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Pick Up on Aisle 10: Chapter 3
Frank dressed and headed out early the next morning. He knew where Lucy lived, but wasn't sure if she would be up this early, depending on what her work schedule was. He decided to head straight to St Victors, hoping that she would either be there, or someone would tell him when she would be.
The emergency room wasn't overly crowded, about half of the chairs in the waiting area occupied. When he approached the desk, the attendant offered him a tablet.
"Fill this out and bring it back with your license and insurance card," he told him in a bored voice.
"I'm not here to be seen,"Frank explained. "I'm looking for someone. Dr Lucy Makenna. Is she here?"
The man behind the counter studied him for a moment, then looked down at his computer.
"She's in with a patient right now. Shouldn't be much longer. Do you want to wait or leave a message for her?"
Frank checked his watch. He had allowed himself plenty of time.
"I'll wait."
He took a seat, looking around the room. People sat alone or in small groups, wrapped up in their own set of dire circumstances that had brought them to this place. He supposed he wasn't very different.
After about 15 minutes of watching and waiting, he saw the petite blonde coming down the hallway with a young couple carrying an infant. She was reassuring the worried mother, a calm smile on her face.
He stood, waiting as the attendant spoke to her, pointing to him.
"If you don't see any improvement by tomorrow, definitely contact your pediatrician or just bring her back," she told the couple. They thanked her and she turned, crossing to where Frank waited for her.
He rose, smiling down at her as she led him aside to a quiet corner.
"How are you doing?" she asked him.
"Me? I'm fine."
"It's just that the last time I saw you, you seemed a little bit…"
"Gobsmacked?"
Laughing, she nodded. "Godsmacked. That's a good word."
"I suppose I was. A bit."
"Me, too," she admitted. "And now?"
"We need to talk."
She looked around and took a breath to speak.
"Not now, obviously. I'm on my way to work. What time do you get off?"
"I'm off at 4," she told him.
"If you're free, maybe we can meet up? Go out for dinner?"
"I'm actually not free. I volunteer at the homeless outreach center at Holy Family a couple of times a month and I'll head over there directly after I get off here."
"Oh." He considered a moment. "How about tomorrow?"
"I'm off, so I'm free all day."
He sighed. "But I'm not. An old buddy of mine has a new grandbaby they're having christened tomorrow afternoon and I told him I'd be there."
"Breakfast?" she asked. "Or brunch?"
"That could work," he acknowledged. "I know several places that have really good breakfast menus. I'll pick you up."
She tilted her head and studied him for a moment.
"Is this really a conversation you want to have in a public venue?"
"Probably not," he agreed with a grimace.
"How about my place?" she offered. "I can fix breakfast and then we can sit down and talk. Of course, that's if you feel comfortable being there alone with me after what happened last time."
"I'm not worried," he assured her. "I think the situation is very different and I promise to be on my best behavior."
"Likewise," she said.
"What time is good for you?"
"Would 8 work for you? Or is that too early?"
"That's fine," he replied. "I'm an early riser."
"I guess I'll see you then."
"One question," he said, before she could leave. "Will you be making your famous french toast with the brown sugar cinnamon swirl bread?"
"You want that after all the problems it caused?" she asked with a laugh.
"Absolutely."
"French toast it is."
"Oh. And I need your number," he commented, pulling out his phone. "Just in case anything comes up."
He added her to his contacts, then went to type in her name.
"How do you spell it?"
"L U C Y. Short and simple. Just like me," she responded.
With a nod, he saved it and sent her his contact information.
They stood awkwardly looking at each other for a few moments, not sure how to end the encounter. Finally, he offered his hand. She responded in kind and mumbled a "see you then," before heading back to work.
XXXXXXXXXX
Back in the SUV, Frank breathed a sigh of relief. He had made contact and had a time set up to talk things over. Though she had said that she didn't want anything from him, he hoped that her good mood and her willingness to meet with him indicated that she might be open to letting him be a part of the child's life.
It was still early when they arrived at 1PP, so he was a bit surprised to see his dream team standing around Baker's desk in quiet conversation.
"Is there something going on here I should know about?" he asked.
They all looked at him, wide eyed.
"No, Boss."
"No, Sir."
"Nothing."
The look shared between them, though, spoke volumes.
He waited.
"Are you doing alright?" Moore asked him.
"I'm fine," he told them.
"It's just…ya' know. Yesterday," Syd started.
"You canceled your appointments for the afternoon. You weren't really paying attention during our afternoon briefing. You sent us all home and stayed holed up in your office pretty late," Garrett added.
"We were concerned," Baker clarified.
Frank nodded. "I appreciate that, but I'm fine. I had a personal matter come up that I allowed to distract me. I apologize. I promise that I will be more present today."
"Did it have something to do with the woman that was here?" his aide asked. "Lucy?"
"As I said, Abigail. Personal matter."
"Is there anything I can do?"
"You can drop it. Unless you want to answer questions about your personal life."
She shook her head, dropping her gaze to the day's schedule.
"No, that's quite alright, Sir."
"Baker has a personal life?" Syd teased.
