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Frank knew what he had to do. After staying up all night thinking about the job offer and his relationship with Gina, it finally dawned on him. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was all he had. He needed every piece to fall into place or the whole plan would collapse and he might end up losing everything. It was now all or nothing.
Frank hoped Gina was alright wherever she was. He would find a way to get to her, but first there was something he had to do. He marched into the captain’s office with confidence, firmly believing what he was doing was right.
“Frank! Do you have an answer for me?”
“I do, sir.”
“Well?”
“I’ve worked my whole life for this, and I’m not about to let it go. So, yes, I accept your offer.”
“Great! Congratulations, Captain!”
“Thank you, sir. I hope to make you proud. You’re leaving behind some big shoes to fill, but I’ll do my best.”
“I know you won’t let me down, but what about your wife? After we talked, I felt terrible putting you in this position. I felt like I was giving you both the best news and the worst news of your life. I don’t want to be responsible for your divorce. I watched you two get married, and I’ve never seen two people more in love. You fought so hard to be together. Please tell me this job isn’t going to destroy that.”
“Not if I can help it. I’m committed to making our marriage work, even though I don’t particularly care for the solution.”
“Well, whatever you have planned, I sincerely wish you all the best.”
“Thank you. When do I start, sir?”
“Now. I put in my two weeks notice two weeks ago. I just didn’t have the courage to say out loud I was quitting.”
“But, Captain, I...”
“No, you’re the captain now. You’re more than capable, Frank. The truth is you’ve basically been doing this job on your own for months, and you’ve handled it beautifully. That’s how I know you’re ready.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not leaving yet. I’ll be back for my things and to say my proper goodbyes. I’m sure there’ll be some sort of retirement party planned. Shoot, I’ll probably get so bored in retirement that I’ll feel the need to come down here and bug you guys from time to time, so you won’t be getting rid of me that easily. Oh, and I left you something in the top right drawer,” he said before exiting what was now Frank’s office.
Frank took a seat in the luxurious leather chair he had just inherited. He could hardly believe how good it felt to be sitting there knowing he was the man in charge. Although Frank had suddenly become a very powerful man, he was not the kind to let it corrupt him. He knew the key to success was in becoming the same honorable, fair, approachable, and well-respected leader Captain Michaels had always been.
Inside the desk drawer was an envelope with his name on it. Frank opened it and found two name plates, one that was engraved with the words “Captain Frank Turino” and another that read “Detective Gina Turino.” There was also a note from Captain Michaels which Frank read aloud. “Tell her you love her, beg for her forgiveness, and for God’s sake, give the woman her job back! You need her!”
Frank had every intention of doing just that, but there was something else he had to do first. He was on a mission but was temporarily sidetracked when he stepped outside his new office and was greeted with an unanticipated round of applause. Apparently, his former captain had made an announcement. It was clear everyone knew.
“Congratulations, Captain Turino!” Sean shouted, followed by several others.
“Speech!” they prompted.
A smile spread across Frank’s face. “Thank you, everyone! It’s an honor to be selected as your new captain. I’ve been in law enforcement now for almost 27 years, and it’s still a thrill for me to wake up each morning to come here. I know many of you share that same energy and enthusiasm because the work we do is so important. I used to think there wasn’t enough money in the world to make me accept this position because I saw firsthand how hard Captain Michaels worked to keep this place running. He used to say what made this job so great was having the support of such a dedicated, hardworking, and talented team of detectives. I know you’ll make me proud, and I hope to earn your respect as well. My goal is to pick up right where Captain Michaels left off and lead us to be the finest homicide department Chicago has ever seen.” Frank enjoyed a heartfelt standing ovation before returning to his desk.
“Good speech, Frank,” Tim uncharacteristically complimented him in passing.
“Tim! Could I speak to you for a minute?”
“Am I in trouble already? You’re not firing me, are you?”
“No. I may despise you, but there’s nothing wrong with the quality of your work. I believe it was you who once said that it takes a real man to be nice to his competition.”
Frank paused for a moment to let Tim nervously wonder what he was up to. The fact was he now had a vacancy to fill, his old job as lieutenant. His first thought had been to offer it to Sean, but he was a husband and father too, and there was no way Frank was going to place that kind of curse upon his marriage and family. The only other possibility he could think of was his sworn enemy, Tim.
“The irony here, Tim, is that after thinking long and hard about this, you’re the one who has the power to save my marriage. So, as the guy who tried to seduce my wife, it’s your duty to make things right. You owe me that much.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Although it kills me to do this, I’m willing to put aside my justified contempt for you in order for us to work together. A wise man once said, ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,’ and I intend to do just that. I want you right where I can see you, especially with Gina hopefully coming back to work soon. So, since I trust you more with work than I do with my wife, I think the best solution is for me to make you my right-hand man. If I don’t, you’ll probably end up working directly with Gina, and that’s completely unacceptable to me.”
“Wow, Frank! This is totally unexpected. I thought you’d banish me to the basement if you ever became captain.”
“I probably will if you don’t accept my offer. It does, of course, come with a sizable pay increase.”
“Yeah, I’ll do it! Thanks, but how is this supposed to save your marriage?”
“Tim, you’re a single guy with no real responsibilities. You can afford to be a slave to your job, and you won’t be disappointing anybody. I’m going to be relying on you to be available day or night to do whatever needs doing, just like I did for Captain Michaels. You’re going to have to work an insane number of hours. Then maybe I can take some time off now and then to be with my family without fear of everything falling apart. I need to know you can practically run this place so I can have some peace of mind when I leave here each day, knowing things are in good hands. If you ever want to be captain someday, this is a great way to prove yourself.”
