Page 95 of Road Trip
I was looking forward to working in a new capacity and learning from the officer I’d been partnered with, who had been in the unit for a year already. I’d heard a few things about her, too, but I tried to stay out of the drama. It was also hard to tell if people didn’t like her because she was a woman or if she really was difficult to work with.
I reported for duty the first week of August and became immersed in the work. My schedule was four days a week, ten hours a day, and the rest of my time was spent either at the gym or helping Abra. Things were fine for the first week or so, but after that she started to seem a little distant. I wasn’t sure how to broach the subject, so one night after dinner, we were washing dishes together, and I figured it was time to check in. So I checked her, with my hip.
“Hey,” she said, elbowing me in the side. “What was that for?”
“Just making sure you knew I was still here,” I said with a smirk.
She raised an eyebrow at me, apparently not amused by my antics. “How could I miss you? You’re a giant. And you hog the covers.”
“Oh, do I? Well, how about when you tuck your freezing-cold feet under me to keep them warm?”
I flicked water at her, and she gasped dramatically. Next thing I knew, she’d turned the spray nozzle on me, I squirted her with dish soap, and we were a slippery mess in the middle of the kitchen floor.
“Now that I have you where I want you,” I joked as I pinned her down with my legs.
She fought against me, but her hiccups were draining her energy.
“What do you plan to do with me?” She was trying to be serious, but her hiccups ruined the mood.
“Well, I was hoping I could take you out tomorrow morning. You need some sunshine.”
“What are you trying to say?” she fired back. “I’m pale? Haggard looking?”
I pretended to inspect her closer and her mouth gaped open.
“Kelly!”
“I’m joking! No, I just wanted to give you a break, that’s all.”
I let her up from the floor, and she walked over to the sink, washing the soap off of her face and her arms. She dried herself off with a towel and then turned to face me.
“It would be nice to get out. I don’t know, I’ve just been thinking a lot. It’s weird with you back to work. I think about it. Like what kind of stuff you’re going to be dealing with.”
I wrapped my arms around my knees and exhaled. “Yeah. Training’s been heavy. But I guess you’ve done all the mandatory reporter stuff too, yeah?”
She nodded. “Every year. I’ve had to make reports a few times. It’s one of the hardest parts of my job. I guess I’m just wondering what it’s like when you do it all the time.”
“Me too,” I said with a humorless laugh. “I hear you just have to focus on a better outcome for the kid. You have to think that you’re doing the right thing, or you’ll go crazy.”
“But what about what happens after? You know it’s not always a picnic for the families after.”
“I can’t think about that. I mean, I do, but I can’t let it keep me from doing my job.”
She nodded. “I guess you can’t.”
The silly mood was broken. I stood from the floor and approached her at the sink. I placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her gently into an embrace, giving her plenty of room to pull away if she needed to.
“You know what helps me get through every day?”
She looked up at me, her tired eyes drooping. I really needed to get her some rest.
“Knowing I’m going to hold you at night.”
It was a long moment before she smiled sleepily, yawned, and buried her face in my chest. But she didn’t say anything. We finished up our chores for the night, she called Lila and arranged for her to come over in the morning, and then we went to bed. I didn’t fall asleep for a long time.
Abra asked the next morning if we could go to the Alameda Antiques Fair at the old Naval Air Station, and I agreed. It meant getting out and walking around, as well as some much needed time alone. We parked toward the back and walked for several rows before reaching the kiosk to pay. Once inside the gates, we didn’t talk much, just walked to the back and started making our way down each of the aisles. Abra looked at the jewelry, the vintage clothes, and the old toys while I took a gander at the old military items and some horse gear. People had done some interesting things with this old junk. It was fascinating seeing the creative uses the artists had come up with.
After about an hour I reached for Abra’s hand and gave it a tug. “Mind if we get some water and sit down for a bit?”
