Jealousy

"Carey," she said. "Do you know who that is?" She was quick to point at the blonde with the corporal stripes. Although her finger-pointing was brief, her stare wasn't.

"Yeah, that's Corporal William Kelly," said Carey. He watched her watching him and didn't like what was happening. Though Carey had never met William Kelly, he was unimpressed by his reputation. And Maxine's reaction angered him.

Perhaps he didn't realize it, but he was jealous of her. His mind flashed with the sound of a beacon warning him of trouble. If he lost Maxine, she might expose his lifestyle and the regret of what he told her the night of his drunken stupor.

Carey also overlooked his selfish need for Maxine's protection. Finding a confidant he could trust whose family legacy included a District Chief was precious. If anything happened, he hoped the trust and loyalty of their friendship would move the retired Deputy Chief to come to his aid.

He watched her lips part as she tilted her head. Then, as she bit the corner of her lower lip, he decided Corporal William Kelly was dangerous to his standing with the McMenamin legacy.

"Of all people, Max. The great warrior corporal of the Six-three, his uniform immaculate and his medals gleaming in the sun."

Carey made his fingers in quotation marks and scoffed.

He believed that Kelly and his buddy Johnny Keegan could never accept someone as expressive as he. Their fabled reputation as fighters and delinquents painted them as ugly and without compassion. They embodied everything that he hated. In his mind, they were the same bullies from his intermediate and high school years. And at that moment, he needed Maxine to stay on his side, no matter what darkness or supposition revealed itself about him. So he decided he would do anything he could to quash this attraction before it blossomed.

He was terse in diverting her attention from Kelly.

"Kelly's not the smartest guy out there, Max, and he's way beneath you and your upbringing. You're going to be an attorney for the FBI, remember? This guy is just some burned-out street thug who wears a badge."

Carey swallowed and adjusted his duty belt by holding the buckle and the portable on his left side.

"And don't call him Bill or Billy or Will or anything. It's just Kelly. And he's a huge prick, a self-proclaimed street prophet, whatever that means."

When Carey learned they assigned him to the six-three, he researched the precinct's history, key players, and the troublemakers. He wanted to know who to steer clear of, to keep his name and secrets clean and safe.

"You know that recent legislation that was passed?" he said.

Carey snapped his fingers in cadence. With each combination, his hands got higher and closer to Maxine's face.

"Officer McMenamin. Hello?"

He shook his head and cleared his throat before she responded.

"I'm sorry, yeah, I remember. The one that made all police use of force violations public knowledge."

"Well, guess whose name was on the list? The great Corporal William Kelly."

Maxine, though verbally attentive, was oblivious to Carey's slanderous ramblings. It was a new feeling that overcame her. One she had never experienced in her life. She saw something within him and could feel it as if it were hers.

"Yeah, and that other guy, his partner, is Johnny Keegan, another douchebag. I just assumed you would know who he is because he's a disgusting man whore—"

"Aren't Kelly's father and uncle Major Case Detectives?"

Carey ignored the question and gritted his teeth. His patience was waning as he wrung his hands and spat.

Maxine, however, continued to stare. She felt William Kelly's terrific trauma and pain. It was heartbreaking and oppressive. While Kelly was more than pleasing to her eye, and she found him extraordinarily attractive, more so than the Handsome Jeremy Hwang, his loneliness overwhelmed her. The more she watched him, the more the feelings grew. Then, finally, she saw through the pain and sense of oppressive abandonment. What she found was a gentleness and sensitivity that drew her in. With every thought and member of her body, she wanted to rescue him.

"Actually, I heard they're both pricks," said Carey. "They're always in trouble, and somehow they get away with everything. And I doubt they'd like my kind. You know, a queer."

Though whispered, it got her attention, and she was quick to respond.

"Don't say that, Carey. You don't know that to be the truth. I'm sure you're not the first gay cop they've met."

Max tapped his shoulder, feeling the guilt of ignoring him. As engaged as she tried to be, she couldn't stop staring at Kelly.

Maxine had a choice at that moment. It was heavy and could drastically alter her life and career. She could only imagine the risk of becoming a willful participant in his brokenness. Yet, her heart told her that maybe, if she looked deep enough, she could find what she was missing inside him. He'd honored her as a woman of both strength and fragility.

"They're not good cops, Max," he said.

She realized his frustration as she turned. Carey Fessenden's face was red, and his countenance stoic. His once peaceful stare and giddiness for the job had turned. He glared at her, his eyebrows pinned at the corner of his eyes.

"They're assholes, Max. Stop staring at him. He's poison."

His demand made her stare at the corporal even more.

This time, William Kelly saw her looking. And across the field of big-bluestem grass and broomsedge, she blushed, and he shied away.

"Um, I don't know, Carey," she said. "That's kind of unfair, you know. Especially since you've never met him, much less spoken to him."

"Whatever, Max. Just stay away. Please."

Maxine ignored him. The mere thought of speaking to Kelly tickled her stomach and filled her with hope. Suddenly, the day wasn't a waste, and everything suffered to this point didn't matter.

What just happened?

"You know what, Carey," she said. She looked him in the eye, feeling the need to defend William Kelly.

"I can't speak for him either. I don't even know him."

She sensed something mysterious. And although her feelings were hard to understand, she had to trust and follow them.

"Hmm. I'm not sure, Officer Fessenden, but I think—"

Max took a deep breath, thought for a quick second, and sighed.

"Yeah. I'm going to request assignment to the third watch."