Tamela Douglas took the bakery box from the clerk at the
Dandelion and pocketed her debit receipt.
“Hope it’s a fun party!” The girl said cheerfully.
Tamela nodded at her casually and gave her a bitter-sweet
smile “Yeah me too.”
The morning air still has its chill from last night’s rain.
Tamela quickened her pace as she walked down main towards work. She was in
uniform already with her police rain jacket over top and had a small sporty
black nylon purse slung across her torso. Her eyes darted a fleeting look at
the cemetery and then she blinked hard and carried on through the parking lot.
The police station was its usual morning bustle of activity. She slipped
through the chaos of a woman arguing a speeding ticket at the front desk with
Lieutenant Johnson. That left Constable Nault to answer the phones and he
seemed to be fumbling through another coon call and feebly trying to get
Angie’s attention while she held up a finger at him and stared down the ranting
complainant. She passed the back of Officer Reinhardht as he typed madly away
at the computer and headed for her own desk. Tamela tried not to look at the
collection of photos around her computer. This was not the time to wallow. She
had to make it at least until lunch. Often, she had taken this day off work but
with so much guilt it was almost easier to just push through it.
April 14th was Eryn’s day, her birthday to be
more specific. Eryn Callahan was her lifelong friend, first and only true love,
and at the end of her time on this earth, her fiancé. She was also Chief Nick
Callahan’s daughter. He never took the day off, even the first one without her
in 2012. So here they were again, coping and painfully aware of the void in
their lives.
Tamela dove into a scheduling project for one of her
community service programs like it was a life raft. Normally it was annoying
fussy work but she gave it all of her time and patience. The project took her until 11:45 and she
noticed the time on her computer monitor and stood up after closing the calendar
program. She discreetly took the bakery box and slid on her purse and walked
through the now more settled work space to the door leading to the holding
cells and Callahan’s office. There was one male occupant in the first cell
sleeping off a bender after a bar fight. The room smelled distinctly of vomit
so clearly he’d managed to purge some of the alcohol from his system in the
night. Tamela breathed through her mouth and knocked softly on the Chief’s
door.
“Come in.” he called out from the other side.
She pushed the door open and then quickly closed it after
her, taking a deep breath through her nose now.
Nick Callahan looked up and gave her a half smile “Yeah it
stinks out there. I’ll put Nault on clean up when we release that bugger
later.” His smile faded as he saw the bakery box and he swallowed hard “I went
this morning.”
Tamela nodded, not meeting his gaze as she felt her eyes
trying to water again. “I figured, but I got you one anyway.” She opened the
box and took out a red cupcake with white icing holding it out for Nick.
He took it with a sigh “Red velvet, her favourite.”
Tamela couldn’t help but chuckle a bit “I know. I hate them,
but for Eryn….” She trailed off as her voice got hoarse at the name.
Nick pushed his chair back and stood up as he set the
cupcake on his desk. He walked around the desk and hugged Tamela without words.
She hugged back with a small stifled sob and buried her face in his arm. They
stood there for several minutes and then finally broke apart, sniffing and
wiping at their faces.
The Chief straightened his badge and smoothed his shirt and
sat back down looking numbly at the picture on the wall behind where Tamela
still stood. She ran her pinky finger along each lower eyelid and inhaled
bracingly “Ok, I’m going to meet them.”
Nick glanced at her directly and gave a small nod “Jen’s
coming in tonight. She texted Tally and I yesterday.”
“Anna told me. I got her a cupcake too. See you after
lunch…Nick.”
Nick Callahan was her boss and she always observed the
protocol of calling him Chief or Sir at work, but right now she was addressing
him how she would outside the station because boss or not, he was still and
always would be family to her.
Tamela walked through Nick’s office to the side door and
made her exit without looking back at the station workspace.
