This is the second and final part to this story. I know it was short but it was really kind of an after thought. I've been working on another story when this one just seemed to wiggle it's way into my mind. I couldn't get away from it so I gave in and just wrote it. I think it just proves that no matter how old we get there is always someone to answer to. I appreciate all of the kind reviews and I hope you enjoy this second half as well.
Part Two
About half way back to the beach house Steve ran into the Kilmer Sister's. They seemed to be struggling with a volley ball net. Steve couldn't be rude so he of course offered his assistance in setting the net up. After everything was in place he stood around for a minute talking with the girls. He didn't know how long he had been standing there talking when suddenly there was a commotion down the beach closer to his house. He strained to look wondering what was going on. He excused himself from the sisters and started making his way towards the group of people who were gathered around looking out toward the ocean.
When Steve arrived at the crowd he turned to see what it was they were looking at. There out in the ocean was a little inflatable boat floating around, with what appeared to be a couple of kids in it.
Steve looked over at the nearest person to him and asked. "What's going on?"
"Oh those fool kids found that boat on the beach and decided to go for a little joy ride. The darn fools don't have any oars to get back to shore. The tide is carrying them further out to sea. Some one called the coast guard but I don't think that they can get here fast enough to keep them kids from toppling that boat over. Some one is going to drown for sure today."
Steve didn't waste anytime in trying to figure out what he should do. He ran inside of his apartment and as quickly as he could he changed into his wet suit and grabbed his board. He raced back out to the ocean and began to paddle his way towards the little boat. He kept his eye on the kids as he steadily paddled his way out to them. When he was within earshot of the kids he sat up and yelled at both of them to just sit still before they turned the boat over. He resumed his paddling again while keeping his eye on the two kids.
As he got closer he realized that it was two teenage boys who were franticly trying to sit still and not rock the boat. One of the boys seemed to be more agitated than the other. Steve was afraid that the young man was going to panic and tip the boat over before he could reach them. Just when he was able to reach out and grab the cord that ran along the edge of the boat the panicky kid jumped up trying to grab for Steve. In the process he and the other boy were dumped into the water as the boat tipped over.
Steve lost his own balance and was knocked from his board. The only thing that saved him from losing his board was the rope that attached to his ankle that was connected to his board. Steve fought his way back to the surface and looked around for the boys. When he didn't see them he dived down searching for them. He found one immediately and grabbed him pushing his way back to the surface. He slipped the rope off his ankle and helped the boy to lay across his board and then dove again in search of the second boy.
He searched for several seconds and was about to go up for air when suddenly he spotted the other kid floating unmoving. Steve fought his way over to him as quickly as he could, grabbing his collar, and then pushing himself and the kid back to the surface.
Once he and the boy broke the surface of the water Steve headed for the surfboard. Once again he draped the boy over the surfboard and told the other boy to hang on to him until he could get the boat turned over to bring them in. He moved quickly not sure if his last victim was even breathing. But in order to work on him he had to have a place for the boys to sit while he took care of them.
Steve helped the first boy that he found into the boat and ordered him not to move. He then reached the second boy and checked for a pulse. He had one that was weak but he wasn't breathing. Steve stretched him out on the board and started to perform mouth to mouth. For the next two or three minutes Steve continued to breath for the kid until suddenly he heard him gasp a little and Steve immediately turned his head to the side so that he could spit up the water that had been in his lungs.
Once the boy was breathing on his own Steve and the other boy drug him into the boat. Once again Steve told the boys not to move. He then heaved himself onto his board and taking up the rope to the boat he began to paddle back to the shore. By the time he managed to get the kids to the shore an ambulance was waiting to transport the kids to the hospital to be checked out.
Steve recognized one of the paramedics. "Phil are you guys going to Community General?"
"Yea why?" The paramedic was curious.
"If you see my dad. Please don't tell him it was me who fished these kids out of the water." Steve pleaded.
Phil grinned at the detective. "Let me guess. You wouldn't suppose to be resting inside the house now would you."
"Something like that. Any way if Dad finds out it was me he's going to kill me." Steve grinned back at the paramedic.
"What's it worth to you?" Phil asked cocking one eyebrow at Steve while he stowed the rest of his gear into the ambulance.
"How about dinner at Bob's for you and that pretty wife of yours anytime you want." Steve grinned back at his friend hoping that he would go for it.
