Truth or Lies? by A. Gomez (book club recommendations txt) 📗

He drove more offensively than defensively. No doubt he was trying to get me home to my baby. I grinned at the thought. He was quiet. Not a peep the rest of the way home. Not so much as an inquiry as to how old my baby was or the like. He found a parking spot almost in front of my brownstone. I lived in an upper middle-class area with lots of quaint brownstones. One could say it was an affluent neighborhood, although I couldn’t really afford it. My parents helped me buy my house right out of graduate school. They said they didn’t want me living in a sketchy apartment, with sketchy people and in a sketchy area, so this was their solution. The sun was starting to go down—my house looked dark. There were no lights on outside or inside so it looked like no one was home, not even my baby. He had me wait in his truck for a few minutes until he got confirmation the house was empty and no one was lurking outside. He had stepped outside to speak with another agent on the phone. I heard him ask the agent on the other end of the cell phone about my baby and if they had seen one. I couldn’t hear what the other man said, I only heard him say, “I don’t know, Davis, she said baby!” Huh, all this fuss just for me. I didn’t get it. I decided to get out and start walking to my house. This was getting to be too much like a novel; honestly, I wasn’t really that important. These people needed to have a little faith. As I made my way to my brownstone, I noticed another man in a suit at the front door, who I assumed was FBI as well. Rockwall was yelling for me to wait.

I did as I was told and waited, rolling my eyes. Rockwall looked at me sternly, took my elbow and led me to the front door. I opened my door, shaking my head at how silly this all was. Both men walked in together before me and started to turn on all of my lights. I didn’t bother to wait; I walked in and started yelling for my big baby. A very large ball of white and brown fur came running towards me, only barking once or twice at the agents. He jumped on the sofa, tail wagging; I plopped down next to him, petting him and rubbing his belly.

“Who’s my furry baby? Are you my furry baby? Yes, you are, you’re my big furry baby! Are you my teddy bear? Huh? Are you? Nooooo, you’re my Sammy Bear!” I was laughing at myself. I must have sounded ridiculous to these men, talking to my dog that way. “This is my big baby, Samson!” I said, smiling. “Isn’t he awesome?” I was beaming. I let him out back to use the bathroom while the new agent walked through my house. Agent Rockwall was walking around my kitchen, rubbing his head with a grin flirting on his face. I think he was a little relieved and perhaps found this funny? I found it extremely amusing and grinned back at him.

“Kickoff is in an hour,” I chimed. “I’m going to order pizza and get in the shower. Please open the door for the delivery guy if I’m not out by then. Oh, and, should I order enough for Agent Davis?” I asked. “Will he be joining us?” I sounded a little bossy.

“All done here,” Davis interrupted, “and, yeah, I could eat!”

Davis’ eyes were bright with excitement. “I mean, I have a few minutes until I have to be somewhere else, so I have time, thanks.”

Rockwall cleared his throat. “Agent Davis will not be joining us, he has to go meet Agent Stevens and Jill, and of course I’ll open the door for the pizza guy. I’ll also let your ‘big baby’ back in once he’s finished outside. Oh, and FYI, I will be opening all doors from now on or until my boss tells me I don’t need to do so any more.” He turned to Agent Davis. “I got it from here, Davis, thanks. Let me walk you to the door.” Rockwall gave him a thankful slap on the back.

“Oh, uh, okay,” Davis seemed disappointed. “Good luck with this assignment, Rockwall, she seems like a feisty one, and bossy. Do you think Stevens has the same problem?” he wondered.

“I don’t know. Go find out.” He hurried him out the door.

I fed my dog and ran to get in the shower. It was now 45 minutes before kickoff and I liked long showers. Damnit! I really hated rushing my showers. I looked around my bathroom and bedroom and noticed it was a mess. I sighed heavily and wondered what Agent Davis must think of me since he went traipsing through my house. I quickly picked up while the shower warmed up. I didn’t really want Rockwall thinking I was a slob. Rockwall. Sigh. Why did him being here, watching me, irritate me so much? Why couldn’t they just sit outside in a car and watch my house like they do in the movies? I sat at the edge of my bed, pouting and sulking like a spoiled, petulant little brat. Shake it off, Isabel, this is only temporary.

I decided to light my lavender candle and shower with my white tea and gardenia body wash. I was forcing myself to feel better about this because the Cowboys would kick off in about thirty minutes and there was no way tonight was going to be a bad night. I stepped into the hot shower and began to relax almost immediately. I washed my hair and then my body and then just stood there for a moment letting