Just a Story Ch. 06

As we approached our vehicles, Teresa said "Would y'all like to go someplace for a drink? Or to one of our houses for one?"

"No thank you." Laura said, a bit curtly. "Don and I have some things to talk about. At the Mountain Nest." Teresa had gotten very good over the years in not revealing surprise at anything, and she practiced that now; it took the legendary observational powers of the Iron Crowbar to note her shock. Ditto that for Todd as they said good night and went their way...

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

"What did you and Juanita Rivera talk about?" Laura asked as we drove towards home.

I said "She told me that she and many others who support Climate Change don't support the 'loyalty documents'. She's bitterly angry at Carmela about them."

Laura said "Do you trust her? Do you believe what she was saying? "

"Oh no, of course I don't trust her." I said. "As to the 'loyalty documents', she said she refused to sign them, which is something we can find ways to confirm or disprove. And I did notice that her talking to me got the Carmela beehive buzzing. They kept walking by us, trying to hear what we were saying. Bu-ut, we were speaking French."

I continued: "And I made a lot of observations, as well. I don't think Carmela nor the Moores have that much support. Your Study Group may be in a much stronger position than y'all realize."

"Well, we lost one tonight." Laura said with asperity. "Commissioner Briscoe thought you'd be wearing your uniform, too. And he was humiliated by being the only one in uniform. He told me straight out that I can no longer count on his support."

I'd had enough. "Laura, if you are wanting or expecting an apology from me for not wearing my uniform, you are not going to get one."

Laura said "You have no idea how much it would have helped if you had. And Teresa, too. Did you tell her not to wear hers?"

I said "I told her I wasn't wearing mine, but I did not tell her what she could or could not do. And you should've told me farrrrrr earlier than you did that you wanted Briscoe and Colonel Prescott to wear theirs, so you would've known I wasn't in the mood to escalate things at that event. I have to pick my spots."

"And what spots are those?" Laura asked, her voice bitter.

"Glad you asked." I said sardonically. "First, I'm going to---"

"Where are you going?" Laura said suddenly. "This is not the road back to the Mountain Nest!"

"No, it's the road to The Cabin." I said. "If I am going to be sleeping on the couch with Bowser tonight, I have to go to where Bowser is. And Bowser, as well as your children, are at The Cabin."

No more was said. And no, I did not sleep on the couch with Bowser. I slept on the back deck, under a couple of blankets and with the fire pot going, after sipping a few pours of Four Roses Single Batch bourbon. And by my own choice...

Part 15 - Fire in our Souls

Saturday, December 11th. Sheriff Griswold had made his feelings clear, that he wanted his top leadership of all the branches of the Public Safety Department to attend each branch's Holiday parties. The Fire Department had done well in honoring that request and being at the Policeman's Ball, and I had no excuse for not going to the Fireman's Ball, so I planned to go.

Laura was still 'not happy' with me, and said she was not going to the Fireman's Ball with me. I asked Paulina if she wanted to go on short notice, and she said she would. She wore the same dress that she wore to the Policeman's Ball, and I wore the same dress uniform with medals and MOV that I'd worn the week before.

The Fireman's Ball was in the same location the Policeman's Ball had been, but it was set up for only half the number; the 200 placesettings were more than enough. Additionally, I was not going to be at the head table, but at one of the round tables up front, near the head table. Fine by me.

As we drove to the Civic Center, Paulina said "What's going on with Laura? Why isn't she going with you tonight?"

"She didn't talk to you?" I asked back.

"No." Paulina replied. "Last night she took a melatonin pill and went straight to sleep. You never came to bed. This morning, she got up and went to her office on Campus before I could talk to her. You were already making breakfast with Carole and Tasha, and I didn't want to say anything in front of them."

I nodded. "Thank you for that. I was going to ask you if Laura has been under a lot of stress the past few days, and/or if she's talked to you about anything that's bothering her."

Paulina said "No, she hasn't talked to me. And you're her husband; I'm just her friend with benefits. But she has been anxious about something, and for several weeks now. If she's not talking to you about it, it must be something really big, and really secret..."

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

"Where's Laura?" asked Sheriff Griswold when he saw me come in with Paulina.

"She bowed out." I said.

"Too bad. I need to talk to her." growled Griswold. "I talked with Commissioner Briscoe this afternoon. He is hopping mad at Laura. I guess you know why?" I just nodded.

Sheriff Griswold was at the head of the receiving line. Next was Fire Chief Davies and his fiancée Tina Felton. Next was EMS Chief Cordell. Assistant EMS Chief Zoe Singer was not present. She still harbored grudges against the Fire Department for their treatment of the EMS for many years. There was no one from the Public Health Service, either.

Assistant Fire Chief Stockton and Fire Marshal Roy Easley and his girlfriend were next. Easley was wearing his MOV like I was wearing mine and Cindy was wearing hers. She and Callie were just ahead of me in line. Then came Mayor and Mrs. Allgood, then several Council Members that were attending, including Edward R. Steele with his wife Stephanie.

To my surprise and delight, Teresa and Todd came through the line. Teresa told Cindy and me that she and Todd were at our table up front.

