“Son….” James half got to his feet, one hand reaching out entreatingly.
“Forget it Father,” he said wearily. “What’s done is done.” With that, he walked out of the room.
His wife found her husband slumped behind his desk a few minute later.
“Darling what on earth are you doing here in the dark?” She exclaimed as she turned on the light.
“How is the party?”
“People are asking for you and I was trapped by that dreadful and handsy Mike Bellows who tried to cop a feel.” She walked further into the room. “What’s wrong?”
“You were right Mel.”
“About what?” she came forward and perched on the side of the desk.
“About our son. He unloaded to me. About the affairs and how much of a hypocrite I am.” He reached for her hand and squeezed. “He is still in love with that girl.”
“I suspected as much. I am sure he will get over her in time!”
“No,” James shook his head. “He has been trying for years and it is not happening. He is unhappy and it is not because of us but what he did to her. We are responsible.”
“What are you saying?”
He let go of her hand and got to his feet, going over to the cabinet to replenish his drink. “I think we need to find her.”
“That’s not a good idea….”
“He needs to get closure.”
“I am sure the girl has already moved on.”
“Maybe yes or maybe no.” He shrugged broad shoulders. “But we have to make up for what we did to both of them.”
“She is not suitable at all!”
“He does not care about that and frankly if we want to get back into his good graces, we are going to have to undo what we did all those years ago.” He tossed back the drink. “He said he went searching for her back where she lived and there was no sign of her. I have the most thorough and excellent detective on retainer. I am going to make use of his service. Are you on board?”
She nodded reluctantly. “The girl probably hates him and us.”
“Probably. Do you remember the name?”
“I have an excellent memory. Her name is Elena Harris.”
*****
“You are not eating.” Benjamin murmured. “Is the Fajita too spicy?”
Elena shook her head and ventured a smile. She should not have agreed to the date, not after what she had seen on the internet two nights ago. She had avoided magazines so that she did not have to look at his photos or read anything about the family. But had dreaded the time when she would read an announcement of his wedding in the papers. But there had been few pics of him in the papers and even fewer information except two nights ago at his mother’s birthday party. The internet had been filled with the events of the night and the many famous faces that had been there. There was one of him giving a toast to his married and hugging her and then one of him talking to an attractive brunette. She had spent several minutes staring at his pictures hungrily before clicking off and going to her work. But she had been unable to concentrate and had spent a restless night with the memories playing painfully in her head.
“No. I am just thinking about a plot.” She lied.
“You do that a lot?” Ben asked her teasingly.
“I am afraid so.”
“What chose your career path for you?”
She shrugged and broke off a piece of bread, her eyes wandering around the room. It was a Monday night and the place was practically empty. “It was chosen for me. I escaped by reading and I spent a lot of time at the library.”
“You had a difficult childhood.”
She nodded. “A drunken and abusive mother.” She took a sip of her water. “Whenever I would read, I would escape to these wonderful places where everything was normal.”
“What about your dad?”
“He took off before I was born. One of the reasons that started the drinking in the first place.”
“She died?”
Elena nodded. “When I was eighteen; of liver disease which was not surprising. After that, I packed up my few belongings and went out of that miserable town and enrolled in night school while I worked in the days as a waitress. It was a rough ride, but I survived.”
“I am sorry Elena.”
“They said what does not kill you makes you stronger.” She said with a faint smile.
“I am sure you are much stronger for it.”
“I guess I am.” She toyed with the stem of her glass. “Remember I told you that I cannot promise you anything?”
He nodded.
“I still cannot.”
“I am willing to wait.”
“That’s just Ben, I don’t want you to end up wasting your time.”
“It’s my time to waste.” He told her briskly. “Now enough of the dreary talk. Wait until I tell you about an incident in the ER.”
Chapter 4
“Hey! I thought we could discuss the ….” Morgan stopped just as he reached the doorway that led to the balcony and watched as the dark-haired man stubbed the cigarette out.
“I thought you quit that shit.”
Chad smiled as he fanned away the smoke and tossed the butt outdoors into the brush. “I did. Stress smoking.”
“I saw the pics. You look good in a tux.” Morgan Barker was a strapping black man with bulging muscles and looked more like a linebacker than a social worker. His dark skin was tight across the thick muscles and he looked formidable and not someone you should consider crossing swords with but inside he was a teddy bear. He had quit the government job and had started up the youth center for troubled youths and had made quite an impact. Chad considered him to be more than a brother and the only person other than Elena who had always told him the truth.
“My mom’s birthday!” He said with a grimace. “And a pep talk with Father. It always manages to put me in a chipper mood.”
Morgan stepped out and zipped up his jacket against the stiff wind. It was a little after six and the last young boy had left for the day. They usually stayed behind to clean up and discuss what they were going to do the next day and maybe grab a beer from the well-stocked cooler and order something to eat.