Franklin

Franklin hugged his two boys, Franklin Junior and Byron. "You know I love you guys, right?"

"We know, Dad," Franklin answered.

"Now get to bed, both of you."

"Dad, I'm hungry. Can we eat tomorrow?" Byron asked.

Franklin choked back his tears. "No matter what, I promise I'll make you the best thing you've ever eaten tomorrow." The boys got into their bed and Franklin covered them up. He kissed them goodnight and went to his room.

As he was putting on his pajamas, he heard the boys talking. Franklin said, "Don't cry, Byron. I have a plan."

"What's that?"

"Tomorrow, when Dad goes out to look for a job, I'm going to go the store and get us something to eat."

"With what, we don't have any money?"

"I'm not going to use money."

"What are you going…no. You can't steal it. That's illegal, you'll get arrested."

"It'll be okay. I'm just a little kid they won't do anything to me."
"Let me go with you. I'm younger, they'll do even less to me."

"No. I'll do it and you can't tell anyone, even Dad."

The more they talked, the more Franklin's heart broke. He sat on the edge of his bed. He felt defeated, he felt worthless, and he felt broken. He thought about the night he received a call from the hospital telling him his wife, Janice, had been in an accident and being told he needed to hurry. He remembered getting the boys into the car and the next thing he knew he was holding her hand as she begged him to take good care of the boys. She cried as she told him she was worried they would forget her after she was gone. He remembered promising that would never happen and that he would make sure they would always know how much she loved them.

The tears came. He had shed a lot of tears the past year and he knew he would probably shed a lot more. He picked up the wedding photo she kept on her side of the bed and held it close. He cried until he fell asleep from exhaustion.

When Franklin woke, he knew what he had to do. He was terrified of being caught. He knew he could lose the boys but he had to take that chance. He was prepared to do whatever he had to do to get his kids fed. He got dressed and went into the living room. He saw the boys sitting at the table playing a board game. They didn't have a TV and the boys passed the time by playing board games and cards. "You guys are up early."

"We just woked up," Byron replied.

"It's woke up, not woked, dummy," Franklin Junior told him as he rolled the dice.

"Hey, don't call your little brother names."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm going out for a while. I want you boys to stay in the apartment. I mean it. I'll be back as soon as I can. I know you're hungry, I'll bring something good back as soon as I can."

"It'll be okay, Dad. You'll find a job today," Byron answered.

"Be good, stay inside, and no fighting."

"Okay, Dad," the boys said in unison.

Franklin grabbed his coat from the closet, put his hat on, and told the boys to lock the door behind them. He stood outside the door until he heard the deadbolt being locked. He put the palm of his hand on the door and with tears in his eyes he whispered, "You guys will eat tonight, no matter what I have to do." He looked at the ceiling and said, "I'm so sorry I failed you. I promised I would take care of the boys and I can't even feed them." He wiped away his tears and walked down the stairs.

Franklin Junior and Byron were good boys. They were only eight and ten years old and had been through more than most people in a lifetime. Shortly after Janice died, he did his best to look after the boys, but Byron became extremely ill and ended up in the hospital. Franklin's boss let him go because he was taking too much time off work to be with Byron. He worked odd jobs here and there for a while but the past month he hadn't been able to find any work and two weeks ago the money ran out. Last week he had to ration what little food they had. It had been three days now since they last ate. School was out for the summer so they weren't even eating lunch at school. It broke his heart to watch his kids go hungry.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't afford to take anyone on right now," the manager told Franklin.

"Thank you anyway. If something comes up…"

"You'll be the first person to know."

