KING'S BAY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
Maggie peers over Andy's shoulder
and out the window. The night, now black, is lit by the windows of the
hospital and the city beyond it. Neon signs and streetlights stand out
against the dark canvas, portraying a city in which life goes on as usual,
nothing out of the ordinary.
But she can see Andy's reflection
in the glass, too. His face betrays the shock of the night, the terror
that has turned his world upside-down. Something appears different about
him to Maggie ... it's the way he looked on New Year's Eve, multiplied
by ten. He is all pain and utter desperation, hardly showing any trace
of the man to whom she returned a few days ago.
She spies another reflection appear
behind them in the window. Andy sees it, too.
"Mother," he calls out in a ragged
breath, turning and rushing for Katherine.
"Are you all right?" he asks, looking
her up and down.
"I'm absolutely fine," she says.
"How is your friend?"
"We're still waiting to hear."
She lowers her head. "I'm sorry,
Andrew. I'll be praying for him."
"Thank you." Andy brings his hands
to his hips and they fiddle with his belt for a moment as he gazes off
at the wall. "Have you had a chance to think about what we discussed earlier?"
he asks at last.
"That's what I was doing in the guest
bedroom when I noticed the fire. I was trying to sort through everything
... Those were some rather serious accusations you tossed out."
"We weren't making them up! They're
not excuses, Mother -- they're the reasons I want to get you away from
Nick."
She casts her eyes downward. "I can
understand that. But tonight -- that fire happened for a reason, Andrew.
We may have lost our home, I know that. But perhaps it was a test of sorts."
"A test?"
"Of Nick. Of our marriage. I was
trapped in that room. I was shouting to him, begging him to save himself
and Ryan, and not worry about me. But he came for me! He risked his life
to get me out of there."
The point of what she is saying moves
in on Andy slowly, but when it finally hits, it punches him right in the
gut. His eyes widen with horror. "No, Mother--"
"He loves me," Katherine says with
a calmness, a control, that Andy finds a little strange. "And that is why
I married him. I know I need to discuss what you told me tonight with him,
but it sounds as though it is in the past."
"No! He's dangerous! He's a threat
to you, don't you see that?"
"Honestly," she says, taking in a
deep breath and then releasing it, "no. Not after the way he saved me tonight."
"I'm not necessarily questioning
the fact that he cares for you," Andy shoots back, unable to use the word
'love' in this context. "I'm saying that his lifestyle is dangerous! And
his interest in your money should show you what kind of man he is."
Her response comes back so quickly
that it's apparent she has been mulling over the point all night. "If my
money were so important to him, why did he save me? I had my will changed
to include him and he knows that. If he had let me die tonight -- as he
could have, perhaps without a touch of suspicion -- he would have inherited
more money than he'd be able to bilk out of me as you allege he's trying
to do."
She can see that Andy was unprepared
for that point. He is still struggling to produce a counter-argument when
Nick enters the waiting area.
"Now if you'll excuse me," Katherine
says, "I'm going to be leaving with my husband now. I'll phone you in the
morning to ask about Mr. Taylor. And I will be praying for him."
She moves off to Nick, taking his
arm and exiting without allowing herself another glance back at her son.
Andy looks immediately back to Maggie,
who has been standing by the window as the scene unfolded. To her, he looks
as though his insides have been ripped open by this final blow of the night.
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