"Come on, the worst part is over. I said yes."
While Pete had planned the proposal to the last detail, he had apparently forgotten his part in this shopping trip. Sally did her best to not laugh at the look on Pete's face when the jeweler set a tray of men's rings in front of him. Yes, he fully intended to wear a wedding band after the marriage but he hadn't prepared himself to actually buy one. Despite being totally committed to marrying Sally, there was still a small remnant of being a confirmed bachelor hiding in his brain. It was that voice he heard in his head saying, "what the heck are you doing?" He hesitated.
Sally stepped closer to her fiancé, touching his face, "Pete? Are you okay?"
"Yes, it's just that for most of my life, I was sure I was never going to be buying a wedding band. It's kind of strange, but I needed a second to wipe that conviction from my mind." Pete leaned over to give Sally a kiss before taking that step. "Let me see that tray." Over the next 30 minutes, Pete, with Sally helping, picked out a simple gold band with a raised edge, leaving the bands to be engraved.
Over lunch, Sally kept twirling her ring around her finger, getting used to the feeling and weight on her ring finger. Pete chuckled as she told the hostess, waitress and neighboring couples that they just got engaged. She was so excited but what struck her most during lunch was the love she saw in Pete's eyes.
They were taking a walk in the park when Sally blurted out "Jean's not going to believe it when I show it to her tonight."
"What?"
Q~Q~Q
Jim had set Larry down to write the arrest report. He would write his own too, but Larry's report would tell how the young officer did or didn't keep his objectivity about the suspects. Reed went to the coffee room to get them both a cup, but when he returned Larry was gone. He checked the locker room, but his wayward rookie wasn't there, at the front desk or in Mac's office. Reed and Mac were discussing where to look next, when Jerry Miller knocked on the door. On Mac's signal, the usually congenial detective opened the door and pointed at Reed. "You. Now. Follow me." MacDonald arched a brow at the detective's brusqueness and shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know what it was about but he knew that Miller wasn't summoning him. Reed had a sinking suspicion that Kasak was probably involved in whatever the trouble was. "Remember, ultimately, you are responsible for whatever your rookie does." Pete had stressed that during the time he was giving Jim instructions on how to be a training officer; time to learn what he meant.
Miller led Jim into the detective squad room, pointed to an officer at attention in the corner and asked Reed "Does that belong to you?"
"Yes sir." Jim's voice was icy; a current of anger flowing through him. At this point, Reed was more concerned about the possible consequences coming to him for Larry's conduct.
"What is it doing in here bothering me? Didn't you explain to him the chain of command?" With both men glaring at him, Kasak dropped his gaze to the floor, unable to face either one of them.
"If I have to guess what he's doing, I'd say that he disobeyed a direct order to write up an arrest report and snuck in here to lobby for an old woman's release." Jim was spitting nails, yelling at Larry to face them. "Apologize to the sergeant for your stupidity and the gall to interrupt his work".
"I am sorry for bothering you sergeant, but…" Whatever Larry meant to say was cut off as his training officer stepped towards him. "If you try and finish that sentence, I'll personally tan your hide. You have ten seconds to get back to writing your report. Out!"
"Sergeant Miller, I am sorry that you were disturbed. If you would please write up a report on his behavior, I'll take care of it." Reed shook his head saying "sometimes, I see the good cop he can become, but other times, I don't know where his head is."
After checking to see that Larry was by the report desk and working on his version of the report, Jim went to fill Mac in on what was going on. It was decided that Mac would gather all the documents and present them to the lieutenant. Any decisions will come later.
3…
