Mr. Monk Goes Home for the 4th of July
Author's Notes: This is my very first fanfic. The characters of Monk, Natalie, and Ambrose do not belong to me. But, "Pop" is mine! I wrote this in response to the 4th of July Challenge offered by CrystalSmith and BfloGal over at the USA Monk Forum. I don't really have a mystery in my plot so it is boring, but I am excited to have finished it, anyway. I would appreciate it if you would take the time to review.
Natalie commented aloud as she and Monk drove down the brightly decorated street, "It's the 4th again. I love the red, white, and blue bunting on the houses. Do you have any plans, Mr. Monk?"
"Yes. To be as far away from any fireworks as possible," he said partially under his breath.
"Don't be that way, Mr. Monk! This is an important celebration," Natalie added as she turned down a little street where the Monk family had once lived.
"I don't have a problem with the 4th of July, but did you know that 40 percent of those injured by fireworks are 16 years old or under? I hope you've done the sensible thing and kept Julie from going anywhere near them."
"Julie and I enjoy the fireworks every year. It's part of our tradition!"
"As far as I know there were no fireworks traditions before the 60's and then the hippies came up with them. Down with the U.S.! Get out of Vietnam! Sit in the park illegally and shoot off fireworks! That's how it all started."
"I'm pretty sure that is not the case, Mr. Monk," Natalie sighed. When Mr. Monk was in this mood which was pretty standard for him, there was no such thing as a real discussion.
Natalie pulled into the Monk driveway and stopped the car. As she began to get out, Monk touched her arm. "Why are we stopping here?"
"Ambrose asked me to stop for a minute this morning. Are you coming in?" Natalie didn't wait for an answer but walked quickly up to the door. She could hear from the sounds of the car door that Monk was following her. She touched the doorbell and turned to smile at him as he climbed the steps behind her.
"Good morning, Natalie. Adrian." Ambrose opened the door and smiled shyly at them both. Opening the door wider, he said, "Please come in." He and Adrian shook hands, but Natalie delivered a big hug and a peck on his cheek.
"How are things, Ambrose?" she said brightly.
"Not good at all. It's terrible. I am not sure what to do."
While speaking, he handed each of them a flyer which said, "The National Council for Firework Safety" across the top in bold letters. "I suppose you both have taken the firework safety test already. Here's a copy for a refresher if you need it." Turning to a decorated basket, he handed each of them a plastic packet holding safety goggles. He gave a second to Natalie, "For Julie," he smiled into her eyes. "You can never be too careful about retinal damage."
"What is it you're worried about?" Adrian asked as he passed the paper and glasses to Natalie who put them all into her purse.
"Look at this. You can see for yourself," Ambrose waved a newspaper in front of them until Natalie grabbed it and tried to see what he was talking about. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
"I guess you are as shocked as I am". Natalie and Adrian both looked at him blankly. "There." He waved his arm and his voice got a little louder. "Fireworks can be legally sold in California from noon on June 28 through noon, July 6. But the paper," he hit the paper against his hand for emphasis, "has an ad selling them at Pop's Shoppette down at the corner, well into next week.
He took a deep breath and continued, "It's a travesty. No law abiding citizen would buy them. I have called the newspaper and they won't remove the advertisement. They say the ad was placed and paid for correctly. I called the State Fire Marshal's office but they don't accept my calls after the incident two years ago. I didn't know what to do so I asked Natalie to bring you by."
Adrian twisted his neck slightly to the left and paced uncertainly. "I don't know what you expect me to do, Ambrose."
"Investigate! They are breaking the law! Arrest them!" Ambrose said.
"I am not a cop, you know. I don't have any reason to get involved with a small store owner." Monk was still shrugging his shoulders and neck uncomfortably.
"But think of the lives you will save!"
"Lives? What do you mean?" Monk stopped and faced his brother.
"This," Ambrose said and turned to pick up one of the many instruction manuals stacked around the room. Ambrose made his living by writing and translating manuals with an extremely high degree of accuracy and precision.
