The Officer (18+) (Slow Updates)

5

His hands are huge, they practically swallow mine up as the handshake lingers. He lets go of my hand, as his eyebrows crease.

"Do I know you? I feel like I've seen you before."

My ego deflates slightly, of course he wouldn't' remember me. What is there to remember? "Yeah, maybe once or twice."

He focuses on my face taking in my features until he settles on my eyes. Suddenly his face lights up in recognition, with a nod he turns and faces the field.

"So, what made you decide not to make your statement?"

"Uh, I-" I take a breath to calm myself, though I still end up looking down, watching my fingertips pull at the seams of my shirt. "It wasn't a big deal really. I mean, he does it all the time, I guess he just got a little carried awa-"

"He sexually assaults you all the time and you still haven't done anything to stop it." His stare pins me to my place, making me even more unsure of myself.

"Well, I talked to HR and got my shift moved to avoid anymore- look, it's a complicated situation, we used to date so-"

He turns away from me once more. "There is never an excuse to disrespect a woman. Ever."

It goes silent after that, not literally because there are dozens of children running around screaming, but he says nothing else. I try to come up with something, anything, that could cut the tension between us, but ultimately fail. I look over to him as he hands a kid a cool bottle of water, as the kid runs off he resituates his hat.

"So..." I break the silence. "You have a 3rd grader. What's that like?"

He turns to me, a slight anger still etched into his features. "It's hard. Having a kid is hard no matter how old they are. But I guess you understand," He comments pointing to my shirt. "I'm assuming you're not a junior. So how's life with a teenager, I've yet to experience it."

I smile, I'm not sure if it's the mention of Cadence or if it's the fact that he didn't completely shut me down. "It's hell." I say and he smiles. "She's too smart for her own good. It makes her think that she knows exactly how the world works, and that she can conquer it all on her own. I don't want her to end up hurt or disappointed, but it's a part of life. I guess, I'm just having a hard time balancing out everything."

He chuckles lightly. "I guess I have a lot to look forward too." We fall into a comfortable silence as more children come to recieve their drinks. As Matteo hands over a juice box to a little girl with pigtails, he looks over to me once more.

"You seem really young, especially to have a teenager." He comments, adding more drinks to the cooler.

"Oh! No I don't have any kids, I'm here for my sister." He gives me a questioning brow, so I elaborate. "I'm her legal guardian."

"Your parents?"

"They died a while ago." Lie.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Oh, don't be. Like I said it happened a long time ago. I've had time to deal with everything." Wow, I am just on fire with these lies today.

He gives me a noncommittal nod as he continues to shovel in bottle after bottle into the ice.

"But what about you? You look really young too. I'm guessing you and your wife have been together for a while?"

He stands once again and brushes the dirt from his jeans. "Oh, please I'm not that young. And I'm not married anymore."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"I'm not. That marriage was a nightmare. I'm glad I got out of it."