First to Fall (23 page)

‘I still can’t believe that Father West could do such a thing,’ Isla said as she handed her husband his second ice-cold beer.

‘Yeah, I know,’ he muttered.

‘You never gave up on her. Imagine if you had, she’d be dead now. That girl owes you her life.’

‘She owes me nothing, it’s my job.’

‘Yeah, well, you are very good at it! I’m proud of you!’ She bent down and kissed him gently on his forehead. Guilt surged through him as he recalled his kiss with Brandy.

‘Are youOK?’ she asked, concerned.

‘Yeah, hun, just tired.’

‘I bet you are, you deserve some rest.’

He had never felt so tired before in his life, mentally that is, not physically. His brain ached with it all. He felt like wherever he turned people were excitedly discussing the Avalon scandal when all he wanted to do was get away from it. He had lived it, which was more than enough.

‘Here she comes,’ the reporter said excitedly, trying to push through the crowd to get to the halo of hair that had just left the prison gates. ‘Brandy, Brandy!’ she yelled.

Aiden switched off the television. He wasn’t ready to see Brandy. At least not yet.

Brandy gazed around what was once her marital home. Over the past few months Brandon’s parents had boxed up all their son’s belongings so that all that remained was the shell of the house. She dropped the duffel bag which contained her few worldly possessions and wandered over to the point where her husband had breathed his last breath. The carpet had been cleaned, all traces of him gone. It was as if it had never happened. A sharp knock at the front door disturbed her from her thoughts.

‘Oh, Aiden,’ she beamed at her visitor.

Aiden Connelly’s mind had been conflicted as to whether he should go and visit Brandy that day or not. In the end, he reasoned that he was her only friend and she would need him at this difficult time. He told Isla he was popping into work. He wasn’t quite sure why he had lied to her, it was probably to avoid any confrontation. He drove out to what was once the home of the young Mr. and Mrs. White, a place that would forever be infamous for the tragedies that occurred within its walls.

‘Brandy, hey, how are you?’

‘Come in, come in.’ She ushered him inside. He was surprised by how sparse the house was, there was only the bare minimum of furniture. He reasoned that Clyde White must have emptied the house out in anticipation of selling it on. No one ever believed that Brandy would be coming back to claim it.

‘Pretty crowded in here, huh?’ she joked.

‘It’s minimalist,’ he laughed.

‘I’d say sit down except there are no seats, and I’m afraid I’m fresh out of coffee, and pretty much everything else.’

‘But you are free.’

‘Am I?’

‘Yeah, of course you are. You’ve been given an official pardon; your life is yours to live as you please for many years to come.’

‘But here, in Avalon, I’ll never be able to escape from it all. There will always be a black cloud following me around; people will always be looking at me, judging me.’ She seemed so much older, wiser than she had in prison. Life was beginning to take its toll on her.

‘So what now?’

‘A fresh start.’ She smiled at him and the brightness returned to her face.

‘Where? Are you going to stay here?’

‘I did a whole lot of thinking in prison. I’ve only ever known Avalon. I’ve never been on a boat, or a plane. I feel like life has given me a second chance and I don’t intend to waste it. I’m going to sell this place and move away.’

‘Move away, where? When?’ He didn’t want her to leave. He had almost lost her once, he didn’t want to lose her again.

‘You inspired me, Aiden.’

‘I did?’

‘Yes, you did! You showed me that there are some people in the world who care, who are brave. I always thought that the city was full of shallow, cold people, but you are from the city and you are the kindest man I have ever met.’

‘So where will you go?’

‘I’m moving to Chicago.’

‘But what will you do there?’

‘It’s funny; with all the television coverage someone out there recognised me and got in touch with the prison. Susan Cotton. She’s my Ma’s estranged sister, who knew? When she heard Brandy and Avalon she began piecing things together. She lives in Chicago and owns a successful beauty salon. Aiden, she’s offered me a job! Isn’t that great? A chance to start over!’

‘Yeah, that is great,’ he said, trying to sound happy for her.

‘What’s wrong?’ She sensed his sadness.

‘It’s just…’ He struggled to find the right words.

‘Aiden…’ Her voice gave way to a pregnant pause. ‘Aiden, you have a wife and a little girl who need you. I need to discover myself, find out who I am. I was always listening to other people, to my Ma, to Father West. This time I’m going to listen to me and do what I want.’

