{"id":193,"date":"2017-06-14T05:41:44","date_gmt":"2017-06-14T05:41:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/?p=193"},"modified":"2017-06-14T05:41:44","modified_gmt":"2017-06-14T05:41:44","slug":"june-14th-satans-witches-reprise-by-marianrose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/?p=193","title":{"rendered":"June 14th- Satan\u2019s Witches Reprise by marianrose"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was the one they told most often outside of work. It had everything: sexy, blonde witches, the two of them locked in Barney Fife\u2019s jail, red-robed Satanists chasing them through the woods at night, hand to hand combat with no blood (at least none of their own) and a comic, if not daring, rescue of a young damsel. It even had a happily ever after ending.<\/span><\/p>\n

If Starsky was telling it, the spiders were the size of New Jersey, the bad guys were all linebackers who smelled like ten-day-old garbage, and the fish in the lake were smarter than Charlie. When Hutch told it, the spiders that scared Starsky were itty-bitty things. The bad guys were big, sure, but even dumber than the fish in the lake which, by the way, would have been caught in dozens by him, if he hadn\u2019t had to go rescue Starsky\u2019s crotch from the rattlesnake.<\/span><\/p>\n

They enjoyed repeating the story. It got a lot of laughs, the way they recounted it. At least once every summer, usually around a campfire, they received requests from family and friends for yet another rendition of it. Until one summer evening, as the two of them sat by the fire, after the picnic was eaten, after everyone else had wandered off to other activities, Starsky realized no one had mentioned Pine Lake.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

He tossed the stick he was fiddling with into the fading flame in front of them. \u201cWe forgot to tell the Pine Lake story,\u201d he broke the comfortable silence that had settled on Hutch and him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hutch, his long legs stretched forward, opened his eyes, \u201cThey\u2019ve heard it a million times.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Starsky sighed in agreement but also with a touch of melancholy at the passage of time, the setting aside of old traditions, the realization that even their favorite story was no longer as compelling as the content displayed on the latest electronic device.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI remember it like it was yesterday,\u201d Starsky said wistfully.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was forty years ago.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wonder whatever happened to little Lizzie Tyce.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe turned fifty.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou wanna know something?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHmm.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI still have the red long johns.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou do not! I was there the day your lovely wife clawed them out of your hands and finally pitched them. She knew you were never going to fit in them again despite your embarrassing crying.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI dug them out of the trash.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s disgusting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI washed \u2018em.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cStill disgusting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI loved those long johns!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re never going to fit in them again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Starsky conceded. It was true. He\u2019d never fit in them again. There was no going back in time. \u201cYou gotta admit, I looked damn good in them.\u201d Starsky twitched his eyebrows suggestively.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hutch laughed, \u201cYou\u2019re such a cocky bastard.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It felt great to hear that laugh with all its joy and affection pouring out for him. It felt even better than getting all the laughs when they told the Pine Lake story to the usual large audience. \u201cYou wanna know something else?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo. Absolutely not.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll get your mind off the long johns,\u201d Starsky smirked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOK, Tell me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t mind if nobody\u2019s interested in hearing our Pine Lake story anymore. You know why? I\u2019ll tell–\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Starsky wasn\u2019t expecting an answer, especially that one. \u201cOK, Mr. Smartass, why don\u2019t I mind?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t mind because what other people know or don\u2019t know about what we did isn\u2019t important to you anymore. The only thing that matters now is that I know.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He had to hand it to the guy. That was exactly right. Of course, with Hutch, there was no need to hand it to him on a silver platter, \u201cGeez Hutch, talk about a cocky bastard.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

They grinned at each other.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the same for me, Starsk. I don\u2019t care anymore what people know about us or whether they remember what we did. The fact that you\u2019re still here with me, is good enough.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Starsky let that sentiment linger as he watched his stick spark in the pit. There was a letting go in that moment but also a merging with the soft, summer night that was more than gratifying.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Hutch began to stir about an hour later, Starsky asked, \u201cYou want another beer?\u201c He hoped to extend their time together a while longer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo thanks, I better get going. I promised to clean out the garage in the morning.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t strain your back this time.\u201d Starsky got up and helped douse the embers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDo you still want those extra brackets I\u2019ve got?\u201d Hutch asked. \u201cIf not, I\u2019m going to get rid of them tomorrow.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, thanks. I don\u2019t need them. Decided not to build any new storage in my garage. Just gonna make space in those cabinets I repainted last month. Get rid of the stuff I don\u2019t use anymore.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIs that where you stashed the long johns?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t stop thinkin about \u2018em, can you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was the one they told most often outside of work. It had everything: sexy, blonde witches, the two of them locked in Barney Fife\u2019s jail, red-robed Satanists chasing them through the woods at night, hand to hand combat with … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fic","category-gen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=193"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":194,"href":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193\/revisions\/194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/solstice.starskyhutchcalendar.net\/2017\/calendar\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}