This story is dedicated to Avoca.
There was a charity auction for those in need in the Gulf Coast area.
Avoca won my story at the auction.
Thank you, my friend.
Monika
One Of Those Summer Days
Starsky's nose tickled and he felt the
warmth of a
sunray that had found its way through the curtains.
He wasn't ready to face a new morning, he
needed some more sleep and less sunshine. He turned
round in his bed - and felt a stinging pain when his
nose bumped against something.
"Ouch"! he cried and heard "Shit!" He blinked
and looked straight into the sleepy eyes of his
partner who was lying next to him and who had moved
his hands to his nose to see if all was still in
place.
"Hutch, what the heck are you doing here?"
Starsky tried to concentrate, feeling a bad
headache coming on.
"Well," Hutch croaked, " I only remember that I had
to carry you upstairs last night. Probably the last
Tequila was too much for you." Starsky rubbed his
aching head.
Very slowly the images from last night came back.
They had been celebrating Huggy's 5th anniversary
of "The Pits".
Starsky looked down at his tired partner and he
had to chuckle . "Okay, big boy, your condition
wasn't so good either. Or wasn't it you who wanted
to try a table dance at Huggy's and almost fell off
the table? If I hadn't been there to catch you…!"
Hutch frowned but then he relaxed and, rubbing his cheekon Starsky's shoulder he mumbled
" Let me sleep a little
longer… oh God, my nose…" He was asleep again.
Starsky lay down on his back. Thinking of the last
night he had to admit that they had drunk - well,
more than enough. Nevertheless, he and Hutch
took care of each other. One of them was always able
to help the other. How often had they been in
situations when they had watched each other's back?
Starsky still shuddered when he remembered the
shooting in the Italian restaurant. He had felt so
helpless, and when he heard the shots he thought
Hutch had been hit, too. Fortunately all went well.
When Starsky had been released from hospital Hutch
stayed with his friend during his recovery. Slumped
on Starsky's old couch Hutch had simply wanted to
be near his friend, and then there were the times when Starsky
had woken them both, thrashing around because of a
nightmare. Hutch had held him until he felt safe
again.
They had become like brothers.
Now Starsky affectionately tousled his friend's
hair and closed his eyes. If Dobey could see them…
Dobey? My God, Dobey! Hadn't they promised to look
after Rosie this Saturday? Harold and Edith
planned to visit Cal's new college in San Diego.
And Rosie, who adored her Uncle Ken and Uncle
Dave, had convinced them all, that it would be much
better for her to stay at home and do something
fun.
Starsky sat up. This abrupt movement made him
feel sick and he hurried to the bathroom.
"Hutch! It's your turn!" Starsky emerged from the
shower, feeling better already. Still wet, he went
to his closet and grabbed a new towel. Some
waterdrops fell on Hutch and this made him stir.
"Huh?" he tried to say something intelligent. "We
aren't in a hurry, are we?"
"Sure we are! Think of Rosie, we promised to go to
the beach with her." Starsky answered and put on
his cut off jeans and his red shirt.
"Yeah, yeah," Hutch mumbled, got out of the bed
and shuffled to the bathroom. "Should you miss me
after an hour I have fallen asleep in the shower.
Oops, was that a rhyme?"
Starsky breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the
shower. He started to prepare a light breakfast in
the kitchen, not forgetting to set out aspirins with
the orange juice.
One hour later the two detectives were on their way
to the Dobeys. Starsky looked sportsmanlike in
his cut off jeans, the opposite to Hutch. He felt
quite uncomfortable in Starsky's white shorts.
Somehow they were a little tight, but if he didn't
move too much, there wouldn't be a problem. Maybe
they could go to the café and get icecream….
"Uncle Ken! Uncle Hutch" They had just parked the
Torino when the frontdoor flew open and a little
girl ran toward them. Starsky caught her in his
arms. "Hey, princess, how are you? You already
waiting for us?"
"Uncle Ken, are you playing hide and seek with me?"
Her enthusiasm caught Hutch flat- footed.
"What about saying hello first?" he tried to calm
her. Damn, his headache should be gone by now.
He got a hug from her and edged her carefully in
the direction of the house.
