By the time Rod parked in front of his apartment building, it was past 9 PM and the sun was setting. Mia strained to push the car door open and placed a heavy foot on the ground. She grunted as she pulled herself out of the car. A symphony of cracks and pops erupted as she leaned and stretched her stiff body. Colonel hopped out of the car and sat at Mia's feet. She patted him on the head before walking to the open trunk to retrieve her bag. Mia followed her brother and his pup up two flights of stairs to his small apartment. She had been there many times before, but the last time had been several months earlier. Her jaw dropped when she crossed the threshold into the living room. On the blank walls were shadows of the pictures that once hung there. A mantle formerly adorned with various knick-knacks was now empty, save for a few old books. All of the accessories and decorative furnishings were gone. The apartment was clean, but threadbare.
"Damn, this is different from the last time I was here." Mia sat her overnight bag down on the sofa and examined the room as her brother locked the front door.
"Yeah, well, last time you were here, I wasn't the only one livin' here," Rod retorted. He brushed past Mia and sauntered into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, he pulled out a beer and cracked it open.
"Not gonna offer me one?" Mia had followed him. Rod narrowed his eyes at his sister as he thought back to the liquor bottles he found by her bed earlier that day.
"Since when do you even drink?" He reopened the fridge and pulled out another can. Before tossing it to Mia, he waited for her to answer. She rolled her eyes. Rod moved to put the can back in the fridge. "No answer, no drink."
"Since I stopped bein' able to sleep." Mia sighed and shuffled to the kitchen island. She pulled out a stool and plopped down. "Guess I'm scared of the dark now."
Rod tossed the can to her before kicking off his shoes and hoisting himself up onto the counter. He swung his legs back and forth, gently knocking the heels of his socks against the cabinets below him. Searching for the right words of brotherly advice, he took a swig of beer.
"There's nothing in the dark that ain't there when the lights are on," he offered. Mia opened her can and took a sip before nodding her head.
"That's true, but the dark makes things louder, more noticeable. Especially when you're alone.' Mia readjusted herself and took another sip of courage. When she sat the can down she started picking at her cuticles. "See, when it's light out, there's all these distractions, but at night, it's just me and my thoughts and my memories and my regrets. Hard to sleep with all that noise, alcohol makes things a little quieter."
Rod watched Mia for a moment. He understood what she was saying, it was exactly how he felt after his ex moved out. Though, he would never admit it out loud. The older sibling felt he had a duty to put on a brave face. Colonel roamed into the kitchen and stopped by Mia for a quick head pat before continuing to his water bowl. Rod smirked to himself, happy that the two had become fast friends.
"Well, Mia, I can't imagine what you've gone through since losing li'l Callie. I'm not gonna pretend to understand what that's like, but I do know that drinking yourself to sleep isn't gonna do you any favors in the long run." Rod drained the last of his beer then hopped off the counter to grab another one. He went back to the counter and leaned against it. "You cool with hangin around town while I'm at work tomorrow?"
"Yeah," Mia nodded her head in Colonel's direction. "We'll find some trouble to get into."
"I don't doubt that," Rod grinned. He chugged most of his second drink and let out a powerful belch before heading to his bathroom to shower. "Make yourself at home."
Mia decided to do just that. She removed her shoes and walked around the kitchen looking through cabinets. They were as bare as the rest of the apartment. Maybe Rod really did need her help. He obviously wasn't cooking for himself. Anything still stored in the cabinets was likely to be leftover from when Rod's ex-fiancée lived with him. That woman had loved to bake. After searching for a minute, in a small cabinet above the stove, Mia found flour, salt and sugar. In a basket on the counter was a bottle of oil and a smaller bottle of vanilla extract. From the fridge, she grabbed an egg. With her ingredients laid out on the kitchen island, Mia tried to come up with something she could make. The options were slim, but when she saw bananas in the fruit bowl she finally decided to make banana muffins. Something that her brother could take to eat on the go before work. After finding a mixing bowl, she got to work measuring and combining ingredients. She put the batter in a muffin pan and into the oven then started cleaning up the mess she had made of the kitchen. As she was washing the last of the dishes, Rod returned to the kitchen in damp hair and pajamas.
