A long lane at night

2.15. MIND MAZE Part 1

** BRIAN **

IT HAD ALL THE MAKINGS OF A WONDERFUL DAY. Allan, Jack, and Nate had spent almost the entire morning discussing wedding plans, then Jack and Nate left for their first fitting down in the city. Instead of coming back home, they had decided to take Alice so Mama Maggie could see her again. As the hours passed, they brought along a promise to make a day to be remembered and cherished in years to come.

Life gave me the lowest of blows when the phone rang and Henry's dry voice met my ears.

'Hey, Brian, are you alone?'

I could hear the rumbling of his truck and that worried me.

'I am, Henry. Is everything all right?'

'No, it's not. You'd better sit down, Brian. And make sure you can't be overheard.'

'It's okay, Henry. I'm alone and sitting.'

'Nate just called me. He and Jack were at your mom's house and, God, that's really some shitty timing. Listen. They had left to pick up an order or something, I don't remember. There was a fire, Brian. Now, listen, two very bad things happened and I'll let you decide how to deal with things. The fire fighters rescued Alice and she's all right, but the doctors refused to give her back to Jack. They're talking about what Nate called "reckless endangerment of a child". And that's not all, Brian. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but your mom didn't resist the fire.'

I dropped my phone on the floor and the silence around me was so heavy I could hear my screen crack. Every part of my body went numb and my brain felt like it had shut down, unable to process any other piece of information.

Slowly, I started to hear Henry's voice reaching me through the speaker. He was repeatedly calling my name. When I finally picked the phone up from the floor and let Henry know I was here, he continued.

'I am terribly sorry to break this to you like this, Brian, but I'm on my way to take Jack away from there. Nate has told me to take him to my own place and that it's paramount that he doesn't leave and that you don't go there as well. There are a lot of things I'm not understanding and I'm sure Nate will explain everything to us as soon as he can, but right now, he needed to act quickly. I'll call you again when I get home with Jack.'

The call went mute and I couldn't move.

Two people inside of me were battling to take over. The grieving son was desperately needing to go to Mama Maggie's house, to see with my own eyes what had happened. On the other hand, Jack's father needed to act and he needed to act fast.

Painful and troubled times were ahead of our family.

First, I needed to talk to Allan, Mama Maggie's own child. He knew something was wrong the second he looked at me. When those awful words left my mouth, words he would remember forever against his own will, he collapsed on the floor and started crying uncontrollably.

'I'm so sorry, my love,' I kneeled next to him and we hugged one another. I had also started to cry, momentarily allowing the grieving son to take over. We cried in each other's arms for some very long minutes and I waited until Allan's sobs started to slightly subdue before I spoke again.

'This is really difficult for us all, my love,' I said, caressing his head, 'but Jack needs us now more than ever, more than he realises. We need to do what's right for our son.'

We stayed down on the floor for a few more moments, silently crying and hugging each other. Then, it was time to break the sad news to the twins and a lot more crying ensued.

'They can't take Alice away from Jack,' there was anger in Chad's voice. 'He is a wonderful father. He would never be reckless or jeopardise her safety in any possible way. He trusted Nanna Maggie. We all do. Did. I don't know. They just can't do it. They just can't.'