Hiero bit his lip briefly, then nodded his head. “Yeah. I suppose I am.”
“That’s trouble. You know that, right?”
He glanced down at the T-shirt on the seat beside him. “Yeah, I know. I just can’t cut loose of her.”
I didn’t reply and instead stared off at the spires of the courthouse six blocks away.
Hiero continued, his voice tightening. “It’s just not that easy for me right now, Tower. My life is completely screwed. She’s about the only good thing I’ve got going. I know it’s messed up, but at least with her, I feel like-“
I raised my hand in front of my face and shook my head briefly. “Don’t,” I told him. “I don’t need to hear it. I don’t need to know your demons and you don’t need to know mine.”
Hiero was quiet for a moment. Then, “I owe you.”
I shook my head. “No. You don’t owe me.”
“Yeah, I do,” he said. “And I won’t forget. So thanks.”
Hiero put the Ford in gear and backed away, then shifted forward and cruised out of the lot.
I watched his truck turn left and cruise away on Indiana.
There was no reason to sit in the lot any longer, but I let the engine idle and stared absently out the window. The breeze outside my car window picked up slightly and I could hear the rush of air through the oak branches. I closed my eyes and focused on the flitter-flatter of the leaves. I listened to their many soft voices.
I listened for the truth.
I listened for a long while.
And when I thought I’d finally heard it whispered on the air, I accepted it, dropped the car into gear and drove slowly home.