“Hey! Joe!” One of the younger officers opened the door so Joe could enter the building.
“Hey.” Joe waved him off, not having the energy to deal with every person who wanted to pat his back or say hello. He swung, lurching forward with each step to get to Sergeant Mainer’s office. At a clip, he could move as fast as Elias. If it was starting to sting Joe’s shoulder and give him carpal tunnel, then…fuck it. He had a few painkillers stowed away in case of emergency.
He rapped on Mainer’s door, hard enough to rattle the frame and show his boss he was ready to be a useful member of the force again.
“Come in.” Mainer opened the door right when Joe had grabbed the handle, making him stumble.
Joe ground his teeth. “Hey, boss.” He noticed his partner Wade in the corner sitting on a folding chair across from Mainer’s desk. “Wade.” Joe wished he didn’t need to do this with an audience. Begging to get back on the job would be embarrassing enough without Wade and his opinions.
“Hey, Joe.” Wade offered a big smile. He and Joe hadn’t seen eye to eye when they first started working together. A cop and a registered counselor were a weird mix for a team, but Joe’d learned a lot through working in Crisis Intervention with Wade. Unfortunately, one of those things was that Wade couldn’t mind his own business.
“I thought I’d come in on this, since it affects me.” Wade crossed one ankle over the opposite knee. His smile said, Welcome back, but his posture said, If you thought you could weasel out of talking to me first, you can suck it.
“No problem.” Joe gave his most casual shrug. He wished he had Elias’s grace, because he dropped the last couple inches into the chair and winced at the way it twisted his knee. Wade and Mainer studied him like they were taking notes.
“Thanks for coming in, Joe.” Mainer went to the back of his desk, his steps light and making Joe envious for no good reason. “I wanted to talk to you about your recovery plans and figure out how to work your schedule around that. What days are you in physical therapy?”
Joe shifted in his seat. “I haven’t had a chance to call the guy yet.” Sure the doc in the ER had told Joe he’d need PT and had even given him a few numbers. But they told that to everyone, didn’t they? Unless a guy was some kind of elite athlete, PT seemed unnecessary. “I’m sure I’ll be back on my feet in a few months.”
Mainer shared a knowing glance with Wade. “I have your discharge report.” Mainer picked up a fax Joe’d had the hospital send the station when he’d filed for sick leave. “It recommends starting PT as soon as you’re no longer in acute pain.” Mainer gave Joe’s leg a meaningful glance. “And you don’t seem in acute pain anymore.”
On reflex, Joe covered his thigh with his hand. “Oh, come on. PT costs a fortune. You know that. A couple of squats and a little time to recover behind a desk, I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t need you behind a desk. I need you in the field with Wade. We’re short-staffed without you, but it matters more on the streets than in the office.”
“Alegré is doing his best.” Wade leaned forward in his chair, frowning like he felt bad for saying anything negative about the new guy on the team. “But he’s not you, Joe. The faster you get better, the faster I can have my partner back.”
Joe wanted to snap that Wade could go to hell, but Joe would feel like crap if Wade or even Alegré got hurt. “I’ll make some calls, okay. Not sure when a doc’ll be able to fit me in…”
“Use our guy.” Mainer pushed a card across the table. “He’s over at Swedish and sees a lot of folks on the force. Plus this doc’s got a team under him. He’ll fit you in immediately and get you on some kind of schedule right away.”
Reluctantly, Joe picked up the card. Doctor Craig Soren. “So what you’re saying is I can’t come back to work until I start physical therapy?”
“PT takes a lot of effort.” Wade bounced his knee like he knew how annoyed he was making Joe. “When my wife threw out her back skiing, she was in there three times a week for at least a month.”
Joe struggled not to roll his eyes. He’d thought Wade’s wife was a whiner back then, and Joe’s opinion hadn’t changed. “Once I talk to this guy, I can come back?”
Mainer frowned, but nodded. “I’d say yes. But it’ll be on a reduced schedule until your doctor says you’re done with therapy. I know the deal with state insurance. It should cover every last bit of PT Doctor Soren assigns. If you have trouble filing—”
“I’m good.” Joe pushed out of his chair, the jolt of pain in his knee all the worse since he knew this Doctor Soren was going to get on his case about it. Joe wasn’t an idiot. He knew the damage to his knee was the result of overworking the one good leg he still had. “So, I’ll give you a call once I get in to see the doc.” He nodded goodbye at his boss and made his way to the door.