"Of course I have a personal life," she told him. "I'm not tied to this place 24/7. I'm a single mom with two young boys. I stay busy shuttling them between soccer and hockey and scouts."
"What about a social life?" Moore teased.
"I just told you."
"A social life is when you go out and have fun."
"I have fun being with my kids," she told them. "I also have some girlfriends I go out with every couple of months. I'm trying to spend more time with my mother since my dad passed away. I'm involved in my church choir."
"Social life. Like for instance, is there some guy you need a background check on?" Syd asked her with a grin.
She gave him a stern look.
"First of all, it's none of your business. You guys were great when Brian died. I don't know what I would have done without the support you gave me and the boys after the accident. I know you care. I know you worry about us. But please, just…don't.'
"Copy that, Baker."
"And secondly, I'm perfectly capable of running any background checks needed all by myself."
They all nodded. "When and if the time comes when I'm ready to discuss any of this, I'll be sure to let you know. Outside of office hours."
"Does that mean there's somethin' to discuss?" Gormley asked her.
"Okay, people," Frank interrupted. "Enough talk of personal lives and social lives. We've got work to do."
XXXXXXXXXX
During a lull in the busy morning, Lucy sat down in the break room for a few minutes to catch her breath and have a snack, having quickly learned the importance of keeping something in her stomach.
Recalling that Frank had sent her his contact information, she pulled out her phone to save it.
Opening the message he had sent, she smiled.
Short? Definitely.
Simple? Doubtful. I've never known a woman who was.
Sohalia Patil, one of the staff nurses and a friend, sat down across from her, pulling out her own snack.
"Does that smile, by chance, have anything to do with the handsome, well dressed man who was in here looking for you this morning?" she asked, a sly smile on her face.
"Perhaps," Lucy replied, grinning back at her.
"Who is he and exactly what's going on?"
Now, the doctor sighed. "His name is Frank."
"Nice, solid name."
"And I'm not entirely sure what's going on."
Sohalia looked concerned. "What do you mean?"
"It's complicated."
"Men usually are. Good complicated or bad complicated?"
"At this point, I don't really know."
The other woman leaned on the table and studied her.
"Look, Doc. I know you're very independent. Very big on the whole 'I can take care of myself' life. But sometimes, you need to let your guard down a little and let people get close to you. Take a little bit of a risk. I have a feeling he just might be worth it."
"I hope so."
"When are you seeing him again?" Soon?"
"Tomorrow," Lucy admitted.
She looked at his message again. Smiling, she typed out a reply.
XXXXXXXXXX
A hectic morning had allowed Frank to make good progress in catching up on meetings missed the day before. He had asked Abigail to order lunch in and the team had spread out on the table in the situation room. While waiting for the others to finish up, he checked his messages, smiling to note several from Lucy.
Hopefully, a good sign.
I am pretty simple. Keep my coffee cup full, and I'm happy.
Another message had come through moments later.
And chocolate. Coffee and chocolate.
He nodded, moving on to the next message, not noticing Baker watching him and his reactions.
Okay. Coffee, chocolate, and plenty of reading material.
But that's all. See? Simple'
One more message.
And in the winter, add a nice, fluffy blanket.
Fresh out of the dryer.
What could be simpler?'
He glanced up, catching the attention of his primary aide just as she dropped her gaze back to a file folder on the table in front of her.
He figured he had a few more minutes before everyone was ready to start again.
'Coffee can be complicated. How do you take it?'
Before he could lay the phone down, he noticed the little bubble, indicating that she was typing a reply.
'Not the silly fancy stuff. Real coffee. Black and hot.
Maybe a dash of milk or cream. You?'
He typed his reply.
'Same. Cop life.
And chocolate. Milk or Dark?
Plain? Nuts? Fruit?
Filled? Caramel? Nougat?'
He watched, waiting for her answer.
'Any. No such thing as bad chocolate.'
Before he could reply, another text came in.
'Unless you ruin it with coconut.'
He snorted softly.
'Okay. I'll keep the coconut for myself.
What do you like to read?
News? Magazines? Books?
Fiction? Non-fiction?
He waited curiously for her reply. You could tell a lot about a person from their choice of reading material.
'A little bit of everything.
Medical journals. Got to keep up.
Cozy mysteries for escapism.
World history. Biographies.
You a reader?'
He smiled, pleased to see some overlapping interests.
I am. History. Biographies.
Westerns. Science fiction.
Also enjoy old movies and documentaries.'
'Old movies are the best!'
He supposed this was as good a way as any to get to know her.
'MVA incoming. Back to work.'
'Good luck.'
"Back to it, Boss?" Gormley commented, gathering his trash into a pile.
"Back to it," Frank agreed.
XXXXXXXXXX
The rest of the day went smoothly, primarily the day to day details of being responsible for the police department of the largest city in the United States. The lack of major crises was always a good sign.
Moore and Gormley seemed to have let go of the unexpected events of the previous day. Several times, though, he caught Baker watching him, a thoughtful look on her face.
Her curiosity was even more evident when he asked her for the crime statistics for the neighborhood Lucy lived as well as for the one around the Holy Family Homeless Outreach Center.
Nodding his thanks, he studied the numbers. Offering no explanation to the questions clear on her face.
