It had been five long minutes since Julie Teeger rang Adrian's doorbell and he had spoken to her through the intercom, letting her know he'd be right there. Since then, he had gone over the house several more times making sure everything was exactly perfect for his special guest.
A vase of tulips sat on the kitchen table. All were cut to a perfectly symmetrical length and arranged in a perfectly symmetrical order - pink tulips with pink tulips, white tulips with white tulips, yellow tulips in the middle. Photos on the mantle were arranged in an equidistant fashion and now not only included a photo of Adrian and Trudy at their wedding, but photos of Natalie, Julie and himself, a photo of him receiving an award from the San Francisco mayor alongside his longtime friend Captain Leland Stottlemeyer, and a recent photo of his old assistant Sharona ,her adult son, Benjy, and her new husband Randy Disher who was holding their 6 month old daughter, Ophelia. The photographic arrangement was a chronicle of his adult life – filled with sweet memories and tragic pain. A full life. A survivor's life.
He walked one last time to the mirror to make sure that every hair was in place and that he would look good for his dear friend. He had missed her so much, and the thought of seeing her again both thrilled him and caused his heart to ache. He had tried to prepare himself for what he would see when she walked through the door. When he talked with Julie on the phone the previous night, she said that her mother was a mess and had just shut out everyone. She had seemingly given up on life. This thought hurt him to his core; however, he knew he had to hold it together for her sake and be her rock as she had been his for so many years.
He looked at his face in the mirror, appropriately aged for a man of 53 and not showing at all the strain the last 15 years had placed upon him, straightened his collar, patted the sides of his hair, stood up straight and went to answer the door.
"Julie! Julie Teeger! It has been so long…oh my goodness let me look at you! You're all grown up!" he said with a broad smile as he put his hands on her arms and drew her in for a hug.
"Mr. Monk! It is wonderful to see you!" Julie replied, surprised at the open demonstration of affection in the hug. "Thank you so much for agreeing to spend some time with Mom." She continued, turning to her side and leading her mother by the hand up to Adrian's door.
"Are you kidding?" he responded. "It'll be like old times." He lied, knowing that his dear friend would likely never be the same after this experience.
Stepping into his foyer, Julie turned to Natalie and bent down, trying to catch her attention.
"Mom? Mom? Do you remember Mr. Monk?" Julie said, looking into Natalie's somewhat confused eyes.
Timidly, Natalie stepped forward and looked Adrian directly in the eyes. At first, her eyes had the same flat vacant stare as they had for months, but then they softened with a level of recognition. She loved her old boss and despite her disconnect from the world, the sense of ease and care that she felt being in his presence was reflected in some subtle way.
"That's more of a reaction than we've had in months" Julie mused. "Dr. Bell may be on to something."
For Adrian's part, as much as he had tried to prepare himself, he struggled to maintain composure. On the one hand, reuniting with his best friend gave him an overwhelming sense of happiness. On the other, his formerly vibrant, healthy and cheerful assistant was a shadow of her old self and now appeared drawn, grey and older than her years. What must she be thinking? Even though their situations were somewhat different, Monk felt like he might be the one person in her world that could very much identify with the pain and confusion and despair that Natalie felt. He knew the dark place she was in, and he knew that his purpose was to bring her out of that pit.
"Natalie." He said softly as he walked over and wrapped his arms around her, holding her gently. "I have missed you so much." She did not return the gesture, but her body was not stiff. In fact, she appeared to relax even more through the comfort of his embrace. "Here, let me take your jacket." he said as he slipped it off her shoulders and put it on a wooden hanger that had been hanging on the coat rack.
"Won't you both come in?" he asked.
"Actually, Mr. Monk. I have a class that starts in about 20 minutes, so I need to be going. But thank you for the invitation. Mom had breakfast at 6:00 this morning and should be ready for lunch around noon. She is due her medication at that point as well and then again at 6:00. It helps her sleep. Beyond that, I believe Dr. Bell had suggested taking her places that she might remember to try to re-acclimate her to home." Julie said.
"Yes," Adrian responded. "I have an agenda planned out for us today. It should be a calm, peaceful day."
"Great!" Julie said "My last class today ends around 5:00 PM then after that I told my friend Shelly that I would drop off some old clothes at her church for the clothing drive they are having. I should be able to come pick her up after that, say maybe 6:30?"
