Secret Santa gift for Calliatra
Peru, the Country? Marianrose
Peru, the Country?
Hutch had that “Thursday night” spring in his step as he went to answer the knock at his apartment door. Starsky had arrived to pick him up for dinner. They’d met every Thursday evening since Starsky had gone back to work full-time at Metro after his hard fought recovery. With Hutch off the force, they didn’t see each other on the job anymore. But Thursday nights, those were reserved for each other, indefinitely if you asked Hutch.
“I’m just about ready,” Hutch said as he collected his wallet from the bedroom dresser. When Hutch turned around, he saw Starsky leaning over his nightstand, picking up the envelope he had forgotten he left there.
“Hey, Hutch, what’s this?” Starsky asked.
The folio from the airline was sticking out too far to be missed.
“Plane tickets,” Hutch said, trying to sound nonchalant.
“You goin’ somewhere?”
There was no way to avoid telling Starsky now. “Yeah. Peru.”
“Peru, Indiana?”
“There’s a Peru in Indiana?” Hutch walked over and took the tickets out of Starsky’s hand and put them inside the top drawer of his dresser.
“Yep,” Starsky replied.
“How do you know that?”
“My mother’s cousin, Nava.”
Hutch thought a moment, trying to recall this particular mother’s cousin. He’d never believed Starsky actually had so many illustrative relatives until Starsky had taken him to New York while he was recovering after the shooting. For weeks, there was a steady stream of uniquely interesting relations stopping by to wish him well. Hutch took pride in keeping them catalogued in his memory so Starsky never stumped him when he mentioned one or the other.
“Umm, the trapeze artist?” Hutch snapped his fingers when he finally had it.
“Her mother-in-law was the trapeze artist and the father-in-law was assistant ringmaster. Anyway, she used to send us postcards from Peru, Indiana, when she went to visit her in-laws. All the big circuses have their winter headquarters there.”
“Really.” Hutch turned and walked toward the kitchen.
“Or maybe you’re flyin’ to Peru, Nebraska?”
“There’s a Peru in Nebraska?” Hutch glanced back with raised eyebrows.
“Absolutely.”
“And you know this, how?”
“Last time I stopped to check in on Mrs. Winters down the street, her great nephew was visiting.”
“He’s from Peru, Nebraska?”
Starsky shook his head. “He lives outside of Fort Wayne. But he’s goin’ to college in Peru, Nebraska. Isn’t that some coincidence?”
“Mhmm.” Hutch walked past the sink, forgetting why he had come into the kitchen.
“So which Peru are you headed to?” Starsky asked.
Hutch suddenly felt trapped. He wanted to keep moving and turned to walk out but Starsky sidestepped with him, blocking the way. He had Hutch cornered, just like a perp.
“The country,” Hutch confessed.
“The one in South America?”
“Uh-huh. Not until May, though.” Hutch wanted Starsky to have that piece of exculpatory information right away. He hoped it would seem less like he had been holding back from telling him about it since it was still a couple months away.
“Guess you forgot to mention it?”
“I just finished making the arrangements.” Hutch turned away, toward the sink. He didn’t want to see the likely disapproval on Starsky’s face when he told him about this latest job.
Hutch had stayed with BCPD until the last day of the Gunther trial, almost two years ago, just before Starsky returned to work there. He wanted to stay longer for Starsky’s sake, tried to stay longer for his own sake, but he had no more cop instinct left inside him. Staying would have been a risk to Starsky, their colleagues and the citizenry he was sworn to protect.
Ever since he resigned, he had meandered through a series of jobs, all of which Starsky complained were beneath him and going nowhere. He had never meandered through anything in his life before but, for some reason, he hadn’t yet found the next career move that he could dig his teeth into. Maybe that would change with Peru.
“How long did it take you to make these Peru arrangements?” Starsky asked.
“Not that long.” Hutch turned on the water, picked up the plate on the counter and rinsed it off despite the fact that he had already done the same thing just before Starsky arrived.
Instead of the interrogation he expected from Starsky, he heard a plaintive, “You gonna stay in Peru or come back?”
Hutch wheeled around to face him. “Of course, I’m coming back. Geez! What the hell kind of question is that?”
“I was just askin’ because you hadn’t said anything.” Starsky looked at him with genuine concern.
“I’ll only be gone for sixty-two days.” He winced apologetically, drying his hands on his pants. “I was going to tell you, Starsk. I just wanted to get everything arranged first.”
