June 6th- Two Tales of Us by DPPatricks

Author’s Note: Can you guess the writing challenge that inspired this story, prior to my End Note?

As I sit here and think back through my life with him, I want to try to tell you how much my best friend means to me. I type the first words that come to my mind: love, hope, trust… yes! That’s the one. As much as I love him, and I do, with my whole heart, I trust him more! Since the day we met, he’s been there for me.

While we learned laws in class and skills for the street, he soothed the pain of Van’s loss with his quick wit, depth of soul, and lots of beer. He did not leave me on my own. He cared, and kept me sane.

Through the two years we were in blue, we met when we could, stayed up to date with our lives, and asked the Brass each week when we’d be paired.

At last, with our gold shields, we could be the team we knew we were meant to be. The bad guys seemed to know we’d be on their heels. They all fought hard but we took down our share, I guess. I could give you their names but you can look them up just as well.

The days I was hooked on H, which you won’t find in the files, were the worst of my life. He saw me in pain, in dire need, and put up with my shakes, pleas, threats, my mean jabs, and slurs. And still he held me, stroked my arms, my neck, my back. He did not give up on me. I would have, but he stayed, and loved me through it.

He found me, trapped, hurt, and scared, when I was sure I would die on that mound of dirt. He chased down the hit man who’d run me off the road but the guy fell to his death. No help there. A young boy though had a ham set and had heard my calls. He put Starsk on the path to the old man who told him where I was. The bad guy was on his way to make sure I was dead but my pal got to him first and put his lights out! As you can tell, since these are my words, he got to me in time. We made it. Then he bought me a new wreck, just like the old one. I smiled a lot and my leg healed.

The plague. He drew his name on the glass, to give me strength and urge me not to give up. I forced him to leave my side, to search, to scour the streets for the one that might save my life. And he found him! I lived. As did most of the folks who were sick. That’s when I fell in love.

He put his own badge on the line when I.A. thought I’d killed my wife. We learned the truth, jailed the ones that had done the deed, and got the gem back. Not a bad few days’ work.

Sure, there were more rough spots. Such as a can of bad soup while we played a dumb game. Once more, I was too close to Check-Out Time. But he showed up, right in the nick, and all was saved.

Think I could make these things up? Not by half! And most of it’s in the files, too.

I was shot. By a kid, no less! Had to get out of bed, my arm in a sling, and go save his ass. Plus Joan, the cop he’d slept with while I was laid up. Not sure why I still loved him, but there was no doubt in my mind that I did. I think she loved him, as well, but it was me he came back to.

Still, the Fates weren’t through with us. When we found out we’d been at fault in the death of our friend’s friend, I gave up. I went to the beach, but he knew where I’d be. He asked if he could join me and we threw our worn bits of tin in the sea at the same time.

Not done yet though. The blonde bitch worked her way with both of us. We came close to last words but, thank God, we held them back. A punch or two was all the hurt she caused to our bond. I could have felt sad for her but… no! Not with what she had tried to do to us. No way!

Then the Black Day. He was shot three times. In the back. I sat and stared through the glass for hours but knew he’d die. I just could not stand to see him leave me, so I went to find the one that had put out the hit. While I was gone, he did die. But when I ran through the doors, his heart beat once more, as if it had not stopped. Did he come back to life for me? I don’t know. I don’t care! With help, I caught the big boss. J.M.G. will go down for a long time, and Starsk and I are still here.

Do you get it yet? He means more than the world to me, more than my job, more than my life! I love him.

I got home from ‘Nam with a bum leg, bad thoughts, worse dreams, and night sweats. The docs got my wound fixed up but my mind was a mess. And the shrinks were no help. I was lost in a world of hurt.

I drove cabs. I slept with more girls than I could count. John Blaine told me what I had to do to keep faith with my pop’s trust in me. I signed the page that said I could learn to be a cop.

I met Hutch the first day of class. He was tall, lean, had drop-dead good looks and a smile that lit dark rooms. In spite of my lack of couth, he seemed to like me. With him as my friend I knew I could go on with my life. I leaned on him through my fears, he leaned on me through Van, and it worked! No more shrinks. We were a great team, ya see; he helped me with the book stuff, I helped him in the field and on the mats. We were the Blond and the Jew in some eyes, but we were at the top of our group.

On the streets in blue, we worked hard, kept in touch, asked to be paired. Two years in, we were. He had my back and I had his. We caught bad guys and put ‘em in jail. Courts let most of ‘em back out, but that’s life.

I could give you a list but you can make your own. I’ll hit the high, or a few times, the low spots.

The dope was rough but he kicked it, cold bird. He’s tough, he’s strong, and with me at his side to knock sense in his head a few times, he made it. He did not trust his own heart for a while but I know him. He won’t go back there.

We did great for a few months, then I got hit by two slugs. Him and a girl were all that stood in the way of hit men who were out to kill a big time crime boss. Parts of a small gun, a clip, a bowl of soup, were all he had for his plan. I laid on the floor in the back room, scared sick for him, and threw a dumb jug at the wall. I should have known he’d take care of things. And, ya know what? His scheme worked! One guy was dead, one was in jail. He saved the rest of us.

A kill shot in my veins had me on the ropes. Squad room guys helped us search our files and we found three perps. One had his leg in a cast, one was four days dead, one was a porn king. Not the right laugh though. Cheryl had a drug that helped some but soon all I could do was sit in my desk chair, put out my hand and say some trite lines from a kid’s flick. I’m sure he knew, but I had to say them. The leg cast was fake and the guy had the drop on Hutch. I killed him, but then I was down for the count. Did he give up? No, sir, he did not! Got the juice to the doc in time so I could get well.

Black robes and wild-eyed knife freaks. A bear, a torch, caves and a cage. I felt sure I was done for that time. My white knight came through for me though. Held me while I cried and laughed in his arms. I knew I loved him, but I think that’s the day I fell in love with him.

We let a good friend down and his friend died. I felt worse at that point than I had since ‘Nam. We’d screwed up. No way to go back, so we had to go on. Got the bad guys, a few of them dead, the rest in jail, and saved the girl. But it still hurt. It hurt bad.

There was one time we came close to a break up due to a blonde cop’s wiles, but we hung in. You ask would one of us have gone with her? To be fair, I have to think for just a sec. Then I say, nope, no way! Or, as Hutch might put it, I think not.

Three slugs in the back. I was in the deep dark when they say my heart quit. If I’d stayed dead though, I’d have had to leave him. And that I could not do. Is that love? I hope so ‘cause it’s the best my soul’s felt in its whole life!

Do you see it yet? It’s been me and him, him and me, since the first day. We’re two sides of a coin but not the same. All these years gone and we’re still a pair. A team. The girls came and went, he stayed. I love him!

Understand the test?
Use short words for a long tale:
The two sides of us

End Note: I read a 1,500 word Starsky & Hutch story months ago that was written entirely with one-syllable words. I hadn’t realized it until the author noted it at the end. (It was a post-SR, Starsky recovery tale; the title and author have, so far, eluded my memory and escaped my search. Can anyone supply them, please?) The idea fascinated me. My muses worked on it and provided me with this.