1983

1983, June

Mark Chandar sat at his desk in New Harmony, Utah's police station. He looked out the office window, seeing his co-workers attending to computer work. The ceiling above him stood at a comfortable height of about four or five feet his head. The main office room, where other officers shared the space, bore a triangular roof and skylights indented into either side of the roof's slope. He looked down at the little nameplate on his desk, plated gold and framed with wood; it read, "SHERIFF". Chandar took a breath, leaning back in his chair.

He opened his office desk's nearest drawer, running his hand through a wad of one-hundred-dollar bills bound together by rubber bands.

For a special occasion, he thought, picking one up and running his thumb through one end of the stack. Mark stuck it back in the drawer, closing it shut. He looked into another drawer, which held a picture of him and his fiance, Jessica Milkos- technically, Jessica Chandar. They had been dating for two years before Mark built up the courage- and the money- to propose to her a couple of months ago. The wedding that was supposed to take place just a week before had been cancelled due to most parties he hired being called off for other projects.

While he and Jessica were heartbroken, they made haste to prepare for their wedding- they didn't know when it would be, but they had to be ready at all times. Mark had stayed loyal to her since they began dating- not that he had been necessarily promiscuous before then- and while Jess sometimes slipped off for unknown reasons, he knew her too well. She was too logical, too smart, to try anything like that. Mark had loved her, cherished her, and had always been grateful for having her in his life, even if he sometimes expressed it in strange ways. Unusual gifts, unorthodox dates, and other unpredictable things that, to his surprise, she seemed to mostly enjoy.

Jessica Milkos was a happy woman, only a year younger than Mark, and she was stunning. Everywhere she went, people followed, and Mark heard people whispering about him when they were out together in public. Jessica showed Mark the same love and respect that he did, and was always more understanding than he. They didn't fight often, but when they had small skirmishes, she was the one to solve it with love and care. Mark always felt guilty, but every time, Jessica had some new way to ease his conscience.

When people talked about him in public, she always reassured him. When Jessica's father was not fond of him, she was always on Mark's side, yet still calm enough to put everyone in the argument at ease. Her mother was very easily likable, and sometimes Jessica's father got upset with her for admiring Mark. Yet, the females of the Milkos family always defended poor Mark. Even Jessica's brother, Adam, was empathetic of him, and they had hung out once or twice, and often spent time together when Mark came over to their house for holidays, not having any family of his own.

Mark had been hated by his whole family, and he hated them back. As soon as he graduated high school, he was out and worked hard at a restaurant until he was one of the head chefs. Once he had saved up enough money to support himself, he joined Harmony's police department and quickly made his way through the ranks, to Sheriff. Soon after his latest promotion, he met Jess at a bar that he had retreated to after a rough day of peers hating him. Even there, she had been caring, sympathetic, and loving towards him- and every day after that, they met at the same bar, and after a couple of months were hanging out at other places.

Even from the first time he met her, though, people said awful things about his being with her. But she didn't care, and she said that he shouldn't, either. Then they became engaged, and now here was Mark, who's biggest excitement came from- obviously- the wedding, and- not so obviously- a convention set to take place the next day. Mark looked at his calendar just to double-check- yup. Convention on June 30th. And, double-yup: today was the 29th.