I want to say that I'm sorry again for taking a month to update. Big thanks to everyone who continues to read and wait patiently for the next update. Thanks to YaleAceBella12, Tot2006, Sandy198802, the guest Shadow, the guest Confused, roganjalex, decadenceofmysoul, seleneplaysgames, Daisyangel, the guest snowflake18540, nix. mixx. 94, and LucifersAlleyCat for all your reviews. I do hope you all, and everyone else, enjoys this chapter.
A few days after talking to Mike about her father and the fight they had, Anna knew it was time to sit down with her academic advisor. First though, she had a decision to make. To help her make that decision, she sat down across from Mike at the diner. "Do you like being a cop?" she asked, almost immediately after sitting down.
"I love being a cop. Yes, sometimes it's a thankless, tiring job but I wouldn't want to do anything else. Why do you ask?"
"How did you become a cop?" Anna avoided his question.
"Quite by accident actually. My best friend handed me a stack of applications the summer after my senior year of high school to get over the girl who broke my heart. He told me to fill them out or he would. I got a couple of call backs for interviews but then I got a call from MPD. They told me to come down and the recruiter took me on a ride-along. Next thing I know, I'm signing up for the academy and I never looked back."
"How's that an accident?"
"My buddy never expected me to take it seriously. He thought I'd see the application, throw it out, and move on but I took to it."
"And if I told you I wanted to be a cop?"
Mike put down the fork he was picking at his mashed potatoes with and stared at her for several moments. "It's serious dedication, Anna. I think you can do it but you have to be serious about it. You can't just do it because of your family. Miami PD has a website. Go there and it will tell you how to become a cop."
"Can't you tell me more?" Anna asked sadly.
"Back when I became a cop, back before you were born, everything was on paper. It was before the digital age. I barely remember what I went through, let alone how they do it now. I'm also not in recruiting. While I can't tell you the exact steps, I can tell you it starts with the website. I can talk to one of the guys in recruiting and find out exactly though. The one thing I won't do is pull strings."
"Wouldn't expect you to. My family won't do it so I was brought up learning to stand on my own two feet and learning I had to do things on my own. Something my father still doesn't get."
"Have you considered apologizing to him for not taking his thoughts into consideration?"
"Why do I always have to be the one who breaks? He started the fight and he's the parent; it's time for him to end it," Anna snapped. Mike froze for a second at the hard look on her face. It was shocking compared to the kind smiles he usually saw on her face. "I don't want to talk about that anymore though. Thanks for the advice. I need to get back to work."
For a second, he wondered if he has pushed her too far but then shook it off. "Of course."
Anna sat down with her advisor a few days later and told her about her plans for the following year. While she was still excited about college and the business classes were interesting, she couldn't stop thinking about being a cop. She spoke about this with her advisor who told her it would be complicated to pull off but if she was dedicated, they could work together to come up with a plan, and get her a minor in criminal justice if she worked hard. Of course, it would require her to take classes over the summer and then do the next year over the internet as the police academy would require in person training eight hours of the day. So, they worked on it for a bit and came up with a plan.
A couple weeks later, Anna sat down at the dinner across from Officer Johansen with her application. "So, you're really going for this?" he asked as he sipped his coffee.
"Yes. I've tried to do other things, business and accounting, working at the diner, but it feels like it's a calling I can't avoid anymore."
"And you're not just doing this because of your family tradition?"
"I think it's impossible for me to say that it doesn't have an influence on me because it does, but it's not a major factor in my decision."
"And your family? Have you talked this over with them?"
Anna scoffed. "If you didn't want me to do this, you could have just said."
"From what I've come to know about you, it doesn't matter what I say. You'll think about what I said, and how difficult it might be, but you'll do it your way."
"No, I haven't told my family about this. My dad's siblings, my aunt and uncle, they could go either way, support or questioning me." Anna shook her head. "My grandfather and great-grandfather, would ask a lot of the same questions you have. My dad, if we were talking, would tell me that he doesn't want me to do it. Guilt trip me because of my mom, and how she doesn't want her babies following in their dad's footsteps. I saw that look when my cousin Nicky said she wanted to be a cop and then again when my uncle thought I was the one that said I wanted to be a cop. She was freaked out. If I told her, she'd tell me no way and demand I continue to get my business degree then go on to intern or get a job at some business here in Miami or worse yet, back in New York. My brothers would think it's cool though. Me being a cop. My cousin Nicky, she might hate it but she'd understand why I needed to do it. The only one of my family that would truly understand and give me a chance to get myself sorted would be my uncle Joe, he was always like that. No matter what I wanted to say, no matter how tired he was, he always made time for me. He always heard me out and I don't feel like any does that for me anymore. My uncle Jamie tries but it just doesn't feel the same."
