| Day By Day Chapter 27 |
| October 14th 5:30 pm Harvey arrived at SFO almost an hour before Casey’s plane was due in. It had been almost three weeks since they had spent the weekend together in Amarillo and he was anxious to see her. He paced the waiting area and checked his watch again. If the plane didn’t arrive soon, he would have to reschedule the appointment. There was only one wedding preparation left to take care of and it was a surprise for Casey. If only the plane would be on time, they could make the half hour trip down the coast and still have time to spare before he was expected at the SIU. He swore that his heart skipped a beat when he saw the plane touch down and taxi down the runway. Slipping off the beret, he ran his fingers through his hair and straightened his tie before taking his place in front of the escalator to wait for the passengers to disembark the plane. He craned his neck to catch a glimpse of Casey but she wasn’t with the crowd of people coming down on the escalator. He checked the flight number and time that he had written in his notebook before searching through the crowd gathered at the luggage claim carousel. She was nowhere to be found and he suddenly had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Looking for someone?” Recognizing the voice, Harvey looked up to see Casey waving to him from the second floor. She carefully stepped onto the escalator and smoothed the skirt of her dark blue suit. Casey had fallen asleep during the flight to San Francisco. She had hoped to look her best for Harvey but she feared that she looked more like a wrinkled, disheveled mess. Harvey nervously twisted the Grateful Dead pin on his beret as he stood patiently waiting for Casey to make her way down the steps. Finally, he held out his arms and she walked into his welcoming embrace. “How was your trip?” Harvey asked as he took her travel bag. “It was great. It took forever to get here but it was great.” Casey motioned towards the luggage carrousel and they walked over to claim her bags. “How’ve you been?” “Uh, busy. I’ve been working a lot of overtime and spending time with Jerry. I had to take the Cruiser in for some minor repair. Did you hear about the recall?” “I did but I forgot to ask you about it. How long did it take to get it fixed?” “Just a few days. Everything’s cool now.” The luggage was placed in the back of the Cruiser and after Harvey closed the door, he looked down at Casey and smiled. “Are we really making small talk?” “Yeah, we are. I’m feeling a little nervous for some reason.” “Me too. Pre-wedding jitters, I suppose.” Casey took a step back to allow him to unlock the car door but instead he slipped his arms around her waist, lifted her off her feet and twirled her in a tight circle. “I have missed you, woman!” Casey couldn’t stop the laughter that seemed to be bubbling inside her. “I missed you, too!” “Good. I’m glad to hear that.” He put her down and gave her a tender kiss. “Welcome home.” “It’s good to be home.” “Alright, that’s enough of that for now.” Harvey stepped back and opened the car door. “We’re running late for an appointment so let’s go.” He wouldn’t tell her where they were going and would only say that it involved the wedding. Harvey made two phone calls during the coastal drive. One call was to let Antwon know that he would be late getting back to the SIU tonight. The second call was to let someone know that they would be arriving within fifteen minutes. “Very mysterious, Leek. What’s going on?” Harvey folded the phone and slipped it back into his pocket. Glancing over at her, he gave her a playful grin. “Patience, my love. Don’t you know that good things come to those who wait?” “Yeah, I do.” Her gaze locked with his and she gave him a contented smile. “I’ve been waiting for you all my life.” * The small chapel was situated on a bluff overlooking the ocean. The lush green landscape was colorfully dotted with a variety of flowers and blooming bushes. At the rear of the building, white concrete steps led down to a strip of sandy beach. Harvey and Casey walked hand in hand up the front steps and found the front doors unlocked. The interior of the chapel was breathtaking with its stained glass windows, dark wood paneling and red cushioned wooden pews. The sanctuary was decorated with plants and flowers and heavy curtains covered the wall in back of the choir stand. Harvey led Casey down the red carpeted aisle and stopped in front of the pulpit. He stood in back of her with his hands resting on her shoulders and breathed a sigh of appreciation. “I think that this would be the perfect place to have our ceremony. What do you think?” “I agree, it’s perfect but I’m a little surprised that you would choose a church. I mean, I know how you feel about organized religion.” “Baby, you’ll have to see for yourself what makes this chapel so special.” Harvey glanced up to see a church official approaching them. “Reverend Baker, good evening. Thanks for meeting us.” “My pleasure Harvey.” “Reverend Donald Baker, this is my fiancé, Cassandra Reed. I was just about to explain why having a sunset ceremony here would be perfect.” “Why don’t we show her instead.” Reverend Baker excused himself and disappeared through a door that led to the choir room. A few moments later, a soft humming sound could be heard as the heavy curtains parted to reveal a huge picture window offering a panoramic view of the sky and ocean. The sun was beginning to set and the sky had taken on beautiful pink and blue tones. Harvey