THE BOLAN CHRONICLES: Reading # 35

35. Approximate Minutes Reading (AMR): 7

Introduction to Characters
Officer Mike: Police Academy

THE BOLAN CHRONICLES

Chapter 3

A House

**Dad’s Birthday**

Donna recorded birthdays on the kitchen calendar, and she always sent a card exactly one week before the special day. On a weekday evening in mid-June, she stared at the 25^th. Jake came up from the basement and closed the door behind him. He stopped and said, “You look like a zombie out of food. What’s up?”

“There’s a pretty important birthday next week.” 

Jake cocked his head and said, “My birthday isn’t until January 2^nd.” And he laughed.

“Not you, silly! Don’t you know whose birthday is on June 25^th?”

Jake twice repeated the date aloud then rolled his eyes and said, “The old man’s gettin’ older.”

“Oh, Jake! He’s not that old!” 

“Shit, I don’t know precisely how old he is, but I know that he’s damned near five-oh, and that ain’t no spring chick.”

Donna paused, “I’m thinking it might be nice to have them over for dinner.”

Jake and Donna saw his parents every few months, mostly a quick stop for a few minutes on a weekend evening. But they hadn’t had them at their house even once. Jake was standing over the kitchen counter, flipping through a cookbook. He looked at the cover and mumbled the title, “Morning to Midnight Cookbook. Aunt Jemima.” 

Slightly annoyed, Donna said, “Jake, what do you think about the dinner idea?”

He stopped and looked up. “God, Donna! Are you serious?”

“Well,” She replied. “It is his birthday, and we don’t see them often.”

Jake commenced his page-turning and said under his breath, “There’s a fuckin’ reason for that, isn’t there.”

“Oh, Jake. Let’s just do it. It’ll be over before you know it, and we probably won’t see them again for a long time.”

“Fine,” Jake said. “I’d just assume have hot tea with the Pope on a summer day in June, but suit yourself, dearie,” Then he pointed to the page he’d stopped at and said, “Damn, this looks flat-out appetizing. Cherry Tarts.”  He looked at Donna and said, “You know how much I like cherry, right?” And he laughed. Donna smiled. 

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and he looked up at Donna and said, “You know, having good-ole Mom and Dad over for dinner might not be a bad idea. I’ve got a friend in the academy who might need some of Dad’s illustrious financial advice.”

“Great! I’ll give them a call tonight.” Donna said.

From his office Jake made his own phone call, then he climbed back up the steps to the kitchen and announced, “We’re set, Donna! He’ll be able to join us for dinner.”

Confused, Donna replied, “What? Who?”

“My buddy from the academy. His name is Mike. I refer to him as officer Miller. It’ll be great! It’ll take a bit of the edge off of the night and off of me and whatever I’m doing wrong these days and put it on Mike and his money.”

“You want to have him over for dinner, too? Jake, I don’t even know this guy. I’ve never heard you even mention him before.”

As if she hadn’t said a thing, Jake continued, “Might rack up a few points for me, too. This guy’s one of my training instructors.”

“Jake!” Donna said, “Did you even hear me?”

Jake placed his hand on Donna’s shoulder and said, “Donna, get used to this. I’m gonna make the acquaintances of lots of people every day that you’ll never know about. It’s the nature of the profession. Just roll with it,” Then he paused and looked into her eyes, “My wide-eyed beauty.”

She looked at him and smiled, “Oh my god, Jake. You haven’t said that in so long.”

“I keep things fresh that way, dear.” Then he added, “Fresh…like good cherry tarts.”

Jake’s parents had accepted the invitation, and Donna had spent more than three hours preparing for their arrival. The house was cleaned and the dinner was ready. She had made a meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and a green salad. She’d splurged on dessert, purchasing the higher-priced cake and frosting mix. 

When they arrived, Jake was in his office. The doorbell sounded and Donna opened the office door, “They’re here!”

“Just let ‘em in. I’ll be right up.”

“Jake!”

Annoyed, Jake replied, “Donna, they’re my damned parents! Just let them the hell in. I’ll be right up!”

She greeted his parents with a hug and asked them to have a seat if they’d like. 

Jake finally made his way out of his office and greeted his dad with a handshake and his mother with a hug. “How was the drive over?” he asked.

