Thank you to my sister Beverly for coming up with the name schmoogle for me. She said she could hear RB saying it.
From behind her desk Michelle Futterman watched James Ellison as he paced her office, stopping to handle everything in his path. She had expected him to be edgy while he waited like an expectant father as across campus Blair Sandburg defended his dissertation. Not the one on sentinels, he was presenting his back up on The Thin Blue Line, a decision he'd made after a nightmare revealing the inner turmoil he'd had about using his best friend and brother of heart as a "lab rat".
Michelle's eyes followed as the tall detective made another round fingering the pieces from a chess set she had displayed on a shelf. The set was the Maccabees vs. Antiochus' army. This had been going on for fifteen minutes. Seemed longer.
"Jim, you are as nervous as a cat."
Jim laughed slightly as he turned to face her. "Good analogy."
Michelle reached for her planner. "Okaaay."
Jim paused. Michelle knew he was a sentinel. However, she did not yet know about the spirit animals. He would have to tell her sometime. He wondered what hers might be as he began pacing again.
"Jim, you're making me dizzy." It was like watching one of those little ducks in the shooting gallery at the carnival. "Please sit down."
Obediently, Jim took the chair on the other side of the desk.
Michelle began making notes in her planner.
It started as a small twitch. Soon, Jim was drumming his fingers on the desk, then his hands. He had quite a beat going causing the desk to vibrate sending some of her small objects skittering.
Michelle reached out and captured Jim's right wrist with her right hand and rescued a wayward figurine with the other. "Jim, you almost broke Moses," she told him. "Look, I know you're anxious about this. Why don't you just listen in?"
He was already shaking his head. "Promised Blair I wouldn't. He said he'd get too uptight if he knew I was." Now his knee was bobbing up and down sending vibrations through his body and into her hand where she still held his wrist.
Quickly, Michelle released her grip. Sitting back in her chair she glanced around her office. What Jim needed was something to keep him occupied. Take what was left of his mind off of Blair's defense. "Jim, maybe you can give me a hand here." She reached for a stack of files on the edge of her desk. Sliding the tower of manilla across the desk she said, "Would you mind filing these for me?" She indicated the drawers along the wall. "I know it's tedious but it would really help me out"
Jim eyed the folders. "Sure." Even he'd been wishing he had something to do other than worry about how Sandburg was doing.
Michelle exhaled in relief and returned to her planner. Her peace was not to be. She looked up at the sound of Jim thrumming his fingers on the metal file cabinet. He was staring into the open drawer. "Jim..."
Jim looked in her direction but continued the drumming.
"The files."
Only then did he stop the movement of his fingers. Running the hand through his hair he flashed a smile. "Right."
Back to her paper work.
But then began the serenade causing her to look up again. "*In the big dream. We are heroes, we are dreamers of the big dream..." The vocalizing stopped for a moment as Jim deposited a folder in its proper place. "Just hear your voice sing all the songs of the earth..." Pause.
Michelle's eyes went back to the planner.
"Nothing can come between us. You're a brother of mine,,,"
"Excuse me, John Anderson?..." She was surprised enough that he wasn't singing selections from his latest Santana CD.
Jim looked up. "Sorry, was I singing?"
Okay, Michelle, don't go for the obvious joke here.
Jim moved back to the desk to retrieve more files. He grabbed a handful and decided to deftly pass them to his other hand. Folders and papers fluttered to the floor instead. Instantly, he was on the floor sweeping at the scattered documents with his arms. "Geez, Chelle, I don't know what's with me."
Michelle, who had joined him on the floor silently stopped his hasty attempt to neaten everything by latching onto his forearms. "Jim... Jim.."
"Sorry..."
"Don't worry about it."
"But..."
"Jim... You know what. I am starving all of the sudden." She looked him in the eye. "Would you go out and get me a..." She paused to think fast "Schmoogle," she finally said.
"A schmoogle."
