Life After College

I believe six days is the longest I\'ve ever gone without updating. You know how it is. School, work. Anyway, as usual, thank you all for the reviews and oh before I forget, for those of you who give harsh reviews for the heck of it.........don\'t bother because I\'ll only keep bringing in more chapters just to piss you off. So why bother? To all my fans, luv ya! Keep reading!

-Scribbles05

If you read this and think, \"Where the heck is the drama?\" (There\'s no major problems in this one either), trust me, aaaallllll of it serves a purpose.

Chapter 15

“Well,” I said as I walked through the front door. “Is this any way to be welcomed back home?” Suddenly, I heard two sets of feet running downstairs.

“Dad!” Damon ran to me, nearly knocking the wind out of me. He came just below the middle of my chest. He’s still short. I wrapped my arms around him.

“Now that’s better.” I said smiling. “Hey kiddo.”

“Hey!” He spotted Dicky behind me and ran to him. Dicky lifted him over his head like a doll.

“Hey bud.”

Sofia walked up to me next. They both were still dressed in their pajamas. We made it home rather early. She hugged my waist too. “What you get us?”

I raised my eyebrows. “Skip the small talk and dive right into the presents.” I said.

“I learned it from the best.” She smiled. Yep, that’d be me. That’s when Dicky’s mother walked in the foyer from where else............the kitchen. I knew she was already up. When we walked in the house, I could smell eggs, biscuits, gravy, and fried apples. Don’t you just wish you could pack her in your back pocket and keep her with you always. Yeah, me too.

“So, how was you vacation?” Vivian asked.

“It was great, Mama.” Dicky said as he reached to her and gave her a hug. She stood back and looked at us with a smile on her face.

“Well, I guess it was. You two look well rested and tan.”

We did do a lot of RESTING while we were there. “It was great down there Vivian. You should get some of your girlfriends together and go.”

She smiled and gave me a hug. “Don’t tempt me boy. I might just do it.”

“Come on,” Sofia whined. “What did you bring home?” Even Benji ran to where we were wagging his fluffy tail; excited. I sighed.

“Alright. But can we get in the house good before we start on the presents?” We all sat in the livingroom and Dicky and I passed out shopping bags. Sofia got her skirt and top outfit. I even found the cutest sandals to go with it. The whole Brat doll collection was cheaper there, so we got her that too.

“Wow! This is amazing! You can’t find this outfit in California! Heather and the girls are gonna freak when they hear I’ve got all the Brat dolls!” Like a flash, the little diva was gone upstairs to the phone. Could eleven year old girls really get up that early? She’s gradually becoming a little me.

Damon opened his bag and he got a wood beaded necklace that fit snuggly around his neck, but not quite like a choker, and an expensive burnt orange shirt. I knew he wasn’t crazy about clothes like Sofia, so we also got him a brand new soccer ball that was colored black and blue instead of the traditional black and white, and soccer cleats that supposedly formed it’s shape around your foot, so your feet would feel comfortable in them. Damon was speechless. He tried on his cleats and wanted Dicky to practice with him outside. Mind you, it was around 7 a.m. Dicky promised him they would sometime in the afternoon. Dicky’s mother got a pretty sundress for those hot days in NC, when she felt like entertaining friends on her front porch with a glass of lemonade and a game of poker. She does that a lot in the summer. And finally Benji, who was still wagging his tail, waiting patiently. He got a brand new brown leather collar with a 10k gold name tag and we stopped by the store a few minutes ago and brought him a bone. Hey, he won’t know it didn’t come from Australia. After all the gifts were passed out, Dicky and I went upstairs and dove in the bed.

************

Dicky’s POV.........

Let’s look at things from my perspective, ok? One thing about being married and having kids is, your weekday mornings are routine.............

At 6:45, I sneak out of bed, give Drew a kiss, and head to the bathroom. By the time I’m out, dressed in uniform, and making my way down the hall, Sofia is in the bathroom brushing her teeth sleepily. Her curly brown hair was braided last night by Drew, because she doesn’t like her hair to be tangled in the mornings. Passed the bathroom, is Damon’s room. I see Drew grabbing hold of Damon’s arms, pulling him out of bed. That boy is very bad at getting up in the mornings.

