“Well, officer, considerin’ I didn’t understand half of them fancy-ass words that came outta your cop mouth, you can go spit for me quietin’ down and leavin’ the premises before I see my grandbabies,” Aunt Lulamae shot back and I closed my eyes.

“Why do cops talk like that?” Mom asked Aunt Lulamae.

“Search me,” Aunt Lulamae responded.

God. It was like Idiot Skank and her sidekick, Skanky Moron do Denver.

“Dispatch?” Mitch said, my eyes shot to him to see he had a phone at his ear and then Mitch continued. “Yeah, this is Detective Lawson. I need a couple units at the Evergreen. Unit C. Upper floor. There’s a disturbance.”

“You did not just call the cops!” Aunt Lulamae screeched.

“Fuckin’ shit!” Mom shouted. “Just let her see her grandbabies! How hard is that?”

“Yeah? Thanks. Later,” Mitch said then he flipped his phone closed and stated, “You shout one more time, pound on the door, wake those kids or Mara’s neighbors, I’ll cuff you both, haul you down to the sidewalk myself and get creative with what to charge you with. And what I pick won’t be somethin’ easy like disturbin’ the peace. Don’t try me, I’m not joking. I’m being very serious.”

This was met with silence and I suspected this was because Mitch was looking as serious as he sounded and he sounded very serious. Mom and Aunt Lulamae weren’t the brightest bulbs in the box but they also weren’t strangers to a jail cell and as often as they’d tried it, they’d never liked it.

Then Mitch said, “I think we’re done here.” A pause then another lie, “Ladies.” And Mitch closed the door.

Then, somewhat muted, “You did not just shut the door in my face!”

That was Aunt Lulamae.

“Pig!”

That was Mom.

I watched Mitch move toward me. When there was silence outside, I turned to the kids’ door and cautiously opened it, peeking in.

Billie was sprawled, covers half on, half off, Mitch’s pink teddy bear firm in hand, dead to the world. Billy was on his side curled into a tight ball, hands shoved under the pillow. Both were asleep.

Thank you, God.

I moved back, closed the door carefully and turned to see Mitch close.

“All good?” he whispered and I nodded.

Then I moved quickly down the hall to the front door and checked the peephole. I couldn’t see anything so I put my ear to the door and I couldn’t hear anything.

Then I moved to the wall beside the door and banged my head on it. This I did repeatedly. This was what I was doing when Mitch made it to me.

His hand wrapped around my upper arm and his mouth muttered, “Sweetheart,” as he pulled me away from the wall.

My eyes went to him.

“Case in point,” I declared.

He pressed his lips together, looking amused and knowing exactly what I was referring to. My eyes narrowed on his mouth then shot to his.

“Do you want to have that discussion again about there not being different kinds of people out there in the real world?” I asked.

“Mara,” he whispered.

“You want to call your Mom here?” I asked. “Stand her beside my Mom? Do a comparison?”

He used my arm to guide my body toward his and when he got my body close enough both his arms closed around me.

“Yeah,” he replied. “We can have that discussion because you’re still wrong. But I’d rather take this opportunity to point out that you’re also wrong about bein’ able to take all this on your own. Now I know I’m right more than I was before and before I was already right,” Mitch stated. His hands had started traveling up and down my back in a soothing way which, even though I was strung out emotionally, I had to admit felt really good.

“I am right. You live in a totally different zone than me,” I asserted.

“Sweetheart,” he murmured, lips twitching, for some reason finding this funny which it was not.

“Your mother probably wears twinsets,” I told him.

“I don’t even know what that means,” Mitch told me.

“Pretty matching sweaters and cardigans,” I explained.

“And?” Mitch asked which proved I was right about the twinsets.

“She also probably adds scarves,” I added for good measure.

“And?” Mitch repeated.

Yep, she also wore scarves.

“I’m sure she picks very pretty scarves that accessorize her twinsets perfectly.”

“Mara,” he said on a rumble that communicated he was close to laughing.

“Was my mother baring cle**age?”

That did it. All humor fled and I watched him wince. It was a strong one which meant he’d seen this and it was now an ugly memory burned on his brain instead of him not seeing it and it was simply an ugly concept.

“She was baring cle**age,” I muttered to his shoulder, mortified because it was likely she was baring lots of it and it was also likely Aunt Lulamae was too.

“Mara,” Mitch called and my eyes slid to him.

“Even if we tried, we’d never work,” I whispered and his hands stopped soothingly traveling my back, one clamped around my waist, the other one slid up my neck into my hair.

“Shut up,” he whispered back.

“You live in a different zone than me,” I shared again and watched his head descend. “The upper zone. I’m the lower zone. Never the twain shall meet.”

I said my last against his lips which had found their way to mine.

“Shut up,” he repeated, his lips moving against mine.

“Mitch –”

“All right, baby, I’ll shut you up.”

Then he did, his head slanting and his lips taking mine in a repeat performance of the open-mouthed, knock my socks off, rock my world, best kiss in the history of all time.

I was holding him to me and pressed tight to him when his lips released mine. My hand was in his hair. He had really, freaking great hair.

“You have great hair,” I breathed against his mouth.

Mitch smiled against mine.

Then he kissed me again and it was so fantastic, when his mouth broke from mine I couldn’t hold my head up anymore. I had to bend my neck and rest my forehead against his shoulder while I fought to steady my breathing.

“Shit, but you can f**kin’ kiss,” he whispered in my ear.