When Regan finished her late evening shift it was gone eight. It had been a long day, but then, that seemed to be the pattern recently. In a mood to treat herself she phoned the local Chinese restaurant in town and ordered a takeaway meal. She'd contemplated eating at the restaurant, as a treat, but being on her own, ordering just one starter, and sporting a black eye was not something she wanted to broadcast. More so given that the looks she'd received while she was at work suggested that most people in a restaurant would be equally flustered and probably would stare. And in any case a takeaway would be cheaper. She could order just one side dish, and no doubt it would be great. So she'd settled for ordering a take away and arranged a time for her to pick it up on her way home.
It was still quite bright, as the evenings were staying lighter for longer. It would be a good evening to go sit at her favourite spot, overlooking the stream. That way she could avoid Sam, Loretta and Gray. She was sure that seeing her face would bring back bad memories. She hoped that by tomorrow the bruise would be less tender and she might be able to camouflage the worst of it with some makeup, or she would avoid them if possible. She'd planned on doing that anyway, but her black eye and swollen face, just gave her an added reason to avoid Sam, Loretta and Gray.
Her mind reminded her, they were just staying with her. Four people living close, but three were living their lives differently to her. So why was she think about their feelings?
The restaurant was busy when she arrived, and her takeaway meal was ready, so she didn't have to wait, and didn't have to deal with too many people staring at her face. She explained about the bruises on her face when she noticed the concern in the waiter's eyes when Regan paid for her order. Regan was rifling through her purse to find the relevant money, she knew she had enough coins to cover the order. The restaurant's owner watched as Regan counted out the coins as she placed them on the counter and the waiter picked up the coins, The restaurant's owner who was listening to Regan's account told Regan to wait and the owner retrieved another takeaway meal that was on the counter.
"Here." She handed the brown bag to Regan.
Regan's brows beetled, "I didn't order that." She did not reach for the bag, just looked at the waiter, then the owner. She had her order in front of her: one small box in a brown bag. The owner's brown bag had at least three boxes inside.
Gently, she smiled, "It is for you!" She said in broken English.
Regan said softly, "For me, are you sure?" Someone made a mistake. And it might result in a discussion about who made the mistake. Regan looked at the waiter. Best to be upfront. She pointed at the big bag, "I don't have the money to pay for anything in that bag."
The waiter spoke in Mandarin to the owner, and then turned and smiled at Regan and said in English, "It's free!"
"Free?" Regan looked over at the owner. She repeated, "Free?"
"Yes." The owner bowed. "For you."
"But I didn't order it." Regan said quietly and hoped that no one in the restaurant was listening to this conversation.
"The customer didn't pick up their order." The waiter explained with a smile. "They paid. They are regulars here. They just phoned to say they couldn't collect it."
"Oh." Regan still did not reach for the bag.
"We were going to throw it out. But it is fresh. Was made at the same time as your order." The waiter said, assuming Regan was worried about the freshness of the order. The waiter said. "No charge."
Regan smiled and scowled at the same time, "Are you sure?" Regan looked over at the owner. The owner nodded. The waiter nodded. "This is very kind. Thank you." Regan smiled and took the brown bag. "Thank you."
Gray, from his vantage point hadn't seen Regan enter, but he saw her leave the restaurant. Which was when he caught sight of her face. For a few minutes the conversation around him faded as he stared in shock at her retreating back. He blinked and tried to fathom out if his eyes were playing tricks. Was it just his imagination? Shock hit him hard. He all but ran out after her. He got to his feet, left Caro at the table with just a mumble and dodged through the maze of tables to the door. But, by the time he reached the door, Regan vanished.
Gray returned to his table, and apologised for his behaviour, leaving her at the table without any explanation.
"You ok?" Caro asked.
Gray nodded and looked at the door. Then offered a lame explanation for his surprise exit from their table. "I thought I saw someone I knew." His head was reviewing his recollection of the last few minutes. Regan's face surfaced in his memory: She definitely had a bruise on her face. He rubbed his face and jaw as the memory was embedded in his mind. Someone hit her. His mind elsewhere, he'd barely recognised the fact that Caro seemed put out by the fact he'd been distracted.
