NashIA2Story

                                                             'A Day in the Life',
                                                       The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album.

"Woke up. Fell outta bed. Dragged a comb across my head. Went upstairs to drink a cup. And looking up, I noticed I was late…"

                                                                A Day in the Life

Feeling a cold, wet nose poking at his ear, Harvey cracked open an eye. He found himself nose to snout with King. Smiling, he opened both eyes and reached out to pet the Great Dane on the head. Daylight was streaming in through the blinds in his bedroom window and he was momentarily confused.

Sitting bolt upright, Harvey glanced at his alarm clock. The bright red numbers were flashing back at him. 12 o'clock. He must've lost power some time during the night or early morning. Snatching up his watch from the nightstand, he squinted at the tiny numbers. 7:48. "Damn! I overslept."

Pushing King away so he could scramble from the bed, Harvey ran around the room in a frenzy. To save time, he shaved in the shower. Throwing on some clothes, he dashed into the kitchen and grabbed King's leash. When he opened the front door, Harvey stood there a moment and groaned. It was pouring down rain. He looked at King forlornly. "Man, are you sure you need to go?" The dog looked back up at him and did a little prance, anxious for his morning walk. "Ah, man. Well, for cryin' out loud, make it snappy."

Dashing out into the rain, Harvey led King to the nearest tree. He stood and waited while King did his business, shoulders hunched, as if that was somehow going to keep the rain off of him. Seemingly as anxious as Harvey to get out of the rain, King was quick.

Running back in the house, Harvey looked at the wet, muddy prints man and dog had left on his floor. "Forget it. I'll clean it tonight." Dumping King's food dish on the counter, Harvey grabbed a can of dog food from his pantry. As soon as he heard the can opener, King came running and stood at Harvey's feet.

Harvey was in such a hurry that he cut his finger on the sharp edge of the can's lid. "Ouch! Dammit, that hurt." He turned on the faucet in the sink and ran his finger through the cold water, then finished scraping the dog food into the dish and set it on the floor.

Searching through his cabinets, he finally found a band-aid. Wounds dealt with, he grabbed his keys and headed for the door, stopping long enough to turn on the radio so King would have some company.

Cursing the neighbors for having a party the night before, forcing Harvey to park a block away, he ran through the rain. He'd almost reached his car when a garbage truck came barreling down the street. Naturally, it found the biggest puddle in the street and splashed several gallons of water…all over Harvey.

Stunned, Harvey stood on the sidewalk with his arms held out away from him. He tried to shake some of the water off, and gave it up as useless. He walked the rest of the way to his car, unlocked the door, and dropped into the seat with a sigh. Shutting the door, he stuck the key in the ignition. He couldn't believe how this day was starting out. He overslept, was running late, cut his finger and now was soaked clean through his Grateful Dead boxers. "Man, what else could possibly go wrong?"

He turned the key in the ignition, for a moment there he had forgotten how late he was. The engine sputtered, coughed and died. "Now what?" He clamped his teeth and kept turning the ignition. Nothing. It sounded alright, but not a spark. Nothing. Then he looked at the gauge. "Empty?! No way, it was more than half full yesterday. Man, they’ve siphoned my car!"

He picked up the cell phone and quickly flicked it open, speed dialing Evan. 'Beep', the phone said, he looked at it just in time to see the message 'Low batt' on the display before it turned itself off. He had not remembered to charge the battery - again - it was the second time in a week he had done that. He sighed, leaning his forehead against the wheel. There was nothing for it, he had to go back home. He got out of the car and slowly walked down the street towards his house.

King was ecstatic - his master had returned - frisking around Harvey, who made his way to the kitchen phone. He punched in the numbers and waited. "Cortez."

"Ev, it’s me. My car is out of gas, you have to help me out here, man."

"Harv, where have you been? All hell has broken loose here, you’re needed, like NOW!"

"Can’t you hear what I’m saying, man? I cannot drive my car, there’s no gas in the tank, the car was siphoned last night." In the background he could hear people talking and shouting. Evan seemed a bit distracted.

"Harv, I’m coming right over, just don’t go anywhere, OK?"

