Hamilton pulled into his driveway to find Larry's car parked alongside the curb out front. The sun hovering just over the horizon was blocked out by the tall trees across the street and the hastily vanishing light cast a looming shadow over the neighborhood and the two individuals sharing an emotional discussion on the sidewalk next to the assistant district attorney's car.
Killing the engine to his own car, Hamilton heaved the heavy driver's side door open and slid out of the seat, keys in hand. Larry finally glanced over at him, but it was obvious he was preoccupied with handling an emotionally distraught Kathryn Burger. She was dressed to go out, likely with Larry, but those plans had come to a screeching halt in the wake of uncovered truths.
The shock to everyone involved was immense, particularly to Larry himself and Hamilton Burger, but Larry tried to remain focused and attentively caring to Katie. The bombshell that had landed on Larry earlier that day he had just had to 'regift' to the young woman who quite didn't know how to process it just yet. Larry wanted desperately to comfort Katie, but found himself unsure of how to do so in a way that also encouraged emotional and physical distance. They now had to learn a new normal; that of brother and sister.
Her father's presence finally registered on Katie and in a tearful plea, she turned to the one man she could count on for anything. "Dad? Please tell me it isn't true…"
Her father's grim expression was her answer and fresh tears welled up in her blue eyes. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. It's true. Larry and I just found out ourselves."
Unable to hear anymore, Katie wiped away her tears as fresh ones fell onto her cheeks and fled back toward the front door.
"Katie, wait!" Larry called after her though he wasn't sure what he would say if she actually stopped and turned back to him.
She didn't and an awkward silence loomed in the warm dusk air between the two men as they watched their daughter and sister vanish into Hamilton's beautiful house.
Katie's extreme reaction filled her father with foreboding. How long had this… whatever it was… been going on between Katie and Larry? In most other cases, Hamilton would have considered the personal relationship of two people to be absolutely none of his business, but this was an extreme situation and these were his children who had just had their world turned upside down. He ached to know the emotional damage that had been wrought this day and yet he dreaded the answer at the same time.
Revulsion filled the district attorney as he summoned the strength to pry into Larry and Katie's personal business.
"Larry…," he began. Hamilton felt lost. For decades he'd grilled witnesses on the stand, often prying into their personal lives and uncovering private business that should never have to be disclosed publically; and though it made him uncomfortable and apologetic at times, this was the first time such prying actually made him feel sick to his stomach.
"Son…," he tried again, testing the waters. He wanted to show Larry that he was fully accepting of the fact that the young man was his son. "I don't wish to pry, but I need to know how long and far this has gone on between you and Katie… I need to know the extent of the damage both to her and to you."
"If you're asking if she and I have been intimate, the answer is no. We'd only been out together a few times. We were supposed to go out again tonight, but…," an exhale of frustration escaped the young man. "I'll be alright, Mr. Bur-, er, dad… It's Katie I'm concerned about. She admitted feelings for me a few weeks ago and apparently she's felt that way for some time. The adjustment will be more difficult for her because she's basically had her heart broken by this."
Larry looked away from Hamilton. Calling him 'dad' had been felt strange. His entire life he'd believed that George Germaine was his biological father. Certainly the man had been his father in every other way that mattered, but Larry couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like to have been raised by Hamilton Burger. At least the question of where he'd inherited his red hair had finally been answered.
For Hamilton Burger, Larry's reply brought mixed emotions. Relief flooded the older man that the two hadn't shared anything more than a few dinners out together, but it pained him that Katie was secluded in her bedroom upstairs experiencing a special sort of pain that eventually everyone endured and no one else could take on for them.
"I apologize if I interfered. I… felt that Katie deserved an apology and an explanation in person about why I canceled our plans for tonight." Larry dug into his coat pocket for his car keys and fidgeted with them as he looked anywhere but at Hamilton Burger. "Look, I know we need to talk about this as well, but I know Katie needs you right now so I think it's best if I headed home for the night. I promise we'll talk about it all soon."
Hamilton nodded, though his expression was one of grave concern. "Alright, but I'm going to hold you to that."
"I promise," Larry grinned. "If I don't, you can put me on the stand and cross examine me."
"That's my boy," Hamilton said, returning the grin. "Now go on and get out of here and try to get some sleep."
Hamilton hung back in the driveway for a moment, watching as Larry's car drove out of sight. With a heavy sigh and an equally heavy heart, he glanced up at his house and reluctantly made his way to the door. Nearly any other night he would have been delighted to see his front door and his beautiful family. Now it yawned before him with unhappy tasks.
The antics of a younger, less restrained Hamilton Burger were now catching up with the older, wiser version and the hens were coming home to roost.