Chapter 26
"How did you know what to bring?" Dick Hammer asked curiously, leaning over his wife's shoulder and checking out the two large bowls of potato salad she was covering with plastic wrap. "I completely forgot to ask DeSoto what they wanted us to bring."
"Pretty simple really, dear, I called his wife and asked her," Linda answered cheerfully, tossing the cardboard box into a drawer and closing it. "Now, are we about ready? Is Jackie riding with us, do you know?"
"I'll take my own car," their daughter replied, coming into the kitchen. "I might hang out with some friends afterwards. Anything you need me to pick up on my way over there?"
Dick's wife shook her head and gestured towards an aluminum cake pan on the counter. "We're all set honey, but you can take the bars if you'd like."
Jackie slid open the lid and breathed in the scent of the chocolate peanut butter bars covered in peanuts. "Mm, Mom, these are my favorite. Hopefully the pan makes it there with all the pieces intact."
"Don't you dare sample the goods, young lady!" Mrs. Hammer warned, pointing a threatening finger in her direction. Jackie giggled, slung her purse over her shoulder, and headed for the garage balancing the pan on an opened palm.
"I sure wish the styles would change and the hem lines would drop below the knee," Dick growled in disapproval as he watched her leave the room. He scooped up one of the salad bowls and turned towards his wife for her reaction, the smile tugging at his lips betraying his words.
Linda raised her eyebrows, knowing he was thinking about several of her own thigh skimming dresses lurking in the dark recesses of her closet. As a soon to be grandmother approaching the half century mark, those rebellious pieces of material would never see the light of day again unless she gave them to Jackie or donated them.
"I think the minis are already out," she murmured, deciding not to encourage him in a flirtatious discussion about hemlines. She looked down at her sedate slacks with the straight legs, decidedly not the outrageously flared bellbottoms she detested that were currently in style. "I think Jackie has a mix of dresses in her closet, from the minis to the maxis. Honestly, Richard, anything pretty much goes anymore."
"Yes, I have noticed that, among other things. It seems I'm constantly reminding my crew to keep their hair cut to regulation." Shaking his head, he absently ran a hand through his own short cut, still at the same length he had worn through his college years. "I suppose that means we're getting old?"
Linda picked up the other bowl of potato salad and linked her arm through his. She gave in to the urge to tease him. "Should we be planning your retirement party then?"
Hammer smirked. "Not yet, I think I have quite a few good years left in me. Did you give Jackie the address?"
"Mm, mm, my memory hasn't gone yet, so I guess I have a few years left too, Dick!" She exclaimed, pulling him towards the door. "Let's go before this mayonnaise starts to turn!"
~eeeEEEeee~
Roy yawned and lightly scratched his fingers over his cheek in thought as he gazed around the backyard. Everything looked ready, the weather was cooperating, and the unpredictable Ruth was at the park with his kids - at least for the moment. Marco had arrived with his date and helped with the finishing touches, which took all of ten minutes. She, what was her name again, was in the kitchen with Jo giving her a hand with whatever needed done.
"Why do you have two grills, Roy? Or did you borrow one for this shindig?" Marco asked as his host joined him. They both stared in appreciation at the huge monster that completely dominated the smaller, dented one next to it.
Roy ran an admiring hand over the shiny chrome of the eight burner gas grill. "This one belongs to my neighbor and it sure puts my old thing to shame. He had it custom made because he hosts a lot of events for his company."
"She's a beaut, that's for sure. You want a beer?"
Roy looked at his watch and nodded. "Sure, I'll take one. Sorry, but what's your date's name again?"
"It's Teena and before you ask, we've been out three or four times so it's not serious, at least not yet." Grinning, he handed him the beer, moisture clinging to the can and feeling good against Roy's warm skin. He looked up again, checking for rain clouds.
"Relax, Roy, I think the rain's done for a bit." Marco said, his dark eyes following the movements of the paramedic with understanding.
A shrug and Roy directed his eyes towards the beverage in his hand. He pulled the tab and took a long, appreciative swallow. "Seems like it was a long week for some reason, I guess because there was a lot of stuff going on."
"A strenuous, weird hour job, a family with young children and now…" he paused, still scrutinizing the younger man with concern. "And now a new station, a new partner, a new job with additional responsibilities that you're not even getting paid for…sure Roy, I think you're justified in saying that it has been a busy week, a busy month."
Roy considered his can thoughtfully and shifted his weight, restlessly brushing a sandaled foot across grass that struggled valiantly to meet up with the concrete pad. He finally lifted his eyes and met Lopez's steady gaze. "It does kinda add up, doesn't it? But my family is great and it looks like our new crew is going to work out just fine, so no worries, right?"
