A Look Back to Tomorrow
Ever since Pete Malloy had gotten the phone call, he had a sense of what was coming. It had been sixteen years since one of his best friends had perished in the line of duty. Tom Porter was a great cop, but on one fateful night his luck had run out. Pete had never forgotten that night, and how the lives of the Porter family had changed with one gun shot in the pouring rain.
The years that followed Tom's death had seen his two children grow up to be happy and well-adjusted young adults. Tom Jr., affectionately known as TJ was now 22 years old. He had recently graduated from USC and was about to embark on the next phase of his life…something that he had wanted to discuss with Pete, hence the phone call. Tom's daughter, Katy was now 20, and had just finished her second year at UCLA. Their father would have been very proud of them.
For Tom's widow Marge, the last sixteen years had been a mixed bag of sorts. She had struggled mightily in the first several years following her husband's death. It was not easy raising two young children alone. Although she did have the support of both her and Tom's families, it was Pete Malloy who was the one constant in her life, and whose friendship and guidance helped get her through the dark times. Knowing in her heart of hearts that she would never find a man as good and decent as Tom, Marge had made the decision to never remarry…to just focus on being a good mother to her two children.
Marge was never prouder than when her son had received his college diploma. But her emotions would do a 180, only a few weeks later. TJ had told her what his future plans were, and to say that she was upset about them, would have been a gross understatement.
Pete had remained close to Marge and the kids. He had told both of the kids over the years, if they ever needed to talk to someone, that he was only a phone call away. Girl troubles…boy troubles…school…work…family issues…Pete was always there to listen. So the phone call that he had received a day earlier did not come as a surprise to him. TJ needed to get something off his chest, and who better to share the news with than with the man who had become like a surrogate father to him.
Now a sergeant in the LAPD, Pete Malloy had taken over Mac's position at the station, as Mac had been promoted to captain. Never making it to the altar with Judy, the two of them had decided to separate, and he was once again a confirmed bachelor. Since he had nobody to answer to, and had the day off, he agreed to meet TJ at one of the local parks.
Arriving earlier than the agreed upon time of one o'clock, Pete sat on one of the wooden park benches, in deep thought, as he considered what the upcoming conversation would entail.
"Pete…"
Looking up, Pete smiled at the sight of the younger Porter. Handsome, with dark hair, a winsome smile, and a twinkle in his green eyes, TJ was the spitting image of his father, something that never failed to make Pete a little torn in his dealings with the young man.
"TJ…great to see you." Standing up, Pete extended his hand.
"Thanks, Pete…it's great to see you too."
Standing for a few moments without any words exchanged between them, it was Pete who finally broke the awkward silence.
"Come on, let's go for a walk."
Nodding his head, TJ took Pete's lead and followed him down the paved path.
After walking silently for a few minutes, the older man started the conversation.
"So…what is it that you need to talk to me about?"
"My future vocation." Was the calm reply.
"I kind of figured that's what it was about."
TJ's expression was a mixture of slight annoyance and relief.
"Why'd you ask me then?"
"Because…I wanted you to tell me. Go ahead…what's the rest of it?"
Looking up at the blue sky, it was as if the young man were asking his father for some inspiration and help in how to properly word his explanation.
Coming up to the pedestrian bridge that crossed one of the local streams, TJ stopped and leaned over the strong wooden railing.
"I'm going to be a cop. I got into the LAPD Police Academy. I start in a few weeks."
Pete's initial lack of response was a bit confusing to TJ. He figured that his mentor would surely have some sort of feelings regarding his decision to follow in his father's footsteps and be a police officer.
"So? Say something, Pete…please."
Running his fingers through his slightly graying strawberry blonde hair, Pete took a moment to look up at the sky himself, before carefully replying.
"I had a feeling that this was coming. The decision to be a cop is a noble one, but please make sure that you're doing it for all the right reasons."
"The right reasons?"
Going from the role of friend and surrogate father, Malloy quickly took on the role of experienced police officer.
"Yes, the right reasons. That it's something that you want to do for YOU…NOT because you're trying to be like your dad. And that it's not because you're trying to make up for his death…or that you're not trying to impress anyone, least of all which is me. You don't owe anyone anything, TJ. If this isn't truly what you want to do with your life…you don't have to do it."
"I know." came out the soft reply. "I just…I just feel like it's my destiny to do this. I know that I was only six when he died, but I remember my dad and how proud of him I was that he was a cop. He would tell me stories of how he went after the bad guys, and how he usually won. It made me feel like he really made a difference in the world. Well, I want to be a part of that, too."
Genuinely conflicted, Pete desperately wanted to dissuade the younger man from making the decision to be a cop. He wanted to remind him about how his father DIDN'T get the bad guy on that last occasion. But, he also realized that he couldn't make TJ's decisions for him…and furthermore, that he WASN'T his father.
"It sounds like you've thought all this through."
"I have. I applied to the academy a few weeks ago. The letter of acceptance came in the mail a few days ago."
"And your mother? What does she think about all of this?"
TJ became very quiet. The truth of the matter was that when he had broken the news about his future plans to his mother, she had become very upset and stormed out of the room.
Pete repeated the question. "What was your mother's reaction to the news?"
"She wasn't happy…in fact, she was very upset. We had a huge fight about it."
Malloy understood Marge's reaction to the news, perfectly. If he had a son or daughter, he wouldn't want them to be a cop either.
"Can you blame her? It's only because she loves you that she's upset. I'm sure you recall the day that you and your sister found out that your dad was gone, but you weren't on scene when it happened, or when Jim and I had come over to the house to tell your mom about what had happened. However, I do know that you vividly remember the weeks and years following his death. You're willing to roll the dice and possibly put your mother through all of that again?"
Slamming his fist down on the bridge's railing, TJ turned to Pete and shook his head.
"Don't give me that crap. My father wanted to be a cop…YOU wanted to be a cop. Dad was good at what he did, you've told me that a million times. And he died doing exactly what he had wanted to. Why is it such a tragedy that I want to be a cop? If my mom can't handle it, I'm sorry, but this is what I want to do…what I NEED to do. I asked you here to talk about this, but if you're not going to support me in this…"
"Whoa…take it easy, TJ. I didn't say that I wouldn't support you. What I DID say was to make sure that you had completely thought all of this through. If this is really and truly what you want to do, that's fine with me. I just want you to be aware that there are consequences to becoming a cop. Your mother is upset for a reason. I think we both understand that. But knowing her as well as I do, I also believe that ultimately she will be proud of you for deciding to be a cop."
The younger man was stunned at hearing Pete's admission.
"You really think mom will be proud of me?"
"Of course she will…you're her son, and she loves you."
"And I have your support in this?"
Pete nodded his head. "You do. Just promise me that you won't do anything stupid."
"Stupid? You mean like getting myself killed?"
"Well, that too. I was referring to messing around with the Chief's daughter or something like that. Come on, let's head back. You can buy me a bite to eat."
"I'm buying?" TJ asked incredulously.
"Yep. When you make it outta the academy and get paired with an older more experienced partner, he or she will be looking at you to foot lunch most of the time…might as well start now."
Letting out a hearty laugh, Pete shook his head, and gave TJ a nudge.
"Come on, I'll race you back to the parking lot."
Without waiting for his young friend's reaction, Pete took off at a dead run. Life continued.
THE END