Neal stayed in the hospital for another day before being given the all clear to complete his recuperation at home. Mozzie took him to stay in Sunday, the grandest of his off-the-grid residences. June had his clothes and art supplies boxed up and Sally collected them in her vintage VW camper. He had surprisingly few possessions for all his four years in the city. June was more than happy to have him keep Byron's clothes that she had had tailored to fit him. It made her happy to think that they would still be worn, although not perhaps so much, given Neal's new locale. A week later, the trio were ready to set off on their road trip to a new life. Mozzie dropped Sally at the park to take care of unfinished business with the girl while he and Neal drove on to the Burke's for a farewell luncheon.
Sally purchased her cappuccino and asked for an additional cup of water and a paper napkin, before strolling over to the bench to wait for the girl to make her daily appearance. As she sat there she casually dumped the water out of the second cup, wiped it out with the paper napkin, and transferred the package from her purse to the cup. It wasn't long before the girl arrived, got her coffee and came to join Sally on the bench. She liked Sally and had enjoyed chatting with her over the past few days. "How are you today?" the girl asked. "Fine, thanks, I am moving out of town tomorrow, I'm glad I got to see you before leaving." Sally replied. "Oh," the girl said sadly, "I'll miss out coffee breaks. Where are you headed?" She asked. "I'm off to sunnier climes!" Sally replied cheerfully. "The island life awaits me!" "That sounds wonderful," the girl said wistfully, "It feels like forever since I had a vacation." Sally smiled at her, "Perhaps this will help you toward your next one!" She handed the girl the coffee cup, adding, "You'd better open this at home." The girl looked at her, puzzled. "I need you to know something." Sally said to her quietly, "That boyfriend of yours, the mean one. He won't be around anymore." The girl's eyes pooled with tears, she had been so happy since he had stopped coming round. But now the mere mention of him made her sick with fear. "How do you know that?" she asked Sally. "Oh, I have a friend who knows .. who knew, him." Sally answered lightly. "But how can you be sure he won't be back anytime in the future?" the girl asked, confused. "Trust me on this." Sally replied, "He won't be back, ever." She squeezed the girl's arm as she got up from the bench. "Good luck!" She called over her shoulder as she walked away. The girl looked down at the coffee cup in her hands. It felt heavy but not hot, it didn't feel like it contained liquid at all. She cracked the lid open to sneak a peek at whatever was inside. She let out a surprised gasp as her eyes locked onto the tightly wadded roll of $100 bills. She had never seen so much cash. "There must be thousands," she thought as she hastily scanned the park for Sally, hoping for some kind of explanation, but Sally was long gone. "What on earth is all this about?" the girl pondered as she tucked the cup into her purse and headed home for the day.
TBC
I'm nearing the end of this fanfic, so let me know if you want to see it cover anything I have missed out and I will (per Mozzie) take your comments under advisement!