“Well, you’re a guy, aren’t you?”she threw out therhetorical.“How would you feel if I watched a movie about your life and yourhistory and your dead dad without you knowing I did that?”
“I…Archie, I really want to help—”
Jagger was right.
She was usually very chill.
Starting with her mom, Archie had learned this.
Bryn Harmon was chill.She was not only acatch-more-flies-with-honey person, she didn’t allow herself to get worked upabout things.
They’d never gotten to the zone where Bryn could explain hersorcery in this matter, but either by nature, or nurture, Archie had inheritedit.
And after losing her mom, there was so much to get hyped upabout, she’d have exhausted herself if she’d broken the seal on that and letthat all hang out.
So she didn’t.
But further, it was like paying homage to her mom that shealso didn’t give in to the drama.
She just got on with things.
That said, right now, with her dad being clueless again, shewanted to scream.
She didn’t.
Haley did.
Not scream, exactly, but she lost patience and she did thisalso exposing she was totally eavesdropping.
“Oh, honestly, Andy,” she snapped, coming out of the kitchenand glaring at her husband with exasperation.
She then looked to Archie and spilled the beans.
“We saw him, a while ago, riding his motorcycle with some ofhis buddies.Andy told me who he was to you.Your father was worried, him beingin one of those gangs—”
“Clubs,” Archie corrected quietly.
“Right, they made a point of that in the movie,” Haleystated, bobbing her head.“And yes, that means we’ve seen that movie.I’dnoticed it trending on Netflix and I knew that…uh,Clubwas in Denverand I mentioned to Andy maybe we should watch.Well, we sure did when we sawyour guy wearing that patch.”
Archie felt her heart speed up a little.
“And?”she asked.
“And, I’m sure your father will disagree, but I’m proud Ihave a man who was not afraid to shed a few tears when he learned all your guyhas lost.”
Archie had not yet taken a seat.
After hearing that, she found a chair and sank into it.
Andy watched his daughter do this, biting impatiently,“Haley.”
But Haley kept her gaze steady on Archie.
And she kept her shoulders squared.
Last, she kept talking.
“I’m never, ever,evergoing to say you’re luckyyou had the time you had with your mother.Andy talks about her and there is noquestion why he loved her so very deeply.I love your father like crazy.Istill wish she was here for all of you.But I will say, after watching thatfilm, I had some concerns about you hooking up with that young man.Because youtwo are not on equal footing with something essential to life.You hadsomething he didn’t have and he’s in a position where all he lost issurrounding him all the time.He can’t get away from it.But he also can’tunderstand it.Not in the way everyone around him does.And that has tobe…well, it has to be torture.To be of something so good and pure, and neverhaving known the touch of it.Except as a phantom.A ghost.A story someonetells that is integral to who you are, but to you, it will only ever be just astory.”