“Mind if I ask what you plan to do in Peru?”
“I joined a team working for USALA, US Aid to Latin America. They’ve got an office in the Wexler Building downtown. My first assignment is with a group that’s establishing clean water supplies in Peru.” Starsky had moved aside so Hutch walked back to the bedroom. He retrieved a tri-fold brochure from his dresser describing the organization’s humanitarian projects. He returned to the living room and handed it to Starsky.
“Sounds like a worthwhile thing to do.” Starsky glanced at the pamphlet.
“Why don’t you say what you really think? Don’t you really mean that I shouldn’t be wasting my time digging wells in a foreign country? I should be here, helping you make the city safe.”
“Maybe that’s what I woulda said a couple years ago.”
Hutch’s face pinched in disbelief.
Starsky raised his hands in quick surrender. “OK, maybe that’s what I woulda said a couple months ago. But not now. I’ve adjusted to workin’ without you.” He plopped down on the sofa.
“You have?” Hutch was surprised.
“Sure. I know you’re never comin’ back to Metro and I can see you’re happier doin’ somethin’ like this.”
“You can?” That surprised Hutch even more.
Starsky smiled up at him. The smile had sincerity and something else that made Hutch’s heart beat a tiny bit faster.
Then Starsky rolled back in the couch, one foot resting on the edge of the coffee table, fingers twisting the hem of his denim shirt. “Besides, I’m used to the new rotation. I’m still not out on the street much, but when I am, Peterson’s not such a bad partner.”
Hutch felt a twinge of jealousy. He liked Peterson too, but he wished he were the one at Starsky’s side.
Starsky put his foot down and leaned forward, looking back up at Hutch. “Doesn’t mean I’m not interested in what happens to you.”
That took away the pang of jealousy and any sadness too. Hutch sat down on the sofa next to Starsky, accepting that his heart would always feel this abundant affection he had for his friend and the need to ultimately tell him the truth. “I‘m sorry I didn’t mention anything about the new job. Actually, I was afraid you’d talk me out of it.”
Starsky bumped his knee against Hutch’s leg. “Didn’t know I had that kind of influence on you anymore.”
Hutch caught Starsky’s eye, surprised again, this time because Starsky had doubted something that Hutch knew would never change. “Well, maybe you do.”
The corner of Starsky’s mouth curled. He patted Hutch’s leg and rose, headed for the kitchen chair on which his jacket hung. “Ya wanna know somethin’ interesting about Peru?”
“What?” Hutch got up and retrieved his own jacked from the closet.
“Cole Porter was born there.”
“Cole Porter’s Latin American?”
“No, not the country, the city.” Starsky joined him by the door, ready to leave.
“The circus city or the college town?”
“Circus city.”
Hutch nodded, savoring the patter with Starsky, savoring his presence. He would miss him when May arrived. But it was only for sixty-two days. And he had to keep moving forward with his life, searching until he found a path that felt right again.
“You ready to head down to Huggy’s?” Hutch asked.
“How about Sullivan’s tonight?”
“Something wrong with Huggy’s?”
“No, I just feel like somethin’ different.”
Four weeks later, Thursday night
As Hutch waited for Starsky to get ready, he opened the cupboard where he thought Starsky kept those salty crackers he liked. He was starving, but even as hungry as he was, the Cheetos he saw there instead did not appeal. He tried the other cupboard where Starsky stashed snacks. He found an open container of Whippet’s but there were only two left, not enough for a fair filch since these were Starsky’s third favorite kind of cookie.
He checked on top of the refrigerator with no luck and then spied a familiarly shaped blue booklet lying on the table next to Starsky’s mail. He picked it up just as Starsky emerged from the bathroom, cleaned up after his shift, wearing his Thursday night jeans and blue Henley.
“Starsky, what’s this?”
“My passport.” Starsky plucked it from Hutch’s hand as he walked into the kitchen.
“What are you doing with a passport?”
“Goin’ somewhere, Ollie.”
“Where are you going?”
“With you.”
“With me?”
“To Peru.”
“Peru, the country?”
“Well ya don’t need a passport for Indiana.” Starsky put the passport back on the table. He picked up his watch from the counter and fastened the band around his wrist.
“No. I guess not.” Hutch looked warily at Starsky, squinting slightly, expecting a punch line. “You’re joking, right?”
“Nope. You don’t need one for Nebraska either.”