Stephanie Yamada was already at Eryn’s grave kneeling in
front of it and digging to plant purple and yellow pansies. She patted the soil
as she packed it down and then stood up, brushing at the knees of her jeans, to
fetch her watering can and saw Tamela approaching with the bakery box. Upon
seeing each other the two women both burst into tears and started hugging. The
quiet sobs abated slowly and they pulled back, still loosely embraced. Tamela
spoke.
“Some people tell me it gets easier with time. It’s not
really happening yet.”
Stephanie rubbed her friend’s back “I think maybe it gets
different, but it doesn’t actually get easier.”
“Yeah.” Tamela said in an exhale, letting go.
The squeak of bike brakes revealed Anna’s arrival. She had seen her two friends hugging and
talking as she rode up and set her bike against the brick wall of the cemetery
and walked over to hug them each in turn, hanging onto Tamela just a bit longer
at the end. Her own tears were silent and she pushed her hair behind her ear
and stood between the two women “The flowers look nice Steph.”
“Thanks. Did you bring matches?” Three votive candle holders
stood in a row on the edge of the headstone.
Anna nodded and pulled her woven purse towards her hip from
the back of her body where she had shifted it to ride.
Tamela leaned down and turned the candle holders over,
dumping out water from the rain the last few nights and any debris that has
blown in since their last visit. There were some sad looking soggy tea lights
that fell out “I think these are toast now.”
Anna knelt beside her producing three fresh ones and the
matches “That’s OK I have some more.” As Tamela blew on each holder and set it
down, Anna straightened a wick on each candle and dropped it in after. Then she
offered the matches to Tams “You first.” Steph squatted on the other side of
Anna patiently.
“Hang on.” Tamela said and opened the cupcake box. She added
a red velvet cupcake to the little shrine and put a birthday candle in it “May
as well do it all…” She took the matches and lit her candle and then the
birthday one with a big sniff and then passed the matches back to Anna.
Anna watched Tams and then lit her own with a shaky hand
before passing them to Steph.
Steph shuddered and then struggled with get her match
started over and over before choking out “Fuck…”
Tamela couldn’t help but chuckle a bit and then held out her
hand to offer assistance. She got the next match lit and then passed it burning
to Steph.
“Thanks.” Steph forced out quietly as she lit her candle.
They didn’t sing Happy Birthday. They used to try but it
always made it feel so much worse so they had stopped years ago. The three
women stood up in sad silence for a few minutes until Anna finally said “Ok
dammit give me a cupcake.”
The two other women giggled through tears and then Tamela
handed them out. As the other two seemed to be enjoying theirs, she took her
first bite and made a face.
Her friends watched her with sardonic amusement as she struggled
through it. Steph commented “Now that’s love.”
Tamela wiped at her face and laughed “I know right.”
They left the
birthday candle and the others burning and started to pack up. It was a short
heart wrenching yearly ritual now.
Stephanie watered the pansies and then shook out the
watering can over another grave beside Eryn’s and tossed her muddy trowel into
the watering can. She turned her gaze on
Anna and asked sternly “Are you GOING today?”
Anna shifted her weight between her feet and fidgeted with
her purse strap, not answering right away.
Tamela looked between the two and then seemingly joined Team
Stephanie “Anna you said you were going on Monday.”
With a sigh Anna conceded “I’ll go as a walk in later.”
Steph shook her head “Nope, the clinic is already open. I’ll
walk you over on my way back to the restaurant. That way I know you do it.”
“Fer chrisakes…” Anna muttered under her breath.
Tams stepped in towards Anna “Do you know how sick Ryan and
Reinhardht have been after getting the shots they give you AFTER a bite?
Reinhardt even puked on Nault. Get the little one. It’s only a few days of
shitty. Trust me.”
Stephanie and Anna laughed and then Steph looked serious,
agreeing with Tams “Ryan was a wreck. His new woman had to take care of his
sorry ass for days. Prevention is key.”
The two other women now looked wide eyed at Steph and she
winced at her accidental over share.