"Deal. Now I suggest you go back into the house like a good boy before your dad gets home and finds out himself that you aren't being quite the model son that he thinks you are being." Phil winked at Steve as climbed into the driver's seat.
"Right." Steve then once again started back towards the beach house.
At this point Steve was pretty tired and he was wondering how late it was. He had pretty much killed the entire morning. If he didn't get to bed pretty soon his dad was going to be home before he even got to sleep. He propped his board up against the side of the house before he went in.
By now it was nearly noon. Since he had decided to skip breakfast this morning he decided that a little lunch time snack might help him to settle down and go to sleep. If that is his neighbors could get along with out him for a little while. He was just about to peel out of his wet suit and head for the shower when he heard screaming out on the beach. With a sigh he made for the door. "What now?" he mumbled to himself.
He ran out to the fence and looked towards where the screaming had come from. Coming right towards him was a man who seemed to be carrying something in his hand. He was running for all his life. A woman was running behind the man yelling. Looking closer Steve realized that the man was carrying a bag of some kind. The woman that was running behind the man was yelling stop. Steve quickly ran through the gate and straight at the runner tackling him to the ground.
Apparently the man or kid as he only looked like he was about 19 or twenty at the most, had snatched her bag which must have carried all of her most precious belongings. When she got to the two men struggling on the ground she picked up her bag and started to hit both Steve and the kid. Pounding away at both of them she once again began yelling and screaming about the kid stealing her bag.
She continued to beat at both Steve and the kid until someone ran up to her and grabbed her from behind stopping her from any further assault on the two men who were still on the ground. When Steve was able to get to his feet he saw that two patrol officers were already on the scene. One was holding back Mrs. Haggleman and her lethal hand bag and the other one was snapping cuffs on the kid.
"I'm pressing charges against that old bat." The boy blurted out.
"For what?" Steve all but yelled at the kid.
"For assault with a deadly weapon that's what. That old woman nearly killed me. From the looks of you she got you pretty good too." The kid once again spat out.
"Get him out of here." Steve told the two officers.
"Lieutenant will you be coming down to file a report sir?" One of the officers asked Steve.
"No." Steve said a little too abruptly.
"But sir. What do we put in our report?" The officer asked.
"I don't care. Just leave my name out of it. If my Dad finds out I had anything to do with this I'm a dead man. Say that a lethal handbag took out the perp. Tripped over a rock, I don't care. Just please leave me out of it." Steve wiped at the blood that was trickling down his chin from the split lip he got when Mrs. Haggleman hit him with her bag.
"Oh Stevie. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hit you too. Here let me see." She approached Steve with a wad of Kleenex that she was spitting on in order to clean up his lip.
Steve saw her approaching and began backing up raising his arms in order to defend himself from the notorious saliva soaked piece of tissue.
"I'm fine Mrs. Haggleman. Really." Steve tried his best to get away from being bathed in public by a very determined Mrs. Haggleman armed with a soggy wet tissue
Not to be put off by any means, the very petite woman grabbed Steve by the front of his wet suit and yanked him down dabbing at the cut on his lip. Fussing the whole time about how he should hold still while she fixed his "boo boo".
Steve was near tears of embarrassment by the time Mrs. Haggleman had cleaned his face from the blood on his lip. She kissed his "boo boo", hugged him around the waste telling him what a brave boy he was for helping her, and headed him towards his house with a swat to his behind.
It was nearly 1:00 pm. His dad said he would be home by 2:00. He had about one hour to get inside, showered, in bed, and asleep before his dad got home. He raced to the door that led to his apartment. He grabbed his, by now dry surfboard, and stepped inside his apartment. Just as he thought he had made it with out any further mishaps he heard the one thing he dreaded the most.
"STEVEN MICHAEL SLOAN. What do you think you are doing in that wet suite? Did I not tell you to go to bed and get some sleep? I leave you in the bed thinking you would at least try to get some sleep, and when I get home I find you sneaking in the door after you have been surfing. What do you have to say for yourself young man?" Mark stood before his son furious to the hilt.
"I can explain all of this Dad. Please I promise it wasn't my fault." Steve stuttered around trying to think of the best way to explain all of what had happened to him since this morning.
