Everyone sat down for dinner and the talk drifted back to Angela's prank. Apologies were repeated along with some of Granny's world famous smacks.
"I just want to know why me?" Jack asked playfully. "You don't go around arresting random men to get to know them, or do you?"
"Only the ones I wanna tie to my bed—"
Smack!
"Ouch!"
"Watch your words. There's a kid here."
Juan stopped eating and waved at Angela as if registering his presence.
"It was a joke, grandma," Angela commented, eyeing Granny to see if she was gonna smack her again. "On a serious note, I won a bet so..."
Granny shook her head, not wanting to tell the story, but it was Angela's turn to get revenge for all the smacking, and she continued.
Back when she lived there, Angela made a bet with Granny. Granny said she would take three years to graduate from the academy and Angela said she would do it in less than a year.
If Angela won, she would arrest Granny as her first arrest and if she lost, she would treat Granny to the most expensive restaurant in the city. Angela won, but Granny was too old to play along with her, so she didn't want to go through with it.
"That's when grandma told me about you," Angela said, holding back her laughter. "So I decided to pull a prank on you. Grandma warned her not to, but I didn't listen."
Before they could continue on the topic, Granny noticed the take out bags behind Juan and immediately smacked him.
"You brat, why are you making Jack waste his money like this? I thought Angela had ordered them until I noticed the local restaurant's name."
"Ow, granny! If you keep hitting my head, it'll affect my growth—"
"It can't possibly get any lower. It might boost your growth instead."
Jack laughed and intervened on Juan's behalf, asking granny to stop.
"It's the least I could do after this brat lunged at the men hounding me."
"What is this about? Don't tell me they were Alejandro's men. Those brat, I'll teach them a lesson—"
Granny immediately got concerned. She thought the resident gang members had bullied Jack and rolled up her sleeves, ready to teach them a lesson. Angela barely held her back, and Jack told them about what happened.
How he was feeding the homeless when those people showed up and everything that followed. He hid the information about being a homeless man, since it wouldn't fit in their view of him. Though he was careful to lie too much in Angela's presence. She might act relaxed, but she was a cop and could catch on to any mistakes.
Sure enough, Angela was the first to speak when Jack stopped.
"Do you want to file a complaint against them?" she asked. "You won't even have to appear at the station. I'll take care of it."
However, Jack shook his head. Getting the police involved was the last thing he wanted, once again, because of his ID. Besides, if they got involved, those people who helped him get his revenge would be in trouble and that was the last thing he wanted.
"No need for that," he said. "They got more than what they deserved. Besides, I don't think they'll dare show their faces here anymore."
"Hm."
Angela nodded, but didn't give up. If anything, the tale made her more interested in Jack's past. She followed up with a lot of questions. At one point, Granny got fed up with the enquiry and slammed her spoon on the table.
"Angela, this is my house, not your station," she scolded her. "Take off your uniform if you can't stop being a policewoman without it."
"Sorry…" Angela said, making a playful face.
Jack shook his head, silently thanking Granny for her help. He had barely picked the spoon up when something unexpected happened.
Taking Granny's suggestion to heart, Angela actually began unbuttoning her shirt. Jack quickly covered Juan's eyes while Granny picked smacked Angela with her spatula.
"Young lady, have you lost your mind? The big city has turned you rotten from the inside!"
Angela wanted to say something, but Granny kept hitting her. Although it didn't hurt, Angela raised her hands, trying to block the world's most dangerous weapon.
"It was a joke! A joke! I'm wearing another shirt inside. Look!"
"You dirty-minded woman, you want to trick me? You have turned shameless in months! Don't worry, I'll set you straight."
"I am straight! I don't like girls, I swear!"
That provocation only set Granny off more.
Once Granny stopped and left to bring sweets, Angela actually took off her uniform to show off the yellow t-shirt with two bright red spots at the front.
Pika—
"Do you see something you like?"
Jack's thoughts were interrupted by Angela, who gave him a sly smirk. He rolled his eyes, focusing on the food instead. But his mind was still focused on her.
She is strange. Unpredictable, yet easy to get along with, but I should keep my distance from her.
From Jack's point of view, there was no need to befriend a cop, at least not now.
The night ended amid more laughter and stories. Since it was way past twelve, only the adults remained in the living room. Juan had gone to sleep in Granny's bed as usual.
Angela wanted to leave too, but Granny was having none of it. Just like that, another mattress was arranged by the neighbors, but couldn't arrange a blanket, putting them in a dilemma.
"I'll bring Juan here to sleep with me," Jack suggested. "You two can take the bed and the bigger blanket."
"Let him sleep there," Angela replied. "He's young and needs to get proper sleep. Besides, what are you so afraid of? Big sis won't bite you in sleep, you know."
"You know what? Fine by me."
"See, Grandma, we'll get along just fine," Angela said, pushing Granny into her room. "Don't worry about us and sleep. I'm eager to learn more about your little bro."
"My little brother? But I don't have—"
Granny was confused be Angela's words, but Jack knew exactly what she meant and shook his head.
This girl has no idea what she's getting into.