Longing to Belong - Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Birch Creek, September 2002
“Could you please describe the circumstances of the theft?” Teaspoon asked the woman, glancing at her above the glasses he had been prescribed to wear just recently. It was a complete nuisance and a blow to his vanity. Teaspoon had always about his sharp sight, and now his doctor dared to suggest he was suffering from presbyopia, a sign of his ageing. Ageing! As if he were ancient! He knew better. His failing eyesight was clearly the result of spending too many hours in front of the drat computer!!! Age, my foot!!!
In any case, if a boring job and poor eyes were the consequences he had to shoulder to ensure Lou was happy and at peace, then let it be. Truth was that since he had been relocated, things were seamless at home, and Lou had not suffered any other health scares. She was also doing as brilliantly as usual at school. Yes, it was good, not perfect, because parenting was far from easy, and Lou occasionally became difficult. However, all in all, he couldn’t complain.
Teaspoon willed himself to snap out of his thoughts and focus on the woman and the report he had to complete. This was now his routine, petty thefts and what-not. In this case, it was a purse that had been stolen. Teaspoon studied the woman as she talked. She was probably in her mid-thirties, attractive with a mess of blonde hair that she kept pushing off her face. “I didn’t notice anything at all. One minute I was looking out the window, and the next my handbag, which I had left on the chair next to me, was gone.”
“Do you know if someone saw anybody near your table… the waitresses or the baristas?
The woman shook her head. “I’m afraid not. I did ask some of the staff, but nobody saw a thing. The diner was quite busy, so I imagine no one had the time to stop and watch the customers.”
Teaspoon nodded his head. “And this happened this morning?”
“Around 7. I always stop by for a cup of coffee before going to work, and it’s the first time something like this has happened to me.”
“Thankfully,” Teaspoon smiled and the woman returned the gesture. “So tell me, uh…” Teaspoon consulted his notes on the report, and then continued, “So Ms Dunne, could you tell me what items your purse contained.” The woman started to list what valuables she had been carrying in her handbag while Teaspoon typed everything in on the computer. He was now way faster on the keyboard. Daily practice and completing the typing course he had always promised to take had worked wonders.
When he was going through the list again to make sure that the woman or himself had not missed anything, the telephone buzzed into life. He picked up on the third ring. “Hunter here.” It was the principal in Lou’s school, and at once he was alert. “What’s happened to my daughter?”
“Nothing, Mr. Hunter. Rest assured,” the principal said. “She just wants a word with you. Let me put her on.”
Teaspoon waited impatiently, and despite the principal’s reassurances, he couldn’t relax. Whenever the school called, it was because of a problem. When he finally heard her sweet-voiced ‘dad?’ on the telephone, he quickly asked, “What’s wrong, Lou?” As the girl started to talk in halting tones, Teaspoon frowned in confusion. “What do you mean? What first period?” When the words finally made sense, he let out a clumsy ‘oh’, and on doing so, he caught the woman across from him, Ms Dunne, trying to conceal her grin. Teaspoon turned his face away and lowered his voice. “Sweetheart, aren’t you still a bit too young… for… for that? You just turned eleven last May.”
“Why don’t you try to tell my body that!!!” Lou replied sarcastically. “Please, dad, come get me. I want to go home.”
“Have you spoken to Aunt Emma?” Teaspoon asked. He was glad that Lou felt she could talk to him about anything, even about some delicate, intimate matters. However, in moments like this he really missed his wife as he was sure she’d have known how to deal with these issued better than he did. Lou now never mentioned missing her mother now, and she seemed to have no problems coming to him with her questions and problems. More than once Teaspoon had sweated blood when he had made poor attempts to explain a few things to her, especially as she was at an age when she was very curious about some biological questions.
“Dad, Aunt Emma’s still on maternity leave, remember?” Emma, who had stopped being Mrs. Cain for Lou some time ago, had her second son early in the summer. “Please, dad, come quick.”
“All right. All right. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“And I need… you know… stuff.”
“Oh… well, yes, I see,” he replied clumsily. “See you in a bit, honey.” When he hung up, he felt self-conscious as he turned to the woman and noticed her eyes on him. “Uh… that was my daughter.”