"What's to explain Steve. You have all the explanation I need tucked under your arm." Mark was pointing at the surfboard that was still under his son's arm.
Just then Steve felt someone walk up behind him and place a warm comforting hand on his arm. Then a sweet face appeared next to him smiling up at him with the same love that his mother use to. Harriet then addressed a very frustrated Mark and calmly came to Steve's defense.
"Mark I know this doesn't look good but you really should calm down and listen to what happened. It's not Steve's fault. Now help me put him to bed and then over a nice cup of coffee I'll tell you all about it." She removed the surfboard out from under Steve's arm and propped it up against the closet door. She then straightened up his bed and went upstairs to fix a pot of coffee while Mark helped Steve to remove his wet suite. Once Steve was tucked into bed again he made his way upstairs to the kitchen where Harriet was setting the pot and cups on the table.
For the next hour he sat and listened to Harriet tell him how Steve had spent his morning. Mark was amazed and then thoughtful as Harriet described the different events as they transpired during the day. When she got through Mark sat in total amazement that so much could happen in their quiet little stretch of the beach. He also realized that Steve was the only one of the kids who had grown up there that was still living in the neighborhood. Every one else had grown up and moved off. Steve had in a sense become everyone's child. He was constantly being watched and monitored by all the neighbor's who had watched him grow up.
These people had celebrated all of his accomplishments through out his life. Because Steve had been such a good kid he soon had developed a reputation of being available to help out when most of the kids were off pursuing their own personal agendas. As the years had gone by Steve had become more important to these people as he represented security and strength to them. They had grown to depend on him for all sorts of things that may seem small to the average person but to them it meant the world.
Steve was the caring son who was available to rescue scared cats from trees. When you were no longer able to drive yourself to do the simple errands of everyday life Steve was always available to run you where ever you needed to go with out making you feel like you were being a burden. He was that strong presence that rescued little girls when they got lost from their mommies and grandma's. He was the savior of misguided youth. He stood up for the oppressed when others seemed determined to run over them.
Steve was very important to these people and these people were important to him as well. He had grown up with these people playing a very active part in his life.
They had followed little league games and cheered when he had hit home runs or comforted when his team had not made the final playoffs. They followed his football career in high school and supported him with their presence at games. They teased him about his girlfriends and were there to help mend broken hearts. Much to his dismay, they were watchdogs reporting unacceptable behaviors to his parents when he got caught or just plain lectured him themselves if they felt it was warranted.
When he went away to Vietnam they all prayed for his safe return. When he finally did return with a leg wound and dreams that were shattered. Once again these people were there helping to support him and his family. Bringing food and taking turns to work with him during his physical therapy.
Lots of encouraging words and cards arrived every day. Little things were done to improve his spirit. His favorite fresh baked cookies. A six pack of cokes with a bucket of snacks usually found its way to his room about once a week. His favorite magazines were always available as soon as they hit the newsstands. It was these thoughtful gestures that encouraged him to fight back and regain what he had lost over in a country that seemed to breed death and destruction.
When his mother died Steve found out that he was not left with out the comfort that a mother gives when a child is hurting. He found himself in the arms of these fine women who wanted nothing more than to comfort and bring joy back into his life.
To this day every time Steve finds himself back in the hospital or on the mend he becomes the center of attention. Flowers, cards, concerned phone calls. Lots of chicken soup with batches of his favorite cookies are always brought in with strict instructions to eat it all so that he can regain his strength. Still getting told on when he gets caught doing things that he knows he shouldn't.
To this day Mark wasn't sure if Steve knew about how these people were still reporting his activities to his father. He certainly fussed enough when Mark seemed to know about some of his little adventures out on the beach when he was suppose to be inside resting or taking a nap after a stay in the hospital.
Steve felt very close to all of these people. It was just natural for them to come to him when they had a problem or a need. It was just as natural for Steve to respond and be available to them when ever possible. It wasn't just the job that made Steve the man he is. It was his character, his love, and his devotion to the people that he considered a part of his family. These people helped to shape and mold him into the man that he is today.
"Mark are you ok? Mark?" Harriet reached over and touched her friend on the arm trying to get his attention.
"Yes. I'm sorry. I was just thinking about our friends. I was thinking about how they have impacted our lives. It's hard to think about what life would have been like if we hadn't moved here when the kids were little. Raising them up here was the best thing Katherine and I could have done." Mark smiled at his neighbor knowing that she would understand what he was talking about.
