Running on Empty (48 page)

‘True enough’ answered Tom.

‘Got a call from your mother’ continued Pat ‘wants to know if you’ve any plans to visit her soon’.

‘Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that. I’ll probably head over sometime soon. I’d like to drop in on Joey too’.

‘Your mother mentioned Joey. Says he’s doing good in rehab. He and Melody are bickering like an old married couple’.

Pat sat down on a rock, Tom joining him, and they both remained silent for a short time, looking out to sea.

‘You ever think about how it panned out?’ asked Tom, ‘I mean, sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing. Sometimes I get this guilt feeling, y’know? Did I do things I shouldn’t have done?’

‘Certain things have to be done in certain situations, Tom. There’s just no escaping it. You did what you had to do, nothing more’.

‘I know but, I still feel a bit guilty sometimes. Do you ever feel that way? Does it ever effect you, the fact that you’ve, y’know, did things?’

‘I like to think that I only did those things out of necessity. But yes, I do think about what I’ve done in my time, anyone would, and I wonder sometimes. There are certain stains that will never wash off, no matter how hard you try’.

Grainne came down to join them on the seashore.

‘Well, what have we got’ she asked Tom as she dived under the dark cloth.

‘Not bad’ she exclaimed as Tom joined her beneath the shade.

‘However, I think it might be a bit better if we adjusted the tilt slightly to get the foreground more in focus. See?’ she said.

Tom made to study the ground glass, but the scent of Grainne under the dark cloth was too much to resist, and he began nibbling her ear.

‘Well, that’s it’ she exclaimed, ‘lesson over. I think there’s more important lessons to be learned back at the house’.

She began to quickly remove the camera and fold up the tripod.

‘Sorry Pat, but needs must’ said Tom, as they walked back up the path.

‘Hey Tom’ Pat called after them, ‘I forgot to mention, Brad called last night’.

Tom stopped and turned, curious.

‘Yeah, turns out they’ve picked up Harmon. Was in a sorry state by all accounts. Brad said he looked like a bus ran over him. Had a beard that a family of mice could nest in. Seems to have gone a bit gaga too. You know what the funny thing is? He wouldn’t answer when they addressed him as Harmon. He kept insisting his name was Crazy Horse’.