Month: September 2024

“You want to go where? To WHAT?” Hutch asked incredulously.

“To Seattle, for Coopercon24,” Starsky replied patiently. “As I have said several times already.”

“A convention about D B Cooper? You’ve got to be kidding.”

“No really, look here!” Starsky turned his laptop computer to face Hutch, showing him the page that said, in big bright letters, Coopercon 2024.

“I can’t believe that anyone would put on a convention for a vanished hijacker from 1971.”

“Why not? Hutch, there’s conventions for everything, even for fans of old ’70s cop shows.”

“I don’t want to know how you know that,” Hutch said dryly.

“Never mind about it. I wanna’ go to Coopercon. It’ll be great! And it’s only 99 dollars for early bird tickets!”

“Ninety-nine dollars isn’t so bad,” Hutch admitted. But what about plane flights to Seattle? And a hotel?”

“Aw come on, Hutch. We can afford it. And look at the events! They even have a guy from the FBI case!”

Hutch put on his reading glasses and peered at the web page. “He’s retired,” he said dryly.

“Of course he is. It’s over fifty years since 1971. Look what else they have too! ‘How to fly a Boeing 727′! And the DNA evidence!”

“Since when have you even been interested in D B Cooper? I know you and Huggy watched that miniseries in ’22, but…”

“Yeah, we had a blast watching that. You should have joined us.”

“I had other things to do. But why do you want to go to this now?”

“Cause it’ll be a hoot. And Hutch, we’re not getting any younger. Who knows how long we’ll be able to keep doin’ fun things like this?”

Hutch sighed. “Well, that’s true. You really want to do this?”

“I really want to,” Starsky affirmed. “And Hutch. I’m gonna go myself if I have to. But I’d like you to come with me.”

Hutch sighed again. “Why do you want to inflict this convention on me?”

Starsky looked hurt. “I want you to come with me ’cause it’ll be fun, and I want you there. You’re my husband! And OK, you don’t have to come to the convention, you can stay in the hotel or take in the sights of Seattle.”

Hutch shook his head. “Oh no, if I go to this thing at all I’m coming to the convention with you. Who knows what trouble you’ll get into without me?”

Starsky chuckled. “If you’re there I’ll have to be good. So what about it? You going to come to Coopercon with me?” He smiled slyly. “I’ll make it worth your while.”

“What do you mean by that?” Hutch asked, concerned.

“Three days, two nights in a nice hotel. Who knows what we could get up to? We can even take a few nights extra just for ourselves.”

Hutch laughed. “You drive a hard bargain, Starsk. OK, I’ll do it. I still think this thing is crazy, but I’ll come with you.”

Starsky grinned. “Great, Hutch! You won’t regret it, I promise.” He turned the laptop around again, and started filling out the forms. “Seattle, here we come!”

Arms overflowing with breakfast provisions, Hutch shouldered his way in through his partner’s front door.

At least he’d remembered to leave it ajar.

“Hey, Starsk,” he called out as he kicked it closed behind him. “Could use a little help, here, pa—”

The words dried up in his throat and he stopped dead in the entryway, his mouth dropping open in horror as he took in the bone-chilling sight of the motionless figure sprawled out on the rug. Continue reading “Day 2: Angling For Ecstasy by BethLange”

Hutch remembered the first time he had ever held Starsky’s hand. Well, not held exactly, but it was close enough, parallel to husband-and-wife domesticity in a way that reached in and tickled certain…tendencies that he wouldn’t end up acknowledging for years to come. At the time though, he couldn’t even understand why it alarmed him.

They were still at the police academy, and Hutch didn’t remember the circumstances beyond that he had just invited his new-ish friend Dave Starsky to go somewhere with him. Hutch wasn’t thinking very much; he was tired and he was on autopilot, so when Starsky said yes, instead of reaching out a hand to shake, or clapping Starsky on the bicep, or better yet, keeping his hands to himself, he did what he had been doing for the last couple of years whenever Vanessa was amenable to one of his ideas, or he was trying to convince her to be: he reached out and put his own hand atop Starsky’s on the table.