“I accept your challenge,” Tim replied confidently.
“Good. We’ll start tomorrow.”
Now there was just one more thing Frank had to do. He needed to talk to Gina, but he didn’t know how to reach her. She was certainly trying hard to stay under his radar, but Frank wasn’t stupid. He knew there was someone she’d listen to. Frank walked out of his new office and headed straight for Sean’s desk. “Sean!”
“Yeah, Frank, I mean, Captain!”
“I have a favor to ask of you as a friend. Can you help me?”
“Sure. What do you need?”
“Could you get Gina to come down here?”
“Why can’t you do that? Did you two have a fight?”
“It’s a long story. Just make something up if you have to, but please get her down here!”
“Alright. Done.”
Sean lived up to his promise, and Gina arrived on the scene. Frank could tell she was upset but didn’t know the whole story until she approached him.
“Frank, what’s the matter with you?” Gina scolded. “How could you embarrass yourself like this?”
Frank was confused. “What are you talking about?”
“Sean said you came into work drunk and were making a fool of yourself.”
“I’m not drunk, Gina.” He turned his back to her for a moment to question his friend. “Sean! You told her I was drunk?”
“Well, it worked, didn’t it?” he replied, trying to contain his laughter.
“Thanks a lot, Sean! You better believe I’ll remember this!” Frank warned, but Sean wasn’t taking him too seriously.
“I’m lost. What’s going on, Frank?” Gina asked.
“We need to talk, and I figured Sean was the one person who could get through to you. You’ve been completely unreachable.”
“I needed time alone.”
“I was starting to worry about you. Can we talk somewhere more private?”
“Um, I guess so.”
Frank led her to his spacious new office and closed the door.
“Am I even allowed to be in here?” she asked. “I’m not an employee anymore, and we can’t just use the captain’s office for our personal conversations.”
“I ran it by the captain. He’s fine with it,” Frank replied coyly.
“OK?” Gina agreed, still skeptical.
“The reason it’s alright is because I’m the captain now. I decided to take the job.”
“Congratulations, Frank! I’m happy for you. No one has worked harder and deserves it more than you do. I can testify to that.” Gina looked down at the ground, unable to look him in the eyes without revealing her pain. “I should probably start looking for a lawyer then,” she said meekly.
“Gina, did you really think I would choose this job over you and our family? I’m hoping you’ll hear me out first before making a decision like that.”
“OK, but you already know how I feel about this.”
“You know, every night I was stuck at the office, I thought of you and Valerie and Sam. You were always on my mind. I know I promised you I would never hurt you or let you down. I may not have physically hurt you like Carlos did, but I’ve hurt you nonetheless, and I can’t tell you enough how sorry I am for that. I know it’s asking a lot, and I don’t deserve it, but for the sake of our kids, I’m begging you for another chance to get this right. If you’re willing to give me one more shot, I’ll show you I can do better.”
“Oh, Frank, I don’t see how things can possibly get better for us with you as the captain.”
“I know I let my first marriage fail, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to lose you too! The mistakes I made with her are the same mistakes I’m making with you, but this time, I’m going to fight to save us. This job is important, but you have to come first, and I think I’ve found a way to not have to sacrifice one for the other. If I can have both, I’ll truly be the happiest man alive.”
“Forgive me, Frank, for not sharing your enthusiasm, but I fail to see how this can work.”
“First things first. Regardless of what happens with us, this is yours if you want it,” Frank said, handing Gina’s old name plate back to her.
“Does this mean I can have my job back?”
“Yes. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”
“You know it is, but you realize it still won’t be the same as when we worked together as partners. It’ll be weird having you as my boss. Are you sure this will work?”
“I’m hoping it does, and that we’ll get to see a lot more of each other with you back at the office. But that’s not the only change that needs to be made. I know that in order to have this job and keep my promises to you, I’ll need to delegate. That’s always been a dirty word for me, and it’ll be hard at first to give up that kind of control, especially since I’ll be giving it up to Tim.”
“What do you mean?”
“I asked Tim to be my right-hand man. Crazy, huh?”
“’Crazy’ doesn’t begin to describe it.”
“I trained him myself, he’s good at his job, and he’s got way more time to devote to it than I do, so I’m going to depend on him to help me and learn to be at peace with it.”
“I never saw this coming.”
“Neither did Tim, but he already accepted. I swear to you, Gina, I worked more hours as the second in command than I ever will as the first. Things won’t be perfect. I’ll always be a workaholic, but I’m willing to make changes to do better. I don’t want to let you down. I’ll spend the rest of my life starting today making it up to you. I’m devoted to you now like I should have been all along. You’re the best thing in my life, and I never should have taken you for granted. Please tell me there’s even a shred of hope for us, and that you’re not ready to give up yet. I love you, Gina, and I forgive you for what happened with Tim. I love you enough to put a man I loathe in power, since he’s the most capable, just so I can spend more time with you. At the very least, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”
Gina studied him for a moment, looking deep into the eyes of the man she had trusted with her heart since before their wedding day. She remained silent while trying to decide if she could take a chance on Frank one more time.
“Please say something, Gina.”
“Yes, I forgive you,” she said finally. “But so help me, Frank Turino! I’ll give you one last shot to get this right, but if you break my heart again, we’re through! Don’t you dare disappoint me, or I’ll have those divorce papers in your hands so fast you won’t know what hit you!”
Frank wrapped his arms around Gina and held her so tight she could barely breathe. As they stood there together, feelings of joy and relief spread through him, and he realized how lucky he was to have everything he wanted. Maybe it really was possible to have both. Only time would tell.
