Beyond the end

Chapter 17. The price of things.

Brandon sank into the cards. Barret had given him a couple of news he was working on. He still had some questions to ask Johnson. Last time he seemed very intimidated almost sorry to turn to him and Brandon didn't understand why. He hadn't talked to New York bosses yet what he was working on. He wanted to pull it out once the package is over. A hand grenade that could have repercussions on the newspaper as well. A risky game.

"Mr. Walsh" Betty interrupted her work from the intercom.

"Tell me Betty"

"There's Mrs Kelly Taylor"

"You'll pass me" Brandon glanced at his cell phone maybe he hadn't heard the phone call.

"IsN't you here, I'll let you in Mr. Walsh?"

"Yes, of course"

He was surprised. Why had Kelly come to the office?

Betty made her way and took a mischievous look at Brandon.

"And so this is your kingdom," she said, looking around.

Brandon kissed her on the cheek and Kelly really appreciated it. There had always been that subtle tenderness between them, that semblance that weakened her the poison of so many days spent thinking she was just a doll or having to achieve the perfection that exhausted her.

"Come," he said.

He looked at the curious looks in the open space and electrocut them with his gaze.

"You are officially invited to the second barbecue at my house in a few days, a kind of welcome party for Valerie"

Brandon laughed "but come on, Steve convinced you"

Kelly looked at him raising his eyebrow "know Steve"

"Yeah," he laughed.

"But" Kelly had a little boy spirit while talking to him "I'm not here for that"

"Ah no?"

"No," Kelly smiled and stood up; he looked at the open space outside the glass door "and that's what you dreamed of?"

"More or less Kel, but that was it"

"It comes to mind when you received no on your resume submissions. And instead" Kelly turned around "here you are"

Brandon stared at her with his blue eyes and barely smiled, while she gave him a much wider smile "you made it"

"It's not all gold that glitters my little Kel. What you see came at a price," he now stuck with his eyes. "When you go back to your $4,000 a month Washington apartment and find breakfast dishes on the day you left, you don't ask yourself questions at first; then you start asking them to you," he laughed.

"Everything comes at a price Bran," she said, because Kel also felt the weight of his choices "we mostly try, the moment that thing seems like the best thing to us"

"Yeah," he replied, "but I never thanked you."

"For what?" She replied by barely moving her nose in a grimace that B knew very well.

"For letting me go"

"Everything is priced Bran... anyway," he elegantly resided, "I'd like to do a war journalism seminar for the school and..."

"Oh no Kel!"

"Please...think you as a boy, imagine: such a seminar, you would have gone crazy with joy"

Brandon brought both crossed hands in front of his mouth, it's true, he would go crazy with joy, and how beautiful Kel was as she tried to bring some light and guidance, to chart a path for those guys.

Brandon hinted at a half smile "I'm a mammoth in front of you, know it"

"Yes," she replied.

"We have to organize for this month, if we can. Because then I'll go back to Washington"

"I know," she replied dim, thin enough to hit Bran straight in the center and she immediately recovered, "nothing beautiful lasted forever for me."

"You have a lot of good things around you, you have Sammy, you have a nice house, you have a job you love; sometimes Kel, we waste time dreaming about what we don't have and we can't see what surrounds us, we lose track, the way. You don't know how many times it's happened to me, always this heat of coming, of emerging, this not asking questions, this being deaf to everything, ahead like a ram" Bran took half a ride in the swivel chair and walked out of the desk space "and do you know another beautiful thing you have?"

"What?"

" An aide for the Barbecue"

"Really? Who?"

"A guy I know, such Walsh, a little stiff, always with his head on the sheets, very boring, but can he make great Whisky potatoes?"

"Ah yes? "

"Yes, yes"

"And what else can he do?"

"She can hand you her arm," and Brandon handed her the arm Kel clung to, "and if you have two minutes she takes you out to lunch and we'll go to our favorite place"

"What would it be?"

"The one you gave me up in... The beach, great memories," he said in a funny expression.

They walked to the office exit.

"And what do we do at the beach?"

"I don't know.. like wild sex in front of everyone? Not?" Kel looked at him with an amused air and Brandon resumed the proud walk with her arm "agree at noon is not a great idea.. but maybe we'll fold up with a fish restaurant, two great glasses of white wine, and the sun. So much of that Kel sun, which will come to us laugh. What time do you have to go back to school?"

"For the three"

"At three o'clock," he repeated.

He continued with that ridiculous and funny voice towards Betty as well.

"Betty? I'm out for lunch with my beautiful girlfriend"

Kel laughed.

"As Mr. Walsh wants," Betty replied cheerfully.