CHAPTER TWO

On that same Sunday afternoon, Eva smith and her son, Tanner, were hosting a backyard cookout at their house. It was a beautiful summer day, filled with the sweet smell of BBQ sauce seeping into grilled chicken.

When Jimmy and Erin arrived, Tanner ran up to hug each of them, and just as quickly returned to his electronic tablet and a game involving wizards and dragons. As Erin went to hug Eva, Jimmy walked up to the new face in today's crowd and stuck his hand out. "You must be Brian."

Brian-the-date replied, "Yes, I am. And, that would make you, Jimmy. Right?"

"All day long," Jimmy said. "This is Erin, my better half."

As Erin shook hands with Brian-the-date, she said, "So, now you've met the other man in my life."

All Brian-the-date could do was stammer with confusion, "I, uh…"

Erin started laughing and said, "Tanner. My nephew. He's the other man in my life."

"Ohhhhhh," Brian-the-date said, clearly relieved. "Yes. Today was the first time that we've met."

"Be nice to him," Erin warned with a smile. "Or, you'll have to deal with me . Eva can take care of herself. But if you mess with Tanner, I will personally deal with you."

"Oh no, he's great. We haven't really got to know each other, yet. But I'm hopeful we will in time."

"Well," Erin said, "Eva is very selective about whom she shares her personal time with. So, if you're here today, that's a good sign. But she's also a kick-ass, take-names, superhero. And, a lot of guys end up having a problem with that. Be warned, she's great, but she's already got one son — she doesn't have time to raise another."

"I understand," Brian-the-date replied solemnly.

Just as Marcus Toliver was arriving, Brian-the-date turned to Jimmy and asked, "So, you and Eva have been partners for a long time, eh?"

"Yeah, it's been awhile," Jimmy replied.

"And you were friends with her husband?"

"Well, I knew him. We were friendly on the job," Jimmy said. "But I didn't get paired up with Eva until about a year after we lost him."

"But you guys seem more like brother and sister than partners," Brian-the-date remarked.

"They are," Tanner spoke up while saving the magical kingdom.

Now, confused, Brian-the-date asked, "They are brother and sister?"

"No," Tanner replied coolly. "My mom and uncle Jimmy are just like brother and sister, but they're not."

"Do you miss your dad, buddy," Brian-the-date asked Tanner.

"I don't know," Tanner said quietly. "I don't remember him."

Everyone fell silent, content to let Brian-the-date sit there for an awkward moment while he thought about his last question.

Finally, Brian-the-date asked, "So, you've known uncle Jimmy for a long time, huh?"

"Yeah. He and aunt Erin have been around since I was a baby." Then, without losing one swing of his magical sword, Tanner just got up and walked away. He disappeared around the corner while urgently trying to save the kingdom's gold.

Everyone else was still silent, almost enjoying watching Brian-the-date squirm with uneasiness.

Brian-the-date turned to Marcus and asked, "So, you're a cop, too?"

"Nah, I'm a glutton for punishment," Marcus replied with a grin. "FBI."

"Whoa, that sounds like you guys have some pretty serious conversations," Brian said. "Eva and Jimmy are homicide detectives, and you're FBI? I feel like I'm on a television show or in a good book."

Jimmy smirked and said, "Relax, it's a lot less dramatic than it sounds. Our most interesting conversations are usually about how the Yankees are doing this year."

"Which is usually half as good as the Mets are doing," Marcus offered.

This prompted Eva to speak up, "Take that noise back to Queens, paper pusher!"

Confused, Brian-the-date smiled and asked, "Hey, what do you mean by calling him a paper pusher? I'm from Queens, too."

Eva clarified, "It's got nothing to do with Queens, other than them being second to Brooklyn in every way. We call him a paper pusher because the FBI can't wipe its ass without filling out a form first."

"I wish I could argue with her, but we do write a lot of reports. Sometimes we even write reports about other reports. Though, your Yankees can kiss my ass, Chica. Blue and orange all the way, baby!"

