CHAPTER ELEVEN
Mitch’s week was flying by. He’d stayed out of trouble for four whole days, which was almost a record for him.
And as much as he hated to admit it, Adam was growing on him.
He liked that Adam didn’t get offended over every little thing he did or said.
His last partner had been an overly sensitive little bitch who tattled on him every chance he got.
Adam took all the shit Mitch dished out in stride and, as far as he could tell, hadn’t mentioned the shrink visits to anyone. That was pretty decent of him.
It was Friday, and Mitch had another visit that afternoon.
He had to go twice this week to make up for the appointment he’d missed when the doctor had to cancel.
He wasn’t looking forward to seeing her again after his embarrassing encounter earlier in the week.
Maybe she would have to cancel again. Or he would get hit by a truck.
Hard to keep the appointment if he was scattered in parts all over the street. He could only hope.
An hour later, still in one piece, he left Adam sitting in the lobby doing paperwork and made his way up to Dr. Patrick’s office.
“Hey, Betty. It’s good to see you again,” Mitch said.
“Hello, Officer MacDonald. Dr. Patrick asked me to show you in when you arrived. She’s ready for you now.” She opened the door leading to the doctor’s office and stood aside.
“Thanks. See you soon.” He winked at her. She backed out, grinning, and closing the door behind her.
“Hey, Mitch. Glad you came back.” Dr. Patrick stood and smiled. “No hard feelings, eh?”
“Sure. And may I offer you belated congratulations on your marriage?” He nodded to her left hand.
She laughed out loud. “You may. I missed you at the wedding. I was hoping the invite would be an olive branch after, you know, what happened between us.”
“Yeah, I’ve sort of let a lot of friendships slide. Sorry I didn’t make it.”
“No worries. Come on in and sit down.” She walked over to the seating area and sat gracefully, crossing her long legs. At least she was wearing slacks this time so he wouldn’t be distracted the whole session.
Great legs got him thinking of Maggie and the amazing set she had—even all banged up.
He’d thought of her on more than one occasion this week but didn’t want to read too much into it.
He probably just needed to get laid. Maybe he would call Veronica back.
He didn’t need thoughts of mild-mannered Maggie distracting him.
Focusing, Mitch shook his head and sat where she indicated. It didn’t look like she would hold the attempted seduction against him. That was good of her. Luckily, he hadn’t gotten very far before she put a stop to it.
“Sorry about Monday,” he said with a meek smile.
“Oh, geez. If I had a nickel for every one of you guys that thought you could sleep with me to get out of sessions…seriously, don’t worry about it.” Her smile said she’d forgiven him and moved on. At least he wasn’t the only schmuck.
She quickly got to business. “How was your week? Any problems?”
“Well, I haven’t seen the LT all week, so I think I’m good.”
“Yes, it’s good to go a whole week without ending up in your supervisor’s office,” she said. Was she teasing him?
She uncrossed her legs and leaned forward. “So, the anniversary of Jimmy’s murder is coming up. How do you feel about that?” Guess not.
“Well, fuck. I guess we’re getting right down to business.”
She stared at him, waiting silently. He thought for a minute, having to shift gears quickly at her rapid subject change.
“Shitty. Angry. Frustrated. Sad.” His good mood evaporated.
“Care to elaborate?”
Not really. He didn’t like to talk about this stuff. Touchy-feely wasn’t his thing, but he’d made a mental commitment to at least try.
Reluctantly he answered. “Shitty, in that I miss him, and I don’t get to work with him every day anymore.
Angry, that I let him get shot in the first place and then couldn’t save him when he did.
Frustrated, that I haven’t caught that fucking bastard, Manuel.
And sad, for Jenny and the boys who have to live life without him. ”
“Hm.”
“Hm, what?” He started to heat up. “You asked me how I felt, and I told you. A few days ago, you said there were no wrong answers.”
“No, you’re right,” she answered quickly. “There are no wrong answers. I was just thinking.” She twirled her pencil between her fingers. “If I gave you some homework, would you do it?”
“What? I don’t know. Maybe.” The second abrupt topic change confused him and succeeded in derailing his anger. She was all over the place today. “Depends on what you want me to do, I guess.”
