For the little story, one of my friend used to own a bar and to keep himself from drinking too much he started going to University to keep himself busy. Now he has a post doctorate in History!
Day 5: "You're the smartest person I know."
Rusty was listening with one ear his mother and Andy talk. They were debating going to the movies or to the theater the next weekend, when the Lieutenant spoke about that Classical music concert in a chapel by candlelight. His mother grinned and exclaimed "Andy, you're the smartest person I know."
From anyone else, he would have thought that statement ironic, even sarcastic but not from his mother. She always looked at Andy with heart shaped eyes nowadays. And even though it pained him to say so, he must admit she had a point.
Andy was the biggest goofball on the face of Earth. God, he'll always remember the lieutenant coming into his bedroom, his dick half outside his underwear, in the middle of the night as he wanted to use the restroom and got confused during his first (and secretive) night at the condo. Or that time he smashed his head into the bay window because they were "too clean". Or when he took Sharon's phone by mistake and answered a call from the Pope on the can… but his heart was always in the right place.
And except being quite unlucky, Andy is actually really smart. Rusty thought him to be quite dumb when he first got to know him, maybe because of his goofy attitude or because other policemen said bad things about him, he's not sure. But as he got to know him, first at PAB's, he discovered how perceptive he was. Then, one day, over burger with the 2 oldest Lieutenant, he learnt that he has a masters in criminology, that he teaches at university. Sharon told him that he also has a bachelor in finances. He asked Andy once about it and was quite surprised by his answer. When he stopped drinking, he needed to stay busy so he wouldn't fall back. That's how he started taking evening classes. One thing leading to another he found himself with several undergrad diplomas and a master degree.
But in Rusty eyes what made him truly the smartest person, like his mother said, was his thirst for knowledge. Sharon was fond of Art: painting, photography, dance, music… you name it. He could tell it wasn't really Andy's cup of tea, at first, but he never turned her down, on the contrary. Rusty saw the lieutenant read about Van Gogh when he went to see an exhibition with his mother, or about Verdi before they went to see Aïda. Andy's real strength was that, like Sharon, he never took anything for granted and had a real genuine curiosity.
So yeah, Rusty would never say it out loud, never confess it to anyone but he agreed with his mother: Andy was one of the smartest person he knew, just after his mother.
