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“I mean what the hell is the difference?” The young deputy asked as she clasped onto yet another tube of toothpaste from the shelf and read through the carton.
A loud noise from the top of the aisle grabbed her attention; a small boy stood three feet tall, with boxes of toothpaste scattered on the floor beside him. His tiny fingers crushed one of the boxes as he squeezed just a bit too tight. He ran at top speeds down the aisle and crashed right into the officer’s shins.
“Hey there, little man.” Nicole spoke as she retreated down to her knees, her cold handcuffs clanging against the metal shelf. She looked into the boy’s scared, watering eyes.
“Are you going to arrest me, officer?” his voice cracked as a large crocodile tear escaped the corner of his eye.
“What do you have there?” Nicole reached his sweaty palms and took the cardboard carton from him. His sticky fingers had grabbed a tube of kid’s bright green toothpaste, yet he barely looked old enough to have any teeth. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I used to love them growing up. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Heroes in a half shell. Turtle Power!” Nicole sang in the beat of the original 1990’s theme song. The boy’s eyes lit up in excitement.
“What’s your name little man?” Nicole asked as she handed him the toothpaste.
“Wesley!” A voice bellowed across the shelves and echoed across the linoleum floor. She rushed toward the tiny child and snatched him into her arms. “Don’t you ever do that again, Wesley. Mommy was so scared.”
Nicole placed her arm on her own knee and expanded her body to her full height. She straightened her uniform quickly, trying to look as professional, or was it sexy, as possible.
“Don’t worry ma’am. He was completely safe with me, I promise.” The tall redhead wiped her own clammy palms on her khakis, desperate to look smooth and confident in front of this beautiful mother. “Nicole, Nicole Haught.”
The mother reached forward and grasped Nicole’s hand in hers, energy sparking through her at the contact. “Waverly Earp.”
“And this is?” Nicole asked, gesturing toward the little boy now squirming in his mother’s arms.
“Wesley,” Waverly answered. “My little trouble maker. Thank you for taking care of him.”
“No problem Ms. Earp.” Nicole’s eyes spiraled up and down the other woman’s body. No ring. “How about you come grab a coffee with me?”
“No, Officer, I’m sorry.” Waverly rejected and a flicker of pain flashed across the redhead’s eyes. “I don’t think he will sit down for that long.”
“Well what about breakfast at the diner?” Nicole turned her attention to the younger boy. “How would you like some pancakes?”
“Yeah, Momma, can we, please?”
“No Wesley,” She argued. “We really shouldn’t bother the officer.”
“It’s not a bother at all Waverly.” Nicole argued. “I just got off shift, and I could kill for a coffee and some pancakes. What do you say?”
“Only if you are sure; we can be a handful.”
“Nothing my hands can’t handle, ma’am.” Nicole smirked as she led the small family out of the grocery store, their purchases forgotten.
“Hey Wesley, want to go pick out some cereal?” The redhead asked as she pulled the grocery cart to a complete stop, the young boy sitting in the plastic car attached. She could hear sound affects rumbling from his lips as he swerved the wheel, imagining he himself was pulling over.
“Yeah!” The little boy jumped from his seat, flinging the door wide open. He walked up and down the aisle, his chubby fingers drumming the bottom of his chin, as if he was in deep in thought. Just like his mother, every decision he made was scrutinized.
Finally, he stood on his tip-toes and wrapped his digits around the box, lugging it down and hugging it against his chest.
“Fruit Loops, eh?” Nicole chuckled. “Toucan Sam is going to get you!”
Nicole wrapped her arm around the little boy and threw him up into the air, tickling his soft, giggling stomach.
“What the hell do you think you are doing?” A voice Nicole recognized all too well bellowed. Her mind debated whether it would be best to shield the boy in her arms, or shove him away. The tall redhead placed the little boy on his feet and turned all her attention toward him, completely ignoring the boy-man in front of her.
“Wes, why don’t you go pick out another cereal for your mother and I?”
“More fruit loops?” He asked excitedly.
“Whatever you think we will want, little man.”
“Okay Nicole.”
The redhead watched as the boy walked toward the boxes, inspecting each. Keeping her eyes on the child, she spoke to the intruder. “What do you want, Champ?”
“You think you can just trapeze into Purgatory and steal my life and my girl.”
“Is that what you think, Champ?” Nicole rolled her eyes in frustration. “Waverly doesn’t belong to anyone.”
“No? She was mine until you stole her from me.” Champ stepped closer to the woman, his feet stepping on her sneakers. “And that little boy is 100% mine, no matter how much you pretend to be a father figure, or whatever you dykes consider yourself.”
