Night Tide
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Chapter&57&
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A!figure!sat!on!the!steps!of!the!house!where!I!live,!lounging!
in!the!early!morning!sun,!not!hunching.!He!had!clipped!grizzled!
hair,!not!tangled!blond!locks.!As!tired!as!I!was!from!driving!my!
paper!route,!there!was!little!chance!I’d!mistake!him!for!Cole.!Or!
for! Keely.! He! leaned! back,! resting! on! one! elbow! and! watched!
me! silently! as! I! came! up! the! walk.! I! stood! in! front! of! him,!
waiting.!He!rose!slowly!and!walked!past!me,!then!stopped.!
!
“Come!on,”!he!said.!“Let’s!get!some!coffee.”!
!
I!hesitated.!“It’s!been!a!long!night,!Charlie.!I’m!beat.!Can’t!
this!wait?”!
!
Wordlessly,!he!walked!to!the!Toyota!sitting!at!the!curb!and!
got! in! the! passenger! seat! without! waiting! for! an! invitation.! I!
followed! slowly! and! climbed! behind! the! wheel.! We! drove! to!
our!usual!spot!in!silence.!!
!
Inside,!when!we’d!both!settled!into!a!booth!and!a!waitress!
had!come!by!to!fill!the!mugs!already!on!the!table,!he!rested!his!
elbows! on! the! table! and! cradled! his! coffee! in! both! hands.! He!
stared!into!the!mug!as!if!the!brown!liquid!held!his!fortune.!
!
“Look,! I’ve! never! been! much! good! at! thank6yous! or!
apologies,”!he!said.!“I!just!wanted!you!to!know!that!if!you!ever!
want! to! talk! about! what! happened! up! there! you! can! call! me,!
okay?”!
!
I! watched! him! for! a! moment,! then! looked! away! and!
rubbed!my!chin.!
!
“Okay,”!I!said!quietly.!
!
He!looked!at!me!then,!eyebrows!climbing!up!his!forehead.!
“That’s!it?”!
!
“What!do!you!want!me!to!say,!Charlie?”!
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“I!don’t!know.!Nothing,!I!guess.”!He!dropped!his!gaze!to!the!
tabletop,!looking!pensive.!
!
“Sarah’s!still!pretty!upset,”!he!said!a!moment!later.!
!
“Doesn’t!surprise!me.!Kind!of!a!shock!to!discover!what!you!
thought!you!knew!about!your!parents!was!all!a!lie.”!
!
His!face!colored.!
!
“You!seem!to!be!taking!it!okay,”!I!said.!
!
He! shrugged.! “They’ve! gotta! take! responsibility! for! what!
they!did.”!A!pause,!then,!“Your!friend!okay?”!
!
I!didn’t!know!if!he!meant!Wink!or!Reyna.!I!guessed!Wink.!
“Better!than!okay,!I’d!say.!For!the!first!time!in!a!long!time.”!
!
Wink! had! his! good! name! back,! which! was! all! he’d! really!
wanted.!But!he’d!also!struck!a!deal!with!SIU!to!share!the!patent!
and!royalties!that!might!result!from!commercial!development!
of!the!technology!in!Kwan!Ji’s!notebook.!He!was!smart!enough!
to!build!on!Kwan’s!research.!!
!
Silence!fell!over!the!table.!It!began!to!make!me!feel!itchy.!
The!events!on!Whidbey!were!two!weeks!behind!me,!but!I!still!
felt!exhausted!and!listless!most!days.!All!that!death,!especially!
my! part! in! it,! had! taken! an! emotional! toll.! I’d! be! working!
through!it!for!a!long!time,!maybe!even!consulting!Jeri!privately,!
not!just!at!group!meetings.!And!there!was!the!nagging!question!
of! Reyna.! ONI! had! reclaimed! her,! spirited! her! back! to! D.C.! to!
recuperate!at!Walter!Reed!Medical!Center.!I!hadn’t!heard!from!
her!and!didn’t!know!how!to!get!in!touch.!Worse,!I!didn’t!know!
where!I!stood!with!her,!what!I!wanted!with!her,!what!was!even!
possible!between!people!on!different!coasts.!!
!
I!needed!sleep,!not!coffee.!I!pushed!it!away!and!stared!at!
Charlie!until!his!eyes!met!mine.!
!
“I! appreciate! your! offer,”! I! said.! “I! may! take! you! up! on! it!
someday.!You!already!know!most!of!it!from!the!reports.!I’ll!tell!
you! this! much:! I! learned! a! couple! of! things.! I! learned! that!
people!aren’t!motivated!by!causes,!or!religion,!or!politics.!None!
of! that! matters.! It’s! all! bullshit.! It! all! comes! down! to! what!
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people!themselves!want,!what!individuals!want.!Money,!power,!
sex…”!
!
I! shook! my! head! and! looked! out! the! window! at! the!
sunshine! spreading! across! the! buildings! on! the! other! side! of!
the!street.!I!thought!about!the!waste!and!destruction!Baines’s!
ego! had! caused.! He’d! killed! two! members! of! his! own! family!
pursuing…!what?!I!didn’t!know!anymore.!
!
“What!else!did!you!learn?”!Charlie!prodded.!“You!said!two!
things.”!
!
How! could! I! explain! what! friendship! meant! to! me?! Or!
loyalty?!Or!what!the!fear!of!losing!a!friend!ends!up!costing?!!
!
The! past! had! caught! up! with! all! of! us—Clayt! and! Connie,!
Charlie! and! Sarah,! Baines! and! his! family,! Wink! and! me.! What!
we’d! done! with! the! opportunity! when! it! had! made! all! the!
difference.!
!
I!gave!another!headshake!and!smiled!at!him.!
!
“Nothing,”!I!said.!
!
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