Both Natalie and Adrian leaned in to see what type of manual it was. Across the top it said, "MANUFACTURE, STORAGE, TRANSPORTATION OF FIREWORKS and underneath it read State of California.
Ambrose began to read, "Fireworks must be classified and registered by the State Fire Marshal. State seal of registration must be applied to all classified fireworks. Labeling, record keeping, transportation, manufacturing and storage safety requirements are specified in the law. Employees may be registered with the State Fire Marshal".
Again he gave them that look which implored them to react. He was waiting for them to be as outraged as he was, but again Natalie and Adrian just stared. "Don't you see? Pop's Shoppette has broken every law in the California State Code and by doing so they are encouraging others to buy fireworks unsupervised. 46 percent of accidents come from the ILLEGAL use of fireworks." Ambrose was getting louder and actually spitting a little, which caused Adrian to step backwards.
Then Adrian stopped. Monk understood his brother. He could see that Ambrose's conscience wasn't going to let him just live with this information. He needed to make this situation right or he wasn't going to get any rest. Nor would anyone else!
Adrian turned to Natalie and said, "Let's go down to Pop's and look around a little."
Ambrose beamed as they headed out the door. He waved anxiously from the doorway.
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Using his sleeve, Monk pushed the screen door of the old corner business open. Natalie entered behind him and the door shut with a whack behind her. The store was empty except for an elderly gentleman who was arranging a shelf behind the counter and humming to himself. At the sound of their entrance he turned with a smile.
"What can I do for you today?"
Noticing the red, white, and blue streamers everywhere, Natalie decided to use the decorations as a way to start the conversation. "You look like you are ready for the 4th of July!" She smiled at the gentleman.
"Yes! It's a favorite of ours around here." He waited for them to explain what they needed.
"We are here to ask you about your fireworks sale. " Adrian quickly added, "We don't want to buy any, we just noticed the error in the paper."
"Error? There wasn't any error. I checked that copy myself," he was still smiling. "10 discount on holiday advertising!"
"You know of course, that the sale of fireworks will be illegal after July 6th," Monk paused.
"What? Let me look at that," and the old man picked up a copy of the paper. "So I am selling them after the holiday. So what?" The gentleman had stopped smiling and was actually shifting his weight from foot to foot. "It's not a crime," he said but his head was nodding up and down.
Monk walked up to him and spoke with authority, "Here's the thing, "he said. "I will call my good friend, Capt. Leland Stottlemeyer of the SFPD, if you don't comply with California State law."
For a second, no one moved. Then the man gave an enormous sigh, almost a shudder, and sat down on the stool behind the counter. "I know. My grandson talked me in to selling the fireworks when I shouldn't. Kids will buy 'em, he said. It's good money, he said. Who's gonna know, he said."
Looking up for the first time Pop said with conviction, "I know. I know it's wrong. Thank you Mr. …. Monk isn't it? I have known your family for a long time. I want to thank you for coming in here today. It wasn't an easy thing to do."
"You can thank my brother, Ambrose, although not in person. He doesn't get out. He will be delighted to know that you're going to take care of this. "
Adrian smiled and turned to Natalie. "Let's go." As they left they could hear the old gentleman on the phone speaking with conviction and arguing a little just as the door slammed shut on its tight spring.
Natalie grabbed Monk's hand as they started back down the walkway. He just looked at her and at their hands.
"You're a good brother, you know."
"I'm all he has." Monk kept walking and pulled his hand away. But Natalie took it again, and pulling a little made him stop and face her.
"You Monk brothers are fine upstanding people. You should be proud."
"You know me. I'm not proud – that's just your healthy ego talking."
Gently she said, "I am proud of you." With that she gave him a swift, soft peck on his cheek and took off down the sidewalk. She didn't want to wait and see him wipe it off. "Happy 4th, Adrian," she whispered.