"Yeah. I have such a craving for one."
"A schmoogle."
"Please." Michelle gave him a sweet smile.
Jim nodded. "One schmoogle coming up," he told her, hoisting himself from the floor. He wasn't quite sure what a schmoogle was but he didn't want to tell her that. It had to be one of those weird vegan things she liked to eat. Something with a lot of fiber and no taste. "I'll be back in a flash," he said heading out the door.
That's what he thinks. Two hours later Michelle had her files cleaned up and her paperwork finished when Blair Sandburg bounced into the office. He threw himself into the unoccupied chair. "I am like sooo glad that is over."
Michelle stood over him. "Well?"
"Well, what?"
"Blair!"
Blair grinned. "It was accepted." He rose to receive a congratulatory hug from the professor. Pulling from the embrace he commented, "I thought Jim was here."
"He was." Michelle leaned against her desk. "I got hungry. He left to get me a schmoogle," she said nonchalantly.
Blair raked a hand through his hair removing the pony tail holder in its path. "There's no such thing as a schmoogle," he informed her.
Michelle pinned him with look. "I know." Blair's eye's widened with understanding and he merely mouthed, "Oh."
James Ellison was now a man with a mission. He had been to five different markets that specialized in vegan foods. None of them had heard of a schmoogle. They had even had the nerve to try to tell him that there was no such food item. One employee had threatened to call the police if he didn't leave. With a fierce determination he entered the last market, a store offering kosher organic cuisine. This had to be the place. Schmoogle sounded Yiddish. He strode to the counter.
"May I help you, sir?" the young woman asked.
"I'd like a schmoogle."
The young lady looked puzzled. "A schmoogle?"
Jim nodded.
"Sir, I don't think there's any such thing as a schmoogle," she told him, politely as possible.
Jim was growing weary. He reached into his pocket and withdrew his shield. Holding it for her inspection he said firmly, "I'm Detective James Ellison, Cascade PD. I want a schmoogle and I'm not leaving here without one."
The lady held up her hand. "Just a minute." She retreated to the back room.
Had Jim not been concentrating so hard on reviewing his quest for the elusive schmoogle his sentinel hearing would have picked up the conversation in the manager's office.
"There's a police detective out front," the woman told her boss.. "He says he wants to buy a schmoogle. I tried to tell him there was no such thing. But he insists he's not leaving here without one. What should I do?"
The manager looked up at her from his desk. Folding his arms he said matter-of-factly, "Sell him one."
Back in her office Michelle was starting to worry about Jim. She hadn't meant to do something so cruel as sending him on a wild goose chase. But she had to do something. He was driving her... and himself crazy. She had figured he would head out, check a couple of markets and come back apologizing that no one seemed to have a schmoogle. She'd have to remember just how devoted this man could be.
Blair, in the meantime, was chattering away about his defense experience. He had obviously been running on pure adrenaline for some time and he was still hyped.
It was then that the door opened and one feeling rather triumphant detective entered. Seeing Blair, he grinned. "Dr. Sandburg, I presume?"
Rising to his feet the younger man gave a slight nod. Without any preamble he was yanked into a crushing embrace. Blair brought his arms up encircling his friend in return. Jim whispered something into his ear causing him to laugh and tighten his hold.
After a minute Jim rubbed his hand down the length of Blair's back and released him planting a firm kiss on the top of his head as he let go. "I would have been here sooner," he told Blair. "But I was all over town hunting down a schmoogle."
At that Blair and Michelle exchanged a look.
"Jim," Michelle began. "Um..." She stepped closer to him. "I don't know how to tell you this," she continued sheepishly. "But, there's no such thing as a schmoogle."
Jim's jaw dropped slightly. "There's not?" he asked rather calmly. Looking guilty Michelle shook her head.
Jim held out the paper sack neither she nor Blair had noticed him carry in. "Then what the hell did I just buy?"
THE END *From the song "Brother of Mine" by Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe