cover the
dog hair. “Here. You might as well make yourself comfortable while you’re guarding my honor. Besides, I’m not sure the couch
arm was made to stand up to a man your size.” He moved over and Shakespeare promptly stood up, turned around, and settled
with her head on his lap.
“Nice pooch.”
“Love of my life.”
“Is this the part where you tell me she doesn’t usually take to people this quickly, so I must be special?”
“Shakespeare? Hardly. She’ll shake paws with cops or criminals. Not what you’d call discriminating.”
He scratched her behind the ears. “Zeke would like you.”
“Zeke?”
“He’s my dog.”
“What kind?”
“Lab and something. Maybe husky. He’s a mutt.”
“How old?”
“Four.”
“And you got custody in the divorce?”
“Damn straight.”
“Gee, Cody, I’m getting a newfound respect for you. Do you have a picture?”
“Of my dog? You mean in my wallet?”
“Sure.”
“Nah. I used to carry one, but my ex said it was idiotic.”
“No wonder the marriage was doomed.”
“Yeah, well, it was probably doomed anyway.”
“So how come you got hitched?”
“I thought I was supposed to be grilling you.”
“Good luck.”
“Okay, what say I trade you one for one? I spill some hideously painful personal detail, then you.”
“So let me get this straight. Is this the point when we bond by sharing details of our empty lives?”
“Works for me.”
“Deal. But only if I think you came across with something sufficiently hideous.”
“That’s tough but fair.”
“So go. Hand me your tale of woe.”
“And you won’t call me a nancy boy behind my back?”
“Not unless you cry.”
“I’ll try not to. Anyway, it’s not even that interesting. Her name was Lucy, we met in college…”
“You went to college?”
“Cops can’t go to college?”
“Sure they can, I guess. I never really thought about it.”
“Well, lots of us do nowadays. Some of us even know which fork to use.”
“Sorry. No offense. You were saying?”
“I went to U-Mass on a Navy ROTC scholarship. After graduation, I owed the service four years, and I was damned if I was going
to spend it sailing around in a circle,so I applied for the SEALs. I probably would have gone career except my ex said she wouldn’t marry me unless I got out. What
she really wanted was to be married to a cop.”
“Isn’t that weird? I mean, I thought being a cop’s wife was supposed to be so stressful and all.”
“It’s a lifestyle. Her dad was a cop, and both her brothers. She wanted me in the family business.”
“And you just went along?”
“Seemed like the thing to do.”
“So you chose a career to please a girl who wound up dumping you anyway?”
“Truer words were never said.”
“That’s awful.”
“It might have been, I guess. But the fact is I love what I do, and twenty years in the navy would have been about fifteen
years too long. So there you go. Sometimes you make the right choice for the wrong reason.”
“So how did she tell you?”
“Ah. You want gory details.”
“Naturally.”
“She fixed us breakfast, ate some pancakes, and told me she was leaving me while I was washing the dishes.”
“What did you do?”
“I threw up. Then I moved in with my partner. Slept on his couch for a month while I thought things over, and in the end I
decided to get out of Dodge.”
“Why?”
“Like I told you before, she was banging my lieutenant. He was married too, and kids. Man, what a mess… I guess I just didn’t
want to stick around for the cleanup. And besides, my mom needed the company.”
“What happened to the ex?”
“They shacked up for a while, but he ended up getting back with his wife. Last thing I heard she was seeing a captain, sleeping
her way up the chain of command. I figure sooner or later she’ll wind up with the chief of police.”
“You miss her?”
“Nah.”
“You with anybody else since
dog hair. “Here. You might as well make yourself comfortable while you’re guarding my honor. Besides, I’m not sure the couch
arm was made to stand up to a man your size.” He moved over and Shakespeare promptly stood up, turned around, and settled
with her head on his lap.
“Nice pooch.”
“Love of my life.”
“Is this the part where you tell me she doesn’t usually take to people this quickly, so I must be special?”
“Shakespeare? Hardly. She’ll shake paws with cops or criminals. Not what you’d call discriminating.”
He scratched her behind the ears. “Zeke would like you.”
“Zeke?”
“He’s my dog.”
“What kind?”
“Lab and something. Maybe husky. He’s a mutt.”
“How old?”
“Four.”
“And you got custody in the divorce?”
“Damn straight.”
“Gee, Cody, I’m getting a newfound respect for you. Do you have a picture?”
“Of my dog? You mean in my wallet?”
“Sure.”
“Nah. I used to carry one, but my ex said it was idiotic.”
“No wonder the marriage was doomed.”
“Yeah, well, it was probably doomed anyway.”
“So how come you got hitched?”
“I thought I was supposed to be grilling you.”
“Good luck.”
“Okay, what say I trade you one for one? I spill some hideously painful personal detail, then you.”
“So let me get this straight. Is this the point when we bond by sharing details of our empty lives?”
“Works for me.”
“Deal. But only if I think you came across with something sufficiently hideous.”
“That’s tough but fair.”
“So go. Hand me your tale of woe.”
“And you won’t call me a nancy boy behind my back?”
“Not unless you cry.”
“I’ll try not to. Anyway, it’s not even that interesting. Her name was Lucy, we met in college…”
“You went to college?”
“Cops can’t go to college?”
“Sure they can, I guess. I never really thought about it.”
“Well, lots of us do nowadays. Some of us even know which fork to use.”
“Sorry. No offense. You were saying?”
“I went to U-Mass on a Navy ROTC scholarship. After graduation, I owed the service four years, and I was damned if I was going
to spend it sailing around in a circle,so I applied for the SEALs. I probably would have gone career except my ex said she wouldn’t marry me unless I got out. What
she really wanted was to be married to a cop.”
“Isn’t that weird? I mean, I thought being a cop’s wife was supposed to be so stressful and all.”
“It’s a lifestyle. Her dad was a cop, and both her brothers. She wanted me in the family business.”
“And you just went along?”
“Seemed like the thing to do.”
“So you chose a career to please a girl who wound up dumping you anyway?”
“Truer words were never said.”
“That’s awful.”
“It might have been, I guess. But the fact is I love what I do, and twenty years in the navy would have been about fifteen
years too long. So there you go. Sometimes you make the right choice for the wrong reason.”
“So how did she tell you?”
“Ah. You want gory details.”
“Naturally.”
“She fixed us breakfast, ate some pancakes, and told me she was leaving me while I was washing the dishes.”
“What did you do?”
“I threw up. Then I moved in with my partner. Slept on his couch for a month while I thought things over, and in the end I
decided to get out of Dodge.”
“Why?”
“Like I told you before, she was banging my lieutenant. He was married too, and kids. Man, what a mess… I guess I just didn’t
want to stick around for the cleanup. And besides, my mom needed the company.”
“What happened to the ex?”
“They shacked up for a while, but he ended up getting back with his wife. Last thing I heard she was seeing a captain, sleeping
her way up the chain of command. I figure sooner or later she’ll wind up with the chief of police.”
“You miss her?”
“Nah.”
“You with anybody else since
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