Hanging the phone back up on the wall, he patted King and shook his head slightly. He decided to make himself some coffee before Evan got there, but when he opened the jar, it was empty. "I used the last of the coffee last night!" Rummaging through the cabinet, he tried to find some instant coffee somewhere, but no such luck. "I better change into some dry clothes. Evan will probably bring me a double espresso when he gets here anyway," he thought to himself as he went upstairs.

Harvey walked into his bedroom, and King, being the playful dog he was, came bounding up behind him. "No, King...it's not time to play. I've got to change and get ready to leave for work, again." King looked up at Harvey with his big puppy dog eyes and whimpered. But when King realized Harvey is serious, he laid down at the foot of the bed and watched Harvey's every move as he got dressed.

"Come on boy, let's go downstairs." King must of thought that it was time to play because with his muddy paws, he jumped up on Harvey and got yet another set of cloths dirty. "Oh King, go downstairs."

Harvey grabbed another shirt, "Maybe the third time's the charm" he said to himself. Harvey put the shirt on, but when he went to button it, two of the buttons on it were missing. "Damn it. Why today?" As Harvey took the shirt off, he heard a horn outside and assumed it was Evan. Reaching into his closet and grabbing whatever he could get his hands on, he ran down the stairs, almost tripping on one of King's chew toys, ran out the kitchen door and shut it.

Just then a look of fear came across his face...Evan was not there. As Harvey tried to open the door to go back inside, he realized the house was locked and the keys were sitting in full view on the countertop.

"I give up," Harvey murmured to himself. He tried to put his fourth shirt of the day on in the middle of the rain, one arm went in and then he couldn’t find the other arm. "I grabbed a pair of pants, not a shirt. Wouldn't that look cute going into work? Like the guys need anything else to tease me about." Just as Harvey was standing outside kicking and screaming obscenities, Evan pulled up.

For a moment, Harvey couldn't decide if he should be grateful or embarrassed that Evan had shown up at that particular moment. Lowering his head in defeat, he sighed and wadded up the pants as he walked over to Evan's truck. Jerking open the door, he smiled sheepishly at his partner. "Hey, Evan, I need your key to my house for a minute. I locked mine inside."

Well, that explained why Harvey had been standing out in the rain in a t-shirt. Sort of. "Um, Harvey?"

"Don't ask, Ev. Just give me the key and I'll be right back." Snatching the keys from Evan, Harvey trotted up the stairs and unlocked the door. Running to his room to get a dry shirt, he forgot that wet shoes and wooden floors don't go well together. His foot slid out from under him and he hit the ground with a thump. Wincing as he climbed to his feet, he knew he'd have a nice, colorful bruise on his hip by the end of the day. "Can this day possibly get worse?"

Fending off King, he made it to his closet, snatched a dry shirt and inspected it for buttons. They were all there. Pulling on the shirt, he jerked his pea coat from its hanger and, carefully, jogged back to the door. This time he remembered to get his own set of keys before shutting the door.

Dropping into the passenger seat of the truck, Harvey handed over the spare house keys. "Thanks for the keys, Ev. It's been a bad morning all around."

Eyeing his bedraggled partner, Evan frowned. "Uh, Harv. You're getting my seat wet. You're pants are soaked."

"They weren't when I put them on. I got a little wet when I locked myself out of the house. C'mon, Evan. Let's just get to the SIU. The nice, dry, safe SIU."

"Here," Evan said as he handed his partner a coffee.

"Oh bless you my child," Harvey said as he tore the lid off the cup and took a large swallow.

Evan glanced at him repeatedly as he pulled out into traffic. "You sounded like you needed to calm down, so I got you decaf."

Harvey swallowed hard and felt it go down in a single lump. "You got me decaf?" he said softly. In all the years that they had been partners, Evan had always brought him a double espresso.

"Yeah, I thought..."

"You brought me decaf?" he interrupted.

"Yeah, I thought that...."

"Forget it. Forget it," he said, waving his hands in the air to stop the conversation. "With the morning I've had, I'll take it." Harvey gave him the play-by-play of his morning, but it didn't help his mood any when Evan started laughing. "This day can't get any worse," he concluded.

"Uh. Don't count on it," Evan returned as they pulled into the SIU parking lot.

Harvey took in the scene before him with dismay. "Oh you've got to be kidding me," he grumbled when he saw that a small circus had commandeered the parking lot. There were elephants and camels and giraffes and jugglers and a large assortment of people simply wandering around.

