Kit Piper was whistling as he walked through the doors of the office of MBL Consulting.
"Morning, Shirl!" he said, beaming. "How's it goin'?"
"I'm getting married!" Shirley said, holding up the ring on her finger.
"Well, congratulations, girl! I hope that doesn't mean you'll be leaving to settle down anywhere. I don't know where I could find another Girl Friday secretary like you!"
"Oh, Kit..." she said, blushing. "Anyways, Mick and I haven't decided what we'll be doing after we get married yet. But we may decide to stay on here, we don't know yet."
"Just so long as the both of you are happy together, that's all that matters. I haven't had too much luck with my wives myself, but that hasn't stopped me from trying again and again! And if I hadn't gotten married, I'd never have become a dad!"
"Ooh, how did the week with your daughters go?" Shirley asked him excitedly. Everything got her excited lately.
"Shirley, I tell you -- it was just great. Seein' those girls grow up so fast, though, it makes me kinda scared, what with the dangerous world we live in and all. We need more people like your Mick and the other heroes around to straighten this crooked world out a bit." While he was talking to her, he was also sorting out his mail. "Hey, did I get any calls while I was away?"
"Yep. I wrote 'em all down and left an annotated message on your desk."
"That's my girl," Kit said grinning. "How are the guys?"
"They're good. Dirk and Grimm are still waiting to meet you, and there's a new guy. I think his name's 'Chase' or 'Chance' or something." Shirley stopped and frowned in thought for a moment. "Come to think of it, though, I haven't seen nor heard from Pete at all since the guys got back. And he's usually here almost every morning to mess up my office and generally make a nuisance of himself. I wonder where he could be?"
"Oh, you know Pete," said Kit chuckling. "Falls asleep outside by the trash bins once in a while, or down the street with a couple of other bums. But despite his eccentricities, he's a good kid. I'm sure he'll turn up sooner or later."
"One other thing, Kit," Shirley said, reaching over for some paperwork. "Larry and Tobias decided to take some vacation time. No word on when they'll be back, though. From what Mick said about what they went through in the last couple of days, I don't blame them for wanting to get away for a while."
"Hmm. Well, that should be fine. We'll always have a spot for them when they come back," said Kit, walking into his office. "Oh, and if Dirk Bell or Grimm show up, send them right in. The same goes for Chance." He continued whistling as he closed his office door and got back to work.
