21
Frank watched his youngest from the doorway of the garage and smiled fondly. Jamie was oblivious to his presence from where he was perched on an old, wooden stool, hunched over the work table with earbuds firmly tucked into his ears. His broad shoulders shifted under a thick, lined hoodie as he worked on the hidden project in front of him and the muffled beat of some rock song was discernible even from across the garage. He's going to go deaf, Frank worried with his patented fatherly frown.
Ready to make himself known, Frank walked alongside his old, blue Chevelle with one hand affectionately gliding along its glossy surface as he went around to the front where the hood stood propped up on support rods.
I can't wait until she's running again, he thought with a light pat to the front end.
Frank came to a stop next to Jamie and pursed his lips. He was still invisible to the boy, but he now had a full view of the meticulously cleaned carburetor in front of him, his thick eyebrows arching up in appreciation of the work Jamie was putting in.
Frank slipped his hands into the pockets of his long overcoat. Despite the space heater Jamie switched on to warm up the garage, there remained a definite chill in the air, but it wasn't enough to keep his son from his beloved Chevelle.
Frank bent at the waist to draw Jamie's attention. "How's she coming along?" he shouted to be heard over the music.
Jamie's head snapped up and a sheepish smile crept across his face upon discovering his father beside him. He dropped the grimy rag in his hands and tugged at the wires of his earbuds before sliding a finger across the screen of his cell phone to pause the music. "Hey! Sorry, what was that?"
The grin remained on Frank's face, his mind traveling back to a time when the house was filled with three teenagers and a set of parents yelling to be heard through thick, foam-covered headphones and whatever the hit music was at the time. "I asked how she's coming along."
Jamie spun around on the stool to fully face his father and glanced under the hood of the Chevelle. His eyes widened as he made a mental checklist of all the repairs that remained to get her running again. "Uh, she's coming. A constant work in progress," he shrugged. It had been years since the crash that landed it back in his dad's garage, and although the body work was done, that wasn't all that was damaged. The front-end collision with a concrete barrier did a number on the engine as well.
"What isn't?" Frank offered while pulling up another stool to take a load off his tired feet. His detail had delivered him safely to the house at a sensible hour, but the light spilling out through the garage windows peaked his curiosity and he made a detour to the back of the property.
"Yeah," Jamie agreed with another quick look at the car.
"You're really getting into it. I thought you found a mechanic to help you with some of this," Frank commented as he took inventory of the other parts and tools spread out across the table top in front of a smudged 1971 Chevelle SS owner's manual which stood propped open against the wall.
"Thought I did too, but my spidey sense told me he was too good to be true," Jamie frowned. It would be faster to have a professional mechanic fix her up, but it wasn't an expense that a beat cop on a budget with law school loans to pay off could readily afford, especially when there was a chance he could be swindled on the labor. Hence, the delays in making her run again, but Jamie was feeling much more determined these days. So a Friday night after a full day of training and a girlfriend on tour meant a few extra hours working on the Chevelle. It was a hobby he found relaxing.
"Anyhow, with the things I'm learning now, I figured I could also do a lot more of this on my own, or at least try, you know?" he smirked. Jamie always loved to work with his hands, finding great satisfaction in fixing things himself, but until now, he had been gun-shy about taking the Chevelle on by himself.
"I do," Frank smiled. "Finding you back here working on the Chevelle takes me back to all of the times I found your brother in here fixing her up late at night."
"Restored her from the ground up," Jamie remembered, unable to stop the smile that Joe brought to his face.
"Almost like you are now," Frank pointed out as his moustache stretched out along a broad smile of his own. "Joe was always handy, willing and able to fix anything you gave him. Saved us a bundle in repair bills, a lot like you do these days," he added as his brow furrowed at the truth of that statement. Joe had been their own personal handyman and mechanic and he had a little brother that shadowed him every chance he got, picking up most of those same skills. Jamie began to fill that role for his father and grandfather more often in recent years, from switching out spark plugs in Frank's car to fixing pesky leaky sinks.
"And when you need me to fix your 100 kilowatt generator, I'm your man," Jamie joked, referring to the recent training he'd done on the unit's generator trucks. No matter where he landed, he still had to know how to run and maintain those generators.
Frank smiled again. "I'll let you know."
It was good to get some alone time with his youngest, especially here, in this comfortable setting, surrounded by the familiar odds and ends that filled a typical garage and the old classic that kept bringing two generations together.
"You're going to be pretty skilled when you're done with school."
"That's the plan," Jamie let out with a deep breath. He loved to learn and was thoroughly enjoying every second of STS.
