New York, New York

”What in God’s name possessed you to give her my cell phone number?” Officer Reagan asked his partner, Vinny Cruz, as the darker skinned officer drove.

”She liked you, Jamie,” Vinny stated matter of factly, while that grin was still plastered on his face. ”Did you see the way she looked at you? I don’t get it, man. I didn’t know it was that possible to be that oblivious,” He poked at the officer sitting in the passenger seat. ”I mean, you’re from a family…”

”Cool it, Cruz,” Jamie stated simply, looking at his partner, ”I got, she looked at me like she likes me,” He nearly rolled his eyes.

”What are you worried about?” Cruz asked as he continued to keep his eyes on the road. ”Do you think she’s going to turn into another Sydney Davenport?” Cruz questioned his partner.

”How do you know about Sydney?” Jamie asked, confused. He never made note of the girl that left him. They met while studying in Harvard, and he was crazy about her. They got engaged, and planned on living it up in New York around their families, getting jobs as top Manhattan lawyers. Then Jamie’s older brother had passed away, killed while on duty. Part of the reason Jamie joined the force was because of Joe. Going from Harvard Law graduate to rookie cop but a strain on their relationship, and Sydney left her fiancée after realizing she couldn’t go through the stress of not knowing if Jamie would make it home every night.

”Renzulli told me about her,” Cruz responded, bringing Jamie back to reality, ”She looked at you, she’s cute, and she looks like the kind of girl that could actually handle a relationship with a Reagan,” Each of the Reagan men, starting Jamie’s grandfather, former Police Commissioner Henry Reagan, was part of the force. With that being said, not only was it the family business, but there was always a huge possibility someone wouldn’t be at the table for family dinner that Sunday. Well, not that everyone showed up when they were supposed to, or stayed for the entire thing, but the basic point was that there was a lot of tension over the possibility of losing another member before his time.

”Fine, if she calls, I’ll ask her for coffee,” Jamie said trying to brush off the subject.

”Or you could just hangout around the Starbucks next to the bookstore, or find a reason to go back to the store,” Cruz off handedly suggested. With that, the conversation was over, as the operator on the radio alerted them of another call.

*_______*

That evening, Josephine was hesitant to walk home by herself. Luckily enough, she lived in the same neighborhood. Mr. Koslowski had offered the young woman the spare bedroom in him and his wife’s brownstone in Brooklyn, but they had done so much for the young brunette that she didn’t want to impose. They were pretty much her second family. They had never had any children of their own, and she was such a loyal employee while she was getting her Law degree at Columbia that they were eager to bring her into the family. Actually, the year before, her mother came up for Thanksgiving, and they had taken the mother and daughter in for their celebration. Ms. Kennedy couldn’t be happier that she had found people that so willingly took her in and that her daughter finally found a place that she loved.

Josephine walked through the chilly late night air, keeping her gloveless hands in her pockets to attempt to keep them warm. She would soon came up to the bus stop, luckily, right on time that her bus arrived. She couldn’t believe that everything was actually going well, especially after the break in earlier that night. She’d never been more scared in her life, then again, that might have been the most eventful thing to ever happen to her. Maybe her life wasn’t exciting enough; she chuckled to herself as she stepped onto the bus and swiped her card. There was hardly anyone, so the girl took a window seat near the front, hoping there wouldn’t be any creepy people coming to sit next to her.

She had been checking her Facebook on her phone in between texting a friend of hers she met during her undergraduate education at Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana. If there was a conceivable city she loved more than New York, it might have to be New Orleans, but that was a tough choice for the young woman. Of course when you like in NYC, it’s the greatest city in the world. In fact, she almost hated going back to Miami for the holidays because it wasn’t her home anymore. Despite almost getting robbed earlier that night, she still loved the city. And it was on that note that she saw her apartment building coming up. She pulled the cord above the window, and she then made her way to the doors in the middle of the bus. Once the vehicle made a complete stop, Josie stepped out into the cool air.

Josephine lived in a Prewar apartment near Columbia University which was great for those 8 a.m. classes. It was pretty expensive, but she split the rent with a friend of hers that she’d known since her freshman year of high school. Josephine’s roommate and friend, Sofia Moreno, was from Coral Gables, one of the suburbs of Miami. They were fortunate enough to meet when Sofia had let her grades slack before high school, and she wasn’t able to return to her all-girls Catholic school. They wound up in the same high school, and even after Sofia went back to her Catholic school, they kept in contact, always hanging out on weekends, and even double dating. There were times when they both ran into each other at choir competitions and would run off from their respective schools to hang out. It was safe to say that Sofia was Josephine’s best friend. They even ended up at Loyola University, a Jesuit school in New Orleans where they lived across the hall from each other their freshman year. They were the “Honorary 4th roommate” in each other’s room (they were unfortunate enough to be both placed in triple dorms instead of doubles), whenever they would get sexiled. Now, while Sofia was getting a Ph.D in World Literature, Josephine was getting her Juris Doctorate in Law, both, of course, at Columbia University.

Josephine had made it to their third floor apartment only to be met by a Sofia blaring Lady Gaga at a deafening volume… At 4 in the morning… ”Hey, why are you home so late?” Sofia asked, stepping off the couch she was dancing on and hitting the stereo remote to turn it off.

