Dougie
Dougie scanned the crowd as he stepped across the podium to accept his certificate. He’d heard cheers when his name was called, so he was hopeful his friends had been able to make it. His eyes found Chance and then Merribeth, Israel, Tiffany… but there was no Holly. Disappointment burned his throat, but he had expected this.
Even though she hadn’t married Frederick, she hadn’t reached out to him, so either she still hadn’t forgiven him or something else kept her away. Maybe it was her restaurant. Chance had mentioned that she was looking to buy another location and expand, so maybe it was that simple.
He shook hands with the presenter and grabbed his certificate and then his five seconds of recognition was over. It was weird how people hyped up graduation ceremonies when the moment you got to shine was so short, but he supposed he would feel a smaller sense of accomplishment if he had chosen not to walk and just to get his certificate mailed to him.
As he made his way back to his seat, he saw a flash of dark hair. His eyes sought the woman’s face, but she had turned the other direction. Could it be Holly? But if so, why would she not be sitting with the others? As if sensing him looking at her, the woman turned then, and Dougie’s heart fell. It wasn’t Holly. That had just been wishful thinking.
Ryan slapped his shoulder in congratulations as he sat back down. “Almost done, dude, can you believe it?”
He could and he couldn’t. The last six months had been grueling. Class from nine to five, workouts before and after, and then working a late security shift at a nearby store to help pay his rent. Exhaustion clung to his bones like the badge bunnies at Two Beers clung to the men, and he couldn’t wait to finally get a decent night of rest.
At the same time though, he didn’t know where his future was. Ryan had decided the sunny beaches of California were calling his name, and he’d applied to every police station near one. Juan was heading to Texas where he hoped to find work in a predominantly Hispanic town and build relations between his community and the police. Trevor was heading to North Dakota for a reason Dougie still didn’t understand, although his limited knowledge of North Dakota came from a TV show that had been set in Fargo a few years back, so perhaps there was something there he was missing. But Dougie? He didn’t know where he wanted to go yet.
He’d put a few applications in at stations in Illinois near his family, but he wasn’t really close with any of them. His dad had left the picture when he was little, and his mother had worked two jobs to keep his siblings and him fed. His older brother had turned to a life of crime in his teenage years and been in and out of jail since. His sister had tried to find her worth in men and was on her third marriage now if he remembered correctly, so there wasn’t much calling him back to Illinois.
There was always Courage, but other than his friends, whom he missed dearly, he didn’t really have anything waiting for him there. Holly still wasn’t talking to him, and he hadn’t been able to turn his attention to any other woman since, although many of the badge bunnies had tried to win it. He supposed there was always the option of a new place, but he didn’t know where he might want to go if he took that route, so he was kind of in limbo waiting for a word or a sign from God on what his next steps should be.
Before he knew it, the crowd was cheering and clapping, and the graduation ceremony was over. Ryan wished him luck and then he was gone, and Dougie was left standing alone as others ran off to greet their family.
“Congratulations, brother,” Chance said, clapping a hand on his shoulder.
Dougie turned to grin at his friends. “Thanks and thank you all for coming. I thought I saw a woman who looked like Holly, but…” He let the sentence hang in the air unfinished, but he didn’t miss the shared glances and averted eyes.
“She didn’t come,” Merribeth said. “We needed someone to watch the kids and she agreed.”
“Right. Right.”
“But she wanted to, man, and you should definitely look her up when you get back to Courage,” Chance said. “You are coming back to Courage, right?”
Dougie shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t really decided what the next step is.”
Glances flashed around again, and Dougie felt like the odd man out, not understanding their silent conversation.
“Well, I think the next step right now is to get some food,” Israel said, patting his stomach. “I don’t know about you, but I am starving.”
Tiffany smiled and swatted his arm. “You are always starving and then you always complain about how much you ate and how much you have to work it off.”
“It gives me a reason to keep working out. If I didn’t have a need to work out, I would get so fat. Look, I’m putting on married weight already.” He pushed out his stomach and patted it again. Israel had gained a few pounds since getting married, but he was nowhere near fat. Dougie wouldn’t even use the word fluffy since Israel’s muscles were still clearly defined, but his face was a little fuller and his stomach a little wider.
“Food sounds good to me too,” Merribeth said. “Where’s a good place to go?”
Dougie rubbed his chin in thought. “That’s a good question. I’ve been frequenting this sports bar called Two Beers, but it’s a cop bar and will probably be packed today.”
“Why do they call it Two Beers?” Tiffany asked, tiny wrinkles erupting on her forehead as her face scrunched in confusion. “They don’t make you drink them, do they?”
Dougie chuckled. “No, drinking beer isn’t required. Two beers is the most common answer people give when a cop asks them how much they’ve been drinking. It’s rarely the truth, but it became a joke among cops and then got introduced into the lingo.”
“Oh, well, that’s a relief, but maybe somewhere else?”
“We can just head toward downtown and I’m sure we’ll find a place to eat there.” He may not have been in many, but he knew the downtown area held a slew of places to eat.
Half an hour later, they were seated in a large booth and scanning the menu offerings.
“So, how are things back in Courage?” Dougie asked. “Anything changed?”
“It’s pretty much the same as when you left,” Chance said. “Colton is doing a great job, but we sure miss having you there. In fact,” he glanced around at the others as if seeking their approval, “there’s a position at the station there coming open in a week, and we were hoping you’d apply.”
“I did see the position,” Dougie said, choosing his words carefully, “but I don’t know.”
“What is there to think about, man? Courage is your home. We are family.” Israel looked around the table and the others nodded in agreement.
“I know, but Holly…”
“Holly was blindsided and hurt by Frederick,” Merribeth said. “She didn’t mean to take it out on you. If you knew her background, you would understand a little more. Besides, she’s changing. She’s been going to church and God is working on her, and I happen to know she wanted to apologize to you. She went to the resort to talk to you once she finally pulled herself together, but you were already gone.”
Dougie wondered what in Holly’s past would make him understand more, but he could tell that Merribeth wasn’t going to offer that information. If he ever got it, it would have to come from the source herself. “She could have called me, though.”
Tiffany placed a hand on his arm and fixed him with a steady gaze. “She was embarrassed, but she is sorry.”
Dougie looked at the earnest faces of his friends. It was clear they all believed what Tiffany and Merribeth were saying, so perhaps he should too. “Okay, I’ll think about it.”
With the heavy subject lifted, the conversation flowed to lighter topics, but as the group chatted about life back in Courage, Dougie’s mind wandered. He hadn’t always been the best at listening to God’s plan for him, but since moving to Breckenridge, he’d tried to be better, and he wanted to be sure that if he did return to Courage, it was because God wanted him there and not because he was trying to force something with Holly.