“Oh…I’m not supposed to talk about that until AFTER we’ve
all met her…..sorry classified.”
Tamela grinned “I could have Angie get it out of him. Her
interrogations are epic……but I’ll leave it alone…for now. “ She looked
genuinely at her two friends “Thanks ladies, again. I’m going to stay for a few
minutes longer.”
Anna and Steph nodded in understanding and then both stepped
in to hug Tamela at the same time, initiating a closing group hug before the
three said their goodbyes. Anna walked her bike beside Steph as they headed off
towards the clinic. The trowel in the watering can rattled around as Steph’s
arm swung a bit with her steps.
Tamela walked over to Eryn’s grave once more and knelt down
again. She slid her hand over the cold marble as if reaching out for the lost
connection and said quietly “Happy Birthday my love. I miss you.”
Michael Reinhardt spent his morning typing nonstop. He had, over the last decade, improved his
typing skill and speed what seemed like a thousand percent. No more hunting and pecking. He could even look at the screen and not at
the keyboard. In Vancouver, his boss had
threatened to make him the shop secretary.
The last time he took a typing test, he’d scored sixty-nine words per
minute. Much teasing ensued. Now, he figured he might be up to
eighty. Part of him hoped no one would
notice, as he was looking forward to getting put back on the beat. He wasn’t enjoying desk duty.
Around eleven thirty, he decided it was time for lunch. He called Sakura and ordered one of their
soups. Something light, as the third
rabies shot had been as bad as the last two.
He was looking forward to Saturday … two weeks after the raccoon bite
and the scheduled date of he and Ryan’s final shot of the series. With luck they would be back on the street by
next Wednesday.
His miso soup arrived at ten to noon. Michael paid the delivery man and slipped out
of the side door of the cop shop, turning right and going along the walk behind
the station towards the beach. Looking
neither left nor right, he moved casually and with purpose. The weather was definitely warming. He heard some voices at the cemetery and his
eyes flicked to Tamara Douglas with Anna Wright, who he had met Sunday in an
ALMOST failed attempt to eat a solid meal.
At last he hadn’t lost it, but it had been close. They were with another woman and seemed to be
having some kind of party, complete with cupcakes, on someone’s grave. It was one of the ones the mayor had shown
him. Tamela’s lover and fiancée; Chief Callahan’s daughter, Eryn.
Naturally, he did not stop.
Michael didn’t even slow his casual pace. He moved to the other end of the bone yard
and, stopping under the drooping leaves of a weeping willow, he slid his soup
bag between the wrought iron bars and hopped halfway up the brick wall where he
could vault easier over the wrought iron grating. He landed softly on the grass under the tree
beyond, took his soup and settled himself between the raised concrete coffin
grave directly beside it. Then he opened
up the soup and ate … or rather drank … his mostly liquid lunch.
Tamela finally stood up, wrapping her arms around herself
protectively as she took a last look at the grave and let out a slow sigh. She
was about to turn and walk back out the way she came in when she noticed
movement in the far corner of the cemetery and squinted, trying to see what was
happening. There was a willow tree with low hanging branches that was a bit
challenging to see through or around. Curiously she stepped towards the middle
path, after picking up the bakery box, and began to walk that way. As she was
almost in range to see what or who was in the corner, a car alarm went off in
the street beside her and made her turn her head in the other direction with a
start. She could hear Coco, the Mayor's dog, barking at the alarm from inside
the house and chuckled a bit.
Michael finished his miso and was sitting back, enjoying the
feeling that it was not going to defy gravity. In his mind, he elevated the
chef or chef's at Sakura to the level of minor deities, even though before that
damn raccoon, he had not been a huge fan of Japanese cuisine. He put the empty
soup container back in its bag and was about to stand anyway when a car alarm
began blaring. Quickly standing, he looked in the direction, almost immediately
understanding it was probably an over-sensitive car alarm. Then he heard the
mayor's dog begin to back. He stepped through the hanging branches and around
the grave to get a better look. Just in case. Then he spotted Tams. Officer
Douglas.
