Page 102 of Devious Gambit

She made a that growling sound at the back of her throat that always annoyed me, until I realized that I did it myself. “Breaking into a man’s house-”

“-An art thief’s house. Do you know how much that Klimt was worth that Heinrich stole?”

“No, but I guess you’re going to tell me.”

“One hundred and fifty million. One and hundred and fifty million, mom.”

“I heard you the first time and that’s a lot of money. Hun, he killed three men and ran like a coward, refusing to face up to his mistake. You just have ridiculous romantic notions about things, Rhys. But I will say this about you father, he never once missed your birthday and when the police finally caught him, he consistently sent you letters, even when he received no reply.”

“He was reaching out to me and you blocked him.”

“You were too young, Rhys. I wanted to protect you, so I changed your surname to my maiden name and acted like he didn’t exist, until you started asking questions.”

“And you told me you didn’t know where he was.”

“Well, I guess, I was trying to protect you, until you were ready for the truth. Hun, this man is no hero, so don’t start putting him on a pedestal or glossing over the facts. He’s a murderer. Plain and simple.”

“Of a professional thief.”

“And two other men.”

“His accomplices.”

“Who have family and kids who won’t see their daddy ever again.”

“Okay, you win.”

She paused to sip some liquid. “You’re nothing like him, Rhys, if that’s what you’re really worried about. You’re sweet and kind and honest. A good, hard-working person who’s really smart.”

“Maybe I’m more like him than you think. I mean, he is my father.”

“I think you’re more like his sister than him. Now, she was a good soul. I liked her. Him, not so much.”

“You liked him enough to have a kid with him,” I reminded her.

“True. I quickly came to my senses, though.”

“Anyway I got to go,” I told her.

Once I clicked off with mom, feeling utterly dissatisfied, I finished off writing my letter, slid it in an envelope and made my way to class. There was a post box in University Square and I planned to drop it off there.

The sky was beautifully clear and blue like an ocean when I stepped back out of the hall. I thought I’d sit outside on my favorite bench in the university gardens to read before my next class. It was late January and I could almost feel Spring in the air, or maybe it was my imagination. The trees were still sleeping sticks without leaves and flowering bulbs remained tucked in the ground. I breathed in the icy air, letting it caress my lungs as I slouched down in the seat and tipped my head back to gaze up at the blue sky. There was only one white cloud in the entire vista of blue that I swore was in the shape of a kangaroo. I stared at the floating kangaroo as it sailed along the beautiful blue, reshaping into the head of Elvis, and then flattened out into a canoe.

I startled when the bench jolted from a body sitting down next to me. I didn’t need to look at him to know who it was, as my senses were riveted by his citrus cologne and my heart beat like hummingbird wings. He leaned back as I did and gazed up at the beautiful sky, saying nothing. We were like this for several minutes as I fought the yearning to rest my head on his shoulder.

The silence was shattered when he began reciting, “I am the way into the city of woe, I am the way into eternal pain…” I smiled as he spoke and recited the last line with him, “I am the way to go among the lost.”

“You memorized a piece of Dante?”

“For you.”

I was flummoxed and struggling to find words to fit the moment, so I remained quiet, soaking in his body heat. We stayed silent until…

“Tell me what to do, Rhys,” he uttered. “Tell me what to do to make it right.”

I heard people walking by crunching through the snow and I couldn’t think of single thing to say.

Mr. Ed continued, “Do you want me to read you poetry every night? I’ll do it. Get down on a bended knee and apologize a million times over? I’ll do it. Take you to see Michelangelo’s David for real? I’ll do it. Tell me, Rhys. Tell me what to do.”

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