Her Saving Grace

Dougie

This was it. Home for the next six months to a year. It wasn’t a terrible place, though the hunter green walls and burgundy blinds left a little to be desired. He remembered a similar theme in his mother’s house growing up, so he was fairly certain the place hadn’t been updated since the nineties. It was a little smaller than his place in Courage had been, and the view was definitely lacking as the windows faced the building next to his and nothing more, but it would do for the time being.

He’d hated giving up his apartment in Courage, but he couldn’t afford to pay rent in both places. Not when it might be close to a year. Plus, he didn’t even know if he’d be going back to Courage when he finished here. He had friends there, but no real family, and with Holly married, there was certainly no one calling him back. He’d be free to go wherever the wind blew after he graduated, but right now, there was no wind. There were only boxes that needed to be unpacked.

He opened the first box and began pulling the movies and CDs out. Most people just streamed everything today, but Dougie liked owning things. There’d been so many times in his past where he’d owned nothing that, as irrational as it was, he often bought things just to prove he could.

His hand paused on the Journey CD and he thought back to the night he’d planned to ask Holly out. “Faithfully” had been the song they had danced to, and though it had only been one dance, it had made such an impression on him that he’d bought the CD the next night, hoping that he could turn Faithfully into “their” song at some point in the future. Unfortunately, that had never materialized as Frederick slid smoothly into her life and Dougie had disappeared into the background.

He thought about tossing it — he didn’t need the negative reminder — but he couldn’t. Maybe it was the hopeless romantic part of him that still held onto some slim hope that they might have a chance in the future again, or maybe it was plain stupidity, but he placed the CD on the bookshelf. He didn’t have to listen to it, and he could always throw it away later. But he knew he probably wouldn’t.

When the CDs and movies were all unpacked and organized on the shelf, he moved to the kitchen and began organizing it. At least unpacking was cathartic. It gave him something to do instead of thinking about Holly. Unfortunately, it would only last so long, but hopefully by the time he was unpacked, his academy classes would be starting and he would be too tired to do more than come home and sleep.

He’d just finished unpacking the last kitchen box when a knock sounded at his front door. Not expecting anyone, he peered through the peephole first, and then shook his head at his stupidity. He was in a new town where he knew no one, so he could either open the door and take a chance on the average looking man who stood there or ignore him and hope he went away. That was no way to start a life in a new town, so Dougie shot up a prayer for protection and then opened the door.

“Hey, I saw you moving in and the office told me you were here for the academy. I am too.” He stuck out his hand. “Name’s Ryan.”

“Dougie,” he said as he shook Ryan’s hand. If Dougie could have taken every surfer stereotype and packaged them together, he couldn’t have gotten a more perfect example than Ryan. His curly blond hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, emphasizing his tanned skin, a Hawaiian shirt hung loosely over his board shorts, and his feet were clad in brown sandals. It wasn’t cold currently in Colorado, but Dougie had the feeling this was Ryan’s everyday attire regardless of the weather.

“Nice to meet you, man. There’s a few other hopefuls who live in the complex. We were all going to go out and shoot some pool tonight. You wanna come?”

Dougie glanced over his shoulder at the unpacked boxes. He enjoyed pool, but the boxes weren’t going to unpack themselves. As if reading his mind, Ryan chuckled. “There will be plenty of time to unpack. Come meet some people.”

Ryan was right. He was no longer in Courage, and meeting people could certainly combat the loneliness he knew he’d be feeling soon. “Okay, you’re on.”

“Akaw, bro,” Ryan said, a wide smile on his face. Dougie had no idea what akaw meant, but he assumed it was good. “You’re welcome to drive yourself or you can ride with me.”

“Might as well just take one car,” Dougie said as he followed Ryan to the parking lot. “Besides, I have no idea where I’m going in this town yet.” But riding shotgun would allow him to learn more of the layout.

“You will, my friend. It’s not that hard. I’ve only been here a few weeks, and I’ve pretty much got it down.”

“Where’d you move from?” Dougie asked. He knew it was stereotypical to assume Ryan was from California or Florida, but they did have the best surfing spots in the US.

“South Padre, Texas.” Ryan flashed him an impish grin as he stopped in front of an old yellow truck that was now closer to a convertible than what it had started out as. The roof and all the windows except the windshield were missing. Ryan obviously wasn’t concerned about anyone stealing anything from him. “I bet you’re wondering why I’m here and not at some academy in Texas, right?”

“The thought did cross my mind.” The loud creaking of groaning metal filled the air as Dougie opened the passenger door. The seat inside was cracked and faded yellow stuffing stuck out in places.

Ryan slid behind the wheel. “It’s because the academy here is my old man’s alma mater. He ended up moving to Texas for work, and that’s where I grew up, but when he learned I wanted to be a cop too, he couldn’t stop talking about this place. He didn’t force me to come here, but I think he would have been disappointed if I hadn’t. So, here I am, but when I graduate, I’m going back to a place that has some water, you know?”

Dougie nodded, but he didn’t understand Ryan’s love of the water. He’d never been a big fan himself, but then he’d never really lived near a beach.

“What about you? Where’re you coming from?” Ryan asked as he headed toward the main part of town.

“Courage. Just a few hours from here. I worked security at a resort there, but law enforcement has been calling my name for a while.”

Ryan grinned. “It’s like a bug you can’t shake, right?” He pulled into the parking lot of a brick building that didn’t look like much from the outside. A single sign that read Two Beers was the only indication of where they were. “You’re going to love this place. It’s run by cops for cops. Hence the name. Two beers, right?”

Dougie didn’t get the joke, but he figured he would eventually, so he smiled and nodded.

The inside of the place had a typical sports bar feel — pool tables, dart boards, a long bar with stools, and a few vinyl booths that had seen better days, but the clientele was definitely different. Dougie could feel it as all eyes landed on them when they entered, but once they were deemed harmless, the gazes shifted back to their previous occupations.

Ryan led the way to the pool tables and introduced him to the two other men there. Juan was a shorter, stocky Hispanic and Trevor was a tall, thin redhead. Dougie shook their hands and then relaxed into the friendly banter. It wasn’t the same as talking with Chance or Israel back home, but it was a start, and he could see himself calling these men friends over the next few months.