Starsky moved past Hutch into the living room. Hutch trailed behind him. “But Starsk, Peru, the country, is a long way. It’s four thousand miles south of here.”
“I know.” Starsky said, sliding his wallet into his back pocket.
“You can’t just all of a sudden decide to go there. You can’t just hop on a plane bound for Peru. You have to make arrangements.”
“I made arrangements. I signed on with USALA and I’m officially a well digger on your team.”
Hutch’s breath left his body in a whoosh. “But what about your job? You can’t be away from Metro that long.”
“Won’t be a problem.”
“That’s not what Dobey will say.”
“Then I guess I’ll have to quit.” Starsky brushed past him, headed back to the kitchen.
Hutch stood, his mouth hanging open, until a noise in the kitchen snapped him out of it. He strode over to Starsky who was just closing the cupboard. Starsky turned around with a box of those good crackers in hand. They must have been there all along, hiding behind the Cheetos. Starsky got one out and offered it to Hutch. “Here, have a cracker.”
Hutch pushed Starsky’s arm with the cracker aside. “Are you saying that you’re going to quit? After all the hell you went through to get back?”
Starsky shrugged, stepped back, leaning against the sink. He crossed his leg at the ankle and popped the cracker in his own mouth. He chewed thoughtfully, and then said, “For months, you were tellin’ me what a mistake it was for me to go back to the job. You were always sayin’ the only reason I wanted to go back was to prove I could do it.”
“I didn’t say that. I might have said that you didn’t need to go back just to prove you could do it.”
“Either way, I made my decision to go back. Now, I’m makin’ another one.” Starsky pushed off the sink, setting the box of crackers down on the counter near Hutch. He went to the refrigerator, opened the door and rummaged through what Hutch figured were meager contents.
Hutch shook his head, still not able to believe what he was hearing. “That’s nuts.”
Starsky went to the sink with a carrot in his hand and rinsed it under running water. “The way I figure it, an opportunity like this one doesn’t come along everyday.”
“An opportunity to dig wells?” Hutch said sarcastically.
Starsky turned off the water and got a peeler out of the drawer. “I’m lookin’ at the bigger picture.”
“I don’t think you’ve got the picture at all.” Hutch paced across and back in the small kitchen, his empty stomach flipping over. He was sure there was something that Starsky hadn’t thought of, something that would make this amazing news turn to dust and disappear. He turned toward Starsky. “The travel will be grueling, and not just the plane ride. The conditions are going to be primitive in a lot of places.”
Starsky made one final swipe along the carrot with the peeler. He looked up defiantly at Hutch.
“They speak Spanish there,” Hutch said, as he thought of this additional obstacle.
Starsky smiled, putting down the carrot. He took three deliberate steps until he was only inches in front of Hutch. “¿Dónde está Ramon?”
This did not make Hutch any calmer. Instead, his heart rate increased as Starsky made certain the pronunciation was perfect, the “r” rolled just enough.
“Why do I gotta keep tellin’ ya? They didn’t shoot me in the head.” Starsky turned back to the counter, scooped up the peelings and tossed them in the garbage can.
“You think you’ve got this all figured out.” Hutch said derisively.
“No. But then, you don’t either.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s been almost two years since the trial. You haven’t exactly put down roots and established an alternative career.”
“What I do or don’t do with my personal life has nothing to do with this discussion about you traveling to Peru.”
“You’re right. I was just makin’ an observation.”
“Well don’t. Just tell me why you want to do this insane thing.”
Starsky faced Hutch squarely. “A broadening of my horizons. Isn’t that something you’re always telling me to do? It’s mainly that, and - and I don’t wanna miss out anymore.”
Hutch tilted his head and scrunched his forehead, demanding with his expression that Starsky explain further.
“I don’t want to miss out on the tacos, Hutch. I really love tacos.”
“They don’t have tacos there, dummy.”
Starsky’s lip curled just slightly on one side. “I know, dummy.”
The clarity and boldness in Starsky’s eyes stopped him cold. Perhaps nothing else was clear to Hutch, but the weight of Starsky’s intention was irrefutable.
“Sit down, Hutch. ” Starsky picked up the peeled carrot, extended it to Hutch and pulled out one of the chairs at his kitchen table.
Hutch sat down, took the carrot and bit deliberately. At first, the implications of Starsky’s plans seemed complicated, coded and difficult to decipher. He chewed once. He chewed again, mulling it over. At the very least, Starsky would have to find a new job when they got back. He wouldn’t be a cop anymore. That would be a difficult adjustment for Starsky. Hutch would have to help him acclimate, find work, something nice and safe, with no guns and no car chases.
