Chapter 97

Devin also took a moment to consider her choice of words and found the he was both pleased as well as a little bit hurt. The pleasure was from the man he had become. Those words were exactly what he would have wanted her to choose. But there was a tiny part of him that was saddened because no one would use words like 'kind' and 'gentle' or 'caring' and 'thoughtful' or even 'loving' to describe him. Those were words that popped to the front of your mind when describing his little brother, or even Joe Maxwell.

"Have I said something wrong Je…Devin?" Jenny asked in concern.

Snapping out of his thoughtfulness, he pasted on a grin that didn't quite make it to his eyes and said, "No! Of course not! Those words are exactly what I would have chosen for myself!"

His brother could tell he was lying.

Catherine was pretty sure of it too.

Jenny looked him right in the eye and said, "Devin, you also have a good heart under all that boast and bravado. You are just afraid to let anyone know that it is there. Because when you expose yourself in that way you can be hurt. But it is only when you do that, that you can find love like these two," she nodded at Catherine and Vincent, "share. If that is something you want in your life, then you will just have to expose yourself."

Catherine waited for some juvenile comment about taking off his clothes for her, as did Vincent, but both were surprised when that comment didn't come. Instead, Devin sat there for a moment thinking and then said, "The last time I left myself open in that way, was not long after I left the tunnels. Like all boys do, I wanted to join the circus, but all I could find was a small traveling carney. They took me in as cheap grunt labor. I worked like a dog for little more than room and board. But I learned a lot and Betty, the bearded lady, took me under her wing. She was a kind and sweet lady if not the most beautiful woman in the world, but she also taught me things. We were together for just over a year, and while many would find it wrong for a boy and a woman in her thirties, I really did…love her. The next summer was one of the hottest on record and small traveling carnies don't run to air conditioned trailers. She was a rather large lady and on the hottest day in July she had a heart attack and died in my arms. Her last words were 'I love you'. The next day I left the carney and hopped the first boat I could find leaving the country! I guess you could say I had been running from love ever since then."

There wasn't a sound in the apartment, both Catherine and Jenny had tears in their eyes, Vincent was also fighting the urge to cry for his brother's loss. Devin wasn't looking at any of them though, his gaze was far off in the past, but then he realized how long it had been quiet and quickly said as he looked around the table, "So you can see, that taught me not to open up."

"But do you really want to go through life that way? You miss out on so much if you do not have love in your life," Vincent reached out and took Catherine's hand as it to illustrate his point. When he saw that Jenny still wasn't looking at Devin, but down at the napkin she had been wiping her eyes on, he also nodded his head at her trying to tell his brother that he could lose Jenny if he didn't open his heart.

Devin acknowledged his brother's comment and private messages with only a thoughtful nod.

Catherine, knowing that nothing more could be decided there at the table, announced that she was ready for the desert that Vincent had brought from William. Knowing what it was, Vincent eagerly got up and said he would get it. He brought back to the table a triple layer chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.

Both women groaned at the calories involved, but neither refused the large slice Vincent cut and handed them.

Remembering his childhood Below, Devin had to ask, "Since when did William get so free with chocolate? Did he start growing his own beans down there?"

To be continued….