Home Sweet Home

Deputy Chief of Police of Ferry Grove Diana Jackson had taken remarkably few days off in her entire career. Outside of maternity leave when she was pregnant with Whitney, the only times she took a day off was to attend her sister Crystal's graduations from high school, undergraduate, and then law school. Whitney's junior high school graduation was on her scheduled leave day, so it didn't count as taking a day off.

On a Tuesday morning, at the end of April, Diana Jackson felt like she needed a day off.

Diana assumed she would wake up first but was genuinely surprised to be alone in Riley's bed. It was six in the morning, but Riley had gotten the jump on her. Her body's natural cycle woke her up before an alarm most days. Diana found her phone on the nightstand next to the bed and checked her messages and calls. Whitney's late reply to a message informing her to not wait up. A reminder from her calendar of meetings. Her phone often started to get messages by seven, so she wanted to get ahead of her daily work message traffic.

Diana called Staff Sergeant Gerald Hopper. His desk phone rang several times before he answered, out of breath like he ran back into his office.

"Sergeant Hopper," he said.

"It's me," Diana said.

"What's up Chief?"

"I'm feeling a little under the covers today," she said. Gerald's confused hesitation echoed through the phone.

"Uhhh, what? You mean under the weather?" Gerald asked.

"No, I mean covers. Could you do me a solid and sit in at my meetings? I'll let the Chairman know in advance. I just need a day," Diana said.

"Yeah. Sure," Gerald said. "Damn, I don't remember the last time you took a day."

"It's been a minute," Diana said, and thanked him before ending the call. Diana sent the Chairman Ethan Drake a message, and he replied with a thumb up emoji.

Diana, now knowing her day was open, laid back in bed and looked up at the ceiling. She took a deep breath, imagining what this day should be. Diana Jackson's Day Off. Maybe go to Chicago, just like Ferris, only Diana wasn't fond of Chicago in the same way. Since moving to Ferry Grove, she'd only been back five times in sixteen years.

After loafing around, Diana forced herself to leave the bed. It was only when she was looking for her uniform did she remember her phone should have been in her pocket and not on the nightstand. Riley stripped Diana so fast she never cleared her pockets out. Her phone and other items were removed, but her uniform was missing. Unsure of what to wear, she found the shirt Riley wore yesterday, and used it to cover her body.

Diana had already accepted the fact she had a boyfriend but leaving his room in nothing but his shirt made it feel real. That was a level of comfortability she hadn't felt. Ever. She had no real long-term relationships to compare the current one to. Diana had been a single mother since she was eighteen, so her trek through the dating pool had always been in shallow water.

It felt like Diana had met Riley at the right time in her life. She didn't worry about her sister Crystal anymore. Not in the same way at least. Whitney was better at taking care of her mother than the other way around. She already had enough years to retire from the police if she wanted to try to settle down. Diana didn't think it was likely, but knowing the option was there was mildly comforting.

Diana exited the bedroom with a shirt that reached her lower thighs. Riley's office immediately across from his bedroom was vacant. She turned toward the living room to the right and saw nothing. The kitchen was out of view, and she could hear Riley talking with Tilly. Diana entered the kitchen and saw Riley scrapping a yellow potato against a cheese grater over a strainer that was in a bowl. There was evidence he had done this to several potatoes after peeling them.

"Morning," Riley said. Diana kissed Riley's neck and placed her cheek onto his shoulder.

"White onion next. Remove the skin, same thing. A quarter to half of it. Not the whole thing," Tilly said.

"Hash browns?" Diana asked.

"Sure is," Tilly said.

"I kind of cheated. I sent Whitney a text and asked for your breakfast order. I didn't have any steak unfortunately," Riley said. Steak and eggs were Diana's number one.

"Where's my uniform?" Diana asked.

"I put it on a hanger and hung it in my bathroom. I figured you'd shower, so the steam would help a little," Riley explained. Small things.

"Breakfast in bed?" Diana asked.

"Until you woke up at least. Coffee?" Riley asked. Diana face expressed reluctance to the offer. "I swear it doesn't taste like ass."

"I made it," Tilly said.

"Start with that next time," Diana said, and was directed to a cabinet for a mug.

