Jon awoke from a deep sleep the next morning to Dan beating on his bedroom door; there was much to be done and Jon had overslept. Jon rolled over, glanced at the clock on his bedside table and then grumbled because he knew what over sleeping meant. He, Dan and Wes had come up with a duty schedule for dividing up the ranch work for the rest of the summer, as well as a "punishment" if one of them was to oversleep. Wes had even inadvertently coined a saying for whomever was the late riser: "If you're the last to snore, you muck the manure." Being a college student, it was Wes who had fallen victim to his own adage the past couple of days, but today Jon was the lucky one.
After a very long shower that afternoon, Jon finally made himself call Getraer and tell him that he'd be resigning from the CHP, effective immediately. Nervously, he dialed and asked the central dispatcher to patch him through to his sergeant.
"Hello?"
"Hi Sarge...it's Jon."
"Hey Jon; how are things in Wyoming?"
"Alright. Look Joe, I..."
"How's your father doing?"
"He's better, thanks. He's paralyzed on one side of his body though and can't work...which is why I'm calling." Jon took a deep breath, and then blurted out, "I'm resigning from the patrol."
There was silence on the other end.
"Come again?" Getraer finally said.
"I...I'm resigning from the patrol," said Jon. "I'm going to move back to Wyoming and help out on the ranch."
"Are you sure?"
Jon sighed; he was starting to get tired of that question as everyone asked him that as soon as he told them his plans. "To be honest, no...but I have to do this for my family."
Getraer was quiet for a minute. "Well, I understand Jon, though I really hate to lose you. But do you really want to resign?"
"No...I mean...what other choice do I have?"
"Well, you could just take an indefinite leave of absence. That way you'll still have a spot secured here and there won't be so much to go through when you come back."
"But I don't know when I'll be back..." or if I'll be back, thought Jon, though he quickly tried to push that thought from his mind.
"Well, we'll just cross that bridge when we get to it," replied Getraer, not wanting to think long-term either.
Jon's face brightened a little. Knowing that he could take a leave of absence instead of quitting - which had seemed so much more final and despairing - made him feel like all hope was not lost.
"That'd be great, Sarge."
"Alright; I'll have the papers ready for you when you come back into town."
Jon exhaled with a feeling of relief as he hung up the phone. Now all that was left was telling Ponch...a thought which sent Jon right back into his state of uneasiness.