Larry Sandoval was at his wit's end, miserable, unhappy, feeling like an animal trapped, living in a gilded cage, desperate to leave his troubled marriage when one night, quite by chance, after he finally gets the courage to leave his husband, he me...
Larry, Laurent, and Sofia were up early the following morning. Larry made breakfast, refusing Sofia's request to assist him. It was her going away day. The mood, understandably was a bit solemn as Sofia was leaving that morning to enter into temporary protective custody.
Laurent watched his bunny closely as he knew Larry was sad at Sofia leaving, and noticeably trying not to show it. This made Laurent even more glad that he'd decided on the surprise he had for Larry later that day, which he hoped will cheer him up.
But not all was sad. Larry was excited to finally be having his consultation with Laurent's attorney friend, Matt, to initiate his long wished for divorce. And while Sofia was sad to be separating from Mr. Larry, albeit briefly, she was excited she'd be seeing her sister, Maria, again, who she hadn't seen in person for close to a year.
The three, Laurent, Larry, and Sofia, soon sat down casually at Laurent's kitchen island where they enjoyed their breakfast. Small talk was light and a bit awkward as no one seemed to know what to say that would ease the situation of Sofia leaving, but Laurent tried.
"So, Sofia, are you excited about seeing your sister again?"
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
A/N: Meet the occasionally talked about but so far, previously not seen, Maria Sosa, Sofia's slightly younger, feistier sister. She's 3 years younger than Sofia, and she lives in Miami. She was recently brought to Virginia to be placed in temporary protective custody by the FBI. More of her to come in upcoming chapters.
"Si, Mr. Laurent, I'm very excited to be seeing her. I just wished it was under different circumstances. Mr. Laurent, what is this...protective custody like?"
Larry was just as anxious to know this too as he would be going into protective custody the following day.
"Well, of course I wouldn't know personally, but it's my understanding that, depending on the location and the circumstances, protective custody at least tries to mimic a normal home situation. The persons are usually in a house, or apartment-like setting or other facility in a secure location. Since protection is the purpose of the arrangement, there has to be certain restrictions. This means you might not be able to use phones, computers and other such means to get in contact with the outside world so as to maintain the safety of those in protective custody."
Laurent continued. "I believe you'll have most of the other comforts to occupy your time such as TV, reading and writing materials. There may be games, exercise facilities, but again, it depends on where you'll be kept. It varies. But for the most part, it's comfortable and safe."
"Will it be just us, Laurent? You said that most likely I'll be there with Sofia and her sister."
"I'm not completely sure about that. But as I said, I just think it makes the most sense that the three of you, all connected in some way to...Manny Sandoval and each other, that you'll most likely be together."