"Easy, Marcus," Jimmy spoke up. "She did her annual firearms qualification this week, and she scored as an expert. Personally, I'd wait at least a week before starting any shit with her."

"He's safe," Eva said. "You guys already leave enough crap in my backyard as it is. I don't need the extra work of getting rid of a body, too."

Brian-the-date said, "Well, with your job, you probably already know how to do that, huh?"

"Consider it on the job training," Eva said with a twinkle in her eye.

"Yeah, just keep that in mind before you piss her off," Marcus said while chuckling.

"And that is the reason she never remarried," Jimmy said.

Brian-the-date was perplexed, again. "Why? I don't get it."

"Because," Jimmy explained, "You can't safely argue with her. Most of the women in the department are already tougher than nails. But when that woman is also a homicide detective… Heh! Any man with any intelligence won't argue with her. Being right is just not worth the risk."

"Don't pay him any mind," Eva said. "It's not the shield that makes us tough, it's dealing with all of the male ego's in the department. Besides, when's the last time Jimmy was right about anything?"

Everyone began laughing.

Brian-the-date asked, "How come you guys call it a shield? Is that considered your first line of defense?"

"As an outsider, let me tell him," Erin said. "Trust me. It's taken me a long time to decipher all of their symbols and language, and I still only understand about half of it."

"Is it really that bad," Brian-the-date asked.

"No. But sometimes it can seem like it." Erin giggled and said, "Anyway, they call it a shield because it represents their efforts to shield society from harm."

"Mostly," Jimmy chimed in.

"What do you mean," Brian-the-date asked.

"Yeah, mostly," Erin confirmed. "See, to each cop, their shield also means something different. To Jimmy here, for example, it means a family tradition."

Brian-the-date looked over at Jimmy and asked, "You have a lot of family on the job?"

"On the job?" Now it was Jimmy's turn to chuckle. "Seems like he already knows the language pretty well."

Brian-the-date looked over toward Eva and smiled.

Jimmy continued, "No, I don't have a lot of family on the job. As a matter of fact, these guys here are the only family I have left."

Erin spoke up, "See, Jimmy comes from a line of cops. His grandfather was a legend in the Boston police department. Then his father made a big name for himself here fighting organized crime through the 1970s and 80s. And now we have Jimmy here, following family tradition, making a name for himself as a hotshot homicide detective."

Nodding his head, Brian-the-date asked, "I guess your son will be joining the department, too, eh? Carrying on the family tradition?"

Jimmy and Erin exchanged a glance before looking off in separate directions, and the mood of the whole group seemed to take on a chill. Marcus broke the spell by pointing out that Erin was probably the smartest one in the group, figuratively and literally.

Brian-the-date looked over at Marcus and asked, "Why is that?"

Marcus grinned and said, "Because she's the only one that was smart enough to get a job where people don't shoot at you."

"Ah! That is smart," Brian-the-date agreed. "So, what do you do, Erin?"

"I work at City Hall," Erin said.

"Nice. What's that like?"

"Well, I work in the city Comptroller's office."

Brian-the-date looked confused. "Why does that sound like a video game?"

Erin giggled, again. "Our office deals with the city's finances. I'm an accountant by training, most of us in the office are, and we manage the city's budget. Basically, we keep track of all the money that the city has or uses, and we make sure the bills get paid."

Brian-the-date asked, "How did you guys all get introduced? I mean, it's really cool, but the FBI, an accountant at City Hall, and a couple of homicide detectives… It just seems like an unlikely bunch of paths that crossed to form a family."

"Don't call us family," Marcus joked. "Otherwise, my black ass stands out as the adopted one. Anything but family, please!"

Brian-the-date managed an uncomfortable chuckle.

"Seriously," Marcus continued. "The short story is that Jimmy and Erin grew up together. Erin and Eva met at college and have been friends ever since. Jimmy and I also met at college, and we both left there to join the Army together right after the 9/11 attack happened. Then, fast-forward a few years, I joined the Bureau and Jimmy took his birthright with the NYPD. A few more years go by, and Eva's husband was killed in the line of duty. Erin started babysitting Tanner, this is back when he was still in diapers, of course. Jimmy and Erin finally got together, as everyone knew they would. After a while, Jimmy made detective and was partnered with Eva."

