Based on the poem Harmonium by Simon Armitage.

Harmonium

I hate to speak ill of the dead but you're not looking to good boss. I know that scalpel to the heart can do that but still, I've seen you better. At least your coffin is looking pretty sharp, even if I do say so myself.

I still can't believe that you made me do that for you, arrogant SOB. We picked out that wood for your hot tub not your final resting place. Of course you never did like sticking to the plan did you?

That trip was a pretty good one though, a week off by the beach fixing up that shack you called a house for Leyla and Amira. I always loved that place, you picked well. The deck was at the right angle so that the glare of the sun was cut off by the rocks but it was still warm.

The problem is it looked like Hell Mike, I could have given it another hundred coats of paint and it would still look like it had just survived a hurricane. The windows always had sand in the joints and the leak in the roof seemed to follow me around whenever I tried to fix it.

It was your still your home, you were two old men trying to spend their last few moments in sunny Mexico not caring what you looked like or what others thought.

Each time I patched that damned roof I swore it would be the last time but I have a secret. I will always fix that roof, if you asked I would have done it until I died.

I still will, if you were wondering, I will look after that house because it is all your granddaughter had left of her grandfather, and you were all she had left of her father.

I reckon you could have gone another few years Mike, you always liked to beat the odds. If that little girl had looked up at you with her big brown eyes and asked you to stay I bet you would have. You had to go and protect the world didn't you, to keep the innocents safe and to make the world a better place.

Sometimes I wonder if I am so different to you, boss, I don't look as good with a moustache and I'm not quite as god damn stupid as you are but otherwise. We do it to look after them don't we, to keep them safe from harm.

Now I sound like an old romantic, from one of the films that Shannon watched. I bet Kelly would have been a good babysitter for Amira, like a big sister or a cousin.

There's another difference, you didn't let feelings get in the way, most of the time. You didn't hesitate to tell me that you were dying. When you told me it was as if you had told me they got a new table in the cantina, as if you could barely remember to tell me.

I didn't know what to say, I still don't. You were my mentor, I was your probie. I start calling the cantina some nights before remembering that you aren't taking messages anymore.

At least you made a difference Mike; at least you made things better. The thing is you can't help a whole lot now. So I'll make a deal with you, Boss, just one last thing.

I promise I'll take care of Leyla and Amira, but it would be great if you could keep an eye of for Shannon. Keep my girls safe Mike, please. We are all one family; it's just a bit separated at the moment.

I don't suppose it will be too long until I join you up there but for now I could do with a hand. I know, I know, you retired. Still, you could do a good job from wherever you're snoozing these days, just watch out for them.

I'll miss you boss, but nobody else needs to know.