NOW:
Although the spring morning had started with the feeling of a light frosty chill, by noon it had turned into a surprisingly warm day. Walt paused momentarily to reach inside the right hand pocket of his heavy winter coat for his bandana to wipe his face. It was almost time to switch from his winter to his summer coat. The thought of impending warm weather pleased him.
All morning he had been working by himself documenting a complex crime scene, taking all kinds of notes and measurements, and not-so-great photos with the digital camera. It ended up being hot and thirsty work. He was the ASD's staff member most familiar with the scene and thus had volunteered to document it by himself since they seemed to be perpetually short of departmental staff these days.
He felt around the depths of his pocket, getting his forefinger hooked inside a hole that he admitted glumly had been growing in the interior fabric of the pocket. "Should really try to get that hole fixed", he said to himself. To his surprise, he encountered something that seemed to have drifted from the pocket itself into the interior lining of his jacket. It was a hard plastic-like rectangle and for a moment he had no idea what it was. He fished it out and was shocked to discover that it was the extra key card from the motel in Arizona. There was a faintly embossed logo on the card, marked Sleepwell Inn, Page, AZ. It was the extra key card that Walt had felt was unnecessary, and which he was unable to locate when they checked out of the motel.
"Hmmph", he said to himself, as he recalled that trip to Arizona more than a year ago.
THEN:
Walt and Vic were working on a case, trying to find out how a young Russian school girl had been murdered and dumped in their county. They had driven all the way to northern Arizona to find out how the poor girl had come a violent and sad ending in Absaroka County, instead of living and studying at this school that she had been transferred to. After their interview with the school administrator, and some snooping around, it was too late for them to drive back to Wyoming, so they had agreed to stay overnight at a motel. Their plan was to get an early start home the next morning. They had claimed their own motel rooms, since Vic was still married at the time, and they were on official Sheriff's business. For some reason, the clerk had given both of them two key cards each for their rooms. Walt thought he saw the guy wink at him. Vic, always the smart ass, snickered as she pocketed both her cards. As they left the lobby, she turned to Walt and asked with a smirk, "Does the guy think we're gonna be sneaking into each other's rooms? We don't need a second card for that…" She loved making Walt squirm, which of course, he did.
NOW:
This sudden discovery of the extra key card, prompted Walt to take a few moments to think of that quick trip to Arizona and of that time with Vic. He sat on the back bumper of his truck and took a long drink of water from his flask. He thought about what the key card represented – confusing feelings, temptation and an unfulfilled desire. It was clear at the time of their trip, that Vic's marriage was on shaky ground, but Walt was never going to interfere with the vows of someone else's marriage. He had tried to keep his thoughts about Vic subdued, but sometimes…he couldn't. He had a growing fondness for Vic and came to value her physical and mental strength and fierce loyalty. As time passed, they had fallen into a familiar pattern of working cases together, sharing the meals, and began to notice a growing, solid friendship. But buried within the confines of their rather chaste activities, there seemed to be an undercurrent of something lurking just beneath the surface. Sometimes when they talked about things of a more personal nature, Vic would mention that her marriage was crumbling. She had declared, with sadness, that neither she nor Sean seemed motivated or interested in saving their doomed marriage. Walt did not realize until Vic admitted it to him that Vic and Sean's marriage was already in a damaged state, well before they left Philadelphia to move to Wyoming.
Over time, Vic too had allowed herself private thoughts about her boss. Not 'actionable' thoughts just yet, but thoughts nonetheless. She really enjoyed working with Walt and the time they spent together. He treated her with respect and made her feel appreciated. Actually all the guys in ASD treated her with respect. The police work was never dull and it was a very satisfying contrast to her prior work at the Philadelphia Police Department, which always seemed mired down in outdated juvenile and sexist behaviour on the part of some of the male policemen. Vic's time with Walt was relaxing, lacking in the tension that seemed to come with every conversation she had with her husband Sean over the past months. More than once, Vic thought she saw Walt sneaking a quick peek at her when she wasn't looking. However, she knew that Walt was an honorable man who would never entertain thoughts of an affair with his younger, still married deputy. But surely, Vic thought, Walt was a man, who still had some hot, or at least warm blood coursing through his veins, and who missed female companionship. After all, he had participated in that little foray with Lizzie, even though Walt admitted it was a mistake. But still…
THEN:
For a while there, back in Arizona, after their long drive there and their investigation at the school completed, they settled in for a beer in the bar in the motel lounge. Later on in her motel room, Vic sat on the bed, her wedding ring removed and on the night stand, looking at the door that connected the two motel rooms, wondering what Walt was doing at that moment. Walt, just on the other side of that flimsy door, was doing the same thing. Although a fantasy played quietly in their minds, neither could bring themselves to act upon it. Their return trip to Wyoming was uneventful, and about a week later, they were able to resolve the murder case.
NOW:
Vic had been divorced for 14 months and Sean had moved to Australia to take a promotion with his oil company. Walt and Vic had been circling each other making sure that their little interconnected orbits remained intact. They enjoyed casual lunches and coffee breaks together. It had become obvious that there was a growing and permissible attraction, but both were a little gun shy about engaging with each other, given their track records of an unhappy marriage that led to divorce and an admittedly bland marriage that had sadly led to widowhood. They were both hesitant to broach the subject of a possible dating situation.
