Picking at her food slowly, Catherine sat across from Danny at their dinner table. Warm shadows were cast against the polished wooden furnishings in the dimly lighted area.
Catherine hardly paid attention as Danny talked about something related to his job, a deal he had closed that afternoon. Her thoughts were elsewhere.
She was thinking about Geoffrey's outburst and accusation earlier—"You killed them! You're a murderer." Even though the charge was so baseless and preposterous, it still lingered like a sour aftertaste. She was more uneasy with Geoffrey's assurance than with the charge. She could tell that he really did think so.
"Are you even listening to me?" Danny's voice interrupted her train of thought.
Catherine looked up and blinked. "Hmm?"
Danny's eyes narrowed. "You haven't even touched your meal. Is something wrong?"
Catherine briefly debated telling her husband the truth but quickly decided not to. Geoffrey's accusations were grave and it made her feel bad. Danny would feel worse if he knew. He might hate her nephew and things would become complicated. She decided to keep quiet and stick by her decision to take Geoffrey for a check-up the following week.
"Oh, nothing," she lied. "I'm just tired."
Unpersuaded, Danny examined her. His phone vibrated on the table as he opened his mouth to press further. An unsaved number appeared on the screen. It had previously rung when they were eating. Whoever it was had actually been calling nonstop for the past five minutes.
Catherine scowled, irritated by the continued intrusion of the call. "Aren't you going to answer that?"
Danny muted the phone with a sigh. "It's no one important."
As he was about to continue talking, the phone rang again. Catherine begged, "Danny, just answer the call, please. Whoever it is is obviously not stopping anytime soon; it's getting on my nerves."
Hesitantly, Danny picked up his phone and got to his feet, his chair making a scraping sound as he stood and excused himself. He said, "Give me a moment," and walked out of the room.
Catherine felt a knot tighten in her stomach as she watched him leave. Even though Danny was a private person, there was something….strange about his behavior. He had 'avoided' the call, not just ignored it. And why not answer in the room?
She dismissed the idea with a shake of her head. It was probably nothing to worry about. But her uneasiness persisted.
************************************************
Geoffrey was sitting by the indoor poolside at the Smith estate, his feet submerged in the refreshing water. Though his mind was restless, the rhythmic clatter of the tiles was calming.
Days had passed since he had last spoken with Lance. After promising to investigate the deaths of his parents, the lawyer has suddenly remained silent. No texts, no calls. He was not like that. After taking out his phone, Geoffrey attempted to call Lance once more.
His call went directly to voicemail like it had been doing since the previous day. He scowled and spoke to himself. "What on earth is happening?"
"You're brooding again, Mister," Tiana said, interrupting his thought as she emerged from behind, holding a few towels in her arm.
Geoffrey cocked his head in her direction. He could sense her presence without seeing her. It was always evident to him—in the soft lilt of her voice, in the subtle elegance of her movements. It felt unusual.
Tiana knelt next to him. "You know, if you keep frowning like that, you'll get wrinkles before you hit twenty, young master."
The evident mocking in her words made Geoffrey laugh. "Good thing I won't see them then, huh?"
After a moment, Tiana chuckled softly. "Fair point. Here are towels for you." She squatted beside him and placed the neatly folded towels in his lap.
Between them, there was a relaxed stillness. Tiana somehow made things... lighter, which was something Geoffrey had not anticipated. He just wanted her hired because she seemed different and hypocritical.
And she had proved him right within a short period. Unlike others, she didn't skirt around his blindness. She had no sympathy for him. She did not regard him as a tragedy but as a person. And there was her boldness to speak to him naturally, sometimes informally, like they were friends or something. It made him feel less lonely.
Tiana observed, "You've been distant today. It seems you're worried about something. Would I be prying if I asked what it is?"
Geoffrey let out a sigh. He paused, considering the most natural way to tell Tiana about his worry without revealing too much. He would have shut her question down entirely but he didn't want to hurt her feelings. After all, she was the only person who was truly concerned about him, without an ulterior motive.
"I've been trying to get in touch with my lawyer but he hasn't been available. I've called his office, his home, his cell but got nothing. It's very unlike him. I wonder what is going on."
Tiana's head cocked. "That's truly worrisome. Maybe he traveled. Or he has an emergency. I'm sure you would have heard news about him If something was wrong."
Geoffrey considered her words and she was right. If something was the matter with Lance Harrington, he'd have heard about it. Then why has he been unresponsive, though, leaving Geoffrey hanging by a thread? Sensing Tiana's expectant stare, he pulled himself from his thoughts. "You might be correct but I'm still worried."
Tiana was silent for a while. "He's probably just busy? I'm sure he'll get back to you soon."
Geoffrey nodded but his words showed that he wasn't convinced. "No. He's not usually like this. He's my family lawyer, I know him."
Tiana leaned back on her hands and let out a breath. "Well then….if you're that worried, you should do something about it."
Geoffrey responded, "I will," with a hint of resolve in his voice.
Tiana gave his arm a playful prod, which surprised him. That's more like it, boss. Sulking is not permitted here."
He held his arm where she had touched him, and his head darted this way and that, regretting that he could not see her face at that moment. Nevertheless, he grinned, "You're annoyingly optimistic." He said, masking his sadness.
"I try."
His face softened as he tilted his head in her direction. "Thanks, Tiana."
"For what?"
"For….everything."
Surprised, Tiana blinked. Geoffrey was not like the gossip she had heard from the other maids about him. He wasn't wicked or ill-tempered or rude or —the list of negative descriptions about him was almost endless. A tiny smile pulled at her lips. "Well, someone's got to make sure you don't drown in all this brooding. Otherwise, I won't get my next paycheck, would I?"
Geoffrey laughed. For the first time in days, he laughed.
Then Tiana got to her feet. "I'll be back," she stated and left before Geoffrey could inquire why. She came back a minute later, pressing something into his hands.
Geoffrey felt the thing with his hands and gasped. It was a book. A book in Braille.
"You've been working so hard on reading Braille," Tiana remarked. "I thought you might like something different from the boring training manuals."
Geoffrey swallowed. The gesture had a profound effect on him, though he wasn't sure why. "You got this for me?"
Tiana shrugged. "Well...yeah."
Geoffrey was stunned for a second. He had never had someone do anything like this for him before except his parents. He was a reserved boy before the tragedy, so he never had a lot of friends.
Besides, It didn't seem like did this out of obligation or sympathy. It was simply... considerate. His chest felt oddly constricted as he brushed his fingertips over the elevated spots.
"You okay?" Tiana inquired slowly, noticing the swirl of emotions passing across his cute face.
Geoffrey nodded. "Yes. Just a little... taken aback.
Tiana teased him, "I hope you don't weep though."
Geoffrey shook his head and laughed. "You're impossible."
"And yet, you haven't fired me yet."
"Not yet," Geoffrey replied teasingly. The moment between them dragged on while they sat there. Unspoken and new, something had changed in Geoffrey, courtesy of Tiana.
But even with his happy mood, his mind wandered to his family problem and Lance Harrington and he suspected more troubles coming his way.
The question was whether he could handle the storm that was brewing and strong enough to face the darkness that ruined his family.