“I got news. But first, tell me yours. What drama is Dee dealing with now?” Queen asked.
“Mother and daughter stuff. They’re working through it,” Maverick shrugged.
“Oh? I should talk to her. I can?” Queen asked.
“No. It’s fine. What news do you have?” Maverick asked.
Queen smiled. It made her partner look at her with alarm. Apparently, smiling wasn’t something she often did while working a case.
“I got good news, guys. Armand Al Jabaar landed. The Feds met him on the runway. They have him. They want us to come and talk with him. We need you.”
“I can’t,” Maverick said.
“What?” Queen asked. “You promised to help us.”
“I know, and I will. But Delilah needs me. I have a plan to get her out of here. I’m taking her back to her parent's house. We’ll stay there. She needs a few days to get her mind around everything with her mom.”
“It’s that bad? I should definitely talk to her then. Delilah and Delores always have these moments.”
“No. She asked for a break and a little space if that makes sense.”
“Oh? Okay... I guess,” Queen frowned.
“Maybe I can conference call in when you talk to Armand?” Maverick added quickly.
Apollo laughed. “Is this guy serious? Conference calls with the Feds during an interrogation? What the hell?”
Maverick smiled. “Sorry. Grasping for straws, here. Queen, you know everything I do. You can turn Armand. This Scorpion thing shouldn’t hard to crack him over. Call me and let me know if you have any questions.”
Queen stared at Maverick. He could see she wasn’t buying his bullshit. But she had to weigh one friend's needs over another. He relaxed when he saw her lean toward his decision and not her own.
“Okay, tell her I’ll call her tonight. C’mon Apollo. We got to get out of here,” Queen said.
Maverick walked them out. He walked them to their cars. It was ice cold outside, but the snow was melting. Spring was late in arrival. The world had indeed just turned itself inside out. Even the weather couldn’t be trusted. He waved at the officers as they backed away and drove off the ranch. He went back inside to find a silent cold house. He had to think of a way to convince her to leave and then another good reason to convince her to return to her parent's home. Or did he? Instead of asking her for her thoughts on making the move, he went to Noah’s room. He got out clothes that he felt a kid would need. He found three different baby bags and filled them with as much stuff for baths and training pants that he could put in the bags. He returned downstairs and gathered Noah’s cups from the cabinets. He chose some of his favorite snacks. He had learned well from their many sleepovers. Maverick put it all in Delilah’s Range Rover. He made several trips to get as much of the Tonka truck toys that Noah loved to play with. When he returned after the fourth trip, he found Delilah at the top of the stairs watching him.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Hi?” he replied.
“Hi,” she said. “Where are you doing?”
He chuckled.
“You going somewhere?” she asked.
“Nowhere without you,” he replied.
She blinked at him, confused by the joke.
“I thought you were sleeping?” he asked.
“I couldn’t.” She walked down the stairs.
“Good, because I need you to pack,” he said.
“Why? Where is Mama? I want to talk to her.” Delilah looked determined for the fight she fled from earlier.
“She’s gone, baby,” he replied.
“Back home? To get Daddy? Fine. They can stay home, not in here,” Delilah shrugged.
“I got a better idea,” Maverick said. He took her hand. He kissed her knuckles.
“You want to make love?” she asked.
“No,” he said. “We get out of here. I spoke with your mom. She’s a little devastated; she wants you to have space. She went to get your father, bring him back, and we agreed to go and stay at your parent's house.”
“Who agreed?” Delilah snatched her hand away.
“Hear me out.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Delilah huffed. “I won’t be chased out of my home. She probably suggested it so Mother Abigail can come and rob the place.”
“Forget Mother Abigail. Listen to me. You need a break. I need one too. We’ve been on this ranch since I arrived. And now this? I know it’s your home, but going to your parent's house has to be home too, right? Think about what I’m asking. It’s your call. Personally, I’m getting a little stir crazy in here with the quarantine. I’d like to see where you grew up.”
Delilah chewed on her bottom lip. “You want to see where I grew up?”
He nodded yes because he hoped that her childhood home held better memories than the ranch.
“Yea, we can go. Let me pack our things.”
“I have packed Noah’s stuff,” he smiled.
“Wow, you knew I’d agree, huh?”
“I had planned to be persistent.”
“Good. I like persistence. Let’s get out of here.”
MAVERICK WAS BEHIND the wheel. She put the address to her parents' home in the GPS to keep from having to repeatedly tell him where to go and what to do. She liked the feeling of him taking control. Not because she felt helpless or insecure. It just made her feel less alone. She pretended to be normal with her favorite classical music playing and Noah asleep in his car seat. However, her thoughts drifted. All she could think of was Queen and Goodiva. What would her friends feel when they learned that the destruction of their families was done for the preservation of her own. How could she ever make it up to them?
The drive to her parents' house took over thirty minutes. She prayed her mother and father were already gone. She didn’t trust her anger and disappointment in them both.
“That’s it,” she said and pointed to the one-story family home on the left. As a kid, it was the biggest house in the neighborhood to her, bigger than her friend's home. Her father built a treehouse for her and Queen when they were six. Her mother put inside a play stove and her baby doll cribs, with some bean bags for them to sit on. Even in the rain, they could stay in the treehouse and play all day. The best memories flooded her whenever she spent time at home. It was a three-bedroom one-and-a-half-bath home. Her father had added a bonus room to the back of the house to be his man cave, and to this day, he loved it.
“When we moved to Massachusetts, my dad refused to sell this house. He bought it with his own money and paid off the mortgage with the money he made in Massachusetts. It was the first house he ever owned. I bought him a hunting cabin that he would go visit with his brother before he died. I’ve tried to buy him another house, but this is it. He loves it here. And surprisingly, my mom likes it too.”
“Why is that surprising?” Maverick asked as he parked.
“You know why. She wanted to be Mother Abigail.”
“I dunno babe, she may have wanted what Mother Abigail had, but she didn’t want to be her. It sounds more complicated than that.”
“Trust me. You don’t know her like I do,” she paused for a moment and considered it further. “Maybe you have a point. Do you think Mother Abigail would live in a house like this?” Delilah said after a bitter chuckle.