A Couple Years of Gardening (Chapter 8) (standard:romance, 3365 words) [8/10] show all parts
Author: kmr412002	Added: Mar 22 2008	Views/Reads: 2247/1659	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
The courtship and marriage of a detective as told by hiswife.

Maybe, love is not enough.  I can't believe I said that.  Isn't that the
line to some sort of sappy song?  And, what is doing coming out of my 
mouth?  After I hang up, I blow my nose call to make a hair 
appointment. 

I do whatever I do when I feel miserable. I get my hair cut very short.
Lorenzo has done my hair for most my adult life. My hair is the type 
that seems to grow horizontally. When it begins to resemble the brim of 
a hat, I get a trim. When I'm miserable, I get a cut so drastically 
that not one lock on my head is more than an inch and half. I suppose 
it is my version of self-mutilation. 

Lorenzo's knows all about my failures in the romance department. He
tells me about his love life. His “no goods” as he likes to call him, 
he says he will send them to me because I have such horrible luck. When 
I tell him how short I want it. He drops his scissors to his side. “Oh 
my God, you got a broken heart. You were in love and now you got a 
broken heart. Tell me who he is and I'll --.” He grins and he snips his 
scissors. His grin fades as he sees I'm almost in tears 

A week later, Kate calls. She says my name and bursts into tears. Her
father died suddenly of a heart attack. She asks if I can come to New 
York as soon as possible. 

During the funeral, I stand with Kate and David. At the service, I see
Jack standing with his unit. I also see Megan in that crowd. I am 
ashamed that this even caught my attention during this time. I spend 
the rest of the time with my eyes pinned to the ground. 

We meet at a bar for the wake. Her father was a cop so there were many
of them there. She sits in an almost catatonic state so I am surprised 
when she leans over to me and whispers, “He's been looking for you.” 

I shake my head, “I didn't come here for that.” 

She runs her fingers through her hair and said, “I know, it's just you
think you have all the time in the world.”  Her voice fades and she 
grabs my hand. 

Suddenly, she asks, “Would you mind getting me a beer?” 

I go to the bar and while I'm digging into my wallet, I hear Jack's
voice. “I got that.” 

I smile at him as he kisses my cheek. He asks, “Are you okay?  I know
you were close to Kate's father.” 

I nod as we wait at the bar. I say, “He was always very kind to me. When
it got to be too much for me at home, her parents always took me in. I 
spent the last semester of high school in their home. If not for them, 
I would have been shipped off to my grandmother's.” 

“I can't imagine someone wanting to send you away.” He nods toward my
hair. “I almost didn't recognize you at the funeral.” 

He reaches up to touch my hair with a slight hesitation, but drops his
hand as the bartender puts the mugs down between us.  I turn away to 
dig for something in my purse as I shrug, “It's just easier that way.” 

“So, you don't do this bit anymore?”  He shakes his head little. After I
stepped out of the shower, I would shake my head in this wildly 
exaggerated manner to dry my hair. Jack found this habit amusing. 

I shake my head and he gives a little groan, “That's too bad.”  I know
he's trying to joke with me, but he ends up sounding so sadly 
nostalgic. 

We take the bottles to Kate's table. She thanks him as she hugs him. All
four of us sit in the booth, David is talking about a case he was 
trying when Jack's cell phone went off and he gets up to take the call. 


I go into the restroom, hoping to find a place to pull myself together.
I didn't know seeing Jack would overwhelm me this way; instead, I find 
Megan putting on lipstick. We nod at each other as I wash my hands. She 


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