"V!"

V halted her trek across the parking lot when she
saw Felicia Jones heading toward her, blonde hair
flying in the chill breeze. "Felicia, hi. What's up?"

The older woman stopped to catch her breath. She
looked stunning: hair perfectly coiffed, an expert makeup
application, and a fashionable and flattering dress that V
would never think to pick out for herself. She studied her
friend covertly; Felicia made beauty look so effortless.
She had to suppress a small, yet surprisingly painful,
pang of envy.

"I have to run in to see Mac. Would you mind watching
the girls for a second? They're in the car, right over there."
Felicia gestured to the blue sedan.

"Sure, no problem. You and Mac got a hot date?" she
asked, grinning.

Felicia shot daggers with her eyes. "No. We're just having
dinner with the girls. Hot date. As if," she grumbled and
walked past her toward the station.

V chuckled as she went over to the car. The Jones girls were
in the backseat, playing Miss Mary Mack. She opened the
front door and poked her head in. "Hey, you two! How are my
favorite police officers-in-training?"

"V!" Maxie squealed. "I mean," and she straightened in her
seat, and gave a salute, "Officer Ardi...Ardy..."

"V will be fine, Lieutenant Jones," V said with mock authority.
She slid into the driver's seat, then turned around to look at
them. "And what about you, Officer?" Georgie, as usual, just
giggled.

"Are you coming to dinner with us, V?" Maxie asked. She
tugged at her dress, obviously wishing she could trade it in
for a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

"No, I'm just going to hang out with you guys until your mom
comes back with Uncle Mac," V said. "That okay?"

"That's cool." Maxie undid her seatbelt and stood up so that
her chin rested on the seat in front of her. "How was your day?"

V smiled at the adult question. "It was just fine. How was
school?"

The girl screwed up her face. "Not good. Billy Medeski keeps
bothering me."

"Medeski, huh?" V raised an eyebrow. "What did he do?"

"He kept chasing me around the playground at recess, even
after I told him to stop," Maxie explained. "He just won't leave
me alone. He likes to tease me and it makes me so mad!"

V leaned closer and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial tone.
"Well, just between you and me, Maxie, it sounds like Billy has
a little crush on you."

"Eww!" Maxie stuck her tongue out. "I don't think so. Boys
are too gross."

"They can be gross sometimes," V agreed. "But they can be
nice, too. You'll see."

Maxie mulled the thought over. "I guess you're right. My Uncle
Mac is really nice. I can't wait until he and Mom get married, so
that we'll finally be a family, once and for all."

V bit her lip, wishing she didn't have to lie to this little girl.
"Uncle Mac would be a great dad," she said finally. That,
at least, was the truth.

"V, do you have an Uncle Mac?"

Hmm. Avoidance was always a good tactic. "No, but I have
an Uncle Howard. He plays the tuba at family reunions."

Maxie made a frustrated sound. "That's not what I meant! I
meant...do you have a boyfriend?"

V sighed. "No, I'm afraid not, Maxie. I'm a single woman of
the 90s."

"But you're so pretty, and nice, and funny..."

"Well, I'm still all of those things, whether I have a boyfriend or
not, right?" V asked softly.

Maxie nodded.

"I'm glad you think so. And if I do get a boyfriend, Maxie, you'll be
the first to know. Deal?" Maxie clapped her hands together gleefully,
and V grinned. She glanced out the window, saw Felicia and Mac
approaching. "Look, there's your mom. Time for me to get going.
Lieutenant?" She saluted smartly, and Maxie returned the gesture
in kind. "Officer?" Georgie made a half-hearted attempt at a salute,
bringing her chubby little hand up to her forehead. "Remember,
the price of peace is eternal vigilance." The girls looked at her
blankly. "Right. Never mind. Good night!"

She got out of the car, waved to Mac and Felicia, and headed for
her car. She looked up at the sky, and wondered if it was going
to rain.

End.