Dispatcher #1
"911 dispatcher, what is your emergency?"
"..."
"Is anyone there?"
"..."
"Hello, I can hear you breathing. Are you hurt?"
"I need..."
"Ma'am?"
"I need Ben Rogers."
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Ben Rogers POV
"Daddy! Look at my sandcastle! Isn't tit huge!!" Izabella beams out loud, pointing a small finger in the direction of her mountain of sand. I smile.
"Looks, good sweetheart. But the shore will wash it away if you don't dig a moat around it."
She scrunched her face up in confusion, her similar blue eyes meet mine, "whats a moat?"
I chuckle, getting up from the towel that I had laid out on the sand, walking onwards to her masterpiece. I kneel down beside her and start helping her dig deeply around the mountain of sand-so that the rising shoreline doesn't wash over it. Izabella is a great listener when it comes to learning something new. I can see the way her eyes light up in interest, concentrating hard, so that way she would want to do it by herself with no help.
She is always eager to be independent of such little things. She won't let me help her with anything once she was taught it. Determined and high-spirited she is. Like her mother.
Her hair has gotten darker, longer, I have braid it so strands don't fall on her face. She refuses to get it cut. She is now six years old, with a little bit of attitude in her. Too smart for her age.
Her first day of kindergarten is tomorrow and I can't help but feel this tormenting feeling inside my chest as if my heart will explode into oblivion. I imagined how Hailee's face would tear up on how grown she is, how it's happening so quickly. Not wanting to let her go yet, and walk towards the school as she watches her first child become a big girl.
"Daddy, will I have friends at school?" Her tiny voice asks me, bringing me back from my own thoughts. I tilt my head at her, watching her lips frown a bit.
"Friends are easy to make, but make sure they are the right ones. Friends are supposed to stick beside you as you would stick with them. Like...partner in crime."
I graze the tip of my thumb under her stubborn chin, having met my eyes, "anybody would be lucky to have you as a friend, Izzie." I needed her to know that she should feel good enough and worth it. I will always give my daughter the confidence she needs to feel better. She is strong, I know that...But sometimes I feel as if voices in her head tell her otherwise-which is worrisome. I try to deny that she could have what Andrew has been fighting with all his life. It tears me apart thinking about it.
Though the doctors say she is healthy.
Maybe I am just overthinking it as any other parent would?
Izabella runs towards the bay and kicks her feet into the tiny waves flowing in. I chuckle watching her as she dances like a ballerina.
After an hour at the beach, we finally left and went home.
Izzie got bathed and dressed in sleepwear-ready for bed. I read her a couple of books about tiny vampires, and the other about momma bear papa bear. She finally fell asleep after the second time reading them. I tuck her in more before slipping out of her bedroom, heading towards my own.
Shutting the door behind me I make my way to my shower, getting myself ready for bed-I have work tomorrow after dropping her off at her first day. Is it weird that I am nervous for her?
With only gray sweats on I hop into my bed and instantly sleep welcomes me.
*
Izzie and I are in my police car, heading towards her school, "daddy, will they think I'm a bad girl for being dropped off by a cop?" She asks me. I laugh out loud at her words. I think everyone needs to mind their fucking business, I would say, but she doesn't need that kind of response.
I turn the steering wheel with one hand while my other hand is patting her head, "if they say anything bad to you, then tell them they can take it up with me." I will, not caring if it's a little kindergarten. They should respect my girl.
She giggles in response. I park the car beside the entrance, teachers awaiting for kids getting out of vehicles. Izzie grabs the door handle and opens it, "have a good day, sweetheart."
She turns to face me with a wide smile, she looks so excited, "love you!" She shouts before closing the door behind her. I want to walk her inside and speak with her classroom teacher, but I have a tight schedule and Izzie didn't mind when I told her. It's hard being a single dad, as I have experienced this twice in my life while raising Andrew when I was young. But, I still stick through it.
As soon as I made it to the Clarksville Police Department, I was bombarded with my officers asking if they will get a bonus for the next time they meet their quota of the month. I told them they should already know the answer to that question as I have been giving bonuses out for whoever met double their quota.
I stride towards my office until finally silences envelopes me. I walk over to my desk and take a seat. Reading emails and newsletters, before getting into old cold cases for study. I type on some files and after, I began signing more paperwork.
I hear a knock at my door, bringing my attention, I seat my glasses to the side of me, "come in."
It's one of the dispatchers from the lobby, her glasses falling down her nose a bit as she tips it back up the ridge of her tiny nose. I can't recall her name? "Chief, I have a caller who has called four times each in the last months at the same hours of the day but no response on the other end. I wanted to bring it to your attention. I have contacted officers on duty to check on the address of the caller. They would say it's a false alarm..." she trails off at the end.
Red flags are what I am hearing for this sounded of statistics. Domestic abuse.
I sigh, "thank you...If the caller calls again, inform me. Actually, inform all the dispatchers down the floor of the caller ID." I dismiss her with a wave. She nods once before leaving.
I look over to the picture beside my computer, it's me and Izzie riding the Ferris wheel last year. I smile before putting on my glasses and getting back to work.