Evan pulled into a parking slot well away from the action, then walked around to join his partner staring at Nash who was standing by his car near the barge. "Ev?"

"Yeah?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong," he said as they started walking closer to the unusual topic of their conversation. "But does it look like Nash is having a conversation with an elephant?"

Evan had the same disbelieving look on his face. "Yeah Harv. I'm afraid so."

"Okay."

"Look, it's a car. Not a banana or a peanut or whatever it is you think it is," Nash tried to explain to the persistent pachyderm. He glanced around to see that help was finally at hand. "I'm glad you're here," he told Harvey and Evan. "See if you can find the handler for this thing."

Harvey jumped aside quickly when a long gray nose started sniffing around his crotch. "Whoa, back up there, Barbar. That's definitely the wrong kind of nut." He gently pushed the trunk away and gave the animal a light pat in attention. "What the hell is going on, bossman?" he asked. Nash cleared his throat.

"Apparently Dumbo here thinks the 'Cuda is his dinner," he informed them. "I caught him red handed trying to rip one of the seats out. I'd put the cuffs on him, but..." he gestured down to the massive legs.

"No problem boss," Harvey said as the trunk came his way again and he wrapped his arm around it. "I've seen circus handlers do it all the time," he said, not noticing Nash's warning hand. "Come on Barbar. Let's get you back where you belong."

"No Harv, wait!" Nash ordered. "I already tried th..." was all that he managed to get out when Harvey came back around on the elephant's trunk. Nash and Evan were both frantically grabbing for Harvey's hands, but he still ended up tossed into the back of the 'Cuda like a rag doll. Harvey closed his eyes in defeat, his legs hanging out the back and his head wedged between the two front seats. "I don't believe this," he mumbled, then felt the elephant's trunk on top of his head. "Hey! No!" he ordered, but couldn't move fast enough to stop the elephant from pulling his red beret off of his head. "Give it back you two ton thief!" he ordered. Then a strangled squeak escaped him as he watched his favorite beret getting stuffed down the gullet of the enormous beast.

Harvey didn't move for a few seconds, as he listened to Nash and Evan laughing out loud hysterically. "Here Harv, let me give you a hand." with a few twists and tugs Harvey managed to get out of the cuda and all 3 looked at each other, not daring to say a word.

"Harvey, Evan, get hold of the bozo who handles Dumbo here and get this circus out of my parking lot before I start selling tickets for it. Oh by the way, Harv?"

"Yea, Boss?"

"Is there a reason you look like something the cats drug in from the rain?" Nash couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

"Yea, there is but you don't want to hear about my morning right now." Just then the juggler missed and a bowling pin flew towards Harvey and hit him in the head. "That does it, I am making that call now!"

They all went into the SIU and as they were sitting down at their desk, they could hear water dripping. Ronnie had gone out to try and control the "circus" in the parking lot, till helped arrived.

Harvey dialed the number he found and said: "Hello, this is Inspector Leek over at the SIU, I believe you left your family in our parking lot here. Could you come and get them before Dumbo here decides to destroy our barge too! Ok, thanks, bye."

"Man, I’ve got to get some coffee!" Harvey mumbled. "Hey, bro. Sit tight. I'll go get you an espresso OK."

"Ev, get a double for Harvey. We’ve got to get him loosed up here." Nash chuckled knowing Harvey saw no sense of humor in any of this.

Just then Harvey's phone rang, but Harvey ignored the ringing and waited for Evan to bring him the strong coffee. As the phone continued to ring, Nash looked over at his friend. "Want me to get that for you, bubba?"

"No," Harvey replied sharply. "It's only more headaches and I can do without another one for a couple of minutes. I'm still trying to get over the last two. Besides, if it's important they will call back."

The phone soon stopped ringing which brought the first smile of that day to Harvey's face. It was followed by another smile when Evan brought him a steaming cup of coffee. "This is the strongest we got right now, Harv."

Wrapping both hands around the mug, Harvey sighed. "That's great, Ev. I'll take it whatever it is." He took a long sip of the steaming liquid and began to relax. Just as he sat back into his chair, the phone rang again. Harvey leaned over and grabbed the receiver roughly. "Inspector Leek, SIU. This had better be really important."