Edith and Harold Dobey were ready to leave and after
a few instructions for her daughter (Don't get on
Ken and David's nerves and act like a little lady!)
their car disappeared round the next corner.
"Who's first to my car?" Starsky shouted, already
rushing forward. Rosie was just behind him,
giggling. Halfway Starsky pretended to have a
sprained ancle so Rosie could overtake him. Hutch
didn't need to pretend anything to be the slowest
of the three. This was not going to be his day.
Driving to the beach Starsky was humming a song -
it was by Jim Croce - Hutch assumed. He put on his
sun glasses and tried to listen to Rosie's report
about the best ice-cream on the beach.
Hutch's thoughts were drifting. He was remembering
that he had met his ex-wife, Van, in an Italian
restaurant in Duluth, Minnesota, and he had invited
her to an icecream . Though he had pushed the sundae
by accident and most of the icecream dropped on
her expensive trousers, she had only laughed. He
had fallen in love with her then and thought it was mutual. Too late he noticed that she
only wanted him because of his wealthy family. When he decided
to become a cop instead of a doctor all hell broke
loose. In those bad times it was Starsky who stood
by his side , who helped him to find the right
solution. It ended with the divorce last year. And
it had started with an icecream…
"Buddy?" Starsky's voice, full of concern,
startled him out of his reverie.
"How are you feeling? Look, we're at the
beach and over there is the café. We can have an
icecream, what do you think?"
Hutch felt Starsky's hand on his neck and he nodded. From behind,
Rosie pressed her head against Hutch's hair and she
whispered: "Uncle Ken, you are the bestest uncle I
have! Can I have the banana split?"
That moment Hutch got rid of all depressing
thoughts. He started to laugh and decided to
enjoy the day to the full extent.
"What do I hear? A big ice-cream? Okay if you
share it with me!" And he got out of the car,
helped her out and scooped her into his arms. Starsky
stood there, flat-footed by the sudden change
of Hutch's behaviour.
He smiled and felt a warmth inside. It didn't make
any difference to him which mood Hutch was in. He
loved that guy…
Starsky followed his friends and they found a nice
place in the shade. The beach was getting more
crowded now and there was a lot to see. Hutch
enjoyed his dark coffee and he let Rosie feed him
with spoonfuls of the delicious icecream.
Starsky had forgotten about his earlier nausea; he ordered
a piece of appletart with whipped cream. Done with
that he felt ready for a spaghetti ice. He ignored
Hutch's disgusted glance. Life was beautiful again.
Suddenly a ball flew in their direction. Hutch
caught it and saw a little boy looking for it.
"Come here, I got it", Hutch winked and the little boy
came up to them slowly. "Here you are," Hutch said and
when the boy took the ball he looked shyly at Rosie
and asked: " Do you like playing with me? My older
brother only wants to stay with his friends…"
Rosie blushed and looked at Hutch.
"Well, why not, if you want to," he said putting his arm protectively
around her shoulders. "If your Uncle David finishes
his meal in the next half hour we can accompany you!"
Some minutes later the two men were sitting on the
blanket Starsky had fetched from the Torino. In front
of them Rosie was playing with her new friend.
Hutch pulled off his shirt and enjoyed the sun.
"You'll get sunburn," noticed Starsky after a while
but Hutch only said: "Forgot the sunlotion…"
Starsky who didn't have these problems because of his tanned
skin, looked around and clicked his fingers. "Just a
moment," and Hutch kept his eyes shut listening to the
laughter of the kids. Suddenly something cold dropped
on his nose, startling him. A smiling Starsky
said. "Help yourself." He looked over to the bunch of
girls who were waving now. A little embarrassed Hutch
smiled, too, and put the lotion on his legs, arms and
chest. Then Starsky took the lotion and started to rub
it on Hutch's back. "Leave it, Starsk" Hutch objected.
He got up and said:" I'll bring it back, okay?"
Starsky watched his friend as he talked to the girls
and laughed with them. Good ol' Hutch, Starsky
thought, always up to flirt with the ladies. It seemed
that they were debating about something. Finally two
of the girls got up to accompany Hutch back to their
spot.
"Get up, old man," Hutch was clasping his hands in
anticipation. "Wanna play beach volleyball? Me and
Tina against you and .. what's your name? Aha, this is
Laura, okay, buddy?"
