In Remembrance of Me-Chapter 2
When she reached the station and parked her bike, she took off her helmet and went inside with a little bounce in her step. A fellow officer noticed the smile Krazy-glued on her face and the energy she was exuding and came up to her.
"Hey, Lieutenant, why so happy?" he asked as she walked to the desk to sign in. "Did you happen to do what I think you did last night?"
"Are you kidding, Harper?" she said, playfully pushing him before reaching the book and signing in for duty. "When Eugene and I got married, we promised 'till death do us part'. We even promised we'd never see other people if one of us died before the other. I've remained true to him since."
"Okay, but that doesn't explain why you're so chipper today," Harper pressed.
"I spoke to my husband today before coming to work," Jessica replied. "He promised me he'd always stay close to my heart. That's enough to make me happy." This confused Harper.
"How's that possible, Jess? Your husband's dead," the other officer said. At that, Jessica became serious and her tone sharpened.
"Oh, ye of little faith," she said bitingly. "You obviously don't realize how special Eugene was, and still is, to me. It's our love that allows me to fully experience him. And I can tell what your nights are spent doing, since you don't believe that I can see, hear, and touch my spouse." She put the pen down and headed to her office to start on some paperwork. Harper followed on her heels.
"Aw, come on, Lieutenant," he whined in protest. "I didn't mean it like that. I got confused by what you said."
"Don't talk to me now," she called back to him, quickening her pace.
"Lieutenant, look, I'm sorry," he continued pleading as he jogged to catch up. "Can I make it up to you, babe?" As Jessica made it to her office door, she turned and faced him.
"First of all, Harper, don't ever call me 'babe,'" she said. "And secondly, you can make it up to me by not talking to me for the rest of the day, or else I'm taking your badge. Got me?"
"Hey, whatever you say, Jess," he answered, throwing his hands up in submission. He turned and walked away, then Jessica unlocked her office and went inside. Once she got settled at her desk, she picked up the phone and put in a call to her uncle, Commandant Eric Lassard, head of the Metropolitan Police Academy. She was his favorite, and he favored her because she was the only female in the family to make it to any police force; the fact that she became an officer of the United States Mounted Police Corps, the new elite national law enforcement, made him especially proud of her.
"Hello?"
"Metropolitan Police Academy. Can I help you?" a female voice answered on the other end.
"This is Lieutenant Jessica Tackleberry. May I please speak to the commandant?"
"Most definitely, Lieutenant Tackleberry," the woman said. "Please hold a minute." Jessica was placed on hold on the line, then someone very familiar to her came on.
"Jessica?" This time she heard a strong, tremorous male voice, which belonged to the commandant.
"Hello, Uncle Eric, sir," she said, a smile evident as she spoke. "How have you been?"
"Things are just fine here at the academy," Eric replied. "And how is my favorite niece?"
"Well, I had a chat with my husband Eugene today before coming to work," she said with a hint of wistfulness now.
"I understand you miss him very much, dearest," he told her comfortingly. "The Metropolitan Police Department isn't the same without Sergeant Tackleberry." As Jessica listened, there was a knock at the door. She looked up in the direction it came from.
"Come in," she called after hitting the "mute" button on her phone. The doorknob turned, the door swung open, and there was her husband's ghost. "Hi! Come on in, sweetheart." Eugene stepped inside the office and sat in a chair in front of the desk. She then disengaged the mute option and spoke to her uncle again. "Uncle Eric, I have a surprise visitor in my office right now."
"Who might it be, my lovely niece?"
"Well," Jessica said slyly, "I think you should talk to him yourself." She handed over the receiver to Tackleberry, who took it.
"Good day, Commandant Lassard," he greeted his superior, his old enthusiasm permeating his voice.
"Good Lord, can it be?" Eric asked on the other end, thoroughly shocked. "Sergeant Tackleberry, is that truly you?"
"Yes, sir," he replied, a wide grin on his face as he spoke into the phone. "I just want to let you know that even though I'm not of this world anymore, your niece is still well-taken care of. I can promise you that."
