The White Elephant of Panschin

Veronica and Shelby's day after the show.

     Veronica fumed as she sat at the dining room table, twisting her beads in agitation, her earlier better mood gone like condensation burned off the dome. There was nothing she could do now about Shelby other than march to the university and demand that her little sister come home at once. She knew her sister wouldn't thank her for embarrassing her in front of the other students. It would give them one more reason to despise Shelby Bradwell.

     Plus, what Neza said was correct. Shelby was growing up. Veronica thought of Lulu's opinion of how she sheltered her little sister. They were both right. Shelby would be fine. Her sister had to be. She herself already had a long list of people to speak to about both the out-of-town thug and Mr. Burgess, a process that would take hours and had to be done to protect them all. Shelby would just have to manage on her own.

     She became aware that Mr. Jones was watching her with some concern. Why did he care? It made no sense, other than he had already demonstrated simple human kindness. That was sometimes a rare commodity.

     "I hope you are correct about my sister's safety, Mr. Jones," Veronica made herself say. "What are your plans for the day?"

     "I'll be busy with the mining conference but I expect we will return in the early evening."

     "Very good," Veronica said. His return would mean they weren't in the house alone overnight. "As soon as you leave, Neza and I will be heading over to the police substation, the bank, and to speak with various neighbors. Will you be needing dinner?"

     "No, I don't believe so."

     Airik watched her, twisting in her chair with agitation. Veronica, such a beautiful, melodic name made to be whispered in the dark, still looked anxious and he wanted to reassure her again.

     "I'm sure Shelby will be fine and if she is not, I will do everything in my power to help you."

     "Thank you, Mr. Jones," Veronica said. She let go of her beads, reached over the table and squeezed his hand, surprising both him and herself. "You are very kind."

     They sat there, gazing at each other for a timeless, endless moment, and then both pulled away in confusion.

     "We'd best be on our way. I have meetings," Airik said, trying not to sound flustered. His heart raced in the most unsettling manner, it was difficult to breathe, plus his body's other reaction was more extreme. He was happy again to be wearing a loose coverall concealing the evidence of how Veronica made him feel.

     "Yes, I do too," Veronica said, wondering why her hand tingled, her heart pounded, and why she had been so uncharacteristically forward with a complete stranger. "I've got to return all the stemware, and warn everyone in the neighborhood and downtown about what happened. Enjoy your day."

     She watched Mr. Jones leave the dining room, looking not quite as reserved as he usually did. She hoped she hadn't offended him. Her own emotions were in turmoil. She nothing about this man, other than he had been generous with his time. The question was why. And why did she care?

     Veronica looked up to see Neza watching her.

     "We'd better get started packing the stemware into the handcart," Veronica told her, hoping her great aunt would take the hint and not make pointed comments about being overly friendly with guests.

     "Yes, we should," Neza replied but said nothing else to her niece. To herself, Neza wondered what she had just seen. Veronica had refused any introductions since her divorce from Dean, saying only that she didn't have the energy or time to waste on men. Mr. Jones seemed nice enough, but she knew nothing about him and, since he wasn't from Panschin, there was no one in her extended circle of acquaintances whom she could ask. Still, it was a good sign that her niece might be finally healing from Dean's betrayal.