“Yes, Dad, I know.”
“So are you ready to tackle your new position on Monday?”
“I am. I met the whole group at the D.A.’s office last week and they’re fantastic. There’s a real camaraderie between them too. Good energy.”
“You sound like your mom talking like that about energy.”
“Well, it’s a real thing and you know I’ve always been hyper-sensitive about it whenever I’m around people.”
“And whenever you’re around animals too. You read them and they read you. I remember all the times your mom and I took you to the zoo when you were little and the animals were always drawn to you. They’d come right up to you like you were an old friend.”
“Animals can sense who’s safe to be around and who isn’t. Humans can do that too if they pay attention. So many of them don’t, though, because they’re too busy rushing through life and lose their instinct. I did that for a while but never will again. Believe me when I tell you that my eyes are wide open after everything that happened with Graham.”
“I know they are, Stevie.”
“Listen, I’m gonna let you go for now so you can put those finishing touches on tomorrow’s sermon. Before we hang up though, you’ve gotta tell me which sin you’re gonna be preaching about this time?”
My dad paused and then finally said, “Adultery.”
5
#lifeistricky
Stevie
BROOKE MURPHY. DALLAS’Sdistrict attorney. My new boss. Mid-fifties. Divorced. Had a grown son and daughter. Brooke was high energy, straightforward, sharp-witted, and also good friends with my old boss, Melissa Landry. They actually reminded me a lot of one another in appearance and also personality. Both women were tall and had shoulder-length sandy-blond hair and hazel eyes, as well as backbones made of steel. They also had huge hearts.
Today was Friday—the end of my first full week at my new job—and sitting here at my desk and looking around at everything inside my office, I smiled. All was organized; I’d already been assigned two court cases and was ready for more. I knew it wouldn’t be long before my desk was covered with stacks of files, but there were two things that I would always save space for. They were a framed picture of my mom and dad on their wedding day and a framed quote from Shakespeare’s playHamlet. The quote was:To thine own self be true. It was my mom’s favorite.
“Hey, Stevie,” Brooke said, knocking on my open door.
“Hey! Come on in.”
“I’m just checking to see how you’re holding up with everything. I know it’s been kinda nuts around here this week.”
“I’m doing fine. It feels great to be back in the swing of things again.”
“That’s music to my ears.”
“Oh, I meant to tell you that I checked out the running trail you told me about and it is really nice. It isn’t too far from my house either, which is an added bonus. I’ve also felt safe every time I’ve gone out there for my run.”
“Still carry your pepper spray with you, though.”
“I do. You can’t be too careful no matter where you go nowadays.”
Brooke nodded and then said, “My other reason for stopping by your office is to see if you have plans this evening.”
“I was just gonna go home and take a dip in my pool. That’s my hot date for this Friday night,” I chuckled.
“If you feel like ditching those plans, then come out with all of us for drinks after work. Because of how this week has been, your teammates and I are ready to let our hair down and relax for a while.”
“You certainly don’t have to twist my arm. I’d love to go.”
“Wonderful! This is gonna be fun. Plus, you’ll get to meet some of the other attorneys we know.”
“Defense attorneys?”
Brooke grinned. “Yes.”