Marco nodded, not fully convinced that everything was fine in Roy's world. But he had to agree with him about their shift, because it DID look like they were going to be a fine team. "Sure Roy, no worries, I guess we should all just take one day at a time. And speaking of our fine crew, I think one of them just got here. I'd recognize the sound of that junker anywhere!"
Roy cocked his head sideways and listened. He smiled as he did indeed recognize the distinctive putt - putt of Chet's rather questionable vehicle. "Yeah, I know that noise. You want to help me set up the badminton net? I wasn't sure if there'd be room for it, but since I ploughed under the remains of the garden and raked it smooth it looks like there's plenty of space now."
He gestured beyond the patio pad to the expanse of smoothed dirt that had a few weeds determinedly sprouting here and there. Marco followed the hand motion and nodded his head in agreement as he surveyed the rectangular plot surrounded by grass; bushes lined the wooden slatted fence on three sides and were growing high enough to provide privacy. "Yeah, there's plenty of room for it and no trees for the birdie to get hung up in. Hey, just out of curiosity, how did you keep your new dog out of the garden?"
"Oh Grace is a funny dog with things like that. I only had to tell her "no" once when she started digging up the carrots for us; she's stayed clear of that area ever since. I think she must have had some good training from somewhere because she's very quick on picking things up." A rhythmic thumping accompanied his words and DeSoto made a beckoning motion with his hand towards the source of the noise. The shepherd bounded to her feet from her relaxed position by the corner of the house, bone hanging from her mouth and noise making tail still wagging as she galloped over to them. She politely nuzzled Marco with a wet nose before offering up her chew treat to her owner.
"Good girl, Grace, that's a good girl," Roy praised, accepting the drool laden gift with two fingers and then handing it back to her.
Lopez watched as she trotted back to her previous spot and laid down, jaws working on the bone with serious intent. He noticed, however, that her eyes followed them as they moved to the wall of the garage and picked up the net and poles leaning there. "Something tells me that she's going to be a good watchdog for you and your family."
"There's no doubt about it…you should see her with the kids. When my, er, mother-in-law got here Grace stood between her and Chris, blocking Ruth in one of those stiff legged German Shepherd stances, until we introduced them."
Marco made a choking noise. "You introduced them, how?"
DeSoto grinned and pushed a pole into the dirt. "Oh, just asked her to get Grace's favorite toy and hand it to her. Of course it's a stuffed animal that's stinky, half shredded, and dripping with yuck, to put it nicely."
The other man let the laughter loose this time as he unwound the net and walked it across the dirt rectangle. "And so she just hands it to the dog and now they're best friends?"
"There was more to it than that of course, but I won't bore you with all the steps. Here comes Chet and his plus one."
"That's his sister, Mary Katherine. I think Chet's girl is working or something," Marco corrected him, checking the tightness of the net. Satisfied, he worked the metal pole he had been carrying into the earth. "Do we need to pound these things in?"
"Nah, I see you found the hole I dug out with the pick this morning, just pack the dirt around it."
"Hey Marco, you stomping grapes around the maypole or something?" Chet's booming voice carried over from the patio, where he had stopped to gape at the borrowed grill.
"Or something," Marco muttered darkly, giving a final, over exaggerated stomp. "Sometimes I wonder about good 'ole Chester."
"Wonder what?" The person in question queried as he approached. "Hey Roy, thanks for the invite. This is my sister, Kat…Kat, one of our paramedics and also our host, Roy DeSoto."
"Hi Roy, and yes thank you for the invitation. I just met your lovely wife; she asked me to ask you to turn on the grill?"
Roy shook the offered hand after self-consciously brushing his hand clean on his shorts. "Nice to meet you, Kat, and we're glad you could make it."
Chet turned from tugging on the net and rubbed his hands together. "I put the beer in the cooler like JoAnne told me to…hey DeSoto, let me give you a hand with that grill."
"Sure, and you can do the grilling honors if you want – that is, how well do you wield a spatula?" Roy asked suspiciously as Kelly eagerly accepted the offer and then extolled his virtues as a master griller as they meandered towards the shiny monster.
"He does a pretty good job with meat on the grill," Kat said thoughtfully as she slid off her high heeled sandals and accepted the badminton racquet Lopez held out to her. "But he refuses to try vegetables or anything else; it's always about the protein."
"That sounds about right, but I'm surprised he's not wanted to try it when he gets on one of his health kicks."
