Just Out Of Reach
By Mary
See Chapter 1 for Disclaimers.
Chapter 2
Henry had been so distracted by his phone conversation with Charlie that he hadn't heard his name being called to ride the jousting steed. He promised Charlie they would talk when he got home and pocketed his phone. He hurried back to the center of the restaurant, only to see Betty already sitting atop the jousting steed. She looked nervous and scared, but Christina had given her thumbs up and she smiled.
He watched as the mechanical steed started up, slowly turning Betty this way and that. He heard the jeers from Nick Pepper and his buddies a few tables over and ignored them. Christina smiled as Betty held on for dear life. As Henry watched, he saw Nick throw a hard loaf at Betty and hit her square in the face. Betty screamed as the impact knocked her sideways off the steed. She clung to the pommel and dug in her heels. Christina and Henry both gasped as she was flung off the horse with only two seconds left to win the money. Henry's anger at Nick was offset by his concern for Betty.
"Oh my god, Betty! Are you ok?" Henry asked in alarm as he rushed up to the protective pad.
"I couldn't do it." Betty said softly as she passed out.
Henry could hear Nick Pepper and his pals high-fiving each other and laughing. Henry was filled with rage. How dare they laugh at her, he thought as he stormed over to the table.
"What's the matter with you? She could have been hurt!" Henry demanded.
"Whatever. Brace face jacked my yogurt." Nick said nastily.
Henry remembered the pushing and shoving that followed. Henry had never been so angry before. Even when the challenge was issued to settle the fight on the "log" Henry hadn't backed down. Not that Henry had been scared, but it had all seemed so surreal. Fighting someone for a lady's honor, something that was rare these days. But it wasn't Charlie's honor he was fighting for.
It was Betty's.
"Henry look, I know you believe in all this chivalry stuff, but you don't have to defend my honor." Betty told him.
Henry looked at her in surprise. Why would she think he wouldn't defend her honor?
"Yes. I do." Henry said firmly, picking up the cardboard crown. "Don't forget your crown." He finished as he placed the crown on top of her head.
This part of the evening is where it becomes a blur for Henry. He can remember getting up on the log with Nick, watching him twirl his "weapon" around like a pro. He can remember bits and pieces of the fight, landing a few blows to Nick and seeing Betty and Christina watching him on the side of the mat.
He dimly remembered the blow to the face that sent him off the log onto the mat. He felt himself falling and pulling himself into a ball as Nick pounded him in the face. Henry could hear someone yelling to "Stop" and "Stop Him" before things went cloudy in his mind. Henry remembered feeling someone, kneeling next to him and putting his glasses on. He felt the soft, warm fingertips of someone adjusting his glasses and wanting to know:
"Did I win?"
Henry felt a presence next to him on that mat, warm and comforting. He wanted to stay awake and find out who it was. He needed to thank the person and to see how Betty was. He didn't realize the blows to his face had cut under his eye and his lip, not to mention the slight concussion he was beginning to feel. All Henry knew now was before he had passed out, whoever was with him on that mat he had said something important to. Maybe it was a message to Betty. Maybe it was Betty herself. Henry tried desperately to pull the memory from the fog that surrounded it in his mind.
Sitting here in his cubicle, the memory eluded him. Henry slammed his hand on the desk in frustration. If he was going to find answers, he needed to talk to the people that were there. Henry headed out of his office to find Nick Pepper.