"I think a lot of people here would not have had the blessings that they have enjoyed had you and Katherine chose to live somewhere else. Those kids have brought more happiness to more people. I know Carl and I would not have had the joy and happiness that we have had through out the years if it hadn't been for those two kiddos. I will always be grateful for the fact that you two settled here with them. We formed some great bonds with those kids, and with you and Katherine. I miss her so much. I know that you do also. But Steve is such a joy to you I know." She patted her old friend on the back of his hand smiling into his eyes.
Mark returned the gesture and said with a sigh. "He is a joy until something happens to him and then I get so scarred. He frustrates me so much when he refuses to take care of himself. I don't know why he won't listen when he is told to take it easy and give his body time to recuperate."
"He tries Mark. But he has always been that way. The worst punishment you could give him was sending him to his room and making him stay in there for any length of time. I think he would have rather you beat him than ground him to his room." Harriet started laughing at her memories of Steve trying to convince his dad that he would do better if he would not make him stay in his room to "think about what he had done."
"Oh. I know he would have. He once brought me a paddle and said that he wished I would just paddle him instead of grounding him. Said he was sure that he would remember a paddling much longer. It took all my control not to laugh at him. I knew what he was doing. He and a bunch of his buddies were surfing that weekend and he didn't want to miss it. I almost gave in but I knew better. He was so mad at me that he wouldn't even come out of his room for meals.
"His mother I think did spank him that weekend because she insisted on him sitting with us for Sunday dinner. He gave her a hard time and so she gave him a hard time on his bottom. He reluctantly came but he never once looked at his mother or me. He ate very little and only answered questions that were directed to him." Mark once again seemed lost in memories.
"You know Steve's birthday is in a couple of weeks. Why don't we throw a Bar BQ and invite the neighborhood. It's been a few years since we threw him a surprise party." Harriet was excited at the prospect and looked at Mark hopefully.
"You know he hates surprise parties." Mark grinned back at his neighbor wickedly.
"I know." She grinned just as wickedly.
"Let's do it." Mark got up and got pen and paper so the two of them could start making plans for the party of year.
By the time Steve got up a few hours later Mark and Harriet had planed a very big and very spectacular birthday party for every ones favorite cop. Including balloons.
The End.
Part Two
About half way back to the beach house Steve ran into the Kilmer Sister's. They seemed to be struggling with a volley ball net. Steve couldn't be rude so he of course offered his assistance in setting the net up. After everything was in place he stood around for a minute talking with the girls. He didn't know how long he had been standing there talking when suddenly there was a commotion down the beach closer to his house. He strained to look wondering what was going on. He excused himself from the sisters and started making his way towards the group of people who were gathered around looking out toward the ocean.
When Steve arrived at the crowd he turned to see what it was they were looking at. There out in the ocean was a little inflatable boat floating around, with what appeared to be a couple of kids in it.
Steve looked over at the nearest person to him and asked. "What's going on?"
"Oh those fool kids found that boat on the beach and decided to go for a little joy ride. The darn fools don't have any oars to get back to shore. The tide is carrying them further out to sea. Some one called the coast guard but I don't think that they can get here fast enough to keep them kids from toppling that boat over. Some one is going to drown for sure today."
Steve didn't waste anytime in trying to figure out what he should do. He ran inside of his apartment and as quickly as he could he changed into his wet suit and grabbed his board. He raced back out to the ocean and began to paddle his way towards the little boat. He kept his eye on the kids as he steadily paddled his way out to them. When he was within earshot of the kids he sat up and yelled at both of them to just sit still before they turned the boat over. He resumed his paddling again while keeping his eye on the two kids.
As he got closer he realized that it was two teenage boys who were franticly trying to sit still and not rock the boat. One of the boys seemed to be more agitated than the other. Steve was afraid that the young man was going to panic and tip the boat over before he could reach them. Just when he was able to reach out and grab the cord that ran along the edge of the boat the panicky kid jumped up trying to grab for Steve. In the process he and the other boy were dumped into the water as the boat tipped over.
Steve lost his own balance and was knocked from his board. The only thing that saved him from losing his board was the rope that attached to his ankle that was connected to his board. Steve fought his way back to the surface and looked around for the boys. When he didn't see them he dived down searching for them. He found one immediately and grabbed him pushing his way back to the surface. He slipped the rope off his ankle and helped the boy to lay across his board and then dove again in search of the second boy.