Kat shrugged and swished her racquet in a few experimental swings. "Somehow vegetables and grilling never got together in our house at the same time. Are you ready to get trounced, Lopez?"
"Oh bring it on, chica!" Her opponent retorted, ducking under the net and pulling a birdie out of his pocket. He whacked it over the net and Kat easily tapped it back.
Roy, who had paused to watch the action, realized the opponents were equally matched as the plastic bird swished back and forth. He turned back to the grill; Chet had already fired up the burners and was shaking his head in awe.
"Man…" was all he said as DeSoto gently set the lid down.
"Somehow I think those two have played before," Roy said, gesturing towards the badminton players as Chet reluctantly abandoned his new toy and went in search of an icy beverage.
"Yeah they have," he agreed amiably, standing up and popping the top on his can. "Those two even dated for a few months but in a friends kind of a way, if you know what I mean."
"Uh huh, I guess so." Roy glanced towards the patio door and saw the tall silhouette of their engineer. Mike came out a second later followed by Connie, each carrying a large beverage jar and a plate of saran wrapped baked goods.
"Just set those here...and the tea and lemonade over there….." Roy responded to Stoker's questioning look and helped them arrange their offerings. "Those look good Connie, oatmeal cookies?"
"Oh yes, and iced brownies that have pecans in them. I'm afraid there's one missing of each though because Mike said that he couldn't wait any longer to eat something!" She punched her husband playfully in the arm while he winked slyly at Roy, who had no idea what it meant. Catching Roy's confusion, Mike mouthed "later" to the puzzled paramedic.
Introductions were made once again as Marco and Kat abandoned their game and joined the group. Chet's sister pulled him aside and poked him in the ribs. "Mike's wife, is she gorgeous or what?"
Chet winced and batted her finger away but looked over at the leggy woman, who was helping JoAnne carry out platters of hamburgers and hot dogs. Even dressed casually in knee length shorts and a lacy tank top, Connie Stoker was beautiful. Knowing it would irritate his sister, he took his time admiring what he saw before answering her question. "She's a model you know."
"Well if she wasn't she should be! I wonder how those two met."
"I was wondering the same thing myself," Chet confessed, eyes flicking over to Mike who was pouring a glass of lemonade. How could he broach the subject with their quiet engineer or would Stoker even tell him? He mulled it over until his attention was diverted by Marco's date. "Hey, you ever met this girl of Marco's?"
"Not before today," she answered. "She's cute but quiet, or maybe just shy. Hey Michael Stoker!"
"Mary Katherine!" Kelly hissed.
"What?" She flashed innocent eyes at him as Mike wandered over with paper cup in hand and sat down at the picnic table. "Mike, your wife is gorgeous. Where did you two meet?"
Stoker smiled and nodded his agreement. "She is, isn't she? The first time I saw her, though, she looked nothing like that! She was covered in mud head to foot, swearing like a sailor, and an inch away from throttling the guy who hit her buggy and pushed her off the trail. I stopped to help and didn't realize she was a she until she turned around and knocked me on my butt for putting my hand on her to pull her back from that guy."
"What a way to meet! And was it happily ever after from that moment on?"
"Well no, it was quite a bumpy road for a bit, but I'm a patient man," he admitted sheepishly, lifting his glass and partially covering his face with it as he drank. A dreamy expression flitted across his face as he recalled that first meeting; he had been sprawled awkwardly in the mud with anger bubbling up until she had pulled her helmet off. The anger had quickly dissolved as he had stared up at her and looked into her flashing eyes – it had been love at first sight, at least for him anyway.
Shaking his head at the stream of words that had just came from their engineer, Chet marveled at his sister's easy way of getting people to open up. Seeing Roy come out of the house bearing condiments for the meat, he shot to his feet and bounded towards the grill, narrowly missing Dick Hammer.
"Whoa Kelly, where's the fire?" He questioned, nimbly sidestepping the flustered lineman. Setting down the bowl of salad on the nearest table, he cocked his head and raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Um, it's right there sir," Chet blustered and pointed a finger towards the brief rise of flames from the grease of the hamburgers.
"So it is," Hammer said with a smile.
Linda, at his shoulder, nudged him. "Stand down, Mister; you're not on duty here. Hello Chet, Roy, nice to see you again."
Chet, regaining his composure, sidled to Roy's side and snatched the pepper shaker from his hand. "Hi Mrs. Hammer, how ya doing?"
"Absolutely marvelous, Mr. Kelly, and where are... ah, I see Mike and Marco, so that leaves John..."