‘I’m going to miss you so much,’ he confessed, his voice cracking.

‘I’ll miss you too, but I’ll call, email, whatever it is city people do!’ she laughed. Then the laughter faded and she regarded him with a more serious expression. ‘You saved my life, Aiden Connelly. I owe you everything. I will never, ever forget you. You are truly the greatest man I have ever met.’

They embraced and he could feel her heart beating against his chest. She still had the same intoxicating scent of peaches and vanilla.

‘You are heavenly, Brandy White,’ he whispered.

‘It’s Brandy Cotton now,’ she informed him.

‘Just so you know, you are a star that does sparkle. You shone out to me the day I met you and you really did light up my life.’

‘Thank you.’ She pulled away and smiled up at him. He felt the urge to kiss her but resisted.

‘You have such a good heart, Aiden, don’t let anything change that. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me.’ He pulled her into his chest once more, he didn’t want to let go.

‘Do you think I’ll like the city?’

‘I think you’ll love it.’

He wondered if city life would change Brandy, as it had once changed Isla. But if even prison could not stifle her spirit he knew in his heart that she would be fine.

‘What’s next for Aiden Connelly?’

‘I honestly don’t know.’

‘Well, you can’t leave Avalon. The people here need you.’

‘They do?’

‘Yeah! You stood up to Buck Fern and Clyde White. No one has ever dared to do that before. You have really shaken things up around here!’

They at last disconnected from one another and he reluctantly made his way to the door.

‘Oh, do you know what else I’m going to do?’

‘What?’ he asked, intrigued.

‘I’ve enrolled at a college in Chicago. I’m going to go back and get my high school diploma!’ She was smiling at him and she was more luminous than ever. Looking at her, so beautiful and full of promise, he felt amazing. The world was no longer an evil place devoid of hope. She had restored his faith in humanity, in justice and in love.

‘Are you an angel?’ he asked and then laughed at how stupid he sounded.

‘Nope, I’m just a twenty-four-year old widow with a whole lot of life that needs living!’

‘Just don’t go forgetting about me!’

‘As if I could! Thank you for saving me, Aiden.’

‘No problem, Brandy Cotton, it was my pleasure.’

As Aiden entered the kitchen of his home his senses were drenched in the sweet scent of freshly baked cakes. In pride of place in the middle of the table sat a delicious looking chocolate cake, with the words ‘Love You Daddy’ scrawled on it in icing.

‘Do you like it?’ Isla asked from the doorway with Meegan perched in her arms, watching her father’s reaction excitedly.

‘It’s great! I can’t believe that my girls did this for me!’ Meegan leapt down from her mother and clumsily ran over to his waiting arms for a big cuddle.

‘I made it just for you!’ she told him happily.

‘Does that mean that I get to eat it all?’

‘Nooooo!’

‘OK, OK, I’ll share.’ He smiled across to Isla, she looked tired and weary.

‘Sweetheart, why don’t you go upstairs and play with your toys for a little bit?’ The little girl obeyed him and toddled off towards her room.

‘So…it’s all over now then?’ Isla asked nervously. In her heart she knew that she was questioning if more than the trial was over. She was a woman, she felt things. She had tried to ignore the way Aiden looked when he spoke about Brandy, how he had been on the verge of a breakdown at the thought of losing her. She didn’t want to admit it, but she could feel him slipping away from her.

‘Yeah, the trial is all over, Brandy is a free woman now, its great.’

‘Have you been to see her?’ There was an accusing tone in her voice.

‘Yeah, just before, to straighten out some legal crap, you know how it is.’

‘You work so hard,’ she said bitterly.

They were silent for a moment, each contemplating their next move in their own mind. The soft humming of a contented little girl playing with her dolls danced down the stairs and lay between them.

‘She’s very beautiful,’ Isla commented.

‘Who?’

‘Brandy.’

‘Isla…’ He put up his hands in frustration. He could tell where this was going and he didn’t have the energy for it.

‘Do you love her?’ The question was so direct that it caught him off guard. He looked at Isla, his wife, the mother of his child. He saw in her face part of his own history, and in Meegan he saw his future. Brandy was right about him, he was a good man, which meant that there was only one answer which he could give.

