Chapter 51

I gave Mary Ellen's operation some thought, but frankly I was too tried to actually consider what it meant to me. I was tired from living with the constant nagging pain. Then the release of the orgasmic flow of emotions just wiped me out. I stayed awake only because I wanted to be sure Mary Ellen didn't drive off the mountain road. She wasn't a very careful driver. She had control of the car alright, but she tending to let her attention wander.

After she dropped me, I hoped that Angel woke up and took care of her. She really had a short attention span, when behind the wheel of a car. I really lost interest in her seconds after I got in the room. I took a tub bath for a change. I soaked and hoped the stench of sex dissolved.

I keep nodding off to sleep, so I climbed out of the tub and fell into the warm bed. I sleep better than I had since the accident. My body was still in pain but I was exhausted for the right reason for a change. My sleep had been interrupted by pain since the accident, when I turned in my sleep the pain woke me. That night I must not have moved, because I sleep through till 8AM the next morning.

When I awoke that Sunday morning at 8AM I tried to run again and I got a little farther then I had the first time I tried. I switched to a walk, but I did try to run again when I was within sight of the motel. So, all in all, I ran about a tenth of the distance I covered with my morning outing. I felt pretty good about it, even though it was hardly a big deal.

I took the day to do nothing. I did some shopping on ebay, but nothing special. I bought some old military items that were surplus on ebay. I couldn't get to the the good surplus stores very easily. The next best thing was to find guys who had and were reselling on ebay. I bought several tee shirts in either small or medium sizes depending on which seemed as though it would fit. One of them was a Russian navy stripped thing, I looked forward to that.

Later that day I drove the Toyota to the family style steak house in the plaza. I ordered a steak, a baked potato and a trip to the salad bar. It was after the church crown had gone and before the traditional evening dinner out crowd arrived. It was still too expensive to do regularly, but for a once in a while, 'feel good about me' dinner it was fine. You had to splurge when you did some did something good for someone. It was celebrating doing my good deed for Robert. I spent the evening watching tv shows on line and shopping on ebay.

I had been told that I was to report to the detective office Monday, even though I was to be back on full duty. Since that was the case I had planned to return to my squad. I woke up with running in mind or at least walking and a nice shower,

I stopped by the Cafe on the Square and got a biscuit to go. It was the most I could afford on a regular basis. I am a bit of a tight wad when it comes to spending money. I wasn't investing it, I was just saving it in my checking account. I have spent way to much the night before on military surplus tee shirts. So I told myself I had to make up for it by skipping restaurant food for a while.

After my shower I dressed in my best uniform, and went into work. I drove even though it was a short distance. There were no ceremonial press conferences at 7AM. I knew there wouldn't be, but I was on my squad's roster so I checked in with Sergeant Michaels.

"Morning Porter, I was told to you keep you available for a meeting at 9AM, so don't go anywhere," he said.

"Yes Sergeant, oh yeah thanks, it's nice to be back," I said. I figured I had earned the right to be a little sarcastic.

"Yeah, welcome back," Michaels said. "Glad you are feeling better."

"So what's this meeting about all they told me was to wear a uniform," I said.

"You know the Sheriff, odds are it's a press conference where he tried to take credit for everything." Michaels said.

"Sounds about right for sure," I said. "So what do you want me to do till 9AM?" I asked.

"Take one of the broncos and go sit at one of the schools. Then come in at 8:30 sharp. Do not write any tickets," he said.

So I drove up to Northeastern High School and sat there showing the colors as it were. I'm sure the halo effect worked well. The halo effect is the fact that people drive better for a few minutes after seeing a cop.

I walked back into the station at 8:30 on the dot. "Thank God you are here. The Sheriff has been in here looking for you. I told him you were here and would be back on time. Thanks for not making a liar out of me." Michael said.

"Is Simpson looking for me as well?" I asked.

"I haven't seen him, so I can't say what he is up to," Michaels said.

"Well I guess I should head on up to the conference room," I said.

"Yeah, when it is over, you need to go drive the roads up north. Also back up Butch when you can," Michaels said.

"Just another day at the office," I said.

"You bet," Michaels replied.

I stopped by Simpson's office, but he had already gone up. I walked up the stairs rather than fool with the elevator. When I came out of the stairwell on the third floor Simpson was standing outside the conference room.