"Smells great in here," he said. Colonel looked up at him from where he was laying on the kitchen tile and greeted him with a tail wag. Rod bent down to scratch the pup's ears.
"Made ya muffins. Figured you couldn't have been havin' much more than coffee in the mornings from the looks of your cabinets. That's no breakfast." She pulled the muffins out of the oven and left them on the counter to cool. "You can grab one in the mornin'."
"Sounds good to me. I'm gonna call it a night. See you'ns in the morning." Rod retreated to his bedroom and Mia and Colonel also decided it was time to turn in for the night.
The next morning, Mia woke up on the pull out sofa bed in her brother's living room. The sun wasn't up yet, but for some reason she was. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. When she turned and looked into the kitchen she saw the reason for her early rise. Rod was slamming cupboard doors and rattling dishes with reckless abandon and little concern for his formerly sleeping sister. Colonel gazed up at Mia from his spot on the rug. The two shared an annoyed look.
"Good morning," Mia croaked, grabbing Rod's attention.
"Mornin'!" He beamed. "How'd you sleep?"
Mia rolled her eyes and laid back down, covering her head with a blanket.
"That good, huh?" Rod quipped. He walked the short distance to the couch in a few broad steps and pulled the blanket off Mia. The action earned him a scowl, but he was unfazed by it. "C'mon, up and at 'em. I made you a list."
Mia groaned before sitting back up and stretching. She eyed the paper in Rod's outstretched hand. She snatched it and skimmed the honey-do list.
Call Greene Vet Clinic to schedule checkup for Col.
Wash car
Buy groceries
There were several more items on the list. Mia's first reaction was annoyance at the busy work she had been assigned, but then she thought about the alternative. If she hadn't been in Atlanta, she would have just been sleeping the day away at home, wallowing in her self pity and avoiding her responsibilities. She decided to be grateful for the distraction.
"You can drive my 'Stang, I'm gonna catch a ride with Philip, but you better take care of her." Rod warned. He walked back to the kitchen to fill a travel mug with coffee. After grabbing a muffin from the countertop and tossing his car keys to Mia, Rod was halfway out the door. "Left ya some money on the counter for the groceries. See ya, tonight."
Once he was gone, Mia, who was still sitting on the sofa bed, turned her gaze to Colonel.
"If I go back to sleep for another hour, will you tattle on me?" The dog responded by jumping up onto the bed and laying down. Mia smiled and laid back. After setting an alarm on her phone, she threw a blanket over herself and the mutt and they both fell back to sleep quickly.
Downstairs, Rod stood on the sidewalk. He nibbled at his muffin while he waited for his partner to show up. The early morning air was cool and the grass was wet with dew. It was quiet out and that gave Rod time to get himself mentally prepared for the unpredictable day ahead of him. The possible activity that could take place on any given shift varied tremendously, but being a police officer in a city as large as Atlanta meant that every shift was busy. It was sure to be a long day, but Rod enjoyed his job, so he didn't mind. He took a long sip from his mug, savoring the rich and earthy taste of his liquid ambition. It wasn't long before his partner, Philip, pulled up in front of him in an old beat up clunker. Rod opened the rusty passenger side door and climbed in. The door let out a loud groan as he pulled it shut.
"Damn, Phil, this car's a piece of shit," he greeted his partner.
"Maybe, but she gets the job done," Philip responded. As Philip pulled out onto the road, Rod shoved the rest of his muffin in his mouth and washed it down with his remaining coffee. "That's the first time I've seen you eat before noon in months. I know you didn't make that, you finally convince Jessica to take your sorry ass back?" Philip joked. Rod ignored the flutter in his heart at the sound of his ex's name.
