Nolan's Journal Chapter 25
"Henry and Essie had a great visit. It started off slowly. When he asked her a question, she would just nod or shake her head and she kept her eyes on the floor. I guess that's the way little girls act around their brothers in her birth parents' church. That's probably how they act around males in general. At first, Essie was like that with me until we started reading together. So I suggested that Henry start reading with her, too. He brought a lovely children's book with him from Japan. It is in both Japanese and English with beautiful illustrations. Henry sat in a pillow pile with Essie and read the Japanese. Then he told her she should read the English. After a while, that got her going enough to talk to him about the book.
"After that, the whole family had hamburgers. Henry eats almost exclusively Japanese food while he's in Japan. It's probably a lot better for him and his heart than hamburgers, but he enjoyed having a large chunk of grilled meat to sink his teeth into. He uses a hibachi in Japan. Space is at such a premium that big barbecues like the one I built into the backyard are not common. Henry doesn't have anything like it where he lives. We had one at the house I built for our family in Foxburg. I think he misses it.
"We made as many family outings as we could while Henry was here. Scheduling them wasn't easy. I had family leave, but Bailey was back on shift. Stella also came over a few times to check in with me. Grey had her rotating through rides with several cops, including Wrigley. He was much the same with her as he was with Lucy, working as little as possible and going home for lunch. Up until then, Stella thought Smitty is the only lazy cop in the division. Smitty still takes the laziness crown, but if Grey didn't need cops so much, Wrigley would probably be gone.
"Anyway, Stella was afraid that she'd fall behind in her training while riding with Wrigley, so we went over a few things. She's nervous because her rookie midterm is coming up soon, and she doesn't want to be stuck with long sleeves or, worse, bounced. I know how she feels. I told her to stay away from trying to unmask dirty cops without telling Grey first, and she should be fine. At least she doesn't have to worry about Rosalind Dyer stirring the pot. That's one death no cops will mourn.
"Speaking of evil redheads, Monica Collins was indicted by state and federal grand juries. The federal trial takes precedence and will be scheduled first. It hasn't been docketed yet, but the idea that Monica will have to be transported back and forth from prison to the court makes everyone who's had anything to do with her nervous. She doesn't have Rosalind's skill set or insane acolytes, but she's still very good at executing escapes. She'll need the highest level of security. I hope the feds have enough personnel with the intense training to provide it. After the way she escaped the last time, anything is possible.
"Bailey says I still have a scar on my ass, but she thinks it's cute. Cute isn't enough to make me want another one if Monica escapes in LA. Bailey has also reissued her order for me not to get shot. I intend to do my best to obey it. I gave Bailey an order of my own: not to get burned up in a fire. I'm hoping that with our added responsibilities for Essie, she'll take extra care with her own derriere – which actually is exceptionally cute, with no scar necessary."
"Essie just started school. It's right in the neighborhood, so she doesn't have to be driven or get on a bus. Attending a local school also means she can play with and have friends from her class. Many of the local kids are in the afterschool enrichment program as well, so they can really get to know each other.
"We bought Essie a bunch of 'First Day at School' books. Bailey and I read them with her. So did Henry. Still, she was more excited by Sesame Street videos on the subject, especially one with Count Von Count. She noticed all the numbers in her birth parents' Bible but really didn't understand them, and her home-schooling lessons must not have touched much on math either, except the Noah's Ark two-by-two story. Now that she's been exposed to numbers, she can't wait to learn more about them.
"I had to use more than a little math for my contracting work, but it was mostly about measurement with some very basic geometry and algebra thrown in. I can't remember ever being excited about numbers the way Essie is. If she stays that way, we might be looking down the line at some STEM program for her. The LA area has a lot of them. But right now, she has to concentrate on first grade.
"Her mix of classmates is a lot like the mix of races and cultures of the cops at Mid-Wilshire. Some of the residents of our neighborhood bought houses out of foreclosure the way I did and rehabbed them. Actually, most of the neighbors didn't do that the way I did. They hired contractors instead of doing the work themselves. Some of their kids go to private school, but some of them go to the neighborhood public school. There are also families who have been in the neighborhood for a long time. Sometimes their parents or grandparents bought the houses they live in, back when the property was a lot cheaper. Their kids and sometimes grandkids are most of Essie's classmates. After getting used to Nyla and James and Angela and Wesley's kids, Essie's fine with the diversity. Sesame Street videos probably didn't hurt either, but so far, she doesn't have any fuzzy classmates.
"Stella and Lena both did fine on their midterm rookie exams, with Stella coming out a few points ahead. Lucy is still very pleased with herself for finding effective study techniques for Stella. Still, I think I might deserve some of the credit for teaching her. I am her TO. If she hadn't done well, the black mark would have been against me, not Lucy.
"Tim hasn't said much about the results. Actually, he hasn't said much about anything lately, at least not at the division. Rumor has it that he's seeing a new therapist, one not associated with the department. If he has anything to say about Lena, Lucy, or anything else, that may be to whom he's saying it.
Lucy is still trying to make more than friendly overtures to Tim every so often, but if she's having any luck, the news hasn't spread to the rest of the division yet. I'm not sure whether to wish her luck or not. Sometimes trying to recapture lost love can be a disaster. I learned that with Grace. Still, Tim doesn't have any children to tie him to his ex or anyone else, so it's a different situation than with Grace and me. Lucy and Tim also share a bond through Kojo, so that's something. But my breakup with Grace turned out to be a good thing. I found Bailey! Lucy may find someone else too. But as far as anyone can tell, she isn't looking.