There was a moment of stunned silence on the other end of the line. Eventually Harvey heard, "Inspector, sorry to bother you but it's Officer Liu from the Haight substation. We have some good news for you."

Harvey couldn't recall contacting anyone down at that substation but considering the day he'd been having so far, he figured that he had just forgotten. "That's great, Officer. What good news do you have for me?"

"We found your car for you. And there isn't a scratch on it. Whoever took it for a ride left it in pretty good shape."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your PT Cruiser. You have one, right? A blue one?"

"Yeah, I do. And I don't recall reporting it stolen. "

"We don't have it reported as stolen either - just found. And according to DVM records, the vehicle we found is registered to you. It was located about an hour ago. Someone took it for a joy ride but they abandoned it a few blocks later. A citizen in the neighborhood where it was found called us to report a suspicious vehicle. Once we discovered that it belonged to a fellow officer, we made sure to go and get it right away. We're towing it over to your office for you."

"How on earth did they get it? It was out of gas! Who would have taken it?"

"That explains why it was abandoned,” he returned. “We don’t know who took it, but my guess is that they let it coast down the street while they tried to get it started. The officer that found it said that it looks like they tried to hotwire it, but they must have given up when they realized it was out of gas. I’ll have one of our mechanics look it over for you."

"I would appreciate that. Have them bring it by and let one of our staff know it's here."

"I'll do that. Oh, there is one more thing."

Harvey caught everyone staring at him. This was just what he needed - to have a crisis with everyone watching. "And what would that be, Officer?"

"The security alarm at your house is going off. And no one has been able to catch your dog yet."

"Now I know you're kidding." Looking around the room, Harvey was waiting for someone to tell him that he was just the victim of a very bad joke. "Oh come on guys, this has gone on way too long." But much to Harvey's chagrin, no one came forward to claim that they were the perpetrator.

Putting the receiver back to his ear, Harvey sighed heavily. "Thank you very much for calling, Officer. I'm on my way there now. It will take me about twenty or thirty minutes."

"Thanks, Inspector. We're sorry to bother you with this but your neighbors are starting to complain about the alarm and we don't want anything to happen to your dog."

Harvey said goodbye and hung up the phone. He wheeled his chair back to his desk, leaned over and rested his forehead on it. The coolness of the metal desk felt good. Thinking quietly for a moment, Harvey momentarily considered banging his head against the desk a few times for good measure but he figured he would only end up giving himself a concussion.

When he sat back up, he drained the coffee from his cup, got up and called
out to Evan. "Let's go, bro. We've got places to be."

Evan looked at Nash as he passed by his boss' desk. Nash just waved at him to go, whispering, "Take as long as necessary. Do whatever needs to be done and keep a close eye on him. I have a feeling that Harvey is just about at the end of his rope."

The two men were on their way out the door when they heard a loud crack followed by a big splashing sound. The sound of dripping water they had been hearing earlier had been from a leak in the roof on the upper level. The bucket that had been used to collect the water wasn't very reliable and it suddenly collapsed under the pressure. The water it had been holding poured down, drenching the chair that Harvey had just been sitting in.

Harvey's shoulders slumped at the sound but he didn't even glance back. He took one look at Evan, who turned to check out what had happened. "Don't tell me - I don't what to know. Just make sure that it isn't here if and when I come back. I'm beginning to think I would have been safer if I'd just stayed buried under my covers at home this morning."

As the car pulled up in front of his house, Harvey saw a cop and some neighbors looking around. He could not believe the bad day he was having. As he exited the car, he said to Evan, " This should take only a few minutes ok." Evan just nodded at that and watched
Harvey makes his way to his front door.

Harvey talked to the cop. Harvey told the cop it was time for the dog walker to take King, who knows why in the rain, for a walk. Soon after that the cop left.

After putting the code in to turn off his alarm, he searched the house for his dog and the dog walker, but saw neither. So he looked outside and saw King lying on the dog walker.

Jogging toward the poor woman pinned to the wet ground, Harvey's movement caught King's attention. He gave a deep bark, leapt up and bounded happily toward his master.

