When Ray arrived to pick up Nathan for his community work Monday morning, he pulled up to the Summer Home earlier than usual. Turns out Sonya had given him a heads up before Peter called him to give the Sheriff the Cole's Notes version of what had happened at Sunday Dinner. Ray didn’t say much in response and was even quiet when he arrived the next morning to pick Nathan up for his service to the town. Nathan was up and ready to go at his usual time but had no idea how long Ray had been there, but he was speaking to both Sonya and Peter before leaving with the young man to do their work. As they sat there in the truck, Ray was quieter than any ride into town had ever been. Nathan didn't think much of it since it was Monday and the man likely just needed a good steaming cup of java to get back to his talkative self. Things seemed rather normal that was until Ray took a turn that went away from where they were supposed to be going. Nathan was a little confused but didn't think much of it. A few moments later Ray grabbed the mic under his dash and contacted the station.
“Tell deputy Johnson that Cheryl Adams is not working with Nathan today.” Ray barked into the radio. “Take her along with the two other punks to the park to pick up trash for the day.”
“Yes sir.” the radio replied. “What about Nathan Anderlini?”
“Nathan is sick today.” Ray answered, “And I’m calling it a day early, but will be one call. Do not disturb me unless someone is dead or dying. Is that Understood?”
There was a long pause. “Yes sir. Station out.”
Nathan had no idea what was going on and was beginning to worry a little since he told the station that he was home sick.
“Ray,” Nathan started, “What's going...”
Without warning, Ray slammed on the brakes and then slapped the truck into park. Had Nathan not been wearing his seat belt, he would have flown out of the windshield. After the truck came to a complete stop, Ray shot his hand out and clamped it over his passenger's mouth.
“You shut your fucking cake hole!” Ray screamed at the young man. “You are not to say a damn word unless you're spoken to. Is that understood?”
Even when asked a question, Nathan never said a word and nodded to acknowledge compliance.
“Good,” Ray said, as he started the truck back up and continued down the road to their destination. Nathan had no idea where they were going but he suspected that Ray's anger had something to do with the events that occurred the night before at the family dinner where a lot of personal stuff came out. Ray finally brought the truck to a stop and pulled the key from the ignition.
“Get out of the truck,” Ray barked, “Now!”
When Nathan got out of the truck, there was something massive in front of them that was almost impossible to ignore: a bridge. It was a really big bridge, capable of handling four lanes and some pretty busy traffic. There were no cars there, as it was run down and closed for repairs. Since Ray was a cop he was able to access the site anytime he wanted to. Ray wasn't in a patient mood as he shoved Nathan a few times, obviously wanting him to get on the bridge and get a good look for himself.
“Take a good look and let it all in,” Ray said with a tone of heavy sarcasm. “Why read about it in a crappy book written by a lying bitch in New York when you can come out here and see it for yourself.”
Nathan's heart sank when he hear those words come from Ray's mouth. He knew about the biography and had some choice words for the writer that the Sheriff clearly had no respect for.
“Look,” Nathan started to explain, “I was just doing research.”
“Well, that's funny.” Ray cracked back as he started to stroll down the bridge. “I was here on this bridge when it happened. Why would you take the word of a stranger who was never there over mine? I don't know about you son, but that is outright insulting.”
Nathan started walk behind Ray. “Is this really the bridge?”
“Yes, it is.” Ray confirmed, “This is where one of my most fearful nights as a cop every happened.”
“How out of it was Dad?” Nathan asked, “He said that he doesn’t remember very much of that night.”
“That's probably for the best.” Ray said as he walked over to the edge. “Cause the story that bitch in New York wrote was nothing compared to what it was really like up here.”
“What was it like up here?” Nathan asked.
Ray looked back at the young man, and he could tell that Nathan genuinely wanted to know what happened. There was no hostility nor resentment in his voice, but only curiosity.
“I'm not ready to talk about it, son.” Ray honestly confessed. “Not yet at least. When you’re older, maybe when you're married to someone you love more than you love yourself... we might talk about it. If I'm not ready to handle it, rest assured you are not ready to handle it too.”
“Alright,” Nathan said, “I understand.”
Nathan said as he walked closer to the edge. It was a lot higher than he imagined it would be, but there was no telling how high the river was. Down below that day there was nothing but sand and rock.
Ray looked back at Nathan and held out his hand. “The book.”
“Which one?” Nathan asked. He did have a few in his bag.
“You know which fucking one I'm talking about!” Ray said as his voice went from zero to seven in a few second. “Hand it over, now.”
Nathan hesitated for a moment, then did as he was told. He dug into his knapsack and pulled out the old softcover book and handed it over to the angry sheriff.
“What do you have against this lady?” Nathan asked.
“Wrong question, bub.” Ray said as he looked at the cover. “The real question should be what does this writer have against your father?”
“Wait, Dad used to know her?” Nathan asked.
“No, I did.” Ray replied as he never took his eyes off the book. “I was engaged to her for over a year. We broke up six months before we were supposed to get married. It wasn't a good breakup to say the least.”
