to see that expect me. How could you?" Dylan asked in an accusing tone but they all knew she was playing.

               "Had to save the team,sorry."

               "You are still far behind, they have twenty,you have eleven. There is only one remaining. The white knight." Just then,Teddy shouted from upstairs. "And I think they found it." The two kids appeared on the stairs smiling. Teddy was holding something behind his back. They all looked as the gang of two came closer looking as if they had made a huge discovery.

               "We found something," he announced. Dylan narrowed her eyes wondering what could have distracted them that much to forget about what they were supposed to look for in the first place. 

              "What did you find? Did you go through Dylan's stuff?" Carly asked sternly.

              "No,we were just looking for the pieces and saw it on top of the bed," Ravenna replied quickly. So far she appeared like someone who hated being scolded and they all knew where that had originated from. Dylan's mind clicked and she immediately recalled what she had left lying around the room. "Did we do wrong?" she went on,fear evident in her eyes.

              "No Venna,it's okay you didn't do anything wrong," she replied using the name her father sometimes addressed her by. She relaxed and her face lit up for her.

 Carly stood up and walked towards them. She took what Teddy had been holding. A large book which she recognized from highschool. She looked up and smiled.

              "The first thing that brought us together." She smiled too. What Carly didn't know was what had been added inside the book. "Do you still draw?"

                "No,it's been a long while now."

              "Why? You used to create such amazing pictures!" Carly went on and started turning the pages. She didn't say anything but sat down waiting nervously knowing that she would get to that page. The page with the last drawing she ever made. When she did,her face transformed to pure awe and amazement. She looked up,looked at the drawing again,smiling and that the same time her eyes misting. "This is so beautiful!" 

              "Mom? Are you crying?" Teddy asked curiosly. 

Carly sniffled and tried to laugh her emotions off. She had drawn that picture years back after they had broken up and made up. It was during one of the days she sat idly thinking about Carly. An image of the two of them sitting together would come up in her mind but that day,she had made sure it was just Carly. She was sitting beside the riverbank they used to hang out at laughing as she watched her try to do some tricks in the water. She had drawn the picture as it came in her mind; the perfect smile, just a few loose strands of hair and the single dimple on her cheek. 

             "I tried painting it to give you as a gift but failed miserably," she chuckled. "Maybe because I wasn't dealing with your real form." Carly laughed. "Anyway, it is the last thing I ever drew."

              "I had no idea you even made drawings of people."

             "Not people, just one person. I was obsessed." They both  smiled. "I still am." What happened next shouldn't have happened. Their stares,looking deep into each others eyes intently could have led to something that would have been wrong mostly because there were kids present. Carly was looking at her in a way that seemed to say,'I wanna kiss you so bad right now' and she was sure hers was something like, 'I dare you to.' Thank goodness Carl was with them.

            "Alright, let's not get a little too excited. While your cuteness is allowed,there is an audience that needs to be saved from all that."

  She cleared her throat and looked away. She shoved her hands in her pockets and felt something. She removed it and placed it on the table.

             "The white knight, game over," she announced.

             "Really?" Carl asked in disbelief. "How were we supposed to know it was in your pocket?"

              "I don't know what you are grumbling about, the kids won anyway and the pieces you found were only because you cheated."

 She turned to Teddy and Ravenna and bumped fists with them. "You won the game."

             "So,what do we get?"

              "Fish balls and free rides the next time we go to the amusement park." 

   Maybe the first offer wasn't so good especially for Teddy who wasn't a fan of fish,now even worse since his appetite wasn't back yet but he needed to stay healthy. Other snacks would have been much appealing but now they had to prioritize his health. The second one however worked perfectly for both of them and she was happy they were not frowning at him. 

                     ★★★

        Sunday morning,Dylan woke up at first light. Carly was soundly asleep and she didn't want to disturb her especially because she had woken up multiple times to go check on Teddy in their own room. They had also slept late after clearing the mess that she had left earlier. She looked at the time on her phone. There was enough to go through the case she was working on currently. She kissed her forehead lightly but the moment she was about to stand up, Carly stopped her.

             "Stay a little longer with me. It's too early," she said,her eyes still closed. She smiled.

              "I thought you were asleep?"

              "I was,I'm still not sure I can open my eyes completely," she tried but painfully so. 

