murmured, “then you should be in bed as well.”
“Are you all right, Rayne?” David looked up from the pile of mail he’d picked up. “Levi, take care not to tire out your father. Don’t you have some reading exercises to do?”
Levi picked up his book bag and carried it to his bedroom. “But we can talk later, right?”
“Yes, Levi, as much as you want,” Rayne said.
Levi smiled and closed his door.
“He was very upset when he thought he wasn’t going to see you today, you know,” David remarked.
“I gathered as much,” Rayne said. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the affection, but—”
“I know. You’re tired and you need as little stress as possible. I’ll try to keep him from asking too many questions, until you’re better.”
“Wonderful. I’ll be in the study then.”
“Study? You’re supposed to take it easy. I won’t have you overdoing it drafting contracts or whatever it is you do.”
“No worries. I just need to look something up; it has nothing to do with work. Shouldn’t take me more than twenty minutes.”
He wheeled his way over the threshold of the unused room they’d made into a study. Rayne used it for office work, but David used it as well, and the bookshelves that lined the walls contained a mix of both legal journals and medical textbooks, along with some non-work related tomes. A pair of worn out armchairs sat off to one side around a small coffee table, another folding chair leaned against the wall, and a single desk and office chair were stuffed into a corner of the room, supporting a computer, printer, phone, and fax machine. Rayne rolled into the room and flipped the computer on. He moved the desk chair out of the way, moved in front of the monitor, and started typing with his good hand as the browser loaded up.
David poked his head into the room. “Rayne, I’ve put the tea on, do you want any?”
“In a moment. I’ll be right out.”
Once David had left, Rayne finished typing out the word “Gabriel Baines, New York,” and hit enter, watching the screen load with search results. Deep down, he almost hoped to get back nothing. It would be the proof he needed that he’d been experiencing nothing more than a recurring nightmare.
But the results made his heart freeze, and for a moment it almost stopped beating. Right there, on the screen in front of him, was a directory of state government in New York, and there was Gabriel Baines, both in name and face. Rayne fumbled for the mouse to search further, but his shaking hand knocked the device off the desk, leaving it hanging by its cord above the floor. Unable to move his eyes from the screen, from the face of that man, he fumbled towards where it fell, pulling it up by the cord and setting it on the desk.
Gabriel didn’t look exactly the same. Unlike the man Rayne had met in the dark muddy plain, here he looked very clean, with his hair combed back, wearing a pressed suit free of tears and mud. He also looked much less tired in the photo, leading Rayne to wonder if it had been taken more than four months ago.
He combed over some of the other results, and was surprised by what he saw. News reports, and articles, detailing the man’s dubious political career. Investment fraud, accepting bribes, deregulating business practices that favored corporate connections, legislation that clearly helped line his own pockets, and accusations of assault. Standard stuff for someone in politics, really.
David popped back into the room. “Tea’s ready. Are you almost finished?”
“Yeah, won’t be more than a moment.”
David’s curiosity had gotten the better of him, and he entered the room and stood beside Rayne, looking at the monitor. “What are you up to anyways? A politician? What’s so interesting about him?”
“Nothing!” Rayne yelped. “I, that is—it’s nothing. I heard someone at the hospital mention his name, and I thought I’d look him up.”
“Oh. All right then, no need to get
“Are you all right, Rayne?” David looked up from the pile of mail he’d picked up. “Levi, take care not to tire out your father. Don’t you have some reading exercises to do?”
Levi picked up his book bag and carried it to his bedroom. “But we can talk later, right?”
“Yes, Levi, as much as you want,” Rayne said.
Levi smiled and closed his door.
“He was very upset when he thought he wasn’t going to see you today, you know,” David remarked.
“I gathered as much,” Rayne said. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the affection, but—”
“I know. You’re tired and you need as little stress as possible. I’ll try to keep him from asking too many questions, until you’re better.”
“Wonderful. I’ll be in the study then.”
“Study? You’re supposed to take it easy. I won’t have you overdoing it drafting contracts or whatever it is you do.”
“No worries. I just need to look something up; it has nothing to do with work. Shouldn’t take me more than twenty minutes.”
He wheeled his way over the threshold of the unused room they’d made into a study. Rayne used it for office work, but David used it as well, and the bookshelves that lined the walls contained a mix of both legal journals and medical textbooks, along with some non-work related tomes. A pair of worn out armchairs sat off to one side around a small coffee table, another folding chair leaned against the wall, and a single desk and office chair were stuffed into a corner of the room, supporting a computer, printer, phone, and fax machine. Rayne rolled into the room and flipped the computer on. He moved the desk chair out of the way, moved in front of the monitor, and started typing with his good hand as the browser loaded up.
David poked his head into the room. “Rayne, I’ve put the tea on, do you want any?”
“In a moment. I’ll be right out.”
Once David had left, Rayne finished typing out the word “Gabriel Baines, New York,” and hit enter, watching the screen load with search results. Deep down, he almost hoped to get back nothing. It would be the proof he needed that he’d been experiencing nothing more than a recurring nightmare.
But the results made his heart freeze, and for a moment it almost stopped beating. Right there, on the screen in front of him, was a directory of state government in New York, and there was Gabriel Baines, both in name and face. Rayne fumbled for the mouse to search further, but his shaking hand knocked the device off the desk, leaving it hanging by its cord above the floor. Unable to move his eyes from the screen, from the face of that man, he fumbled towards where it fell, pulling it up by the cord and setting it on the desk.
Gabriel didn’t look exactly the same. Unlike the man Rayne had met in the dark muddy plain, here he looked very clean, with his hair combed back, wearing a pressed suit free of tears and mud. He also looked much less tired in the photo, leading Rayne to wonder if it had been taken more than four months ago.
He combed over some of the other results, and was surprised by what he saw. News reports, and articles, detailing the man’s dubious political career. Investment fraud, accepting bribes, deregulating business practices that favored corporate connections, legislation that clearly helped line his own pockets, and accusations of assault. Standard stuff for someone in politics, really.
David popped back into the room. “Tea’s ready. Are you almost finished?”
“Yeah, won’t be more than a moment.”
David’s curiosity had gotten the better of him, and he entered the room and stood beside Rayne, looking at the monitor. “What are you up to anyways? A politician? What’s so interesting about him?”
“Nothing!” Rayne yelped. “I, that is—it’s nothing. I heard someone at the hospital mention his name, and I thought I’d look him up.”
“Oh. All right then, no need to get
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