by B. T. Lord
She glanced about the silent office and sighed. Although at first glance everything was as it should be, there was still something missing. Whether it was the glue that held the place together, or whether it was a presence that made it fun to come to work every day, the fact that it was gone made it that much harder to show up.
No matter how hard Emmy tried to carry on with her duties and convince herself that her boss would soon be back, it was at moments like this that it all caved in, leaving her wondering if her life would ever be the same. The office just wasn’t the same without Cammie. It would never be the same until she came back.
Which brought up another worry. What would Cammie be like when she did return? Would she be the same self- deprecating, caring and dedicated officer she’d been before that horrible day? Or would she be the hollow-eyed shell of a once vibrant woman? Emmy had seen that shell. And it had left her rattled.
Could it be that the sheriff’s depression was catching? The boxes of Thanksgiving ornaments were still sitting near the picture window, waiting to replace the Halloween ornaments hanging on the orange colored holiday tree.
Emmy loved her collection of holiday trees. She had one for every major holiday and she looked forward to putting them up in the window that looked out over Main Street. In the past, the Thanksgiving ornaments would already be up, the tree twinkling with orange and white lights. However, she’d only managed to take out the boxes from the backroom before she fell back into her chair and stared morosely at them. She lacked the energy or the enthusiasm to decorate. What little energy she had was taken up with worrying about Cammie.
And Rick.
She knew he was terrified at the prospect of taking Cammie’s place. He refused to sit at her desk or go into her office. It was as though he’d made it a shrine – a place he was unworthy to enter. He wasn’t sleeping, and he barely touched his lunch. Hoping to cheer him up, she brought in her home baked macaroons that were his favorites. To her dismay, he wouldn’t even look at them.
Thinking about Rick inevitably brought up the issue of their relationship. If she could call it that. He’d insisted on talking to her about it, but finding Cammie’s resignation letter and badge had torpedoed that. He had yet to broach it again, and she didn’t have the heart to broach it for him. Not when he was so obviously burdened with the prospect of stepping into the sheriff’s shoes.
She longed to pull him into her arms and tell him that he was an excellent officer. He was good at his job and everyone knew that. Yes, Cammie was more experienced in the seamier side of law enforcement, but he still had the capability of meeting any emergency with level headed professionalism. He wasn’t in over his head despite what he thought. But whether it was her own creeping depression, or the fear that now was not the time to be talking about such personal feelings, she remained uncharacteristically paralyzed. Unable to move forward one way or the other.
She finished her coffee and glanced over at the tree. Well, there was one thing she could move forward on. In fact, she had to. If she didn’t put the Thanksgiving tree up, people would notice. And comment. If there was one thing she was determined to do, it was to carry on business as usual. No matter how much it hurt.
She stood up and started towards the window when the phone rang.
“Twin Ponds Police Department,” she said as she picked up the receiver. She listened for a few moments, her heart sinking with each word. “I’ll have Rick call you ASAP.”
She hung up and sighed again. “We’re screwed,” she said aloud to the empty office.