tecoyah

Read Between the Lines

The sound reminded him of the reason he had made the phone call in the first place. Decay and brittle disintegration screamed under his feet, as he decided on the best way to say what he felt was needed, without coming off as the bastard he was walking with. Sometimes ego is a really good thing, it helps people become confident, and allows for a certain level of swagger in once timid steps. Unfortunately, it can sometimes corrupt people into thinking they are better than others, looking down upon the “less fortunate” and ready made insignificant.
Thinking back as he tripped a bit on a sidewalk crack, Thom played the comment over in his mind for the fifteenth time in an hour. “If you want something easy to do, you don’t belong here anyway”, followed by the tears and sobs of the new girl in the office. She was naïve Thom agreed, as one would be after 3 days in the field and fresh out of college. This was not the first incident of soul wrenching Bill had induced however, and Thom wanted it to be the last.
As they approached the third bench in the park, they slowed. Thom brushed the dry leaves off the bench and motioned for Bill to have a seat. There was a small , black and yellow caterpillar under the leaves which Thom was careful to relocate to the grass. As Bill sat down Thom reached into his breast pocket, pulling out his billfold, and a few papers, at the same time he removed the 44 magnum, steel blue handgun from the holster under his arm with the other hand. “ What the hell are you doing?” was the only thing Bill could think of to say. Very slowly, Thom opened the billfold and slid his badge out of the well worn leather that held it in place for 32 years. “ I don’t think I belong here anymore, either” he said as he handed the badge, pistol, and letter to Bill.
As Thom walked away, Bill opened the letter to read the resignation letter from the best Cop he had ever known. Tears rained down his cheeks, and softened the leaves at his feet.