Throwing up his hands in an attempt to ward off the big dog, Harvey shook his head. "No, King! Down, down." It was useless. King jumped up and put his filthy paws on Harvey's shoulders in an attempt to lick his owner's face.

Turning away and trying to push King off of him, Harvey slipped and landed flat on his back in the mud. He lay there, blinking in the rain, staring up into the dark heavens. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the day's misfortunes.

Rolling out from under King, Harvey climbed to his feet. "Janice, what the heck happened?" Joining the mud-splattered young lady on the back porch, Harvey tried to scrape the mud from his shoes.

Ringing the water from her long hair, Janice gave him an apologetic look. "I'm really sorry, Harvey. I know it's been raining all day, but King still needs his exercise. Besides, I like the rain. Anyway, I was bringing him back from his walk and when I opened the door and went to turn off the alarm…I blanked. I couldn't remember the code. The alarm started blaring, I startled and dropped the leash…and King took off."

Puzzled, Harvey kicked off his muddy shoes. "But the officers said they'd looked around for King and couldn't find him."

"That's probably because I had to chase him for three blocks before I caught him. I'd just come in through the back gate when King decided to be playful. I'd only been on the ground a minute when you came outside."

Gathering up King's leash, Harvey started to go inside. "Do you need to come in and dry off?"

Smiling, Janice shook her head. "Nah, I'll just walk home. I like the rain."

Shaking his head as the young woman disappeared through the back gate, Harvey dragged King back inside. Sighing at the new muddy paw prints King was adding to the wooden floor, Harvey headed upstairs. The sound of the front door opening made him stop and turn around.

"Hey, Harvey, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, Evan, as okay as it seems to get today. Just make yourself at home. I have to change clothes. Again."

Evan laughed when he heard Harvey grumbling to himself as he trudged up the stairs. He stopped laughing when King planted his huge, mud-covered paws on Evan's new jacket. "Aw, King. What'd you do that for? Man, now I've got to have this thing cleaned." Grumbling like his partner, Evan went to sit on the couch while he waited for Harvey.

Once more shedding wet clothes, Harvey went over to his closet. "I'm going to run out of clean pants at this rate." Trotting down the stairs, dry once again, Harvey yelled for Evan. "Let's go, Ev. Hey, what happened to your jacket?"

Rolling his eyes in disgust, Evan frowned. "Why don't you ask that horse you call a dog."

"Hey, you're the one that suggested I keep him." The two argued good-naturedly as they walked back to Evan's truck. Before they could reach it, however, a moving van sped past kicking up a small wave of water.

Thoroughly drenched, Evan shook his hands and turned to glare at his partner, who now had water dripping from everywhere. "Geez, Harv, you're a disaster magnet, today."

"You think this is my fault, do you?" Harvey said as he tried to wipe some of the water off from his clothes. He glared at Evan and got into the truck, slamming the door shut. This day was going from bad to worse, it seemed.

Looking down at his clothes, he sighed yet again. "I have to arrange a double-date with the washer and dryer tonight. It’s either that or I’ll be forced to wear those old overalls tomorrow and that would be just too much" he thought.

"Do you wanna get some lunch before we head down to the barge?" Evan asked as they pulled up at a red light.

"Yeah, why not" Harvey replied.

Bang! At the same time they were rear-ended by a delivery truck.

"What!" Evan yelled. His left foot slid off the brake pedal and the car jumped forward, hitting the car in front. His right foot pressed down on the gas pedal and he slowly pushed the little Toyota out into the intersection.

"What are you doing, Evan?" Harvey shouted. He then reached for the hand brake and pulled it as hard as he could. "Step off the gas, man!"

Evan came to his senses, but not until it was too late. The Toyota had ended up in the middle of the intersection, facing oncoming traffic from the left. The woman behind the wheel was crying and screaming and so were the two children in the back seat. A taxi coming from the left screeched to a halt, but not in time to avoid bumping into the small sedan.

"Now look at what you have done! You’re jinxed today, do you know that?" Evan yelled at his partner as he stepped out of the car in order to assess the damage to his own truck as well as the other cars.

Harvey didn’t say a word, he closed his eyes and leaning back in his seat, he put a hand over his eyes, slowly shaking his head. "Am I going to survive this day at all?" he mumbled under his breath.