"You were a fine officer, and I still think very highly of you," Eric said with pride. "I'm glad that you are still there caring for my niece, and proud that I could have you as a nephew-in-law."
"Thank you, sir," Eugene said in return. "I'm flattered by your words. It was an honor and a privilege to have been married to Jessica. She's a wonderful person. I feel I was truly blessed to know someone like her."
"And I can rest easy knowing that my niece still has her best friend watching her," Commandant Lassard answered. Eugene smiled, then turned to Jessica and blew her a kiss. In an instant, he disappeared again, but only after handing the phone back to her. "Sergeant Tackleberry? Are you still there?"
"I'm sorry, Uncle Eric." His niece's voice came over the line now. "Eugene had to leave suddenly. He was needed elsewhere."
"I'm just glad that my wonderful Jessica still keeps her husband close to her heart," Eric said.
"Sir, I'm sorry to cut the conversation off, but there's some casework I need to do now. I'll talk to you another time, okay?" Jessica suddenly blurted.
"Oh! Of course, go ahead with your work," her uncle urged. "Good- bye, Jessica."
"Good-bye, Uncle Eric." She put the receiver back on its base and got to her work. Usually, Jessica found case files very tedious, but she was unusually energetic as she went through records and looked over evidence. At the end of the day, she took her sport cycle back to the house that she and Eugene had bought, he having spiced up the exterior with his own style of decorating using barbed wire and electrified fencing. She just had to grin and roll her eyes whenever she saw the front yard of the house, a rustic contemporary-style structure. Only she and Eugene could have mixed the best of both worlds so well. She opened the front door, removed her helmet, and closed the door, locking it behind her. Jessica then made her way upstairs to change, her boots thudding on the pinewood staircase. After putting on her more comfortable USMPC sweatsuit and a pair of sneakers, the young officer came back down to the kitchen to prepare some dinner for herself. She knew how to cook from about age 11 and could come up with almost anything for a meal. As she busied herself with cutting up some vegetables on the countertop of the island in the middle, she had no idea that someone was watching her from outside the window. No clue as to the danger that would befall her.
When she reached the station and parked her bike, she took off her helmet and went inside with a little bounce in her step. A fellow officer noticed the smile Krazy-glued on her face and the energy she was exuding and came up to her.
"Hey, Lieutenant, why so happy?" he asked as she walked to the desk to sign in. "Did you happen to do what I think you did last night?"
"Are you kidding, Harper?" she said, playfully pushing him before reaching the book and signing in for duty. "When Eugene and I got married, we promised 'till death do us part'. We even promised we'd never see other people if one of us died before the other. I've remained true to him since."
"Okay, but that doesn't explain why you're so chipper today," Harper pressed.
"I spoke to my husband today before coming to work," Jessica replied. "He promised me he'd always stay close to my heart. That's enough to make me happy." This confused Harper.
"How's that possible, Jess? Your husband's dead," the other officer said. At that, Jessica became serious and her tone sharpened.
"Oh, ye of little faith," she said bitingly. "You obviously don't realize how special Eugene was, and still is, to me. It's our love that allows me to fully experience him. And I can tell what your nights are spent doing, since you don't believe that I can see, hear, and touch my spouse." She put the pen down and headed to her office to start on some paperwork. Harper followed on her heels.
"Aw, come on, Lieutenant," he whined in protest. "I didn't mean it like that. I got confused by what you said."
"Don't talk to me now," she called back to him, quickening her pace.
"Lieutenant, look, I'm sorry," he continued pleading as he jogged to catch up. "Can I make it up to you, babe?" As Jessica made it to her office door, she turned and faced him.
"First of all, Harper, don't ever call me 'babe,'" she said. "And secondly, you can make it up to me by not talking to me for the rest of the day, or else I'm taking your badge. Got me?"
"Hey, whatever you say, Jess," he answered, throwing his hands up in submission. He turned and walked away, then Jessica unlocked her office and went inside. Once she got settled at her desk, she picked up the phone and put in a call to her uncle, Commandant Eric Lassard, head of the Metropolitan Police Academy. She was his favorite, and he favored her because she was the only female in the family to make it to any police force; the fact that she became an officer of the United States Mounted Police Corps, the new elite national law enforcement, made him especially proud of her.