Hutch took another bite; chewed a few more times. He envisioned the two of them traveling together. It was going to be a difficult journey. They would be far away from Bay City and their normal routines. Starsky would want to try all sorts of things on this new adventure. But Hutch would be there to help guide him and together they would find their way.
Hutch munched faster as he tried to imagine what it would be like working in Peru. It had been a while since they had worked together, equal partners in a common cause. So much had changed for them. Still, one thing was certain. They would watch each other’s backs. That was still instinct. Only now, they’d be carrying bug spray and canteens instead of guns and badges.
Hutch stuck the last chunk of carrot in his mouth and crunched fast. They would have to spend a lot of time together too, maybe seventy-five percent of the time, maybe more. And Starsky must have realized this. When Hutch swallowed the last of the carrot and re-focused, he found Starsky standing right in front of him.
Starsky leaned down over him as he sat in the chair, “They eat guinea pigs there.”
“What?”
“In Peru, the country.”
“So?”
Starsky straightened up. “I want to make this very clear. I love tacos. I’ll eat tacos any day of the week. But I’m not ever gonna eat a guinea pig.” He stepped back and checked his watch. “Now, let’s get to Huggy’s before they run outta the good stuff.”
“Wait! Just wait. Hold on a minute. I’m still confused.”
“Really? ‘Cause, you look happy.”
“I do?”
“You definitely look happy.”
Hutch stood. “How could I be happy? I don’t know what the fuck is going on.”
Starsky snorted a laugh. “How do you feel about it? About you and me digging wells in Peru?”
“I don’t know. Fine, I guess.”
“OK, then. Let’s go have dinner.” Starsky patted Hutch’s side.
“Just like that?”
“What? You got somethin’ you wanna do first?”
Hutch noticed that Starsky had that excited, can’t-stand-still look that he hadn’t seen in quite a while.
“Yeah. I mean no. It’s just-” Hutch grabbed onto his partner with both hands afraid he would disappear any second. “Starsk!”
“Yeah?”
“It’s really important that you know how much this means to me. That you would actually do this! That you want to do this.”
“Who wouldn’t want to go dig wells in Peru?”
“You wouldn’t!” Hutch gave him a shake, which made Starsky smirk even more.
“Who wouldn’t want to go dig wells in Peru with you?” Starsky poked him in the chest, eyes laughing brightly.
Hutch let go and stepped back. “Everybody.”
“Else. Everybody else is not me.”
Starsky was smiling so much now Hutch wondered if his face hurt from it. Then he realized that his own face ached a little too.
“You’re sure?” Hutch asked.
Starsky rolled his eyes, impatiently. “Sheesh, a guy could starve to death trying to get through to you. Look at me, Hutch. I’m not jokin’. I got my passport. I got reservations just so you’d know I’m serious. So you wouldn’t talk me out of it.”
“Could I talk you out of it?”
Starsky’s smile faded. They looked at each for a long moment.
“This is your gig, Hutch. If you wanna go solo, I’ll respect that. But,” Starsky hung his head and took a deep breath.
“But what?“ Hutch had to know.
Starsky raised his eyes. “Look at me. Can’t you see it?”
Then Hutch did see, everything decoded in Starsky’s beautiful, beautiful face. Hutch could continue to meander through life or blaze a trail with this man. It was a whole new future and he was more than ready for it to start.
“Yeah, I can see it.”
Starsky shut his eyes and nodded as if he was envisioning the future in his mind.
Hutch waited until he opened his eyes and looked back again. Then Hutch teased, “You look hungry.”
“Famished.”
“You want to try that new place on Hawthorne?”
“Naw, let’s hit Huggy’s. I’m feelin’ sentimental.” Then Starsky was gone, passing like a blur through the apartment, shutting windows, pulling shades, turning off lights and putting on his jacket.
“Starsk?” Hutch asked, causing Starsky to pause at the door.
“Yeah?”
“I am happy.”
“Me too.”
“Oh, and Starsk?”
“Yeah?”
Hutch grinned, feeling his face stretch again and his heart beating strong and steady. “I’ll make sure you don’t have to eat any guinea pigs.”
“You do that.” Starsky swung his arm around Hutch’s shoulders. His hand moved up, threading briefly through Hutch’s hair while he opened the door with his other hand.