He searched for several seconds and was about to go up for air when suddenly he spotted the other kid floating unmoving. Steve fought his way over to him as quickly as he could, grabbing his collar, and then pushing himself and the kid back to the surface.
Once he and the boy broke the surface of the water Steve headed for the surfboard. Once again he draped the boy over the surfboard and told the other boy to hang on to him until he could get the boat turned over to bring them in. He moved quickly not sure if his last victim was even breathing. But in order to work on him he had to have a place for the boys to sit while he took care of them.
Steve helped the first boy that he found into the boat and ordered him not to move. He then reached the second boy and checked for a pulse. He had one that was weak but he wasn't breathing. Steve stretched him out on the board and started to perform mouth to mouth. For the next two or three minutes Steve continued to breath for the kid until suddenly he heard him gasp a little and Steve immediately turned his head to the side so that he could spit up the water that had been in his lungs.
Once the boy was breathing on his own Steve and the other boy drug him into the boat. Once again Steve told the boys not to move. He then heaved himself onto his board and taking up the rope to the boat he began to paddle back to the shore. By the time he managed to get the kids to the shore an ambulance was waiting to transport the kids to the hospital to be checked out.
Steve recognized one of the paramedics. "Phil are you guys going to Community General?"
"Yea why?" The paramedic was curious.
"If you see my dad. Please don't tell him it was me who fished these kids out of the water." Steve pleaded.
Phil grinned at the detective. "Let me guess. You wouldn't suppose to be resting inside the house now would you."
"Something like that. Any way if Dad finds out it was me he's going to kill me." Steve grinned back at the paramedic.
"What's it worth to you?" Phil asked cocking one eyebrow at Steve while he stowed the rest of his gear into the ambulance.
"How about dinner at Bob's for you and that pretty wife of yours anytime you want." Steve grinned back at his friend hoping that he would go for it.
"Deal. Now I suggest you go back into the house like a good boy before your dad gets home and finds out himself that you aren't being quite the model son that he thinks you are being." Phil winked at Steve as climbed into the driver's seat.
"Right." Steve then once again started back towards the beach house.
At this point Steve was pretty tired and he was wondering how late it was. He had pretty much killed the entire morning. If he didn't get to bed pretty soon his dad was going to be home before he even got to sleep. He propped his board up against the side of the house before he went in.
By now it was nearly noon. Since he had decided to skip breakfast this morning he decided that a little lunch time snack might help him to settle down and go to sleep. If that is his neighbors could get along with out him for a little while. He was just about to peel out of his wet suit and head for the shower when he heard screaming out on the beach. With a sigh he made for the door. "What now?" he mumbled to himself.
He ran out to the fence and looked towards where the screaming had come from. Coming right towards him was a man who seemed to be carrying something in his hand. He was running for all his life. A woman was running behind the man yelling. Looking closer Steve realized that the man was carrying a bag of some kind. The woman that was running behind the man was yelling stop. Steve quickly ran through the gate and straight at the runner tackling him to the ground.
Apparently the man or kid as he only looked like he was about 19 or twenty at the most, had snatched her bag which must have carried all of her most precious belongings. When she got to the two men struggling on the ground she picked up her bag and started to hit both Steve and the kid. Pounding away at both of them she once again began yelling and screaming about the kid stealing her bag.
She continued to beat at both Steve and the kid until someone ran up to her and grabbed her from behind stopping her from any further assault on the two men who were still on the ground. When Steve was able to get to his feet he saw that two patrol officers were already on the scene. One was holding back Mrs. Haggleman and her lethal hand bag and the other one was snapping cuffs on the kid.
"I'm pressing charges against that old bat." The boy blurted out.
"For what?" Steve all but yelled at the kid.
"For assault with a deadly weapon that's what. That old woman nearly killed me. From the looks of you she got you pretty good too." The kid once again spat out.
"Get him out of here." Steve told the two officers.
"Lieutenant will you be coming down to file a report sir?" One of the officers asked Steve.
"No." Steve said a little too abruptly.
"But sir. What do we put in our report?" The officer asked.
