“First they gave us an egg to watch,” he said.
“A chicken egg?”
“Yes. And we were supposed to protect it. And make sure nothing happened to it.”
“So what did you do? Drop it?” Alex asked.
“That would’ve been easy. I decided the best place to keep the egg safe, was in the refrigerator. I forgot to tell my mother about the assignment. I think we ate it in a cake the next day. Not good.”
Alex chuckled. “Yeah. I can see that as an instant F for a grade. But you’re not going to put a kid in a fridge so I think you’re safe.”
“Nope. Not done. Next one, we needed to carry this stupid doll around with us all the time. I had a date with one of the girls in another class. We went back to her house and made out in her room.”
“You got her pregnant?” Alex asked.
“Hell no. We didn’t go that far. But I somehow grabbed the wrong doll on my way out. Want to guess my grade?” Alex shook his head laughing. Connor said, “The last one almost got me kicked out of school.”
“Oh God. I can’t even imagine what you did.”
“I was a teenager and I hated that class. And I was pissed that I was the only one failing. You know how misery loves company. So I snuck in before the class started and as a joke, I put ransom notes in all the baby boxes and hid all the dolls.”
“Ransom notes? What did they say?” Alex asked.
“Their babies will be returned upon Connor Falciano receiving an A.”
Alex was laughing so hard he was holding his sides. “This doesn’t make you bad with kids. It makes you an idiot. It’s like you signed your own name.”
“I know. My mother flipped. Of course I never told her about the egg, or I’d have caught hell from my step-father too.”
“I can’t believe you went from a troubled teen to a DEA agent,” he said. “Hell, you’re practically running our drug division. Good thing you didn’t list your teacher as a personal reference,” Alex joked.
“No shit. I wouldn’t be able to get a job as a bag boy,” he chuckled.
“Well I will take on the challenge and help you overcome the fear of kids by letting you watch mine,” Alex said. “Of course you should really be afraid because if anything happened to them, you’d answer to Ziva.”
“I think I’ll pass and just handle training the police department. But I better get going. She’s not due for a few more days, but I want to at least be in the States when she goes into labor.”
“Wise decision. And I look forward to meeting the new addition into the family when I’m in the States next.”
Connor still couldn’t get over the fact that Kollette was now related to the Hendersons through marriage. “I have a few things to take care of in Boston before heading to Tennessee. Is there anything you need me to do for you there?”
“Nope. For the most part, my life is here in Tabiq. Never in a million years did I think I’d live here. Now I can’t picture being anywhere else.”
This sure wasn’t his dream residence. Although Boston wasn’t either. He had no idea where he wanted to settle down, not that he saw that happening anytime in the near future. Life seemed to have a way of throwing curveballs at him. Maybe someday he’ll stop roaming all over the place. Buying a house might be a bit much, but staying someplace long enough to actually want to invest in a gas grill and a hammock, well that is possible.
Unlike his flight to Tabiq, this one was restful. He knew what he was going back to. There was a pile of paperwork to clear out, and probably food in his fridge that could be used in a science project. Other than that, he was just looking forward to getting some rest. If he and Krista were still talking or had any form of communication, he’d have let her know he was back in the States. But he wasn’t going to call her. It was too late to try to pick up where they’d left off. Actually he wasn’t even sure where that was anymore. He cared about her more than any other woman, and visions of her beautiful face still crossed his mind more times than he could count. That’s why being busy was a good thing.
There was so much to do in Tabiq, that if you weren’t working, you were planning on what you were going to be working on. It was an endless mind suck. It felt good to just shut down, for a few hours. Even now sitting behind his old desk, he felt no stress. It was almost…too quiet. If he didn’t get some coffee in him, he might just fall asleep. But his body was also trying to recover from jet lag as well.
There was a café across the street that had pretty good coffee. Right now, he’d even settle for a bad cup, as long as it was strong. He left his office and locked the door behind him. He had every intention of returning, but if the coffee didn’t do the trick, he was heading home.
As he got on the elevator, he saw Mikie pushing his cart down the hall. Before the door could close, Connor leaped out. “Mikie, how are you doing?”
Mikie shot him a huge smile. “Mr. Falciano, when did you get back?”
“A few hours ago. Just checking on a few things. I’m not going to be in Boston long.”
“Oh too bad. Patty would love to meet you,” he said.
He had no idea why. “How is she doing?”
“Big as a house. I don’t know how she does it. I mean carrying two babies like that. The doctor says she’s doing great, but wow, it looks…well, hard.”
Connor couldn’t relate. “I’m sure it is. How is everything else going?”
“Still haven’t found an apartment. Everyone wants all this money down in advance. I can pay the rent, but how do you come up with all that extra money?”
“You’re still living with your friends?” He’d expected to hear they had their own place by now.
“Yeah. It sucks, but looks like we’ll all be living in one room for a while longer.”
This made no sense. They couldn’t raise a family in one room. Not when he had an entire apartment that was vacant. “I might know a place. If you’re interested that is.”
“Like I said, I can’t afford all the money down they want.”
“You won’t need to worry about that. It’s a two bedroom but only one bath. With them only being babies, I think you won’t have any issue with that.”
“Heck no. Right now we are sharing the bathroom with the others. It’d be nice if it was only us.”
“You should be getting off work soon if I’m correct,” Connor stated.
“Yes, why?”
“Want to come check it out and see if it will work for your family?”
Mikie’s eyes lit up. “Hell ya! But I won’t say anything to Patty. I don’t want to disappoint her again. One place already fell through. I can’t break her heart again.”
I don’t think you’ll have to.
I’m going to get a coffee. Why don’t you go clock out now and I’ll update your boss that you’re coming with me.”
“Are you sure? I mean I can’t afford to lose this job,” Mikie said.
“Trust me. You won’t.”
Mikie nodded and rushed down the hallway with his cart. That gave Connor time to text Mikie’s boss with the update and grab that coffee. Although turning his apartment over to Mikie and Patty solved their problem that technically made him homeless. Good thing he had no intention of staying in the States any longer than needed.