Private Practice Ch. 01

Paulina said "We can ask for it to be expedited since the trial is coming up soon, but if Savannah goes to Court to block it... and she will... then that could take a lot of time."

"Unless Miriam Walters orders Savannah to not challenge it." said Mary Milton helpfully.

I said "But Marla and Dr. Frost themselves could sue to block it. And Paulina's right, they can tangle it up in appeals for a long, long time. However... it's a good idea, Claire, and one we should look at not only in the future, but in the here and now. Go ahead and start up that process on behalf of the Police, and either I or the Chief will sign it..."

Part 2 - State Dinner

Friday, August 20th. Everyone else was at The Cabin. Laura and I were at the Mountain Nest, getting ready for University President's dinner.

Laura was wearing a full-length off-white dress with gold lamé trim, the slit in the lower part revealing her luscious leg and high heel gold strap sandals. With her raven black hair piled into a bun on top of her head, she was a Grecian, or more accurately an Amazon goddess.

I was wearing my formal Police uniform with medals on my chest and the Medal of Valor around my neck. I was wearing a black bow tie on a white shirt instead of a tuxedo shirt like I'd wear to the Policeman's Ball. We were both 'dressed to the nines' at Laura's insistence; she wanted to make a statement at this dinner. I had talked with Teresa, who had agreed to also wear her formal uniform.

"You look amazing." Laura said as we finished dressing. She liked seeing me in my uniform.

"That's because I'm amazed." I replied. "You look wonderful. Good enough to eat. But that will have to wait until later tonight."

"I'm holding you to that, mister." Laura replied with a grin as she picked up her clutch and we walked out of the bedroom...

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

I texted Teresa when we left, so it was not a surprise that she and Todd came up right behind us as we reached the parking lots near the University Conference Center. I parked my Police SUV in the 'Authorized Vehicles Only' lot, and Todd parked his BOW Enterprises SUV, identical to mine in armor protection, in the main parking lot. We did this in case a call came in, and Teresa and I could leave and respond to it while Todd escorted Laura home.

Teresa was wearing her formal uniform with medals and her M.O.V., and a skirt and black patent leather high heels. Instead of a necktie, she was wearing one of those ribbon-'ish' ties that female judges and officials sometimes wore. Todd was wearing a midnight black suit that perfectly fit his broad-shouldered frame, and a black bow tie, looking every bit the handsome young executive that he was.

"Wow, Aunt Laura, you look great!" Todd said as we assembled together before walking inside. "I wish I could get Teresa to wear a dress like that, and really knock this crowd out." Teresa smiled (what was a smile for her) at the compliment.

"I'm glad you wore your uniform, Teresa." Laura said. "I have a feeling that these bitches and bastards need to see both you and my husband like this." That got more of a grin out of Teresa.

As we walked to the Conference Center entrance, Laura said "It's going to be interesting to see how this goes. Sally Wellman really knew the rules of formal social engagements, and she was a great hostess. I'm curious to see if Celeste Moore will be like that, though I suspect she won't be."

"Why not?" asked Teresa.

Laura said "They've already committed one faux pas. They should be having this at the President's Home."

I said "Well, they are going to have the Keith Madden Courage in Journalism Award announcement. Maybe that's why it's here?"

Laura said "Then split it into two separate events." She was determined to 'win' the point, so I made like a smart husband and shut my potty mouth.

We went inside. Among its other room, the Conference Center had two large rooms side-by-side. The one on the right (south as the crow flies) was the first reception room with the bar. It was the room where society reporter (i.e. gossip columnist) Louella Hopper had died. (Author's note: 'Casting Aspersions', Ch. 01) The other room was the dining room, to where we would go for dinner and the Madden Award announcement.

The 'butler' at the doorway looked appreciatively at Laura but disdainfully at me in my Police glitterati as I handed him our invitation card. He announced "Commander Donald Troy and Professor Laura Fredricson!" and we went on into the room, my eyes sweeping the room and making observations.

"Mr. Todd Burke and Lieutenant Commander Teresa Croyle!" we heard the announcer call out behind us. Todd and Teresa got in line behind us to greet President and Mrs. Jerry Moore.

"That's faux pas number two." Laura said, more to Teresa than me. "It's really 'old school' but still correct to announce us as 'Commander and Mrs. Troy' and y'all as 'Mr. and Mrs. Burke', even though we didn't take our husbands's surnames."