"I don't care. Just leave my name out of it. If my Dad finds out I had anything to do with this I'm a dead man. Say that a lethal handbag took out the perp. Tripped over a rock, I don't care. Just please leave me out of it." Steve wiped at the blood that was trickling down his chin from the split lip he got when Mrs. Haggleman hit him with her bag.
"Oh Stevie. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hit you too. Here let me see." She approached Steve with a wad of Kleenex that she was spitting on in order to clean up his lip.
Steve saw her approaching and began backing up raising his arms in order to defend himself from the notorious saliva soaked piece of tissue.
"I'm fine Mrs. Haggleman. Really." Steve tried his best to get away from being bathed in public by a very determined Mrs. Haggleman armed with a soggy wet tissue
Not to be put off by any means, the very petite woman grabbed Steve by the front of his wet suit and yanked him down dabbing at the cut on his lip. Fussing the whole time about how he should hold still while she fixed his "boo boo".
Steve was near tears of embarrassment by the time Mrs. Haggleman had cleaned his face from the blood on his lip. She kissed his "boo boo", hugged him around the waste telling him what a brave boy he was for helping her, and headed him towards his house with a swat to his behind.
It was nearly 1:00 pm. His dad said he would be home by 2:00. He had about one hour to get inside, showered, in bed, and asleep before his dad got home. He raced to the door that led to his apartment. He grabbed his, by now dry surfboard, and stepped inside his apartment. Just as he thought he had made it with out any further mishaps he heard the one thing he dreaded the most.
"STEVEN MICHAEL SLOAN. What do you think you are doing in that wet suite? Did I not tell you to go to bed and get some sleep? I leave you in the bed thinking you would at least try to get some sleep, and when I get home I find you sneaking in the door after you have been surfing. What do you have to say for yourself young man?" Mark stood before his son furious to the hilt.
"I can explain all of this Dad. Please I promise it wasn't my fault." Steve stuttered around trying to think of the best way to explain all of what had happened to him since this morning.
"What's to explain Steve. You have all the explanation I need tucked under your arm." Mark was pointing at the surfboard that was still under his son's arm.
Just then Steve felt someone walk up behind him and place a warm comforting hand on his arm. Then a sweet face appeared next to him smiling up at him with the same love that his mother use to. Harriet then addressed a very frustrated Mark and calmly came to Steve's defense.
"Mark I know this doesn't look good but you really should calm down and listen to what happened. It's not Steve's fault. Now help me put him to bed and then over a nice cup of coffee I'll tell you all about it." She removed the surfboard out from under Steve's arm and propped it up against the closet door. She then straightened up his bed and went upstairs to fix a pot of coffee while Mark helped Steve to remove his wet suite. Once Steve was tucked into bed again he made his way upstairs to the kitchen where Harriet was setting the pot and cups on the table.
For the next hour he sat and listened to Harriet tell him how Steve had spent his morning. Mark was amazed and then thoughtful as Harriet described the different events as they transpired during the day. When she got through Mark sat in total amazement that so much could happen in their quiet little stretch of the beach. He also realized that Steve was the only one of the kids who had grown up there that was still living in the neighborhood. Every one else had grown up and moved off. Steve had in a sense become everyone's child. He was constantly being watched and monitored by all the neighbor's who had watched him grow up.
These people had celebrated all of his accomplishments through out his life. Because Steve had been such a good kid he soon had developed a reputation of being available to help out when most of the kids were off pursuing their own personal agendas. As the years had gone by Steve had become more important to these people as he represented security and strength to them. They had grown to depend on him for all sorts of things that may seem small to the average person but to them it meant the world.
Steve was the caring son who was available to rescue scared cats from trees. When you were no longer able to drive yourself to do the simple errands of everyday life Steve was always available to run you where ever you needed to go with out making you feel like you were being a burden. He was that strong presence that rescued little girls when they got lost from their mommies and grandma's. He was the savior of misguided youth. He stood up for the oppressed when others seemed determined to run over them.
Steve was very important to these people and these people were important to him as well. He had grown up with these people playing a very active part in his life.
They had followed little league games and cheered when he had hit home runs or comforted when his team had not made the final playoffs. They followed his football career in high school and supported him with their presence at games. They teased him about his girlfriends and were there to help mend broken hearts. Much to his dismay, they were watchdogs reporting unacceptable behaviors to his parents when he got caught or just plain lectured him themselves if they felt it was warranted.
