The flickering candlelight cast a warm glow over the crisp white tablecloth, illuminating the half-empty glass of my lemon drop as my plate of seafood alfredo grew cold on the table. It should have been a romantic evening, a celebration of love and commitment, but a sense of unease gnawed at me as I watched D’von across the table.

Where is the perfect place to die? A dog that once had dusty white nylon carpet-like fur but is now furless with blotches on its exposed skin. It belongs to a family that one can say lives in the back of the bush, near dirt road that officially does not exist but has nothing but footprints and tire tracks.

I stood up from the stone curb of the S Block building. She had arrived, and not a moment too soon. “I just reach”, came her explanation. I stood up and we walked towards each other, two unknown people trying to meld together for the first time.

For some people, Christmas is a time for gift-giving, hectic schedules, school free children frolicking amongst the toy stores and couples creating memories to close off the year. For me, this year, Christmas was about spending time with family, but with a twist.

Mr. P is found staring at the four corners of his cozy bedroom, the television, or the door. His eyes slowly turned towards the creak as he anticipated the face that would walk through that morning, as privacy was something he and his loving wife had given up out of necessity. “Good morning, Mr. P”, the nurse said. He gave her a smile as if he missed her.

The day was Monday, August 10, 2020. The time was sometime after 9am. My partner Sgt. 3506 Nesbitt and I were the last crew on the 8am- 4pm shift to leave Police Headquarters out on mobile patrol.