"Isn't that changing, these days?" asked Todd. "Women are wanting their own titles, if they have one."

Laura said "And that's part of the faux pas here. I'm a medical doctor as well as a Ph.D. I should've been introduced as 'Doctor Fredricson', not just 'Professor Fredricson', and 'Dr. Fredricson' was on the invitation that he read."

"So he changed it on his own." I said. "Teresa, this event is a good chance to make observations and deductions. We'll compare notes later, but I'm seeing a lot."

Teresa nodded, but didn't say anything since we were approaching Dr. Moore in the line. "Ah, Dr. Fredricson." he said. "I'm glad you came."

"Thank you, Dr. Moore." Laura said. "May I present my husband, Commander Donald Troy."

"Ah, nice to meet you, Commander." Dr. Moore said. His handshake was less than strong and sincere; it seemed perfunctory. He wasted no time passing us off to our hostess with the words "This is my wife Celeste."

Celeste Moore was a woman in her late fifties or early sixties, and it was obvious. Sally Wellman had been a lovely woman that 'packed the gear' to wear a dress like Laura and put steam in a man's stride, but Celeste's dress was 'lumpy' in a few places. And unlike Sally Wellman, who had been a hot Cougar wife that I had enjoyed sinking my cock balls-deep into (Author's note: 'Interlude', Ch. 01.), Celeste was not a hottie.

And Celeste was not Sally Wellman's equal as a hostess, either. 'Well! Aren't you two dressed up." she said, even though we were not overdressed for the occasion, and others were dressed just as formally (though, admittedly, not with medals or MOVs).

"It's a special occasion, is it not?" Laura asked back.

I added: "The Keith Madden award is certainly occasion enough." Celeste was somewhere between not knowing quite what to say, and considering a Police Officer like me to be 'not unlike' a turd in a punch bowl.

Meanwhile, Dr. Moore greeted Todd enthusiastically. "So glad you could come tonight, Mr. Burke." he said as he vigorously shook Todd's hand. But as Todd introduced Teresa, Dr. Moore was much more perfunctory. "Nice to meet you." was all he said before guiding them to Celeste.

Celeste's eyes were flirtatious as she greeted Todd. He quickly made a point to say "This is my lovely wife Teresa."

"You're very accomplished." said Celeste. "So many medals on your uniform."

"And every one of them well earned." Todd said, his normally brilliant smile fixed and set on his face.

"I'm sure." said Celeste, then said dismissively "Enjoy the dinner."

As Todd and Teresa came up to me and Laura again, my wife said "That's faux pas number three. A proper hostess would either find someone to present us to, or at least point someone out to us. Celeste is doing neither."

I said "In fairness, she doesn't know anyone yet."

Laura 'glanced' at me as she said "Then she should just ask 'To whom may I present you?', and we could say 'J.P. Goldman', who I see over there."

"Let's go speak to him, shall we?" I said, letting Laura 'win' the debate again.

We went over and greeted J.P. Goldman. He was wearing a very formal suit like Todd was, just a 'frilly' shirt short of a tuxedo. He was with Selena Steele, who was now the CEO of the J.P. Goldman Bank. She looked gorgeous in a glitzy, clingy midnight blue dress and matching (in color) high heel pumps. How this woman had not been swept up by some man, I did not know. But I digress.

"How is your wife doing?" I asked Goldman as Laura and Selena exchanged French-style two-cheek kisses and complimented each other's dresses.

"She's... hanging in there." said Goldman. His wife was seriously ill with a degenerative bone disease, and was also showing early signs of Alzheimer's. Then, to lighten the mood or just to needle Laura, he said "So, Laura... not exactly a Sally Wellman party, is it?" We all chuckled at that, and at the face Laura made.

"I really am shocked." Laura replied. "Especially for a first, formal event."

Selena said "The seating chart for dinner is over there by the bar. I'm curious what you'll have to say about it, Don."

"Geez, they didn't put me with Carmela, did they?" I asked, as a spasm of worry went through me.

"Not quite that bad." said Selena. "But... well, just go see." Sooo, as Todd and Teresa greeted some of the other Trustees that had already arrived, Laura and I 'moseyed' over to one of the seating arrangement posters. And I saw what Selena had been hinting at.

The tables were typical folding tables that seated six persons, two per side and two on the ends, with white tablecloths over them. The head table was actually four such tables at the back end of dining room. Then there were rows of tables, two of them side-by-side, with a central aisle in between. That made four persons on each side of a double-table, and no one on the ends.

