The Beast of Brookville

Chapter 3

Situated in a brand new shopping center plopped in the middle of farm country, Opal found herself at the trendy new Salt & Spoon restaurant in the next town over. Seated on the padded bench by the door she spotted the buzzwords "Farm to table", "Organic", and "Pasture raised" covering the menu posted on shiplap walls. Sounds about right, she thought as she looked around the breezy modern eatery. The lunch crowd was surprising but this was probably the only place in an hour's drive that everyone wasn't tired to death of.

Death. Guilt washed over her for invoking it in such a cavalier way.

When her mom passed away after the divorce she felt so lost in the agonizing numbness that overtook her. The cancer came quickly but Opal knew she was lucky for the chance to say goodbye. The man she found yesterday wasn't so lucky, and neither was his family. What a strange feeling to be grateful for the time your mother was dying. 

The chime of the front door and a hot breeze announced Forrest's arrival.

"Hi" he exhaled and offered a smile that rose all the way from his chest.

They exchanged a timid one-shoulder-no-hip hug before being led to a table in the corner. Exchanging the standard pleasantries they fell into silence staring at their menus, both willing the conversation to start itself.

"So...I saw your mom yesterday...at my house" Opal offered as both a comment and a question.

Forrest's only reaction was parsed lips and an eyebrow raise.

"I guess you know then? My dad and your mom?" Opal needed to process the ridiculousness aloud. Ann Collins was the worst.

His eyes gently closed followed by a reluctant nod. He knew. He didn't want to. He found it gratingly irritating how *jazzed* his mom was about John these last few months, John this and John that, topped with sobriety she hadn't bothered with for her own family, it was all a deep betrayal. A small part of him wanted better for John, too, the man had always been kind and welcoming, quick to offer him a meal and respite from his strained home life. The two pieces of that puzzle did not fit together, for so many reasons.

"Yeah, it's...yeah" Forrest had nothing nice to say, he had accepted it, but he didn't like it, he wasn't willing to alienate Opal with it either.

Not exactly the conversation starter she thought it would be, she had hoped they could bond over the absurdity but it was clear that this was an open wound Forrest was nursing. She knew not to push it, with family things he usually confided in her eventually but he was complicated. Growing up with his parents didn't exactly give him all the tools he needed to be fluent in his emotions and he usually got the courage in liquid form to speak about these things. Her heart ached for him and she realized that she felt a little guilty thinking of how she left him behind when she went away to school.

"Right" she conceded that now was not the time to push that.

"...and you're a cop now?" More a statement than a question but that was the end of her list of pre-planned conversation starters. Talking used to be easier for them but their time apart had solidified distance.

She watched Forrest's body relax and he met her gaze for the first time since sitting down, his smile was back.

"Almost 8 months now actually, dad convinced me, it's not bad, small town stuff-" except yesterday

The pause hung heavy in the air as if they both heard his last thought.

"Yesterday was...there's nothing that prepares you for that" he took a drink from his iced tea, buying himself a break.