BREAKFAST BEFORE THE STORM
by Rosebud
Chris lay quietly beside Rita enjoying watching her sleep. He still had a hard time believing that she was finally his wife. When she opened her eyes, he smiled and brushed her lips gently with his. "Good morning, Mrs. Lorenzo."
Rita looked startled for a moment and then, remembering their hastily arranged marriage the day before, she stretched contentedly, "Good morning. For a second I didn't know who you were talking to until I remembered that we're on our honeymoon here in beautiful downtown Palm Beach."
Chris pulled her over to him and hugged her tightly, "Well, it still isn't Hawaii, but I'm not complaining."
Rita snuggled closer, "No complaints here either."
"Feeling okay, Rita! No morning sickness?"
She shook her head no.
"Good. How about I buy you breakfast?"
"Sounds good to me." She looked up at him, concern in her eyes. "Have you given any thought as to how we are going to do this today? Are we just going to go in to work and announce that we're married or what?"
"I don't know. I haven't given it much thought. Had other things on my mind," he said as his hands traveled over her coming to a rest gently on her abdomen. "But," kissing her, "I guess we just tell Cap and wait for the screaming to stop."
Rita sighed and nodded in agreement. Chris kissed her one more time and then headed to the bathroom as Rita lay quietly thinking about the reaction they would face today. She looked down at her wedding ring and smiled. Knowing that Chris would be beside her through the difficult times today and from now on made her worries disappear, and she rose from bed to get ready for the coming day.
Chris' mind was in a whirl as he shaved. He knew that Cap's initial reaction would be to go ballistic, but that, in the end, he would be a friend and give them his support. It was the Board that he worried about the most. He didn't want to be separated from Rita, but he knew the possibility was there. It was probably inevitable. They could, he knew, survive that, or anything else, as long as Rita and he were together.
Rita went into the bathroom when Chris finished shaving and began putting on her makeup. Chris stood and watched quietly, enjoying the intimacy of their actions. Rita noticed Chris watching her in the mirror. She turned and kissed him.
"What was that for, Sammy?" he asked.
"For being there everytime I've needed you, Chris."
Chris squeezed her tightly and whispered, "I promise to always be there, Rita. Hey, we better hurry if we're going out for breakfast."
"I'm ready and hungry," remarked Rita, as they walked into the bedroom. Chris hugged her once more, and they hurried out of the apartment.
Chris pulled up in the restaurant's parking lot and looked at Rita. "Sammy, you aren't too worried about today are you? I can't wait to tell everyone that I finally got Rita Lee Lance to marry me. And I only had to beg and plead.
Rita laughed as she got out of the car. "You didn't beg, Sam. Maybe you pleaded a little. Besides, if we don't tell everyone, all the cute young girls are going to keep hitting on you."
"Hey," he said, kissing her on the cheek as they walked into the restaurant, "I got the girl I want. Say, how many waffles can you and the little Lorenzo eat?"
After they placed their orders, Chris reached over the table and held Rita's hand. "No regrets, Rita?"
"None. Except having to tell Cap."
"Yeah. I hope he takes it well. He doesn't have a heart condition does he, Sammy?" asked Chris, attempting to get a smile from Rita.
"No, the only condition he has is hypochondria," Rita said, rewarding Chris with a smile.
Minutes later, something, maybe his years of police training, made Chris notice the man and woman sitting at the counter reading a paper. The two whispered back and forth sneaking an occasional look at Chris and Rita. Chris frowned, wondering what was causing the couple to be so interested in them. The two got up, leaving the paper on the counter. As they paid their bill, they glanced once more at Chris and Rita and began quietly laughing as they walked out. Curiosity got the better of Chris, and he jumped up and grabbed the newspaper. Sitting back down, he began scanning through the paper trying to discover what had caused the couple's odd behavior. At first, he couldn't find anything, but then he folded the paper over and, at that moment, saw the front page. His eyes widened in surprise. "Oh, jeez, Rita!" shock clearly evident in the tone of his voice.
"What's wrong?" asked Rita, looking up from her waffles and seeing Chris wide-eyed.
Chris couldn't answer. Turning the paper around to show her the front page, he watched Rita's face turn white when she saw a picture of her and Chris being married by the justice of the peace.
"How, who? Oh, no!" exclaimed Rita, "What do we do now?"
"Well, it's pretty obvious that Cap and everyone else knows that we're married. Damn, I hate this! Look, Rita, let's tell him about the baby now instead of waiting like we originally planned. Maybe that will help Cap understand. Let me try to take the heat anyway."
"Chris, we're in this together, okay. No regrets, remember?"
Chris flashed a big smile. "What the heck, they'll just have to get over it. Ready to go?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
Arriving at the station, Chris and Rita walked hand in hand inside, both fully aware of everyone looking at them out of the corner of their eyes. Rita glanced at Chris. He stopped outside their office and looked around at all the people who just happened to be hanging around. Chris decided to give them something to talk about. Putting his arms around Rita, he whispered, "I love you, Rita," as he kissed her with more than a little passion. Rita smiled at him when he broke the kiss, understanding his motive for kissing her in so public a place. It was his way of saying to those around them, "We love each other, and we want everyone to know."
"Ready to go into the lion's den?" she asked, amusement in her voice as she looked around at all the wide-eyed onlookers.
"Ready, Sammy," he nodded, taking her by the hand as they stepped into the office. They could see Harry, redfaced, standing in his office, with the newspaper in his hand. "Would the two Lorenzos step into my office please?" he shouted.
Rita looked at Chris. Chris whispered as he brought his hand up to her face and lightly caressed it, "It's worth it, Rita."
"Absolutely, Chris," as she looked into his eyes. She sighed once, and they both stepped into Harry's office and into the storm.
END
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