After dinner and the speeches, the honorees of the Fire Chief's Order of Distinction were introduced. That was the Fire Department's equivalent of our Orange Order. Then came a couple of skits. One group was creating the first A.I. Firefighter. They were wearing surgical caps and masks, and putting things into their robot behind a little wall, as if it were an operating table.

"And for courage, we have Commander Troy's Airborne coffee mug." one of them said, holding up a coffee mug that looked suspiciously like mine from my office. They were putting it in behind the screen, when

*CRASH!*

"Uh oh." said one of them. "I guess we better get his crowbar."

"Yeah, you better." said another. "Before he finds out about this." Everyone laughed. I just put my hand over my eyes in mock pain.

After dinner, during the dancing part of the evening. Paulina and I spoke to Tina Felton, who said "Did Paulina tell you the news?"

"No." Paulina said. "Go ahead and tell him. Don, it's embargoed, so don't tell anyone."

I said "Let me guess: you're taking the job with the D.A.'s Office?"

"Close." Tina said. "But it's not me taking the ADA job. My partner Nadine Hall is. I'm talking to the Mayor and the Intendent about the City Attorney job."

"Sounds good." I said. "But what does this mean for Dewey, Burnham & Winn?" The Women's Law Firm of Dewey, Burnham & Winn was Tina and her partners's law firm.

Tina replied: "We're dissolving it." She went on to explain: "Many of our clients, mostly all women, would call us asking for referrals to criminal attorneys, sometimes to defend them, sometimes to help them for things other than divorce. So we hired Nadine Hall. And she's a great criminal lawyer... but it just wasn't working out. She just wasn't generating the revenue we hoped for, and expected, and she wasn't all that happy with the work."

Tina: "So on Thanksgiving, D.A. Walters talked to me about becoming an ADA, to replace Savannah Fineman. I told Miriam to talk to Nadine, since prosecutions really aren't my thing. No offense, Paulina."

"None taken." Paulina said.

Tina said "So Miriam interviewed Nadine, and I hear that it was a square peg in a square hole, a perfect fit. So Nadine told me and our partner Virginia Madison she was leaving for the D.A.'s Office."

Tina continued: "Miriam Walters also told me that Dennis Garland was about to get fired, and suggested I call about the City Attorney job, and the Intendent and reached an agreement in principle for me to take it. That leaves Virginia, and she got a phone call from Bernadette Gillem of the Madison & Ives Law Firm. They're in talks, and Virginia very likely will be scooped up by them."

I said "It's good you all are landing on your feet, but why are you breaking up your firm?"

Tina said "Well... several years ago, and when we started up, the divorce process was so in favor of the woman that it was easy, and we were making easy money. But in the last few years, things have slowly changed. The Men's Law Firm of Effim, Goode & Hart began advertising that they would fight hard for men in divorce cases, and they seem to fight especially hard when they see us at the other table. Women were finding that they were getting better deals by going with other firms. So when the Nadine experiment didn't work, Virginia and I talked about it, and decided to just close our doors."

That didn't 'sound right', but I said nothing. The truth would come to me, eventually...

Part 16 - Epilogue

Dawn, Sunday, December 12th. I was sitting in the metal mesh loveseat on the back deck of The Cabin, drinking coffee and watching my beloved Town in the valley below, when I heard the door open and twoooo outstanding dogs race around the corner and down their trail to inspect their territories and do their business.

An instant later, a well-bundled Carole came up and climbed up into the seat with me. "Morning, Daddy." she said.

"Gooood morning, Fussbudget." I said. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes Daddy." Carole replied. "Did you?"

"Oh yes." I replied. Indeed, I'd slept in bed with Laura and Paulina. Laura and I still needed to have a 'Come to Jesus' meeting about some things, but overall it was slowly getting better.

"So what are you doing for your Christmas vacation?" I asked.

Carole said "I was reading a Mickey Spillane book. His charack-ter Mike Hammer is kind of like you, Daddy, but without a crowbar."

"I'll buy that for a dollar." I said amusedly.

Carole said "Some of his stuff is more like what Mommy does re-search on. The people in his book do grownup things."

"True. So I guess you won't be writing any Mickey Spillane novels." I said. "I hope not, anyway. And maybe there are better books for someone your age to read. Anyhoo, there's less than two weeks to Christmas. Are you excited?"

"I guess." Carole said, which caused me to turn and peer at her. She then said "Daddy, I'm feeling something weird. I don't know what it is, but someone is in dan-ger."

"Who?" I asked.

"I don't know." Carole said. "But it might be a good idea if nobody flies on any air-planes. Do you remember what happened to Grandma and Trreesa's Aunt Clarissa last Winter?"

"Yes." I replied. (Author's note: 'Who Watches The Watchers', Ch. 01, 02.)

"It's going to happen again." Carole said.

"To whom? Your grandmother?" I asked.

"I don't knowww!" Carole said, her voice full of frustration, and worry. "I can't see anything else! I'm trying real hard, but I don't know!"

I put my arm around my daughter and pulled her into my side. "Hey, it's okay. Don't try to think about it. Just let it go. It will be all right."

"I hope so, Daddy." Carole said as she snuggled into me. "Look, Daddy. There's the train."

I looked at where Carole was pointing, and saw the light of a train coming over the western horizon. We watched as it came towards the River and Town, then took the curve and headed south...

Finis.