"Because he isn't as compassionate?" Mike asked.
"No. I mean, he's compassionate and he's definitely a thinker like my uncle Joe was but Uncle Jamie is also the youngest and it's a little hard for him to stand up to my dad or find a delicate way to put things that won't piss me off."
"Sounds like you have issues with your temper," Mike said. Anna's face dropped into a scowl and Mike backed off. "Yep. Sometimes having a temper is a good thing. No judgement here. I understand hearing that call. When I graduated the academy, I felt it deep inside. The ability to do good every day out there on those streets. To keep people safe and be that front line. It's why I never got promoted to sergeant or detective. I like being there. I just want to make sure you're serious about this. It's not going to be easy. It requires serious dedication."
"I can do it. I've looked it over, heard from cops all my life, and I know I can do this," Anna said.
"Ok. I'll help you." Mike said after a moment. He nodded. They went over the application and once it was completed, Anna submitted it.
Nicky came down the first weekend of Anna's spring break and they spent most of their time on the beach. They did talk about Nicky's plans for the following year which included going to Columbia for college.
"Are you sure about this?" Anna asked, flipping onto her side and propping her head up on her hand to look at her cousin. "I mean you made a big deal about going somewhere big and new. Columbia isn't very new and it's still New York."
"I understand that but it's a cost thing. I don't want to end up with massive loans. Plus, my friend has a family apartment just off campus so that cuts down on the cost and it helps Mom out. Besides it's not about the name of the school or the reputation but the quality of the education. Columbia will give me a great education."
"Okay, if you're certain about this. You sound like you are. That earns my support," Anna said.
"Thanks," Nicky said. "Anything new with you?"
Anna thought about the question for a few moments. She loved Nicky like a sister and really wanted to share everything with her but she wasn't sure where her cousin would stand on the issue and didn't want to put her in an awkward position despite what she said to Mike about Nicky. So, she just shrugged. "Same old, same old," Anna said.
"You'll let me know if that changes?" Nicky asked.
"Of course."
"Boys?"
"Been on a few dates but nothing seems to stick."
"Missing someone in New York?"
"Don't do that. Don't jump on that train." Anna rolled back onto her back and stared up at the blue sky.
"If I ask you a question, will you be honest?"
"I always try to be honest with you, unless I'm trying to protect you."
Nicky swallowed but plowed on. "If Jim died tomorrow, would you regret anything in your relationship with him?"
Anna swallowed hard. "Nick, I ..."
"It's just a question. However, you being this upset by that question tells me you'd regret something. Perhaps you should figure out what that regret is and do something about it."
"When did you become a relationship expert?"
"I don't claim to be. I just know that you have a chance to make things better. Don't miss your chance."
"Confronting strangers," Anna scoffed, "Easiest thing in the world. Even when its an acquaintance that's not so hard, but when it's family or someone I care about, I just can't do it."
"That why Uncle Danny is still mad at you?"
"Probably. Look, I'll think about it."
"Good. You'll never know how he feels until you have an honest talk with him."
"I hope you mean Jim because it's up to my dad to deal with his issues."
They passed some time in silence until Nicky brought up another question that was bothering her. "Did you ever have breakfast with Grampa before you came down here?"
"Once, in my senior year. Just before Christmas on a Saturday."
"What did you talk about?"
"What I was going to school for, what I wanted to get out of it, why it had to be so far away," Anna shrugged, "things like that. Why?"
"But never after you figured out which school you wanted to go to?"
"No. I found out which schools I was accepted to just after spring break. By that time ... by then I ..." Anna stopped and stared at the water.
"The altercation at school. Oh," Nicky said softly.
"After that, for the next couple weeks everyone, your parents, my parents, Grampa, Pops, they all told me to stay out of the public eye and thought me being seen with the police commissioner before the investigation was complete would look like the wagons were circling and it wouldn't look like an impartial investigation. I understood. It could have killed the case and that's the last thing I wanted for the girls actually hurt by him."
"But after that?"
"After that I was too busy with graduation and work and other stuff so there wasn't really time." Anna sat up and turned to face Nicky fully. "Did something ...? Did he ask you to do something you're uncomfortable with? I know he's Grampa and he's only trying to help you but sometimes he does go a little overboard."
"No. It went a lot like you suggested it would, we talked about college and a few other things but there was this guy. He was going around talking to some of the patrons, collecting for something called The Local Hero's Fund."
"That totally sounds legit," Anna said sarcastically.
"Turns out it is. Well mostly. She didn't have her paperwork in, but she said she was going to and Grandpa gave her the benefit of the doubt."
"What exactly were they collecting or using the donations for?"
"Victims and families of 9/11."