“Whatever, Champ.” The redhead breathed exasperatedly. Her eyes water as she remembered their chance meeting that occurred only two years ago.
“I don’t care what you say or think Champ.” Nicole said, turning toward him for the first time in the conversation. “That little boy loves me and thinks of me as a parent. What can you say, Champ? He doesn’t even know you exist.”
Blackness flashed across her eyes as she felt strong knuckles connect to her nose. She heard a crack as blood dribbled down her chin and puddled onto the freshly waxed linoleum floor.
“Okay so I got a pound of-” Waverly said as power walked to the small group. “Nicole, are you okay? What did you do, Champ?”
“Waves, can you please take Wes to get some toothpaste? I forgot to pick some up when we passed that aisle.”
Waverly hesitated, but she caught Nicole’s eyes and knew she had nothing to worry about. She was going to be dragged to the hospital to get that nose checked, though
“Come on Wesley.” Waverly chimed as the young man flung another box of cereal into the cart.
Nicole’s eyes locked on her family as they sped away, Wes pushing the cart from underneath the handle. As soon as she saw their fleeting backs, she grabbed Champ’s arm, shoved it behind his back, and held him against the store shelves, his head banging into the metal.
“You are to stay away from them, got it?”
“It’s my-”
Nicole pulled on his arm harder, causing the man to whimper in pain. “Your child? You mean the one who you begged and pleaded Waverly to get rid of? That child? He may be your blood, but he is nothing like you. Thank god for that.”
“You can’t keep me away from my own flesh and blood.”
“Oh no?” Nicole asked, using her free hand, she pressed his head even harder. “I can’t, but jail sure can, huh Champ? I’m pretty sure you would get a few months for all the missing child support you owe Waverly. And to be honest, I’m pretty sure Stephanie Jones has a little daughter with your eyes and your nose. And she’s what, seven? God you must owe her over enough for a brand new car!”
“Shut up!” He mumbled.
“So let’s make a little deal, okay Champ? I won’t report you for your missing payments, and you will stay away from Waverly and Wesley unless she tells you otherwise. Got it?”
“Or-”
Nicole clenched even harder onto his arm. “Okay?”
“Okay,” He agreed. Nicole slowly let go of him, the young man rubbing his neck and his back from the pain. “Have a nice day, Champ. Hope to not see you again.”
“Whatever, Officer.” Champ huffed, ignoring her latest promotion to sheriff.
The redhead stalked in the opposite direction, making a pit stop in the health aisle to stop her bleeding nose. Stalking through the store, she shoved the cotton mass into her nostrils, the bleeding finally stopping from dripping down her face.
“Hey Waves,” Nicole said as she dropped an opened box of tampons into the cart.
Waverly looked up and chuckled at her girlfriend, two long tampon strings sticking out of her nostrils. “Even with tampons up your nose you still look beautiful.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Waverly agreed. “But don’t think that means you are getting out of going to the hospital.”
“But Waves-”
“No ‘but Waves’. We have to protect our hero, right Wes?”
“Special delivery for Mrs. Haught.” Nicole chuckled as she walked through the living room and placed the piping hot box on the kitchen table. “Hot and fresh veggie pizza right to your door. Do you want this here or in the dining room, babe?”
“Only the second best thing to just walk through that door.” Waverly winked as her fingertips found the collar of Nicole’s uniform. She leaned forward, placing both hands on either side of the redhead, trapping her against the kitchen table. Her soft lips scattered kisses first on Nicole’s cheek, then her nose, and finally, their lips connected in a passionate dance.
“Wow,” Nicole sighed when they separated, desperate to catch her breath. “I should bring pizza home every night.”
“Ha, ha,” Waverly said as she spun away from Nicole, leaving a slight breeze in the distance. “How was your day at work?”
“I think we have a lead on that McCauley case I was telling you about last week.” Nicole started as she pulled the collar up and worked to take off the tie. “Lonnie and I are going to go check it out tomorrow. Hopefully we will be able to get somewhere.”
“I’m sure you will, Nic.” Waverly said positively as she placed three plates on the table for dinner.
“How was your day?” The redhead asked as she slid the kitchen chair out from the table and took a seat, proceeding to take off her work shoes.
“Great actually,” Waverly said. “We went over conjugating verbs and I think they are finally starting to get it.”
“Te amo. Je ta’ime. Volim te.”
“That was really good, baby,” Waverly commended.
“What can I say? I’ve had years of practice.” Nicole pressed yet another soft kiss to her wife’s lips as dark, dreary music filled her ears. “Ut oh, grunge music? Teenagers. What happened to him?”
