By Sun and Candlelight / CAMREN

Chapter 13 - Normani and Dinah lunch

Dinah knocked on the door to Normani's house while balancing a bag and two drinks. Normani opened the door and smiled widely, happy to finally get the chance to spend more time with Dinah.

"Here, let me help you," Normani said, grabbing the drinks from Dinah.

They walked inside and Normani placed the drinks on the kitchen table. She had the table set with plates and cutlery and a small bouquet of cut flowers from her garden in a vase in the center. Dinah looked at the setting and smiled. She placed the bag down on the table and turned to Normani. She gently placed her hands on Normani's hips and brought her closer. Normani draped her arms over Dinah's shoulders and smiled softly before leaning in and bringing their lips together for a kiss.

"I've been looking forward to that," Dinah said, grinning as they parted.

"Me too," Normani answered, "How about some lunch and then maybe we can pick up right here?"

Dinah grinned and nodded and turned to pull the food from the bags. They settled in their spots and Normani immediately dug into her grilled chicken fattoush salad. Dinah picked up her gyro and took a big bite, humming happily at the taste.

"Everything okay at work for you to take a break?" Normani asked.

"Yeah, it's all calm right now," Dinah answered, "My work schedule varies. If we have a big case going on, I might have to work a few days with no breaks at all. If things are calm it's a pretty laid back schedule."

"What kinds of big cases do you get in this lazy town?" Normani asked, grinning.

"You'd be surprised," Dinah answered, "Luckily we don't get a lot of violent crime, but we still have our fair share of issues. The last real big one I was in charge of was dealing with some pill mills set up to prey on addicts. We were working with the FBI and the DEA. It was a mess. That whole situation is awful and it's happening everywhere."

"Did you shut them down?" Normani asked.

"We did, but everyone knows another one will pop up," Dinah said, "Or worse, people will turn to heroin. It's a terrible cycle."

"Why'd you become a cop?" Normani asked, taking a sip of her mint iced tea.

"My dad was a cop," Dinah said sighing, "He was killed in the line of duty while I was in college – shot during what he and his partner thought was a routine traffic stop."

"My god, Dinah, I'm so sorry," Normani said tenderly.

"We were really close, I was devastated," Dinah said, "Sometimes I still am, all these years later. I miss him like crazy."

"So you wanted to follow in his footsteps," Normani surmised.

"That was part of it," Dinah said, "I was already studying criminal justice before he died, so it may have been inevitable. After he died, I was sure. I had this great idea that I'd find the guy who killed him and bring him to justice. That turned out to be a pipe dream, but I love what I do."

"I'm sure he'd be very proud of you," Normani said.

"I hope so," Dinah answered, "How'd you get into your field?"

"Honestly, I was good at it," Normani said, chuckling, "I always loved tinkering with computers, and I used the internet to learn how to do programming. By the time I got to college I already knew more than what I was being taught in most of my classes."

"I'm constantly amazed by the things we do with a computer at the precinct," Dinah said, "The way we can track data and share information today is light years better than when I started."