Summertime Haze
1.20 - About Time
Just as he’d promised Reese, Toby finally arranged a sit down meeting with a police officer to discuss Hayley’s murder. Reese was there, but not enthusiastically. It showed in her behavior- she kept checking her phone for the time, as if she had something more important to get to. However, Toby was so singularly focused on bringing Hayley’s killer to justice that it wasn’t something he really noticed.
“Alright, tell me about the nurse you saw,” the officer said, notepad at the ready as he waited for Toby to explain the situation.
“She was white, had blonde hair, and smelled very heavily of alcohol,” Toby said. “She was drunk- I’m sure of it. There was that scent of alcohol and this cloudy look in her eyes, there is no doubt in my mind about that.”
He could remember the woman clearly. He was certain that she’d caused his wife’s death, so he’d burned her image into his memory. That brief moment he’d seen her… that could be the difference between bringing Hayley’s killer to justice or not, allowing that woman to continue working in a hospital as a raging alcoholic. He wasn’t about to let that happen.
“How tall would you saw this woman was? Do you know anything about her eye color, or what she was wearing?”
Reese, who was seated next to the officer, briefly looked up from her phone and sighed. “A nurse’s outfit, officer. That should be obvious. Please don’t waste our time.”
The officer kept his cool. “Every detail is essential, Ms. Inda. Being absolutely certain about this woman’s appearance that night allows us to question the other potential witnesses who were present. The more details about this woman they have, the more likely they are to more accurately tell us if they saw her or not.”
“But, you agree with us, right? Hayley’s sudden passing was unusual?” Toby asked earnestly.
The officer nodded. “The staff at the hospital do reaffirm that her condition was improving. Additionally, the coroner found a trace amount of a drug she wasn’t prescribed in her blood. It seems the most likely cause of death is the drug this drunk nurse used- our current guess is that it reacted poorly with Hayley’s existing medication.”
Toby nodded. He was sad, yet… he felt vindicated. Hayley’s passing wasn’t natural. Reese had doubted it, but he’d known the truth. It was clear to him that in those days leading up to her death, she was recovering at a rapid rate. It was as if the desire to protect Nathan and Jennifer, a need to step in and be a parent in every way that Toby had failed was all the medicine she needed. She was fighting that illness keeping her in the hospital with her very soul, and Toby knew that Hayley wouldn’t have lost that fight easily. An unnatural cause was the only explanation.
Toby cleared his throat. “Well, getting back to your earlier question, officer, the woman was about my height. Blue eyes, I believe? And of course, please don’t forget how drunk she was. I doubt there’s that many people who roam the hospital halls that wasted, I think that detail alone could narrow down the suspects a lot.”
“Exactly. This can’t be that hard, you guys should be able to get this figured out so we can all move on and stop obsessing…” Reese muttered.
“It’s not about obsessing, Reese,” Toby said, shaking his head. “Nathan and Jennifer lost their mother. I feel it’d help them a lot emotionally if they knew the person who brought about their mother’s passing was in jail.”
“Yeah, cause you know so much about being a father,” Reese said under her breath.
“I’m sorry?”
“Oh, nothing, nothing important! Just a worthless observation, don’t mind me, Toby, officer.”
The officer nodded, relieved that Toby seemed to not have entirely processed what Reese had just muttered. Regardless, he wanted to get of there. So, he gathered his things, and put them all in his bag. “Thank you both. Your information was valuable, I’ll be in touch if there’s any new developments.”
“Thank you, officer,” Toby smiled. “I’ll reach out if I remember anything else.”
The officer tipped his cap, picked up his bag, then headed out.
“We’ll get this woman, Reese, I just know we will!” Toby grinned. Then, his smile slipped. “I… I know I wasn’t a good husband to her. This hardly begins to make up for that, but it’s something at least.”
“Yeah, it’s certainly… something,” she said, gathering her things as well.
“Look, Reese,” Toby sighed. “I know that solving Hayley’s murder won’t even begin to make up for the fact that she died, or for how terrible of a husband I was to her, but come on! You have to be at least a little excited that we’re making progress.”