“I’m counting on it, partner.”
Peru, the Country?
Hutch had that “Thursday night” spring in his step as he went to answer the knock at his apartment door. Starsky had arrived to pick him up for dinner. They’d met every Thursday evening since Starsky had gone back to work full-time at Metro after his hard fought recovery. With Hutch off the force, they didn’t see each other on the job anymore. But Thursday nights, those were reserved for each other, indefinitely if you asked Hutch.
“I’m just about ready,” Hutch said as he collected his wallet from the bedroom dresser. When Hutch turned around, he saw Starsky leaning over his nightstand, picking up the envelope he had forgotten he left there.
“Hey, Hutch, what’s this?” Starsky asked.
The folio from the airline was sticking out too far to be missed.
“Plane tickets,” Hutch said, trying to sound nonchalant.
“You goin’ somewhere?”
There was no way to avoid telling Starsky now. “Yeah. Peru.”
“Peru, Indiana?”
“There’s a Peru in Indiana?” Hutch walked over and took the tickets out of Starsky’s hand and put them inside the top drawer of his dresser.
“Yep,” Starsky replied.
“How do you know that?”
“My mother’s cousin, Nava.”
Hutch thought a moment, trying to recall this particular mother’s cousin. He’d never believed Starsky actually had so many illustrative relatives until Starsky had taken him to New York while he was recovering after the shooting. For weeks, there was a steady stream of uniquely interesting relations stopping by to wish him well. Hutch took pride in keeping them catalogued in his memory so Starsky never stumped him when he mentioned one or the other.
“Umm, the trapeze artist?” Hutch snapped his fingers when he finally had it.
“Her mother-in-law was the trapeze artist and the father-in-law was assistant ringmaster. Anyway, she used to send us postcards from Peru, Indiana, when she went to visit her in-laws. All the big circuses have their winter headquarters there.”
“Really.” Hutch turned and walked toward the kitchen.
“Or maybe you’re flyin’ to Peru, Nebraska?”
“There’s a Peru in Nebraska?” Hutch glanced back with raised eyebrows.
“Absolutely.”
“And you know this, how?”
“Last time I stopped to check in on Mrs. Winters down the street, her great nephew was visiting.”
“He’s from Peru, Nebraska?”
Starsky shook his head. “He lives outside of Fort Wayne. But he’s goin’ to college in Peru, Nebraska. Isn’t that some coincidence?”
“Mhmm.” Hutch walked past the sink, forgetting why he had come into the kitchen.
“So which Peru are you headed to?” Starsky asked.
Hutch suddenly felt trapped. He wanted to keep moving and turned to walk out but Starsky sidestepped with him, blocking the way. He had Hutch cornered, just like a perp.
“The country,” Hutch confessed.
“The one in South America?”
“Uh-huh. Not until May, though.” Hutch wanted Starsky to have that piece of exculpatory information right away. He hoped it would seem less like he had been holding back from telling him about it since it was still a couple months away.
“Guess you forgot to mention it?”
“I just finished making the arrangements.” Hutch turned away, toward the sink. He didn’t want to see the likely disapproval on Starsky’s face when he told him about this latest job.
Hutch had stayed with BCPD until the last day of the Gunther trial, almost two years ago, just before Starsky returned to work there. He wanted to stay longer for Starsky’s sake, tried to stay longer for his own sake, but he had no more cop instinct left inside him. Staying would have been a risk to Starsky, their colleagues and the citizenry he was sworn to protect.
Ever since he resigned, he had meandered through a series of jobs, all of which Starsky complained were beneath him and going nowhere. He had never meandered through anything in his life before but, for some reason, he hadn’t yet found the next career move that he could dig his teeth into. Maybe that would change with Peru.
“How long did it take you to make these Peru arrangements?” Starsky asked.
“Not that long.” Hutch turned on the water, picked up the plate on the counter and rinsed it off despite the fact that he had already done the same thing just before Starsky arrived.
Instead of the interrogation he expected from Starsky, he heard a plaintive, “You gonna stay in Peru or come back?”
Hutch wheeled around to face him. “Of course, I’m coming back. Geez! What the hell kind of question is that?”
“I was just askin’ because you hadn’t said anything.” Starsky looked at him with genuine concern.
“I’ll only be gone for sixty-two days.” He winced apologetically, drying his hands on his pants. “I was going to tell you, Starsk. I just wanted to get everything arranged first.”