              "Sleepy head," she teased her laughing. "How long is it gonna take you to open your eyes?"

               "Probably forever."

                "Don't you want to see me in the morning before I go out?"

              "That depends on how bad you want me to see you." She grinned at her reply. This woman was as cheeky and as seductive as they came,even in her sleep. "Where are you going anyway? I thought you were off duty until tomorrow."

              "For now,I'm going nowhere," she got back in bed. She leaned in and kissed her.

             "Mmh,that's more like it. But you are gonna have to do more than that to get me to open my eyes."

            "You've become quite the challenger,haven't you?" she kissed her along the neck,trailing down towards her chest. She pulled the blanket away exposing her lightly clad body with only a sleeveless top and panties. 

            "Only when I want something so bad. Right now, that something happens to be you so carry on,I want to wake up in the nicest way possible."

            "Gladly," she replied and settled above her body. They had only forgotten one huge detail. They weren't in the house alone and their companions were early risers. The room she had chosen for the kids was adjacent to hers so they could easily get to them in case anything happened. Their voices in the room interrupted them which only meant their door was open. It was closely followed by the click of the door closing and the voices and footsteps in the hallway. Even Carly opened her eyes and groaned.

            "The thing about being parents."  

            "Maybe it's about time we moved to the master bedroom," she suggested. Carly sat up and studied her.

           "Would you be okay with that?" 

She knew why that question came up. The master bedroom meant where her mother used to sleep and where she died. At first she had thought of moving but then,this was the only home she had grown to love. There was no way she could leave it behind and that was why she had decided to keep the house long after her mother had died. Maybe it would be challenging to sleep in the room,to use the bathroom too but that was also a way to connect to her mother. She didn't want to run. She belonged in that place and that's where she wanted to live with her family.

She nodded,"I am okay with that. I'll just have to sort out the things there." She had never stepped an inch in the room so it would most likely be a bit hard. Carly took her hands.

              "It's okay,I will help you."

     Two hours later after having breakfast, they sat on the rocking chairs on the front porch. The kids were inside watching their Sunday morning TV programme for kids and they finally had time to sit alone. A car drove past the driveway and into the house next door which used to be Emily's childhood home.

           "It's weird sitting here and not seeing Emily's car or her parent's being driven into the compound," she commented.

           "Where did they move to?"

             "They didn't move,they just sold the house and decided to spend quality time traveling the word since they didn't have any kid to think about."

           "What do you think they would do to Emily if they found out what is going on?"

She exhaled, "We thought Emily was a bitch but she is the greatest person in that family. For divorcing Justin,they'd probably scold her,for being gay,they'd probably cut her off completely, disown her." She went on,"For murdering someone, well,they'd probably murder her. Those people are the real devils."

              "Damn,she has quite a handful on her plate," Carly said,sympathizing with her. "No wonder she is so scared of life."

              "Scared but she is beginning to stand up for herself. Last week she moved back to her house with the kids. Justin was restrained from going anywhere near the family and until divorce is finalized, I think she is going to stay there a while."

              "Isn't that house Justin's?"

             "Yeah but he has kids who can claim ownership as well. They have as much right to the house as he does. He can't throw them out and he can't be trusted with them either. That's why Emily is still there."

             "Maybe I should go by and see how they are doing, would that be okay with you?" Carly asked. Her fears about Emily had long gone and so did her hatred. When they met around town,they actually stopped for a chat. She called her up to know how the going was with the divorce and everything. It was the least she could do. Emily had saved her life by murdering someone. That was something she could never repay.

             "Of course you can. We should actually invite her over for dinner one of these days."

   Kenny called her just about that moment. She picked up and listened then shot up abruptly.

             "Where?" she asked tensely then ,"Okay,I'll be right there."

   Carly had sat up waiting for her to end the call.

                 "What's going on?"

                 "One of the girls we were supposed to find in the case we were assigned to has just been found dead. I'm really sorry but he says I have to go. I'm really sorry,I know this was supposed to be our weekend and now we have to cut it short."

                 "Hey,it's okay. You go do what you have to do,we can always do this some other time."

                   "Don't go home yet though,I might come back early."

   Carly stood up in front of her,"We are not going anywhere." She kissed her,"I love you, please be careful."

                "I will," she kissed her back. "I'll go in change and say goodbye."

               "Okay."

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