Diana watched in fascination at Tilly instructing Riley in the basics of making breakfast. She wanted to confirm Whitney's observation of their relationship. That Riley was a big brother to Tilly. She teased him in the same way a younger sister would attempt to embarrass her brother in front of his girlfriend. He took the prodding in good fun and poked at her height and her strange habit of pointing at him when she stressed important steps of her recipes or processes.

"You're like siblings," Diana said after watching them for several minutes.

"No kidding. He's just like my brother was. Couldn't boil eggs or iron a shirt," Tilly said.

"He can't iron a shirt?" Diana asked. On their first date, his shirt was crisp and the fact he took the time had delighted her.

"She wouldn't let me walk out of the house looking like a schmuck. She taught me, and I've been doing it since," Riley replied.

Diana slowly smiled at the two of them. They were making each other better, and that was resonating outside of the house. Tilly was part of the reason their date was successful.

"Could you put some shorts on after breakfast?" Tilly asked Diana. Diana looked at her bare legs extending out of Riley's shirt. "CPS should be coming by to inspect the house today."

"You got a pair of sweatpants, because I literally have nothing else here besides my uniform," Diana said. Tilly said she'd be back and walked toward the stairs. When Diana heard her footsteps, she turned back to Riley. "I'm going to admit. I was worried."

"Because I live with another woman?" Riley asked. It impressed her he wasn't entirely oblivious to the perception. "I knew that would come up eventually."

"Why not address it before I do?" Diana asked.

"The surest way to make someone worry is to tell them not to. I don't like telling people how to feel about something. All I could do was hope you take it in context," Riley explained.

"I've never had a boyfriend. I've had dates, but I've never dated. You're a first. I'm too old for jealous girlfriend stuff. If I'm not like a typical girlfriend, it's because I've never been one," Diana said. Riley chuckled a little, then finished grinding the onion. As instructed by Tilly he squeezed the shredded potatoes and onions to remove as much liquid as possible. It shocked him how much fluid was in potatoes. The more juice removed, the crispier the hash browns would be when they were fried.

"Hope they fit," Tilly said as she walked down the stairs. She handed Diana a pair of sweatpants. Diana pulled them up her legs and felt them hug her hips. "Sorry, my ass is a cutting board."

"Least I know they won't fall down," Diana said. She asked how she could help, but they both ensured her they were taking care of everything. Too many cooks. Diana took her coffee and sat in the living room.

Under Tilly's tutelage, breakfast was excellent. The hash browns and bacon were crispy but not burnt. Riley never imagined his preferred method of making bacon would be to bake it in the oven.

"It's call

bacon

," Tilly said with a giggle. "It's in the name."

"Are you like, a cook cook. Like a trained chef?" Diana asked Tilly.

"Technically no. I was a semester away when I got pregnant with Howie. Then everything in my life kind of went sideways," Tilly said.

"With his father DK? How so?"

"If it's fine by you..."

"...save it for your lawyer. I understand," Diana said.

"Sorry, but he recommended I don't even talk about it to anyone. Not even Riley, but certainly not a police officer. No offense."

"Not the first time someone stopped talking to me because I have a badge."

--

Riley and Diana left the house at nine. It allowed Diana to change, and for Tilly to meet her appointment with the CPS case worker. Diana carried her uniform on the hanger, choosing to stay in Riley's shirt and Tilly's sweatpants. They decided to take one car, driving to her home in her SUV rather than his Mercedes.

Whitney was already at school, so the house was free when they arrived. On the drive, Diana informed him she was taking a day off, and wanted to spend it with him if possible. Riley had no issues with the request. Because she so rarely took a day off, it felt like skipping class to her. So work wouldn't distract him either, Riley turned his phone off.

Just like teenagers ditching school, the first thing they did when they were alone was have sex. Riley watching her change was too much. The pants were pulled down, and the shirt was lifted off. Her nipples were made firm by his mouth, and he continued all the way down. The first time he went down on her was accompanied by an impatient eagerness. Today, he took his time. The more she squirmed the longer he made it last. He orgasmed her into a breathless exhaustion, and then did it again because he had all day.

"I...can't...anymore..." Diana said, her ability to speak sputtering like a lawnmower between cord pulls. "I...break." Riley translated that as she wanted to stop for a moment. He left from between her legs and saw it was nearly eleven.

