~*~

I scanned and submitted that last of my paperwork, and then stared intently at the phone wishing it would ring. It probably wouldn’t, though. Officer Grayson was no longer a rookie; he no longer called with questions unless something went wrong.

It wasn’t that I particularly wanted anything to go wrong. I just knew that the remaining two hours of my day would feel like ten if I spent them rearranging paperweights. I have four paperweights on my desk: all thank you gifts from the same middle school teacher. Our station was a popular field trip spot with her for a few years, but then she got permission to bring them to a bigger (and probably more exciting) police station in Boise, so that was the end of that.

Once these colorful little tokens were reorganized, I sat down and seriously contemplated whether I should learn how to juggle. It seemed nothing short of insanity to just waste this time day after day.

Not juggling, though. I could take the time to learn something useful. Maybe a second language?

Which one, though?

I dove into the Internet to see what would be the most beneficial second language for my area of the country, weighing the results against how long it would take me to become fluent in each option. I was halfway through ordering textbook and downloading virtual classes when reality found me. And when it found me, it laughed.

What was I doing? I was being forced to retire in a month. Maybe a younger cop would benefit from being bilingual, but not me. As much as I hated the defeatist attitude creeping into my life, I couldn’t see how it was worth it to improve myself.

I closed out of the shopping websites, got myself another cup of coffee, and checked once again to be sure they could legally force me to retire. They could.

I looked back at my paperweights. Those kids would be adults by now. I wondered if any of them were making the same mistakes I did.

Just as I was getting up for a little mindless pacing, the phone rang and I felt a long-forgotten flutter of excitement.