Chapter 37: A Visit From Harold
Harold Benton came over on a rainy Thursday to help Walter repair a bench in the workshop.
The two men had not worked on a project together since Lillian’s retirement party.
Harold brought clamps and a small bottle of wood glue.
Walter supplied coffee and the warped boards.
They spent the morning measuring joints and arguing good-naturedly about the best way to strengthen a corner.
After lunch Harold asked whether Walter had considered installing additional security lights.
Walter said he had but did not want his home to look like a guarded compound.
Harold suggested simple improvements that made ordinary access safer without directing cameras toward neighboring windows.
They inspected the porch and identified a loose latch that could be replaced.
Walter decided to install a motion-activated light near the driveway, where visitors would approach naturally.
Harold helped him choose a model that illuminated Walter’s own property rather than the street.
They kept the installation straightforward and followed the manufacturer’s instructions.
During the work Walter admitted that he still felt a moment of alarm whenever a dark SUV passed the house.
Harold said recovery did not require pretending the alarm was irrational.
He suggested Walter speak with a counselor if the feeling continued interfering with sleep.
Walter had resisted that idea because he was accustomed to solving practical problems himself.
Harold reminded him that he had sought help for a broken heating system without questioning his competence.
A frightened mind also deserved attention.
Walter promised to consider it.
They finished the latch before sunset and tested the light as the clouds darkened.
It came on when Walter walked up his own driveway.
He felt reassured by the modest improvement, not because it guaranteed safety, but because it restored a measure of choice.
Chapter 38: The Public Record
The court scheduled an initial hearing concerning Darren’s alleged conduct.
Walter received notice as a potential witness and met with Bellamy to review the process.
She explained that the first hearing would not necessarily resolve disputed facts.
Walter had imagined the courtroom as a place where someone finally announced what had happened.
He learned that formal proceedings often moved more slowly than personal fear.
At the courthouse he saw Darren standing with his attorney near a vending machine.
Darren wore a plain gray jacket and kept his tattoo covered by his sleeve.
Without the vest, he looked like an ordinary middle-aged man waiting for an appointment.
Walter found that ordinariness unsettling.
The man had frightened him not because he looked extraordinary, but because he had claimed authority he did not possess.
Brenda arrived late and sat two rows behind her brother.
She did not look toward Walter.
The hearing addressed scheduling, evidence exchange, and the conditions governing Darren’s release.
No one asked Walter to recount the incident in detail that day.
He left with a new date on his calendar and a clearer understanding of what remained unresolved.
Outside the courthouse, a reporter asked whether he was disappointed.
Walter answered that he respected the need for a fair process.
He did not want a rushed outcome based on public anger.
He wanted the evidence examined properly.
Angela drove him home through a gentle evening rain.
They stopped for soup at a restaurant Lillian had loved.
Walter ordered the same bowl she always chose and found that the taste brought comfort rather than pain.
He told Angela he was learning how to remember his wife without feeling that every happy moment betrayed her absence.
Angela reached across the table and squeezed his hand.
