The Socratic Method

I don't know what kind of reaction I expected. Mainly, I was so fed up with the situation that I couldn't hold it in any longer, even if it meant the end of the relationship. As it was, she couldn't have shocked me more.

"OK, you're right."

I'm right? After building up all that frustration and nerving myself to have it out once and for all, I'm right? That's all she has to say? No fight?

"Sergeant Stebbins took me out for a quiet lunch today. He basically told me that I was stringing along a damned good man who was crazy about me, and that I needed to stop being so stupid. He also said that I had been putting myself 100% into the job for too long, and that being with you made me a better officer and an easier person to work with."

She smiled at me.

"I love you too, Mike. And just to be clear, I was proud to be on your arm last month. You're a damned good man, and I'm ready to tell the world that I'm your girl."

Well, we never made it past her bedroom that night, but the next weekend was the Public Safety Picnic, and she only let go of my hand to participate in the Police versus Firefighters tug of war and to check on Socrates once in a while. He liked being out in the open, and I had gotten the local saddle maker to sew three layers of Kevlar onto the left shoulder of my Levi jacket so he could perch there without digging his fearsome talons into me. Those things are almost two inches long and have a grip strength ten times that of a human hand. I was practicing my explanation for the kids about how I ended up with a one winged owl on my shoulder. Their indignation that someone would shoot at him was heartwarming. Of course, he didn't stand still for petting like they wanted, but he was still pretty impressive.

Jim and Wendy McNeil managed to show up for the picnic. Wendy and Amanda exchanged a friendly hug, and Jim picked Amanda up by the waist and kissed her on the cheek.

"Congratulations, you two!"

Amanda gave him a narrow eyed look.

"You know I'd kick your butt for a stunt like that any day but today, right?"

Jim jokingly tried to hide behind Wendy. It looked pretty ridiculous since he's about five inches taller than she is.

"Save me, Wendy!"

"Save yourself, you big dope. If you think I'm going to save you from the consequences of kissing another woman, you got another think coming!"

Amanda couldn't keep her face straight any longer. She laughed, pulled Jim down, and kissed his weatherbeaten cheek.

"I take it you folks know each other?"

"Yeah, Jim and I have worked together on a lot of poaching cases. This guy's understanding of animal behavior patterns is uncanny."

Wendy kissed me on the cheek for good measure.

"So have you two set a date yet?"

"We're still trying to get used to being a couple, Wendy. Don't rush us."

"Hey, being married is fun! Want to go get in line for food?"

We went over and joined the line near the barbecue pits. Turns out owls like hot dogs, although Jim and Amanda were strict about not letting Socrates have very much. Seemed like everyone there had to slap us on the back and tell us how happy they were that we had finally gone public.

Everyone seemed to be assuming that we were already over one essential step that I hadn't actually taken care of yet. The next weekend Amanda had off, I borrowed a friend's beach cabin in Neskowin. The first morning we were there I took her for a walk on the beach.

A mile or two up the beach we came to a sea stack- one of the many old volcanic plugs that stick up just off the coast of the Pacific Northwest. The tide was out far enough that we could walk to the base of this one. A trail led up the side.

"Come on, I want to climb this."

We worked our way up until we popped out of the trees on the sea side of the rock, finding a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean and the coast. There was a small flat area at the top where we stopped to catch our breath.

"Amanda, the months since I met you have been the happiest of my life. I can't imagine a future that doesn't include you. Will you marry me?"

"Yes. Nice speech."

She grinned and kissed me deeply.

"I hoped you weren't dragging me to the top of Proposal Rock just to admire the view."

"You knew?"

"I couldn't have graduated from the State Police Academy if I didn't know the geography of the state pretty well. This is sweet of you, though. Yes! I like finally saying that. Yes!"

The excitement around town really got buzzing once we started sending out invitations. Neither of us wanted an elaborate, frilly wedding, but we both have fairly public jobs and didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings by leaving them off the invitation list. We finally decided to do it at the city park where we first kissed, and I got the judge who had mentored me in law school to preside. She met me at the foot of the bridge on a gorgeous June morning, wearing a beautiful white sun dress, and the whole town turned out to watch and participate in the reception picnic. The ceremony and speeches afterward were occasionally interrupted by hoots from the table where Jim McNeil was sitting with Wendy on one arm and Socrates on the other.

What the heck, we could hardly have left him at home after he brought us together, could we?