As Evan started walking around his car, his phone rang. "Cortez" he answered.

"Hey, Evan, where are you, we’re waiting for you and Harv here at the SIU. What’s your ETA?"

Evan could hear that Nash was getting impatient. "Uh, sorry boss, but no can do right now."

"Why not? Where are you?"

"Ummm...well...We’re actually downtown but you see, Nashman, there’s been a traffic accident."

"A traffic accident? Leave that to the unis, bubba, and haul your asses over here right now, do you hear!?"

"Ah sorry, boss you see we sort of caused the accident!"

It was a quiet ride back to the SIU. As Evan and Harvey left the tow-truck, Harvey noticed that it had quieted down some. "Oh, good the circus is gone," Harvey said to himself. His luck didn't change.

Right before he got to his desk, he walked right into Ronnie who was talking to another officer with a cup of coffee in his hands. Harvey looked up to see two very unhappy people looking at him. So, when he turned to leave he bumped into Joe, who also had a cup of coffee. "Oh brother," Harvey thought.

Nash stood up to see what was going on when an officer bumped in to him with a cup of coffee. With a look of disgust, he walked towards Harvey, who was now seated. "Harvey?"

"Yea, Boss? Don't get to close to me, I am a menace to society today." Harvey had his head in his hands, scared to even move.

Nash chuckled. "Yea, it does seem that way. Is it just a bad day or you having problems I should know about?"

"No Boss, I overslept this morning and its just gone downhill from there." Harvey couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen next, but figured if he just sat still he might survive.

"Well, I have a case for you and Ev, but if you don't mind think I'll send someone else with Ev instead. You're soaking wet and, by the way, did you know your pants are torn? Maybe Ronnie should take you home for a change of clothes."

Harvey just groaned; he went to stand up only to hear his shoes squeaking, so sat back down. "Gee Nash, that would be great, but I am out of clean pants and now am resorting to my overalls! I don't think I even have a clean shirt now."

By that time, Harvey was totally exasperated and Nash was feeling bad for him but couldn't help laughing. Right then the lights at the SIU started flickering, the storm was getting worse and all Harvey could do was mumble to himself. "Oh sure, now watch my computer go down too! Boss, if ya don't mind I am just going to sit here and work on some files."

"OK Harv, but don't go getting sick on me."

"Naa, I'll ask Ronnie to take me home later. Man my washing machine best be in working mode tonight."

Right then Nash's phone rang, but as he answered it he heard Harvey yell "No, no. This just can’t be happening to me ..."

Joe shook his head as he stood at the top of the stairs at the front of the SIU. "I've never seen anything like it," he commented to Nash when he walked up to join him. Nash followed his partner's gaze and saw Harvey kneeling down behind his desk as he tried to get his computer to boot back up again.

"Is Harv still working at that?" he asked absently.

"No, it's not that," he returned, then pointed to one of the secretaries about to walk by Harvey's desk. "Watch," he instructed. Seconds later, the stack of files the secretary was carrying seemed to leap out of her hands and scatter all over the floor.

Nash laughed, then looked back at Joe and realized why he had pointed it out. "You can't seriously think that Harvey is a jinx?"

"Oh no?" Joe returned. They looked back over to Harvey's desk and saw Evan trying to help the secretary retrieve her folders. They could hear Harvey's cussing his computer, then suddenly, the leg to Evan's desk collapsed, sending the entire contents careening onto the pair still trying to gather up the folders.

Nash looked back at Joe with a more serious expression. "Now that was a little freaky," he admitted.

"Oh boy," he returned anxiously, still watching the scene below. "Harvey's on the move." They watched in amazement when a wake of disasters followed after Harvey. A light exploded on someone's desk; the shelves inexplicably collapsed at another desk; and one person after another started tapping at their keyboards in confusion at what they were seeing on the computer screen. Then Nash and Joe were forced to grab the rail of the staircase as the barge started to list slightly in the gale storm that had blown up out of nowhere.

"Now there's no way you can convince me that Harvey has anything to do with the storm," Nash said, then the two of them watched in stunned silence once more as lights started to flicker when Harvey passed by. Joe and Nash exchanged another look. "We've got to get him off the barge," he decided.

