Commitment

Part 63

Alison kept her eyes on Regan, and monitored Regan's eyes while she asked Mairie, "So, Mairie, if you told him, why is he still being mean to Regan?" Alison asked gently. That was puzzling. He wasn't a mean person by nature. Alison looked around, searching for Gray, but he had disappeared from view.

"Because I don't think he believed me." Mairie said as she resumed her position. "He's a nasty, unpleasant termite!"

Regan snorted at that statement. It was so untrue. But she was surprised to find him trying to goad her earlier today. She was convinced at that time that he was spoiling for a fight. Almost as if he wanted her to drop her smile and argue back. But she had her wall in place. Securely place. She recognised his subtly jabs and those were promptly deflected by her wall. Amazing what you remember from your childhood experience, how to dodge emotional bullets.

Regan looked over at Mairie and said softly. "He isn't. You know that!" Regan knew that she was standing up for Gray despite knowing that he didn't like her. She knew he was not happy with her because he believed she had taken advantage of him. Which was true, well, not exactly! More a mixture of pride and circumstances.  "He's just not happy at being taken for a ride, that's all." She lifted her shoulders and offered a tepid smile, "You would feel the same, if someone took advantage of you." She did feel guilty. He did so much for her and her farm, with so little resource and his accomplishment and work was not recognised in his wage packets.

"You didn't take him for a ride." Jenny pointed out quietly and again wished she had never recommend this route. Jenny murmured, "You housed him and his family when they had nothing. You gave him a job." Jenny watched Regan's eyes and could see sadness in her eyes, laced with shame. "I suggested that. This is my fault."

"That is not true, Jen! He's a horrible man! He took advantage of Regan!" Mairie threw in her two cents.

Shamefaced, Regan corrected, "Mairie, that is rubbish! You know he did a fantastic job with my farm." Mairie huffed, but Regan was uncomfortable with leaving the blame at Gray's door, so she continued, "He took it from dilapidated to functional, in just over six months." Embarrassed she said, "Without my help, without access to money, to decent equipment. No help at all!" Still humiliated by the fact that she did take advantage of Gray. "Honestly, he worked every hour, and he just had to do that without any real resources. No money  and old equipment. It is not in his character to beg for anything.  And I am pretty sure he was not happy that he had to ask me for money when he wanted to fixed things on the farm." She looked around at Jen, Lucy, Mairie and Alison, "Just imagine being an independent, proud, man who has to beg for money, to fix things for someone else. And he really had to beg, because I never offered cash. He left me notes, asking for equipment and I ignored his notes! I knew the farm needed help, but ..."

"Maybe, but he is horrible!" Mairie interrupted as she watched Regan's eyes, saw that the sadness in Regan's eyes was replaced by humiliation. "He really is!"

Regan shook her head. "I know you are trying to cheer me up and want to support me. But he isn't horrible. I know he is good man. A fair man. It is just that I paid him a pittance and at that time he didn't know. That's the truth of the matter. Of course he was going to be mad when he found out. I would, if I was in his shoes. You too. You wouldn't be happy if someone took advantage."

"You paid him what you could." Alison gently reminded Regan.

Lucy said quietly. "He got a wage." They all knew it was the minimum wage, but they also knew that it was all that Regan could afford.

"Which was a pittance." Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment, "You know that." She mumbled.

"Well, yeah, but..." Mairie tried to rein in her approach, given her approach was making things worse. Regan looked embarrassed.