The next day, Holly was tending to her fields when she heard her footsteps approaching her. She looked up to find Ford standing there with a cup of coffee and a pastry. He held them out to her quietly.
"What is this?" she asked curiously.
Ford crossed his arms and looked down nervously, "Consider it a peace offering," he said, "I am sorry that I ruined our lunch together yesterday."
Holly smiled and took a bite of her muffin. With a mouth full of food, she mumbled, "I graciously accept this humble offering."
Ford's face cringed momentarily which made her laugh. She swallowed her food and continued, "I forgive you. But, I would like to know what happened yesterday."
Ford swallowed hard, he knew this was coming, but he still wasn't ready for it. To her surprise, Ford sat next to her in the field and explained, "I grew up in a dysfunctional family. My mother was a compulsive hoarder and an alcoholic. My father was also an alcoholic, among other things…Let's just say he had a lot of problems. Their demons eventually led to a nasty divorce. I ended up living with my mother, while my father lived with any woman who would give him a place to sleep."
Ford paused for a moment before continuing, "One night, my mother fell asleep with a candle lit. I'm not sure what happened, but something knocked the candle over, lighting the drapes, and eventually the whole house on fire. I managed to escape, but my mother was trapped within her own filth. She died in the fire. Ever since that night, I had to take medication for post-traumatic stress disorder. It helps most of the time… But, I every now and then I have nightmares of that night. That's what happened yesterday…When you left, it woke me from my living nightmare."
Holly gasped in shock, "I am so sorry Ford. I didn't know."
"It's not your fault. But, it is hard for me to talk about my family. Besides you, Wayne is the only one who knows about my past. So, I would appreciate it if we didn't bring this up again," Ford asked.
Holly placed her head on his shoulder and said, "As you wish."
…
Things turned back to normal between Holly and Ford. With several weeks hard work, Holly managed to save up enough money to add on a kitchen to her home. However, she didn't want to ask Ludus for his help.
She suddenly felt someone sit on the couch next to her and looked up to see Ford holding two cups of tea. She smiled half heartedly and decided to ask, "Ford, do you know of any good carpenters around here?"
Ford knew why she was asking but didn't really have an answer for her. He shook his head, "No, Ludus is the only one that I know of." He paused for a moment and continued, "I know you don't want to give the creep business after he hurt you, but would it help if I came with you?"
Holly thought for a moment and shook her head, "No, I would rather you stay here in case of any medical emergencies."
"Holly, I don't want you to go alone," Ford said authoritatively.
Holly shook her head, "I won't be. I will ask Uncle Hector to come."
Ford was satisfied with her decision, so he let it go.
…
The next day, Hector and Holly headed into Lulukoko. It was a beautiful city, but Holly's heart was filled with dread at the thought of meeting with Ludus. Part of her wanted to just turn back. But, she knew that her Uncle Hector was there, so why was she so hesitant? They arrived at Ludus's business and waited patiently to be helped. Ludus approached her with a look in his eye of a predator stalking his prey. "Well, what do we have here princess? I knew you would come back to me."
"Save your crap Ludus. I just came by to pay to get my kitchen expanded." Holly said.
Holly placed the money down in front of Ludus. Ludus frowned and said, "That is not enough."
"That is what we agreed upon." Holly argued.
Ludus countered, "Then, let's strike a new deal. I will accept this price for the expansion, if you go out to dinner with me."
Uncle Hector saw that Holly was about to lose temper, so he intervened, "How about you give my niece the price you originally agreed upon, or I will snap your arm like a twig?"
Ludus rolled his eyes and said, "Fine."
…
When Holly got back home, it was late. She walked towards the Garden Grill, hoping that there would be enough time to get a plate to go. But, before she passed the post office, she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She whipped her head around fearfully, only to discover Ford.
"Ford, you scared the crap out of me," Holly stated.
Ford apologized, and said, "You look like you were headed towards the Garden Grill. Why don't you have dinner with me instead."
Holly was exhausted, so she nodded and followed him up to his apartment above the clinic.
Holly sat at the table while Ford finished chopping fresh tomatoes for their salads. "How did the meeting with Ludas go?" Ford asked.
Holly groaned, "I don't even want to talk about it."
Ford rubbed his temples to relieve some of the pent-up stress. He then said without further thought, "Holly, why don't you stay here for a few days while your home is being renovated?"
"Why would I do that?" Holly asked.
Ford was dumbfounded by the question and quickly fumbled for an answer, "Well… construction work can throw up a lot of dust which can be harmful to your lungs, and your chances of having an accident skyrocket..." Though the truth was, he didn't trust Ludus being alone with her.
Holly thought about it for a minute and asked, "Where will I sleep?"
"You can sleep in my room. I will sleep on a cot downstairs," He explained.
Holly nodded. All his reasoning seemed practical, so she agreed. "Sure, thank you for helping me Ford. You're a true friend."
Ford smiled halfheartedly because, he was starting to think that he wanted to be more than a friend. But, how could he tell her that.
…
The next day, Ford was walking through town when he saw Hector on a horse coming towards him. From the expression on his face, he instantly knew that something happened.
"What's wrong," He asked Hector.
Hector responded, "It's Ludus, he got stuck in one of his own traps."
Ford grabbed all the supplies that he needed and got on the horse with him. They found Ludus laying near a tree by the crossroads.
Ludus screamed at Hector, "I told you to get a doctor, not this jerk."
"And, Ford told you to take down all those animal traps, yet here we are. Right now, he is currently the only doctor available. So, would you prefer to let him look at your leg, or would you like to bleed to death," Hector questioned. Ford opened Ludus's tool chest and handed hector a screwdriver. Since Hector was there to assist with holly, he knew what Ford needed him to do.
Ludas keeled over in pain, "Oh God it hurts…"
Ford placed two fingers on his neck and felt his heart racing. He looked down at Hector to see the first screw was out. Ford dug through his case for a pair of scissors, to cut off the fabric near his foot. This time, he was prepared with the alcohol, surgical equipment, and bandages.
Once Ludus was fixed enough to move, Hector and Ford helped him into the back of a wagon and brought him back to the clinic.
Ford grabbed some medicine to help with the pain. As he was fixing some tea, Ludus asked, "Why are you doing this?"
"You need something to wash the pill down," Ford replied.
Ludus shook his head and said, "No, I mean, why are you helping me?"
Ford sat the tray with the tea and pills on Ludus's lap and answered, "I may not particularly care for you, but as a doctor it would be wrong for me to reject a patient in need. The truth is, I would help you even if you were a serial killer. My job is to take care of people, not to pass judgement."
Ludus became quiet for a moment and said, "You're not such a bad guy… you know, when you're not going after my girl… I think I misjudged you."
Ford smirked and replied, "Don't worry about it," he then grabbed his brief case and continued, "We can talk about it after I have lunch with Holly."