Regan put her car rug on the ground and put her torch on the ground, still on. She opened her mobile and pressed a button that started to play music. She put her mobile beside her torch. She recognised the tune and hummed as she unwrapped her takeaway. This had been her spot for as long as she could remember. She would come here when her parents made her feel insignificant or when she was upset. Here she could see that the world was beautiful and she was part of the scheme of things. She could see the Jones's cottage. She knew there were people there who cared for her. People, who cared about her. It was the Jones sisters who'd taught her to ignore life's foibles and to be who she wanted to be.
Tonight she would have gone to visit Lucy, but Lucy was visiting Jenny today. So, the alternative was to come here.
She sat, cross-legged, on the rug, and reached into the bag and retrieved a container. This is a surprise because she did not order this food. She prised off the lid and smiled. Wow. Prawns. It smelt wonderful. She licked her lips in anticipation. She used her chopsticks to pick up a large succulent prawn from her unexpected bounty.
This had been a good idea. Wonderful food, cheap, she reminded herself and smiled. Fabulous view, no cost! Beautiful night, good weather, just by chance. Now all she needed to make it perfect was the company of a gorgeous man. Smiling at her idiotic musings, she leaned forward a bit and turned the volume up and then settled back to enjoy her evening. This morning was terrible but this night was going to be glorious.
Life held many simple pleasures. She'd forgotten that in recent days. So, what if the Cardozo's didn't think she merited simple courtesy? What if she didn't matter to them? She still had Lucy and the rest of the Jones family in her life, and they love her. She looked across the stream, could just about make out the old Jones house in the darkness. She bit into another morsel and turned her head toward the house again. It had been her good fortune to have met up with that family. For without them she doubted she'd have realised that she could, and should expect, to be loved for who she was, and not who other people wanted her to be. Jenny's and Lucy's mother, Alison always said, be true to yourself.
Regan smiled whimsically as she remembered the shock she'd felt when she'd been so openly welcomed into their home. Alison had listened when Jenny explained why they'd brought this young stranger to their home. In essence they brought an unfamiliar person, albeit a granddaughter of a neighbour to their home. And without any prompts, Alison spoilt Regan: Alison gave her newly baked biscuits to Regan, and Jenny and Lucy shared their milkshakes by simply pouring some of their milkshake into another glass for Regan.The Jones' family didn't have much materially, but they'd had no difficulty in sharing it with her. Unlike her home, where there were lots of material assets but no idea about sharing. In the Jones home, the furniture was old and rickety, she remembered with a grin, but it didn't seem to matter to them.
It had taken a while to get used to the racket the young sisters made, with their usual loud conversation, and even longer to get used to their teasing and bickering. She'd felt like a real member of a family when she realised that the Jones family teased each other all the time, and that they were teasing her as if she was one of them. For the first time in her life she felt wanted. By a family who were, in essence, just neighbours.
Probably what Regan liked the best, was the fact the Jones girls had taken her in and made her an honorary sibling. They taught her to grab life by the wheel and steer it. So she had learned how to handle things, in particular, to find a way circumvent her parents orders without ending up in a more difficult position. Being noisy was normal for the Jones family so Regan learned to be heard! Albeit not in front of her parent! That is wisdom, she smiled, she found sagacity! Amazing how a simple review of her blessings had Regan leaning forward and she turned the volume up on her mobile as Jenny's favourite song came on.
But that didn't drown out the sounds of footsteps. Footsteps getting closer. Regan frowned, wondering if she the music had interrupted someone's quiet interlude. At this time of the night, unlikely, she thought. No one would be out here at this time of the night. Only to see a silhouette. She was startled but she recognised her unexpected visitor. And Regan forgot her face had bruises and andthe fact she was out here, mainly because she didn't want him, or his family to see her face and her bruises.
"What are you doing here?" She asked her voice laced liberally with surprise.
"Looking for you." Gray stated bluntly. He studied her face and did his best not to wince. Bruisesand swelling. Her cheek looked discoloured, practically purple. He wanted to gather her up and carry her off somewhere safe where he could attend to her bruises. Then he wanted to wrap her up and keep her well away from any violence. And then kiss her to oblivion. Not sure about the order of those thoughts.
