[November 29th] [The Rockford Files-related] Chronicles of a Friendship, 29

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

Title: Chronicles of a Friendship, scene 29
Day/Theme: November 29th - Summer Shadow
Series: The Rockford Files (using characters from The Queen of Peru episode)
Character/Pairing: Ginger Townsend, Lou Trevino
Rating: K+/PG

Part 1 of two.


By Lucky_Ladybug

Ginger was sitting at the kitchen table the day after Thanksgiving, staring into the distance and lost in thought.

Thanksgiving wasn’t celebrated in England, but there were other holidays for family togetherness. He had been remembering some such celebrations from his younger years. And although he really didn’t like to think too heavily on the past, tonight his mind had also wandered back to a dark summer day when he and Lou had still been in prison.

It had been a long and miserable day as it was. All Ginger wanted was some peace and quiet for the evening, alone with Lou and without having to deal with any of the other prisoners. But when a shadow fell across the door of their cell, instinctively he knew it was not to be.

“Townsend, come with me,” the guard said. “The warden wants to see you.”

Ginger frowned. “What about? I haven’t done anything out of sorts.” As much as I might have liked to several times.

“No one said you had.” The guard unlocked the door and reached for his arm. “Come on.”

Ginger pulled away and walked out on his own. Worried, Lou came to the door and looked out. “Don’t you have any idea what it is?” Lou pleaded.

“You’ll find out when he gets back,” the guard returned. “If he feels like telling you.”

Ginger turned over all manner of possibilities for the meeting on the long walk to the warden’s office. But he still never expected what he was told when he arrived. He slumped back, stunned, his world collapsing around him.

He was in a dark daze when he returned. Alarmed, Lou hurried to him. “Ginger, what is it?” he asked in concern. Ginger knew that he had been pacing the floor, worrying and wondering the whole time what was wrong and if Ginger was going to be punished for some real or imagined error. And it was a punishment, but not one that the warden could control.

Ginger did not meet his gaze. “My mother is dead.”

Lou rocked back, stunned. “What? When?”

“Last night, London time.” Ginger walked across the small space and cast himself on Lou’s bunk. He did that sometimes, when he was upset and didn’t feel like climbing up to his own bunk. Lou didn’t mind.

Lou stood near the beds, watching him, worried. “What happened?”

“They’re not sure. She’d been growing weak and ill for a long time, ever since my father died.” Ginger wasn’t facing him. He was staring at the wall, not even sure how to process or deal with this.

“I know, but they must have some idea!”

“Do I need to spell it out for you?” Ginger returned, bitterly. “She likely died of a broken heart. Her husband is dead. Her only child is in prison.” Suddenly he sat up and swore, hitting the wall. “My mother is dead and there was nothing I could do for her! I made her pain all the worse.”

Lou flinched, as he knew the guys in the next cell probably had. “Ginger, you don’t know . . .”

“I know how she broke down and wept when my sentence was handed down,” Ginger returned. “It was much less than we had feared, but it was still bad enough. And her reputation back home was in shreds! She was the mother of an international jewel thief. She lost many fair-weather friends because of it.” He leaped up, pacing the cell like a caged animal.

Lou swallowed hard. “I guess there’s no hope they’ll let you go back for the funeral,” he said quietly.

Ginger scoffed. “If it was just across town, they would consider it. But across the country, over the Atlantic? There’s no chance they would think of making such a trip with a prisoner, particularly one with a violent background.”

“But you’ve been going to those anger management classes,” Lou protested.

“That isn’t enough. Anyway, the warden told me it couldn’t be done even if I didn’t have a frightening tendency to snap.” Ginger spun about and climbed to the top bunk, where he laid down facing the wall.

Lou gazed at the other man, his heart aching for Ginger’s anguish. “Ginger, I . . . I’m sorry,” he stammered. “Really sorry. If there’s anything I can do . . .”

“You couldn’t change his mind. It’s not missing the funeral that’s the worst part about this.” Ginger gripped a wad of blanket in his fist.

“Of course not,” Lou hurried to say. “I didn’t mean about the funeral, really. Just . . . if you need to talk . . .”

“You can’t even understand what it’s like,” Ginger said. “You haven’t lost any of your loved ones. Your parents are still alive and well.”

“That’s true,” Lou acknowledged. “But sometimes it helps just to have someone to listen. . . .”