Tamela shook her head and then turned back to where she had
originally followed her curiosity and then blinked as she noticed Officer
Reinhardht. He clearly wasn't what or who she was expecting.
"Reinhardht?" she called out to him, narrowing her eyes a little as
the sun hit her.
Michael noted Douglas and raised his empty hand in greeting,
changing his route and walking towards her a bit. "Afternoon,
Douglas." he intoned. Half hoping not to be questioned about his favorite
picnic spot, he nodded towards the street and the noise. "Ah, the sounds
of home." he quipped.
"Watch your step around that little dog." she
jokes "You just out for a....walk?" She's asking in a tone that
reflects a trying to pry while seeming like she's not. Her own eyes are still
very red.
Michael grins. "I haven't had the pleasure of meeting
it yet, but I met its owner." he glances back at the tree. "I was ..
picnicking." he confesses, unsure if she knew whose grave he was beside.
"Under the willow tree. Quiet. Almost meditative." he looks at her.
"You were visiting Eryn's grave." his voice makes it a statement.
"I know it’s late but .. my condolences."
Tamela inhales and nods "Thanks. It's her birthday
today, or would have been. She was always the last of us to turn our
age....skipped grade 2 and joined us in our year." She changes the subject,
grasping onto the other offered conversation "So you met my Great Aunt?
She's quite spry for 82, still loves being the mayor, keeps us all in
line." she says smiling. She glances over towards the tree casually with a
nod "Bit of shade is nice in here." If she suspects anything more
she's not showing it.
Michael glanced in the direction of the grave. "It's
STILL her birthday and always will be." he speaks softly, as if speaking
from experience on that thought process. Then he smiles, taking up the new
conversation gladly. "I almost ran her down on the sidewalk last week. But
instead of firing me, she bought me tea to settle my stomach, then gave me a
walking tour which ended here." he motions around the cemetery. He looks
back at the grave; at the tree. "Yea. That's my spot. Might change it up when
the snow starts flying again."
Tamela gave Michael a grateful little smile and then
snickered a bit as he talked about Aunt Shirley "Sounds about right. The
snow never stays this close to the ocean." She gestures up towards the
lighthouse and the forest "They might get a few days of it on the ground
up there. Kinda like Vancouver really. Are you heading back to work? I'll walk
with you."
Michael notes the smile but doesn't acknowledge it.
"Well, then I guess I've found a perfect lunch spot." he smiled and
nods. "Thanks. I've been typing like a fiend lately. With luck .. another
week of it and I can get back on the street." he sighs. "I read the
side effects but ... I don't feel like I am going to have a seizure or
anything. And .. at least I threw up on that knob Nault and not any of the
beloved citizenry, right?" he understands why hes been put behind the
desk. He just doesn't like it. Too much energy.
Tamela nods "It's rough sitting still. That's why I do
the outreach. I hate the desk. We all do, except maybe Angie. It feeds her
inner control freak. Of course with community service planning comes
scheduling...ugh. Nault gets to clean up even more puke today. Let's hope it's
happened already or we'll have to listen to his whining." She points her
body towards the station making to start walking but looks to see if Michael is
ready to do the same before she steps.
Michael nods and turns in the direction of the station to
walk with her. "I've done community service. Some self defence .. not
karate or anything exotic. More basic, poor man’s street self defence sort of
stuff. But I didn’t do the scheduling." he shakes his head. "Nault is
a little old to be acting like such a kid. What's his problem anyway. I know he
doesn't like me .. even BEFORE I puked on him." they pass a garbage can
and he tosses his lunch bag.
Tamela shrugs "Natural born moron. I don't even try to
understand that guy any more. maybe I should puke on him next." she jokes
as they pass Spokes and cross the walkway to the little Japanese garden beside
it, heading for the cop shop door.
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