BY P&C PRODUCTIONS
CHAPTER 1

With Christmas just a few weeks away…Starsky had been putting a few dollars away here and there in hopes that he would have enough saved to buy Cassie something very special…something she had been wanting for a long time. Hutch had offered to help if he ran a little short and the time was drawing near.

Cassie had been working nights at a local burger joint where a few of her friends hung out. It had taken a lot of coaxing and a couple of arguments to finally get him to allow her to take the job. Based on her grades and her promise to be extra good…home by 10:00PM on the nights that she worked and home by 9:00PM on nights that she went out socially, She would be able to keep her job there. The housework had slipped a little but she managed to keep the place presentable. It was wearing her out but she enjoyed having her own money. With Christmas approaching she had been secretly stashing away as much as she could hoping that he would slip up and give her a hint of what to buy him. She had asked him…but he always told her that he had everything he needed and to spend her money on herself. Hutch tried but he wasn’t much help either…He was being deliberately evasive with them both.

Hutch was one to plan ahead…but this year he had decided to put off his Holiday purchases until the last minute. Starsky was so hard to shop for and every year he managed to get him something he never used and it usually ended up in his closet…collecting dust. This year was going to be different. He would buy a little something for Cassie and pitch in on a big
surprise…but he didn’t even know what that was…Starsky hadn’t told him yet.

Starsky sat on the couch eating from a pizza box and washing it down with a beer as he watched a special on TV. It was about Marilyn Monroe and her death had always intrigued him. So many unanswered questions…that were still left unanswered as the show drew to an end. Same stuff he had seen before…he thought to himself as he took another sip of his beer. He had been looking forward to it all week…making a mental note of the time and date. But it had been a little disappointing.

He heard a familiar noise in the driveway and glanced down at his watch…9:45PM. Stacey was bringing Cassie home. Her mother’s car made a very distinctive sound as it pulled in and backed out. She still hadn’t gotten the muffler fixed and he could hear it coming from a block away. The key turned in the door and a very tired Cassie walked inside. He could tell she
had had a pretty rough night as she slid off her shoes and plopped down on the couch next to him. She let out a small moan as she let her head fall against the back of the couch and closed her eyes.

“You hungry…there’s still some pizza left.” He told her.

“I had a burger about an hour ago.” She said not bothering to open her eyes.

She was so beautiful…he thought to himself as he stared at her. She had been growing up before his eyes…and with each passing day…she looked more and more like a woman. Her baby face features had all but disappeared and he knew that she would soon outgrow him and leave. He had had her in his life for the past three years and he wondered how hard it would be for him to say goodbye.

“Rough night?” He asked after a couple of minutes. The Marilyn Monroe special was going off and he hoped to talk to her before heading to bed. They hadn’t seen very much of each other in the past few weeks… and he missed her.

“My feet hurt and I have a headache.” She told him. “I can’t move.”

“Wait here.” He said as he got up and walked into the kitchen. She didn’t bother to lift her head until he returned. He sat back down beside her and held out a couple of small pills and a glass of water.

“Take these.” He said and then he grabbed her feet and pulled them on top of his lap and he began to gently rub the bottom of one of them with his thumbs.

“Oh…that feels so good.” She told him and then she threw the pills into her mouth and swallowed them both with one sip of water.

He took the glass from her and sat it on the coffee table with his left hand and then went back to messaging her foot again. It was so tiny and soft…he enjoyed touching her and smiled as she closed her eyes and rested her head back once more.

“You know you can quit if you want to.” He said with concern. “I don’t see how you can keep up this pace.”

“Christmas vacation starts next week…It won’t be so bad then.” She said with her eyes closed. “I’ll be able to get a little more sleep.”

“How long do you plan to keep this job?” He asked her as he placed her foot beside him and grabbed the other one. “What about when school starts again? I really hate to see you like this.” He stated.

She knew he was in the mood for one of his lectures. He did it a lot lately…saying everything he could to get her to quit. The foot message was just another way of getting her to cooperate with him. But it wasn’t going to work.

“I’m really not in the mood to listen to this again.” She said as she lifted her head and looked at him. “I know you don’t like it…but I need to be a little more independent. I can’t keep relying on you for everything… it’s not fair.”

It was the first time she had spoken this way to him. He knew what she was really saying…she would be leaving soon. College probably but irregardless, after High School…after she turned Eighteen…She wouldn’t need him anymore. He would have fulfilled his promise to her father and they would both feel awkward if she hung around. He had been thinking about it a lot lately and now he knew that she had been thinking about it too.

“Not fair to who?” he asked after a moment. “To me? Who put you in charge of deciding what’s fair to me?” He said a little annoyed. “I don’t mind giving you money when you need it.”

“That’s the point.” She told him as she pulled her feet down from his lap. “I  don’t like having to ask you all the time…can’t you understand that?” Then realizing her tone and her words were a little harsh…probably due to the fact that she was so tired…she softened her voice and spoke again. “Look…I’m sorry…I told you I didn’t want to talk about it. ”

He looked at her for a moment…she was growing up. He felt a sadness creep over him and he knew she was right. Just because he didn’t want her to change…he couldn’t expect her not too.

“Alright…If it makes you happy…I won’t argue with you about it anymore.” He told her…with his voice sad and soft. “I guess I’m the one not being fair.”

“You mean that?” She asked him curiously. “No more lectures.”

“No…you’re old enough to make you’re own decisions…no more lectures.” He told her still with the sadness evident in his voice.

“Don’t worry…” She said with a smile as she leaned over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. “If it gets to be too much…I’ll quit…I promise.”

“Do you mind if I still worry about you…Just a little?” He asked as he looked into her deep brown eyes.

“You better.” She said as she rested her hand gently on the side of his face. “Things just wouldn’t be the same if you didn’t.”

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  Chapter 2
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