"Right behind you Mrs. Hammer," Johnny said, pushing his sunglasses up on his head and touching her gently on the shoulder while balancing three bags of crunchy snacks in his other hand. A young woman, her auburn hair pulled into a high pony tail and garbed in shorts and a floral decorated peasant blouse, hovered uncertainly in the doorway. Gage turned back to her and took her hand, pulling her forward to stand at his side.
Another round of introductions commenced and Roy intercepted his partner as he headed towards the coolers. "Hey Johnny, your date looks familiar."
"Remember that rescue we did at that petting zoo last week?" John asked as he detoured around DeSoto, crouched down, and perused the contents of the closest ice chest.
A vehement head shake accompanied Roy's answer. "Geez, how could I forget? That whole shift, will be forever etched in my memory and probably on parts of my body….oh, hey, she was the employee at the goat enclosure wasn't she?" **
"Yep, Trish Vanders, and we also take classes at the same little community college," he replied, voice muffled as his nose practically touched the ice. He shot to his feet a moment later, triumphantly holding a bottle of beer.
"Good find," Roy stated drily. "JoAnne pulled the last two bottles of my favorite beer out of the fridge and buried them in there, probably hoping I wouldn't notice. How in the world did you zero in on that?"
"Got a nose for good beer," he quipped as he pulled his keys out of his pocket. He popped the cap with an oddly shaped opener attached to his key ring, pocketed both the keys and the cap, and took an appreciative, long swallow. "Ah, good stuff partner!"
"How long you and Trish been dating?" His frowning partner queried, wondering if the other bottle was still in there.
"This is our first date; it's kinda hard to get our schedules matched up. You know, she's taking classes to become a veterinarian."
"That will take her a few years, almost as bad as becoming a doctor."
"Sure is," Johnny agreed, watching Trish as she chatted easily with Kat and Connie. He was glad to see that she had apparently overcome her initial apprehension of meeting his crewmates and their wives or dates.
"Hey DeSoto, what's the deal with the purple on the prowl?" Chet asked, joining up with them.
"Yeah, what's up with that?" Marco seconded, drifting over with a handful of chips overflowing his hand. "Chet tells me that you called and warned him about a certain person."
Roy stared at Chet for a moment, looked over at the grill and was relieved to see that their captain had taken command of the meat. "Purple….oh yeah!"
"Purple sky in the morning, single men take warning," Johnny paraphrased with a sly grin.
"Look, we're not sure if THAT'S what my mother – in – law is up to, but she's behaving very strangely," DeSoto amended, but held up his hands in surrender when the three single men made various noises of disbelief. "Okay, okay, so maybe I overreacted with the phone calls to you guys but when your own wife is throwing pans in the kitchen and threatening to….well, never mind about that, but….."
"According to you, DeSoto, Ruth always acts strange; so how do you know she's doing anything out of the normal?" Chet inquired sincerely.
"First of all, she was being nice to me," Roy began, counting on his fingers. "Second, she was asking a lot of questions about you guys. Third, when you see what's she's wearing, you'll understand our concern, or at least Johnny will since he has already met her."
Gage nodded thoughtfully. "But that was at a wedding, does she always dress like that?"
"Yup, until today I had never seen her in slacks or without her pearls and sensible shoes."
"And the rings, what about the rings?" His partner muttered, fingering his lip.
"No rings either, just funky bracelets and a necklace that Lisa has probably taken apart by now," Roy answered, leading the way back to the four tables groaning with food and sniffing the air appreciatively. He picked up the two clean platters from the table closest to the grill and carried them over to Dick, who gave him a mock salute with the spatula.
"Just in time Roy, the hamburgers are done and the dogs are staying warm here on the rack. I think there's enough here to feed an army." He filled both plates with hamburgers and handed them off to Stoker, and accepted two more empties. By the time he had finished emptying the grill, everyone had found seats and were heaping food onto sturdy, disposable plates.
Food and conversation flowed from table to table and over the clatter of silverware and dishes, Roy heard the excited chatter of his son. Chris barreled through the opened sliding door at his usual speed and came to an abrupt halt at the sight of all the strangers. He immediately zoned in on JoAnne who had just sat down and scurried over to her. That reunion complete, Roy turned his attention back to the house and waited for his daughter to appear.
Ruth strolled regally through the opening, carrying Lisa in one arm and thankfully wearing purple sequined tennis shoes on her feet instead of the wobbly heels. She sailed purposefully over to him, handed off his daughter without a word, and seated herself forcefully between Marco and Chet. A muted squawk sounded from one of the two linemen and Roy couldn't hold back his smirk.
