Charles Elwood (celwood) wrote in genome_project, @ 2011-07-24 17:58:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | july 2011, samuel bailey |
Who: Charles and Samuel
What: Sharing unwanted news
Where: Bailey House
When: Evening
Rating: Medium
Charles' days always varied, some with barely an hour out of the house, others barely an hour in, and during the discussions off-island after returning from Washington he'd been out almost solidly for the entire week, only returning for dinner and bed, leaving in the morning before Bethany was awake - or before she cared to make it clear she wasn't sleeping.
So it was unsurprising that when he finished the last scheduled call of the evening, it was from one of his out-of-house offices. Less surprising still that he made swift work of picking up his keys and taking his car straight to Samuel's residence. The tension in his own home lately, and his attempts at conversation responded to with only sarcasm or stubborn barriers, was precisely why he'd decided neither his wife nor daughter were currently in appropriate states to be told, much less reasonably discuss, the situation he intended to confide in Samuel.
Like with Arthur, he was one of those rare colleagues whose intelligence and rationality Charles valued, perhaps on more than just a professional level (periodic minor spats occasionally leading to spectacular falling outs notwithstanding). The trust he had placed on Samuel was unspoken, but because it had existed for so long, and never stretched beyond repair despite being sorely tested, he felt its somewhat assuring presence as he approached the Bailey door with an outward ease he didn't inwardly feel that evening, and rang the bell.