”Break in, IT guy came in late,” She said in a off handed manner, as she looked at her confused. And you, little miss Princessa, that couch is brand new. And weren’t you supposed to be writing that paper for Dr. Beorn?” Josephine questioned, adding a Puerto Rican accent to “Princessa,” as Sofia’s parents were both from San Juan, and so the rudimentary Spanish Josie learned from the Moreno family had the Puerto Rican accent.

”Ok, that’s nice…. Wait, BREAK IN?” the Hispanic young woman asked surprised, while her very white friend took off her navy blue Military style coat and kicking off her lace-up heeled boots. ”And, I finished that paper hours ago, and before you ask why I’m up, I was waiting for you to come home. I finished an hour ago and was getting worried.”

”Yeah, some guy broke into the store at 1, scared me to death. The responding office was pretty cute though. His partner gave me the cell number of one of them. Not sure which,” She smiled, putting her coat onto the hook in the entry way. Josie picked up her boot walking to the hallway to toss them into her bedroom. ”His last name was Reagan, and I didn’t see what his badge said about his first name,” She added, tossing off her scarf, hat, and belt, and she closed the bedroom door.

”You’re being a woman of few words tonight,” Sofia rolled her eyes, and she walked from the bedroom hallway back to their stark white kitchen to heat up some milk for their nightly hot coca. They did it to unwind, and that way if they had any issues with anything, they had a safe time to talk about it. It helped both of them sleep when they were able to confide in one another… Plus, it was cold as Hell to the girls from Miami, so hot cocoa warmed them up before bed. ”So tell me about the Officer Reagan,” She said, leaving it open ended before placing the milk she had in a measuring cup into the microwave to warm it up.

Josephine started going through the hot cocoa mixes they had and shrugged. ”I mean, I didn’t even meet him five hours ago, so I don’t know much else other than how attractive he is,” She smiled deviously, ”And he seems more educated than the average cop, and he was pretty soft spoken.” The girl handed her friend two packs of hot cocoa before getting the whipped cream out of the refrigerator. ”I don’t know. They’ll have to call me in to identify the guy that broke in, since I saw his face, so maybe I’ll see Officer Reagan, then” She chuckled a bit as she set everything on the counter.

”Wait, so you, like, actually saw the dude that broke in?!” Sofia’s voice sounded frantic. She was quick to get scared. The girl lived such a sheltered life, that it didn’t take much to set her out of her comfort zone. ”That means, he might try to kill you so you can’t testify, and what if he followed you home?” Sofia questioned vehemently.

”Sofia, calm down. We have like five locks on the door, and our windows can’t even be pried open. Plus, our neighbor has the hots for you, a hand gun, and you remember just how light of a sleeper he is,” Josie assured the girl. It was true. If someone made any loud, shrill noise from their apartment, their neighbor was there, gun in hand, ready to protect the girls. ”You need to date him. He’s crazy about you,” Josie said as the girl finished up making their hot cocoa.

”You know how Mama and Daddy get about guys that aren’t Catholic… And Adam’s Jewish,” Sofia said. It was true. Mr. and the former Mrs. Moreno were adamant about their only child settling down with a preferably Puerto Rican boy who was from a devout Catholic family, as they expected their grandchildren to do the same. They were willing to forgo him being Puerto Rican for him to be Catholic.

”Sweetheart, you’re parents’ divorce caused your grades to slip so you got kicked out of Catholic school… And Adam I said date. You don’t have to get married. You’re still in grad school, they can’t expect you to be married already,” Josephine explained, taking a sip of her hot beverage.

”Yeah, but just because they divorced doesn’t mean that they aren’t good Catholics,” Sofia reminded her friend, who was also from a Catholic family. ”And my parents weren’t like yours. I mean, your mom was so head over heels for your father that she waited nearly five years after yours and Liam’s father passed to remarry,” The young woman added, noting the differences in their families. Sofia’s parents had fallen out of love after a promotion left Mr. Moreno spending more and more time supposedly at work while his now ex-wife took care of Sofia, the house, and her own job as a floor nurse at one of Miami’s premiere hospitals.

”I know, I just making a point that you don’t need to be thinking about his faith because of your parents,” Josie said, sipping on the hot cocoa. ”Besides, he might end up being the kind of guy that would convert for you. My papa did it for my gramma, and Papa grew up in a hardcore Southern Baptist family. And when have you ever seen Adam go to services?” She questioned.

”Fine, I’ll ask him if you ask Officer Reagan,” Sofia grinned at her friend, holding her polar bear shaped mug.

”Wait, that’s not fair. I’ve only met him once, and I don’t even know if the number belongs to him or his partner!” She argued, trying to make an apparently this case.

”You are a smart girl, and a law major. Why are you making such a horrible case for yourself? Even if it doesn’t belong to him, wouldn’t his partner know how to get in touch with him? Plus, you’ll see him again if it’s meant to be,” One of the many things the girls loved about each other was that they never let the other get away with anything.

”Fine. I’ll call the number and see. But if it belongs to Officer Cruz, then I’m going to feel super crappy,” Josie said. ”Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to sleep. It might be Saturday, but the Koslowskis are getting a shipment of books that I have to label with their call numbers tomorrow,” She said walking into her bedroom to get ready for bed.

”Whatever, Josie,” Sofia said rolling her eyes. ”Good night!”

”Night, Sofia,” Josephine replied, closing the door.