“Dad,” a distant voice droned. “Dad!” the voice continued. “Dad, snap out of it!” Suddenly pulled from the distant world that his mind had wandered to, Bob found his son, Tommy, standing next to him.

“Oh, sorry son.” Bob smiled wistfully. He sat at his desk, staring at the small medal he held between his fingers.

“It’s alright,” Tommy chuckled lightly. “Just don’t let yourself get too lost.” 

Tommy dumped himself into the chair next to the desk and faced his father. Tommy very much resembled his dad. He had strong features that made one think of etched marble, his dark hair cut short to match his professional attire. 

“Still getting used to things, I suppose.” The ache of recent experiences was carved onto Bob’s face. His life had taken an unexpected turn six months prior, and Bob still found himself fairly discouraged about the outcome.

“I know it’s been tough,” said Tommy, “but I still love you the same even if you are a national hero now.” Bob looked up at his son and smiled.

“I appreciate that, Tommy.” He really did appreciate his son trying to help him through his existential mess. “You just visiting today?” He wondered why his son had randomly decided to see him.

“Just wanted to check up on you. I was on this side of town for a business meeting,” Tommy said. “It’s your birthday soon, y’know, Dad.” Tommy smiled and tossed a pamphlet onto his father’s desk. 

“What’s this?” Bob thumbed randomly through the pamphlet, feigning interest.

“I know it’s not exactly up your alley, but one of our subsidiary companies has just finished its development and testing of a new way to play video games. It’s known as ‘full immersion.’” 

Bob looked at his son, perplexed. “What does that mean?” The confusion on his face made Tommy chuckle.

“Don’t worry about it too much now. There’s a new video game that is part of the gift and I’m confident you’ll really like it.”

“If you say so, but you know I’m not very good at these video game things.”

“Oh, I do. Just trust me on this.” Tommy got out of his chair and began to walk to the door. “I’ll call you when it’s delivered and help you get everything started, okay?”

“Okay,” he said to his son. “Thanks for stopping by.” He heard the door close and looked back to the small medal in his hands. The blue ribbon draped down his fingers as the bright gold V reflected the light from his desk. This small Medal of Valor had cost him so much.

Everyone now called him a hero, but he didn’t feel like one. He had managed to save many lives in the explosions that shook several city blocks, but what had it cost him? His legs, his livelihood, and maybe his sanity. Many more had died, and while Bob understood that he could not have saved them all, he still wished that he could have done more. But hero? No, he was simply doing his job to serve and to protect those he had sworn to. There wasn’t anything special about his actions; at least that’s how he thought about it.

“You’d be telling me to get off my ass, wouldn’t you, Mary?” he thought out loud as he gazed over at the small picture of his family on his desk. His wife Mary had died a few years earlier to cancer, but the panic and shock of the aftermath of the explosion probably would have done her in too. She was an incredibly strong and inspiring woman, taken well before her time, yet you never heard her complain or worry. If Bob could label anyone a hero, it would have been Mary, for she truly had it in her.

Putting the medal aside, Bob looked at his calendar. He would have to return to work soon, back to the force. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it. He knew everyone would be nice and understanding, but he also knew everything would be different. Previously working as a patrol officer, he knew that since he had now been saddled to a wheelchair, he would be stuck behind a desk until his retirement. He didn’t want that. He wanted to patrol the city, meet people, and to continue to serve and protect. 

Mary definitely would have told him to stop being so sad and to see it as a new challenge. Bob smiled fondly thinking about the verbal thrashing Mary probably would have given him. Even still, Bob was unsure about his future. He didn’t want to get bored, he didn’t want to be boring, and that’s the only outcome he saw. Everything was changing, and Bob was not a fan. As much as he wanted things to go back to normal, he knew they wouldn’t return to that. 

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Bob looked at the clock that sat on his desk, sighed loudly, and rolled himself away from his desk in search of dinner, leaving the pamphlet for the new gaming device on his desk, already forgotten.

—————

            “Welcome back, Bob!” A modest party had been thrown to welcome him back to work and many of Bob’s coworkers stood around waiting to shake his hand. Bob had been worried about being the center of attention but relaxed and appreciated that the party wasn’t too eccentric or jovial; it was just enough.

            “We got you some plain ol’ vanilla cake, your favorite,” one of the older ladies who worked in the records department declared. Bob smiled and thanked her and eagerly took the piece that was handed to him. He knew that many people were genuinely glad to see him, but he wasn’t sure if he was glad to see them. Yes, they were his old coworkers and work buddies, but things would be different and he knew they all saw him differently now. He wasn’t just Officer Robert Kipp. Now he was a “hero” too, whatever that really meant.

            “Alright everyone,” a loud voice boomed. “I know everyone is very excited to have Bob back, but that doesn’t mean we can slack off. Let’s please get back to work.” The partygoers all complied and slowly began to shuffle off back to their desks. “It’s good to have you back, Bob.” Bob wheeled around and saw Captain Henry McDonough standing behind him. He was a tall, well-aged man who seethed discipline and rigidity. 

            “Ah, thank you Captain. It’s, uh…good to be back,” he said as his voice trailed off. The Captain noticed his reserved mood.

            “Don’t worry, Bob. I do recall that you’re not a huge fan of change. Your desk is where you left it, the way you left it.” A small smile emerged from Bob’s face at this news.

            “Thanks, Cap.”

            “Of course.” The Captain smiled. “You may find yourself behind your desk more often now, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be any less useful. You’ve got a mind full of experience and I plan to utilize that as much as possible.” The Captain shook Bob’s hand and walked back to his office.

            Bob decided to go find his desk and get it set up for the coming days. It felt weird rolling up to the desk instead of sitting down at it, but it was exactly the way he had left it, aside from the small stack of envelopes on his keyboard. A small note was stuck to the top of the stack. These are some letters from fans, but mostly from the families you helped during the explosion. I hope they help you. – C. It looked like his old partner had left them for him. His old partner, Catherine Mobley, had been reassigned. Barring his change in position, he was still happy to see the note from her.

            Bob spent the next few hours reading the letters and writing letters of his own in response. Reading all the letters opened his eyes to the fact that he really had helped these people. Many of them thanked him and told him about the family they were still able to be with. Some of them even told him they would name children after him. One letter in particular really hit home with him. It was from a small girl named Lacey, whom he had personally carried out of danger. She had lost everything, her home, her pets, and even one of her parents, but her letter was still bright and full of hope.

Dear Officer Bob,

      Hello Officer Bob. My name is Lacey. I do not know if you remember me, but you saved me after our building started to fall over. I know that you got hurt carrying me away from the danger and I’m very thankful you saved me. I’m very sorry that you got hurt and I hope things are okay.

  My Mommy and my dog Jack did not make it when all of the craziness happened and that does make me sad a lot. But I’m still thankful that I still have my Daddy and I know he’s happy I’m still here too. I know he hurts sometimes because my Mommy is not around anymore, just like me. But we both do our best to think about the good things now since we have what he calls a second chance. 

      I like to look at it that way too. We both have a second chance because of you. I want to do something important when I grow up. Maybe I’ll become a police officer like you or maybe a scientist or something. It’s something like an adventure in a book, and it's exciting in a way.

I hope that you too don’t waste this second chance and know that me and my Daddy are always thinking about you and praying for you too.

Thank you always. Love,

Lacey

            Bob wrote his response to Lacey, thanking her for her kind words and her letter and telling her that he would always take what she said to heart. Bob decided to keep this letter from Lacey on his desk at all times as a reminder of the good he had done, and like her, he decided he would do what he could with this new chapter in his life.