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This is an answer to Janice's Ray K picture challenge. It
hit me this morning while I was trying to get motivated to enter data
into LibraryWorld for a project that's due on Wednesday (don't ask or
you'll be putting yourself through my horror). When I originally
planned on doing this story, Ray was actually going to be *IN* it!
Oh, well, I hope you all enjoy it anyway. This one is dedicated to
Janice and Amanda. Anyway, on with the story...
Disclaimer: Alliance owns half of the characters and the DS universe. The other half of the characters and the story content are mine.
The Picture
by Tanya Reed
Going to a bar was a new thing for him, and as Adam Norton stood in the threshold of John's Pub, he almost turned around to go home. The bar was crowded and noisy, full of cigarette smoke and loud drunks. For a moment he couldn't remember why he had come and the urge to leave almost overpowered him.
Then he remembered the friend he was supposed to meet here and pushed himself through the almost tangible barrier in the doorway. He squinted, trying to spy Chad through the dark smoke. Why he had wanted to celebrate his new promotion in a place like this was instead of somewhere nice was beyond Adam. He just hoped Sally wouldn't smell the smoke on his clothes.
Nervously, Adam turned the ring on his left hand, wondering what his wife would have thought of John's Pub. He slowly walked to the bar, still looking around for Chad. His friend was bound to find him eventually if he found a place to remain stationary.
As he sat, Adam noticed the woman in the seat beside him. She was very pretty, with shoulder length blond hair and clear blue eyes. She looked way too classy for a place like this, and even if she hadn't been dressed in Versacci, he would have known she had money.
It wasn't her looks that drew him in, however, it was the look on her face. Adam didn't think he'd ever actually seen the personification of a broken heart before. Her eyes were pools of pain that even the amount of alcohol she had already consumed couldn't wash away. There was a brokeness to her expression that made him think of his daughter when her grandfather died.
Adam caught all of this in the glance she threw him before turning back to the Scotch she was nursing. His heart immediately went out to her. She looked so sad and lost.
"Hello," he said softly, aware that women alone were sometimes timid of men in bars.
She glanced at him again, searching his face. Eventually, she replied, "Hello."
Encouraged, he continued, "My name's Adam, I've come to meet a friend."
"Stella," she told him, taking a drink, "I'm here to wallow in my own self pity."
"I could tell that about you."
"Yeah, well it's no secret."
Her voice was bitter, and hard lines showed around her mouth. Adam found himself wanting to comfort her.
"Want to talk about it?" Adam couldn't help himself. Despite the fact that he was here to meet Chad, something about the woman called to him. He could feel her sadness and wanted to make it better. What Sally would think of this never even entered his mind.
At first, he thought she wasn't going to answer. It looked as if she would turn away, but then she spoke.
"A picture can be a powerful thing." Puzzled, he frowned, wondering what she was getting at, but was silent until she continued, "Just look at me. Look at me!" She shook her head and took another sip. "Yesterday, I was in court putting away a serial killer; today I'm here trying to drown myself with Scotch. A big difference, huh? And it's all because of this."
Stella reached into her white handbag and drew out an envelope. This she opened and, with trembling fingers, took something from it. Adam took it from her gently, turning it over so he could see the image that had devestated her.
It was a simple picture, one that should have produced joy not sorrow; it was a picture of a man and a child. The man was small with uncontrollable blond hair and a look of wonder on his face. The child was young, fitting perfectly into the man's hands. Adam could instinctively tell that the baby was the man's entire universe, and he could remember feeling that kind of joy.
"Your husband?"
Stella had been brooding as Adam studied the picture. Her attention turned back to him with an almost audible snap. His words seemed to have stabbed her because those blue eyes filled with tears.
"Once." The word was unsteady, and Adam was immediately sorry.
"So, this is not..."
"Not my child, no. I didn't want children. I didn't even want Ray..."
She trailed off and pushed the rest of the envelope's contents towards him. He took them gingerly, noting that the handwriting was messy and the stamp was Canadian.
There were two more things in the envelope--a letter and another picture. He looked to her for permission and Stella nodded, unable to speak.
The script in the letter was no neater than that on the envelope. It opened plainly with 'hi, Stell', but the nickname implied some sort of affection. The contents were as simple as the picture had been, one friend talking to another. It had normal, every day things to show that they hadn't spoken in awhile, and when it came to the part about the child, happiness shown through. It ended with a paragraph that Adam knew had cut Stella to the bone--if it hadn't, she wouldn't have be there.
"You were right, Stella. Things do work out for the best. Us together was only sad. Now I'm happy and you're happy. I know now that being the wife of a cop and the mother of a bunch of kids could never satisfy you. Your career meant too much. Me and Josy are a match. She loves kids like I do, and you should see the way she looks at Joy. Me and you, we weren't good for each other, but maybe we can make it as friends. I understand you better now, and all I can say is thanks for knowing what was best for us. "
Looking at Stella again, Adam suddenly knew what had happened. She had pushed this man, this Ray, away again and again, convincing both him and herself that she did not want what he had to offer. When she received the picture, her illusions had crumbled into dust and the knowledge that what was in the picture wasn't hers had crushed her.
Stella didn't look at Adam this time. Her eyes were staring into the mirror hanging behind the bar. Turning back to the envelope, Adam took out the second picture. Three faces smiled back at him, two adults and one child. Ray, Josy, and Joy. Ray's new wife was pretty but in a different way than Stella. Where the lawyer put off a quiet, stand offish elegance, he could tell Josy's beauty came mostly from an inner joy and love of life. Where Stella was blond, Josy was dark, and Adam could see no similarities in the two women that Ray loved.
As if it were treasure, Adam put everything back into the envelope. Then he placed it back into Stella's pale, shaking hand. She did not seem to notice, as she was still staring at the woman in the mirror with the mussed hair, drawn face, and haunted eyes.
"You'll get through this, Stella," he said gently to a woman who didn't even hear.
Suddenly, he was startled by a hand on his shoulder.
"Adam?"
Turning, he saw Chad's smiling face. It was such a contrast to Stella's misery that at first he didn't even recognize him.
"Hey, buddy, are you okay?"
Blinking, Adam found his voice and said, "Yeah, sure. Where've you been?"
"I had to work late. Have you been waiting long?"
"Not long."
Adam got up from the bar, saying good bye to Stella. She never acknowledged it, and he walked away shaking his head.
"Who was that?"
"Just a woman who got what she wanted, only to find out it wasn't really what she wanted after all."
This earned him a strange look, though Chad didn't ask for clarification. Instead, he changed the subject and started talking about his new job. As they sat, Adam listened half heartedly, his mind still on the woman at the bar. He didn't think he'd ever be able to forget her, and when he got home he planned on telling her story to Sally. Then he would go in and kiss every one of his children good night. He was a lucky man, Stella had shown him that, and he hoped that he would remember it for the rest of his life.