“Green-Eyed Monster”
Scene: The following morning, in the patrol car, start of day-watch.
Earnest: So, how was that fancy reception last night, the medical conference? Did you enjoy mingling in Dr. Strickland’s world?
Wry: How many times do I have to tell you—her name is Lauren?
Earnest: (Laughs.) Sorry, I just can’t get used to that. The woman was my doctor, Pete; she spent four hours repairing blood vessels and minor arteries in my leg. I was introduced to her as ‘doctor’ and that’s how I think of her. But anyway, how was it last night?
Wry: (Shrugs.) It was... okay.
Earnest: Just okay? What, the food was bad? They didn’t serve booze? Dr. Strickland—Lauren—wore an ugly dress? What?
Wry: No, nothing like that. Lauren looked great, as usual, and the reception itself was about as boring as I thought it would be, so that wasn’t unexpected.
Earnest: So if the event itself was just as you predicted, then something must have happened there that made it ‘just okay.’
Wry: I guess you could say that.
Earnest: Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. So what happened?
Wry: (Sighs; checks traffic at cross-street.) Two things. Two separate things, which, independently, are insignificant. But put the two together—literally, within minutes of each other—and, well, I gotta wonder.
Earnest: So what were the two things?
Wry: (Navigates around a woman unloading a stroller from the back of her car.) The first thing was that Lauren ran into an old friend. A fellow doctor, who of course looks like he should be on TV—and who apparently is gonna be in town for a week or so.
Earnest: An ex-boyfriend?
Wry: She says not.
Earnest: You don’t believe her?
Wry: Apparently they were childhood friends who haven’t seen each other much in recent years. That part I believe. But what they were in the past doesn’t always tell the whole story.
Earnest: (Nods.) Ah, so you’re thinking there could be a long-simmering spark there that never got ignited before, but now....
Wry: It’s possible.
Earnest: (Grins.) I guess it was inevitable, Pete. Eventually you were bound to get bitten by the green-eyed monster.
Wry: (Exasperated; scans the residential street and surroundings.) I’m not jealous.
Earnest: You wouldn’t be jealous if Doctor—I mean Lauren—had feelings for another guy?
Wry: I might be disappointed or unhappy, but if she prefers to be with some bone-jockey, then the last thing I want to do is try to keep her, which would make us both miserable.
Earnest: Okay, so what about the other thing that happened?
Wry: Well, not five minutes after she was talking with Doctor Handsome—and blushing about it, I might add—she asked me about the other night, when I went to Curley’s.
YOU ARE READING
Under Suspicion
General FictionTwo cops-- partners. They see it all: the good, the bad, and the stupid. And their job is not an easy one, when dealing with the public. Not to mention how it affects their personal lives. ***Note: Rather than a traditional story, this is 'slice-of...