“Mind if I ask what you plan to do in Peru?”
“I joined a team working for USALA, US Aid to Latin America. They’ve got an office in the Wexler Building downtown. My first assignment is with a group that’s establishing clean water supplies in Peru.” Starsky had moved aside so Hutch walked back to the bedroom. He retrieved a tri-fold brochure from his dresser describing the organization’s humanitarian projects. He returned to the living room and handed it to Starsky.
“Sounds like a worthwhile thing to do.” Starsky glanced at the pamphlet.
“Why don’t you say what you really think? Don’t you really mean that I shouldn’t be wasting my time digging wells in a foreign country? I should be here, helping you make the city safe.”
“Maybe that’s what I woulda said a couple years ago.”
Hutch’s face pinched in disbelief.
Starsky raised his hands in quick surrender. “OK, maybe that’s what I woulda said a couple months ago. But not now. I’ve adjusted to workin’ without you.” He plopped down on the sofa.
“You have?” Hutch was surprised.
“Sure. I know you’re never comin’ back to Metro and I can see you’re happier doin’ somethin’ like this.”
“You can?” That surprised Hutch even more.
Starsky smiled up at him. The smile had sincerity and something else that made Hutch’s heart beat a tiny bit faster.
Then Starsky rolled back in the couch, one foot resting on the edge of the coffee table, fingers twisting the hem of his denim shirt. “Besides, I’m used to the new rotation. I’m still not out on the street much, but when I am, Peterson’s not such a bad partner.”
Hutch felt a twinge of jealousy. He liked Peterson too, but he wished he were the one at Starsky’s side.
Starsky put his foot down and leaned forward, looking back up at Hutch. “Doesn’t mean I’m not interested in what happens to you.”
That took away the pang of jealousy and any sadness too. Hutch sat down on the sofa next to Starsky, accepting that his heart would always feel this abundant affection he had for his friend and the need to ultimately tell him the truth. “I‘m sorry I didn’t mention anything about the new job. Actually, I was afraid you’d talk me out of it.”
Starsky bumped his knee against Hutch’s leg. “Didn’t know I had that kind of influence on you anymore.”
Hutch caught Starsky’s eye, surprised again, this time because Starsky had doubted something that Hutch knew would never change. “Well, maybe you do.”
The corner of Starsky’s mouth curled. He patted Hutch’s leg and rose, headed for the kitchen chair on which his jacket hung. “Ya wanna know somethin’ interesting about Peru?”
“What?” Hutch got up and retrieved his own jacked from the closet.
“Cole Porter was born there.”
“Cole Porter’s Latin American?”
“No, not the country, the city.” Starsky joined him by the door, ready to leave.
“The circus city or the college town?”
“Circus city.”
Hutch nodded, savoring the patter with Starsky, savoring his presence. He would miss him when May arrived. But it was only for sixty-two days. And he had to keep moving forward with his life, searching until he found a path that felt right again.
“You ready to head down to Huggy’s?” Hutch asked.
“How about Sullivan’s tonight?”
“Something wrong with Huggy’s?”
“No, I just feel like somethin’ different.”
Four weeks later, Thursday night
As Hutch waited for Starsky to get ready, he opened the cupboard where he thought Starsky kept those salty crackers he liked. He was starving, but even as hungry as he was, the Cheetos he saw there instead did not appeal. He tried the other cupboard where Starsky stashed snacks. He found an open container of Whippet’s but there were only two left, not enough for a fair filch since these were Starsky’s third favorite kind of cookie.
He checked on top of the refrigerator with no luck and then spied a familiarly shaped blue booklet lying on the table next to Starsky’s mail. He picked it up just as Starsky emerged from the bathroom, cleaned up after his shift, wearing his Thursday night jeans and blue Henley.
“Starsky, what’s this?”
“My passport.” Starsky plucked it from Hutch’s hand as he walked into the kitchen.
“What are you doing with a passport?”
“Goin’ somewhere, Ollie.”
“Where are you going?”
“With you.”
“With me?”
“To Peru.”
“Peru, the country?”
“Well ya don’t need a passport for Indiana.” Starsky put the passport back on the table. He picked up his watch from the counter and fastened the band around his wrist.
“No. I guess not.” Hutch looked warily at Starsky, squinting slightly, expecting a punch line. “You’re joking, right?”
“Nope. You don’t need one for Nebraska either.”
Starsky moved past Hutch into the living room. Hutch trailed behind him. “But Starsk, Peru, the country, is a long way. It’s four thousand miles south of here.”