"Hello?"
"Metropolitan Police Academy. Can I help you?" a female voice answered on the other end.
"This is Lieutenant Jessica Tackleberry. May I please speak to the commandant?"
"Most definitely, Lieutenant Tackleberry," the woman said. "Please hold a minute." Jessica was placed on hold on the line, then someone very familiar to her came on.
"Jessica?" This time she heard a strong, tremorous male voice, which belonged to the commandant.
"Hello, Uncle Eric, sir," she said, a smile evident as she spoke. "How have you been?"
"Things are just fine here at the academy," Eric replied. "And how is my favorite niece?"
"Well, I had a chat with my husband Eugene today before coming to work," she said with a hint of wistfulness now.
"I understand you miss him very much, dearest," he told her comfortingly. "The Metropolitan Police Department isn't the same without Sergeant Tackleberry." As Jessica listened, there was a knock at the door. She looked up in the direction it came from.
"Come in," she called after hitting the "mute" button on her phone. The doorknob turned, the door swung open, and there was her husband's ghost. "Hi! Come on in, sweetheart." Eugene stepped inside the office and sat in a chair in front of the desk. She then disengaged the mute option and spoke to her uncle again. "Uncle Eric, I have a surprise visitor in my office right now."
"Who might it be, my lovely niece?"
"Well," Jessica said slyly, "I think you should talk to him yourself." She handed over the receiver to Tackleberry, who took it.
"Good day, Commandant Lassard," he greeted his superior, his old enthusiasm permeating his voice.
"Good Lord, can it be?" Eric asked on the other end, thoroughly shocked. "Sergeant Tackleberry, is that truly you?"
"Yes, sir," he replied, a wide grin on his face as he spoke into the phone. "I just want to let you know that even though I'm not of this world anymore, your niece is still well-taken care of. I can promise you that."
"You were a fine officer, and I still think very highly of you," Eric said with pride. "I'm glad that you are still there caring for my niece, and proud that I could have you as a nephew-in-law."
"Thank you, sir," Eugene said in return. "I'm flattered by your words. It was an honor and a privilege to have been married to Jessica. She's a wonderful person. I feel I was truly blessed to know someone like her."
"And I can rest easy knowing that my niece still has her best friend watching her," Commandant Lassard answered. Eugene smiled, then turned to Jessica and blew her a kiss. In an instant, he disappeared again, but only after handing the phone back to her. "Sergeant Tackleberry? Are you still there?"
"I'm sorry, Uncle Eric." His niece's voice came over the line now. "Eugene had to leave suddenly. He was needed elsewhere."
"I'm just glad that my wonderful Jessica still keeps her husband close to her heart," Eric said.
"Sir, I'm sorry to cut the conversation off, but there's some casework I need to do now. I'll talk to you another time, okay?" Jessica suddenly blurted.
"Oh! Of course, go ahead with your work," her uncle urged. "Good- bye, Jessica."
"Good-bye, Uncle Eric." She put the receiver back on its base and got to her work. Usually, Jessica found case files very tedious, but she was unusually energetic as she went through records and looked over evidence. At the end of the day, she took her sport cycle back to the house that she and Eugene had bought, he having spiced up the exterior with his own style of decorating using barbed wire and electrified fencing. She just had to grin and roll her eyes whenever she saw the front yard of the house, a rustic contemporary-style structure. Only she and Eugene could have mixed the best of both worlds so well. She opened the front door, removed her helmet, and closed the door, locking it behind her. Jessica then made her way upstairs to change, her boots thudding on the pinewood staircase. After putting on her more comfortable USMPC sweatsuit and a pair of sneakers, the young officer came back down to the kitchen to prepare some dinner for herself. She knew how to cook from about age 11 and could come up with almost anything for a meal. As she busied herself with cutting up some vegetables on the countertop of the island in the middle, she had no idea that someone was watching her from outside the window. No clue as to the danger that would befall her.