"Wow!" Remarked Brian-the-date. "That's the short story? If you guys ever publish the long version, it will probably be a bestseller."

Jimmy said, "Maybe. But, so far, nobody can figure out if it's a comedy or a tragedy."

"Hey, Jimmy, where's that Irish pride," Marcus said. "Tragedy is your birthright."

"Well, that would all change if the world would just shut up and listen to me," Jimmy replied. "I've got some great ideas that would fix a lot of things, but nobody will listen. It's more like a Greek tragedy than an Irish one. I'm cursed to know all the answers in a world full of people who just don't want to be fixed."

Jimmy threw up his arms in a display of mock surrender.

Marcus roared with laughter. "No, thanks, pal. Remember, we shared a room in college and a tent in Iraq. If your ideas smell anything like your laundry, then no wonder nobody will listen."

"Hey, I was in a bad place back then," Jimmy fired back. "I'm allergic to classrooms."

"Yeah," Marcus agreed. "Your socks smelled like it."

Erin stood up and rebuffed Marcus, "Hey, stop picking on my old man. It's my job to chip away at his self-esteem." Erin took Jimmy's hand and said, "Now, come with me, sweetie, so everyone can see what a bad dancer you are."

Jimmy protested as he let Erin lead him away. "But you know my best moves don't come out until after I've had a few more drinks."

"Wow," Brian-the-date said. "He's one cool customer, eh?"

"Oh, I don't know," Marcus said. "I love him like a brother, but I wouldn't want to be Jimmy for all the money in the world."

"What do you mean?"

"Because," Marcus explained, "You see the cool. But what you don't see is all the pressure that guy has had to carry around his whole life. His grandfather was a legendary detective up in Boston. Then, his father came down here to NYC after the war. He joined the NYPD and later became a legendary detective in the Organized Crime Bureau. Those are some tough acts to follow."

"Wow, that does seem like a lot of pressure."

"Most of it's in his head," Marcus continued. "He has it stuck between his ears that if he doesn't hit all the right targets and succeed at all the right things, then he'll somehow be letting the world burn. It's not true, of course. But he bears that self-imposed burden, anyway. He's always trying to live up to the family reputation."

Eva, who had disappeared with her phone to her ear, came back around the corner of the house and began surveying the backyard like an elementary school teacher on a field trip. As she walked by noting various items, she offhandedly asked Marcus, "Can you take care of the grill before you guys take off?"

"I got ya, no worries," Marcus said. "What about the little -man?"

Continuing across the yard, Eva said, "I'll see if Erin's free."

Brian-the-date jumped to his feet and asked, "What's going on? Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," Eva said, still moving across the backyard. "I just got a call about a body in a vacant house. Some sort of gang shooting or something. Jimmmmmmy …?"

"Well, can I do anything to help," Brian-the-date hurriedly asked. "I mean, that sounds dangerous. Do you want me to go with you?"

Eva stopped and turned to look at Brian-the-date. Being very familiar with this situation, where a man assumed they were instantly more qualified to face danger than she was, simply because they were a man. She tried to let him down easily. "No, I'll be fine."

She could see the mixed look of rejection and shock in his eyes. It was an exhausting trope that she had learned to deal with over the years. So, she lied. "Look, there will be about a hundred other cops there at the scene. I have nothing to worry about. Just hang out here with Marcus and Erin. Drink some beer, eat some food, and I'll be back as soon as I can."

Brian-the-date sat back down and tried to look relaxed. "Okay. Just be careful, huh?"

"I'll be fine," Eva said with a smile. She turned and walked to find Jimmy, knowing that Brian-the-date wouldn't be there when she got back. She had been through this little dramatic routine before with other guys. She dismissed the thought, she had work to do.