Page 11 of Robin and Marian
As it was, Robin had only escaped with his forearm in a brace. Robin tested his left wrist as he waited for the guards to come collect him for his visitor. It ached, but it wasn’t broken—just a possible hairline fracture. He’d felt something rip after Mike the Shredder had taken a shank to him and stomped on his wrist. Most of the damage had happened when no one could get Robin the medical attention he needed. The area had needed to be secured first, plus the paperwork involved made the wait excruciating, but it could’ve been worse.
The literacy teacher they had saved was a do-gooder, one of those people who hadn’t experienced much of the world so he thought he could change it… until he saw it with his own two eyes. To the man’s credit, he had plugged away with his awkward and largely ineffective lessons for a few months, blithely unaware that Robin was using his silver tongue to keep the resentful inmates at bay. That had worked until the man had grown more sarcastic with the slower learners.
It had only been a matter of time before the inmates turned on him. The literacy teacher’s beating would’ve only meant longer sentences for the usual perps, except they’d all gotten the insane idea to take the man hostage. It would’ve meant the teacher’s death, Robin was sure of it. He’d had to act fast before the shooting started. Surprisingly, while Robin wrestled the man away, Tuck blocked the other inmates with a metal chair, scaring their attackers off with his mutterings. His friend had adopted the practice of confessing his sins aloud to the world—some of them he was in the act of doing—and his admissions of what he’d do to the others had terrified them all.
“A visitor?” Friar Tuck lifted his head as soon as the announcement connected to his brain. It was a habit with him. “We’re in solitary. They don’t allow visitors in SHU. Don’t do it, Robin. It’s a trick. You’re as good as dead.” Then he went back to tapping, leaving Robin a nervous wreck.
It was true people didn’t get visitors in solitary, but it wasn’t like anyone had asked Robin’s permission. If they had, he’d still go to discover who had risked his grandfather’s wrath to see him.
Eventually the door opened and Robin stretched to his feet, allowing the prison guards to shackle him then cuff him. It was unnecessary, especially with his arm in a brace, but it was regular procedure in this place. They led him to the closed visits room with a phone on each side of the Plexiglas. He lowered himself down on the chair in front of the desk and almost fell out when his grandfather sat down on the other side of him.
He could hardly believe it. Richard looked like he’d aged twenty years, not four. Other than that, not much had changed. His hair still stood on end; he wore a paisley scarf around his neck and a leisure suit that belonged to the 70’s. Robin scrambled for the dirty receiver. It was difficult with the cuffs, but he finally managed it. “I didn’t think I’d hear from you,” he said as soon as he got it to his mouth.
Richard didn’t answer at first, and Robin began to wonder how long he could endure the man’s grief-filled stares with those baby blues until the old man broke his silence with a grumbling voice. “I heard what you did.”
“Yeah?” Robin wasn’t sure what that was. Had Scarlett actually confessed or was it something else?
“It was all over the news. That kid you saved was the mayor’s son.”
Robin was surprised. For a lot of reasons.But he hadn’t thought word of his near-death experience would leave these walls. The one bright spot was that it had earned him a visit from his grandfather. He shrugged. “Well, good thing, because it didn’t win me any friends in here.”
His grandfather cleared his throat. “Look, I’m just going to say this once. What you did—to steal the money from our friends? That was something I thought I’d never see you do—you’ve always been a naughty kid—but the arrogance, the selfishness, the complete lack of concern for anyone or anything? I would’ve given you everything. You’d have earned it.” His voice broke. “But no, you had to take it all without any work, like it was all a game to you, and no one mattered.Ididn’t matter! And to say that you’d do it again? You have no idea what my reputation meant to me. You nearly killed me. It wouldn’t have hurt so much had it been anyone but you. I respected you, boy—I loved you!”
Loved?Robin’s breath caught in his throat. That sounded like a past thing. There was nothing he could say in the face of these accusations. “Is this what you wanted to tell me?”
Richard shook his head. “When I heard what you did about saving that boy, I thought… maybe you’d changed. But I want to hear it from you. Am I looking at a penitent man—have you changed, Robin?”
It would be another lie. Robin never would’ve stolen the money in the first place, but then again saying that this place had changed him? Yes—that was the truth—it had.Irreparably.Scarcely believing that his grandfather might be offering him an olive branch to get into his good graces again, Robin nodded. “Yes, I’ve changed.”
The older man’s shoulders relaxed at the admission. “I put some lawyers on your case, and they’re negotiating your parole. It’s been expedited because of what you’ve done in here. Everyone knows about it. That girl—the one who’s such good friends with your sister… Elinor’s niece—she wrote about it in theNew England Chronicle.”
His heart quickened. “Marian?”
“It’s all over the Twitter,” Richard said with an all-encompassing wave. “Even the President of the United States had something to say about it. I’m willing to put a good word in for you too.”
That was the last thing Robin had expected. Was this a pardon? And Marian had started the call? That was the most astonishing part. Just thinking of her made him feel the pull of freedom. What would it be like to not have to watch his back, and to have a comfortable bed, and fresh air?All the time. He remembered the feel of the breeze through his hair when he rode his motorcycle through the estate. And the horses? How would that be? To go where he felt like? And he could see Midge? He’d be ten now. What would he look like? What about Scarlett? Was she happy? If this was Marian’s doing, had she forgiven him?
Just as quickly as these thoughts came, another replaced them. If Robin left now, Tuck would feel the full brunt of their inmate’s wrath for turning against them. He wouldn’t last a day. Robin pulled back. “No,” he grumbled. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”
Richard’s blue eyes blazed under his heavy lids. “Why not?”
“Friar Tuck,” he said, and hesitated, realizing he’d just given away that he was back to his childish nicknames. No matter. “They’ll kill him. I can’t leave him behind.”
“Who?”
“Tucker Field,” Robin explained. “He’s religious, so I called him… Anyway, he helped me save that teacher’s life. I owe him. It’s not his fault his name isn’t as famous as mine. I’ve got to stay here and watch his back because the others will be after him.” Robin waited for his grandfather to accept his decision and leave like he had before.
But Richard settled back into his chair. “I should’ve fought harder for you. I’m sorry. I didn’t know how it was.” He sighed and gestured at Robin’s brace, trying for a lighter tone. “Did Tuck bust his arm in this too?”
Robin smirked. “Just his head, but I think it’s always been that way.” He readjusted the phone against his ear, enjoying this moment of just talking with his grandfather like everything was normal. “Who knows?” Robin said. “Maybe they’ll eventually knock some sense into the both of us.”
His grandfather’s face turned harder at the joke. “We’ll get him a lawyer too. I want you home for my retirement party in a month.”
Was it possible? Robin and Tuck could be out by then? It hurt to hope for it. Then what his grandfather was saying sank in. “You’re retiring?”
For the first time since seeing him, Richard broke into a genuine smile. “Did you think I had nothing left to retire on? King Enterprises has only grown since you’ve left—no matter your efforts to dismantle it. I think you’d be surprised what your sister and your cousin have done with their portions. Alan too—he’s a good sort. I’m leaving behind a successful empire and I’m going out in style. I’m holding a retirement party to beat all retirement parties. I’ll be having it during the May Day celebrations. You remember those?”
Yeah, he did. Sometimes those memories didn’t seem real. None of this did either.