"Nah, my li'l sister's in town," he responded, watching the scenery pass by his window. "Apparently coffee isn't an acceptable breakfast."
"That's nice," Philip said. "There's nothin' more important than family."
Rod hummed in agreement before a comfortable silence fell over the pair. When they arrived at the station, Philip parked and the men walked into the building. Rod headed straight for his locker to get dressed out in his uniform. Once dressed, his gait immediately changed. It was subconscious, but we walked with more confidence and authority. He checked that his sidearm was loaded and his flashlights were charged, then headed into roll call to get his assignment for the day.
Later, when Mia's alarm went off, the sun was up. The early morning light peeked into the dim apartment through the open blinds of the picture window. The day promised heat, but inside the apartment was cool and comfortable. Mia didn't want to get up. Her body had adjusted to the lack of activity and the thought of running errands all day exhausted her. However, it seemed her brother really did need her help. He was too busy with his job to run errands during the day, and the lack of food in the apartment proved he wasn't cooking for himself. So she decided to push aside her feelings and get up.
"You hungry?" Mia stood and stretched and Colonel followed suit. "I'm hungry."
Mia folded the bed back into the couch and replaced the cushions, then the two shuffled into the kitchen. Mia opened the container of dog food by Colonel's bowl and gave him a scoop. She filled his water bowl with fresh water and the pup happily ate his breakfast. Mia grabbed a muffin and a bottle of water from the fridge. She couldn't remember the last time she had woken up before noon. It almost felt surreal having the whole day ahead of her.
"First things first, we gotta get you a check-up scheduled, Mister Colonel," Mia told the mutt, with her mouth full. She grabbed her phone and looked up the number for Greene Vet Clinic. She washed down her muffin with water before dialing. No one answered. Instead, an automated message played:
"Hello, thank you for calling Greene Vet Clinic. We are temporarily closed in accordance with state guidelines regarding the virus plaguing the country. We expect this situation could unfortunately last at least six to twelve weeks, but the health and safety of our customers, colleagues and community is our utmost priority. If you are having a pet emergency, please contact Briarcliff Animal Hospital."
Mia frowned. The virus must be serious if the vet was closed. She thought back to the phone call with her mother yesterday, she had seemed worried. Maybe she was right. Maybe it would be best to stay in place for a while, at least until this whole virus thing blew over. Mia felt the familiar burn of anxiety building in her. The muscles in her chest tightened and her heart rate elevated slightly. She did her best to swallow the feeling. Nervous fingers drummed on the kitchen counter as Mia's mind raced. Her eyes fell on the list her brother had given her. Surely he wouldn't have given her a list of things to do if it wasn't safe to leave the apartment. If things were that serious, he would tell her. Mia let out a sigh and relaxed a little.
"Well," she started, looking at Colonel, "Looks like you're off the hook for now."
She placed her phone on the counter and returned to the living room to grab her overnight bag. Pulling out clothes and toiletries, she headed for the bathroom to get dressed. When she returned, Colonel was finished eating his breakfast and had taken up residency on the couch. Mia ginned at the pup. This time the day before, the idea of leaving home had scared her, but with her new four-legged friend the thought was less intimidating.
"I know it's temptin' to go back to bed, but we got stuff to do. C'mon, let's go for a ride." Mia jogged back to the kitchen to grab the car keys, her phone and the money her brother had left her before walking out the front door with Colonel by her side. It was mid morning and the air was hot. The dog started panting before they had even reached the bottom of the steps. Mia unlocked her brother's car and opened the door, allowing Colonel to hop in. Once they were both in the car she rolled the windows down and turned on the radio. Bad Moon Rising by CCR was playing. Mia tapped her fingers on the steering wheel in rhythm with the rootsy tune as she backed out of the parking spot and turned onto the road. The warm summer wind blew through her hair as she drove. A content smile formed on Mia's lips. It was the first time in a while that she felt almost normal. She was certain things were starting to look up.