“I was hoping you could actually go talk to him. He had a rough day at school. When I picked him up, he was almost in tears.”
“Oh no, what happened? Was he bullied? Do I need to alert the security officer over there?”
“Not exactly.” Waverly disagreed. “He actually got made fun of brushing his teeth after lunch.”
“Oh god,” Nicole chuckled. “Our son.”
“You know, he totally takes after you.”
“What? No way! I’m happy to just brush my teeth once in the morning and once at night!” The redhead retorted.
Waverly giggled at her wife’s fake offence. “No, I meant he takes after you always following the rules. The directions say brush after every meal, so he does.”
“Hey, I don’t always listen to the rules.”
“Oh no?”
“How’s this for rules?” Nicole grabbed Waverly and pushed her against the cabinets, the space in between them disappearing instantly. Her lips found Waverly’s, and in an instant her tongue slid across the bottom of Waverly’s, begging for entrance inside the other woman’s hot, warm mouth. “Why don’t we just let him stew for a little bit, and we can go into our room and make love?”
“Ah, as great as that sounds,” Waverly started as she played with the small hairs on the back of Nicole’s neck. “You really should go talk to our son.”
“And then?”
“We can do anything you want baby.”
“I’ll be quick then!” Nicole said, giving Waverly a wink as she pulled away. “I’ll bring him some pizza so he can at least eat if we won’t come out of his room.”
“Hey Nicole?”
The redhead paused as she placed the first piece of pizza on the green plate. “Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.” She spoke confidently, her eyes never leaving the other woman’s.
Nicole placed her ear on the side of the hotel room door, desperately listening for the sound of feet shuffling or any type of movement from inside, but nothing. All she could hear was the sound of the television blasting an infomercial.
Slipping her hand into her back pocket, the redhead grabbed the keycard and flashed it in front of the door, announcing her presence when she walked inside. “Knock, knock.”
She walked through the large hotel room suite, stopping only when she finally caught sight of the five foot seven man desperately trying, and failing, to tie his long, bright blue tie.
“What’s wrong, little man?” Nicole asked, immediately taking in the man’s pale face and sweaty palms. “Here let me help you with that, I’m a pro.”
“Everything’s going wrong, Mom,” Wes explained as he took one last look at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He took several steps toward Nicole, who took his satin tie in her hands, and immediately went to work. “I think I left my gift for Ella in the car and I don’t have time to run and get it. I haven’t heard from Ben from last night, and I’m afraid he got too drunk at the rehearsal dinner he is going to forget the rings, or not even show up at all. I didn’t get any sleep last night because I was up all night trying to memorize my wedding vows. And don’t even get me started with the way I look.”
“What’s wrong with the way you look?” Nicole asked as she tightened his tie and slid it underneath his vest.
“Where do you want me to start? I can’t get this stupid tie on, I’m pretty screwed up and accidentally grabbed one blue sock and one black sock. And I forgot my tooth brush and my toothpaste.”
“Okay let’s sort this out one thing at a time, okay?” Nicole folded his collar and straightened it out perfectly. “Your tie is all set, and I think you look very handsome, if I do say so myself.”
“Mom, you have to say that.”
“Don’t give me that bull shit,” Nicole said sternly. “Ella’s jaw is going to drop when she sees you. And I brought a box of tissues for your mother, because I know she is going to cry when she sees you.”
“I look just like I did at prom.”
“No, you don’t. You look all grown up and she’s going to be sad you aren’t going to be our little man anymore.”
“I will always be your little man, Mom. Always, even after I’m married. I’m still your little man, even though I’m a doctor of dentistry now.”
“You’re right on that, Wes, you will always be our little man, but your mom is still going to be bawling her eyes out.” Nicole agreed. “But speaking of, I brought something for you.”
The redhead reached into her suit jacket pocket, her hands wrapping around its contents. She opened her hands out to the man in front of her, his eyes widening in excitement.
“You brought my toothbrush and toothpaste?” He asked excitedly.
“Of course I did.” Nicole said. Wes snatched the items from her palm and got straight to work on his pearly whites. “I stopped by your house this morning and saw you had left them there, and I knew you would be worried.”
“Okay, so let’s figure this out,” She said, her voice up an octave as she talked over the running water and his loud professional electric toothbrush. “Your pants are long enough where no one is even going to notice if your socks don’t match.”
Nicole smiled and raised her own pants, showing her son she herself was wearing one brown sock and one black sock. She winked. “I think you will get away with it. I do on almost a daily basis.”