Minutes later, Nash and Joe were ushering Harvey out with Ronnie. "Take the rest of the day off, Harv," Nash told him. The lights flickered ominously, then a bright flash of lightning accompanied a deafening clap of thunder.

"Take the rest of the week off Harv," Joe ordered as he shoved Harvey toward the door.

Nash grabbed Ronnie's arm. "Keep your eyes open, bubba," Nash warned him. He felt like he was sending one of his buddies off to war.

Joe gave Ronnie a solemn pat on the shoulder, then stepped over to Nash as they watched the pair leave. "Do you think we will ever see either of them again?"

Nash began to comment, when the lights flickered once more, then returned to normal. He glanced around the SIU and saw that everyone who was having computer problems suddenly wasn't. He turned back to Joe just as they both realized that the barge was no longer rocking with the storm. Then an eerie quiet fell over the SIU. They walked over to the door to see Ronnie's car pulling out of the parking lot. "I sure as hell hope so."

Ronnie quickly led Harvey to the car. Traffic was unusually heavy with every light turning red making time seem like an eternity. Harvey was shivering, his wet clothes and shoes were making him cold now. All he could think of was getting home, grabbing a bite to eat having a beer and then his long night of laundry duty would begin. Yes, just his safe warm home, and King!

"Harvey", Ronnie brought him out of his deep thoughts, "You're going to be OK; everyone has had bad day, lord knows, I've had my share."

Just then they heard a 'thud' sound on the back side of the car. "Oh man, tell me I am hearing things," said Harvey.

"Aww Harvey, I think we have a flat, let me pull over." The sky was almost black with clouds. It hadn't stormed this hard in San Francisco for a long time.

"I'll get out and change it, I am already soaked" Harvey offered, but Ronnie quickly pushed him against the seat.

"Think I best tackle this one. No offense, but I'd just as soon you stay put my friend." Ronnie changed the tire as traffic whizzed by, splashing water all over him. As he got back in the car and looked in the rearview mirror he said, "Well, now I look like a drowned rat too!" Both men couldn't help but laugh.

They finally arrived at Harvey's. "Thanks Ronnie, I'd ask you in but I don't dare."

"Not a problem, just glad you're home and good luck. I think your going to need it," he chuckled.

Harvey opened his door as King came dashing towards him practically knocking him over. "Whoa King, how you doing boy?" Just then Harv noticed muddy paw prints all over the carpet. "King what have you done? You have mud all over the floors and your water dish is knocked over." Looking at King, Harvey just to laugh and couldn't stop, "Come on boy, race you to the bedroom!"

They both jumped on the unmade bed into a pile of dirty clothes wrestling and tugging at each other. "Ok King, I need to find something dry to put on." Harvey had to settle for some old holy sweats and a t-shirt. "Now, some Grateful Dead tunes, then a beer and laundry", he mumbled.

As he opened the refrigerator he could hear thunder roaring outside. "What no beer? Man guess King and I will have to dodge this storm again." Just then the lights started flickering and Harv could hear his song cutting in an out, he ran to shut it off, he was not going to ruin his CD.

"OK", he thought, "I'll put a load of wash in...."

Harvey stuffed the first load of dirty laundry into the washer and reached up to get the detergent from the shelf. "It figures" he sighed when he found that the box was empty. He had forgotten to add laundry detergent to this week's grocery list. "This day just gets better and better" he mumbled.

Harvey grabbed King’s leash, then pulled on an old concert jacket and his beret to make the short jog to the neighborhood convenience store that was only a few blocks away. He gave King a good scratch behind the ear after tying him up next to the door, then went inside.

The pretty young store clerk looked up and smiled as Harvey walked in. He returned her greeting and began gathering the items that he needed. Coffee, beer and laundry detergent leading the list. From the corner of his eye, he noticed that she was watching him as he wandered from aisle to aisle. When their eyes would meet, she would flash him a shy smile and lower her eyes. "Wow, she's really cute. I can't believe that she's flirting with me."

Harvey's mind was racing with thoughts of whether he should ask her for a date. The idea that such a pretty young woman would find him attractive was just the boost that his ego needed. "I'm going to do it. I'm going to ask her out," he decided as he placed the items on the counter and took a deep breath for courage. "Hi, I'm Harvey. Has anyone ever told you that you have a beautiful smile?"