Quickly Starsky rose and started with some impressive stretching . "Hi, Laura, I'm
Dave. I already feel very sorry for our rivals. You're
a lucky lady, playing with the best beach volleyball
player of this beach and .." his hand pointed to the
north..
"Starsk," Hutch interrupted, " what about Rosie and
her new friend? They can join us, what do you think?"
"Sure, of course," Starsky agreed concentrating on the
little girl again.
Soon they had organized a volleyball , the field was
awaiting them and Rosie shouted:"Ready steady – go!"
Starsky had picked her in his team - they could start!
Starsky did some spectacular twists and leaps to get
the ball over the net.
"Me too," Rosie begged, and the
next time Starsky lifted her up in his arms and she
proudly threw the ball over the net. Hutch was
perfectly capable of getting it, but didn't. Rosie
cheered:" One more point for us!"
Of course Starsky bumped into Laura several times,
when they both wanted to play the ball and he enjoyed
the contact. By contrast, Hutch played more carefully.
He let the little boy handle the ball and showed him
how to bring it over the net. He smiled at Tina and
she didn't kill the joy. By accident they touched each
other and their smiles deepened.
With a last wonderful pirouette Starsky managed to
bring the ball over the net, unreachable for the other
team.
"We are the champions, aren't we?" Rosie shouted.
Starsky and Laura agreed, clasping their hands and
giving each other a hug.
"Well, but we weren't too bad either," pointed Hutch
out, his hands on Tina's shoulders, the little boy
walking behind them. They joined the other group to
congratulate them. Rosie reached her arms out to give
Hutch a hug and all the others followed. The small boy
felt awkward; he didn't belong to that "family". Only
when Rosie held hands with him did he look contented.
"Let's have a break," Starsky proposed, wiping the
sweat from his forehead. He sprawled on the blanket
and Laura joined him. Tina brought her towel for Hutch
and herself and soon they were chatting and laughing.
Even Rosie and Pete, her new friend, were busy making
a sandcastle.
Hutch felt more relaxed now knowing that his tight
shorts had stood the test so far. It was late
afternoon already and they would take Rosie home soon.
He glanced at Tina and hoped for a promising evening.
"Mommy! Daddy!" Rosie reached out her hands and ran
toward her parents who stood on the parking lot near
the beach.
"Wow! They're back early," Starsky noticed, waving to
his superior and his wife that they should join them.
"We have to go, I think," said Tina and started to get
up, as did Laura. It seemed that they didn't want to
intrude further, but both men said in unison:" No,
please stay."
There was a big Hallo when Edith and Dobey met the
group. There had been a road construction on their way
to San Diego that held all the traffic up. They had
been forced to return otherwise it would have been too
late for Rosie.
"No, it isn't late, I'm having a lot of fun with Uncle
Dave and Uncle Ken," said Rosie very convincingly.
"They are the bestest volleyball players all over the
world."
"I gotta see this," Dobey smirked. If he ever had
expected what followed next…he would have held his
tongue.
"Let's all play volleyball!" Rosie enthusiastically
cried and Starsky joked:
"Starsky and Hutch against the rest of the world…"
"Yes! Mommy and Daddy, let's play against Ken and
Dave, pleeease!" Rosie was very excited now.
"Honey, we have to go home," Edith interfered, but
Rosie didn't give up so easily. She went to Hutch, her
eyes begging for a little more fun. He put her on his
lap and after locking glances with Starsky he said:
"Sounds good to me – if your Mom and Dad play along
with us. Hey Cap'n, any objections?"
Before Dobey could react Starsky got up, pulling Tina
and Laura with him.
"Tina and Laura will support you, okay? And Pete here
is a real help for you," Starsky smiled.
"Forget it, you two!" Dobey growled , " I am not
dressed for the beach. On the other hand I was pretty good
when I was young , you wouldn't believe it…" His voice
trailed off,as if he were remembering the good old
times.
"Okay, then let's start, and Edith, don't worry, you
have such good players on your side, look at this
little lady, " and Hutch shoved Rosie onto the other
team. Edith looked self-conscious, but she didn't want
to be a spoil sport. What exactly was it about
volleyball, she asked herself as the ball flew towards
her and she caught it.
