Chapter 32

Chugiak, Alaska

10:30 AM

Mike, Gloria, and Heater were once again on the patio. They’d just had some breakfast, and the three were watching the airplanes as they took off and landed on the lake.

Suddenly, Mike’s phone rang and he answered it.

“Hi, Mike,” came the voice of Ron Fraser.

Mike excused himself and went into his office and shut the door. Ron’s voice hadn’t been as upbeat as it usually was.

“What’s up, Ron?” Mike asked.

“Well, Judge Williams told us about Heather’s fear that Paul had killed himself. We don’t think under the circumstances we should adopt her.”

“Can I ask why?”

Ron sighed. “Well, it’s because of Mel’s status.”

“I don’t understand.”

“The reason we can’t have kids is because Mel is biologically male.”

“So? You know that Marcia and Mage are too, right?”

“Yeah, but not like Mel.”

“Mel never had surgery.”

“I see,” Mike said, nodding.

“Well, you don’t exactly. She really is Melissa.”

“I have a pretty good understanding.”

“But I’m not gay, Mike.”

“You really don’t have to explain, Ron.”

“I know, but I want you to understand why we don’t feel we can take on Heather.” He paused, then said. “With the possibility of Oregon stepping in and demanding her back, we feel this would just be more ammunition.”

“Oregon is pretty liberal, Ron.”

“Yeah, but given the opportunity, they may really try to fight. You see, Mel is completely insensitive to testosterone. It doesn’t affect her at all.”

“But why would that affect anything as far as the two states are concerned?”

Ron’s voice grew softer. “We don’t want anything to spoil an adoption. If the states decide to battle it out, they could claim she’d be an unfit mother: she couldn’t teach Heather about female puberty and so many other things.”

“They might say that, but it would be BS, and you know it.”

“Yes, but what might it do to Heather?”

“Okay, that’s the first sensible thing I’ve heard in this argument.”

“Mike, we really want the chance to adopt her, but I can’t condone hurting her by failing.”

“Don’t quit, Ron,” Mike implored.

“You know I’m not a quitter. I’m not giving up helping Bruce, but I’ve got a limit.”

“And this is that limit?”

“Let me explain. Several years ago, Mel and I had to arrest a woman who’d kidnapped her own daughter. She and her husband had gone through a pretty bad divorce and their daughter was used as a pawn. He eventually got custody, but the mother took her from daycare, then jumped on a plane with her.”

“How long did it take to find her?” Mike asked. He suspected it was a considerable amount of time.

“They were from Vermont, Mike. Nobody was looking for her up here. The daughter was two when she was kidnapped. She was nine when we realized who they were.”

Mike nodded, although Ron couldn’t see. “I get it, Ron. That must have ruined that kid’s life.”

“She was sent back to her dad, but six years later, she was in juvie.”

“I understand your concern, Ron, but boy I wish circumstances were different.”

“Me too, Mike. Me too.”

-=#=-

Mike considered what he should do. Should he keep Heather, either as her guardian or by adopting her? That seemed preferable to him, but it would break the agreement he made with George Pratt.

What about Chet and Mage? He seriously considered that possibility, but he kept coming back to the age issue. While Marcia and Darryl would be only four and six years older than Heather, Chet and Mage would only be eight years older. That seemed like it could open the possibility for problems with Oregon as well.

Bruce was currently out of the question, although that could change, especially if he and Wanda got together, but until the murder investigation was complete, obviously nothing could be done with either of them.

The only couple he felt he could work with was Bob and Liz. He called them.

“Hey, Bob, I need to talk to you and Liz.”

“Is this about Heather?”

“Yeah, it is,” Mike told his friend.

“I thought you were going to talk to Ron and Mel?”

“I just did, they don’t feel they can take her at the moment.”

“Is it because of what we mentioned before?”

“Yes and no.”

Bob seemed to accept that as a reason. “Okay. We’ll be over there in a few.”

Noon

Bob and Liz normally entered the house the same way Darryl and Marcia did, but to keep from freaking out Heather, they knocked this time.

Gloria opened the door, and invited them in. Heather was seated in the living room, head buried in her phone.

But when she noticed the new arrivals, she set down her phone and stated her guess/span> that Bob and Liz were Darryl’s parents.

“How can you tell?” Liz asked.

“Darryl’s voice and Colonel Johnson’s sound very alike, and his face looks a lot like yours.”

Gloria smiled. “You’re good at that. I didn’t realize how much Bob and Darryl’s voices were alike until the first time we had dinner together. Whenever one spoke, I had to look to see who it was.”

It was starting to rain, and rather than fix something in the BBQ, Gloria set out some cold cuts, sourdough bread, cheese, sauces, and assorted veggies to make sandwiches. She was well aware of the “Dagwood” sandwiches Bob liked and made sure there were some Hoagie rolls for him to use.

Mike had tried Bob’s recipe, and declared them wonderful, but he preferred a sandwich made from the middle of a sourdough round, the rest of which he would use as a bowl for chili or stew later.

Heather watched as Bob built his sandwich, and Liz caught her eye. “I never can figure out how he eats those peppers. Darryl does as well, and they’re way too spicy for me,” Liz told her.

“That looks delicious,” Heather confessed. “I can’t eat that much, but it sure looks good.”

“Want me to make you one?” Bob asked.

“Please!” Heather enthused.

“Same meats?”

Heather smiled and nodded.

Bob got to work cutting open another hoagie. “These keep in a fridge pretty well, so what you don’t eat now, you can have later,” he said smiling.

He piled on ham, bacon, turkey, and pastrami, then turned to the cheeses, Cheddar, Swiss, and Dubliner went on, although he asked, “Do you like Dubliner?”

“I’ve never tried it,” she said.

Bob handed some over, and she took a bite of the slice. Her eyes lit up!

“You’ve converted another, haven’t you?” Liz said to her husband.

“You like Dubliner too,” he told her.

“Yes, but there’s no way I could eat it with that much stuff in a sandwich. The flavors cancel each other out.”

“They blend,” Bob argued.

He added peppercinis, tomatos, jalapenos, lettuce, pickles, cucumbers, olives, onions, and alfalfa sprouts, then placed the sandwich on a plate. “Want some chips?”

“That’s okay,” she said, shaking her head. “There’s a kind that Daddy and I used to eat called Tim’s Cascade Jalapeno Chips ™. They’re kettle- cooked. There’s no other chip.”

Bob nodded. “That sounds good. I’m gonna have to see if I can order them.”

Liz picked up her phone and spoke the name into it. “Amazon carries them,” she told them both. "I suppose I should order them. Bob’s gonna want to try them.”

“So will Darryl,” Mike laughed. “Not to mention I will too.”

“They go great in a sandwich too,” Heather told them, looking specifically at Mike.

Mike nodded. “You’ve sold me!” Heather had noticed he put chips in his sandwich, as well as jalapenos.

“Another thing to add to the Amazon order, right?” Gloria asked.

“Sounds great!”

-=#=-

After the lunch, Bob and Liz spent some more time with Heather before leaving, and decided they would love to see how she would work out in their family.

Bob, however, had one more question for her. “Do you like Ice Cream? And if so, what kind.”

Heather giggled and said, “Moose Tracks.”

Bob slapped his hand down on the table and exclaimed, “Perfect! Draw up the paperwork, Mike!”