I saw where we were: on the second table on the left. Laura was at the far edge, me to her right, Teresa to my right, and Todd to her right next to the center aisle. Across from Laura was Dr. Wolfgang Strauss of the Music Department. Across from me was Dr. Juanita Rivera of the Romance Languages Department, who had been part of the cabal that made the ethics accusations against Laura, and then cursed my name in the Press conference that followed (Author's note: 'Consent of the Governed', Ch. 04.).

To Rivera's left was the rabidly Leftist Trustee Marcia Harland (Author's note: 'Break-In', Ch. 01.), and to her left was her date, a mousey-looking young woman named Tina Stirewalt. She was the sister of Dana Stirewalt, who had figured into the Robert Stoddard murder case (Author's note: 'Jupiter Rising', especially Ch. 02.).

"At least I can talk to The Maestro." Laura said as we perused the chart. "But to put you opposite Juanita Rivera, and Todd opposite Marcia Harland? That's asking for trouble."

"She couldn't have known." I said. "Well, at least I hope she didn't know."

"Well, you two are the best-dressed couple, as always." said a woman's voice behind us. We turned to find State Senator Katherine Woodburn behind us. She was dressed in a very tasteful but clingy off-white dress that showed off her lovely legs to perfection. But in a rare departure from the norm for me, I was not noticing that. I was processing my observation of who Katherine's date for the evening was... Town & County Solicitor Ted Mason.

"You're too kind." Laura replied. "How are you, Senator? Solicitor Mason?"

"Very well, thank you." Katherine said. "Commander, I keep hearing about your recent successes in solving crimes. And cleaning out the rot at the top of City P.D. was huge, much larger than you may realize."

"Thank you. It was a team effort." I said. As I shook hands with Mason, I said "Ted, you've outpunted your coverage, here." Katherine slightly smiled at the compliment in her direction.

"Yes, I did." said Mason. Just before Katherine towed him away, he said to me "Commander, let's talk soon. Business." I told him to give me a call whenever he needed to.

Todd had been working the room, speaking to many people, and Teresa was dutifully going along with him. But I could tell she was not only bored, she was beginning to get the slightest bit irritated at the rather frosty attitudes of those that were greeting her with a bare minimum of politeness.

We made our way to the bar. I was driving, so I had ice with water in it. Teresa indulged with a neat Scotch, and Todd and Laura had bourbons. In what was a precursor of more to follow, the bartender said to me and Teresa "I knew Johnny. He was a good guy. Thanks for taking down his killer." Teresa and I nodded in acknowledgement.

There were a number of journalists present. Alison McFarland, Timothy Geiger, Greg Wallace, and Catrina Pierce came up to us. The women looked good in their formal dresses, and even Geiger was looking decent in his suit.

"Everything is entirely off the record." were the first words out of my potty mouth, and they all acknowledged it.

Alison said "I'm beginning to think we should've separated the Madden Award from the School President's first formal reception. Everyone seems to be so... uncomfortable, you know?"

"Yes, I know what you mean." Laura said, then got catty as she added: "But don't blame the Madden Award for that. We're seeing what has happened without Sally Wellman as hostess."

"Celeste Moore not getting the job done?" Catrina Pierce asked, a bit wickedly.

"Everything is off the record." I admonished, though making it sound semi-humorous.

That actually had been a hint for Laura, and she had gotten it. She said "My husband is correct. I should probably just not say any more. Anyway, my reason for being here tonight is the Madden Award ceremony after dinner, and I'm looking forward to that."

Moments later, Elsie Gringer came up, and I repeated the 'off the record' mantra. Elsie said "I just wanted to ask how your mother is doing, Commander."

"She's very well, thank you, and I'll tell her you asked about her." I said. "She's enjoying her new retirement condo up in Apple Grove, and I understand that crime rates there have gone way down."

"That's wonderful. Yes, do tell her I said hello." Elsie said. "And Dr. Fredricson, may I write about your lovely dress for my society page column? You are the belle of the ball tonight, as well as being with the most handsome man in the County." Laura smiled and I blushed at that.

Teresa and Todd had come up, and Teresa said "I'd like to put in a vote for my husband as the most handsome here. But he does have the same family genes..."

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

It seemed like way too long, or maybe it was just the dull nature of the evening, but the call to dinner finally came. Everyone made their way into the dining room and their places.

