Untitled work by Robert Simpson

                            The ceiling fan and air conditioner were losing the battle when it came to keeping the house cool. It was going to be another hot sweltering summer day. 7:30 in the morning and already the temperature had reached 103. The weather report from the local radio station didn't sound too promising of hope that the day might cool down as Michael worked his magic in the kitchen. The family breakfast usually consisted of cold cereal and milk. Sometimes buttered toast if anybody was in a hurry. More often than not for him it was buttered toast along with kisses and hugs from his wife and children, and maybe a pat on the head for their dog Sasha because his work had him always on the go. But today was different. Today he wanted to start his week home with family off right and surprise them with a nice five star breakfast. Eggs, bacon, and home made butter milk pancakes. The whole nine yards. He wasn't gonna cut any corners. Maybe it would alleviate some of the guilt from his shoulders for missing so much of his familys life.



                   The kids, Michael Junior or as family and close friends of the family affectionately called him MJ and his older sister Sarah were sound asleep upstairs in their bedrooms. There had been four years between the time Sarah was born and the time MJ was born. MJ was what Sarah and Jasmine liked to call mommy's little miracle, because when Jasmine had given birth to Sarah the doctor  had explained that due to complications the odds were against Jasmine being able to carry another baby to term. MJ was a complete surprise, because after what the doctor had said they made the decision that they were not going to try to have anymore children. As most kids often do it seemed as though MJ and Sarah lived to tease and torment each other. They were good kids, smart kids. Michael felt that he owed a lot of that to Jasmine since she got to be around more than he did because of his work.



                   Michael had spent countless long days and nights down at the station working the kind of cases that most of the other officers tried to avoid. At first he didn't intentionally go after these kind of cases. They just kind of found a way of landing on his desk. Over the years he had seen a lot of things that he wished he could forget but knew he would never be able to. Strange things. Sick things. Twisted things. The kind of things that change a man and make him wonder whether or not there is any good left in the world. The things he had been made to see would have driven a lesser man into the waiting arms of a drug or alcohol addiction, maybe even suicide. Instead he reached toward pictures of his family. Jasmine and the children were his anchor that kept him from doing any of those things and reminded him that there was still some good left in the world no matter how bad things looked.  He considered himself fortunate that he had not become desensitized like others who had seen some of the things that he had seen. The missed recitals and plays. The missed parent teacher meetings. The missed family outings and dinners. It was a heavy price to pay, but being able to make the world a better place for his children was worth that price.



                   Michael had no idea how Jasmine did the things she did and kept the family held together. Some how she made it all look easy. She juggled her time between their family, volunteer activities with the other women of the church she took the children to, helping their children with homework, and private time for just the two of them. Although she was his wife, his job pretty much made it so that she was a single mother trying to raise two children on her own, and him an absentee or part time father. Any other woman would have considered having an affair or filing for a divorce. But Jasmine wasn't any other woman. She was something special and made out of tough material. Through it all she never once complained about any of it. There was always a warm meal waiting for him when he came home, along with a smile from Jasmine no matter what time it was. Long before marriage was even an idea for either one of them he had determined that he didn't deserve her. It wasn't about whether or not he deserved her. She loved him and she was his. That's what mattered. She had to be the most beautiful, optimistic, loving, energetic woman he had ever known.



                   It was her loving nature that made it so easy for him to fall in love with her. She was the greatest. Age had been good to her. At thirty years old she still received more than her fair share of admiring glances and second looks from the opposite sex. If he weren't sure of her feelings for him it would be enough to make him green with jealousy and over possessiveness. A smile came across his face as he remembered the first time he met her.



                   He was a rookie fresh out of the academy and full of himself. He pulled Jasmine over for speeding one morning. When she tried to tell him that she didn't realize that she was speeding but that she had been driving fast because she was late for volunteer work at the local soup kitchen he didn't believe her. Women like Jasmine just did not work at soup kitchens. Instead of getting angry when he gave her the ticket, she took the ticket politely with grace and thanked him for doing his job well. Later that same day he felt bad for giving her the ticket when he stopped by the soup kitchen after his shift and saw that she had been telling him the truth. It was the first of what would become many times that she would greet him with what had to be the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. She laughed when he apologized and told him that if he really wanted to make it up to her he could volunteer at the kitchen. She would quickly become his best friend. Six months later she completely surprised him by making the first move and asking him out on a date. Three months after their first date they stood in front of a justice of the peace and got married.



                   As he used the spatula to remove the eggs and bacon from the pans and place them on the plates his mind drifted over to the talk that he and Jasmine would have with Sarah later in the week. She was leaving elementary school and getting ready to start junior high or middle school. Whatever they called it these days. She had not had any boyfriends yet which was a good thing as far as he was concerned because he felt she was too young. He didn't know if he was ready to have the talk but Jasmine had made him realize they did not have a choice in the matter. Jasmine was right when she told him that if they didn't have the talk with Sarah someone in her class would. The world wasn't the same as it was they were younger. It was more dangerous. Kids were killing kids. Kids were selling drugs. Babies were having babies of their own. He had to face the fact that he had reached a part of his daughters life that he imagined no father was ever ready to face. But as hard as the talk was going to be for him to have with his daughter, it would be even harder if Jasmine were not around. He was thankful that he was not having to do it on his own.



                   The talk that he would have with MJ later in the afternoon would be a lot easier. He didn't know if it was a male thing but for some reason he felt that boys were easier than girls. He and MJ would would kick the soccer ball around in the backyard for a while. Then they would go to the sporting goods store and buy him some new soccer shoes. On the way to the store was when the talk would take place. He would talk to MJ about drugs and how important it was to just say no, no matter who it was that might approach him. MJ was old enough to understand and since he wanted to be involved with sports it was even more important that they have that talk since being involved with sports would leave his son more vulnerable to the chance of being approached by someone selling drugs. He would also make sure that his son understood the importance of a good education because if he didn't perform well in school then Jasmine and him would not allow MJ to participate in sports. When he and Jasmine talked about MJ getting involved with sports she agreed that it was an important part of every young boys life because sports promoted self confidence in boys his age.                    





                   He grabbed Sarah and MJ's plates from the counter top and carried them over to the kitchen table. The pancakes had little chocolate candies in the shape of a happy face upon them just like Sarah liked when she was younger. She may be getting a little old for them now that she was getting ready to become a teenager in another couple months but he was sure that MJ would enjoy them. The light creek that came from the stairs made Sasha's ears perk up with interest and told him that someone was coming down the stairs.