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Aug. 18th, 2019 03:45 pmTwo things currently take up most of John's mental real estate, one far more agreeable than the other, but he can't simply ignore the less welcome thought, because to ignore it would potentially put someone's life in danger. And the two are more entwined than he would like, because while he surveys a young woman with her significantly older husband, a man whom John has heard numerous rumours about, he can't help but think that he and Karen will eventually be in a similar situation.
Not the same situation, not by far, but they're engaged now, and with a twenty year difference between them, he knows people might look at him the same way they look at one Patrick Brady. He's not the same. Not by far. Because Patrick Brady, from what John has been able to gather, has an addiction to gambling, is deeply in debt, and may have a tendency to take it out on his young wife when he gets particularly stressed about the amount of money he owes.
John doesn't like men who hit their partners. He doesn't like anyone who hits someone they claim to love, but he looks at a man like Patrick Brady and all he sees is Peter Arndt. He looks at a woman like Carolyn Brady and he sees only Jessica.
So he's thinking about Karen and the ring she's wearing now, the ring he'd bought her, and he's following Patrick Brady through Petros Park with the casual experience of a man who knows exactly what he's doing. And when he sees a familiar face, all he does is lift his hand in greeting and smile. He isn't doing anything out of the ordinary, after all, and anyone who knows him well enough will be able to simply fall in step beside him and help bolster the guise of being just a regular guy taking a walk in the park.
Not the same situation, not by far, but they're engaged now, and with a twenty year difference between them, he knows people might look at him the same way they look at one Patrick Brady. He's not the same. Not by far. Because Patrick Brady, from what John has been able to gather, has an addiction to gambling, is deeply in debt, and may have a tendency to take it out on his young wife when he gets particularly stressed about the amount of money he owes.
John doesn't like men who hit their partners. He doesn't like anyone who hits someone they claim to love, but he looks at a man like Patrick Brady and all he sees is Peter Arndt. He looks at a woman like Carolyn Brady and he sees only Jessica.
So he's thinking about Karen and the ring she's wearing now, the ring he'd bought her, and he's following Patrick Brady through Petros Park with the casual experience of a man who knows exactly what he's doing. And when he sees a familiar face, all he does is lift his hand in greeting and smile. He isn't doing anything out of the ordinary, after all, and anyone who knows him well enough will be able to simply fall in step beside him and help bolster the guise of being just a regular guy taking a walk in the park.