“That’s the thing. I’m not. And it isn’t that I dislike you because of the way you treated Hayley. If anything, it’s that every time I’m around you, I worry about what kind of future Nathan and Jennifer are going to face with you as a single father. But you know what? I don’t want to worry about things that don’t affect me. It’s none of my business. In my opinion, we should just let Hayley rest so we can all move on. But… I promised you that I’d help you solve her murder, so here I am.”
“I… see,” Toby said, looking down sadly, not really having any real response to that.
There was a long silence before Reese spoke again.
“Anyway. Goodbye Toby. Let me know the next time I’m needed for the murder investigation,” Reese said curtly, heading towards the front door.
“Reese… wait,” Toby said quietly.
Reese turned back around, arms crossed.
“If it makes you feel any better… you’re more than welcome to act as a parental figure to Nathan and Jennifer. I… think they could really use someone else to look up to, now that Hayley’s… gone. And, let’s face it. I’m really… not one. So… would you?”
Reese smiled. “For Nathan and Jennifer? Of course, Toby. You’re right, you know. If there’s anything those two need right now, it’s someone who can act as a parental figure that they can actually look up to. So, if they need anything, call me.”
“Will do,” Toby nodded.
He then walked Reese the rest of the way to the front door, and opened it up for her.
“Bye Reese.”
“See you soon, Toby.”
Toby stood at the door and absentmindedly watched as Reese walked down the street. Once she was finally out of sight, he came back to himself, and moved to shut the door. Before he could, however, someone very familiar popped out of hiding from the bushes in front of his house.
“H-Henry,” Toby stammered, his eyes scanning Henry from head to toe.
It’d been so long since he’d last seen him that he’d almost become a stranger to him. It felt as if he was seeing a ghost.
“I know that I’m the last person you want to see right now, Toby, but please. Let me talk to you,” Henry said. He then stopped, and waited for a response.
That was something Reese wouldn’t have done. She would’ve shoved right past him. That simple fact alone moved Toby.
“Uh, sure?” Toby said, stepping to the side to let Henry through the front door.
“Thank you,” Henry said as he passed him.
Toby was too weirded out by being alone in Henry’s presence again to welcome him any further into the house, as a proper host would’ve. So, instead, the two of them stood in the entryway, the silence between them stretching out for miles.
Eventually, Henry broke the silence. “Toby, I just wanted to let you know that I’m here for you. I know you’re going through a lot right now, and I think it would really help if you spent more time with your friends.”
Toby didn’t respond.
“A-And even if that isn’t me, Bennett, Jordan, and Hope all care a lot about you too. You don’t have to isolate yourself, Toby. Only talking to Reese and sometimes Paolo can’t be good for you. And it isn’t my place to say this but I thought your relationship with Reese was… rocky, at best! It’s a little concerning that she’s now the only person you’re really confiding in…”
When Toby finally spoke, his voice came out as a croak. “Reese… has been good to me. She was close with Hayley, once. It’s nice having someone who knew her well around, almost makes it feel like she’s… still here.”
“Okay, I get that. But please, Toby, consider talking to more people than just her. We’re- I’m worried about you.”
“I’d like that… but, I’m not sure. Being friends with you guys, being… whatever we were, Henry, that was when I started to pull away from Hayley. That was what put her in the hospital, what eventually killed her. I don’t want to disrespect her memory by doing the very same thing that killed her.”
“…can you at least consider it, Toby? Take me out of the equation, at least consider talking with Bennett, Jordan, Hope, or Paolo.”
“I’ll… Okay. I’ll think about it.”
Henry smiled sadly. “I’m glad to hear it. I’ll leave now, Toby. I don’t want to be here any longer than nessacary. It’s painful for me, I’ll admit it, but I bet it’s even more painful for you.”
Henry walked over to Toby’s front door, and opened it up. “See you, Toby. I… I hope that we can be friends again, someday.”
With that, Henry closed the door, and Toby was once again left alone in an empty house.
While this was occurring, Bennett, Jordan, Hope, and Paolo were meeting for dinner at a local cafe. It was a charming little place that looked over the river, a local gem regularly frequented by residents of Willow Creek.