"9/11? Nicky, that was 2001. 13 years ago. We were 5."
"That doesn't mean families aren't still suffering."
"Nick, I'm not saying they're not but how long does that get to be a thing? How long do charities get to use that as a cause?" Anna asked. "Do you want to donate to families victimized by the Berlin Wall? Desert Storm? Viet Nam? Korea? World War II? Pearl Harbor? Yes, it's a tragedy and it still hurts all these years later but, maybe an unpopular opinion, pull yourself together and move on. You can't let that one event or incident define you as a person."
"No one is saying they should let it define them but don't you think we should give everyone the benefit of the doubt that they really could use this support?"
"Maybe. Why do you think it is that charities don't still use the hurricane as a reason to collect money? That was more recent."
"You are such a pessimist."
"No, Nicky, I'm a realist. Half the glass has liquid in it. Try to see the best in everybody but expect the worst. You'll never be surprised or disappointed."
"That is still so cynical."
"No, Nicky, it's not. Trust but verify. Trust that she's telling the truth but run her through the system to make sure. Being optimistic is a good thing especially when that optimism comes from a good place but being purely optimistic without realizing that we don't live in a perfect world is naïve."
"Whatever you say, Anna."
Anna sighed but dropped the subject.
The first thing Sunday morning, Anna took Nicky to the airport. "You know you can always come with me," Nicky said as Anna approached the drop-off point.
"Wish I could, but I have to work and last-minute flights are expensive."
"Ok, I get it." The girls hugged then Nicky got her stuff and went into the airport.
Anna spent the rest of the week working and searching for an apartment she could move into in the last week of April or the beginning of May. She visited three apartment buildings with a list of questions for each. The first one refused to show her the exact apartment she was renting but wouldn't say why other than they were all the same. The second one told her that she could move in during the time period she wanted but it had no on-site laundry service and the A/C and internet would be extra though average was about $50 a month. The third was a strong contender as the landlord was a great man who was open and honest with her. The only problem with it was the distance between it, her job, and the university. It was much further south than she wanted.
As she was trying to decide, she continued to work and hope that a place much closer would open up and make her decision easier. One day not much later, after a very busy day in the diner she was given pause when she found one of the diners had left her a $10 tip but not just that. Tucked just inside the receipt book was a single yellow rose. Anna stared at it until her fellow waitress gently touched her shoulder.
"Are you alright?" Brooke asked.
"I—" Anna swallowed. "I don't know. I guess. The guy that was sitting here, I don't know his name, he always pays in cash, he left this for me." She held up the flower.
"Older guy?"
"No, he's my age and it's sweet. I think I've seen him around campus from time to time." Anna smiled softly. Normally, she was suspicious of everyone around her and would think that someone making romantic gestures was being cheesy and just trying to get in her pants but something about this just felt sweet.
"Be careful. When guys flirt with waitresses there could always be an ulterior motive. Last time someone was hard core hitting on me he only wanted free food and you know ..." Brooke told her. Though she left the sentence trailing Anna knew exactly what the man had wanted. Brooke was middle age and had been working at the diner for a while but she really knew the score. Anna nodded.
"I'll be careful, I promise," Anna agreed.
Brooke watched her but didn't say any more about it.
Two days later, this time it was a note on the receipt she left. 'Your kind smile really helped me through my crappy day. Thanks for making it end on a good note.' Anna smiled and tucked the receipt into her back pocket since the guy always paid in cash.
The next day a new apartment opened up just east of the diner and not only was it willing to work with her schedule of move-in dates, all the utilities and internet were included. What made it the best place she had ever considered was that they were more like townhouses than actual apartments. Several buildings spread out across the lot each one containing five apartments, all one story, and each its own contained unit. She'd have neighbors on each side but she met both of them and they seemed like good people. So, she put in that application as well and waited to hear on both the apartment and for the Miami PD academy. Though Mike had told her it could take well over a year to hear anything back from the academy or about her application and that was before the six-month training the academy would require even started, she had a really good feeling about this. Still though, she focused on her current classes, registering for summer classes online, and making sure she was ready for the entire process to become a cop.
When Linda called that Sunday in late March, Anna made one of the toughest decisions she ever had to and that was not telling her about the academy application. She didn't want to have her suspicions confirmed about what she had told Mike. That her mom would freak out and demand she rescind the application and take a safer job. There was also the chance that if she told her mom and her mom did demand that and Anna argued and refused that Linda would get Danny involved and it would ruin the rest of the week.
So instead, she told her mom about the new apartment she was hoping to get into, and that reluctantly she wouldn't be coming home for the summer because of her job and the classes she'd be taking over the summer. Linda was disappointed she wouldn't get to spend the summer with her only daughter but she understood Anna's drive to do things on her own.