Wes spit into the sink. “Really? You always look so put together.”
“Hey! I resent that!” Nicole chuckled as he shoved the device back into his mouth. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and typed out a quick text message. Once she saw it was read, she slid it back into her pants. “Okay, I just texted Ben’s mom. She will find him and make sure he shows up, with the rings, or I myself will arrest him for being overly intoxicated and ruining my son’s wedding.”
“Mom, you can’t do that.” Wes argued. He took a small sip of water, gargled it and then spit it into the sink.
“I can and I will, don’t temp me.” She told him. “Your mom and I can run to your car and grab your present for Ella after the ceremony while you are taking pictures and drop it off in your room okay. Does that work?”
“That is perfect.” Wes agreed. He walked passed Nicole and into the large bedroom, grabbing his floss out from his overnight back. “Speaking of, where is mom?”
“I think Aunt Wynonna stole her to do some shots or something. She heard we had paid for open bar and she wanted to get her monies worth. And by her money, I mean ours.”
“I hope Mom can keep Aunt Wynonna away from Champ. The last thing I need is for anyone to end up with a gunshot wound through their chest on my wedding day.”
“No worries, your mom can handle it. And we made sure they were sitting as far away from each other as possible.”
“I don’t even know why she invited him.” Wes told her honestly, as he tossed the small strand of string into the trashcan.
“She feels bad I think?” Nicole surmised, following him as he walked into the other room and took a seat at the table.
“He never meant anything to me. I mean, I don’t think of him as any more than a sperm donor.” Wes informed her. “You and Mom have always been my parents, my family. You are all I needed, and so much more.”
“Yeah? You weren’t saying that when we grounded you when you drove the car into a telephone pole because you thought you were okay to drive home.” Nicole chuckled, remembering the horror she had felt when she got called in that night. “But seriously, Wesley, you are my son in every sense of the word. And your mom and I will always be here for you, even after you get married and have like twenty billion children, you will still be our little boy.”
“Twenty billion? Maybe like two.”
“I’m just saying, your mom wants grandchildren, so get on that.”
“WESLEY!” The door flung open and a slightly drunk, but more sober than normal Wynonna walked into the room, her sister right on her heels. “Are you ready to make the biggest mistake of your life?”
“Wynonna…” Waverly gritted.
“I resent that.” Nicole announced to Wynonna, who had sashayed her way into Wes’s arms. “Our wedding was one of the happiest days of my life.”
Nicole reached out to Waverly and pulled her into her lap. “And I’m sure Wes is going to feel the same.” Waverly agreed. “You look really handsome, little man. All grown up and ready to start your life.”
“Now, now, no crying.” Nicole reminded her, wiping the tears that had escaped Waverly’s eyes. “You can’t mess up your make up until the ceremony.”
“You’re right. What did I ever do without you?” Waverly said, her lips finding Nicole’s for just a split second.
“How are you still this mushy?” Wynonna complained. “You are going to make me sick. I really hope your son doesn’t take after you two.”
“I really, really hope he does.” Nicole winked. She glanced down at her watch and nodded at the time. “Okay, I think we need to head downstairs because the guests will be coming soon.”
Waverly slid off the sheriff and grabbed onto the redhead’s hand, helping her to her feet.
“Before we go,” Wes stopped them, grabbing a large bottle of champagne from the fridge and juggling four flutes. “Let’s do a toast.”
“Yes!” Wynonna said excitedly. “Definitely not your son, Haught.”
“Definitely is, Earp,” Nicole argued as she helped him settle the glasses on the table and pop open the bottle.
“You never would have drank before your wedding. You wouldn’t even see Waverly for two days before the ceremony.”
“Actually, that’s not true. I snuck into Waverly’s room that night and we-OUCH!” Nicole stuttered as Waverly’s heel pounded into her loafer.
“What are we toasting to, Wesley?” Waverly asked as she took the glass champagne flute into her hand.
“To family,” Wesley said as he raised his own glass up into the air. “We are probably the most unconventional family in the universe, but I doubt there is any family in the world with more love and more happiness than us.”
“And more whiskey!” Wynonna added.
“Of course,” Wes chuckled. “Anyways, what I’m trying to say is thank you for loving and supporting me through everything crazy I wanted. And thank you for showing Ella the same love and support you have shown me throughout the years.”
“Poor girl has no idea what she is getting into.” Wynonna quipped.
“To family,” Nicole raised her glass and clanged it against Wes’s glass, followed by Waverly, then Wynonna.
“To family,” Waverly breathed out, tears welling up in her eyes yet again.