Life Interrupted

Chapter 6

Stephanie returned from the kitchen with a fresh cup of coffee. "Ready to get going?" "As ready as I'm going to be!" Deanna offered with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, being on the injured sidelines for two weeks was killing her mood.

However down Deanna's mood had been earlier, it was quickly cured by the stacks of unused info in the folders in front of them. A few hours and several hundred pages later, both of the women's stomachs rumbled, effectively drawing their combined attention away from the task at hand. "Wow!" Stephanie exclaimed, "it's twelve thirty!" "Yeah, I guess it is." Deanna smiled, glancing at her phone. "Can I fix us some lunch?" The younger woman asked. "I brought all the things needed to prepare some fettuccine alfredo. Does that sound good?" "Good? That sounds delicious!" Deanna's mouth began watering thinking of a delicious home cooked meal.

"Hey, Stephanie?" "Yeah?" "Before you get started, I was thinking I might close my eyes for a few minutes. Can you grab me a blanket and a couple more pillows for my leg?" "Oh! Sure! Be right there." Little miss perky sure was on it. A few moments later, Deanna was settled with her leg well elevated and covered with a blanket. "Thank you, Stephanie."

It was nearly one thirty when Stephanie gently shook Deanna's shoulder. "Deanna? Lunch is ready." Deanna blinked, working to awaken herself. "Boy, I must have really been out. Sorry about that." The younger woman smiled back. "It's okay. I know you need the rest. Can I get you a plate?" Deanna pushed herself up. "Yeah, that would be great. Thank you."

A working lunch wasn't exactly what Deanna might have wished for, but she'd take what she could get. "Did you see this?" Stephanie asked excitedly as she handed a folder to Deanna. Deanna set her plate down on her laptop and focused on the papers in front of her. Squinting here and there, she scanned the words. "What in the world? How was this missed?" Deanna's heart thumped in her chest, threatening to cut her breath short. She swallowed, forcing herself to breathe deep. Eyes wide, she met Stephanie's. "I know, and yet I don't know. Who was the original detective?" Deanna flipped back a few pages. "Larson." She stated, her tone clearly irritated. "Ugh. Dick Larson?" "Yep." "He would miss this..." The young woman trailed off. Suddenly Stephanie stood, her own heart pounding with adrenaline. "Hey!" "What?" "Do you want to go check this out tomorrow?" Deanna was so caught off guard with the question that it took her a minute to catch up. "You mean go to this address?" Stephanie nodded vigorously. "Yeah!" "Uh..." Deanna started with much hesitation. "I guess we could do that."

After planning their attack for the following day, Stephanie left the house at almost four pm. With the house quiet, Deanna was left to process what they'd come across. As she worked through the case it struck such a chord with her that she ended up with tears flowing down her cheeks. For the woman with a reinforced steel wall around her heart when it came to work, she was sure she was turning soft. She chuckled ruefully as she sniffled. Of course, it wasn't everyday she sat on her couch in her pajamas pouring over old cases. This one in particular had been that of a fifteen year old girl that had disappeared from school and never arrived home. Deanna just wanted to give the family some closure. Sadly for her, this case hit home in a way that she hated. It was the same story of her younger sister. However in their case after weeks of searching, her sister had been found. She shuddered at the memory. It was not a pleasant thing to recall.

By the time Mike arrived home at nearly six thirty, Deanna was emotionally and physically spent. She'd barely moved from her perch and Mike could tell she'd worn herself thin. He smiled as she was so engrossed in the files that she didn't even look up to see him there. That was his wife, determined to solve these cases.

"Hey babe." Mike sat down on the coffee table, causing Deanna to look up briefly. "Hi honey." Before he could get another word in, her eyes dropped back down to the papers on her lap. "How was your day?" He asked, leaning down to meet her eyes. Mike loosened his tie as he patiently waited for his wife to look up. Eventually she noticed that he wasn't going anywhere and looked up, meeting those chocolate brown eyes. She sighed deeply and gave him as much of a smile as she could pull up. "Hi. Sorry." He smiled, resting his hand on her knee. "How'd things go with Stephanie?" "Good. We actually found a missing link in one of the cases. We're going to check out the address tomorrow." "Do you think you're up for a field trip?" "I think so." She gave an affirming smile. "Good! Then it sounds like an excellent plan." Mike pushed himself up from the table, willing his exhausted brain and body to keep going. It had been a long day and he was ready to call it quits for the evening. "I brought home Chinese for dinner, you ready to eat?" "Yes, please."

A few minutes later after Deanna set the files aside and allowed Mike to place a few pillows under her leg, she leaned back, finally letting herself relax a bit too. Mike lit the candle on the coffee table, turned on some soft jazz, and handed his gorgeous wife her plate. He eased himself down next to her on the couch. "Oh, gosh, babe. This is delicious. How did you know I was craving this?" Mike smiled, raking a hand through his hair. "Well, we usually get Chinese once a month and generally that would have been last week. So I figured you might be now." An amazed look danced across Deanna's face. "How you remember all these things I just don't don't know... but I do know that you're simply the best and I'm grateful you're mine."

"As am I my love. As am I." Mike smiled, draping his arm around his beautiful wife. "So what are you thinking you'd like to do while we're on the island?" Deanna sighed deeply and blew it out, as if expelling the day's emotions and allowing herself some freedom. "Well," She began with a chuckle, "I was planning to grab a tandem bike and enjoy a ride around the whole island with you." Her voice trailed off. "But now..." "You know what? There are still plenty of other ways we can see the island and enjoy the time with each other." Mike pulled her in close and Deanna rested against his chest. "Thanks, babe, for being the strong one during this. Today was tougher than I thought it would be on me emotionally." "I'm sorry about that." A small, but grateful smile crossed Deanna's lips. "I love you, Mike." She reached up to pull his face down enough to plant a kiss on his lips. Mike's comfort was a lot of what she needed right now, so this was the perfect ending to a rougher than planned day.