Dan swung the tan LTD close to the curb, pleased to get a spot right in front of the house. As he shifted into park, Steve and Jeannie opened the back doors, then she opened the front passenger side door as Steve jogged around the car.
"Okay, Daddy, just take it easy," she said as Mike turned slowly and carefully on the front seat, putting both feet on the curb. Wearing khakis, a checked shirt under his Giants jacket, a baseball cap and sneakers, he leaned forward and allowed Steve to take his right elbow and help him stand. As Dan joined them on the sidewalk, Mike looked up at the house, but instead of the anticipatory smile his face showed no emotion. Steve glanced at Jeannie, who was watching her father with a furrowed brow.
"Okay," Steve said encouragingly, "Jeannie, you go on ahead and open the door, and Dan and I'll help Mike up the stairs."
"I don't need any help," Mike said, but there was no anger in his voice, "I just need to take it slow."
"Sure, sure," Steve said, nodding. He noticed Dan look away, trying to hide his worried sigh.
Jeannie grabbed the overnight bag from the back seat and jogged up the stairs. Mike approached the first step and started up slowly, Steve close behind, and Dan bringing up the rear.
Jeannie opened the front door and stepped inside quickly to put the bag on the staircase. She glanced around the living room to make sure everything was still neat and orderly, her eyes falling on the recliner. She gasped, turning quickly back to the front door. Standing on the stoop, watching her father's slow progress up the steps, she tried to get Steve's attention but he was too busy making sure Mike was doing okay.
Her father was slightly out of breath when he joined his daughter on the stoop, but he managed to smile at her slightly as he stepped over the threshold, Steve right behind him. As they passed, Jeannie grabbed at Steve's arm to get his attention, and she leaned towards him. "You bought the recliner," she whispered quickly and he looked at her in confusion.
"What?" he whispered back.
"You bought the recliner," she whispered again, then turned to follow Mike into the house. "Let me take your coat, Mike," she said lightly as she moved behind him, helping him slip off the jacket.
Steve and Dan had moved further into the living room, Steve having finally figured out what Jeannie had been getting at.
His jacket off, Mike stood where he was, staring at nothing, his mind seemingly a million miles away. "Ah, why don't you take a seat, Daddy, and I'll get you something to drink," Jeannie suggested encouragingly.
Mike looked at her slowly with a slight smile. "No thanks, sweetheart, I think I'm just gonna go up to my room and lay down." He looked at Steve and Dan. "Thanks, ah, for driving us home. I'll see you later," he said quietly, almost distractedly, as he turned towards the staircase and started up.
They watched his slow progress until they heard the bedroom door close, then turned to each other, all three at a loss for words. Jeannie crossed to the closet with Mike's jacket, but after hanging it up, she stood with her back to the room and they saw her head drop and her shoulders begin to shake.
Within seconds, Steve was behind her, grabbing her arms and turning her around into a hug. He rocked her for several seconds then she pulled back and looked up at him. "I'm okay," she said with an embarrassed chuckle, "I'm okay. I'm just so worried about him. He's barely said two words since Maggie left yesterday and he's just so sad…"
"I know, I know," Steve said quietly, leading her back towards the sofa, "but there's really not much any of us can do about it. He's been dealt a pretty shitty hand lately, that's for sure."
Dan dropped onto the couch with a weary sigh. "I can't begin to imagine what he's going through right now. It's just seems so unfair. I mean, he's always been such an optimist, at least in my experience, but this… this is just… well, there's just no silver lining anywhere here, as far as I can see."
Steve sat on the other end of the couch, eyeing the recliner as he did so. For reasons he couldn't put his finger on right at the moment, it seemed prudent to leave that chair vacant. The move and the look were not lost on Jeannie.
"Can I get you guys something to drink?" she asked. "Tea, coffee, juice?"
Dan smiled appreciatively. "Thanks, but no, I've got to get to the office. Norm and I are working on a case we picked up yesterday, a sailor on leave; we think he was killed by his trick." He stood to go.
Steve snickered dryly. "Those are the cases I don't miss anymore, to be perfectly honest. Hey, ah, anything on the grapevine about what the brass are saying about Mike?"
Dan, who was on his way to the door, stopped and turned back, looking slightly guilty. "I, ah, I was talking to Roy the other day. He said they've been talking about it. They're not going to allow Mike back on the street, that's a done deal. They're gonna offer him a captaincy, probably in Robbery – a complete change of scene, I guess. But I think they're expecting him to pull the pin and take his full pension."