"I'm going to suck your dick so hard," Diana said, then gasped from the effort of completing a sentence between breaths. "Keep sucking after you come...swallow it all down."

After a several minutes of recovering, Diana did as promised. Her mouth worked him with hard puckers joined by slowly stokes with her hand. Riley's stamina was returning, so instead of the few minutes he had lasted with her so far, he was able to enjoy a mesmerizing blowjob for fifteen minutes. Eye rollingly good. Full body shivers. Toe curling. Diana didn't stop to ask him if he liked it. She knew.

"So good," Riley said. A few minutes later he said. "Almost there."

Diana took him all the way down and jerked as he came straight into her mouth. As promised, she swallowed it all down. Continuing to suck turned him into a sadder mess of a human being he had made her a short time ago.

Neither remembered falling asleep for a quick nap, but the moment they woke up, it was round two. Her lower back on a pillow for maximum leg spreading penetration. Bent over the pillow where ass slapping and hair pulling was very welcome. Riding him with no regard for how hard the headboard of the bed was hitting the wall. Exclamations of pleasure that would wake the neighbors. Concluded with a requested pullout where his semen was perfectly contrasted by her dark skin. She smeared it on her tits for fun.

"Best, ever. No joke," Diana said as she smeared his semen between her fingers and played with herself.

"Why the day off? Believe me, I don't mind. Just curious," Riley said. Riley had successfully fucked the frustration out of her. Diana was ready to talk to him about it.

"Chief of Police Diana Jackson isn't happening. The mayor picked someone else," Diana said. Diana didn't hide her anger. Riley wasn't sure how to continue the conversation in a constructive way, so remained quiet. "A real piece of shit too."

"Is there a way to fight that?" Riley asked.

"Not easily. The city council is basically a rubber stamp. No Chief of Police appointment has ever been blocked. The Chairman is in my court though, but he doesn't have a vote. He does have influence," Diana summarized.

"We'll find a way," Riley said. It didn't even sound presumptuous to say

we.

Diana and Riley couldn't keep their hands each other in the shower but managed to get clean. They got dressed and left the bedroom, expecting a quiet house but heard the voices of two girls talking in the den. They walked down the stairs to the living room and then down the next set of the stairs to the den which in practice was treated as a second living room with a pullout couch for guests. On the couch was Whitney and Alice who became suspiciously silent with girlish restraint of laughter.

"Hey mom," Whitney said. Diana knew she couldn't call her out for skipping school in good conscious considering her own day. "Last Tuesday of the month, half day for teacher training."

"How long have you been home?" Diana asked just to know how embarrassed she should be. No matter how old she became, something about being heard having loud sex made her blush. Especially when the person who heard it was her daughter.

"We got here at about headboard o'clock," Alice said with a straight face. They heard a majority of the loudest part.

"Anyway," Diana said, desperate to change the subject. "I'm going out with Riley. I'll leave my credit card for food. Don't abuse it," she said, creating an excuse to leave, and a reason for Whitney to not care.

"Have fun," Whitney said. Diana and Riley left, figuring out something to do on the fly. Whitney checked the window to make sure her mother was gone before the two of them burst out laughing.

--

Tabitha Sweetwater, the CPS worker handling Howie's case arrived to inspect the home. She walked through the kitchen and living room but didn't enter any of the other rooms on the first floor. The judge had given her special instructions as to the specifics of her lease with Riley, denying her access to the spaces specified as Riley's living space and not Tilly's. Tilly was sure if she asked Riley's he'd say it was fine, but she was never asked, and she wasn't going to offer.

Tabitha took her time, examining for both cleanliness and a child friendly nature. If outlets he could reach had plugs on them. If the home had any first aid kits. She asked if there were firearms in the house, and Tilly said no, but mentioned she could only speak for herself and not Riley.

Tilly tried her best to give Tabitha the space to do her job, and to minimize her own talking. Her lawyer had advised her on the damage an offhanded comment could make. Tilly believed that being too quiet would be suspicious but was told, "Your own words will bite your ass harder than anything you didn't say." So far listening to her lawyer had paid off, so she kept her mouth shut.