Seated at the head table were President and Mrs. Moore, Alison McFarland, Timothy Geiger, Dr. Joseph Zenger of the Journalism School and his wife, and Katherine Woodburn and her date, Ted Mason.

Being someone who looked for patterns, I noticed who was seated where at the other tables. At the first table on the left, just ahead of ours, the seating included the odious far-Leftist Dr. Lionel Carmela, relatively Conservative Trustee Myrtle L. James, Dean of the Law School Dr. Clarence P. Chase, and athletics booster Tom Riordan. I had not seen Riordan for a long time nor heard about him, but I was not surprised that a top booster was at a front table. Dr. Moore knew where his School's bread was buttered, I thought to myself.

Among those seated at the first table to the right of the aisle, the rough-and-tumble BigPulpAndPaper CEO and Trustee George 'Mash' Woodham was paired with Dr. Donohue, the occupant the Herodotus Chair of Ancient History (Author's note: seen in 'Case of the Parole Officer'), and Dr. Dorothea Kasner (Author's note: 'The Babymaker', Ch. 05.), who'd recently been hired into Carmela's Political Science Department.

Woodham had opposed Laura's nomination to the University Presidency, but he was a pro-business Establishment Republican, and Dorothea Kasner was a disciple of Soviet Communism. Literally; she'd been educated in schools in the Soviet Union when it existed. And neither could have cared less about archeology or ancient history.

At the table to our right, Dr. Sonnmore of the Theater Department, who liked to put on plays that were risqué if not outright explicitly sexual (Author's note: 'The Knave of Jacks', Ch. 01), was seated across from the deeply religious Trustee Beatrice S. York. Also at that table was Dr. Adam S. Keller of the City University Rodham Foundation for Social and Political Change.

At the table behind them, the heavily despised Dr. Jan Camp was seated at the same table as Trustee Harold Truelove, Dr. Lawrence Woodrow of the Criminal Justice Department, and Dr. Glenda Sheehan of the School of Music (Author's note: 'Unresolved', Ch. 01). Two of the seats at that table were empty; the athletic booster and his wife assigned to that table had read President and Mrs. Moore the Riot Act for being assigned to sit at the same table with Dr. Jan Camp, who had sued the University over favorable grades given to athletes (Author's note: 'The French Connection', Ch. 02, for the verdict). And they left when Mrs. Moore assertively told them their seating assignment would not be changed.

Further back were more of the University Faculty, those of higher stature closer to the front. And bringing up the rear were the Media persons that had chosen to attend, which included Elsie Gringer and Bettina Wurtzburg, but no one else from KXTC (unless one includes KXTC's owner Katherine Woodburn, of course).

Todd and I practiced 'old school' manners and held out our wives's chairs to seat them before sitting down ourselves, which drew many glances though very few others copycatted our good-mannered actions. Where has chivalry gone? I thought to myself.

At that moment Dr. Wolfgang Strauss and Dr. Juanita Rivera came to their seats opposite us. I stood up as Juanita seated herself, and I think she noticed and appreciated the gesture. Then Marcia Harland and Tina Stirewalt came to the table. Neither Todd nor myself stood up, though I don't think either Marcia or Tina realized they were being 'dissed'.

As the appetizer servings were brought out, the server at my table paused between me and Teresa and whispered "Johnny was my friend. Thank you for what you did for him." Teresa and I both nodded. And the servers that brought our main courses and refilled our water glasses whispered similar things, obviously taking turns so that they each had a chance to thank us. Teresa and I agreed that that was very good of them.

There was little conversation until the main course was nearly over. Laura and Dr. Strauss had begun a conversation in German, which was his native language and in which she was very fluent. I had been required to take a foreign language for Army ROTC, and either German or Russian for my Chemistry degree, and I chose German. But while their conversation was in good, high German, I did not retain enough to be able to follow Laura and The Maestro. I did catch the word 'Carole' on occasion, and I knew who that was; therefore, I had an idea of what the conversation was about.

Meanwhile, Juanita Rivera asked me in French where I'd learned French so well. She's trying to be nice, and she's very attractive to look at, too, I thought to myself. So I answered her, in French, which I will just present in English here:

"I've known French most of my life." I replied to her query. "My older sister learned it, and fluently."

"Are you of French descent?" Juanita asked.

"I do know of one ancestor on my father's side of the family." I said, remembering that I was a descendant of a Michaux from France. "But I have ancestors from Germany, England, all over Europe, really. What about you?"