Author's note
First of all: thanks to Doks for the kind support!
For those interested: as timeline I'm using the wonderful work you can find on Haven Recaps, that sets Audrey's arrival in Haven around late March and the last episode on November 27.
ooooooooooooooo
He didn't call.
As weeks passed by, the memory of that night acquired a somehow dreamlike quality, to the point that sometime she wondered if it ever happened at all.
Life went on, rhythmic and flowing like a steady heartbeat: winter's bitter cold was over, the sea lost December's iron-gray tint and shifted to the somber green of February and its rainfalls. Everyday Giulia made a small step outside her "shell": taking part to Geoff and Stuart's conversations, chatting with the cashiers at the mall, letting her best (and currently only) friend Susie take her out more often. Still they were very, very small steps, so that even if she was changing, it was a process as slow and gradual as the arrival of that year's Spring.
That's probably the reason why she screamed like a six-years old when Dwight Hendrickson came to her in yet another late evening.
It should be told though that he all but sneaked up on her while she was plunged into the hood of a tractor, searching for a stud dispersed God knows where. And yes: it was a late evening again and the workshop was empty again, so it shouldn't come as a surprise if the chosen score for her Search of the Lost Stud was -damn those catchy pop songs- "...where you think you're going, baby?".
Therefore it's quite understandable if, at the sound of an unknown deep voice in a place that was supposed to be empty, she plummeted right into the metallic jaws of the tractor with a shriek shrill enough to shatter glass.
ooooooooooooooo
‹‹I'm sorry about that. Didn't mean to scare you›› he apologized fastening his belt.
‹‹Sure. Then why are you still grinning like a monkey?›› she retorted, a bit grumpier than what she would have normally been.
They were in his van now, headed to... well, actually Giulia did not know where they were headed to; in fact, she was wondering what made her hop on a suspicious looking vehicle with a guy who not only didn't tell her what he was asking her help for (‹‹If you still want to help, I'd need a hand right now. Don't have much time, so I'll explain on the way›› he said), but also had laughed his ass off when he saw her being swallowed by that treacherous tractor. She could only hope he didn't need help to dispose of dead people.
‹‹Thanks for coming›› he said ‹‹Something zapped the entire radio system and I don't' think I could fix it by tomorrow on my own, it's... it's really too much for just one person in one night. Even for me.››
And that was a lie. Giulia saw it back at the workshop, but even the dimness of the night couldn't hide the signs completely: unfocused eyes, deep bags, wrinkles too deep to be the hand of time... he was even more exhausted than the last time she saw him. The truth was that he was so tired he could hardly tell left from right, much less repair something as complex as an antennae/receiver system.
But it wasn't her place to say those things out loud, so she replied with a casual ‹‹Sure, no problem››
‹‹I'm sorry I asked you, but Carrol is getting too old for this things. Think your parents are going to worry?››
If not for the honest concern in his voice, Giulia would have rolled her eyes.
"Right, I forgot he still thinks I'm sixteen"
Maybe it was time to fix that misunderstanding; besides, a little surprise would probably help him not to fall asleep while driving.
‹‹We don't live together anymore, so I don't think they're gonna be worried›› she answered.
‹‹You mean you left home?››
‹‹No, they did.››
Giulia saw a grim, cold line forming between his eyes and made the following mental note: "Bad parents = touchy subject".
‹‹What about your little brother? They left him too?›› he asked, gripping the stirring wheel just a bit tighter.
‹‹Yeah, but you know. Colleges in Portland are pretty good, so I can assume he's doing fine››
He frowned in confusion.
‹‹College? Wasn't he younger than you?››
‹‹Yes, he is››
There it was. She could almost see the information sink in, followed by the facial expressions corresponding to:
"Wait a minute"
"Oh, now I get it"
"No, wait again"
"What the heck / You've gotta be kidding me"
An astounded silence came right after.
‹‹So that means you're...?››
‹‹Thirty. Almost. Next month››
She was really trying to bite back the growing grin on her lips, but the sight of his eyes wide as an opossum's was simply priceless.
‹‹Jesus. You're not making fun of me because I laughed at you, are you?›› he asked, sounding almost hopeful.
‹‹Nope. I'm old. Ish.››
‹‹... Jesus.››
This time she had to laugh.
Any trace of hilarity dissipated the moment she saw what a nightmare fixing that radio system was going to be.
ooooooo
It was four in the morning when they finally sneaked away by climbing a metallic fence (Dwight had been nice enough to act as her ladder before leaping over the obstacle with surprising fluidity) and if Giulia was so tired she was tripping on her own feet, Dwight looked like he was one step away from a complete blackout. Nonetheless, showing an awful amount of stubbornness, he didn't let her drive, not even to her house.
None of them talked much along the way since they were both more asleep than awake, but the closer they got to her place, the more a question swirling in her numbed head pressed to get out. In the end it was probably that very numbness that made her trample all her pointless doubts.
‹‹So, what are you going to do now?›› she asked before she could over-think it again.
‹‹Now? I'll go home and see if there is still anything edible in the fridge, which is unlikely. Then I'll sleep›› he replied, blinking repeatedly to keep his eyes open.
‹‹I got curry. Homemade. Wanna come over and have some?››
In the pause that followed her question, something strange happened.
You see, not everyone's a sensitive in this world. But there are times, people and circumstances that, by some stellar intercession, let even ordinary people see a fleeting glimpse of the truth hidden in their core, a truth we should know nothing about.
That moment, on that road, with Dwight, was for Giulia one of those rare, fate-given chance. Even though Dwight was little more than a stranger to her, she had a crystal clear vision of what was waiting for him if he decided to go home: silence, no welcoming lights, memories lingering over pictures never thrown away and the cold light of a fridge that was meant for a family but was used by only one man.
Unaware of what she was experiencing, Hendrickson was seeing the same thing and had he not been so worn out he wouldn't have accepted; he would have gone home and faced the silence and the shadows as he always did... But he was. He was terribly worn out.
‹‹Why not. I like curry›› he said, trying carefully to erase any color from his voice.
oooooooooooooo
Her house was big, warm, full of colors and scents. And apparently Dwight really liked curry, seeing how he wolfed down his whole steaming plate before she could eat even half of her own.
‹‹Thanks kid. You really saved me tonight. You did a great job back there›› he said, stretching contentedly on her couch.
‹‹I'm not a kid›› she reminded him automatically ‹‹But you're welcome››
‹‹Right. Sorry. And thanks for the food too. But I really should go now››
Giulia made a face. She didn't like the idea of letting him drive in his condition, but she already had proof of how pigheaded he could be sometimes.
‹‹Fine. Just wait a minute, I'll give you some rice to take home››
Putting the spicy rice in a Tupperware and wrapping it in a plastic bag didn't take her long -two minutes, three tops-, but by the time she came back to the dining room Dwight was already asleep. His head was reclined, the long hair a messy frame for a face that she was seeing truly relaxed for the first time.