“Starsky, you’re going the wrong way,” Hutch complained. Sam plopped his head and paws over the back of the seat, enjoying the familiarity of the Torino and the easy banter between his two humans. It was good to be home!
“I’m not goin’ the wrong way. We’re just takin’ a little detour,” Starsky argued back.
“A detour? Are you nuts? The Pits is in the opposite direction from here. How can this be a detour when you’re driving in the exact opposite direction of where we want to go?”
“We’re goin’ by the park first.” Starsky looked over at Hutch’s irritated face and grinned, almost bursting with the need to blurt out his surprise.
“What? The park? In the middle of the day? Don’t you think it’s a little early to take Sam for a run?”
Starsky wheeled the Torino into the parking area and shut off the engine. “Come on,” he said to Hutch.
“Come on where?”
“Just come with me, okay? Why do ya have to ask so many questions?” Starsky bailed out of the car, ran around to Hutch’s side, and opened the passenger door. Sam sailed out over Hutch and hit the pavement before the blond even realized the dog’s intent. When Hutch didn’t budge, Starsky tilted his head to one side and raised one brow expectantly. “So? Are ya getting out or not?”
Hutch exhaled a long-suffering sigh, before climbing out of the car. “Now what?”
“Come with me,” Starsky answered, slamming the door and locking the car. Barking with enthusiasm, Sam ran ahead, toward the path that his two humans jogged on a regular basis. Starsky talked incessantly as they walked, mostly about the weather and how autumn (such as it was, in Southern California) had finally arrived, how beautiful the few changing leaves were. Hutch tuned him out, his thoughts drifting back to Redwood Valley again, as they had so often over the past two weeks since their return home.
“Hey, there they are!” Starsky snagged Hutch by the elbow and hurried him toward the small group waiting up just ahead.
“Dobey? Huggy? Minnie? What are all these people doing here?”
“You’ll see,” Starsky answered smugly. As they neared the group, Hutch also spotted Edith Dobey, Kiko, and Hutch’s current girlfriend, Sue Johns. Everyone smiled and came forward to greet Hutch, hugging him or shaking his hand.
“Uh...it’s not that I’m not happy to see you all, but what’s going on here?” Hutch asked, his eyes going from face to face.
Starsky grinned, thoroughly pleased with himself for having managed to get Hutch there on time, without spoiling their surprise. Dobey stepped forward and cleared his throat self-consciously.
“Hutch, we’re all very sorry about your sister. Starsky told us that she was a real nature lover. We, well...we wanted to do something to show our respect.” The crowd parted and stepped away from the surprise they’d been hiding. A six-foot red maple sapling, adorned with splotches of orange and gold autumn foliage, stood before him, only a pale copy of the majestic Minnesota forests. Still, its message was clear to Hutch.
Edith came forward and took her husband’s arm, then added, “We got permission from the Department of Parks and Recreation to plant this maple beside the jogging trail as a memorial to Karen, Hutch. There’s a brass plate right down here, with her name and the date she was born and the date she...passed away.” She smiled at him, tears brimming in her eyes.
“We hope you like it,” Kiko said.
Stunned, Hutch turned back to Starsky, at a loss for words. “I-I-I just don’t know what to say,” he stuttered past the lump in his throat.
“Just say it’s okay with you, Blondie,” Starsky suggested.
“Everyone...it’s...it’s just...it’s just beautiful,” was all he could manage.
They all laughed and applauded. “Not much of a speech, Hutch,” Huggy quipped, “but it’ll do.”
“Now—” Minnie said, trying to get their attention. “Everyone, come over to pavilion four, right over there. Sue and I have put together a little picnic. Nothing fancy, mind you, but some good, wholesome junk food and sandwiches.” They all laughed at Minnie’s description of the menu.
Sue beamed at Hutch before following Minnie, “And I even made those watercress and alfalfa sandwiches you like so much.”
As the crowd moved toward the pavilion, Sam trailing behind them, Hutch hung back and knelt before the maple sapling to read the plaque. He felt, rather than heard Starsky’s presence behind him. “Hey, you gonna be okay?”
Hutch stood up and turned to face his partner. A smile slowly came to his lips. “Yeah...yeah...I’m gonna be fine.” He draped an arm around Starsky’s shoulders and turned toward the group of friends already unpacking their picnic. “With friends like you, how else can a guy be?”