Have You Ever Listened To The Rain At Night?

Chapter 10

Jeffrey Mitchell was once again working from home when an incoming video call interrupted his work. He looked up from his papers, checked the name displayed on the screen, and took the call. He smiled and looked into Greg Grey's face. "Hello, old friend."

"You look awful," Grey commented, his face completely serious.

"Thank you," Jeffrey replied dryly.

"Did you get my email with Logan's results?"

Jeffrey nodded. "Yes, this morning. They seem pretty good, don't they?"

"I agree. Apart from his physical condition, of course."

Jeffrey had to smile. "Yes, Logan already told me that you want to force him to go outside more often. Don't worry, he will do it even if he doesn't like it very much."

"Yeah, he's a good kid," Grey agreed. "By the way, I want to apologize for the little trick with the blood test. But I just didn't know how else to do it."

"I'm sure you knew what you were doing."

Grey nodded and seemed thoughtful for a moment. "So, Logan has a girlfriend now?"

"Camille . . . a nice girl."

"And remarkable."

"How do you mean that?"

"Well, of course you know how difficult it is for your son to have blood drawn. He even fainted one time. Another time he couldn't stop throwing up."

"I remember," Jeffrey replied somberly.

"But this time everything was different. That girl . . . she seems to have a very special attraction for Logan. Thanks to her, he was able to pass the examination. I think that's quite impressive."

"I'm glad she and Logan have found each other."

Dr. Grey was silent for a moment, then asked in a hesitant undertone, "How is Joanna doing?"

Jeffrey raised his eyebrows. "Are you asking that as a doctor or as a friend of the family?"

"Both."

Jeffrey sighed. "She . . . she doesn't seem to be coming to terms with the fact that Logan is in a committed relationship. But she'll get used to it eventually, I'm sure."

"And . . . the other thing?"

Jeffrey was silent.

"Is it getting worse again?"

"No, it's just . . . to be honest, I'm worried. Worried about her, about Logan, about our family. It's like something's brewing, like a storm, and I'm afraid that I can't stop it. I would do anything for them, and it would break my heart if either of them were to be harmed, no matter how."

Gregory Grey had listened with a calm expression on his face and now answered in an equally calm voice, "Listen to me, son, I've known you for so many years now. I know how you think, how you feel. You're a great father and husband and whatever happens you will have the strength to deal with it because you always make the right decisions. And if you ever have doubts, I hope you know that all you have to do is say one word and I'll be there to help. I've told you this before, back when it was at its worst, and I still stand by my word. You don't have to go through this alone."

Jeffrey Mitchell smiled softly. "Thank you, my old friend. It was good to talk to you about it."

Jo wouldn't be at school today, so Camille knew this day was going to be bad. Logan's words came to her mind. Tough and strong.

'He's wrong,' Camille thought as she walked down the hallways to her classroom. Even though she was deep in thought, she couldn't help but notice that many of the students - mostly the girls - didn't call out malicious things after her, but instead whispered excitedly to one another. Camille didn't even bother to ask one of them what was going on and entered her English classroom. As it turned out, she wasn't the only one who didn't seem to care about the commotion in the hallways.