His dad replied, “It’s six miles, Jake. It was a twelve-minute drive, that’s how it was. Not much new—same roads, same trees, same hot summer day.”

“Same roads?” Jake replied. “How would you know about the roads around here, Dad? When’s the last time you were in Trumbull? I’m just sure there ain’t no bankers conferences in a town of 30,000.”

Before his father had a chance to say anything, Jake’s mom said, “Jake, I see you got a new car…well, a new old car. It’s so cute? It’s yours, right?”

“Yeah, Mom, it’s ours. Donna drives it mostly.”

She smiled, “It’s so cute!”

“Yeah, it’ll do for now.”

His father piped in, “Looks like one of those Jap cars. Those SOB’s have got it in for us, and we’re letting them do it, too. More Jap cars on the roads than Fords these days, that’s for sure.”

Donna brought Dean out from his room after his nap, and immediately Jake’s mother reached over and took him from her. She hadn’t seen Dean for over three months, and she was determined to make up for lost time. Donna brought out a few toys, and the two of them played while they waited for the arrival of Mike, Jake’s instructor. 

Donna turned on the radio. Almost immediately, Dean looked over at the radio and began to move to the rhythm of “Safety Dance,” by Men Without Hats. 

“Donna!” Jake’s mother yelled, “Come look at Dean!” 

When Donna saw Dean, she said, “He does love music! Do you remember at his first birthday, when he was dancing to the nursery rhymes on television?”

“I do!” 

They began to clap, and Dean moved even more. 

Jake stood up and walked to the front door, “I’ll be outside waiting for Mike.”

When Mike arrived, Jake introduced him to the others as his best instructor. “He ought to be in charge of the whole damned academy,” he said.

They sat down to dinner, and within a matter of minutes, Jake informed his dad that Mike had a few questions regarding finances that he was sure he’d have wise answers to, and that maybe after dinner they could step outside and talk.

“That would be just fine,” his dad replied.

They finished dinner, and while Donna and Jake’s mom took care of the dishes, the guys stepped out to the front porch and sat down on the folding lawn chairs that Jake had purchased from a yard sale not long after they had moved into the rental.

“I understand you’ve got some questions about finance,” Mr. Bolan said. “Is it about investments?” And the conversation went as smoothly as Jake could have imagined. Any question that Mike asked was answered satisfactorily. Mike had inherited a rather large sum of money from his father, and he had no idea what to do with it. Jake’s father was the consummate investment advisor, and by the time the conversation was over, Mike had taken enough notes to get the job done. He was confident that Mr. Bolan, the financial Einstein, had served him with the best advice around. And Mr. Bolan was satisfied that he’d spent the past couple of hours effectively impressing the lad. He’d taken on a new client, as it were, and it was well worth the time he’d spent and the emotional draining that he’d experienced for having made the twelve-minute drive to Trumbull.

Dessert was waiting for them when they came in from the porch. The ladies had been sitting in front of the television for some time, and little Dean had been put to bed. Small talk ensued while the men quickly inhaled the chocolate cake. Jake’s instructor again thanked Mr. Bolan for his help. He stepped out the front door, and as he made his way to his car, he put his arm around Jake’s shoulder and said, “Hey, I really appreciate this. I appreciate this more than you know.”

“Not a problem, sir. I was very happy to help.”

As his instructor drove off, Jake smiled. He’d succeeded at putting himself in good standing. He’d accomplished what he’d set out to do.

While the parting conversation between Jake and his parents was a bit uncomfortable, at least his father had the satisfaction of knowing that something good had come out of the twelve minute journey over. 

Donna was satisfied that the evening had ended without as much as a minor argument. And little Dean had spent some time with his grandma. That made her happy. That was worth any amount of effort that she had put into the evening. 

After everyone had left, Donna had gotten the bed ready and the lights put out. She rolled over and hugged Jake. She kissed him on the cheek and thanked him for such a wonderful evening and for agreeing to have his parents over. She apologized for doubting him about his inviting his instructor to dinner, and she kissed him again. He rolled over and said that she seemed to be in such a happy mood and that he wondered why. 

She paused for a few seconds then said, “I can’t get your words out of my mind…those wide-eyed-beauty words. I love that, Jake. I love you.”

“Yeah,” He said, “I love you, too, Donna.”

 Jake smiled at the evening’s events. He’d pulled off a masterful plan.