“Where’s Henry? I thought he was supposed to be here,” Hope said, frowning. “It’s been a while since we’ve met up with Paolo, so I was hoping we could have everyone… well, everyone except you know who, but you get my point.”
“You’re going to hate me, but I might’ve given some… let’s call it reckless advice a few days back,” Jordan said with a sly smile.
“And I might’ve… seconded that advice she gave,” Bennett muttered.
“What did you guys do?” Hope frowned.
Jordan placed both hands on the table and spoke boldly. “He asked me if he should reach out to Toby because of, well, you know, everything he’s going through right now, and I told him he should.”
Paolo shook his head. “Tell me you’re joking…”
“Now you listen here, Paolo, Toby is clearly suffering and isolating himself with Reese, of all people? That’s not going to help him. The best thing for him right now is to spend time talking to people who actually care about him! Not people who flit about, making snide remarks because they love the attention.”
“I think you’re forgetting that Toby and Henry were a thing? Sort of became the thing that put Hayley in the hospital? I doubt Toby wants that reminder back in his life, guys. Please, call Henry and tell him to bail. He’ll actually listen to the two of you.”
“From where I’m standing, Paolo, Reese seems like… well, a terrible friend,” Bennett said. “I agreed with Jordan because she’s right, and… Toby deserves better, no offense to you and Reese.”
“Or you seconded her opinion because you’re in love with her,” Hope muttered.
The whole table fell quiet.
“W-What?” Hope stammered. “I mean, it’s obvious! Everyone can see it! You look a Jordan like no one else, Bennett, and Jordan, I roomed with you for years. I know the way you act when you’ve fallen for someone. So please, for the love of all that is holy, just ask each other out already!”
“You know what?” Bennett snapped. “Maybe I will!”
He turned to Jordan. “Jordan. Seeing that everyone seems to think that we’re already a thing, would you go out with me?”
“Yeah, Bennett, of course I will. Duh. Isn’t like we’ve been seeing each other secretly for the past couple months because we knew you all would make the biggest deal out of this.”
“For the past couple months?” Hope exclaimed. “Oh, this makes too much sense! I’m so fucking angry at the two of you, why couldn’t you tell me? No wonder you walked around like you were on top of the world lately Jordan, you always get so insufferable whenever you get with a guy and really enjoy the sex. Ugh, I hate you both so much! But also, congrats on finally making it official, love you both!”
“Yeah, congrats, or whatever,” Paolo interrupted, clearly annoyed. “Happy for you guys, but this isn’t the issue right now! Henry is on his way to see or is already seeing Toby right this second! We can’t let this happen!”
“Paolo, let me tell this right now. You are the only one opposed to this happening,” Hope said casually. “You’re on your own.”
“Reese probably got in his head,” Jordan said, frowning. “She really does seem to have that effect on people.”
“Fine! I’m calling him up! If you guys don’t see how terrible of an idea this is, I guess I’ll have to take care of it.”
Paolo dialed Henry, and everyone watched him in silence as the phone rang. To Paolo’s horror, a phone across the cafe started to ring as someone walked through the front doors.
Henry held up his phone as he walked into the restaurant. “Paolo, I know that I’m late, but that doesn’t mean you need to call me…”
His voice trailed off as he recognized how tense Paolo was.
“Did you see him? Did you talk to Toby, Henry?” Paolo said anxiously.
“Yeah, I did,” Henry said, shrugging. He walked over to the table and took his seat. “Pretty much played out exactly as I expected it. It was tough for both of us, and while I can’t convince him to talk to me anytime soon, he is considering talking to the rest of you.”
“Having seen you again is going to destroy him,” Paolo said bitterly, shaking his head.
“Ignore him,” Jordan smiled. “And guess what, Henry?”
“What is it? What happened?”
“Jordan and I are dating now,” Bennett interjected awkwardly.
“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to hear those words. It’s about time!” Henry exclaimed. “I’m buying you all dinner, and don’t even try to argue with me! We’re celebrating this.”