Rich has returned to the home he ran away from six years earlier. He’s back living with his parents, hoping to make amends for the pain he caused them. Two years have passed since returning home. That’s where this story begins.
Episode 13 (Originally posted on the Jittery Goat)
The next two days, Rich and Don spent some time together. Eventually, they said goodbye, with Don wishing Rich all the luck in the world. During that time, Rich checked in with Hiram a couple of times a day. Nothing had changed.
It was Friday morning, around 9:00 AM. Rich drove to the diner where Jane Burks waitressed. The breakfast crowd had gone, and the place was nearly empty. Jane sat across the table from Rich. They chatted for a while. Rich told Jane about meeting up with Don.
“Really,” Jane said, “you ought to bring him by, and we’ll have a class reunion.”
Rich smiled. “Yeah, maybe we could sing the school fight song or something.”
Jane smiled, and her face took on a compassionate look. “How are you doing?”
“Well,” Rich said, “the time spent with Don and with you has done me a lot of good.”
“That’s good to hear,” Jane said.
“In some ways, it’s sad,” Rich said. “Seeing Don and you is a reminder of all that I missed.”
“Are we the only ones you’ve seen?” Jane asked.
“There’s a guy on the sports desk who was a year ahead of us,” Rich said. “That’s been it. From age fifteen to twenty-four, there’s a lot of change. I could have walked by a dozen people we’ve gone to school with, and we never recognized each other.”
“That’s not too far off from me,” Jane said. She cleared her throat. It shook Rich from nearly drifting into a trance. He looked at Jane, as if waiting for her to speak.
“I saw you about six months ago,” Jane said.
“You did? Where?” Rich said.
“I took my little girl to the park,” Jane said. “She wanted to swing. You were sitting at a picnic table. Coffee in a thermos. A sandwich. I walked by, and you smiled at my little girl and never looked at me.”
“A mop of curly hair, eyes like licorice jelly beans, and as big as saucers.”
“I have never seen such a lonely man,” Jane said.
Rich flicked a smile. “Women can analyze another human with incredible speed and accuracy.”
“Yeah,” Jane grinned and said sarcastically, “how come so many of us end up with bums?”
“You’re just trying to give us a chance,” Rich quipped.
“How ‘bout you?” Jane asked. “Have you ever been close to getting married?”
“There’s a little island off the coast of France,” Rich said solemnly. “It’s a place you can go and forget the world around you. It has a rhythm of its own. A beauty and serenity that one can’t capture in words, in music, on a canvas, or in a camera. All that collective beauty—gentle rolling hills, smooth green pastures, shimmering waters, quaint villages—all came together in one girl named Bridgett. I never knew love until I met her.”
“Is she still there?” Jane asked.
“We were married.” A tear rolled down his cheek. Jane pulled a napkin from the holder on the table and handed it to Rich. “She died a day after our wedding,” Rich said.
“Oh, no!” Jane said.
“One of those freak things,” Rich said. “A brain aneurysm. She was gone in an instant. She was eighteen. So beautiful. Better than what I deserved or hoped for.” Rich looked up from staring at the table. “Sorry, Jane. It just seemed to come out.”
“Go on,” Jane said.
“That one day of marriage is worth a lifetime,” Rich said. “We had so much fun. I was planning on bringing her here. Show her off and go back to Belle-Île-en-Mer and live out our life. I want to spend my last days there. It will help me to ease into my death.”
“You will be found innocent, Rich,” Jane said. “You will. And I will pray that you find happiness. And if things get tough, you know, you start thinking strange things, call me.”
“Thank you, Jane,” Rich said and stood. “Do you have a pay phone?”
“There’s a phone booth on the side of the building,” Jane said. “Use the one up at the cash register.”
“Thanks,” Rich said. “I check in with my lawyer a couple of times a day.”
Rich paid at the cash register and called Hiram. “Hey, Hiram. Anything new?”
“Get down to my office right away,” Hiram said. “There’s somebody from the CIA who wants to talk to you.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Rich smiled at Jane. “Not the best news, but it will do.”
“Take care, don’t be a stranger,” Jane said, smiling. “And by the way, you know, if you stayed around here and missed out on all of this,” she flung her hand around. “And you would have never met Bridgett and had that one day of happiness.”
Rich paused. He smiled. “Jane, Jane, you are so right.”
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