Chapter 38

By 2:30 that afternoon, peace and quiet had returned to the Caffrey household. Hope had invited Caitlin to tag along with her to the gallery, Sara and Mozzie had taken Liam to the hospital to visit Cody and Peter and Neal were finally catching up on the events of the last few days as they sat at the Caffreys' kitchen table, beer in hand.

'He's trying to look tough but he's scared, Neal' Peter said.

Neal raised an eyebrow before speaking. 'So am I.'

Peter's hand moved up to squeeze Neal's shoulder in solidarity. 'I get it, believe me. I don't want anything to happen to him either but I get the feeling he'll regret it if he gives these thugs a free pass.'

Neal stared down at the table, letting out a slow, labored breath. Ratting someone out, no matter what the circumstances, instantly put a giant bullseye on your back and even though he believed the attackers deserved to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law for what they'd done, he also knew that these kids might walk away with just a slap on the wrist and if they did, Liam and Cody would be looking over their shoulders for a very long time.

'High school is a very small world, Peter. If I encourage Liam to identify these guys and something ends up happening to him...' Neal said. '...This isn't like the perps we used to catch; these kids aren't going to end up being locked away in maximum security for the foreseeable future.'

Peter watched as Neal struggled with the best advice to give his son in this unusual situation. 'Anyway, I'm headed over to the hospital in a little while; Sara and I are going to talk it over with Cody's parents before the police show up' Neal added.

'I know it's not easy' Peter admitted '...and Liam was very lucky; Cody's in really bad shape.'

'Well, he's seen as an LGBT leader at school so...he's an easy target. Did I tell you, he and a friend of his founded the Gay Straight Alliance just last year? I think his positive influence had a lot to do with Liam standing up for himself and finally coming out' Neal admitted before growing quiet once again.

'It's not easy to see our kids feeling so vulnerable' Neal added as Peter listened. 'Sara and I just want Liam and Hope to be happy, no matter what but... being different... well, it just makes life a little harder, you know.'

'The world is changing, Neal...' Peter ventured. '...and Liam can be an important part of that change.'

Neal nodded and smiled; he was proud of Liam in everything he did and this was no different. He and Sara just needed to hear their son out, give him the support he deserved and not mollycoddle him at every turn.

'You never said how things went with your mom' Peter said, changing the subject.

'Wow... that seems like a lifetime ago with everything that's going on' Neal admitted as he thought back to the previous day.

His eyes met Peter's and the older man saw a glimmer of serenity he hadn't seen in his best friend's eyes in a long, long time.

'It wasn't at all what I expected. When we got there... when I first laid eyes on her... well, it hit me right in the face. Not just the anger but the hurt and... the vulnerability. I felt like I was six years old all over again and my instinct was to run away and hide. But I didn't want to give in to it, you know, so...' Neal let his voice trail as he recalled the see-saw of emotions he'd felt over the past twenty four hours.

'Then, this horrible rage came over me and I... I really let her have it. I told her all the horrible things I'd had to go through and how I hated her for not being there for me.'

'How did she react?' Peter asked.

'That's the thing. I expected her to try to rationalize what she'd done... you know, make excuses for her behavior... But she didn't. She... she just let me talk and talk and... the more I talked, the angrier I got and... the angrier I got, the bolder I became...'

Peter leaned in to listen.

'I went pretty far, Peter. Too far. I knew I was hurting her but in that moment, I really didn't care. It was like the floodgates opened and I couldn't hold any of it back. And she just sat there and took it all, every hurtful criticism, every angry reproach... and she never made any excuses.'

'That's because she knows she was wrong' Peter said, his voice intense.

Neal nodded. 'I guess...but it's human nature to want to strike back when someone attacks you and she didn't, she just sat there and let me come at her, over and over and over again...'

'That's what a loving mother does, I guess; put her child's feelings ahead of her own.' Peter remarked.