“I gathered as much,” she replied, making no attempt to hide her amusement.
“Sorry about that.”
“No need to apologize. I can perfectly understand. I also have a few teenagers at home.”
“My daughter… she’s only eleven… still a child.”
“Not for long, it seems.”
Teaspoon sighed. “Parenting isn’t a piece of cake. I thought it’d be easier with time, but I find it even harder now.”
“If you think it’s difficult now, I bet you’ll reconsider your opinion when she starts dating boys.”
Teaspoon made a show of shuddering. “I keep hoping she gets her call from God and becomes a nun.” The woman let out a sonorous peal of laughter. “Well, we’re done with your report, and I must be on my way now.”
Rachel Dunne rose to her feet and shook Teaspoon’s proffered hand. “Thank you for your help, Officer Hunter.”
“I really hope we catch whoever stole your purse and you can get it back.”
After leaving the police station, Rachel Dunne decided to head for the supermarket. A stroke of luck allowed her to have access to her money to buy the groceries she needed. Just last weekend she had picked up her sons from the airport after a visit to their father and eldest brother, and on her way back she had stopped at a gas station for a fill-up. She had sent Billy to pay, and somehow the boy had left her credit card in her glove compartment, instead of handing it back to her. Thanks to her son’s antic, her credit card had bee out of danger’s way when her purse had been snatched. So now at least, she could still do some food-shopping.
With her cart half-full mostly with the things her boys enjoyed, she directed her steps to the personal hygiene aisle to buy some toilet paper and shampoo. It was then that she spotted Officer Hunter in front of the shelves containing feminine care products. His hands were on his hips, and he kept moving his eyes from left to right, clearly lost.
“Officer Hunter, we meet again,” Rachel said as she approached.
“Ma’am,” he greeted her with a tilt of his head.
Rachel eyed the shelves of products the cop was studying, and she couldn’t help but smile. “Are you all right?”
Teaspoon scratched his neck nervously. “Uh… just getting something for my girl.”
“Can’t you make up your mind?”
“I’m… hopeless,” Teaspoon admitted. “I didn’t know there was so much stuff of… of this.”
“Maybe you should leave this decision for your daughter… or your wife.”
Teaspoon cleared his throat uncomfortably. “My… my wife passed away.”
Rachel blushed to the roots of her blonde hair, silently kicking herself for her insensitive blunder. “I… I’m sorry.”
“Yes… I’m sorry too,” Teaspoon muttered. “It was a long time ago, though.”
“Maybe… you’d like some help in deciding?” Rachel offered. Teaspoon simply nodded, and she selected a couple of items from the shelves and put them in his empty basket. “I think you’ll be all right now.”
“Thank you, Ma’am. You… you can’t imagine how clumsy I sometimes feel when it comes to Louise. I thought I’d have learnt the ropes by now.”
Rachel gave him a compassionate smile. “One is always learning as far as children are concerned. And…,” she paused for dramatic effect, “if I were you, I’d keep from… your daughter that you let a complete stranger have a say in her… her feminine concerns.”
“Oh… I wouldn’t dare! Between me and you, I already made the mistake once before, and she locked herself away in her room for a whole weekend. She said she could never face the world again, and believe me, it wasn’t such a big deal.”
“But I imagine it was for her.”
Teaspoon nodded, and as silence descended upon them, he found himself staring into the woman’s deep blue eyes. When he realized what he was doing, he became flustered. “Uh… I must go now. And thanks again. I really don’t know how I could repay your kindness.”
“Well.. maybe you could treat me to a drink sometimes. You have my phone number in your file, don’t you, officer?”
Before Teaspoon could react to her words, Rachel moved away. As she manoeuvred her cart, she felt her whole face hot with embarrassment. What had she been thinking about to come on to him so brazenly? Officer Hunter wasn’t her type at all; he was older than she was, and not the kind of man she liked. Yet, she found him cute in his role as a confused father. In reality, she had only wanted to come across as friendly. Instead, she had flirted with him shamelessly. ‘What has come over you, Rachel?’ she whispered to herself, rushing to the checkout without buying everything on her shopping list. The last thing she wanted was to have another encounter with Officer Hunter and embarrass herself even further.
