Collision II
Interlude
Silence. Tessa stopped speaking and reached for her glass of iced tea. Everyone’s eyes were glued to her and Dan, who sat beside her, taking his turn at telling the story in a quiet, almost toneless voice. She drank, and then handed him the glass, and he took a long sip, letting the cool liquid soothe his dry throat.
“I...I...excuse me, please.” Regan bolted for the door. Dan watched him go, his expression unreadable. Maypenny stood up and patted Dan on the shoulder. “Let me,” he said quietly. “I need a moment, folks,” he said to the rest of the group. “How about we take a short break?”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Madeleine agreed. “I believe I’ll see if Cook can bring in some more iced tea.” She exited into the house, leaving the others to their own thoughts.
Maypenny found Regan at the corner of the house, emptying the contents of his stomach into the bushes. Gently placing a strong hand on the younger man’s back, Maypenny waited patiently for him to recover.
“There, lad,” the older man soothed. “Get yourself together. Daniel needs you.”
“No,” Regan gasped, wiping his mouth. “No. He needed me then, and I wasn’t there.” Regan straightened up, and then collapsed to the grass, clutching his head. “Dear God, I could have prevented that...all of it, if I’d just opened the damned letters.”
“Hindsight is twenty-twenty, Bill.” Maypenny lowered himself next to Regan. “You weren’t there, then. But you are here, now.”
“You don’t understand!” Regan shook off Maypenny’s hand. “I called him a thug, to his face. A car thief who beat his stepfather half to death. It was all a lie, and he let me believe it, because he knew. He knew he couldn’t trust me with the truth. Because I wouldn’t have believed him.”
“I do understand that,” Maypenny told him firmly. “But what you’re not understanding is this: It isn’t about you; it’s about Daniel and that young girl in there. What we’ve heard so far is ugly and awful, and I’m afraid that it isn’t going to get much prettier.” Maypenny used his right hand to massage his left. “Personally, I’m angry right now. I want to get my gun and go after the bastard who beat him. I’d love to have his throat pressed between my hands, to show him how it feels, but now is not the time. Right now, Daniel needs our support. Both of us, Regan. You hid before, don’t hide now. Stand with him.” He rose. “Stand with us.”
Regan took a deep, ragged breath and wiped his face. “You’re right. I need to be there for Danny.” He accepted Maypenny’s hand and got to his feet. Together, they walked back to the group.
Accepting a glass of iced tea, which he really didn’t want, Regan took his seat and turned his attention to his nephew. “Sorry about that,” he apologized. “Tessa, Danny, please continue.”
Dan licked his lips and looked at Tessa. She nodded, and he picked up the story where she had left off. “I was pretty much out of it, because I was really beat up, but...”