Instantly, he woke up a little bit more, mind and senses sharpening to take in sudden unfamiliarity. The hand beneath his was larger than Vanessa’s, and held more heat, radiating warmth like a little live animal. It was furry, covered in coarse, masculine hair, and one of his fingertips bumped against a bulky men’s watch that he could suddenly hear ticking like a heart. His own heart kicked up a few notches, keeping two beats for every one of the watch. A jolt of panic ran down his arms like voltage.

He pulled his hand away a lot slower than he wanted to, slow enough to seem casual, and took a breath before meeting Starsky’s innocent eyes just in time to watch a smile break out across his face. “See you there,” said Starsky, and popped up to leave.

Starsky’s hand was as warm now as it had been that day, Hutch mused, and as furry, though the watch was gone. Oh. This was the other hand. But still, the watch was absent, in a bag on Hutch’s dresser with Starsky’s wallet and his I Ching coins. It seemed so strange to recall his own reaction to this touch years ago, for touching Starsky had become so deeply ingrained that he’d forgotten life without it.

But his mind was going to the four winds, to places it hadn’t been in years, and now it had chosen to take him back to a time when he hadn’t yet known Starsky the way he did today, when he hadn’t yet learned to accept good things, or to take them for granted the way he had almost constantly for months.

I’ll never take him for granted again as long as he lives, he prayed, half to the universe and half to himself. Never take him for granted again, Hutchinson, and maybe he won’t die. Hutch brought his mind back to Starsky’s bedside, clinging to the warmth of Starsky’s hand. It was all he really had in the world, after all.

An S/H Present Tense story that brings Bay City characters into the present.

Posted by ConcernedMom55. Found on Reddit by Nicoltyler

Hello,

I’m a 55-year-old widow living in New York, and I have two sons. This post is about my oldest son, who is 32 and a police detective in California.

Yesterday, my son’s partner on the force, who is also 32, called me. He asked for the recipe for my son’s favorite food—something I used to make for him. He said he just wanted to cheer my son up.

Here’s some context: My son’s ex-girlfriend, who was 30, was recently murdered by a lunatic. She was a really nice person, and we talked a lot. I always thought she was the one my son would marry, but they broke up a while back. The last time I talked to her, I asked why they broke up. She said it was complicated and that my son couldn’t love two people at the same time. I thought that was ridiculous because he loves me and his Aunt Rosie. I didn’t understand. When I asked my son, he said it just didn’t work out and that work got in the way. They were both cops, and he said two cops shouldn’t date each other. I was a cop’s wife until my husband was killed, so I get it, but I was still really confused.

A bit more background: When my husband was killed, my son became too much to handle. He started getting into fights and hanging out with the wrong crowd. I was at my wit’s end, so I sent him to live with my brother Al in California. Al helped straighten him out, and he eventually became a cop like his dad. I have never been more proud. But because of that, we’re not as close as I’d like us to be. I know he doesn’t tell me everything, but I’m his mother and I worry.

Now back to yesterday. My son’s partner called and asked for the recipe. I asked him why, and he told me about the ex-girlfriend’s murder. He sounded really broken up about it—not so much about her death, but about how my son was dealing with it. He told me my son was having a hard time coping and that he wanted to do something special to lift his spirits. I encouraged him, gave him the recipe, and thanked him for looking out for my son.

But now I’m thinking about what the ex-girlfriend said and how odd it is for my son’s partner to be making him dinner and trying to cheer him up. I’ve never seen that level of concern from a partner before. My husband’s partner was nice, and I’m still friends with him, but he never went out of his way like this.

It made me wonder if what the ex-girlfriend was talking about was my son being in love with his partner and vice versa. Maybe that’s why she felt my son couldn’t love her properly—because he was already in love with his partner. I’ve noticed how close they are, and I’ve seen pictures of them together where they look more like a couple than just partners.

I don’t care one way or the other—I just want my son to be happy. But I’m torn. Should I ask him about it and risk making things awkward, or should I just let it go and trust that he’ll tell me if and when he’s ready?

Thanks for any advice.

– ConcernedMom55