She blushed and thanked him for the compliment. "I noticed the Grateful Dead patches on your jacket. My parents are big fans of the Dead. I was just thinking about how much you remind me of my dad. Of course, he's old...he just turned 40!”

Harvey picked up the bag of groceries along with his deflated ego and left the store. "I hope that you have a great day!" the girl yelled.

"Oh yes, it's been a great day so far" he thought. "I have no clean clothes, my car has been vandalized, my friends don't want me around and now, my ego feels like it's just gone 15 rounds with Mike Tyson. I don't see how things could get much worse."

Harvey stared at the cap on the laundry detergent, which was now pitted from wrestling with the safety seal. “I think they have finally gone overboard with prevention,” he told King as his tail thumped loudly against the dryer. “When we start spending money on seals that keep fashion maniacs at bay, it’s time to reassess.”

When the sound of the washer changed, he glanced over to see that it had started. He grabbed his beer with one hand and the cap of detergent with the other, but, with the way his day was going, he eyed the detergent carefully as he poured it into the washer. “There we go,” he said in triumph. “One thing actually went right today.” He started to take a sip of his beer, but that was when he noticed the sleeve of one of his shirts had inched its way over the basket in the washer.

“Oh no you don’t,” he whispered, setting his beer back onto the dryer before grabbing his shirt. He was quickly able to see that the problem was the buttons on the cuff had got caught. He glanced around for one of his tools, spotting them just a few feet away, but when he released his shirt, the washing machine sucked it further in. “Hey!”

Harvey grabbed onto the body of the shirt with both hands and pulled. For just a second, he felt the shirt come free, then the machine tugged hard against him again. Harvey put his foot up against he washer and tried again, but the machine countered by ripping the sleeve off of the shirt. “Oh for the....”

He started laughing then, a deep, hearty laugh that made his cheeks hurt and his eyes water. “I surrender!” he shouted, looking up at the bare boards of the basement ceiling, then chuckling again. He looked down at the ripped shirt in his hand once more and tossed it into the washing machine. Then he grabbed up his beer and lifted it in silent toast before pouring half of it into the washer and taking a healthy swig himself.

“Come on King. We’re going to bed.” He gestured for the dog to move and he obediently trotted up the steps ahead of his master. Harvey sighed when he saw the condition of the bed. King had managed to get mud all over everything. “I’m not even going to think about this one,” he said, immediately stripping, then remaking the bed.

He was just about to jump into the bed when the thought of it collapsing beneath him crossed his mind. Instead, he gingerly pulled back the covers and eased down onto the mattress. “It’s over,” he said softly and closed his eyes.

~~~The following morning...

Feeling a cold, wet nose poking at his ear, Harvey cracked open an eye. He found himself nose to snout with King. Smiling, he opened both eyes and reached out to pet the Great Dane on the head. Sunlight was streaming in through the blinds in his bedroom window and he was momentarily confused.

Sitting bolt upright, Harvey glanced at his alarm clock. The bright red numbers were flashing back at him. 12 o'clock. Harvey’s head dropped down into his hands. “Oh dear God don’t let me be stuck in a Bill Murry movie.” Hesitantly, he looked around for his watch, then slowly picked it up to check the time. 6:59. He heaved a sigh, then ran his fingers through is hair. He still had time to take a shower and dress.

Harvey slowly got to his feet, wary of everything and anything around him. He padded over to his closet to pull out some clothes, then groaned. “I left them in the washing machine last night.” He knew that there wouldn’t be enough time to get anything dry before he had to leave, but he knew that he would be throwing a set of clothes in the dryer just the same.

“Harv!” Evan called out as he entered his partner’s home. “Hey Harvey!”

Harvey hurried out to meet him. “Aw man, don’t tell me my watch has stopped too,” he grumbled, then froze when he saw Evan standing at the other end of the hall.

Evan held up a tray with four large cups. “Double latte’s,” he informed him, then swung his other hand off of his shoulder to reveal his second surprise. “And I stopped off to get your dry cleaning.”

Harvey smiled. He was genuinely touched. He looked down at King when he finally decided to put in an appearance to inspect the new arrival and Harvey gave him a scratch behind the ear. “You’ve just been replaced as man’s best friend.”

                                                                       * * *