"So it's still going well?" Frank inquired. He hadn't seen or heard anything to the contrary, with Jamie often sharing training stories. His excitement over this endeavour was evident to the family, but the father in him felt compelled to check in with him, one on one, every once in a while.
Jamie's face brightened. "Yeah, it is. It's not easy, but it's good...satisfying, you know what I mean?"
"Yes, I do," Frank said.
"I'm not in yet, but it's been a long time since things have felt this right, like everything's as it's supposed to be," Jamie shared.
"Since you joined the force?" Frank guessed. Jamie had been quick and decisive when he applied to the academy and the proud expression he wore upon graduating solidified any doubts the family may have had about what appeared to be an impulsive change in careers.
"For the most part," Jamie replied as he reached for a clean rag to wipe away the grease that remained on his hands.
"What do you mean?" Frank questioned. He'd been certain Jamie had found his place when he landed at the 12th.
Jamie's eyes traveled from the rag in his grasp to his father's eyes to state the obvious. "I'm talking about all aspects of life - family, professional and personal."
Frank's head tilted in curiosity, silently asking him to explain.
"I've done a lot of thinking over the last year and even though it seemed like everything was good at the time, I never really stopped to consider what I wanted or what was right for me. I mean, it was never a secret that I always wanted to be a cop," Jamie explained.
"No, worst kept one, if you ask me," Frank chuckled. "But then again, not much in this family stays a secret."
Jamie smiled and glanced back down. "Mom knew it too," he said quietly.
That wiped the grin off his face. "Which was why she was so against it," Frank sighed, also looking away as he thought of his late wife.
"Jamie...you know," Frank sputtered as he focused on Mary's engagement ring, which, sadly, would be going back into a box in the back of his safe now that Jamie and Sydney called off the wedding. He was finding it hard to look his own son in the face at the words he was about to say out loud. "When you decided to give up the law and become a cop, I was...disappointed."
Frank missed the shock on Jamie's face, which he quickly covered with an uneasy smile. It was like a punch to the gut to hear those words from his own father. He never wanted to disappoint the man. "Well, I, um…," he began, pausing to release a nervous chuckle as he took a seat on the edge of the coffee table across from him, "I knew you weren't thrilled." He needed to get off his feet in case his father released another blow.
"Well," Frank sighed, summoning up the courage to look Jamie in the eyes so he could explain himself. "You knew how much your mom wanted to keep you out of the family business, and…l felt that...the least I could do was see that Mary's wish was honored," he shared, managing to get the words out around the heavy lump in his throat at the mention of his wife's one request of him.
That wasn't news to Jamie, but he always wondered why his father hadn't fought him tooth and nail when he announced his decision to make the switch from Wall Street attorney to beat cop. "But you didn't stop me."
"It wasn't my decision to make," he sighed before admitting the truth in a gravelly voice. He took another look at the sparkly diamond between his fingers before getting the next words out of his mouth. "And it wasn't your mom's."
"It was yours," he admitted firmly, making direct eye contact with his son so that there was no room to doubt the statement.
"I'm sorry you had to veer off course before you finally became a cop," Frank apologized.
Jamie pressed his lips together and nodded appreciatively at the apology, but there was no need for it. There was a lot of good that came from the path he'd taken getting here. "Like you, I could never deny her anything, but I don't regret law school, dad. If anything, it makes for a hell of a back-up career if there ever was one," he joked to lighten the mood.
Frank grinned. "Not a lot of cops can leave the job one day and hang up their shingle the next, but I'm almost certain you'll never need it for that reason."
"Knock on wood," Jamie said and did so against the table, praying his career with the NYPD was a long one. "It's not just that, it gave me a whole different perspective on being a cop," he added. Danny may razz him for using his giant, 'Harvard' brain in policing, but it made him a better officer.
"You got that right," Frank agreed. Jamie was an asset to the department, no matter where he landed.
Jamie reflected back on his time in Cambridge. Despite wanting to be a cop, he was intrigued by the law and its complexities. It was exciting and challenging and he really thought it was what he was meant to do after caving to family pressure. But he was also blinded by the possibilities that it presented when recruiters from big firms sought him out before he even had a degree and a bar license to his name. It felt good to be wanted. It also felt good to have a woman by his side who he loved and who had similar goals - at least at that time.
"I thought I had it figured out in law school," Jamie admitted sheepishly. "I was going to graduate, get married and hit the ground running on Wall Street somewhere, take on the world with Sydney by my side," he said, shaking his head at how all of that imploded and how stupid he'd been to think any of that was meant to be. He'd been lying to himself just to please others.
"Then Joe passed and I realized none of it was right," he admitted.