Birch Creek, September 2002
“Could you please describe the circumstances of the theft?” Teaspoon asked the woman, glancing at her above the glasses he had been prescribed to wear just recently. It was a complete nuisance and a blow to his vanity. Teaspoon had always about his sharp sight, and now his doctor dared to suggest he was suffering from presbyopia, a sign of his ageing. Ageing! As if he were ancient! He knew better. His failing eyesight was clearly the result of spending too many hours in front of the drat computer!!! Age, my foot!!!
In any case, if a boring job and poor eyes were the consequences he had to shoulder to ensure Lou was happy and at peace, then let it be. Truth was that since he had been relocated, things were seamless at home, and Lou had not suffered any other health scares. She was also doing as brilliantly as usual at school. Yes, it was good, not perfect, because parenting was far from easy, and Lou occasionally became difficult. However, all in all, he couldn’t complain.
Teaspoon willed himself to snap out of his thoughts and focus on the woman and the report he had to complete. This was now his routine, petty thefts and what-not. In this case, it was a purse that had been stolen. Teaspoon studied the woman as she talked. She was probably in her mid-thirties, attractive with a mess of blonde hair that she kept pushing off her face. “I didn’t notice anything at all. One minute I was looking out the window, and the next my handbag, which I had left on the chair next to me, was gone.”
“Do you know if someone saw anybody near your table… the waitresses or the baristas?
The woman shook her head. “I’m afraid not. I did ask some of the staff, but nobody saw a thing. The diner was quite busy, so I imagine no one had the time to stop and watch the customers.”
Teaspoon nodded his head. “And this happened this morning?”
“Around 7. I always stop by for a cup of coffee before going to work, and it’s the first time something like this has happened to me.”
“Thankfully,” Teaspoon smiled and the woman returned the gesture. “So tell me, uh…” Teaspoon consulted his notes on the report, and then continued, “So Ms Dunne, could you tell me what items your purse contained.” The woman started to list what valuables she had been carrying in her handbag while Teaspoon typed everything in on the computer. He was now way faster on the keyboard. Daily practice and completing the typing course he had always promised to take had worked wonders.
When he was going through the list again to make sure that the woman or himself had not missed anything, the telephone buzzed into life. He picked up on the third ring. “Hunter here.” It was the principal in Lou’s school, and at once he was alert. “What’s happened to my daughter?”
“Nothing, Mr. Hunter. Rest assured,” the principal said. “She just wants a word with you. Let me put her on.”
Teaspoon waited impatiently, and despite the principal’s reassurances, he couldn’t relax. Whenever the school called, it was because of a problem. When he finally heard her sweet-voiced ‘dad?’ on the telephone, he quickly asked, “What’s wrong, Lou?” As the girl started to talk in halting tones, Teaspoon frowned in confusion. “What do you mean? What first period?” When the words finally made sense, he let out a clumsy ‘oh’, and on doing so, he caught the woman across from him, Ms Dunne, trying to conceal her grin. Teaspoon turned his face away and lowered his voice. “Sweetheart, aren’t you still a bit too young… for… for that? You just turned eleven last May.”
“Why don’t you try to tell my body that!!!” Lou replied sarcastically. “Please, dad, come get me. I want to go home.”
“Have you spoken to Aunt Emma?” Teaspoon asked. He was glad that Lou felt she could talk to him about anything, even about some delicate, intimate matters. However, in moments like this he really missed his wife as he was sure she’d have known how to deal with these issued better than he did. Lou now never mentioned missing her mother now, and she seemed to have no problems coming to him with her questions and problems. More than once Teaspoon had sweated blood when he had made poor attempts to explain a few things to her, especially as she was at an age when she was very curious about some biological questions.
“Dad, Aunt Emma’s still on maternity leave, remember?” Emma, who had stopped being Mrs. Cain for Lou some time ago, had her second son early in the summer. “Please, dad, come quick.”
“All right. All right. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“And I need… you know… stuff.”
“Oh… well, yes, I see,” he replied clumsily. “See you in a bit, honey.” When he hung up, he felt self-conscious as he turned to the woman and noticed her eyes on him. “Uh… that was my daughter.”
