Ordinary Life: The Challenge

The Banquet

A week after the Veronica incident,  I haven't had any more problems. Maybe I was a little over my head, accusing her of killing my own sister. On the other hand, I kept my promise to Bruno, that if she came back to the house, they will see a side of me, no one has ever seen before.

Tonight was our annual, Law and Justice Formal Banquet. Tonight, we see Deputies, Judges, Lawyers, Agents, and local police. The head of each department was asked to give a speech and give updates of themselves and their department. Tonight I was to give a speech and I was definitely nervous about that idea.

With a red dress on, and Bruno by my side with a matching tie, walked to the formal hall where the security of the property stood. "Good evening." The man said. "Department?" He asked, with a clipboard in his hand. "FBI. Reynolds, Genevieve and guest." The man scrolled through the papers and checked my name. "By policy ma'am, I am authorized to ask, are you armed tonight?" Bruno continued to look straight, knowing the answer to that question. "Yes, I am." "Okay. We ask you to not let it be seen to allow other guest to feel comfortable." He smiled. "Of course. No problem." "Thank you. You two have a wonderful evening." I nodded my hand, and I locked my arm around Bruno.

"I'm kind of nervous." I say walking through the crowd. "You'll do great. Just look at me, like it's just me and you talking. Besides, I thought you weren't scared of anything." Bruno laughed. "We're all scared of something."
____________________________________

I found my table that Bruno and I were assigned to. I always imagined it'd be me, Charlie, and Faith all sitting here, but life happend. Instead, it was a few generous collegues of mine and one of them was Justin. "Hey Genevieve! You look great." He stood and hugged me. "Thank you. You don't look bad yourself." I laughed. "This is my....friend, Damian Simpson." I took it that his friend was his undercover boyfriend, since he came out to me as being a homosexual. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Damian." I smiled.  "The pleasure is all mine." He spoke with a slur, but his voice was deep and handsome. "This is my boyfriend, Bruno." "Hey, man. It's great to see you again." Justin smiled. "Same to you, my man."

"Attention! Can we get order?" A woman spoke into the microphone. "Can we get order?" She repeated. Everyone took their seats, and became silent. "Good evening, ladies and gentleman, and welcome to the 35th annual, Law and Justice Formal Banquet. I am Judge Xena Faye. Tonight, you will be receiving a lovely dinner, along with a soothing live jazz band, but to get the night started, I would like to recognize the top authorities of our justice system departments. From me, a senior judge, all the way to local police who patrol our streets to keep you and I safe. Tonight we will meet the leaders of each department. We will see their worth, their dedication, but also, who they are as a person and what they will bring forward to the city of Los Angeles." The room applauded.
____________________________________

My leg was shaking a the person before me was wrapping up their speech. For once in a long time, I wanted to run away and hide. "....thank you to our head Lawyer, Peter Mckie. Next up, we have our new Chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Chief Genevieve Reynolds." The place applauded, whereas my table gave me a standing ovation. Bruno walked me up to the stage and before going up the steps, he held me close, not caring who could see, and kissed me lightly on my lips. "Remember, look at me. Do your thing, baby." "Thank you..." I walked up to the stage and saw Bruno quickly walk back to the table.

"Good evening ladies and gentleman." I say with a shaky voice. "My name is Genevieve Reynolds, and I am the new Chief of the FBI department." My mouth was drying up and my heart could have fell out of my chest any moment. "A few months ago, my life changed under many circumstances that I had no control over. Some changes were terrifying..." and I looked over to Bruno, "...and some were amazing." Bruno smiled and blew a kiss to me. "It is an honor to fill the shoes that our late former Chief Quinn Spencer left for us. When death came upon him, our department was in turmoil, where we were in one of our biggest investigations. I was actually fired from that case, but, I was too dedicated to finding justice. Something even bigger than that, I was fired from my job as a whole for breaking protocol, but breaking that rule made me more dedicated to my job now, but it made me find someone who I can say I am in love with." The room filled with "Awww" and it made my heart warm. "Quinn Spencer left a legacy. And that legacy was being fearless. We had two criminals in our department who took two innocent lives and under Spencers law, they are now locked away. As my first day as Chief, I received the news that my only sister, Genesis Reynolds-Longhorn had been killed. I wanted to give up on everything, but I know that's not what she wanted. That's not what she deserved. It's not who me and my department are to give up on those who seek justice. This is what I learned on my first day, as Chief Reynolds. We see this everyday. This is ordinary life. Most of you understand this. This is our life, and if we see  something else, we aren't doing our jobs right. I also learned that even in our darkest times, we receive blessings, especially when we least expect it. Last week, I was terribly ill, and my wonderful right handman, Justin Richards took over for a few days. My illness was wicked and it was something I could tolerate no longer. That illness was a form of morning sickness, and it was announced to me that I was 10 weeks pregnant." The crowd applauded and cheered.

"Before I conclude, please do not underestimate me. My pregnancy will not stop me from working as hard as I can to serving the community that helped raised me. I am a fighter and so is my department. We are strong and we are capable of getting the job finished. I couldn't ask for a better family. From the Federal Bureau of Investigation, we thank the you all, for supporting us. I am Chief Genevieve Reynolds, head authority of the FBI. Thank you."

To my surprise, many people stood to their feet. Bruno walked up to me and kissed me again. "You were amazing! Baby, I'm so proud of you." He rubbed my back. "Thank you, for everything. I love you, Bruno. With all my heart." "I love you to the moon and back, baby girl."