“Not now,” Ginger answered. “Not in this case.”

And he closed himself off, staring at the wall for the rest of the evening. Feeling helpless, Lou left him alone and waited and prayed.
****
Ginger barely said anything for the next several days. It worried Lou. He had expected a lot more flame and fire, but instead Ginger had turned on the ice. He was numb.

On the fourth day, Lou couldn’t take it anymore. “Ginger, please, talk to me,” he begged.

Ginger looked up from dinner. “I’ve talked to you.”

“No, I mean really.” Lou looked at him pleadingly. “I’ve left you alone and given you your space because I thought that was what you wanted. But I’m getting really worried about you.”

“Why?” Ginger said dryly. “Because I’m not wearing my bloody heart on my bloody sleeve, as you’re more likely to do than I?”

“It’s just that I . . . I thought you’d be throwing things and screaming,” Lou admitted. “Instead you’re so quiet.”

“Well, that’s the purpose of these anger management classes, isn’t it? To control the urge to throw things and scream?”

“It’s to help you find a healthy way to get your anger and pain out,” Lou said. “And Ginger, this isn’t it!”

“Now, aren’t you the bright up-and-coming psychologist.” Ginger set aside the empty tray and stood, turning away from Lou. “I don’t want to end up confined to solitary. Or worse, have more time added on to this bloody sentence. I don’t want to spend any more time in this Hellhole than I have to.”

Lou set his tray aside and got up as well. “You don’t want to be in solitary? That’s really interesting, considering you’re acting like you’re already there!” He stood behind Ginger, knowing he was probably pushing some dangerous buttons but not being able to control himself any longer.

Ginger had stiffened. “What are you on about?”

“I’m talking about how you’ve barely said twenty words to me for the last four days!” Lou retorted. “You’re right, you know—I don’t know what it’s like to lose someone I love. But you know what else? I’m learning!

“First I almost lost Mike. Do you know how hard that was for me, to know how sick he was and not even be able to go to him or see him after the trial?!”

Ginger flinched. He knew he was directly the cause of Michael’s serious injury and Lou’s anguish because of it. Out of everything he had done wrong in his life, hitting Michael with that intimidation shot was at the top of his list of what he regretted the most.

“Now I’m losing you,” Lou continued. “And I don’t think I can take it! I have to just stand here, day after day, and hope you’ll start talking to me again. But you don’t. And we both know what an eternity just a day in here is.

“Ginger, please. Don’t shut me out. You don’t have to get all emotional if you don’t want to, but you don’t have to treat me like a piece of the furniture, either!”

That reached Ginger. “I don’t mean to.” Finally he turned to face Lou, the conflict and agony in his eyes and on his features. “You’re the only person still alive who cares what happens to me,” he said, his voice taut to the breaking point. “And I bloody well don’t know why you do. I shot your brother. I’ve taken you for granted. I’m still taking you for granted now. I want you here and I expect that you’ll be here whether I talk to you or not, because of your love and loyalty. But you could get fed-up with me and ask for a different cellmate, if you wanted. You could get away from me so easily. And yet you don’t.”

“Because I’m not gonna just abandon my best friend when he does some stupid or hurtful things,” Lou shot back. “Or when he just acts human or is hurting. Nobody’s perfect. And I saw a long time ago that you’re better than even you think you are. You’re worth fighting for. So I’m gonna fight.” He laid his hands on Ginger’s shoulders.

At last the dam broke. Ginger stared at Lou and finally reached up, gripping at his hands as though he didn’t want to let go.

“. . . I don’t even know how to react to Mum’s death,” Ginger confessed. “When Dad died, I was free to go where I wanted. I went to comfort Mum and I went to the funeral. You remember; you were there. But this time around, there’s nothing I can do. I have to stay in this blasted cell while strangers who don’t even care are putting Mum in the ground! And I’m here because of my own choices in life, so I can’t even complain that much.”

Lou nodded, sadly. “We won’t be in here forever,” he said. “But I know it’s not really a consolation right now. You want to be where you can’t be, like me when Mike was hurt.”

Ginger nodded as well. “And I am truly sorry I did that to your brother . . . and to you. If I had it to do over, I’d fire high over his head. Or not fire at all. Not that it matters now.”

“It matters,” Lou said.