“I know.” Starsky said, sliding his wallet into his back pocket.
“You can’t just all of a sudden decide to go there. You can’t just hop on a plane bound for Peru. You have to make arrangements.”
“I made arrangements. I signed on with USALA and I’m officially a well digger on your team.”
Hutch’s breath left his body in a whoosh. “But what about your job? You can’t be away from Metro that long.”
“Won’t be a problem.”
“That’s not what Dobey will say.”
“Then I guess I’ll have to quit.” Starsky brushed past him, headed back to the kitchen.
Hutch stood, his mouth hanging open, until a noise in the kitchen snapped him out of it. He strode over to Starsky who was just closing the cupboard. Starsky turned around with a box of those good crackers in hand. They must have been there all along, hiding behind the Cheetos. Starsky got one out and offered it to Hutch. “Here, have a cracker.”
Hutch pushed Starsky’s arm with the cracker aside. “Are you saying that you’re going to quit? After all the hell you went through to get back?”
Starsky shrugged, stepped back, leaning against the sink. He crossed his leg at the ankle and popped the cracker in his own mouth. He chewed thoughtfully, and then said, “For months, you were tellin’ me what a mistake it was for me to go back to the job. You were always sayin’ the only reason I wanted to go back was to prove I could do it.”
“I didn’t say that. I might have said that you didn’t need to go back just to prove you could do it.”
“Either way, I made my decision to go back. Now, I’m makin’ another one.” Starsky pushed off the sink, setting the box of crackers down on the counter near Hutch. He went to the refrigerator, opened the door and rummaged through what Hutch figured were meager contents.
Hutch shook his head, still not able to believe what he was hearing. “That’s nuts.”
Starsky went to the sink with a carrot in his hand and rinsed it under running water. “The way I figure it, an opportunity like this one doesn’t come along everyday.”
“An opportunity to dig wells?” Hutch said sarcastically.
Starsky turned off the water and got a peeler out of the drawer. “I’m lookin’ at the bigger picture.”
“I don’t think you’ve got the picture at all.” Hutch paced across and back in the small kitchen, his empty stomach flipping over. He was sure there was something that Starsky hadn’t thought of, something that would make this amazing news turn to dust and disappear. He turned toward Starsky. “The travel will be grueling, and not just the plane ride. The conditions are going to be primitive in a lot of places.”
Starsky made one final swipe along the carrot with the peeler. He looked up defiantly at Hutch.
“They speak Spanish there,” Hutch said, as he thought of this additional obstacle.
Starsky smiled, putting down the carrot. He took three deliberate steps until he was only inches in front of Hutch. “¿Dónde está Ramon?”
This did not make Hutch any calmer. Instead, his heart rate increased as Starsky made certain the pronunciation was perfect, the “r” rolled just enough.
“Why do I gotta keep tellin’ ya? They didn’t shoot me in the head.” Starsky turned back to the counter, scooped up the peelings and tossed them in the garbage can.
“You think you’ve got this all figured out.” Hutch said derisively.
“No. But then, you don’t either.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s been almost two years since the trial. You haven’t exactly put down roots and established an alternative career.”
“What I do or don’t do with my personal life has nothing to do with this discussion about you traveling to Peru.”
“You’re right. I was just makin’ an observation.”
“Well don’t. Just tell me why you want to do this insane thing.”
Starsky faced Hutch squarely. “A broadening of my horizons. Isn’t that something you’re always telling me to do? It’s mainly that, and - and I don’t wanna miss out anymore.”
Hutch tilted his head and scrunched his forehead, demanding with his expression that Starsky explain further.
“I don’t want to miss out on the tacos, Hutch. I really love tacos.”
“They don’t have tacos there, dummy.”
Starsky’s lip curled just slightly on one side. “I know, dummy.”
The clarity and boldness in Starsky’s eyes stopped him cold. Perhaps nothing else was clear to Hutch, but the weight of Starsky’s intention was irrefutable.
“Sit down, Hutch. ” Starsky picked up the peeled carrot, extended it to Hutch and pulled out one of the chairs at his kitchen table.
Hutch sat down, took the carrot and bit deliberately. At first, the implications of Starsky’s plans seemed complicated, coded and difficult to decipher. He chewed once. He chewed again, mulling it over. At the very least, Starsky would have to find a new job when they got back. He wouldn’t be a cop anymore. That would be a difficult adjustment for Starsky. Hutch would have to help him acclimate, find work, something nice and safe, with no guns and no car chases.
