Weekend Getaway

Starsky is worried about Hutch and the upcoming heatwave so plans to get him away from Bay City.

Pure fluff.

There was a heatwave forecast for the weekend. Remembering what had happened to Hutch last summer, Starsky was keeping a close eye on his partner. Starsky could still vividly recall the moment when an ashen-faced Hutch had keeled over in the squad room like a tree axed down by a lumberjack. It wasn’t something he ever wanted to see again. He had a cooler in the car filled with water bottles and he was making sure Hutch was drinking his way through them. So far so good but Starsky was worried about the prospect of temperatures soaring even higher.

The good thing was that they both had a heap of overtime owing so Dobey had said they could take Friday and the following Monday off. The only thing they had to do was to decide how best to keep cool. Starsky had an idea about that. At lunchtime, Starsky left his partner sitting in front of the squad room fan and went in search of Arnold from Accounting. They had an arrangement. Starsky would tune up Arnold’s car for free; Arnold would loan his family cabin as long as he wasn’t using it.

Before Starsky could speak, Arnold said, “Sorry, Starsky, but we’re planning on going up to the cabin tomorrow for the weekend.”

Starsky’s face fell but he managed to say, “Never mind. Hope you have a great time.”

“Does it have to be the woods?”

“Huh?”

“Were you only looking for a getaway to the woods? Only I heard that George, one of the mechanics, has a place near Laguna Beach. He might be willing to loan it out.”

“Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll go see George.”

*****

Starsky headed straight down to the garage and asked where George was. He was pointed in the direction of a pair of feet poking out from under a faulty patrol car.

“Er George? It’s David Starsky. I wondered if I could have a word?”

The feet began to move until George appeared. He stood up and wiped his greasy hands on a rag.

“What can I do for you, Detective?”

“Call me Starsky. I heard you had a place out Laguna Beach way. I wondered if you ever let people borrow it and how much it would cost?”

George considered the question. “When did you want it?”

“This weekend. Friday to Monday. Hutch doesn’t do well in the heat and you’ve seen the forecasts. I thought I’d try and get him out of the city for a few days.”

“Sure, we’re not using it this weekend. I can bring in the key for you tomorrow and give you the directions. It’s only got one bedroom but there’s a pull-out bed in the lounge. It’s near Shaw’s Cove and I’d recommend Twin Points Bay if you want to have a bit of peace and quiet. Morning and evening you’d have the beach to yourselves. Hardly anybody knows about it so it’s never that busy anyway. The house is small but it’s got air conditioning, fully fitted kitchen and refrigerator. There’s a barbecue pit outside and it’s got fantastic views over the ocean.”

“It sounds perfect. How much?”

“Well, we’re not using it…how about you just pay for the electricity you use?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, just take a reading when you get there and before you leave and we’ll work it out next week.”

“Thank you. That’s great of you.”

George grinned and then got back to work. Starsky hurried away to tell Hutch the good news.

*****

Early Friday morning, Starsky went around to his partner’s home and found Hutch ready and waiting. He threw his small case in the trunk and climbed in the passenger side.

“Hey.”

“Hey. Sleep okay?”

“It was too hot.”

“Well, at least it’s cool now and we’ll soon be feeling those ocean breezes.”

Hutch laid his arm along the back of the seat.

“Thanks for this Starsk. I figured I was going to melt this weekend.”

Starsky nodded.

Only an hour later, they were pulling up outside the small house that George owned. They took their cases and the box of food that they had purchased last night and unlocked the front door. They walked through the property to the living space at the back and simply stared at the beautiful view, which they could see through the patio doors.

After a few minutes, Starsky looked at his watch and suggested, “How about we go find Twin Points and have a swim before most people are up and about. Then we can come back and enjoy the aircon and do nothing except relax.”

“Sounds perfect.”

Thirty minutes later, Starsky grinned as he watched Hutch run into the ocean and start swimming parallel to the shore. Taking a more leisurely approach, he wandered down the sandy beach and slowly walked into the water, enjoying the deliciously cool waves as they rolled against his legs. He smiled happily, knowing he’d arranged the perfect getaway from the city heat.