Sketch
by Disherona
Sharona sat with her feet tucked under her, on the comfy sofa in Randy Disher's living room. From a cabinet, she pulled one of Randy's journals from 2002 and perused it. as soft music played in on the stereo mingled with the gentle snoring not too far away from her. The lights were low, except for a reading lamp on her side of the sofa.
2002 was the year of the eagle according to the illustrated cover. Many of the drawings which decorated the white cover of the blank book seemed patriotic, but it was written during the time period when patriotism ran rampant.
As Sharona read through the journal, Randy snoozed on the couch looking adorable in a t-shirt and jeans. It had been a long day, and he had had a satisfying and filling brunch, so he embraced this nap time.
Sharona found an illustration of herself in the journal. She was carrying a mutt, wearing a red miniskirt, pink blouse, a black jacket with leather strings hanging from the waist, and knee length boots. It was fairly detailed sketch and a good representation of her and the moment. Her hair was drawn with exaggerated curls. Her skirt was extra short, her her legs extra long and her derriere a little rounder than in real life.
The middle of the same page, was taken up with a sketch of Adrian Monk, comically balancing on a sundial. It was more of a gesture drawing with basic color washes, and took up a two by two inch area of the middle of the page. The handwritten notes on the pages had nothing to do with the case, from what Sharona could remember or any of the people involved. They were completely random, except something pertaining to the idea that Captain Stottlemeyer might be going off the rails, which was understandable given the circumstances.
"These are good," Sharona remarked, not knowing if Randy were too fast asleep to hear her.
He wasn't. "What?" He mumbled, sitting up and moving to the other side of the couch to cuddle.
"These drawings are good. Did you take art lessons?
"Um, yeah. I took some classes in high school. I just sketch what I see or remember from the day." He rubbed his eyes, and picked up a mug of coffee from before he had fallen asleep. He took a sip of stone cold, sweet and creamy coffee.
"I love this one." Sharona said, going through the book a bit more, and finding a fairly detailed drawing of Adrian whispering something to Sharona, a portion of his face buried in her exaggerated curls. She could make out tables around them, seemingly in the distance, and the facade of a restaurant. It was the circus case, she remembered. "I hated that case, though. Adrian telling me to suck it up...and the elephant trainer's head." She closed her eyes, as the sight of man's head being crushed flashed in her mind.
As she flipped through the pages, seeing multiple illustrations of Adrian and Sharona, the Captain and sometimes just pretty bystanders, and things that caught his eye. "So, how did you and Monk first get together?" Randy asked, taking another sip of the cold coffee.
"Captain Stottlemeyer asked my supervisor if they had anyone who might be interested in a practical nursing job. I checked it out. To be honest, none of the other nurses would touch it. My supervisor recommended me, and eventually I took the job."
"But, you were a registered nurse at the time. You quit that job to help someone clean the house and take his pulse?"
"Not quite. There was more to it. It had everything to do with Adrian Monk." A reminiscent smile crossed her lips. "I remember the first time I saw him. Stottlemeyer told me about him, and about the Trudy case. He drove me to the apartment to meet him, and I remember the apartment - It wasn't messy, but it had been neglected. Like no one cared. It was dark and it had this heaviness to it. I almost felt like I couldn't breath.
"So, the Captain and I went inside. Adrian was very still. The Captain greeted him. The Captain was friendly but seemed uncomfortable, I guess. And Adrian was so quiet. He was sitting on his couch, in his pajamas and some slippers. And there were these newspapers, still rolled up in a neat pyramid near the coffee table.
"And he had sad eyes. It was his eyes, the way he held himself, his hopelessness that drew me to him. We talked about why I was there, and he just sort of quietly accepted it. I don't think he felt like he had any choices. I could tell he needed something, and I thought he needed me, so I came back the next day. And the day after. And the day after that."
"I worked both jobs for a few months, and I decided Adrian needed me more than the hospital did, so I quit. Benjy needed to spend a little bit of time with his mom so I gradually made Benjy part of Adrian's life, too. Over time, he began to interact with me, and once he stopped being so nervous, with Benjy."
Sharona rested her head on Randy's shoulder and continued.
"I loved him. He was like family, you know. Not perfect, but you love them anyway. Adrian could be mean. He could be a jerk. He could be unreasonable and impossible, but when he talked about Trudy, he changed. His face changed. His demeanor changed. I knew he loved her, still. After all those years. Especially after her death. It was incredible. I didn't easily trust men. I think Adrian was the first man I trusted after Trevor, because it was the first time I'd ever seen a man could love a woman so completely, that even death wouldn't stop it. Adrian's love for Trudy gave me hope that there were still good men out there," she said, taking his hand in hers.
"Anyway, after working with him for some time, and seeing how he responded to Trudy and her murder, I felt like maybe it was something he could strive for. We discussed how he would feel about helping other victims and he responded well to the idea. It would challenge him to go outside and do things he didn't think he could do if he were holed up in his little apartment with his nurse. This would make him take steps out into the real world.
"One afternoon, after Adrian had made some progress, we talked to the Police Commissioner, and he said he would consider it. I had to promise the Commissioner that I would be with him at all times, when he was on a case. I had to to keep him focused and make sure he didn't break down again. And the Commissioner said that when Adrian was able, they might consider him for consulting work. I never really knew if he could solve that case, and I never expected to be his assistant, but it happened.
Randy sat speechless for a few moments, admiring the woman he had come to love. Then Randy got an idea. "Don't move."
He went to his desk and pulled out his 2009 journal and a pen, adjusted the lamp to light Sharona better, and sat on the end of the couch, peering over the book, and began to sketch her portrait of an amazing woman.
The End.
A/N The Vignette series is something I plan to supplement my fanfic while I am working on my new story. I will continue to write these. If you would like a specific vignette, please leave a response saying what you want to see in the reviews section. PLEASE REVIEW.
A/N The sketch journal was brought up in Hy Conrad's "Mr. Monk and the New Lieutenant". I love the idea, and plan to run with it wherever I am able.