“Oh, crap.” Nathan replied, “Does my Dad know about it?”
“Of course, he does.” Ray answered, “He was supposed to be my best man, but it was never meant to be. It was a real mess. Turns out your father saw Silvia hugging someone who wasn't me a little too lovingly and he accused over of cheating. Given his history with the issue, it was fair to say your Dad was a little sensitive about it.”
“Understatement of the century.” Nathan agreed.
“Well, this is where things got nasty.” Ray continued, “Two days later I dumped her and canceled the wedding. I told her I had evidence that she was being unfaithful and that we were finished.”
“You took Dad’s word over hers?” Nathan asked.
“No,” Ray answered, “Naturally she blamed your father for it even though the person she was hugging was not a person she was sleeping with.”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“So, you dumped her for no reason?” Nathan asked.
“Oh, I had good reason to dump her ass,” Ray explained, “What Peter and Silvia didn’t know is that her actual lover came to my station the day before and had already confessed to the affair. He said it was over and he would never do it again. As much as I respected the man for ending it and being up front, I was crushed. I could never trust her again, and that was no way to start a marriage. That's why I ended it. It had nothing to do with your father, but Silvia didn’t believe it and never hung around long enough for me to explain that to her.”
“Is that why she wrote this book?” Nathan asked.
“Some believe it is,” Ray answered, “Her revenge for ending her engagement even though what he saw wasn't why it ended in the first place. She was a reporter for the times, and she decided to do an authorized biography about my best friend who happened to be bestselling author J.P. Anderlini. All she had to do was talk to your mother, and a few people who partied with him during the dark days and that's all she needed to smear the crap out of him in the public eye. If someone said they saw your Dad do a little drugs, she expanded it to someone seeing him do a lot of drugs and pass out.”
Ray threw the book on the ground with utter disgust.
“This piece of trash was a smear campaign from cover to cover,” Ray barked, “I realize you're not smart enough to read between the lines, but this is not the man that I saw on that bridge and know because I was there. Your dad was intoxicated, but he was never high when he was up there. Yes, he was heartbroken and in a lot of pain, but he did the right thing when he came down and let me take him to the station. And in case you were wondering, the Sheriff at the time this incident occurred was my father. My old man taught me how to take care of our own, and to help people when they couldn't help themselves. Some people might call what my Dad did for Peter an abuse of power, but I call it compassion. It’s also called being decent to your fellow man and doing onto others as you want them to do to you. My father’s generosity and empathy for others helped made me the man I am today. I bust my ass just to be half the man he was, and sometimes it happens. Your Dad was a real mess from what happened between him and your mother, but it was no where near the mess that lying cunt painted it to be in that book. I mean seriously, Keith Richards?”
Nathan seemed to be pinned to the wall by his own words. “I guess that was a bit of an exaggeration. I'm sorry.”
“That’s good to hear,” Ray said, “But I'm not the one you have to apologize to.”
Ray picked the book up off the ground and angrily hurled it off the bridge with as much power as he could muster.
“How do you think I feel about that book?” Ray continued, “Someone tried to publicly humiliate your Dad in public because he tried to stand up for me. He was put through so much pain because he was trying to protect me. It wasn’t very fair.”
“That's what confuses me,” Nathan said as he started to pace around. “If what Silvia said was complete bullshit, then why didn’t Dad go out of his way to really exaggerate what Frank was going through with the breakup of his marriage?”
“That's why it's my favorite book.” Ray said, walking over. “Your father took this fake persona that was created by the dirt hungry media and turned it into one of his best characters ever. He used their own lies to propel himself and his career to even greater heights. It was like giving Silvia Snider and the rest of those bottom feeder a collective finger for trying to mess with your Dad.”
“Wow, that's quite impressive.” Nathan observed.
“It was brilliant and the people who believed her bullshit couldn't get enough of it. Hounds of Huntersville was the most successful book your father ever published. Like I said before, millions of copies and in several different languages.” Ray smiled for the first time that day, “I couldn't have been prouder of your father when he did that. He took what would have ended a many careers and turned it into liquid gold. It was like watching a goose shit a diamond egg instead of gold. Everyone was so shocked and impressed at the same time. It was also this time when your Dad stopped speaking with the media. At the time when his name was the most popular and everyone wanted to interview him, but he went underground. Not one book signing, or formal interviews have been given by Peter Anderlini since and that was his way of handling the media for nearly destroying him. He didn't need the press to sell books and hasn’t talked to a single reporter ever since.”
“Wow,” Nathan said as he stood there literally in shock. “I had no idea.”
“Well, you're young,” Ray reminded him, “The last time I checked you’re allowed to make a few mistakes. You are however still going to pay for them.”
“I don't like the sound of that.” Nathan said.
“Don't panic,” Ray corrected him, “I'm only going to expand your community service by three days, and I’m doing that to make sure your old man and Sonya don't think I'm going easy on you. What they don't know is that by doing this, you and Cheryl will finish your community service together on the same day. I'll also make sure I find something you two can do alone so you'll have some more one on one time.”
