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She’s in the middle of her afternoon tea with Gladys when she spots him.
“Elliot!”
He’s leaning against the door to the lounge, one ankle crossed over the other and arms folded across his chest. There’s a blue dusting beneath one eye and she thinks maybe his nose is a little more crooked than it once was, but he’s soft and smiling at her.
She grips the arms of the chair to push herself up, but he’s crossing the room in big, loping strides, arms around her before she’s even fully upright.
“Hi Mama,” he hums in her ear. “Missed ya.”
She hugs him back tight, tight, tight, then slaps his arm halfheartedly. “Eight months, Elliot? Really?”
He shrugs and has the decency to look apologetic. “I’m back,” he promises.
“For good?”
“Yeah,” he tells her. “I’m not goin’ anywhere any time soon.”
She points toward the mediocre selection of tea, eyes twinkling. “Good. Then I’d like another cup of mint.”
Chuckling, he lets her go and proceeds to make himself busy fixing two teas. Bernie sinks back into the worn fabric and watches his bulky arms delicately dunk tea bags into mugs stained from years of use.
“My son,” she explains, catching Gladys’s curious eye.
“The police offer?”
“That’s the one.”
“He single?”
Bernie’s seen the necklace Olivia wears, had commented on it the first time she’d visited and every time since. It’s as good as an engagement ring, she thinks.
“Definitely not,” she says.
Gladys sighs. “Shame.”
Elliot returns with a mug in each hand, brows furrowed as she takes both from him.
“The other one’s lemon,” he warns, knowing she hates lemon flavored anything .
“Have you seen Olivia yet?” she interjects.
A rosy blush creeps up her son’s neck and suddenly he’s looking anywhere but at her. “Not yet,” he eventually admits. “Came to see my best girl first.”
Bernie huffs out a laugh. “You’re a terrible liar. Go, go,” she says, shooing him toward the door. “Bingo is on Tuesdays, you can come back for that tomorrow.”
“Mama,” he tries, but she pushes the lemon tea into Gladys’s gnarled hands and points toward the door.
“Thanks for stopping by! Tell Olivia I say hello.”
Elliot smirks, despite himself. “You sure?” he asks, even as he backs toward the door.
“I’m not planning on dying in my sleep tonight. Get out of here.”
She’ll grill him on the black eye and a certain police captain tomorrow.