Going Home 2: A Saint's Tale

Chapter 22

Saint followed Max from the small hallway back into the main store section. He was holding Perth's hand. A proud smile stretched from ear to ear.

"Tul! You aren't going to believe it! Perth can do secret agent burglar stuff! With just a screwdriver and a flashlight! It was so cool!" Saint was convinced his man was a certifiable genius. Or maybe Perth worked for a secret intelligence agency... He was pulled from his reverie by Miri.

"What is secret agent buwglah stuff?"

Perth picked her up. "Remember I fix things? I fixed the door so we could get in. Easy peasy, sweetpea. Uncle Saint is just very excitable." Perth tossed a grin at Saint who just laughed.

"I thought we settled this. I'm not excitable. I'm dramatic!" He waved his arms around wildly to make his point.

Miri giggled and hugged Perth's neck.

"Did you find any candy?" he asked as he shifted her to his other arm.

"Daddy Max and I did!" she beamed and wiggled to get down. Perth placed her on her feet and she immediately ran toward one of the bags.

"Wait a minute. Can we go back to Perth being a secret agent burglar? What are you talking about, Saint?" Tul asked thoroughly confused.

Saint was telling the story while Perth interjected corrections when Miri began handing out 'candy'.

Perth looked at the wrapped package she had handed him. It was a power bar. His eyes grew oddly soft while gazing at it.

"See? Daddy Max says this candy is excha good." Miri enthusiastically told Perth.

He smiled. "It is indeed, sweetpea."

Saint, who was by now having a fabulous time describing Perth's actions in glowing terms, glanced at the subject of his story. He was looking at the power bar and smiling to himself.

The healer was sure the power bar wasn't triggering Perth's anxiety but something was going on. He cut his story short.

"Perth? You okay?" Saint now had Max and Tul's attention as well. His voice was no longer filled with laughter. It was soothing and calm.

"Huh? What? Uh, yes." He paused. Unshed tears hung in his eyes. "Yes, I really am fine."

"Babe?" There were a lot of unasked questions in that single word.

Perth sniffed and half laughed. He twirled the power bar. "These saved my life."

Saint cocked his head, inviting him to continue.

"When they stopped feeding me, somebody started shoving things like power bars under the closet door. Power bars, granola, fruit sticks even a rice krispie treat smooshed thin - whatever could fit under the door. The guy even would shift around on the door so it would bang a bit to hide the crinkling of the packaging. Usually, it would be no more than two or three but it helped. If they didn't feed me for more than a day. I would eat half of one. Eat the other half the next day. Just little nibbles so I would feel fuller."

Perth's eyes hadn't left the power bar.

"I can't imagine what would have happened if they had caught him. He risked his life to help me and I have no idea who he was." A tear slipped down his cheek. "I wish I could tell him how grateful I am." His lips were trembling but the smile was natural. Real.

Saint smiled and rubbed Perth's back. "Sounds like an incredible person. I'm grateful he took the chance to help you."

Miri had retreated to Tul. A tug on his shirt. Tul looked down at a confused little face.