Ginger sighed, drawing back from Lou and slowly beginning to pace the length of the cell. “I wanted to scream and throw things when I was first told about Mum’s death. But I was trying to restrain myself because I didn’t want to be taken away from here. Instead, I restrained myself too far and ended up hurting you. Even though I wasn’t talking much, it meant a great deal to me that you were here.”

“Then you weren’t taking me for granted,” Lou said quietly. “You don’t have to think of it like that.”

Ginger stopped pacing and looked back. “You’re right; we won’t be in here forever. And the first chance I have when we’re out, I want to go home and make certain Mum’s grave is being taken care of.”

Lou smiled, weakly and sadly. “And I’ll come with you, if you want me there.”

“Yes.” Ginger turned fully to face Lou. “I want you there. And I believe Mum would. She liked you. Dad did as well.”

“Then we’ll both go,” Lou said firmly.

Ginger started to relax. The pain wasn’t gone, but talking to Lou had definitely helped. And Ginger vowed to himself that if he could help it, he never wanted to do anything to hurt Lou ever again.
****
In the present, Ginger sighed and leaned back at the table.

The rest of their time in prison hadn’t been pleasant, but it had been tolerable because they had faced it together. They had been released on the same day, to their relief. They had both feared that since Ginger was the mastermind and the one who had fired at both Mike and the RV, he would be in longer, something neither of them had liked.

Instead, a representative from their company had approached them in prison and said that their talents were sorely missed and Fragmented Triangle would be willing to re-hire both of them if they would stay and work for the Los Angeles branch of the company.

They were certainly agreeable. They had worried how they would find decent jobs, knowing of the nightmares many ex-cons had with work. And the warden had liked the idea as well. (Ginger often thought he had probably just wanted to get them out of his prison.) He had decided that if Ginger and Lou were willing to accept the offer and go straight, he would be willing to let them both be released at the same time. He had experienced some difficulty getting the prison board to agree, but in the end they had.

Of course, Ginger had not fully managed to keep the vow he had made four days after his mother’s death; he knew he had done things that had hurt Lou since then. But Lou had forgiven him and they had moved on.

“Ginger?”

He looked up with a start as Lou wandered into the room. “Hey, are you okay? You’ve been sitting here for ages.”

Ginger nodded. “I’m alright,” he said honestly. “Somehow I got lost in some memories of when we were on porridge.”

Lou sat next to him. Some British expressions were really off-the-wall, as far as Lou was concerned. Including that term for being in prison.

“That’s not something you usually think about, is it?” he asked.

“No, it isn’t. I abhorred it in there. Particularly how there was little to no privacy for anything. No one could even go to the loo without it being known.”

Lou nodded in sympathy. Being a very private, dignified person, Ginger had ranted about that more than once.

“Right now, though,” Ginger continued, “I was mainly thinking about how we haven’t had a chance yet to go back to England and the cemetery.”

“Oh.” Lou sighed sadly. “I’ve thought about that, too. We’ve been so busy with work and weird things happening to us.”

“Out of all the places they’ve sent us on business trips, they haven’t ever sent us to England,” Ginger frowned. “Do you suppose the London office doesn’t want us there?”

“I don’t know.” Lou clasped his hands on the table. “It always did seem kind of weird that they wanted us to stay here. But on the other hand, the explanation they gave for it was logical—wanting us to join the L.A. office because we were veterans and the L.A. branch was just getting started. They wanted people with company experience to help build it up.”

“And I’m not sure we would have been released if they had wanted us to move to a different office,” Ginger mused.

“Yeah.” Lou got up and looked over the calendar. “We’ve got some vacation time coming up. How about we take a trip to London then?”

Ginger perked up. “I’d like that.”

Lou smiled. “Maybe next weekend, when there won’t be a lot of Thanksgiving traffic?”

Ginger nodded. “Let’s try it.” He looked to his friend. “Thank you.”

Lou looked back. “Hey, I’ve got a promise to keep.” He went and sat back down at the table. “And you’ve got some closure coming to you. I know it won’t be the same as what you really wanted, but . . .”

“It’s something,” Ginger said. “And when I won’t be going there alone, it will mean much more.”

“You’ll never be alone, Ginger,” Lou vowed. He was still bound and determined to stay on Earth if he was the one to die first. But he hoped they would not have to find that out for many years to come.

Ginger looked to him. “I know,” he said, quietly and simply and with knowing. He smiled a bit. “You would never allow it.”

“Darn straight,” Lou agreed.