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Everybody Carries Their Pain Differently

Maggie looked up from the papers she was reading. “Hey, kid.”

“My name is Sarah.” She loomed in the doorway. “Have you heard from Carol? We tried to get in touch with her but her voicemail is full.”

“I got an email from Dr. Wisler saying she was still under observation. They’re hoping she’ll be out by Friday.”

“I’ll stop back on Thursday to check on progress.” She slapped the doorjam and hurried away. On her way out, she spotted Earl. “Hey, Earl.”

“Hi, Sarah. Did you get to see the village?” He smiled.

“Looks great. Your guys are really getting it done.”

“I’m glad to hear it. We’ve got some finishing touches to do, but I think it will be something special.”

“You know what’s special? Getting yelled at for no reason.”

“Don’t worry about it, honey. Maggie’s bark is worse than her bite.”

“Not the mayor.” She huffed. “That Ryan. He’s a menace.”

“Really? I’m sorry. What did he do?”

“Jumped up and started yelling at me last night at the Tandoori Grill. I just wanted some dinner and there he is freaking out.”

“Gee, I’m sorry. That doesn’t sound like the Ryan I know. I’ll make sure to talk to him about it.”

“It better not happen again or I’m calling the cops on him.” She turned and hurried away.

Earl poked his head into the bake shop. “Hey, got a minute?”

“Mr. Townsend?” Ryan looked up from the table that he and Stan were building.

He nodded. “I won’t be long.”

Ryan joined him outside. “Everything okay?”

“Sarah was just up at City Hall.”

“She told you about the Indian restaurant?”

“I figured there were probably two sides to the story.”

“There’s no excuse for what I did. I wanted to apologize to her, but she was already fuming mad at Megaman.”

“It’s probably best if you keep your distance. She said she’d call the cops the next time something happens. I’m going to put in a call with your PO to try to smooth this over, but I need to understand what it is so I can explain it right.” He looked around.

“Yeah, Megaman said we ought to put some benches out.” Ryan’s brow furrowed.

Earl snapped his fingers. “Exactly. You don’t know they’re missing until you need to take a seat.” He shook his head. “Anyway, help me understand what happened.”

Ryan leaned against the faux gingerbread finish of the photo studio. “I’m sorry, Mr. Townsend. I’m so embarrassed. I didn’t put it together until after it happened, and then it was already too late.”

Earl stood there with his arms crossed. “Sure, kid. It gets weird when you’re outside. I get it. Give me something to work with. Okay?”

Ryan wiped a tear away. “It’s these nightmares I’ve been having. That kid in my dreams, Sarah looks like her. It’s been putting me on edge since I got here. She’s been acting scared of me the whole time, just like the little girl from Wyoming Pass.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Did you look at my record?”

“Only enough to see you were paroled for good behavior and something else.”

“I was in on the thing at Wyoming Pass back in ‘21.” Ryan looked away. “There were some people hiding in the toy store, so I went in to flush them out.”

“You were in the Krampus Gang?”

“It was stupid. A guy I knew told me it would be an easy score and I was hard up.”

“Uh-huh. They always say that. Don’t they?”

“Pretty much.” Ryan wrapped his arms around himself. “I went into the store to chase people out with the rest. This little girl, she saw my mask and my gun. She was so scared, Mr. Townsend. I never saw anything like that before. They were all scared of me and she dove under this little play table. I never did that before. I was always a B&E guy. You know?”

“The kid looked like Sarah?”

“She had glasses on at the restaurant.” He hung his head. “It was like the kid had jumped right out of my nightmares into the middle of my date. I just lost it.”

“You need help, Ryan.” Earl put his hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “I’m not judging. Okay? You need help to process this or it’s going to keep eating at you.”

“I understand. Pastor Greg has been trying to help, but—”

“You haven’t really been letting him in. He’s a good man and he means well, but you should really see a professional about this, son.”

“I don’t even know where to start.”

“We’ll put our heads together and find you somebody. Alright? How did your date take it?”

“She’s an angel, Mr. Townsend. Anybody would have called it quits on the spot, but she stuck with me.”

“Good, Ryan. Good for you. It’s about time you had some people you could rely on. We’re praying for you. Please let yourself accept the help. You’ve had a pretty rough life so far. It doesn’t have to stay that way. Right?”

Ryan nodded. “Thanks, Mr. Townsend. It means a lot.”

“Okay, kid. I’ve got some calls to make. We’ll get this ironed out. Just lay low for a while.”

Pastor Greg was waiting by his truck as Ryan trudged down the hill. “Had a good day?”

“We got a lot done, but it seems like I’m in trouble.”

“Earl called me.” He opened his door.

Ryan climbed in on the passenger side. “I’d like you to help me apologize to Sarah.”

“Meghan and I are working on that already. Earl’s right. It would be better to let her simmer down first.”

“That bad?”

“Everybody carries their pain differently.” Greg backed out and headed for the exit.

Ryan took his hat off. “Pain?”

“I brought you some coffee. Figured you could use some warming up.”

“Definitely, thanks.” He took a drink. “What do you mean, pain? What’s the matter with Sarah?”