Wade followed behind him, and Joe could tell by his partner’s breathing that Wade was gearing up for more conversation. In the narrow hallway, there was no way to outpace Wade’s strides.
“Hey.” He landed a hand on Joe’s shoulder.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t be pissed. We only want what’s best for you.”
Given Joe was barely able to stand without pain and had just been told he was too much of an invalid to fill out paperwork, he wasn’t in any mood to hear Wade’s half-assed apology. “Whatever. Don’t worry about it.”
Joe started his walk again, but Wade kept at his side, holding the door open for Joe to get out on the stoop.
“Are you doing okay around the house? You never answered my texts, but I figured you’d call if you needed anything.”
“I’m fine. My boyfriend’s been helping me out.” Joe might be a mess, but at least he still had a hot young thing panting after him. Wrong it might be, but that ego boost was the only thing holding him together.
“That’s good, then. At least you’ll have someone to drive you to PT.” Wade chuckled, but Joe wasn’t in the mood for any cheering up.
“I’ll see you when I get a therapy schedule from the doc.” Joe pulled out his phone. He should have called the cab company from inside where he could stay dry. But if Mainer didn’t want him back at work, Joe wasn’t going to hang around the hallways looking for sympathy conversation.
“You need a ride home?”
“No.” Phone to his ear, Joe glanced at Wade. “Do you mind if I make a call?”
Wade hesitated, but in the end said, “Yeah. No worries. I’ll see you soon, I guess.”
“I guess.” The cab company’s number was ringing, and Joe was glad when Wade disappeared inside the building.
“This is Orange Cab. What is the address of your pick up?”
Joe told the canned-sounding voice where he was.
“We don’t have any cars in the area right now. Your wait will be forty-five minutes. Is that okay?”
With a growl, Joe rubbed his eyes. “Yeah. I guess I can wait.”
“So, when are we going to meet this girlfriend of yours?” Solomon leaned against the doorjamb, watching Elias fold his shirts.
“I told you. I’m not seeing anyone.” Elias had no idea how long he could go on like this. Of course his brother would wonder when Elias didn’t come home most nights. “I’ve been staying at friends’ houses.”
“Why?” His brother stepped into Elias’s room, quietly shutting the door behind him. “Is something going on? Or are you bothered by Sara? I know she’s been depressed.”
“No.” Elias shook his head. His sister-in-law had actually been somewhat happier lately. At least it seemed like it.
The sound of a vacuum cleaner rose over the CD of Ethiopian music Sara was playing. It wasn’t the type of thing Elias normally listened to, but Elias bobbed in time to the beat. “I like her. I always have.”
Solomon lowered his eyebrows, giving a quick nod. Elias had never been sure how his brother felt about his bride. Sometimes Elias even suspected that Sara’s unhappiness rose in part from being less than satisfied with her marriage. Still, Solomon would never say anything negative about her.
“Maybe she likes having the house to herself.” Elias motioned his brother closer. “And for you two to be alone.”
“Perhaps.” His brother’s shrug was nervous, one of those gestures that made Elias wonder what happened between Solomon and Sara behind closed doors.
“Are you okay?” Elias would hate to have missed some problem with his brother because he was busy with Joe.
“No.” Solomon stood taller, crossing his arms. Then, with a reluctant dart of his eyes, he added, “Though I thought Sara wanted a child. She was so unhappy it hadn’t happened yet, and then…” He glanced behind him, at the door and the humming of the vacuum cleaner and the twang of the music.
“She doesn’t want a baby?” Elias had no idea if his brother meant his wife was no longer interested in sex or whether she’d simply stopped talking about a child. Elias wasn’t even sure Sara knew about birth control, though she must since Solomon had taken her to a doctor for a checkup when she first arrived in Seattle.
“I’m just confused.” His brother pinched his lips together. Solomon so seldom showed weakness. He’d taken on the role of head of household when their parents moved back to Africa, and never seemed like he couldn’t handle care of a wife. Now, as Elias considered the responsibility Solomon had taken on, Elias realized the last year and a half must have been as hard for Solomon as it was for Sara.
“What can I do?” Elias put a hand on his brother’s arm. They were almost the same height, though his brother was slightly broader shouldered.
“I don’t know.” Solomon frowned. “You’ll be here for Thanksgiving, right? I remember she liked that last year. You could invite a friend, maybe? She needs to be around people.”
The only person Elias could think to invite was Joe. Unfortunately, he was the last person Elias could imagine introducing to his family. “I’ll be there.”
“Thanks.” Solomon gave Elias a rare, though sad, smile.