"Oh!" Puzzled she narrowed her gaze. She wondered if something had happened down at the farm. She hadn't seen Sam, or Loretta before she'd headed up here. She knew that Gray was out on a date. She hoped his grandfather and his sister were alright. Suddenly she started to worry. Something must have happened. Gray would not have come looking for her unless there was an emergency at home. She was about to scramble to her feet as she asked, "Is everything alright? Sam and Loretta ok? What happened? Do you need me back at the farm? Is everyone ok? What is wrong?" She glanced around quickly wondering if she should just leave everything and head back to the house instantly. She could collect the stuff tomorrow, just pick up the necessities for now. She reached for her torch and mobile.
"They are fine." He took two more steps, bringing him closer still. "Nothing is wrong. Everyone is fine." He continued to store images in his brain and processed the implications.
"Oh." She scowled and sank back down onto the rug. "So why are you here?" She looked up and saw he was studying her face. That reminded her of the state of her face. She hadn't thought about that. Too late to take avoidance measures. He came closer. "I thought you were out on a date this evening." She looked up at him. Of course he'd been out with Ms Hanley. In her mind she'd decided to address his girlfriend by her surname, that way it would help her deal with his relationship with Ms Hanley. Regan knew she'd have to find a better way to cope with that. She cannot continue to call her Ms, if Ms Hanley becomes a fixture at her home! She was sure that Gray and Ms Hanley were likely to be a couple soon, if they weren't already. So carrying a torch for him was not a productive way to go, and calling his girlfriend by her surname would rile him. Regan sighed. Just a shame she couldn't shake off her feelings for him.
"I was." His eyes fixed on her bruises, not sure how to go about broaching the subject of her face, and he wanted, desperately, to hold her close. He just needed time. Time with her, just to check that she was ok: Get his heart back into normal rhythm.
"Back early, aren't you?" She looked worried, wondered whether he was leading up to telling her something devastating. "Are you sure Sam is ok? What about Loretta? Has something happened at the farm?"
"No. They are fine. The farm is fine."
"Oh."
"Can I join you?" He knew that she was not someone who would take kindly to being wrapped in cotton wool, but he needed to make sure she was ok.
Regan shrugged. His behaviour was strange. Panicked. Alarmed. Concerned. Just as she knew he would if he saw her face. The violence in his recent life would have come rushing back, triggered by the damage to her face.
He said, "I came back..."
"Are you ok? You look upset." She asked gently.
"I should be asking you that." He replied as he stepped closer. "I saw you when you came to the restaurant."
"Oh. You saw me."
"Are you ok?" He asked gently. In the dusk he couldn't make out just how bad the bruises were. She nodded. He slowly lowered until he was kneeling on the rug, facing her. Now that he could see the damage to her face, he could see that it was her eye and her cheek that had borne the brunt of the attack on her face. "What happened to your face?" He hoped he sounded normal. But in his head his brain was screaming a demand for answers. Who had hurt her? When? Why?
She tried to placate. "It looks worse than it is." She hedged with her reply. She had brought her meal out here, partly because she was hoping to avoid the family for a few days. She expected the colour around her eye would go from black to yellow over a few days. And yellow could be camouflaged with makeup. She imagined the evidence of violence would remind them of that terrible time in their lives. So the best thing to do is for her to remain below their radar.
"What happened?" He asked quietly, his eyes taking detailed notes. His gaze swept over her face, and he found he was more than desperate to offer comfort. Even a simple hug. Within his arms, she would know she is safe and he would know that she was ok. He wanted to pull her into his arms and whisper that she was going to be alright. He remembered the time he spent in the hospital and how much it mattered hearing that he would be ok, and he remembered the comforting caresses.
Regan didn't know what to make of the tenderness in his voice. Obviously he wasn't going to let this go. But she gave it one last shot. "Nothing major."
"What happened?" He persisted and grimaced at her attempt to avoid telling him how she'd come to be sporting a black eye. Some of his concern evaporated. If she could argue with him, and trying to fob him off, perhaps things weren't as bad as he thought. He felt some of the tension ease out of his shoulders.
"Nothing really." She hedged. Her smile ghosted her lips as she recognised his return to the old Gray: Vexation had replaced tenderness.
Annoyed,he huffed, "Regan! Stop being difficult." Just because he wasn't alarmed anymore did not mean he was happy to see her sporting a black eye. And he wanted to know who had done this to her, and what had been done about them.