Chapter 10 Hunting The Marsdens #2
“I found her, and my father a few years ago, during an investigation of money fraud. I was surprised to learn that they had been told I had died shortly after my birth. It hurt them deeply, but they eventually had two children. I’ve got a brother who’s nearly six years younger than I am, and a sister who is a year younger than that.
My parents, the Stantons, were unable to have children.
It seems that both of them were sterile. So, I was raised as an only child.”
“That’s quite the story. Not too different from Danny Blaine’s.
Except his dad died in the car crash getting his mother to the hospital the night he was born.
She was in a coma for several years, but the people who had adopted him brought her back into his life when she came out of the coma. That’s why he’s so determined.”
“How intriguing. I wouldn’t have thought we’d have similar backgrounds.”
“His actual father had snorted a line of coke the night he was born, trying to deal with the stress of his job. They think it altered his reactions enough that he didn’t see the ambulance in time, and in swerving to avoid it, he angled the car just enough to take the brunt of the impact himself.
” Keith moved closer to Brick. “Do you want to go grab some lunch then talk with Andy again?”
“That is a good idea. Let me just retrieve my weapon, and we’ll head out,” he said as he moved around behind his desk. He opened the drawer, then pressed his thumb to the reader and the lock box opened. He pulled out his Glock, checked it, then placed it in his shoulder holster. “Let’s go.”
“Hang on a second, Brick,” Keith said as he grabbed his phone out of his pocket, still vibrating. “This is Keith.”
“Keith, it’s Greg. I’ve just got a notification from Noboko that he’s sending another secure drive for storage. He said Tanaka-San had new information. Can I get an update?”
“We’re heading for a bite of lunch. Why don’t you join Brick and I,,”
“I’ll treat,” Greg cut him off. “Five Guys on Ward Parkway good enough for you?”
“Sure, we can be there in about twenty minutes,” Keith confirmed.
“I’ll see you there,” Greg said. He disconnected the call and moved over to his office.
He walked in and looked at the safe. ‘Starting to act like your father,’ Greg thought.
‘At least this keeps things safe for you and your mother.’ He sat down to check his work email, and opened the drawer of his desk.
There it was, still hidden away. The ring box he’d purchased to propose to Carry.
A memory flooded back from just a few nights earlier with Aunt Janet – playing out in his mind he saw:
“Aunt Janet,” Greg said gently laying his hand on her arm. “Did this ring bring you that much pain?”
“I’m sorry, Greg. I’ve bottled it up for too long, and this is what happens. It makes you angry and bitter. I closed off my heart, and I learned how that hurts more than going through the pain of loss.”
“It’s okay,” Greg replied softly as he handed the ring box back to her.
“No, Greg, it’s not okay.” She sniffed then wiped her eyes with a tissue she’d grabbed from the coffee table.
“This is exactly why I arranged for you and Veronica to meet. You were both hurting from loss. Veronica from the loss of Quinton and her father, and you from Erica once again. I didn’t want either of you to suffer as I have.
I knew that you would be good together, and I knew that you would take special care of my daughter.
I knew I could trust you to look after her, and I was sure that both of you could love one another, as deeply as I had loved Malcom. ”
Greg snapped out of the memory and slowly set the ring box back into the drawer.
‘Maybe she has more wisdom than I do. She saw both of us hurting and wanted us to find comfort with each other. There’s no way Aunt Janet could possibly have foreseen Carry walking into my life at that same time,’ he thought.
He gently closed the drawer, locking the ring box out of view once more.
‘Now I have to know, did I freeze because I saw Carry as Erica, or was it because I love Veronica? How can I determine which one made me lock up?’ he thought.
He got up and left the office to head to the Five Guys for his luncheon with Keith and Brick.
Fifteen minutes later, Greg was turning south on Stateline Road at Eighty-Fifth Street, then into the parking lot of Ward Parkway Mall on the west side.
He found a spot not far from the Verizon store, which was next door to the Five Guys location.
He decided to go in to wait for Keith and Brick, grabbing a small box of peanuts to snack on while he waited.
He didn’t expect Erica Stamson to walk in, but for the first time since they’d broken things off he didn’t feel anguish or anxiety.
He instead saw a friend. He stood up and waved to her, motioning for her to join him. She immediately moved his way.
“Hi!” Erica brightly called. “I got a call from Keith to meet him here. I didn’t know you’d be here,” she continued as she came up and hugged him tight.
“Keith didn’t tell me you’d be coming to this meeting,” Greg replied a little bit confused. “But, it is really good to see you again. You’re looking really good.”
“Thanks. Work at the Research Center has kept me really busy lately.” Erica looked intently at Greg then frowned. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Huh?” he muttered.
“You look off, Greg. Not sharp like you always were. Your eyes aren’t clear and focused. So, what is the problem you’re facing? Let me help, please,” Erica nearly pleaded.
“Girl troubles,” he replied as he sat back down. “I feel very strange thinking that my ex-fiancée would want to hear about my love life issues.”
“OOF!” she lightly exclaimed almost as a breath while she sat down. “Greg, I know you might think of me as the last person to talk to about such things,” she paused, looking deeply into his eyes, getting a full measure of him. “But nobody knows you more intimately than I do.”
“Maybe. But if I’m going to open up with you about this, I have to hear it from you that you do understand that we are not getting back together.”
“I guess I can accept that, so long as you don’t cut me out of your life as your friend,” she said with pleading eyes.
“My heart still belongs to you, Greg. I know that I’ve hurt you, and I’ve said how sorry I am before, but I’m going to say it again so you truly understand the depth of my sorrow.
I only wanted you to choose me over your job, not to cause you pain. For that I am truly sorry.”
“I can see you sincerely mean that Erica. I can’t even tell you how much that matters to me, especially after my chat with Aunt Janet.” He ran his hand through his hair. “You might be right. You might know me more intimately than anyone else. The question is, can I trust you with this problem?”
“Of course you can, Greg. You should know that about me by now.” She held his gaze. “Please, trust me. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Well,” he began slowly. “Maybe I can trust you. Just promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?” Erica asked eagerly.
“You won’t judge me and this stays between you and I alone. Nobody else. AND, I mean NOBODY!” Greg strongly iterated.
“I promise you, Greg. Just between us, like it used to be,” she said softly.
“Greg!” Keith called as he entered the door to Five Guys, Brick not far behind him. “I see you and Erica are already here. That’s great. We can get started.”