"Everything appears in good order," Tabitha said as she arrived at the bottom of the stairs. Howie's room she was particularly critical on. She made a few final notes to the paper attached to her clipboard without looking at Tilly who was following close behind her. Tabitha in the last hour had noticed Tilly's silence. Parents were often overly talkative to her, creating the impression that they were trying too hard. The only question or comment Tilly had made was about Howie's welfare at the current moment. There was nothing overtly suspicious about it, but something about a quite parent had never sat well with Tabitha.

"Contrary to what you may think, I'm not the bad guy," Tabitha said. She lowered the clipboard and held it to her hip like a book. "I want to keep families whole. I don't always see that happen, but that's my job. I'm here to help."

"Beyond answering questions about this meeting in particular, my lawyer has told me to say nothing I don't need to say," Tilly said. She was growing tired of repeating that. "I know you're doing your job, and I'm sorry if I appear aloof or disinterested."

Tabitha quietly blinked a few times, then slowly nodded.

"I understand that," Tabitha said. She held up the clipboard for a moment to check a name, then lowered it again. "I'll need to interview Mr. Blake in the near future."

"Riley? Why?"

"Because this is a unique living situation..."

"...I'm a tenant..."

"...this isn't an apartment building where there are clear divides between your property and his. This is his house, and you have shared living space with a man I must assume you hardly know. A family member is one thing, but a stranger is something else entirely."

"Riley would never..." Tilly started. Her instinct to protect him was as strong as his was to protect her.

"...I never said he would, don't get ahead of me," Tabitha said firmly to take control of the conversation. Tilly sensed Tabitha had experience in talking over distraught parents. "It's a special circumstance, and I have to check it off my list. If you are to continue to live with this man..."

"...I don't live

with

him..."

"...Ms. Aberdeen!" Tabitha said, Tilly flinching back. "Do not assume my intent, let me speak." Tilly inhaled and held the air in her lungs. "I apologize for snapping, but if I'm going to recommend to the judge that your child return to this house, I cannot do so in good conscious if I do not evaluate the suitability of Mr. Blake." Tilly released the breath. "Do you understand?"

"I do. Sorry," Tilly said. She realized how skilled of an interviewer Tabitha was. In only a few words she entirely forgot what her lawyer had said. It was time to be quiet again.

"I've seen miracles. I've seen nightmares. I've seen it all during my thirty-year career. Right now, you're on the path for a miracle," Tabitha said, then smiled. She removed a card pinned on top of her paper and handed it to Tilly. "Please give this to Mr. Blake so we can schedule our interview. The sooner he does, the smoother this process gets."

"I will."

"Pending that conversation, I don't see why you don't get a supervised visit by the end of the week. Remember, I just advise the judge, he decides all matters," Tabitha explained.

"I understand. Thank you."

"Stay positive. You're doing great," Tabitha said to encourage Tilly, then departed.

--

The diner downtown was one of Diana's favorite places in Ferry Grove. It's was open all hours of the day, had no fewer than ten deep fried dishes, and had never messed up her order in sixteen years. It was there during her greatest moments, and her darkest hours. And when her daughter and her friend heard her having bed thudding sex with their favorite author.

"It's kind of funny," Riley said between sips of coffee. Diana was still trying to dig her way out of the hole of embarrassment. "You get flustered. Never would have guessed."

"Can we talk about something else?" Diana said while shaking her head.

"Alright," Riley said. He placed his coffee cup on the table and leaned forward. "So what happened at work?"

"There really is nothing to talk about that doesn't involve me getting screwed," Diana said. "Like I said, mayor announced someone who was not me for Chief."

"That sucks. Do you know why?"

"The guy has the mayor's balls in a vice from something he helped him cover up years ago. Not sure how to leverage that yet. Part of me just wants to hang the hat. Say screw it and retire. If anyone else was picked I probably would, but I can't with this guy. My officers deserve a fight from me," Diana said.

Diana spent several minutes explaining her history with the Deputy Chief of McCombie David Fitzgerald. The investigation she conducted and its findings. The relationship he had with the Mayor Reggie Mason. Everything that she thought was important for him to know so he understood why this appointment needed to be prevented.

"Why not just reveal his deal with the mayor?" Riley asked.

"They'll both deny it, and it's unlikely a police report actually exists. And even if it does, Fitzgerald has it stowed away for mutually assured destruction. That's off the table. Reggie Mason will always protect Reggie Mason. He won't admit it, and we can't prove it."