On a whim one day, after a brief and somewhat cryptic conversation with Henry about dating, Walt decided to test the waters with Vic, and tell her in a subtle way, how he felt about her. He also hoped that by opening a dialogue with her about his feelings, it may serve to resolve some of his inner turmoil about his current situation, including his love life. Although in his heart he yearned to be with Vic in every way, he was still uncertain that she wanted him in that way too. Could it be that she was spending time with him, as a welcome and safe distraction from her failed marriage, but wasn't truly interested in him? Walt fretted a lot at times, about aging and his future. He knew that he wasn't very good at relationships with women, but he also didn't want to live out his days alone. He had experienced the love of a good woman, and felt that now Vic would complete his life.
Walt picked up one of the little pads of post-it notes that Ruby kept him supplied with, and jotted down "1. that's my beer" and placed it on one side of the key card. On the other side of the card on another post-it he wrote "2. Have one on me". He placed the key card in an envelope, taped down in such a way that Vic would see the #1 side first. Late in the day, once everyone had left for home, he placed the envelope in Vic's top desk drawer where she would discover it early in her work day. He placed a six-pack of Rainier in a brown paper bag marked "VIC" and left it in the fridge for her to find. The next day Vic was delighted by the coded message and the chilled treat. As soon as she saw the hotel logo on the card, she understood the context of the message. That evening, Vic enjoyed two of the beer and reviewed her blossoming relationship with Walt. The key card event was kept secret.
A few days later, Vic stuck a pink post-it (her favourite) on the key card for Walt and hid it under a note pad that she placed on his office chair for him to find one afternoon. In her somewhat juvenile handwriting, she wrote "glove box, Bronco" on the post-it. She had snuck some homemade chocolate chip cookies in the compartment while Walt was at the courthouse. She knew they were his favourite.
Walt was touched by the thoughtful gesture and Vic's eager participation in the gift giving game. It was a safe way for them to communicate. It had become a highly personalized and playful way to show their interest in each other. Part of the fun was that neither person knew when the next treat would make its appearance or what that treat would be. As the exchanges continued, the card would come to represent the transformation of Vic and Walt's relationship.
A few weeks later, Walt's next post-it on the key card was left for Vic inside her coffee mug. The note read "mouse pad". Vic shrieked when she looked at her mouse pad. Underneath her old and worn State of Wyoming mouse pad, which she had inherited from a previous county employee, was a shiny new Philadelphia Flyers hockey team mouse pad. "This is f* #kin awesome", she exclaimed to no one in particular.
It appeared that it was Vic's turn. More than a week later, she left her next post-it note for Walt on the key card. She had carefully hidden it inside the dog-eared page of the Somerset Maugham book he had left on his desk and it read "leave winter jacket with me for repairs".
Although they were well into summer by this time, Walt brought his heavy winter coat to work with him. He left it inside the Bronco to hand over to Vic at lunch. After they had their usual meal at the Busy Bee, he thanked Vic for the offer to mend his coat, and they stopped at his truck for the clandestine hand-over. He had mentioned the hole in the pocket a while back and was rather pleased that Vic remembered, and offered to mend it for him. In addition to the hole in the pocket, there was a tear in the coat's lining. Vic knew that Walt was not known for his fine sewing, although he had once helped mend Branch with fishing line when he was wounded. Vic also knew of what Walt would not say to anyone aloud – that he was able to superficially mend Branch at that time, he could not mend him entirely and help him become a whole person again. Regarding the jacket, Walt had mentioned that it was the right hand pocket that had the tear. He hoped that Vic might notice that the lining was torn and also needed fixing, but he did not mention it. Inside the pocket he had placed a new pair of leather gloves for Vic, specifically in her small ladies size, with a bow tying them together. Inside one of the glove fingers, he left a roll of spearmint Lifesavers, another of her favourites.
Officially, it was Walt's turn again. For his next challenge, he left the key card inside an envelope, tucked away inside Vic's closed laptop. The note read "you're not a terror, you're lovely. Have dinner with me?" Also placed inside the envelope was a printed menu for the new Greco-Roman restaurant in Gillette, which Ruby had been raving about.
On a quiet Saturday afternoon, Vic and Walt enjoyed the hour-long drive to Gillette. Their dinner was delicious, and a much needed respite from the limited culinary options in tiny Durant. Walt confessed that although he was quite unfamiliar with Greek food, he thoroughly enjoyed his meal and would like to return to the restaurant some time. Vic too, enjoyed her meal. After dinner, the pair walked hand in hand to Walt's personal truck. Vic managed to slip the key card into Walt's dressier version of his ever present leather jacket. He felt her hand and the key card enter his pocket. "Should I look at it now?" he asked with a grin. "Later", Vic replied, with a sly smile.
Later, at home, after Walt had safely delivered Vic to her place, Walt sat down on his sagging couch to look at the key card. On the card, the post-it note read "kiss me". Walt delivered his gift to Vic the next day, in the stairwell. They were a little breathless as they moved apart, just as Ruby came in the door after her lunch. Ruby smiled at them, as though she knew nothing of their shenanigans.
At a faster pace, the key card went back and forth several times on its mission to unite Vic and Walt. Near the end of summer, Walt delivered what he thought would be his penultimate gift card to Vic, with a modest yet meaningful request "kiss ME now". Vic replied to the request with a searing kiss as soon as they had a moment alone in Walt's office. Walt felt a little weak in the knees as he leaned over Vic, who was perched seductively on the edge of his desk. He grabbed his little pad of post-it notes and hastily wrote "love me" on the note for the card, and gave it to Vic. She grabbed the pen and pad and wrote back "I do". Walt loved the thought that Vic's reply could have a deeper meaning.
The next day, the key card was left inside Walt's coffee cup on his desk. The note read "lunch on Saturday, my place". At lunch, Walt gave his reply "dinner on Saturday, my place". Vic's immediate reply was "breakfast in bed on Sunday, your place?"