When he went away to Vietnam they all prayed for his safe return. When he finally did return with a leg wound and dreams that were shattered. Once again these people were there helping to support him and his family. Bringing food and taking turns to work with him during his physical therapy.
Lots of encouraging words and cards arrived every day. Little things were done to improve his spirit. His favorite fresh baked cookies. A six pack of cokes with a bucket of snacks usually found its way to his room about once a week. His favorite magazines were always available as soon as they hit the newsstands. It was these thoughtful gestures that encouraged him to fight back and regain what he had lost over in a country that seemed to breed death and destruction.
When his mother died Steve found out that he was not left with out the comfort that a mother gives when a child is hurting. He found himself in the arms of these fine women who wanted nothing more than to comfort and bring joy back into his life.
To this day every time Steve finds himself back in the hospital or on the mend he becomes the center of attention. Flowers, cards, concerned phone calls. Lots of chicken soup with batches of his favorite cookies are always brought in with strict instructions to eat it all so that he can regain his strength. Still getting told on when he gets caught doing things that he knows he shouldn't.
To this day Mark wasn't sure if Steve knew about how these people were still reporting his activities to his father. He certainly fussed enough when Mark seemed to know about some of his little adventures out on the beach when he was suppose to be inside resting or taking a nap after a stay in the hospital.
Steve felt very close to all of these people. It was just natural for them to come to him when they had a problem or a need. It was just as natural for Steve to respond and be available to them when ever possible. It wasn't just the job that made Steve the man he is. It was his character, his love, and his devotion to the people that he considered a part of his family. These people helped to shape and mold him into the man that he is today.
"Mark are you ok? Mark?" Harriet reached over and touched her friend on the arm trying to get his attention.
"Yes. I'm sorry. I was just thinking about our friends. I was thinking about how they have impacted our lives. It's hard to think about what life would have been like if we hadn't moved here when the kids were little. Raising them up here was the best thing Katherine and I could have done." Mark smiled at his neighbor knowing that she would understand what he was talking about.
"I think a lot of people here would not have had the blessings that they have enjoyed had you and Katherine chose to live somewhere else. Those kids have brought more happiness to more people. I know Carl and I would not have had the joy and happiness that we have had through out the years if it hadn't been for those two kiddos. I will always be grateful for the fact that you two settled here with them. We formed some great bonds with those kids, and with you and Katherine. I miss her so much. I know that you do also. But Steve is such a joy to you I know." She patted her old friend on the back of his hand smiling into his eyes.
Mark returned the gesture and said with a sigh. "He is a joy until something happens to him and then I get so scarred. He frustrates me so much when he refuses to take care of himself. I don't know why he won't listen when he is told to take it easy and give his body time to recuperate."
"He tries Mark. But he has always been that way. The worst punishment you could give him was sending him to his room and making him stay in there for any length of time. I think he would have rather you beat him than ground him to his room." Harriet started laughing at her memories of Steve trying to convince his dad that he would do better if he would not make him stay in his room to "think about what he had done."
"Oh. I know he would have. He once brought me a paddle and said that he wished I would just paddle him instead of grounding him. Said he was sure that he would remember a paddling much longer. It took all my control not to laugh at him. I knew what he was doing. He and a bunch of his buddies were surfing that weekend and he didn't want to miss it. I almost gave in but I knew better. He was so mad at me that he wouldn't even come out of his room for meals.
"His mother I think did spank him that weekend because she insisted on him sitting with us for Sunday dinner. He gave her a hard time and so she gave him a hard time on his bottom. He reluctantly came but he never once looked at his mother or me. He ate very little and only answered questions that were directed to him." Mark once again seemed lost in memories.
"You know Steve's birthday is in a couple of weeks. Why don't we throw a Bar BQ and invite the neighborhood. It's been a few years since we threw him a surprise party." Harriet was excited at the prospect and looked at Mark hopefully.
"You know he hates surprise parties." Mark grinned back at his neighbor wickedly.
"I know." She grinned just as wickedly.
"Let's do it." Mark got up and got pen and paper so the two of them could start making plans for the party of year.
By the time Steve got up a few hours later Mark and Harriet had planed a very big and very spectacular birthday party for every ones favorite cop. Including balloons.
The End.