Franklin shook the man's hand and thanked him for his time. He got the same reply from the other places he went. He knew today was not the day he was going to find work. He knew what he had to do. He paced in front of the grocery store for an hour before lowering his head and going inside. He walked up and down several aisles and was finally about to put something inside his coat when he saw a woman coming down the other end. He pretended to look at the label as he watched her make her selections and continued to the next aisle. He put the canned tuna in his coat pocket and continued his shopping. He was about to leave the store when he saw the manager on the phone and he was looking at him. He made a dash out of the door but it was too late. His heart was pounding when he heard the siren and saw the red and white Torino pull up. Part of him wanted to laugh when he saw what the two men were wearing and at first he couldn't believe they were cops. He told the officers why he stole the food and couldn't believe what happened next. They took him back inside the store and Starsky took the manager to the side and explained why Franklin stole the food while Hutch had the cashier ring up everything and paid for it. The manager told Starsky that he would not press charges and told Franklin that he was sorry he couldn't offer him a job. Franklin promised never to steal again.

"Get in, I'll give you a ride home," Starsky said as he opened the car door.

"You've done enough already. I don't even know how to thank you."

"It's okay. Let us give you a ride home. You don't want to have to carry those bags all the way home," Hutch said as he took a bag from Franklin and put it in the back seat.

Franklin smiled as he climbed in the car. He gave Starsky his address. "Officer Starsky, you just passed the turn."

"No, I didn't. I'm making a detour. And it's just Starsky, okay?"

"Okay, Starsky it is."

Starsky stopped at his favorite hamburger joint. "I'll be right back."

"You guys are alright, you know."

"Yeah well, we try."

"I'm sorry. I just didn't know what else to do."

"I get it. We both do. Heck, I'd probably to the same thing."

Starsky strutted back to the car with two big bags. He reached in and grabbed a burger out of one of the bags and handed it to Franklin, "I don't usually let anyone eat in the car but for you, I'll make an exception."

Franklin didn't want to eat before his kids but he was beyond famished and after smelling the burger, it was just too much for him to pass up. When Hutch saw how fast he ate it, he handed him another one. "No, it's okay."

"Take it. There's plenty more," Starsky said as he made a left turn.

"I'll wait and eat with the kids." He really wanted it, but he was almost home and wanted to wait and eat with the kids. Hutch seemed to know what he was thinking and put it back in the bag.

Starsky and Hutch helped carry the groceries up the stairs to the apartment. When Franklin opened the door the boys were coloring at the table. They jumped up when they saw Franklin with Starsky and Hutch carrying grocery bags. "You're back, and you brought groceries," Franklin Junior said.

"Here you go," Starsky said as he put the bag of burgers, chili dogs, and fries on the table.

Hutch handed them each a milkshake then started putting the rest of the groceries away for Franklin so he could sit down with his kids. He glanced at Franklin and his kids and felt good inside. He knew what he and Starsky did was the right thing. His job was tough at times and at times it was hard to decide what the right thing even was. But this time it was clear, and it felt good to help someone instead of arresting them.

Starsky reminded Hutch that they needed to hurry to make the school's play in time. They said their goodbyes and reassured the kids that their dad loved them very much and things would be okay.

Starsky was on the way to the school when he saw a help wanted sign. Franklin had mentioned that he was good with his hands. He went inside and talked to the manager who agreed to give Franklin a chance.

After the play, Starsky and Hutch brought a pizza to Franklin's and told him about the job. The next day, Starsky took Franklin to the mechanic's shop while Hutch watched the kids.

Franklin kept in touch with Starsky and Hutch, often doing work for free on their cars. Starsky made him promise not to tell Earl. Six months had gone by and Franklin and the boys were doing great. He dropped the kids off at school and drove to the station. He was all smiles when he walked into the squad room to see Starsky and Hutch. "Hey guys, I wanted to come by and tell you the good news."

Starsky and Hutch stood up and shook his hand. "What news is that?" Starsky asked.

"Well, you know I was promoted a couple of month ago and I've been saving up to get out of that apartment." They nodded. "Yesterday I closed on a house. Not just any house either it's great. The kids will not only have their own beds but they even have their own rooms."

Starsky and Hutch smiled. "That is good news," Hutch stated.

"I owe it all to you two. You really pulled me out of the dumps, you know."

"Yeah, that's what we do," Starsky remarked.

"The kids and I would love it if you guys would come to the house next week for dinner."

Starsky and Hutch smiled and said, "We wouldn't miss it," in unison.

The End