Nothing wrong with wanting to check on the safety of the woman carrying his child, was there?
He was pleased to note that her neighborhood seemed to be a fairly low crime area.
A few minor vandalism incidents, the occasional residential break in.
Nothing violent.
The area around the Church was a bit more of a concern. Complaints of vagrancy, of course. Aggressive panhandling. EDP calls.
He did notice that the precinct commander seemed to have a good number of patrol officers in the area.
On his ride home, he checked the time, considered for a moment, then pulled out his phone.
She would probably be on her way to the center if not already there by now.
He pressed the button to make the call, then listened to it ring.
"Hello?" she answered.
"Hi. You at the center?"
"I am. Just pulled into the lot."
"What time do you usually leave?" he asked.
"I usually finish up and head out around 10," she told him.
"Is there someone there to walk you to your car?"
"Yeah. They usually have a couple of officers on site for security and either one of them or one of the priests will walk the volunteers to our cars at the end of our shifts."
"Good."
"Why do you ask?"
"Just concerned," he replied. "That's kind of a rough area."
"I suppose it is, a little bit. I'm always alert and careful."
There was a silence on the line and he could hear her gathering her things and opening the door.
"I need to get inside. I'll see you tomorrow," she told him.
"Actually, could you do me a favor?" he asked.
"I can try."
"Can you give me a call or a text when you get home?"
She paused.
"Why?"
He sighed. "Because it will be late and I'll be worried."
Her laughter came through the speaker. "I work in emergency medicine, Frank. Late hours are hardly unusual."
"I'm sure. But I didn't know you then. Now, I do. And I know about your hours. And I don't mean to be controlling or interfering or anything of the sort, but I know way too much about the bad things that can happen and I worry about people. I'll worry about you. It's just how I am."
He heard her take a shaky breath.
"It's been a long time since anyone's worried about me."
"I do, though."
She sighed. "Thank you. I'll try to remember."
"Please do. And thank you," he told her before ending the call.
When he got home, he found Henry in the kitchen working on dinner. He freshened his drink and poured his own before sitting down at the table.
"You were out early this morning, Francis."
"I told you I was going to see about getting in touch with Lucy."
"And did you?"
"I did. I wasn't sure how early she gets up, so I went by the hospital. I figured if she wasn't working, they might be willing to tell me when she would be."
The older man nodded. "Emergency room, you said, right?"
"Yup."
"What hospital?"
"She's at St Victors."
"Wonder if she knew Linda?"
"I haven't thought to ask."
"So, did you find her?"
"As it turned out, she was there and we were able to talk a little. Set up a time to get together and talk."
"And when are you doing that?"
"Tomorrow morning. We're having breakfast together at her place."
"Couldn't do it tonight?"
"No. Breakfast is generally in the morning."
Henry threw his son an irritated look.
"She's volunteering with the homeless tonight."
The duo worked together, getting the meal to the table. They said grace, then dug in.
The elder Reagan picked up the conversation.
"What impression did you get from her? Do you think she's going to be willing to let you be a part of the kid's life? Let us be?"
Frank considered. "I'm not sure. She's a little hard to read. But I didn't feel like she was upset about me finding her. She seemed happy to see me. And she was willing to sit down with me and talk."
They both continued eating.
"We exchanged some text messages, too. I learned a few things about her," Frank said. "So she's not trying to keep me at a distance or anything like that."
"Like what?"
"She drinks plain, black coffee. Likes chocolate. Doesn't like coconut. Likes to read. And she likes old movies."
He took another drink, then looked down at his plate.
"And she's not used to people being concerned for her well being."
"Well, she's going to have to get used to that if she's going to be involved in this family. We're all about each other's well being. Sometimes to the point of being annoying about it.
"Sometimes?"
""Maybe more than sometimes," Henry agreed with a grin.
Meal completed, they cleaned up, then moved into the living room for their nightly routine of drinks, conversation, crosswords, and news.
Finally, Frank's phone rang. Henry looked at his watch and frowned, breath catching. Late night calls were generally bad news.
His son smiled his reassurance as he answered.
"Hey, Lucy."
"Hi. It's not too late, is it?"
"Of course not. I asked you to let me know when you got home."
"Well, I'm home."
"Good. You're inside? Alarm set?"
She laughed. "Inside. Alarm set. All doors and windows locked up tight. Drapes closed."
"All good," he acknowledges. "Thanks for letting me know. Now I'll be able to sleep."
"I hope so."
"Me, too. And I hope you sleep well, too. It seems like you had a really long day."
"Most of them are, but I guess today was moreso than usual."
Henry noticed that neither seemed in a particular hurry to end the call.
"I guess I'll see you in the morning," she finally said.
"Eight am, right?"
"Eight am," she agreed.
"Do you need me to bring anything?" he asked.
"Just you and your appetite."
"That I can do."
"I'll see you then."
"I'm looking forward to it," he told her.
"Me, too," she admitted.
"Sweet dreams."
"You, too."
Both were smiling as they disconnected the call.
And both were wondering what the next day would bring.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you will let me know your thoughts and if you want chapter 4 that I'm already working on.