“I gathered as much,” she replied, making no attempt to hide her amusement.
“Sorry about that.”
“No need to apologize. I can perfectly understand. I also have a few teenagers at home.”
“My daughter… she’s only eleven… still a child.”
“Not for long, it seems.”
Teaspoon sighed. “Parenting isn’t a piece of cake. I thought it’d be easier with time, but I find it even harder now.”
“If you think it’s difficult now, I bet you’ll reconsider your opinion when she starts dating boys.”
Teaspoon made a show of shuddering. “I keep hoping she gets her call from God and becomes a nun.” The woman let out a sonorous peal of laughter. “Well, we’re done with your report, and I must be on my way now.”
Rachel Dunne rose to her feet and shook Teaspoon’s proffered hand. “Thank you for your help, Officer Hunter.”
“I really hope we catch whoever stole your purse and you can get it back.”
After leaving the police station, Rachel Dunne decided to head for the supermarket. A stroke of luck allowed her to have access to her money to buy the groceries she needed. Just last weekend she had picked up her sons from the airport after a visit to their father and eldest brother, and on her way back she had stopped at a gas station for a fill-up. She had sent Billy to pay, and somehow the boy had left her credit card in her glove compartment, instead of handing it back to her. Thanks to her son’s antic, her credit card had bee out of danger’s way when her purse had been snatched. So now at least, she could still do some food-shopping.
With her cart half-full mostly with the things her boys enjoyed, she directed her steps to the personal hygiene aisle to buy some toilet paper and shampoo. It was then that she spotted Officer Hunter in front of the shelves containing feminine care products. His hands were on his hips, and he kept moving his eyes from left to right, clearly lost.
“Officer Hunter, we meet again,” Rachel said as she approached.
“Ma’am,” he greeted her with a tilt of his head.
Rachel eyed the shelves of products the cop was studying, and she couldn’t help but smile. “Are you all right?”
Teaspoon scratched his neck nervously. “Uh… just getting something for my girl.”
“Can’t you make up your mind?”
“I’m… hopeless,” Teaspoon admitted. “I didn’t know there was so much stuff of… of this.”
“Maybe you should leave this decision for your daughter… or your wife.”
Teaspoon cleared his throat uncomfortably. “My… my wife passed away.”
Rachel blushed to the roots of her blonde hair, silently kicking herself for her insensitive blunder. “I… I’m sorry.”
“Yes… I’m sorry too,” Teaspoon muttered. “It was a long time ago, though.”
“Maybe… you’d like some help in deciding?” Rachel offered. Teaspoon simply nodded, and she selected a couple of items from the shelves and put them in his empty basket. “I think you’ll be all right now.”
“Thank you, Ma’am. You… you can’t imagine how clumsy I sometimes feel when it comes to Louise. I thought I’d have learnt the ropes by now.”
Rachel gave him a compassionate smile. “One is always learning as far as children are concerned. And…,” she paused for dramatic effect, “if I were you, I’d keep from… your daughter that you let a complete stranger have a say in her… her feminine concerns.”
“Oh… I wouldn’t dare! Between me and you, I already made the mistake once before, and she locked herself away in her room for a whole weekend. She said she could never face the world again, and believe me, it wasn’t such a big deal.”
“But I imagine it was for her.”
Teaspoon nodded, and as silence descended upon them, he found himself staring into the woman’s deep blue eyes. When he realized what he was doing, he became flustered. “Uh… I must go now. And thanks again. I really don’t know how I could repay your kindness.”
“Well.. maybe you could treat me to a drink sometimes. You have my phone number in your file, don’t you, officer?”
Before Teaspoon could react to her words, Rachel moved away. As she manoeuvred her cart, she felt her whole face hot with embarrassment. What had she been thinking about to come on to him so brazenly? Officer Hunter wasn’t her type at all; he was older than she was, and not the kind of man she liked. Yet, she found him cute in his role as a confused father. In reality, she had only wanted to come across as friendly. Instead, she had flirted with him shamelessly. ‘What has come over you, Rachel?’ she whispered to herself, rushing to the checkout without buying everything on her shopping list. The last thing she wanted was to have another encounter with Officer Hunter and embarrass herself even further.