relationships to get involved with any of them sexually. Workplace romances were ripe for disaster.
Julie didn’t fall far outside that circle.
He took a drink and rested his head on the back of the chair. Why was that thought so depressing? He sighed. It had been a rough day. Maybe tomorrow he would drive into the mountains for a little skiing. Yeah, that’s what he needed … some R&R. Maybe a hot snow bunny would lift his spirits. Maybe lift more than his spirits.
And yet, as his eyes drifted closed, an image of Julie, her black hair pulled back into a severe ponytail and her chocolate brown eyes warm with compassion hovered behind his lids. She wasn’t beautiful, in a classic sense, but it wasn’t her looks that made her memorable. It was something far less common and tangible. She had an understanding and generous heart. Definitely not assets that were usually on his list.
CHAPTER FIVE
The week was going well, or as well as any week could go. There were the usual numbers of rapes, wrecks and abusive situations. But everyone on her staff was working their scheduled shifts, and Julie was able to catch up on her paperwork and the follow-ups. She liked to call as many of the victims as possible, even those where she hadn’t been the first contact. It wasn’t a step required by the department, but one that Julie felt was important. Her hope was that that one extra point of contact would be the final brick in the wall of someone’s commitment to make the changes needed to move them out of danger. Or it could simply be a kind voice at a time when someone’s spirits were low. Hers was not a position of power, but it could offer support and a path to positive change.
Gloria was not one of the people she had been able to talk to because her mother had followed through with relocating her out of state. Her husband Carlos was still in the wind, and Julie hoped that didn’t mean that he had found his wife. She knew that this transgression might be the one that Carlos couldn’t forgive.
She believed what she did in the office was necessary and important, but she missed being out in the field. These people needed someone to help them, whether it was to get a list of funeral homes or lawyers or counselors or addiction support, or just to have someone’s shoulder to cry on, a stranger who could share their load, at least for a moment. Julie loved to help and to feel like she was making a difference.
But she had a good staff who received regular training. It simply wasn’t practical or even possible for one person to handle it all. Almost every event was emotional, and a single person couldn’t absorb the constant drain. Soon they would have nothing left to give.
So Julie looked on these days in the office as her way of recharging her batteries so she could handle the busy weekend evenings. She completed her current batch of reports, scanned them and forwarded them to the chief of police who would review them, then forward them to the City of Denver. She had no idea what they did with them, but she kept the paper moving on her end of the chain.
As usual, the scanner was on in the background taking the place of the typical office Muzak. Julie turned her attention to the pile of call sheets for her follow-up calls and had the receiver in her hand, ready to dial when she heard the alert tone.
The dispatcher calmly gave out the address of a fire at a neighborhood nearby. Julie listened, but there was no request for a VA. Her gaze wandered to the calendar on her desk. It was Friday, so Rusty was probably on his way to the fire. She didn’t stop to question why she should have remembered his 24/48 schedule or even why his name had popped into her mind. He was just one firefighter out of many she worked with. Just another colleague. Just another civil servant doing his job while she did hers.
Julie dialed in the number on the call report and listened while the phone rang on the other end.
“ Hello
Julie didn’t fall far outside that circle.
He took a drink and rested his head on the back of the chair. Why was that thought so depressing? He sighed. It had been a rough day. Maybe tomorrow he would drive into the mountains for a little skiing. Yeah, that’s what he needed … some R&R. Maybe a hot snow bunny would lift his spirits. Maybe lift more than his spirits.
And yet, as his eyes drifted closed, an image of Julie, her black hair pulled back into a severe ponytail and her chocolate brown eyes warm with compassion hovered behind his lids. She wasn’t beautiful, in a classic sense, but it wasn’t her looks that made her memorable. It was something far less common and tangible. She had an understanding and generous heart. Definitely not assets that were usually on his list.
CHAPTER FIVE
The week was going well, or as well as any week could go. There were the usual numbers of rapes, wrecks and abusive situations. But everyone on her staff was working their scheduled shifts, and Julie was able to catch up on her paperwork and the follow-ups. She liked to call as many of the victims as possible, even those where she hadn’t been the first contact. It wasn’t a step required by the department, but one that Julie felt was important. Her hope was that that one extra point of contact would be the final brick in the wall of someone’s commitment to make the changes needed to move them out of danger. Or it could simply be a kind voice at a time when someone’s spirits were low. Hers was not a position of power, but it could offer support and a path to positive change.
Gloria was not one of the people she had been able to talk to because her mother had followed through with relocating her out of state. Her husband Carlos was still in the wind, and Julie hoped that didn’t mean that he had found his wife. She knew that this transgression might be the one that Carlos couldn’t forgive.
She believed what she did in the office was necessary and important, but she missed being out in the field. These people needed someone to help them, whether it was to get a list of funeral homes or lawyers or counselors or addiction support, or just to have someone’s shoulder to cry on, a stranger who could share their load, at least for a moment. Julie loved to help and to feel like she was making a difference.
But she had a good staff who received regular training. It simply wasn’t practical or even possible for one person to handle it all. Almost every event was emotional, and a single person couldn’t absorb the constant drain. Soon they would have nothing left to give.
So Julie looked on these days in the office as her way of recharging her batteries so she could handle the busy weekend evenings. She completed her current batch of reports, scanned them and forwarded them to the chief of police who would review them, then forward them to the City of Denver. She had no idea what they did with them, but she kept the paper moving on her end of the chain.
As usual, the scanner was on in the background taking the place of the typical office Muzak. Julie turned her attention to the pile of call sheets for her follow-up calls and had the receiver in her hand, ready to dial when she heard the alert tone.
The dispatcher calmly gave out the address of a fire at a neighborhood nearby. Julie listened, but there was no request for a VA. Her gaze wandered to the calendar on her desk. It was Friday, so Rusty was probably on his way to the fire. She didn’t stop to question why she should have remembered his 24/48 schedule or even why his name had popped into her mind. He was just one firefighter out of many she worked with. Just another colleague. Just another civil servant doing his job while she did hers.
Julie dialed in the number on the call report and listened while the phone rang on the other end.
“ Hello
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