"Honey, this isn't handball, let me show you…," and
Dobey showed his wife very patiently how to handle the
volleyball.
On the other side of the net the two detectives
exchanged views. "We should give them a little
showdown," Starsky proposed, shuffling the sand
between his toes.
"Okay, but don't get too exaggerated, " Hutch couldn't
go on, he had to fend off the next ball. "Well done,
Cap," he hissed. Starsky was already diving for the
next throw. The girls applauded and even Dobey spilt
some praise.
Hutch had the feeling that he had to show something
extraordinary, too. He got the ball from Starsky,
moved it over the net so that it was very hard for
Tina to get. He smiled, confident of victory, but Tina
knew how to play the ball. When the next ball came
over the net, Starsky and Hutch weren't sure who was
supposed to play, so both went for it. They bumped,
fell into the sand and had to untangle themselves, all
the while hearing the laughter of the other team.
Seeking revenge Hutch decided to do something special
to show them all what kind of player he was.
Now Dobey had the ball. Hutch could see the smile on
Dobey's face. It showed him that Dobey wasn't
convinced of Hutch's abilities. The ball came over the
net. Hutch leaped high and twisted his body, trying to
do the pirouette Starsky had done earlier.
The ball was somewhere else and when he fell in the
sand he heard a ripping noise. "Oh my God, not that!
My shorts!" he thought. He lay in the sand till a
concerned Starsky hovered over him.
"What's up, buddy? Don't worry, in figure skating they woulda given you a
6.0 I'm sure."
"I can't get up, Starsk," Hutch mumbled. He tried to
feel with one hand where the tear was, but at that
moment the strong arms of his partner encircled him to
pull him up.
"No, don't do it! My shorts, hm… your shorts are torn,
you know…" Hutch felt like a dead weight in Starsky's
arms now and Starsky let him sink back again.
"Hey! Any damage over there, or are you already giving
up?" They heard Dobey shouting and Starsky reassured
them: "No, it's all okay."
"Come on, buddy, ever heard of covering your back?
Let's try it," Starsky calmed him and this time Hutch
gave in and raised himself up carefully.
Awkwardly Hutch trudged through the sand , Starsky
always a step behind him.
"Whose turn is it ?" Starsky shouted and Hutch clasped his hands pretending
to feel fine.
"What kind of formation are you practising there, if I
may ask," Dobey looked at his detectives standing back
to back and the girls started giggling.
"Huh…nothing special, it's only to irritate the
enemy," was Starsky's lame explanation. But it helped.
They got more points because the other team had to
laugh so hard that they lost the ball several times.
Hutch got a little more confident after a time. Maybe
it wasn't too bad with the torn shorts. And he
remembered that he had put on white briefs Starsky had
given him that morning, so the tear in his shorts
probably wasn't so obvious.
Finally the game was over and Dobey looked impatiently
at the snack bar next to the parking lot. "Well, not
too bad, Starsky and Hutchinson. I think I could do
with a little snack."
Tina and Laura said their goodbyes to the detectives after exchanging phone
numbers.
When they were leaving they looked back at the group -
and couldn't believe it. Starsky's hand was on his
partner's butt as they were walking to the snack bar!
In a thoughtful mood, the girls left the beach…
"Starsk, what the hell are you doing? Let go of my
ass!" Hutch again felt uncomfortable.
"Your wish is my command," answered Starsky in a low voice, "but I
must tell you that everyone can read what it says on
the briefs, I lent you… Monday… and I don't want
people to get upset, because you know, today is
Saturday…!"
***
Early in the next morning…
Hutch was soundly asleep when there was suddenly a
blow against his nose.
"Starsk, not again!" he almost yelled. Then he felt
something soft against his cheek and someone mumbled:
"Starsk? -- I'm so sorry, hon, but tell me, is there
something I gotta know about Starsky and you?"
Hutch opened his eyes, and dark brown eyes were
looking at him.
"Tina!" he said and, stroking her long brown hair, he repeated the question: "You want to
know if you gotta know something about Starsky and me?
Oh yes, a lot! But nothing you should worry about!"
And with these words he pulled her down. She smiled
and savored the closeness. It was gonna be a beautiful
summer day!
The end