"And do what?" Steve asked angrily. "Sit around the house?" Both Dan and Jeannie looked at him in alarm and he suddenly realized how he sounded. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to yell at you. It's just –"
"It's okay," Dan said quickly, with a wry smile, "I understand. I feel the same way." He looked at Jeannie. "Listen, I'll drop by sometime tonight, see how's he doing, okay?"
"I'm cooking a pot roast; why don't you stop by for dinner, around six? Bring Norm if he wants to come." She glanced at Steve. "I think we could use the company by then. It might be a very long day."
"Thanks, that sounds great. You will have lots of veggies, right?" he asked with a grin and she nodded. As he opened the door, he looked back, "By the way, nice recliner. Great addition to the living room. Mike'll love it."
Jeannie looked at the chair lovingly, biting her lip before saying, "Actually, Maggie got it for him. I'm trying to figure out a good time to tell him, so for now, Steve bought it, okay?"
Dan shook his head in wonder. "Wow, for a woman who was in our lives for less than two weeks, she's certainly left one hell of an impact, hasn't she?"
# # # # #
Steve knocked lightly on the door and listened for a response. Hearing nothing, he took a deep breath and opened the door. In the darkened room, the curtains closed and the lights out, Mike lay on top of the bed, staring at the ceiling. He didn't move as Steve crossed the room and stood over him.
"You okay?" Steve asked softly, and after several seconds, Mike nodded. "Good. You, ah…you want to talk?"
Mike blinked quickly several times and swallowed hard, but eventually he shook his head and closed his eyes.
Steve stood silently for several long seconds, then reached out and laid his hand gently on Mike's forehead. With a heavy heart, he turned and walked back to the door.
# # # # #
Slipping of a rubber glove, Jeannie turned the volume down on the large transistor radio on the counter, crossed the kitchen and took the receiver off the wall phone. "Hello."
"How's he doing today?" Steve's concerned voice came over the line. She could tell from the background ambience he was in his office at Berkeley.
She sighed. "Same old, same old. He came down for breakfast but he's back in his room again."
"Okay. Well, I've got some things I have to do here. I should be there around six. Want me to pick up some pizza for tonight?"
Jeannie chuckled sadly. "Sure, why not? Give him a break from my cooking. I'll see if Dan can join us, okay?"
"Sounds good. I'll make sure one of the pizzas is vegetarian," he said with a chuckle. "Hang in there, kiddo. I'll see you later."
She heard the line go dead and put the receiver back on the hook. Crossing slowly to the sink, she turned the volume up on the radio and put the rubber glove on again. Sighing heavily, she plunged her hands into the sink and went to work once more on the heavy cast iron dutch oven.
She tried to pay closer attention to the music but, try as she might, she couldn't deflect her thoughts from her father. Since he had returned home over a week ago, his presence had been no more than a spectre around the house, choosing to spend the vast majority of his time in his room with the door closed. He would join her for meals and he even went out for short walks, trying so hard to be the Mike she wanted him to be, but not quite succeeding.
Steve had been a regular presence at the house but even he couldn't get through to his old friend. And that worried everybody. The Mike Stone they all knew and loved was disappearing before their eyes and there seemed to be nothing they could do about it.
Feeling the ever-present tears threatening again, she took a deep breath and scrubbed the pot even harder. The DJ on the radio introduced another song and she smiled. It was an old one, she knew, but one she liked immensely and she hadn't heard it in a long time. The opening chords filled her with warmth but as she began to sing along she suddenly froze and tears sprang to her eyes.
Tearing off the rubber gloves, she turned and slid to the floor, her back against the cupboards. She covered her face with her hands and wept.
# # # # #
With two large pizzas boxes balanced on his left hand, Steve had just gotten to the stoop and was reaching for the handle when the heavy wooden door was flung open and a highly animated Jeannie reached for his hand and pulled him into the house. He almost tripped on the threshold, juggling the pizzas boxes. "Hey, hey, easy, easy, what's your rush," he chuckled, grabbing the boxes with both hands. He looked up, into a face that was flush with joy and anticipation. "What's going on?"
Jeannie started towards the kitchen, nodding at the boxes. "Bring those in here, I want to talk to you about something," she said quickly.
"Okay," he said warily as he followed her into the kitchen and put the boxes on the counter. "What's going on?" he said again.
She sat at the table and gestured for him to do the same. She leaned forward and took his hand, looking deeply into his eyes. "Steve, we've have been so wrong about Mike."
"What do you mean?"
"We both want him to be happy, don't we?" He nodded, still unsure what she was getting at. "And we also want him to be safe. And right now, he can be one or the other but he can't be both. And all we're doing is being unfair to him."
"So what do you think we should do?" he asked slowly.
Jeannie bit her lip and he saw her tear up a little, but she smiled and squeezed his hand. "We have to let him go."