Hutch took another bite; chewed a few more times. He envisioned the two of them traveling together. It was going to be a difficult journey. They would be far away from Bay City and their normal routines. Starsky would want to try all sorts of things on this new adventure. But Hutch would be there to help guide him and together they would find their way.
Hutch munched faster as he tried to imagine what it would be like working in Peru. It had been a while since they had worked together, equal partners in a common cause. So much had changed for them. Still, one thing was certain. They would watch each other’s backs. That was still instinct. Only now, they’d be carrying bug spray and canteens instead of guns and badges.
Hutch stuck the last chunk of carrot in his mouth and crunched fast. They would have to spend a lot of time together too, maybe seventy-five percent of the time, maybe more. And Starsky must have realized this. When Hutch swallowed the last of the carrot and re-focused, he found Starsky standing right in front of him.
Starsky leaned down over him as he sat in the chair, “They eat guinea pigs there.”
“What?”
“In Peru, the country.”
“So?”
Starsky straightened up. “I want to make this very clear. I love tacos. I’ll eat tacos any day of the week. But I’m not ever gonna eat a guinea pig.” He stepped back and checked his watch. “Now, let’s get to Huggy’s before they run outta the good stuff.”
“Wait! Just wait. Hold on a minute. I’m still confused.”
“Really? ‘Cause, you look happy.”
“I do?”
“You definitely look happy.”
Hutch stood. “How could I be happy? I don’t know what the fuck is going on.”
Starsky snorted a laugh. “How do you feel about it? About you and me digging wells in Peru?”
“I don’t know. Fine, I guess.”
“OK, then. Let’s go have dinner.” Starsky patted Hutch’s side.
“Just like that?”
“What? You got somethin’ you wanna do first?”
Hutch noticed that Starsky had that excited, can’t-stand-still look that he hadn’t seen in quite a while.
“Yeah. I mean no. It’s just-” Hutch grabbed onto his partner with both hands afraid he would disappear any second. “Starsk!”
“Yeah?”
“It’s really important that you know how much this means to me. That you would actually do this! That you want to do this.”
“Who wouldn’t want to go dig wells in Peru?”
“You wouldn’t!” Hutch gave him a shake, which made Starsky smirk even more.
“Who wouldn’t want to go dig wells in Peru with you?” Starsky poked him in the chest, eyes laughing brightly.
Hutch let go and stepped back. “Everybody.”
“Else. Everybody else is not me.”
Starsky was smiling so much now Hutch wondered if his face hurt from it. Then he realized that his own face ached a little too.
“You’re sure?” Hutch asked.
Starsky rolled his eyes, impatiently. “Sheesh, a guy could starve to death trying to get through to you. Look at me, Hutch. I’m not jokin’. I got my passport. I got reservations just so you’d know I’m serious. So you wouldn’t talk me out of it.”
“Could I talk you out of it?”
Starsky’s smile faded. They looked at each for a long moment.
“This is your gig, Hutch. If you wanna go solo, I’ll respect that. But,” Starsky hung his head and took a deep breath.
“But what?“ Hutch had to know.
Starsky raised his eyes. “Look at me. Can’t you see it?”
Then Hutch did see, everything decoded in Starsky’s beautiful, beautiful face. Hutch could continue to meander through life or blaze a trail with this man. It was a whole new future and he was more than ready for it to start.
“Yeah, I can see it.”
Starsky shut his eyes and nodded as if he was envisioning the future in his mind.
Hutch waited until he opened his eyes and looked back again. Then Hutch teased, “You look hungry.”
“Famished.”
“You want to try that new place on Hawthorne?”
“Naw, let’s hit Huggy’s. I’m feelin’ sentimental.” Then Starsky was gone, passing like a blur through the apartment, shutting windows, pulling shades, turning off lights and putting on his jacket.
“Starsk?” Hutch asked, causing Starsky to pause at the door.
“Yeah?”
“I am happy.”
“Me too.”
“Oh, and Starsk?”
“Yeah?”
Hutch grinned, feeling his face stretch again and his heart beating strong and steady. “I’ll make sure you don’t have to eat any guinea pigs.”
“You do that.” Starsky swung his arm around Hutch’s shoulders. His hand moved up, threading briefly through Hutch’s hair while he opened the door with his other hand.
“I’m counting on it, partner.”