slipped his arms around Casey’s waist when he saw the pleased expression on her face. “I told you it was perfect,” he whispered softly in her ear. “How did you find this place?” “This is the church that Evan attended. He loved this place!” Harvey tightened his grip around her waist and laid his head against hers. “When I began to scout out places to have the ceremony, I remembered this awesome view and knew that it was the ideal place. Reverend Baker is a really nice guy and when I inquired about using the church for the wedding, he volunteered to conduct the service.” Donald Baker clasped his hands behind his back as he walked back to join the couple. “So, should we expect to have a wedding here on Friday night?” An excited Harvey and Casey answered in unison. “Absolutely!” * October 16th. 8:15 pm “Look man, either arrest me or let me go.” Harvey glanced at the kid who was casually draped on the chair across from his desk. “You’re not under arrest yet, Ten Speed, but if you keep mouthing off, I just might find a reason to keep you here.” “Yeah? Well, go for it, man. See if I care.” “Let me tell you something, my friend. Keep adding to this rap sheet and you can kiss your future goodbye. Do you understand what I’m saying to you?” The boy quieted down and Harvey finished typing a report into the computer. When he finished, he punched print and leaned back in his chair. Linking his hands behind his head, Harvey stared at the young man who was headed for trouble. He knew that Ten Speed wasn’t a bad kid, he had simply fell in with a bad crowd. Hearing the printer stop, Harvey stood up and reached across the desk to retrieve the copy. “Why don’t you make this easy for both of us, man. Tell me who sold the drugs to those kids?” “I told you I don’t know. There were a lot of people at that park. It could have been anyone.” The boy stood, almost matching Harvey in height. Reaching out, he grabbed Harvey’s arm causing a couple of uniformed cops to draw their arms. “I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING!” In a calm, controlled voice, Harvey pulled his arm free of the boy’s grasp and motioned for the officers to put their weapons away. “Do you really want to be treated like a criminal, man? If so, then fine. I have no problem with tossing your ass into one of the holding cells. Now, are you going to sit down and keep your mouth shut or shall I have Officer Ronnie escort you upstairs?” They glared at one another for a moment before Ten Speed kicked the chair back and sat down. Not another word was exchanged between the two men until the probation officer arrived to take the boy home. Harvey told him to stay out of trouble and wished him well as they were leaving. Harvey had a feeling that this wasn’t the last time that he would see Ten Speed in trouble and back at the SIU. He turned back to the computer to finish the work that he had started earlier in the afternoon. A couple of hours later, he was putting the finishing touches on a report when he was interrupted by a young female police officer. He didn’t recognize her and figured that she was from another precinct. “Inspector Harvey Leek?” “Yes, can I help you? “Inspector, I have a warrant for your arrest. You will have to come with me, sir.” “WHAT? What the hell are you talking about?” Harvey tried to take the warrant from her hand but she took his arm and turned him around to be handcuffed. “I was hoping that you would co-operate, sir. I didn’t want to have to handcuff you in front of your fellow officers.” She took him by the arm and guided him towards the door. Harvey was still trying to figure out what was happening. As they passed the front desk, he asked the desk sergeant to call Nash and tell him what was happening. He needed help…fast! * “What precinct did you say you were from?” Harvey sat in the back of the police cruiser and continued to question the officer about his arrest. “This is all a big misunderstanding, Officer ? What was your name?” The young woman didn’t answer his questions and continued to concentrate on her driving. Eventually, she pulled into the parking lot of Asia SF and helped Harvey get out of the car. She led him inside the restaurant and up the stairs to a private party room. She knocked on the door twice, opened it and pushed Harvey inside. “SURPRISE!!” Friends from the SIU and other precincts had gathered at the restaurant for the surprise bachelor party that Nash had arranged. Antwon and Joe led a dumbfounded Harvey to a table in the center of the room and removed the handcuffs. The lights were dimmed and a spotlight followed the young female officer as she slowly moved towards Harvey. Music blared from the sound system and the woman removed her hat and placed it on Harvey’s head as she danced around him. He gave an embarrassed chuckle and adjusted the hat as he watched the dancer slowly discard the police uniform. He couldn’t believe that he had fell for such a wacky trick. When someone handed Harvey a beer, he raised it to salute the dancer. He would have to remember to thank the person responsible for hiring her. This time, the dancer wasn’t a tall blond. After finishing her performance, the dancer, who’s name was Sheila, slipped a card in Harvey’s hand and gave him a kiss on the cheek, leaving behind bright red lip prints. Harvey then joined Antwon, Nash and Joe at the bar and they watched the woman walk away. Nash snatched the card from Harvey’s hand and replaced it with a mug of beer. “You won’t be needing her phone number, Bubba