By
Pat L.
This story takes place after Sweet Revenge.
Mary Hutchinson gathered the mail and wandered into the library where Richard was working.
“We got a letter from Ken today.”
“Oh, really?” he said, without looking up from his work. “What did he have to say? How’s David?”
He closed his eyes and dropped the pen he was holding. He didn’t look at his wife as he got up and went to the shelves of books behind him. He ran his hand over the books, pretending to look for something.
Mary stared at her husband. “How’s David? You don’t care how David is. You don’t even care how your own son is!”
Richard turned sharply toward her. Then he shook his head slightly, and turned away again.
Mary moved closer to him. She could see the tension in his shoulders and in the way he was standing.
“Richard, look at me. You turn around and LOOK at me, right
now.”
Reluctantly, he did as she asked. He met her eyes and knew instantly he had been found out. She was the one person who could look into the darkest recesses of his soul and know the truth.
“Oh, my God. You DO care! All this time, and you do care.
Why, Richard?”
With fire in her eyes, she advanced on him. “Your son thinks you don’t love him. He thinks you’re ashamed of him. All he ever wanted to do was please you and make you proud of him. WHY?!”
“I wanted so much for him, Mary. I wanted him to be President. I don’t mean that literally. I wanted him to have the best life that he could possibly have. I wanted him to be happy and healthy and strong. When he told us that he wanted to be a cop, I wasn’t disappointed. I was terrified. All I could see was this image of him lying dead in an alley, somewhere. I couldn’t see how much he would be helping people. I couldn’t see all the good he would be doing. All I could see was my son’s broken body lying on some dark, filthy street!”
He took his wife’s hand and led her to the couch.
“When I met David for the first time, I could see how much
he loved Ken. I was jealous, Mary. I knew he would stand beside Ken. I knew he
would give his life for our son. You could see how close they were. They could communicate
with each other without saying a word. I could tell how devoted David was to
Ken, and I was jealous. He had the relationship with Ken that I
never had. I knew Ken deserved that, but I didn’t feel that I did. Do you know why I cut David down for being Jewish, or for being from New York, Mary?”
She shook her head. “No, I never understood that. It always seemed so petty to me.”
He smiled ruefully. “It was petty. I’m not prejudiced, Mary. You know that. It was the only way I could keep David at a distance. When I met him, I thought he was the strongest young man I had ever met. He had lost his father, and had survived in one of the most violent cities in this country. He’s also one of the most compassionate, caring men I have ever known. He’s dedicated to his job and he’s totally committed to our son. Don’t you see, Mary? I COULDN’T let him in. If I started thinking of him as another son, and I lost them both, I don’t think I would survive.”
Mary touched his face gently with her fingertips. She smiled fondly at him.
“Finally, after all these years, I know the truth.”
She slapped her hands down on her lap. “That’s it. That
settles it. We ARE going to Bay City. You are going to tell BOTH of them the
truth, before it’s too late.