for June

19. Detour

Chad eyed the high fence guarding the property. A strange determination and steel had settled into his bones when he'd driven away from Bolton's house. Even when he'd stopped over at a florist and picked out a bunch; his stomach had stayed strong. But now that he was outside the last place he wanted to visit, he was losing his nerve.

He worried his bottom lip and stared at the imposing fence; at the darkening sky. A storm front was brewing. The clouds were pregnant with heavy rain. He had maybe half an hour max before the deluge would start. The wind was howling outside the car and he pulled up his collar to stand, anticipating the chill.

Should have brought a sweater. He eyed the back seat to see if he'd left one back there, but no such luck. His phone vibrated in his pocket. It was Jo. He wasn't in the mood to pick up. He knew what it was about. Jo wanted gossip—on Bolton. And frankly speaking, he wasn't in the mood to talk about that sleaze bag of a man.

He eyed the papers on the seat next to him. Papers he'd found with a quick internet search last night. He hadn't been able to sleep. They were articles about a tragic house fire that killed a husband and wife in their sixties, survived by their twenty-two-year-old daughter.

The fire reportedly started in the girl's bedroom, where a candle was left burning by the open window. Authorities say the fire started sometime around midnight, moments after the daughter reportedly left the house with her boyfriend. They are calling it an act of negligence. An accident that could have been avoided.

Jo called again. Chad cut the call as a distant rumble sounded. The rain wasn't too far off. He had to do this now or come back another day.

Chad psyched himself. "Come on. Let's finish this."

He glanced out the windshield at the swirling clouds. It was only four in the afternoon, but it felt like dusk. Chad grabbed the flowers and exited the car, mumbling to himself.

"It won't take long. Just go, say hello, and do what you came here to do, no matter how silly it feels... then get your ass back in the car before it rains." He shivered at the chill lingering in the wind slithered through his clothing.

His phone incessantly buzzed again. This was no time to feed Jo's curiosity. He ignored it as he entered the driveway and walked up to the caretaker's office.

Minutes later, lightning lassoed the sky a fair distance from where Chad stood; over the graves of Mr and Mrs Amari. Besides them was the grave of someone he knew: Baxter 'Bax' Rollins. A beloved friend and guardian angel.

June had given Bax a funeral with the last of her money. From what she'd told him, she had sold everything of value she had on her, all except her parents' wedding rings.

Chad pulled out a Chrysanthemum from the bunch and laid it on Bax's grave. "Hello, old friend."

He could almost see Bax's face. Almost. How he wished he'd taken a photo with the man when he'd been alive.

'You didn't bring the coffee and croissants, I see,' he could imagine him saying.

"I will next time, old man." Chad pretended to reply. "If I'm feeling generous, maybe I'll even bring you two."

'I'd like that. I miss you, you goof.'

"I miss you too." Chad blinked frantically to keep the tears at bay. "Now, can I get back to the parents? I need to focus, man."

'Oh, yeah. Big job, that one. Go ahead, mate. I'll be right here cheering you on.'

Chad could almost picture Bax standing there, holding two thumbs up, grinning his gap-toothed smile. It gave him a warm feeling in his chest despite the chill. He turned to face June's parents. Feeling awkward for a moment, that this idea had popped into his mind while scrolling the net.