13. Jamison
“Hey man, how are you?” I asked my mate, the man appointed to be the new paramedic in Blessings.
“Jami, good mate how are things with you?” he asked taking my offered hand and giving it a firm shake.
I just finished my last shift as an official member of the Missing Persons Unit. In three days, I would be officially the new cop stationed at Blessings. It still blew my mind how my career path turned a full one eighty since meeting my Gisele. Once upon a time work was my highest priority, now it was a beautiful blonde full of sass and spunk and her angel of a daughter.
“You done with city life now?” Gibbo asked, seeing the box in my arms full of the bits and pieces from my office.
“Yep,” I nodded, feeling relieved that I will be stationed in one place, always within seeing distance of my woman and daughter. The last few weeks had been murder getting up an hour earlier than normal to travel back to the city for work. I was grateful that my boss expedited my transfer but even he couldn’t hurry up the red tape that came with moving jobs. The renovations to the new police station offices were nearly done, thanks to Jock and his mates, so all that was left was the painting and getting the furniture from storage in the town hall.
Georgina appointed herself head of the decorating committee, which scared me to death if I was being honest. The woman didn’t know the meaning of understated nor have any concept of subtly. I shuddered to think what she and her daughters were doing to my office right now.
Reaching my car, I nodded at Gibbo, “open the door for me mate??” I asked while awkwardly fumbling with my keys to unlock it.
“So, Blessings is really that nice that a city born guy like yourself is willing to throw in a prime role in the MPU to be a country cop?” Gibbo said, opening the back door so I could put the box on the backseat.
“It really is,” I told him, standing up to give him a pointed stare. “You haven’t changed your mind, have you?” I asked him immediately, hating to do all the work to get the town a medic only to have him get cold feet at the last minute. He was due to start in Blessings in three weeks’ time, and the town was very excited to finally have close by medical aid. The visiting doctor only came once a month so having Gibbo there meant many of the residents were relieved. My woman and her family included.
“Don’t panic Jury, I’m still in,” Gibbo said laughing at me. “I have a place to rent already, owned by a Jock Blessing. I spoke to him on the phone yesterday,” Gibbo said shaking his head, “he is quite the character isn’t he.”
“Mate you have no idea,” I chuckled thinking of my future father-in-law. “He is going to be my father-in-law very soon. All I have to do is ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage.” I told him with a rueful grin.
“Really?” Gibbo asked somewhat surprised. “that’s a tradition I thought was long gone.”
“You don’t know the Blessing family, dude. Trust me you haven’t seen tradition until you meet them.” I laughed heartily as I closed the car door. “So, you and your brother all set for small town living?”
Gibbo was the guardian of his little brother, their parents died in a car accident a few years ago. The story was a sad one, the father had a heart attack while driving home from a wedding, their car collided with a semi-trailer killing his wife instantly, but he died as a result of the heart attack. Gibbo had been in his late twenties when that happened and his brother only seven. Hudson had been a late in life surprise baby for his parents the age difference between the brothers a fair distance.
Little Hudson was now ten years old and thriving under his older brother’s care. I admired the way Gibbo jumped in a took the role of parent instead of letting relatives take over the care and upbringing of his brother.
Nodding, Gibbo smiled. “Actually, we are,” he admitted, “Huddy has been having trouble with bullies and the fact that there are so many students in his class he isn’t getting the one-on-one teacher time he needs.”
“The school still insisting he needs to go to a special needs school?”
“Fucking special needs, I hate that they put a label on it,” Gibbo replied with a deep scowl. “He’s deaf, that’s it. He knows how to read lips and his teacher is well versed in sign language. Yes, he is hearing impaired, but he is a bloody smart kid, top five in his year level.”
I understood Gibbo’s frustration all too well. “Mate I get it I do. Gisele’s daughter was non-verbal for the first eight years of her life. She could hear but not talk, it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that she made her first sound. Hudson will be fine at the school in Blessings, Miracle knows sign language and so do her family and the teachers at her school. I think he and Miracle will make friends pretty quick.”
“That’s a big reason I said yes to this new job,” Gibbo said, “Huddy is two grades below where he would be for his age so knowing he has a way to communicate his way and be understood is why I’m comfortable with moving him from his home. Plus, I’m getting sick of the night life in the city, women going after one thing and one thing only.”
I found Gibbo’s last comment strange, Gibbo was a an easy going guy and from what I heard he never had problems getting women interested in him.
Not my problem and I’m not asking, I thought sensibly.
I stood there chatting a little longer before Gibbo got a phone call and had to go.
“Righto mate, well I guess I’ll see you when you get to Blessings.” Shaking his hand, I turned and got into my car to make the last commute back to where my heart was held by two blonde beauties.
“I’m home!” I called out loudly the second I walked over the threshold of Gisele’s house. Well, my house now too.
“Finally!” I heard my woman shout from a room upstairs then I heard soft footfalls hurrying down the staircase, through the kitchen. Then the beautiful vision of Gisele came into my view, behind her was Miracle. Both wearing a wide happy smile to greet me.
“Hello ladies,” I greeted them opening my arms for Gisele, which she walked straight into, her hands going to my back.
“You’re home,” Gisele murmured into my chest, her body melting into me.
“I am,” I agreed chuckling, enjoying the closeness Gisele and I shared from the minute we met. “No more travelling.” I sighed, feeling good about my decision to change my career path so drastically. Some of my colleagues in Gracefield police thought my new job was a demotion and a cross against my name. I didn’t see it that way. After years of witnessing violence, killings, missing teenagers and dealing with distraught family members I saw my move to Blessings as a way to stay fresh and remain a cop instead of finding myself burnt out one day and hitting the bottle to cope with all the cruelty in the world.
That was all because of meeting Gisele and her family. I admired their relationship dynamic; the slower pace was going to take a bit to get used to, but I was up for the challenge as long as Gisele was by my side and in my bed with me every night.
Never in my life had I ever needed anyone else to make me happy, to make my life complete. I believed my life was more than satisfactory, my job and my social life.
Until I met Gisele and a little angel.
Feeling a tug on my leg, I looked down to see Miracle waiting patiently to welcome me home. Tucking Gisele to one side of my body, I leaned down, offering my arm to Miracle so she could climb up to sit on my hip.
“Hello lamb,” I crooned to my favourite girl.
“Hi JJ,” she croaked back, her voice sounding better than it had yesterday. My early morning commutes meant I always left before Miracle got up, another reason I was happy with my choice. I loved putting her to bed every night with a story or three but missed the breakfast routine and school drop off.
No more.
I wanted the whole package, the day-to-day family life. The sooner I talked to Jock Blessing the better.