I’d been instrumental in helping bring down aUkrainian crime ring near Boston, and after the bust, a good friendwho works in the Boston office was promoted to Supervisory SpecialAgent. He wanted me in his unit, and I wanted to go. I didn’t thinkmy life would be less complicated or I’d have a hellava lot moretime, but I could invest in writing letters to a woman who hadsomehow gotten under my skin.
Hey babe,
Don’t get your panties in a knot. I get youthink babe is pejorative, but aside from using it to tweak you intoanswering me, I mean it warmly.
Appreciated the laugh. Your note cracked meup. Delay in answering is all mail related. I moved across thecountry recently. I’ve heard men are less adaptable to change thanwomen. IDK if that’s true, but I can’t imagine anyone enjoyingmoving. Pain in the ass and nothing but upheaval. Adjusting to thejob change – reason for the move – has been almost seamless, butfinding my shit has been a nightmare. I’m not home enough to devotemore than an hour a night to unpacking and sorting, so I’m goodwith one set of dishes and utensils, and one pan for a while.
How’re the plants doing?
Ross
Eleven Days Later
Ross,
Well color me surprised. I thought you’dtaken umbrage and had thrown in the towel. Good to know you have asense of humor.
I don’t mind babe if it’s meant to be warm,but you have to admit: many men use it as a diminutive, especiallyin the workplace.
The flowers are flourishing under constantcare and attention. I feed and water them when I come home fromwork, then sit out on the back patio with my dog, Boo, and enjoythe beauty. FYI Boo’s not named after Boo Radley from To Kill aMockingbird, or after the band with the same name. He’s not white,so it’s not a ghost thing. He was timid when I rescued him from thelocal shelter, and his name was a play on his character. Over time,he’s come out of his shell. I take him to doggie day care twice aweek so he’s not alone all the time when I’m at work, and thesocializing helps. Now, he’s quite territorial about the house andback patio, and his name fits because he tries to scare off peoplewhile he goes about his protection duties, which he takesseriously. The vet thinks he’s about three years old and is somekind of a doodle blend. I could get a DNA test done to find out hisbreed lineage, but I don’t care. He’s sweet, and I love him nomatter his parentage.
I agree about moving. As I’ve mentioned, myoffice relocated, and while it wasn’t across the country, and it’sone room with limited personal stuff compared to moving ahousehold, I hated it nonetheless. But, once it was done, and I gotset up and organized, I was happy for the change.
Wherever it is you are, try to get out andenjoy your new surroundings. All work and no play makes Ross a dullcaveman.
Flower
Oh yeah. I could really get into this woman.Something about the way she phrases things, there’s a real empathythere that’s ingrained in her. I bet she’s sweet down to her soul.Sucks major I can’t be with her in person, but sucks more if Icould. I wouldn’t be able to give her the time she deserves, andthis woman should have a man’s undivided attention.
Work has been crazy busy. There are more badpeople in the world than anyone could imagine, and they’re crawlingall over college campuses either recruiting or studying us. Totalfluke, we got wind of a group of Russian students at BostonUniversity through Skip’s – my friend/supervisor – kid, Jonas. He’dcome home to do laundry, and was ranting about some douches who areon his floor in the dorms and how they always have twenty of theirfriends over getting drunk, loud, really obnoxious with the girls,and doing it all in Russian.
In and of itself, the story didn’t send upany red flags. Lots of kids were obnoxious in college, and studentsfrom a repressed society, more so. But one thing Jonas had told hisdad made Skip sit up and pay attention. Apparently people werecoming and going at all hours, and one night Jonas was studyinglate, left his room to use the bathroom, and saw an older guy,someone who was definitely not college age, slip a manila envelopeunder the exchange students’ door. Then, a few days later, whenJonas was going out for his morning run, he witnessed the same guyhanging by the dorm way early.
Jonas said, “The dude is twitchy and doesn’tlook right.”
According to Skip, Jonas is as far away frombeing law enforcement material as a person can be. He’s laid-back,a tech nerd, doesn’t pay much attention to his surroundings, andthinks the FBI is big brother. For Jonas to make the observationshe had set off Skip’s alarm bells. After running it by theirAssistant Special Agent-in-Charge (ASAC), they got the green lightto start looking into these bozos.
Since this shit is right up my alley, I gotthe case, and now I and my team of two other special agents aresurveilling about twenty-five male Russian students at BostonUniversity.
Sometimes, when I’m lying in bed trying toshut down my brain, I go back to my family home in Fiddler’s Restand think about the life my parents gave us. I want that formyself. Someone to come home to every night who I love and lovesme: someone who’s happy to see me when I drag my ass home. A housefilled with kids and dogs. A life filled with love, comfort, andlaughter.
Skip has that, but the trouble is not manyagents or cops do. The divorce rate is high in law enforcement fora reason. Those of us who wear a badge are tied to our jobs in away most people aren’t. It’s not the kind of work you can leave atthe office, and when you’re called out in the middle of the night,not only can’t you say no, most of the time you’re rushing to getto wherever it is you’re being sent.
I’m thirty-four years old, and since collegeI haven’t been with anyone for more than a couple of months.
Hey babe,
I’m envious – you have Boo. Everyone needs adog. I grew up with five of them over time. Two Golden Retrieverswhen I was little. Perfect dogs for small children: patient andtolerant. When they died, we got a Great Dane that was huge andtore up the yard so bad my folks didn’t want two dogs. Elvis wasenough. When he died, we got two small rescue dogs, both terriermixes, and then I went off to college. Since then, it sucks, but myschedule doesn’t allow for pets.
Same goes for exploring my surroundings,though I’m getting acquainted with the restaurants in myneighborhood. Take-out on the way home a couple of nights a weeksaves me from having to cook. I’m okay at it, but the menu islimited.
You cook?
Ross
Dutchford, Connecticut
Theresa