‘No! Don’t be ridiculous, I love you.’ The lie burnt his throat as he released it.

‘Oh, Aid.’ She ran over, relieved, and melted into her husband’s arms. ‘I’m sorry to question you, I really am. I’m so silly. Forgive me?’

‘Of course.’ And he kissed her. He felt like a fraud.

‘We can get back to how we were, when things were good.’ She pressed herself harder against him. Part of him wanted that, to have things return to how they once were. Perhaps, in time, his feelings for Brandy would dull and he could happily play the role of dutiful husband and doting father.

‘Have you seen Father West?’

‘No,’ he answered, grateful for the change in the topic of conversation. ‘If I never see that man again that is fine by me.’

‘But he came good in the end,’ Isla challenged.

‘Imagine if he had never come forward, what would have happened?’ For a moment, her darker side raised its wicked head once more and she thought of what could have been. A world without Brandy, was that really such a bad place? Father West had seemed like such a good man, and the people in the town loved him so. Now Avalon was in turmoil, not one but two of their heroes had been disgraced and the local tramp now once more crowned a queen.

‘What will Brandy do now?’

‘She’s going to live in Chicago, sample city life.’

‘And what about us? Are we going to stay in Avalon?’

Aiden pondered the question for a moment. His expectations of country life had certainly not been met. Whilst he enjoyed the fresh, clean air and the abundance of nature, he was sure that he would still be regarded as a villain and an outsider by many of the residents for years to come. He had made enemies of Buck Fern and Clyde White who remained heavyweights of the Avalon community, his wife had even feared for their safety at one point. What was keeping them there?

‘I don’t know, we could always move.’

‘Again? I don’t think so, Aid.’

‘Do you like it here?’ He sadly realised that he had never before asked his wife how she was feeling about living in Avalon.

‘I’m getting to like it,’ she smiled. ‘I’ve enrolled Meegan at a lovely pre-school which she starts next week and Edmond and his wife have invited us over for a barbeque this weekend. I think that we are finally starting to settle in.’

‘Decision made then, we stay.’

Aiden lay awake that night, as he did many nights. The crickets hummed outside his window, oblivious to all that had occurred in their small town. A gentle breeze fanned the curtains and tickled his skin. Earlier, in the gentle light of dusk, he had driven around town to clear his head and had noticed a group of people furiously scrubbing the graffiti off Trinity Church. The world was beginning to return to normal and Aiden and his family were now a part of it. Isla was lost in a deep sleep as he waded through his forest of thoughts. Tired of the sound of his own concerns echoing in his head he got up and wandered softly into his daughter’s room to watch Meegan sleeping. She was so peaceful, so innocent; his very own Avalon angel who needed him more than anybody else in the whole world. Brandy could find her own way now; his daughter needed him, he knew where he was supposed to be.

‘Good to see you, Mr. Connelly.’ Betty smiled warmly at him as he entered Cope and May Solicitors at Law.

‘You too, Betty,’ he replied, thankful that she was no longer angry towards him. All day around town people had been smiling at him, wishing him good day. It was a much needed change from the bitter stares and cold silences. He was beginning to once more feel a part of Avalon.

‘Aiden, my dear boy.’ Edmond wrapped his arms around his young colleague before he was even fully through the door to the office. ‘You did a splendid job, splendid, getting Father West to confess to it all like you did!’

‘Well, he came forward himself.’

‘Don’t be so modest! You are a modern day Atticus Finch!’

‘I wouldn’t say that,’ Aiden blushed.

‘This is a time to rejoice! You have put Cope and May back on the map! Betty has been inundated, poor girl, with calls from people eager to have us represent them. Glorious, simply glorious!’

‘I’m just glad to help.’

‘And helped you have, my lad! Come, come, a toast.’ Edmond handed Aiden a mug where a dash of hard liquor sat nestled at the bottom, golden and pure. For a brief moment, Aiden thought sadly of his favourite blue mug which was no more. Change was inevitable; the skill to getting through life unscathed was learning to adapt to it.

‘To my colleague and friend, Aiden Connelly.’ The two men chinked mugs before sinking back their contents. He coughed as the amber nectar burnt his throat.