iii. the photographs

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CHAPTER 3
THE PHOTOGRAPHS

— CHAPTER 3 —THE PHOTOGRAPHS

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TUESDAY 30th OCTOBER,
1984



THOMAS Delaney is not a person of conflict. He has been that way since he was a quiet young boy, trying his best to keep his head low and keep the peace. So when there was a knocking on the door at an outrageous hour in the morning, it could have been easy to simply turn them away.

     But it would have been cruel to refuse his little sister at the door — well, not little anymore, since Peggy had turned thirty-five in March. Although his half-sleeping brain had had a billion questions crackling inside it as she pleaded to stay for the night, he asked none of them then. It was a simple case of ushering her in quietly so she didn't wake his daughters. As he walked back upstairs, though, he found that might be too futile of a request as he spotted Daphne and Cath peeking through the banisters on the stairs as he talked with Peggy.

However, this morning was different. Things could be observed under the scrutiny of daylight. Thomas stood making two cups of coffee, peering out of the kitchen window onto the front porch where Peggy was sat. It was still fairly early, both of them giving up on catching up sleep, but the sun was rising steadily over Hawkins. His challenge now was to extract any information he could from Peggy — his sister had a famously ambiguous life, which had become even more hidden since she failed to visit for Christmas last year. This was the first time he'd seen her for a good year or two.

With a sigh, Thomas brings the two mugs outside onto the porch, where Peggy has just lit herself a cigarette from a pack of Marlboros. Although no stranger to the scent of cigarette smoke, its proximity still makes him want to hold in a cough since he more or less quit a few years back. He sits himself down in one of the wooden rocking chairs and passes a mug to her.

"Oh, thanks..." Peggy takes the cup, holding it under her nose and smelling it. "God, that smells good."

"You'll want to drink up after last night," Thomas says responsibly. "You know, to make up for the lost sleep. I don't know how you got here in one piece."

"I didn't. I almost got into three car crashes on my way here."

"Peggy—"

"Come on, I'm kidding! Kind of..."

Riding on the pang of worry he just felt, Thomas shifts himself in his chair so his body is facing towards her more. "So, what's all of this about? Why are you here?"

"Can't a girl drink her coffee before she gets in the hot seat?" Peggy retorts with a nervous laugh, taking a quick slurp of coffee.

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