Weekend Freewrite - 8/31/2019 - Single Prompt Option: feeling the love
Tuesday morning, 7:45am: Captain Henry Fitzhugh Lee, exhausted as he was from Reserve Weekend and a Monday spent on the fire lines in the Blue Ridge, arrived perfectly dressed and ready for his day as commander of the cold case division for the police force in Big Loft, VA.
The only warning he had that the day was going to be different was a huge stack of reports from his four regular lieutenants and Lieutenant Anderson, who worked with the division periodically.
“My, y'all have been busy,” he said.
By 8:45am, after Captain Lee had spent an hour reading in astonishment, the captain's phone rang.
“Good morning, Captain Lee,” said Commissioner Scott. “Report to my office, immediately.”
Ms. Thornton was coming out of the commissioner's office when Captain Lee arrived. Lieutenants Longstreet, Lightfoot, Jackson, Carter, and Anderson were standing alongside the commissioner.
“Captain Lee, your division has outdone itself, and solved all five cases you had prepared and docketed for work this week, in your absence. Captain Hayes and I have double-checked their work; it is sound, as you yourself have no doubt discovered by now.”
“Yes, sir, to my complete and utter surprise and delight. We will now be a week ahead of schedule.”
“You shall be no such thing, Captain Lee. I hereby order you to take the rest of the week off, with pay – your four lieutenants plus Anderson have done all that they have done to get you some relief!”
“What – I mean, yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Thank you, Lieutenants, for your exceptional work and sacrifice.”
Deeply confused, Captain Lee returned to his office. He could not reckon on what had just happened until he read the paperwork Ms. Thornton had delivered to his office – “reports” from his lieutenants and many others of thanks for all he had been doing, and for his quiet but mighty stand for the right. They had left him “play money” too, with their notes.
Ms. Thornton watched him leave, disoriented because of being seven hours early in leaving, somewhat unsure of what he should do and where he should go, but finally heading toward his apartment.
“Lord, please help him … he's got to re-learn how to be cared for, how to be loved, how to just take life for what it is … he's got so much love for others inside him, so much life to live and share with others, but there's so much scarring and damage from what happened here, and before here ... please heal him!”
At home, the captain locked his door, clutched the folder to his heart, fell into his bed, and at last just wept, completely overwhelmed with feeling the love of the people around him. It had been fully 27 years since anyone not of his family had gotten through to him in such a personal way; the combined efforts of his colleagues had breached a wall Captain Lee didn't even realize he had put up.
“I don't know what to do, Lord – I don't even know what to do,” he said before falling asleep, having cried himself out, “but thank You for giving me time to rest and find … find out …”
First thing to do for H.F. Lee: snoring at 11 in the morning, with no reason to get up.
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It is good Captain Lee has positive feelings after so long.
Or at least a wider spectrum of positivity ... Captain Lee is internally troubled, but also self-motivated ... he enjoys solving cold cases, enjoys training his lieutenants to do the same, and basically had recreated the narrow spectrum of pleasures of an army commander at war in the troubled police department he had come home to... a narrow spectrum constrained by the war going on in his department and across the county, and his hard role to play in it. Heartsick, war-weary, but knowing those under his command are depending on him to stay strong and calm and present -- it is all the colonel-turned-police-captain knows, after 23 years of that kind of life, until the moment his colleagues remind him that there is trouble all around, but he, too, can be sacrificed for and given relief ... that opens up the rest of the spectrum again for Captain Lee, although we'll see how well he does in staying open when the next prompt comes out...
At times it is good to rest.
👍🏻💕
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He's only 23 years overdue... see https://steemit.com/writing/@deeanndmathews/day-681-5-minute-freewrite-sunday-prompt-eagle-feather
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