Page 50 of Mimosa

Mims’s first instinct was to get angry, but he couldn’t. Haze had always been there for him. He was just being cautious. “Not yet, but mostly because I figure they buried anything to do with him because he’s UC.”

“UC? Cop talk already?”

“Shut up,” he said, laughing. “I guess I could try.”

It wasn’t twenty minutes later and he had to admit, he was impressed with the IA’s hiding of all of Sonny’s information. “It doesn’t even say his father was killed by a dirty cop, and it has him in some small precinct in Ohio. As far as I know, he’s never been to Ohio.”

“I’ll bet he’s studied everything that there is to know about it, and they’ve likely set a couple of cops there to vouch for him if anyone contacts them.”

“Probably. He’s never been in trouble, not since he’s been an adult. Or they’ve wiped all that too.”

“The way he feels about crime, I bet they didn’t have to worry about cleaning his record before or after he turned eighteen.”

Mims was staring at a picture of him in his police uniform. He was smiling, and young, not a day over twenty-one, and still, he wasn’t nearly as handsome as he was at the age he was when Mims met him.

“He was hot.”

“Hotter now.”

“That because you are all love struck, but he was hot then too,” Haze said. “Mims, you’re completely in love with him.”

“Yeah. I know,” he said, turning his head to Haze but unable to meet his eyes. “I’m dumb, and I always jump into things without thinking them out, but he’s everything I ever wanted, and I didn’t even know.”

“Those are the ones that rock us the hardest. Mims, look at me.”

His eyes moved up to Haze’s and he felt himself wanting to sink into himself for the confession. “I was stupid, wanting those men before, I know that. I knew it then, Haze. Someone to replace a man that never cared much for me, and they never did either. Care about me, that is. And maybe that’s why I liked them, fell for them and let them just keep breaking my heart over and over again. And all of you knew it. All of you saw and were so good to keep me safe while letting me figure it out, mostly on my own.

“But now, with Sonny, it feels different. He’s not old enough to be my dad. He’s not cruel to me, and doesn’t make me beg for his affection. He’s…beautiful and sweet, but no push over either.He’s different, but then again, he’s not. I think what I love about him is what I love about you all. Because he’s a little bit of you all.”

“He is?”

“Yes. He’s strong, he’s sweet, he’s tough. He has an appreciation for things, like you with art and Hippy with music. He sees things that most others don’t, like Cosmo, and he wants the moon and stars for me, like Abs. He’s protective, like you all are, and he’s…”

“He’s yours.”

Mims nodded and threw his arms around Haze’s neck. “You understand!”

“I always have,” he grunted as Mims strangled him.

Mims backed off and whispered, “I know but…I know you didn’t trust him. Probably still don’t.”

“I will one day, but that doesn’t mean I won’t always watch him.”

Mims preened at that and asked, “Because I’m yours too?”

“Damn right, you are! You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, Mimsy. I adore you, so if he ever hurts you, I’m going to show him a criminal.”

Sitting up straight, he grinned. “Good.”

They sat looking up the others, and those still on the job had a few less charges than Franklyn had, but they were still pretty brutal.

“Should I show these to Sonny?”

“I’m sure he knows. IA is the cops for cops.”

“Then why don’t they do more about this?”

“It’s hard to fire a police officer. They have great protections with their union, and don’t get me wrong, I love unions, they do a lot for members, but for cops, there should be much more requirements for their duty. If you get three strikes, for example,you should be fired. I don’t know. If I knew, then I’d run for something, or I’d do more than be a bartender and an art thief.”

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