Still grinning, he sat down across from Gage, who winked and gave him a knowing smile in return.
"You did warn them," the younger man mouthed as Ruth could be heard introducing herself to those seated at her table.
Roy threw up a hand almost hitting Hammer who was next to him. "Oops sorry, Cap, I'm getting carried away. You're right, Gage, I did, so I'm going to quit worrying about it, at least for the next hour or so."
"Quit worrying about what?" JoAnne asked, coming up behind him and passing around napkins. Christopher stood beside her happily spearing chunks of watermelon from a bowl. "Here, let me have Lisa; I'll feed her and put her down for a nap."
Glad that his wife had just distracted herself from the question, he stood up and swung their sleepy daughter into her waiting hands. He looked down at Chris.
"Do you want to go in the house with your mom and sister, or stay here with me and meet my fire captain?"
"Is it the striped helmet captain of the whole station?" The child asked, peering around eagerly – Roy knew he was probably searching for a grownup wearing the helmet.
"Sure he is but he's not wearing the white striped helmet right now; Captain Hammer is off duty just like I am."
"Okay, I'll stay here," Chris decided, patting his mom on the leg as a goodbye before stepping over to Roy and thrusting the watermelon at him.
Jo slipped away while Roy settled his boy and introduced him to his helmetless captain. More meat was grilled to accommodate the hearty appetites the good weather seemed to have brought forth, at least with the males at the barbecue; four of the women had finished well before and straggled one by one out to the badminton net to begin a game. Only Linda and Ruth remained at the tables, joined a few minutes later by JoAnne. She flashed her husband a thumbs up sign, which meant that their daughter was soundly asleep and would probably remain so for several hours heavy sleeper that she was.
Groaning and wishing he hadn't inhaled that third hamburger, Roy got up and carried a plate to his wife, piled with her favorites and the still warm hamburger he had put aside. Chris had already deserted him for the company of Grace; they were romping together by the back of the garage egged on by Chet, who had managed to make his escape from the unwanted attention being bestowed upon him by Ruth. Watching them for a moment, he couldn't decide who of the three was having more fun.
"Crazy kids," Johnny mused, sauntering over and chinning in the direction of the garage.
"I was thinking the same thing."
"Although, no offense to your son or the dog, I think the view is better if you turn this way, at least for me," he amended, turning to watch the four young women.
"A very good view, but I'd better face the other way for now until my wife joins them," Roy said truthfully, knowing that Anne wouldn't really mind but he would be teased mercilessly for the rest of the day. And if Ruth caught him admiring the other ladies, there would unquestionably be some major fallout.
Mike and Marco joined them and they chatted idly for a few moments, mainly about how they had all eaten too much and had yet to sample the desserts.
"Geez, I almost forgot!" Roy exclaimed, thumping his forehead with his palm. "I know how we can burn off some of the food – I have horseshoes set up over there in the side yard behind the grill."
They followed him over to the narrow side yard where he had driven two stakes in the ground about forty feet apart. A webbed lawn chair covered each stake to keep children or the dog from hurting themselves on the iron rods.
"It's just a casual setup, no throwing pits or anything, but it is how we've always played it," DeSoto apologized, gathering up the chairs, folding them, and leaning them against the house.
A brief, good natured argument ensued between Mike and Marco about how far they could lean forward while pitching the shoes. How they resolved it Roy wasn't sure; he was too busy trying to explain to his partner how to play the game.
"You've never played before?" He asked in disbelief.
John shrugged indifferently and hefted one of the silver horseshoes. "Not one of the things we did on the reservation."
"Hey fellas," Dick Hammer called, strolling towards them. "Come meet my daughter Jackie."
"Oh my God," Johnny whispered, his whole body stiffening in surprise. Roy looked over at him in time to view an incredible shade of red suffusing Gage's face, which faded quickly to a pasty white. He shot out a hand to steady him, afraid that he was going to pass out.
"What's wrong?" He asked in concern.
Johnny passed a hand over his face and sagged against the wall of the house. "Now I know why Captain Hammer looks so familiar."
~eeeEEEeee~
A/N - I haven't decided yet (insert evil cackle here!) whether to end this story here and continue the plot line(s) in my next alphabet fiction, or add a few more chapters. Whichever way my muse decides to go, it will be awhile as Halloween is rapidly approaching and my Alice story is begging to be finished! However it turns out, thanks for accompanying me on this wonderful journey!
** "A is For Animals" chapter 4