Down the stairs, I walk to the kitchen, where the room would smell of freshly brewed coffee beans; hazelnut. I walk to the cabinet and grab mine and Drew’s thermos. His is black on black and mine is black on silver. I pour coffee in both and put just sugar in mine and put creme’ and sugar in his. I leave those on the counter to cool a bit and start on the kid’s breakfast. Sofia feels like she has out grown cereal, so I have to fix her blueberry bagels with heavy cream cheese. Damon, however, loves his cereal, so I have to fix him his favorite; Captain Crunch. By the time I’m done, the rest of the family comes downstairs. No one ever speaks a word, just goes to their designated spot. Sofia sits on a stool on the left side of the island and Damon sits on the right, with one elbow on the table top holding his sleepy head up. Drew, now dressed in one of his many fitted suits, stands by the side counter next to me and grabs his thermos.

More silence.

It may sound like their’s something wrong, but their isn’t. If your family can all gather in one room and just feel at peace with being in each other’s presence, then their’s no need for words.

After downing half the coffee to wake me up, I refill my thermos and get ready to go. I give Drew a hazelnut flavored kiss and kiss the children’s heads with a “See ya later”, and walk to the hall closet, grab my policeman jacket and gym bag, and walk out the door.

************

Being a policeman is not an easy job. You have to be the protector, the negotiator, the peacemaker, and the scapegoat all at the same time.

After being briefed by Lieutenant Madden, Officer Jones and I set to patrolling the streets. Let me tell you a bit about Jones. He’s around 40, with a gut and a bald spot in the back of his black hair, but he always wears his hat when we leave the car, so you’d never know it. He’s been on the force for 19 years and isn’t planning on stopping. He’s not married and he doesn’t have any kids, so he says, “Hey I need SOMETHING to do, so I mind as well keep stuffing my ass in these cheap pants.” Though he’s a bit older than me, Jones is a cool guy to be around.

When I decided to out myself six years ago (Drew and I both), he was the first person I told. He didn’t get mad, distance himself, or even try to shoot me. He just said, “Hey whatever floats your boat.” He paused then said softly, “You don’t like ME, do you? “ When I said “Hell no.”, he said, “Well, why the hell not? Aren’t I attractive?” Joking. That was what you’d always see him doing. I liked that. It reminded me of my father.

We got a call about a domestic disturbance in one of the apartment complexes nearby. I drove us over and their was a couple -an old couple maybe in their early sixties- standing outside in the walkway. The woman dressed in a flower print dress and slippers, holding a wooden baseball bat firmly in her hands. Boy were they fussing.

Jones and I got out the can walked over. “Hey, hey, hey!” I yelled over their voices. They finally calmed down. “What’s going on here?”

“This bastard tried to attack me!” The old woman said angrily. Jones pried the bat from her hands.

“What do you mean he tried to attack you, Mam?

“Just like I said! Are you dumb or something?”

I sighed. “Why did you attack her?” I asked the husband. He wore a white t-shirt with holes in it and pants that were hanging off him. You know how old men’s pants can sag?

“I didn’t attack her, Officer.”

“The hell you didn’t!” The wife yelled. Then she looked at me. “He tried to rape me!”

“What?” The husband shook his head. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Officer, I was in the kitchen fixing myself something to eat, when he came up behind me and touched me all over.” Sometimes you wish that being a cop meant that you didn’t have to listen to every detail of an event that happened. But you know that if you don’t listen, you won’t get the whole story. So, I listened.

“Did you tell him to stop?” Jones asked.

“...................No.”

“That’s right.” The husband said. “Instead, she hauled off and hit me in the groin.”

“I told that old coot! I told him over and over again not to bother me during the hour that The Young and the Restless was on. Officer, when he takes those pills, he’s like a thrash machine!” Jones choked back a laugh. I had to put my hand over my mouth for a second, so I wouldn’t lose it.

“What kind of pills are you taking?” I asked the man.

“Viagra.” Jones bursted out into a laugh. I put my head down and chuckled. When I lifted my head again, I straightened my face back up.

“Mam, do you wanna press charges?”

“Well, I.........no.”

I sighed. “Well then there’s nothing we can do. All I suggest is that you sir control yourself around your wife. Especially during her soaps. Is that clear? I don’t want to have to come back here again for something as frivolous as this.”