Peter's comment hit Neal like a ton of bricks and things suddenly became clearer in his mind. For all the selfish behavior his mom had exhibited while he was growing up, in this instance, she'd been selfless, encouraging him to express his anger without holding back. She'd somehow been able to temporarily set aside her own feelings of hurt and shame so that he could begin to heal. Neal became overcome with emotion at the realization; she'd given him a precious gift – release from the shackles of his anger and his resentment, the gift of letting go of all the bitterness that he'd buried deep inside for all those years.

He let out a small whimper and he looked up at Peter with a smile through tears of relief. He shook off the emotion and laughed as Peter observed the look of liberation in his best friend eyes.

'I'm really happy for you, Neal' Peter said with a kind smile. 'Really happy.'

WCWCWC

The gallery was particularly busy on this Friday afternoon and Caitlin watched in wonder as Hope moved seamlessly from one task to the next: tending to customers, wrapping up purchases, finalizing financial transactions and generally making sure everything ran smoothly. Caitlin admired the young woman for her in-depth knowledge of art and her easy-going way of interacting with the gallery's clientele.

By late afternoon, Hope asked Caitlin to help her carry a couple of paintings from the back room up to the second floor for display and the young girl watched in awe as the top floor came into view. The smaller floor plan made for a more intimate setting and the paintings which were displayed looked luminous under the skylight, up against a beautiful background of granite.

'Wow! What's on this floor?' she asked as Hope followed her up the stairs.

'This is just more... art' Hope answered, circumspect.

'This is beautiful!' Caitlin murmured as her eyes went from one framed piece to another. 'Are those two from the same artist?' she asked pointing to two pieces which were side by side.

'Yep' said Hope, smiling at herself.

'Who is it?' the girl asked, drawing nearer to better examine the painting.

'Just some local woman...' Hope answered dismissively as she began the job of putting up one of her dad's latest paintings.

Hope watched with amusement as Caitlin struggled to read the signature on the far right corner of the canvas, pulling away as she finally figured out who the artist was.

'You did this?' she asked, in amazement as Hope laughed out loud.

'This floor is for me and my dad to display some of our own stuff' she finally admitted. 'And sometimes, my aunt Emily sends us one of her pieces to put up for sale. I guess you could say this is the Ellis-Caffrey floor of the gallery.'

Caitlin wandered around the small space in pure admiration; she'd seen some of Neal and Hope's works in progress when she'd visited their studio at home but seeing everything displayed in such a beautiful setting with proper lighting made the pieces look incredible.

'What's this pedestal for?' she asked as her hand lingered on a small pedestal tucked in between two paintings.

'That's awaiting a special sculpture that isn't quite finished yet' Hope answered mysteriously.

'Wow! This place is really amazing!' Caitlin repeated.

'Well, if you play your cards right, I'll bring you in with me more often and I can teach you the ropes' Hope said.

'Really? You'd do that for me?' Caitlin asked. 'After everything I've done?'

'I said ...if you play cards right' Hope repeated as she winked.

She watched as Caitlin continued to admire the artwork; this kid was a royal pain in the ass and Hope couldn't quite figure out why, but she was starting to grow on her.

WCWCWC

Liam sat quietly by Cody's bedside watching him sleep. The young man was hooked up to several machines and an IV drip; lying there helplessly in his hospital bed, he looked so different from the lively, energetic person he normally was. Cody had been the first to pick up on Liam's ambivalence about his sexuality and he'd watched with interest as Liam had been drawn to him over time. Coming out had been relatively easy for Cody but he knew that not everyone had the same carefree experience and part of his role as president of the Gay Straight Alliance was to make sure everyone felt welcome in the club, whether they were gay or straight.

Liam had been struggling with what to do ever since the attack; wondering if it was better to speak up and identify the culprits to the police and school administration or just let it go in the hopes that there wouldn't be any further violence. Everyone at White Plains District High knew that if you made waves, you were branded a 'shit disturber' and that trouble would follow you; the unwritten code of conduct dictated that you just shut up and take your lumps if you didn't want to have a giant target on your back.

Yet, in the short time Liam had been hanging out with Cody, he'd learned the importance of standing up for who he was, regardless of the snickers or off-putting comments some people murmured behind his back. Being a young gay male in America was still a struggle for boys despite the many public education campaigns and countless sensitivity training seminars and being 'different' whether it was in terms of race, religion or sexuality was still painfully difficult for young people as they struggled with finding their place in the world.

