the Light
Chapter 1 (Pt 2)
"May I come in, Sir?" Harriet inquired warily, noting his hesitation.
He nodded wordlessly, watching her, as she walked across the room, stopping a couple of feet away from him. The uncomfortable silence stretched, and Harriet began to wonder whether it was even a good idea for her to come in here.
"He must hate me," she thought, nervously tugging at the sleeve of her jacket. "Maybe it's best if I leave right now."
She opened her mouth to ask his permission to leave, when Harm finally spoke.
"Sit down, please, Harriet."
She did as she was told, her eyes fixed on him in anticipation.
"What can I help you with?" Harm was surprised at how calm he sounded.
"I-," she shifted uncomfortably in the chair, unsure how to begin. Her friend's (if she could still count him as one) expression was unreadable. The infamous Rabb brick wall. Harriet sighed inwardly. This was hopeless.
"I just wanted to see how you were doing," she offered finally, wincing at how lame that sounded.
His eyes narrowed slightly, as if he were trying to evaluate the sincerity of her response, to read between the lines. She was uncomfortable, he could tell. Harm was willing to bet that the only reason she came in to see him now was because Bud asked her to. She still couldn't stand the sight of him. And who could blame her? After a one-day trip in country Bud became a cripple for the rest of his life. And after 3 months of captivity and torture he, "the invincible Harmon Rabb, Jr.," was back on his feet without any visible scars. He couldn't
help admiring the irony, and he wondered briefly what Harriet would have thought had she seen the scars left on his body by Ahmed and his henchmen. Or what if she could look inside his dreams, the horrors that
haunted his sleep every single night. Would she have felt better knowing all that?
He sighed almost imperceptibly, pushing back the unpleasant thoughts.
"I'm fine, Harriet. How are you?"
"Fine," she nodded, and they both fell silent, unsure of what to do or say next.
A knock on the door broke the heavy silence, and Harm stood up, perhaps a little too quickly, grateful for the unexpected relief.
"Come in," he offered, avoiding looking at Harriet.
Jason Tiner stuck his head in the office. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Sir ... Ma'am, but the Admiral wants to see you in his office right away, Commander."
Harm nodded curtly. "I'll be right there, Tiner. Thank you."
Turning back to Harriet to excuse himself from the room, he was surprised by the look in her eyes. Disappointment? He wavered, uncertain of what he saw, but Harriet already recovered and rose from her chair, giving him a soft smile.
"That's okay, Sir," she asserted, unexpectedly coming to his rescue. "We can talk later." With that she walked out.