Bertelli Investigations Volume 1: Noteworthy Mysteries

Chapter 35

Vanessa pulled away from Tony’s deep,romantic,kiss. She had also had things to tell him. Unsure of what he would think about her new career endeavors,she was reluctant to say anything. But she knew that Tony was always there for her to support her. She felt comfortable around him.

“What is it?”, Tony asked,knowing there was something clearly weighing on her mind.

“Oh nothing really”, Vanessa answered nervously. Was this the right time to tell him? Or should she wait until she knew exactly what she was going to do? She really wasn’t sure. But she did know one thing: Tony wouldn’t take “nothing” for an answer.

“Nothing?”, Tony kindly mocked as he smiled and held her in his arms. “I don’t quite believe that. No woman piulls away from my attractive-turn-on-mind-blowing-kisses over nothing. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Vanessa smiled,trying to think of exactly what to say. “Well, I might have been thinking a lot lately about my career choice. And it's pretty clear to me what I need to do.”

“Ah, so you already decided that you don’t want to be a beautician anymore?”, he asked curiously.

She sighed, thinking that all the time she spent cutting hair was for nothing. “No. I really don't want to be a beautician anymore. After all of this time I've spent doing it,I don't like it.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll find something you’ll love. Just give it time.” Tony tried to kiss Vanessa again, at which she pulled away once more.

She grabbed a hold of Tony's face lightly,  looking him seriously in the eye. “Tony, I’ve done decided on what I want to do”, she said to him bluntly.

Tony scrunched up his eyebrows. “Already?”, he asked surprised. Then his eyes widened. “Oh honey don’t tell me you want to be a stay at home mama. Not now. I mean I love children,but my career is just now taking off. And I don’t think either of us are ready.”

“Tony calm down”, she said laughing at his dismay. It was always funny to see how he would get so excited over nothing. “That’s not what I want.”

“Why didn’t you just say that? You almost gave me a heart attack!”, he exclaimed with a worried face.

“Tony I want to go into criminology”, Vanessa blurted out,giving Tony a nervous smile.

“What?”, he asked in disbelief.

“I want to do something to help out people who have been victimized”, Vanessa replied. “I’m not sure what I want to do. But I want to do something.”

“What brought all this on?”, Tony asked, still in shock. His girlfriend had never loved crime shows like him, nor had she ever expressed an interest in criminology. And with the way she’s been bothered by seeing Jade’s dead, murdered, body, well, that wasn’t a great clue to show that Vanessa would be good in such a field of study as criminology.

“Well, you know I’ve been seeing that councilor, Dr Drake?”, she asked,innocently batting her eyelashes.

“Yeah”, Tony answered. “What about it?”

“I’ve learned so much about myself by going to him. We’ve only had two sessions, but it’s been very enlightening.”

“How so?”, Tony asked. He had personally never seen a councilor, and he had a hard time believing in that two sessions would be enough for Vanessa to change her whole career.

“Dr Drake has helped me see that it wasn't really Jade’s murdered body that traumatized me. - It was the fact that I couldn't do anything to help her.”

“Really? So you mean you honestly want to go into criminology?” Tony was surprised. He never really thought that his hair bleaching girlfriend would want to help solve crimes.

“Yeah, I really do. And you know about my background with my mom. She always wanted me to be nothing more than a Barbie doll. And I compromised with her for college. I've not done anything I've wanted to because of her.”

“I know. Your mom is definitely not the most selfless person,no offense.”

“None taken. I lived with her long enough to know how she is," Vanessa said as she coiled at the thought of growing up under her mother's roof. It could've been worse. She wasn't abused. But she sure was left emotionally scarred.

"You should never have let your mom control you like she has. It's not her place,or anyone else's,to tell you what to do with your life."

"You're right. And I'll never let anyone control me ever again. And I know it sounds silly,  but I really do want to do something to help others.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “It doesn't sound silly honey.”

“It doesn't?”, Vanessa asked surprised at Tony’s reaction. She was expecting him to laugh, not to take her so seriously.

“No of course it doesn't sound silly”, Tony reassured her." Why would it?"

Vanessa looked away, thinking about how time and again her mother had only made her feel good enough to be a sex symbol through modeling. "It sounds silly because I know I'm not smart enough or good enough to really pull this off."

"Vanessa", Tony said as he paused,lifting Vanessa's chin up with his hand. He was in disbelief of what he had just heard. He spoke softly to her,in a very comforting tone. “Don't you know the first thing that ever happened that made me know I was in love with you? It was the day I met you in the salon. Not only were you gorgeous and sexy, but you gave a homeless man a free haircut. I asked one of the other beauticians how often the salon does that for homeless people, and she said they don't. She said it was you who would give free haircuts to the homeless that you would see go to a nearby restaurant to scrounge for food out of the dumpster. I thought to myself, ‘Now that's the kind of woman that knows what life’s about. That's the woman I want.’ So if there is anyone that could do an amazing job helping anyone, it would be you.”

Vanessa lit up,her eyes glistening with happy tears. " So you really do believe in me?"

Tony looked into her eyes,caressing her face with his hands. Kissing her lips softly. " Nessa I believe you are the smartest, most beautiful, most talented woman I've ever known. I just want you to make sure that it's really what you want."