"Those were tough times, made all of us question a lot of things," Frank responded, looking down to the floor while dragging his foot across an imperfection in the concrete. He checked out on his remaining kids when Joe died, he was stuck inside his head just as he had been after Mary passed. And just like when his wife died, he made the kids his purpose again, pulling himself out of a darkness that threatened to swallow him up whole.
"Yeah, it was, but it opened my eyes. Switching careers - that was the best decision I ever made. It ended things for me and Sydney, but we were never right for each other. I think the law was the only thing we really had in common and that's no basis for a marriage," he said.
"And now you have ESU and," he paused with a wag of his finger at Jamie, "you have Eddie." Frank was pleased that Jamie was fulfilled in both his career and his personal life. He only met the young woman briefly in a professional setting and not under the best of circumstances, but Jamie was an excellent judge of character. He trusted her completely as his partner and appeared to care for her deeply. Frank would even venture to say he might love her, but Jamie probably wasn't ready to go there yet, at least not to his father.
"Everything's where it's supposed to be," Jamie nodded happily. A part of him worried about how well things were going on both fronts, as if either could be snatched out from under him at any moment, but he pushed that feeling away. He wanted to stay positive and enjoy every second of every day.
"There's not much more you can ask for."
"Nope," the younger man grinned.
Frank's head tilted to the left as he changed his mind. "Well, there is one thing I can ask for."
"What's that?" Jamie asked, wondering what else there could be.
"When are you bringing Eddie to Sunday dinner?" Frank inquired, his face saying he fully expected a definitive answer from his son.
"Dad," Jamie drawled. He stood and tossed the rag onto the table to avoid the question.
"Well, she's an important part of your life now. We all see that," he reasoned. Frank's gut told him Edit Janko would be around for a very long time, so she might as well join the family during their weekly gatherings. It was time to get to know this young lady.
"I don't know who's more afraid, me or her," Jamie scoffed, leaning back against the side of the Chevelle as he crossed his arms in front of him.
"Afraid? Of us?" Frank shot back innocently, despite the knowing smirk that played across his lips.
"Uh, yeah!" Jamie huffed. While the thought of meeting the tribe was scary to Eddie (and to him, for her sake), she was also insecure over the situation with her dad and his imprisonment. He assured her no one would hold it against her, but he understood how much that affected every aspect of her life and he would never push her to do anything she wasn't ready to do.
"Let's make a deal then," Frank proposed, eager to negotiate a compromise. It would certainly get his father to stop bringing up the issue of meeting Jamie's girlfriend. The old man was eager to add a chair to the dinner table.
"I'm listening," Jamie sighed. He knew how things worked in this family and there was no way out of this. He hoped Eddie would be ready for them eventually, but he still refused to push her.
"Graduation is a month away," Frank pointed out.
Jamie's arms remained crossed, weary of where this was going because it might border on pushing. "Yeah."
"I already have a big table reserved at Jimmy's. He's working on a special menu with you in mind," Frank revealed, hoping that helped convince Jamie. It was their favorite place to celebrate special occasions outside of the family home.
"Dad…," Jamie sighed, knowing exactly where this was going now.
Frank's eyes widened, wrinkling his brow as he argued his point. "Come on, Jamie! I know you'll have her at graduation, I'm sure she'll insist on being there for you. And you'll want her celebrating with you after, right? Of course you do!"
"So that has to be done with all of you?" Jamie deadpanned, letting his father's assumption that there would be a graduation to celebrate pass for now.
"Well, we certainly can't disinvite the family to your own graduation dinner!"
"I think that would make for a fine celebration," Jamie joked.
Frank rolled his eyes, as if that were even a possibility. "What better way to introduce her? The attention will be on you and your accomplishments," he continued, hoping to get Jamie to agree.
"Oh, sure! Danny and Erin won't use the opportunity to razz me or her about getting together after being partnered up for a year," Jamie huffed.
Suddenly, the image of a pouty sandy-haired eight-year-old boy came to mind, one who was often the victim of his older siblings' teasing and remained so into his adult life. "Like I said, we got a month. You convince Eddie to join us at Jimmy's and I'll work on pop and Linda getting your brother and sister to behave."
Jamie eyed his father. Leading the NYPD had apparently convinced him he could accomplish anything. "You have a lot more confidence in your abilities than I think you realize."
Frank confidence was evident on his face. "What have I always told you? Never underestimate a Reagan."
That sure sounds like a big request from Frank, but Jamie had to figure it was coming. Well, they have a month to make it happen.
p.s. Thanks to all of the readers who have left nice reviews. It thrills me that so many are enjoying this story.!