“I want you to do some volunteer work. Become a Big Brother. Sign up to read to blind people at the library. Go hold babies born with drugs in their system at the hospital. Serve soup at a homeless shelter. Something like that. You can pick.”
At a loss for words, he stood and walked over to the window. “What’s this have to do with Jimmy’s death?”
She ignored his question. “Do you currently do any volunteer work?”
“Not really.” His mother worked with several charity organizations, and sometimes he’d help at events or donate money to her causes, but nothing hands-on like the doctor was describing.
She plowed on. “I also want you to get a pet. A dog would be optimal, but they’re fairly high maintenance, so maybe start with a cat or a hamster. Do you have room at your place for an animal?”
“Good Lord. Where’s all this coming from?” he asked.
“Humor me. Do you have room for a pet?”
“Yes, but I’m never home. How will I take care of it?” Mitch’s mind was reeling.
She ignored him again. “I’ll even make you a deal. For every week you do volunteer work, I’ll cut a week off your scheduled visits with me. They want you to come in weekly for at least three months, so if you start now and volunteer every week, you can almost cut that in half.”
Now she was talking his language. Thinking only of getting out of sessions, he replied without hesitation.
“Deal.”
“Great. Then we’re done for today.” She stood. “I expect a full report next week on what you did and how it went. You can text me a picture of your new pet once you get it.”
He left the office flabbergasted, not exactly sure what he’d just agreed to. A pet? Why did she want him to get a pet? And what the hell was he going to do with one? If Adam was surprised to see him after only ten minutes, he didn’t show it.
“Wow, that was quick. She fix you already?”
“Ha, ha. You’re not going to believe what she said.” He proceeded to tell Adam about the deal he’d made.
“That’s actually a fantastic idea. I saw some flyers at the station about the Big Brother stuff. And didn’t you say one of your brothers works at a hospital?”
“Yeah, Johnny’s an ER doc.”
“Maybe he could hook you up with something.” He seemed excited. “What are you interested in?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. I agreed to it in haste, trying to get out of sessions. Now I’m wondering what the hell I’ve gotten myself into. And what do you mean, this is a great idea? Why does she want me to do this stuff?”
Adam took his time answering. “Well, I’m not a hundred percent sure what her motives are, but I think, in a nutshell, it’s possible—”
“Christ, man, spit it out.”
“That she’s saying you’re a selfish asshole and that thinking about something or someone other than yourself might do you some good,” he finished bluntly.
“Well, shit, don’t sugarcoat it. Damn, you think that’s it?”
“Could be. I mean, best guess…”
***
What Adam had failed to mention in their get-to-know-you talk over coffee the week before was that he hadn’t just started out studying to become a doctor, he’d finished. He was a board-certified psychologist.
He became a police officer because he wanted to specialize in police psychology.
He’d figured working a few years as an officer first would give him the experience and credibility needed to know what the hell he was talking about when counseling officers.
It turned out he loved being a policeman.
Psychology had become his retirement plan for when he finished with police work.
He kept up with current practices by taking classes and regularly reading psychology journals. Currently, he was only licensed in Massachusetts, but he planned to get licensed in New York soon.
Although he wasn’t technically treating Mitch, he’d been watching for progress and could already see improvement.
Maggie had mentioned his hasty backyard apology, and he’d gone out of his way to thank Adam on a couple of occasions now.
He got the feeling apologizing and expressing gratitude was an emotional stretch for Mitch these days. The effort was a good sign.
“I may as well call Johnny. I only have a week to line something up and do it,” Mitch said.
“What about a pet? Dogs are the best, but not really practical for a guy who’s gone all day. Do you like cats?”
The look Mitch shot him was answer enough. “Yeah, me neither.”
“I guess I could check out a shelter or something, but it seems like they only have cats and dogs. People don’t leave hamsters at shelters, do they?”
“Doubt it. You know what would be great? If we knew someone in the pet business. Like someone that sold them for a living. In her own store.” Adam turned and smiled.
“Oh, fuck me,” Mitch moaned.
***
Maggie spent most of Friday and Saturday cleaning her apartment, grocery shopping, running errands, and relaxing with Oliver.
It was Saturday night, and she was sitting in a trendy, downtown bar wearing a little something she’d picked up while out shopping.
The black sleeveless, sheath dress hit close to mid-thigh and was tight in all the right places.
