Get caught up:
The whole squad was already in the room, except for Eddie, when Max walked in. It took him by surprise. He wasn’t used to having everyone there before he arrived. Typically he was pretty early and some of the guys – especially the ones who were older and had been on the agency/squad longer – strolled in right before roll call started. When Max arrived everyone seemed to take note but nothing unusual was said. He got a few, “Good morning”s, and a couple of handshakes. No big deal. He took his seat, as did everyone else and was waiting when Eddie walked in…
…with JP right behind him. That DID take Max by surprise. JP hadn’t come to one of their roll calls since she’d left the squad when she was transferred to beach patrol. Ever since that day, she and Max had been dating – fairly seriously – and he’d recently joined her at her parents’ house for Thanksgiving. He’d gotten along well with her parents and he remembered her father saying, “I’m glad she’s got you, Max. You seem like a good man and I haven’t seen her this happy in a long time.” Coming from your girlfriend’s dad, that was a good thing.
The room fell silent as Eddie and JP walked in. JP didn’t sit down but stood off to Eddie’s right a bit, looking at Max with a big smile on her face. It made Max wonder what was going on, but it was improper to ask. He had to wait for Eddie’s presentation and see what was going on. For some reason, Max didn’t feel like anyone else in the room was wondering about JP’s presence which left Max feeling particularly targeted.
Immediate information was not forthcoming. Eddie went through the usual litany of look-outs, requests from the investigative division and information about events around the city that might impact the squad’s duty shift. At the end of everything else Eddie said, “And, as we all – but Max – know, we have a special event going on today.” He paused and smiled at Max. “Officer Breaklin, front and center.”
Max still didn’t know what was going on but stood and approached Eddie as ordered. Should he salute? Should he recite that whole, “Officer Breaklin reporting as ordered, Sir!” thing? He thought not. He found his position to Eddie’s right, facing Eddie and standing at attention. JP was just to his left. She stepped closer and whispered, “Good morning,” just loud enough for him to hear it. He had a hard time not smiling. Yes, her voice affected him like that. He was not ashamed of that at all.
- - - - - - - - - -
Read the rest of this episode, part of Season Three, in the anthology ebook available exclusively on Amazon for kindle: http://amzn.to/2jcbPVB
