Posted by hummingbird on 2/20/2014, 5:06 pm VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Chapter Fourteen
Bo threw his jacket on the end of the bed and loosened his necktie. He was exhausted after another grueling day at work. Nine days of questioning, searching, and following leads. But, the work had finally paid off...they found the shooter and he was behind bars. The case was solved; and, although he felt terrible for the victims of this crime, he was greatly relieved.
He looked at the clock. 11:20. He wanted to call Nora. He hadn’t been able to call her for days and he missed her. But she would no doubt be asleep by now. He would call her tomorrow. He stripped down to his t-shirt and boxers and crawled into bed, exhausted mentally and physically.
Nora hung up her phone after talking with Rachel. Rachel had seen on the 11:00 news that the shooter had been arrested. She shared the good news with her mom. Nora was greatly relieved. She knew Bo probably wasn’t home, but she wanted to leave him a message congratulating him on the force’s good work. She was pleasantly surprised to hear him answer.
“Buchanan.”
“Would this be Bo Buchanan?” she asked smiling to hear his voice.
“Yes…...Nora?”
“Yes...I’m surprised to find you home. I thought I’d leave a message. Congrats on the good work, Commish.”
“Thank you...the guys did well.”
“Don’t be so humble. The guys have a great commander-in-chief.”
“Thanks, Red.”
“So, let me guess. You’re having your bourbon.”
“No...actually, I just crawled into bed. No bourbon...no neck rub…..I’m a lonely man.”
“Awww. Well, if it makes you feel any better, I didn’t get a bourbon or a neck rub either.”
Bo smiled at the thought. “Since when do you drink bourbon?” he inquired.
“I don’t. But it made you smile thinking about it, didn’t it?”
“Yes...the woman who gets tipsy on wine…I can’t imagine you with bourbon…and...how do you know I’m smiling?”
“I can hear it in your voice,” she said in a lilting tone.
Bo chuckled. She was just what he needed after this long day. “So...what are you doing?” he asked.
“Well...I’m just lying here after a long day too. I worked, of course, then decided I’d try to get a little of my painting done. So, I put Matthew in the playpen and he fussed and fussed...now that he’s mobile, he hates being confined. So I took him out and just blocked him out of the living room. I thought he was playing fine with his toys until I realized that he was too quiet. So I checked on him and he had opened the cupboard under the sink and was shaking the dish soap bottle...of course he had it open and it had drizzled out all over the floor. Clara never told me he knew how to open the cupboards...it’s a new thing I guess. So...I put him back in the playpen and let him fuss while I put away the paint supplies and tried to clean up the kitchen mess. Do you have any idea how hard it is to clean dish soap off a floor? The more you wipe, the more slippery it gets! I nearly did the splits three times!
By this time Bo was laughing.
“You find this funny, Buchanan?”
“No...no...it sounds frustrating...and a little dangerous. It’s you...you make me laugh. I needed a laugh.”
“Well...I’m happy you got the laugh you needed...at my expense. Anyway...I’m sure that sounds frivolous after what you’ve been through this past week or so. I didn’t mean to ramble on...I just wanted to say congrats and that I’m glad it’s over. I’m not going to keep you any longer though. I’m sure you need some rest.”
“No...wait...don’t hang up yet. Actually, I thought about calling you before I laid down...but I thought I would wake you. It’s good to hear your voice. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to call.”
“I understand.”
“So, tell me. What else have you been doing...besides cleaning up dish soap?”
“Well...work has kept me busy. I just finished grading midterms. And Matthew has been cutting some teeth, so he has been kind of fussy and clingy lately. I can only do what can be done with a baby on my hip. Not a lot of excitement here. Just the normal routine.”
“Normal sounds good. I could use some ‘normal’ about now,” he said yawning.
“Well, maybe you can get some ‘normal’ now that this case is over...I hope so.” She continued talking...sharing about work, and Matthew, and the funny noise her car was making.
“So...it’s this little pinging sound when I put it into gear. Do you know what that could be? I’m hoping it isn’t expensive to fix. What do you think it might be?...”
When he didn’t answer, she asked, “Bo?... Bo? Are you still there?”
She thought they had lost connection until she heard his even breathing on the other end of the line. She smiled. He had fallen asleep. She listened for a few moments remembering how it felt to lay beside him and listen to his soft breathing as he slept. How she wished she could snuggle close and wrap her arms around him again… Stop Nora, came her inner voice.
But into the phone she whispered, “Goodnight, Sweetheart...” before she quietly hung up the receiver.