Cody's eyes fluttered open and they came to rest on Liam as he sat there, hovering over him with a worried look in his eyes.

'Hey' he said, his voice barely a whisper.

Liam stood in order to get a little closer and he leaned in so he could better hear what Cody had to say.

'You're awake' Liam said, with what he hoped was an encouraging smile.

'Thanks for trying to stop him' Cody murmured, his voice slurred.

Liam's smile melted, thinking back to those horrible minutes when he was being held back by those two goons whose job it had been to keep him from interfering while they telegraphed their message of hate and intolerance to Cody and all he represented.

'I'm sorry' Liam said, softly, his eyes full of tears.

'No, don't be. You couldn't have stopped them' Cody responded with a weak smile.

'The police will be here soon' Liam said, worry in his voice.

'We have to speak out Liam...' Cody began as he started to fade. '...or they'll win...'

Liam watched as Cody's eyes closed once again and he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding back.

WCWCWC

Sara and Mozzie watched from just outside Cody's hospital room. The Millers had taken advantage of Liam's visit to take a short break; they'd been by their son's side since the night before without any respite and they were badly in need of stretching their legs and sitting down in front of a nice hot cup of coffee.

'Poor kid' Mozzie said as he peeked into the room. 'He really wants to do the right thing but he's not sure what the right thing is.'

Sara let out a long slow sigh. 'He says if he rats them out, they might retaliate' she said, her voice worried. 'I think he should just leave it alone; nothing is worth getting beaten up for.'

Her gaze had just returned to her son when the sound of her phone ringing in her purse startled her and she looked over at Mozzie, shrugging as she reached in to find it in her oversized bag.

'Hello?' she said, not recognizing the number on the display.

'Sara?' the soft voice came. 'It's Linda.'

'Linda! How are you feeling?' Sara asked, leaving Mozzie's side and moving to a quiet spot down the hallway.

'I'm fine, dear. They're running some more tests but I'm not in any pain. I'll probably leave the hospital by Monday' she said, sounding so very far away and so very fragile.

'Neal's been so upset. He feels responsible for you landing in hospital...' Sara began.

'No, no!' Linda interrupted. 'He mustn't feel that way. I haven't been well for awhile now. Please, please don't let him feel badly for me.'

Sara listened as her eyes filled with tears. For all the hurt this woman had caused Neal in the past, she was doing all she could to make up for her shortcomings; the question was, was it too little, too late?

'I have so much to thank you for, Sara. For bringing Neal back to me so I could see him one last time...' Linda said as she gave out a choked laugh. 'It wasn't what I'd call a loving reunion but I hope it gave him the chance to... to let go of some of his anger towards me.'

'It did' Sara answered straight away. 'It did him a lot of good to tell you what he'd been carrying around inside all this time but... Linda, Neal is a very caring man and... no matter what you might think, he does care about you.'

'I don't expect anything from him, Sara. I just want him to be able to let go of that hurt, that's all... I want him to be happy' Linda responded selflessly.

Sara could feel her mother-in-law teetering on the edge of tears.

'Look, the main reason I called was to thank you for the flowers. That was very thoughtful of you... and they're beautiful.' Now, Linda wasn't managing to keep her emotions in check quite so readily. 'I don't think anyone has ever sent me flowers before... in my whole life.'

Sara listened, puzzled at first; she hadn't sent any flowers... She flashed back to the night before when she'd found Neal sitting up in bed with the laptop open; credit card in his hand... If she told Linda that sending the flowers had been Neal's doing, the woman might read too much into it and she didn't want to cause her any more heartbreak than she'd already had.

'You're welcome' she answered simply.

'Thanks again for everything, Sara' the woman said, hesitating for a moment before continuing. 'I couldn't have asked for a better daughter-in-law.'

'You just take care of yourself, Linda' Sara responded as she swallowed hard.

Sara hung up, cradling the phone in her hand for a moment and wondering if that was the last time she'd ever hear Linda Bennett's voice.

TBC