"Take your time" he replied. "If you're not back by then, there's plenty to eat around here. I'll feed her and have her ready for you when you get here."
"You're the greatest, Mr. Monk!" Julie said, then walked to Natalie, cupped her cheek in her hand and said, "Mom, you be good for Mr. Monk and do whatever he tells you. I'll be back a little later. I love you!"
Julie kissed her mom on the cheek and then took off out Monk's front door leaving Adrian and Natalie alone.
"Natalie, why don't you come in here?" said Adrian as he led her by the arm into his living room. "Please. Sit down. I will go get you some juice."
Natalie sat down on the couch and slowly looked around. Her eyes fixated on a new painting on the wall. It was of a young woman on a beach collecting sea shells with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. The woman's long blonde hair obscured much of her face, but she looked very youthful and pretty and happy. Once upon a time, that was Natalie. So full of promise and hope, a world of possibility in front of her. That was before life stepped in.
"That's Molly." Adrian said, interrupting her gaze. "I had it commissioned off some photographs that I took when we were out at Baker beach last summer. He reached out with a glass of orange juice and handed it to Natalie. "Here you go! It's fresh squeezed." Natalie took a sip of the juice and looked into his eyes with a look he could not interpret.
"Good, huh?" he responded. "Well, drink up, because we have a busy day ahead of us. First, I planned on a picnic lunch for us in the park, then I thought we might swing by the police station and say hi to the Captain. After that, if we have time, I thought we might drive down the wharf and see what they have going on at the Art museum. I know how you like museums. Then finally, I need to stop by the grocery for a few items for tomorrow. Does that sound okay?"
Natalie did not respond but continued drinking her orange juice and looking at Adrian with a curious stare. How he wished he could read her thoughts. In lieu of that, he knew that his presence alone would be a comfort to her. And so, he just sat down and let her finish up while he looked at a map of the city to chart their course.
After about 15 minutes had passed, he neatly folded the map and stood up and went into the kitchen. Speaking to her from the kitchen, he pointed out the tulips. "These are for you. I know how much you love flowers, and with the Springtime upon us, I thought you might like them."
He picked up a picnic basket and put it on the table. He pulled out a sheet of paper and began to check off the various items that they would need for their feast. "Sandwiches, yes. Bottled water, check. Chips,…" he paused. "Ah, chips…" he smiled as he remembered the time she cashed in her 'karma chips' when she accidentally shot him in the leg. He shook himself out of his daydream and finished up the list, "Plates, utensils, napkins, wipes…looks like it is all here."
"Are you ready to go?" he asked Natalie. "let me go get your jacket." He went to the coat rack and returned with her jacket as she stood up, empty glass in hand. "Here you go…let me take that." Mr. Monk took the glass, rinsed if off with dish soap and water and put it in the dishwasher before returning to his guest and leading her to the door with his hand on the small of her back.
He looked around, made sure that all of the lights were off and that the stove was shut off and out the door they went for their first big day together.
They walked down the hallway and out to door to the car that was parked on the street. Adrian sat the picnic basket on the roof of the car as he helped get Natalie situated in the front passenger seat. At first, she halted and hesitated getting into the car. He smiled and put his hand on her back and said "It's okay. Rainman is an excellent driver." He quipped, repeating something from popular culture that Randy Disher had said to him shortly after he started driving again.
She got into the car and he reached around her to make sure she was buckled up. Next, he opened the rear passenger door and put the basket next to some neatly folded blankets that he had put in the back seat earlier that morning. Shutting the door, he walked around to the driver's side, slipped into the front seat and started the ignition. "It sure is good to have you back, Natalie." He said as he checked his rear and side view mirrors three times, pulled out of his spot and drove away.
10 seconds later, unbeknownst to him, a silver SUV pulled out of a spot about three doors down. Keeping out of sight, the driver continued to follow Adrian and Natalie to the park and parked the SUV where it would not be perceived.
As Adrian spread blankets on the green grass so that he and Natalie could sit down, the driver of the car began taking pictures of the two friends making sure not to miss a moment.
"This is going to be a piece of cake" said the driver to himself. "They don't' suspect a thing.