“Oh,” Nathan said, surprised to hear it. “Thanks?”
“You didn’t know what wounds you were reopening,” Ray explained, “And I’d like to think if you knew, you might have hesitated.”
“I would have,” Nathan insisted, “I’m sorry.”
“I know you are,” Ray said, slapping him on the arm. “But you need to find a way to make things better, soon rather than later.”
“Three days is alright,” Nathan added, “I deserve it.”
“You deserve a lot more!” Ray corrected him, “But I have a feeling you’re not going to do something like that ever again.”
“No, never.” Nathan confirmed.
“I’m also pretty sure you learned what unauthorized really means,” Ray continued as he started to walk back to the truck. “Let’s get back to the truck. We’ll get something to eat and take you home. You can resume your work tomorrow.”
After Nathan got back inside and put his seat belt on he turned to face his godfather. “Thanks for letting me in on the truth. I know some of it wasn't easy to talk about.”
“It wasn't,” Ray confirmed, “But letting someone walk around with only half the truth would have been a lot harder for me to swallow. The next time you need some truth in this world, try coming to me next time rather than a trashy reporter who could find the truth in the dark even if she had boots and a flashlight.”
“Alright,” Nathan replied, “I promise.”
“Don't hesitate to go to your old man either.” Ray said as he pulled out and started out. “He's a good man, and there’s no one else I’d rather have as my best friend. I also happen to know that man loves you with every fibre of his heart. He paid over twenty-five thousand dollars in legal fees trying to fight for your custody. I kept telling him that unless your mother was abusive or on drugs, which was not the case here, the judge would always side with the mother. Your Dad didn't care and paid dozens of lawyers an obscene amount of cash fight tooth and nail for your custody. He refused to let you go without a fight.”
“I had no idea.” Nathan said as he suddenly felt like the fool. While the were driving to the diner, Nathan decided to ask something with the hopes that their talks today would get him the truth.
“Ray,” He started, “What's wrong with my dad?”
Ray paused for a moment. “What do you mean?”
“He's not eating,” Nathan explained, “And he's not doing much around the house but write. Be honest with me. What is going on with my father?”
Ray took a deep sigh as he was fully aware of what kind of trouble he might be getting himself and Peter into. “He was diagnosed with cancer several months ago.”
Nathan couldn't believe what he was hearing. “Is he going be alright?”
“Yeah, we hope so.” Ray answered, keeping his eyes on the road. “Your Dad just went through another round of aggressive chemo. That's not real hair on his head. I'm honestly surprised you couldn't tell the difference.”
“What?” Nathan said, as he put his hand on his head and thought back about what had been going on the last few weeks. All the death and his mother's funeral, and all this time he had been undergoing treatments for cancer and no one was the wiser.
“Why didn't he tell anyone?” Nathan inquired.
“Privacy,” Ray replied. “We didn't want word of this to get out to those who might use it to attack him again. They’d try to make a media circus out of it, and it’d be a logistical public relations nightmare.”
“So, if treatment is going well, why is he writing a sequel?” Nathan asked. “From what I read he never does that.”
“I'm not entirely sure why he's writing this book,” Ray answered. “He's missed a few deadlines and his publisher is quite pissed. They have no idea what's going on so you can't blame them for being miffed.”
“Is that why you’ve been coming by so often?” Nathan asked, “Checking up on him and making sure he’s alright?”
“Something like that,” Ray confessed, “I’m just concerned.”
“So, now what?” Nathan asked.
“Tomorrow you're coming back to work but I'm going to give you the rest of today to put this to rest.” Ray answered, “You need make things right with your new family because that’s what they are: your family. You're stuck with them and that means you're stuck with me. Are we clear on that, kid?”
Ray pulled up to the diner, and parked close to the main door.
“Come on, let’s go.” Ray said, getting out of the truck.
“I’m not sure I deserve a free lunch,” Nathan observed, feeling bad.
“This is important,” Ray insisted, “While we wait for our sandwiches, you can practice that apology you’re going to give when you get home today. We’ll go over it a few times till you get it right. While we’re at it, we’ll grab your Dad’s favorite sandwich and bring it back with us. Hopefully he’ll eat some of it.”
“What is his favorite?” Nathan asked, as he honestly didn’t know.
“Roast beef with cheddar cheese and horse radish,” Ray said, as he held the door open for Nathan, “And we’re not going skimpy on the meat, because your old man needs as much protein as he can get.”
“Alright, sounds good!” Nathan said before going inside.
As Ray followed him inside he did so with a lighter chest as he was aware the young man had finally had a breakthrough. Regardless of what had happened since he had arrived, the young man was finally on the right path. After several more days working for the town and repaying his debt, Ray had a good feeling that Nathan and his father would finally be able to start over and catch up on lost time. The grumpy Sheriff just prayed that Peter had enough time left himself to see it through.