but I think I’ll hang on to it for myself.” Joe draped his arm across Harvey’s shoulders and smiled wickedly. “So, how did you like your surprise?” “Which one? The stripper or the fake arrest?” “The stripper of course. I specifically asked for a redhead. You haven’t had much luck with blonds, brother.” From the end of the bar, an amused chuckle was heard from Nash. “I just hope that Casey lets us live after hearing about the stripper.” October 17th 1am Casey flipped over onto her stomach for the hundredth time and sighed. After finding out about Harvey’s bachelor party, she had planned a relaxing evening for herself. A long, hot bath, a good book and an early bed time had sounded wonderful. However, last minute wedding worries and frazzled nerves intruded upon those plans. Turning onto her back, she fluffed the pillows hoping that sleep would somehow conquer her restlessness. A short time later, she heard the front door creak open and knew that Harvey was home. She heard the sound of stumbling in the dark and then the muttered curse as a knee banged against a table. She sat up in the bed and giggled when she heard Harvey singing as he began making his way up the stairs. No doubt about it, the man she loved was home…safe, happy and three sheets to the wind! “Harvey? Honey, is that you?” “Yes dear. I’ll be right up.” Ten minutes later, a breathless Harvey appeared in the doorway and slumped against the frame. “We should really consider buying a one story house. Those steps are a killer!” Suppressing laughter, Casey got up to help him. She slipped her arm around his waist and helped him to the bed. He flopped down on the edge of the bed and began telling Casey all about the party while she removed his shoes. “This female cop came to the SIU and arrested me. She put me in the back of this cruiser and then drove to…uh, oh yeah, Asia SF. Turns out she was a stripper that Nash hired for the party.” Harvey took Casey’s wrists in his hands and stopped her attempts to unbutton his shirt. “You should have seen this girl! The way she danced was such a turn-on. She had all this long, red hair swinging around her shoulders, a butterfly tattoo on her hip and an incredible set of…” “WHOA BUBBA!! Future wife here.” Casey stood up and planted her hands on her hips. “Do you really want to be telling me all this?” “Oh…honey…I’m sorry.” Harvey held up a placating hand. “Nothing happened. I never touched the girl. She did her thing and left, nothing more.” He cocked his head and thought for a moment. “No, that’s not quite true. She did kiss me.” He pointed to the still visible lipstick mark on his cheek. “Technically, she touched me so it doesn’t count.” Casey shook her head and gave a good-natured chuckle. “Ok, Casanova, it’s late and you obviously need some sleep so let’s get you undressed…” “Good Idea!” Pushing her hands away, he pulled himself to his feet. Staggering a bit as he walked, Harvey made his way across the room to the stereo. He picked up a Grateful Dead CD, held the disc close to his eyes so that he could read the selections and then slipped it into the machine. As the sounds of “Good Lovin” filled the room; he began to sway to the music. He glanced over his shoulder and gave Casey his most seductive look. “Uh-oh, what are you thinking about?” Casey pulled herself into the middle of the bed and sat cross-legged as she watched him with curious eyes. “I feel like dancing.” He whipped his belt from the loops and flung it across the room, knocking a picture off the wall and sending it crashing to the floor. He tugged his tie off and tossed it to the floor and continued to dance around the room. It took a while to unbutton his shirt but finally he tossed it over his head and it landed on the bedside lamp. Casey reclined back on the bed and smiled as she watched her own Chippendale wannabe perform. The moves might be a little unsteady and the singing a bit slurred but he was having the time of his life; so was she. This was a side of Harvey that she had never seen before and she was enjoying every second. As the song ended, Harvey gave a wild kick, which caused his cargo pants to land somewhere in the hallway. Casey could no longer control her laughter. He stood next to the bed; clad only in a white t-shirt and bright, neon yellow “teddy bears” boxers. “Where did you get those?” She asked, still trying to adjust her eyes to the color of the underwear. “eBay. You can find anything there.” “I can see that. I wonder if they glow in the dark.” Casey stifled a laugh as she pulled the comforter back. “Alright sweetheart, I appreciated the show but I really think that you should get some sleep now.” He lay down and Casey had to lean over him to remove the shirt from the lampshade and turn the light off. He trapped her by wrapping his arms around her and holding her in place for a moment. “I love you. Do you know that? I really love you and I’m going to prove it.” His kiss was forceful yet passionate and Casey couldn’t wait to see what it was leading up to. After a few minutes, she realized that something about the kiss had changed. Raising up, she looked down at him and realized that he was sound asleep. She tucked the blanket around his shoulders and watched as he slept for a few minutes before snuggling down under the covers. She was about to close her eyes when something caught her attention and she raised the blankets to investigate. “Oh my goodness! They do glow in the dark!!” |
| Kathy Terry |
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