11:35AM - Joel & Demi
“I’m aware of the expectations also,” he continued, just as evenly as before. He was drawing on years of cop experience to keep himself civil. It wasn’t that he frustrated with the conversation, but he hadn’t expected to see first hand what kind of loyalty Ms. Rafferty possessed; he’d assumed (wrongly) that Callahan might have rubbed on her. “I only came by to thank you for the use of your space, I hope you’ll realize that I wasn’t looking to start a debate.” Joel disliked bureaucratic bullshit, but only because it took so much effort for him, but he was grateful that he’d had to learn a thing or two in the last few months.
“You’re right, we weren’t,” Demi replied, realizing that she had somewhere along the way become defensive about the MC. “Sorry, I guess my loyalties kind of clouded that judgment.” She could admit when she was wrong, and Joel was right in that it was water under the bridge. Demi knew that there were still very few people in Austin who saw the Hellhounds the way she did, who felt as protective as she did towards them.
While a year with Isaac might have calmed her views a little, Demi was a loyal creature to the bone and the Hellhounds really had saved her in those early years when she felt restless at the LBJ. They had also been the very reason she had found her way into La Quinta, but she had been an adult and had known what she was getting into. The past was the past and couldn’t be changed, but for the sake of this brunch she knew to drop the subject. “I hope you’ll realize I wasn’t looking to either,” Demi said, offering an apologetic smile. “I’m sure it comes as no surprise to you that I’m a bit opinionated like my father.” She laughed and then switched gears. “Did you know I’ve met your wife?” It would likely not come as a surprise since Mariah worked in Isaac’s department, but she mentioned it anyway in hopes they might be able to steer away from MC talk a bit.
Joel raised his eyebrows, then shook his head. “She hadn’t mentioned that to me, no,” he admitted, the cop in him trying to analyze for more details. It was a surprising segue, but one he was more than willing to go with if it meant he wouldn’t have to continue to avoid going to toe-to-toe on Hellhound opinions with Demi. Even if neither of them had been angling for a debate, he got the impression they’d both be able to find themselves back in one if they weren’t careful.
“She’s usually the Kulseth people prefer meeting,” he said. “She’s a lot more of a people person.” He was confident that their meeting had nothing to do with Demi’s imprisonment in La Quinta, because Mar would have mentioned a detail like that to him, and it would have been in the files he’d sifted through.
Demi couldn’t help but laugh softly at the remark about Joel’s wife being the Kulseth people enjoyed meeting. She could admit she had enjoyed meeting Mariah when she had stopped into the Department of Justice. Although she could also say she wasn’t necessarily not enjoying this conversation with Joel, either. Sure, they had almost gotten into one hell of a debate, but for Demi sometimes that was just par for the course.
“It was really brief,” she began. “I was just stopping by to see Isaac, drop of lunch for him mostly, and our paths crossed.” Demi had appreciated the way Mariah had treated her less like a criminal and more like just Isaac’s girlfriend. Not everyone in the DoJ did that. A lot of them had been in place during her arrest and stay in La Quinta, though many of them were at least smart enough not to say anything about her criminal past anymore.
Studying the police chief for a long moment she finally added, “I think some people just don’t know how to take someone who has beliefs and stands for them.” Demi could appreciate Joel’s stance on things, even if she didn’t necessarily agree with them.