“Yes sir.” The man said. Me and Jones left.

While I was driving, Jones started laughing again. “What’s so funny? I asked.

“We had to come all the was down here for a domestic disturbance and when you ask if she said stop she says ‘no’. When you ask her if she wants to press charges, she says ‘no’.”

I shrugged. “Though he was wrong for interrupting her soaps, he must be DOING something right.”

“Boy, this will be interesting to write up back at the station.” We both laughed.

We got another call sometime that afternoon about a shooting in some poor neighborhood. When we arrived at the house with another patrol car and EMS with us, an older woman answered the door. Her face was streaked in tears and her face was ridden with fear. “Come in! He’s on the floor in the livingroom!” The medics went to the young boy of maybe 15 stretched out on the floor to help him. His blood was going everywhere, sprouting from the crimson circle at his heart. When I glanced at him, I saw the boy reach a weak arm out to me and his mouth was moving but no sound was coming out. “Help me.” *Geez, look at him.* I thought.

“What happened?” I asked the woman.

“I don’t know what happened. All I know is the doorbell rang, my son got up to answer it, and I heard a gun shot.”

“Did you see the shooter?”

“A bit. He had on black jeans and a black windbreaker jacket with a white stripe going down the arms.”

“Did you see where he went?”

“He cut across the back year.”

I told one officer to stay and me Jones, and the third officer went to the backyard. Our guns were out and pointed ready to shoot. The backyard was small. A small track of grass led to an old rusted fence that guarded the patch of bushes and trees behind it. You could hear the car traffic on the other side. Possibly another street.

We approached the bushes, in front, and looked around. “Shit. I don’t see him.” Jones said.

“Me either.” The other guy said. Suddenly, there was a rustle and a figure dressed in all black ran out the bushes and was about to cross the street.

“Damn it!” I leapt over the fence, through the bushes, and chased him down the street. “Stop!” I yelled. The man kept running. While running, I ripped open my jacket and tossed it behind me, so I could get rid of some of the slack. In the end, all the working out I did paid off and I tackled to bastard three blocks down the street. “Didn’t I say stop?!” But the shit wouldn’t listen. When I had him on his stomach on the sidewalk, he started moving and thrashing his arms and legs all over the place. “Stop resisting!” I had to admit, he WAS strong. But I wasn’t a weakling either. His chin caught me in the mouth and I nearly lost my grip. He kept trying to attack me with his fists and legs, so I had to resort to other things.

The guy lifted all 240lbs of me to the side into the street and tried to get up. As soon as he was in crouching position, ready to stand up, I tackled him again by the waist and we rolled into somebody’s backyard. While we were rolling, we exchanged blows in the ribs. When we finally stopped rolling, I made sure I was on top and I slammed his entire upper half into the ground and slugged him so hard with my left, he conked out. I quickly cuffed him, then wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth.

************

I got home a little late in the afternoon because, one, I got a call from Drew saying he was tired and wanted me to pick up some KFC, and two, all the paperwork I had to do on the shooting. Which by the way, the kid was still in surgery, so I had no idea how he was doing.

I pulled up to the house and parked my patrol car in the driveway. Grabbing our bag of dinner, I walked into the house. I walked in and distinctly heard the familiar noises of someone on the phone upstairs, the sound of someone kicking a ball around in their room since they didn’t have practice that day, and the sound of the tv in the den and someone clicking the channels every three seconds. I hate it when they do that. I smiled. All this stuff was a big jump from the crap I have to deal with all day at work. It’s those normal, warm, peaceful occurrences of daily family life. You know what I mean? It’s reminds me of a cliche, “that warm and fuzzy feeling”. It’s definitely something you don’t want to lose, especially when you’ve spent over eight hours in chaos.

I heard the remote being set on the table and the soft sound of bare feet as I walked into the kitchen. Drew, no longer donning his expensive suit, but rather a pair of my baggy gray sweat pants and a black t-shirt, joined me in the kitchen. “Hey. Welcome home.” He said softly to me as he gave me a kiss and hugged me. “How was your day?”

I had intended on coming in and telling Drew of the shooting and the boy and how much blood he lost and that he was still in surgery, but when I walked through that front door and saw everything was so serene in the house............... “It was fine.”


TBC.............R&R.