The scabs from her fall the week before were still evident, but there was nothing she could do about that.
Jenny came in a few minutes after she’d been seated.
“Hey, gorgeous. What a cute dress.” Jenny stooped to hug her.
“This old thing?” Maggie laughed. “Look at you, though. You’re glowing.” It warmed her heart to see Jenny so happy.
After ordering margaritas and a plate of nachos, they chitchatted about their weeks and confirmed plans for the following week.
Jenny was taking the boys and the puppy to the beach house all week.
Maggie would house-sit for a few days and then head out on Friday to meet them for a long weekend.
Halfway into their second drink, Jenny finally got down to business.
“I have something to tell you. I need your opinion. Oh, God. This is so awkward.”
Maggie was worried for a minute. This sounded serious. She waited for Jenny to gather her thoughts.
“I think something is happening with Adam,” she finally blurted out.
“Adam who?” asked Maggie, thoroughly confused.
“Mitch’s partner. The one you just met a week ago.
The one I just met a week ago. That Adam.
” Jenny told her how he’d saved the day with the baseball team on Sunday and then continued taking the boys to practice the rest of the week.
They only practiced on Tuesday and Thursday, but on each evening, Adam brought the boys home and then stayed to hang out.
On Tuesday, he’d helped Toby with his math homework, and by Thursday, he’d helped with dinner and then ate with them.
She had no idea what was happening or what his intentions were.
“Do you think he likes you?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I need advice. I’ve been out of the dating pool for too long. Is he helping because he’s a nice guy? Or could it be something else? I’m really confused.” Jenny shifted nervously in her seat.
“Oh my God. This is huge. What if he does like you? Do you like him? He seems super great.”
“I think I do kind of like him. I don’t know, Mags.
Every time I think about it, Jimmy pops into my head, and I start to feel bad.
” Maggie started to speak, but Jenny put up a hand, stopping her.
“I know what you’re going to say. Jimmy wouldn’t want me to live alone for the rest of my life.
He would be okay with me finding someone else and that he would actually want me to.
But knowing it and doing it are two different things. It isn’t easy.”
“Yeah, I’m sure it isn’t.” Maggie sympathized but couldn’t know exactly how she was feeling. “What did Mitch say?” She doubted he’d be okay with it.
“I haven’t said anything to him about it. Adam asked me not to mention it yet. He’s a little worried about how Mitch will react when he finds out Adam’s been hanging out with us. I agree but feel like I’m sneaking around. Even though nothing has happened…yet.”
“You feel like something might happen?”
“I do.” Jenny looked at the bottom of her second empty glass. “I’m thinking about going for it. I mean, if he wants to. Is it too soon? Be honest.” She flagged down the waitress and ordered another round.
Maggie’s head was spinning. She didn’t drink often and had always been a cheap date. The alcohol was taking its toll, but more than that was the excitement she felt for Jenny. Seeing her friend so happy was just as intoxicating as the liquor.
“Jen, I love you. It would be so great for you to find someone special. You’re right about Jimmy wanting this for you. And if you think it’s time, then it’s time. No questions. No doubt. I support you one hundred percent in whatever decision you make.”
Jenny wiped a tear from her cheek. “For the longest time, I couldn’t imagine a life with anyone other than Jimmy. It scares me that I can picture it now.”
“Death is a part of life. People grieve, and while they never forget, they move on. They have to. Starting a relationship with someone else doesn’t mean what you had with Jimmy didn’t matter. It’s not disrespectful to him, and it doesn’t make you a bad person.”
“Thanks, Mags. Your thoughts mean a lot to me. The two-year anniversary is this Thursday. I’ll get through that, get the boys through that, and then see what happens.”
“Just take it day by day. That’s all anyone can do.”
The drinks arrived, and they toasted. “To life. To friendship.”
“All right,” Jenny said, perking up and turning to survey the other patrons. “Now, let’s find you a man.”
The night wasn’t a total bust. Maggie did meet someone. A good-looking doctor no less. He and his friend chatted them up for a good thirty minutes before he asked for her number. They left shortly after with a lunch date set for the following Wednesday.
Maggie took a cab home, filled her cat in on the details of the evening, and fell into bed. “He’s a maybe, Ollie. We’ll see.”