But Gray was really worried. Regan was hurt. He hadn't expected this reaction to seeing her black eye and swollen face. He knew his brush with violence left him with scars, mentally and physically. Those memories surfaced after seeing Regan with a black eye. It was the fact that his head hurt from just thinking about Regan. Someone physically hurt her. They left their mark on her face. They hurt Regan. Gray did not ask Caro if she saw Regan. Instead, he ensured their dinner would end early. With vague excuses to Caro about tomorrow's work, he drove her back to her home, barely paid attention to her talk, and all he could think about was Regan.
He'd done nothing more than walk Caro to her door, and promised to call. She'd tried to invite him in for a coffee and he'd declined. She'd tried to stall him from leaving and he'd managed to evade her. Giving up, she tried to give him a goodnight kiss him, but he turned his head. She smothered her sigh and she just wished him a good night. He nodded.
He drove straight back to the farm.
Regan's car was parked in the driveway. With a mixture of anxiety, concern and relief, Gray all but raced up the driveway. His heart was hammering.
"Regan!" He hollered as he stepped into the hallway. "Regan!" He hollered again and concern gave way to demand. Still nothing. Anxiety levels headed for the sky.
"Hey, you're back early." Loretta frowned at him and wondered why he was back early and why he was yelling for Regan. From the look on his face things were not good. He looked worried, annoyed and, something else, something Lore couldn't quite place. "You and Caro..."
"Where's Regan?" Gray demanded and ignored Loretta's statement. "Regan?" He yelled again. His worry intensified. His heartbeat was all but thundering in his ears.
"Why are you shouting, Gray? What's happened now?" Loretta hoped they hadn't had another squabble. She and her grandfather had spent a fair amount of the evening trying to figure out how they were going to make amends, and how they were going to persuade Regan that it had not been their intention to hurt her about that dinner. "Gray?"
"Regan! I am coming to your bedroom! I want to talk to you!" Gray bellowed, ignoring his sister's astonished look. He rubbed at his cheek and stalked toward Regan's room. If she wasn't going to come out to see him, he was going to go see her.
Sam came to corridor and frowned. "Why are you yelling? Our neighbours, over the valley, probably even the town, will hear you!" Sam was worried when he saw the expression on Gray's face. "Gray, what's the matter?" His grandson's eyes conveyed a mixture of apprehension, alarm and dread. And the distress and anxiety he saw in his grandson's eyes reminded him of their recent past.
"Where is she?" Gray demanded quietly and his turmoil mounted. It did not bode well, the fact his grandfather and Loretta appeared but she had not appeared when he'd been all but yelling her name for the last few seconds. He hollered again, "Regan! Come out or I will come to your bedroom. Your choice. I want a word with you!" Where was she? How was she? He did not conjure up her bruise. Her face was engraved in his mind, despite his determination to remove that image. But the recent image, with her with a black eye, would threaten the current image in his brain.
"Obviously she is not in, Gray." Sam tried to remain calm. The last time he'd seen Gray this agitated, it was after he'd been attacked and when he became conscious. That day, everything changed in their lives. "Why are you yelling?If she was in, she would be here, standing here, in front of you, given your tone!"
"She is home. Her car'shere." Gray's fingers rifled through his hair, as if that would help ground him and help him face the growing sense of alarm.
"Yes, her car is here. But if she isn't in, she's probably gone for a walk." Sam frowned as he came closer and saw that Gray looked seriously agitated. He frowned, "And in any case, yelling is not the best way to request anything! What is going on here?" He took another look at Gray's face and knew something was definitely wrong. "What's happened, Gray?" He asked with trepidation, not sure if he wanted to know.
Gray massaged the back of his neck as tension coiled the muscles. He felt sick. "She came to the Chinese place in town." Gray sighed. He knew that whatever he had felt for Regan was more than what he'd thought or expected, given how worried he was about her right now.
"It's a free world." Loretta folded her arms and she went to bat for Regan, "We didn't invite her to our dinner, remember? She doesn't have to tell us where she is eating dinner." Seeing her brother's eyes her growing concern had her adding more quietly, "Did she go to the same place that you were taking Caro? I bet she didn't do it on purpose." Gray looked completely shaken. Then Loretta narrowed her eyes, "She didn't hassle Caro, did she?"
"No." Gray massaged the back of his neck, tipped his head back and stared up at the ceiling for a moment or two. He needed to pull himself together. This was unexpected. The fact his heart was racing, the fact his concern was for her not him, the fact he was worried about someone who he was determined to ignore. If he could just see her. Just see her, the thought rattled through his mind and heart.