"Quest."
"Renquist."
The two men faced each other again. Around them, the crowds of the annual Rockport Christmas Festival surged and ebbed. Those people close enough to hear the exchange moved back carefully. The antagonism between the two men crackled.
"She says she won't marry me," Renquist said bitterly. "It's your doing, isn't it? You told her to tell me no."
"I don't tell Barbara to do anything," Benton replied tightly. "I made sure she knew how I felt about her, but what she decided to do was her choice, not mine."
"This place is bleeding her dry," Renquist retorted furiously. "She's exhausted and not thinking clearly! The people here give her no peace. They work her to death, and they don't even pay her what she's worth. Damn you, Quest, I love her. I've loved her since we were in school together! I'd care for her and cherish her and see to it that people don't take advantage of her. I'd give her everything she could ever possibly want."
Behind him, Benton could feel the crowd gelling and a low, angry murmur rippled through them. "You really don't get it, do you?" Benton said coldly. "She already has everything she wants . . . everything she's ever wanted. Money doesn't drive her, Renquist. It never has. She chose medicine as a career because people matter to her . . . particularly the people in this community. You take that away from her and you'll destroy her!" Renquist made an angry sound of denial, but before he could retort, Benton continued. "You also say they don't pay her what she's worth. What you don't understand is that a good part of the payment she receives for her services is the satisfaction she gets from helping the people who cared for her as she was growing up. That's something you could never give her."
"And you can," Renquist sneered.
"No, I can't give it to her either. That's something she gives herself." Benton replied. "What I can do is recognize and honor what's important to her. I'll never try to take it away or jeer at her for her concern. These people matter to me, too, Renquist. That we do have in common."
A stirring around them broke the tableau between the two men, and they both turned as the crowd of spectators broke like the parting of the Red Sea to allow Barbara through.
"What's going on here?" she demanded.
"Nothing," Benton said. "Renquist was just saying goodbye."
Barbara's angry gaze raked him and then turned to the other man. "Well?" she barked.
"Just wanted to have a few words with Quest," he replied, struggling to sound pleasant. Turning back to Benton he said, "I won't keep you any longer. Just wanted to say congratulations. It would seem that the best man has won."
Benton chose to ignore the heavy note of sarcasm in his tone. "Thank you," he said neutrally. "I appreciate the sentiment." The look he gave the man said he knew exactly what Renquist had meant.
With that, Renquist turned and pushed his way through the crowd toward the exit. No one moved until the door had slammed shut behind him. Then Barbara turned back to Benton again. "Were the two of you about to cause a scene?" asked him sternly.
Benton glanced around the crowd and saw that many of them were grinning openly. One man even gave him a clear thumbs-up. Putting an arm around her waist, he pulled her snuggly against his side and smiled down at her impishly. "Now, would I do something like that?"
Muffled laughter around them caused Barbara to roll her eyes expressively, but she just shook her head and replied, "You are positively hopeless."
"I know. I'm sorry," he said repentantly. That caused her to laugh. Still holding her, they began to move through the crowd toward the stage at the far end of the room where Race and Estella were holding seats for them. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask you something."
She looked up at him questioningly. "What?"
"What would it take for me to convince you to sit for a portrait?"
©2000, 2003 Debbie Kluge
DISCLAIMER: The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest and all characters, logos, and likenesses therein, are trademarks of and copyrighted by Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc., and Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc., a Turner company. No copyright infringement is intended by their use in this story. All other material, copyright 2000, 2003 by Deborah A. Kluge. All rights reserved. Characters and stories are in no way affiliated with, approved of or endorsed by Hanna Barbera or Turner Productions. This is created by a fan for other fans out of love and respect for the show, and is strictly a non-profit endeavor.