The Picture  The Picture 

This is an answer to Janice's Ray K picture challenge. It hit me this
morning while I was trying to get motivated to enter data into
LibraryWorld for a project that's due on Wednesday (don't ask or you'll be
putting yourself through my horror). When I originally planned on doing
this story, Ray was actually going to be *IN* it! Oh, well, I hope you all
enjoy it anyway. This one is dedicated to Janice and Amanda. Anyway, on
with the story...
 

Disclaimer: Alliance owns half of the characters and the DS universe. The
other half of the characters and the story content are mine. 

The Picture
 by Tanya Reed	

 Going to a bar was a new thing for him, and as Adam Norton stood in the
threshold of John's Pub, he almost turned around to go home. The bar was
crowded and noisy, full of cigarette smoke and loud drunks. For a moment
he couldn't remember why he had come and the urge to leave almost
overpowered him. 

 Then he remembered the friend he was supposed to meet here and pushed
himself through the almost tangible barrier in the doorway. He squinted,
trying to spy Chad through the dark smoke. Why he had wanted to celebrate
his new promotion in a place like this was instead of somewhere nice was
beyond Adam. He just hoped Sally wouldn't smell the smoke on his clothes. 

 Nervously, Adam turned the ring on his left hand, wondering what his wife
would have thought of John's Pub. He slowly walked to the bar, still
looking around for Chad. His friend was bound to find him eventually if he
found a place to remain stationary.  

 As he sat, Adam noticed the woman in the seat beside him. She was very
pretty, with shoulder length blond hair and clear blue eyes. She looked
way too classy for a place like this, and even if she hadn't been dressed
in Versacci, he would have known she had money. 

 It wasn't her looks that drew him in, however, it was the look on her
face. Adam didn't think he'd ever actually seen the personification of a
broken heart before. Her eyes were pools of pain that even the amount of
alcohol she had already consumed couldn't wash away. There was a brokeness
to her expression that made him think of his daughter when her grandfather
died. 

 Adam caught all of this in the glance she threw him before turning back
to the Scotch she was nursing. His heart immediately went out to her. She
looked so sad and lost. 

 "Hello," he said softly, aware that women alone were sometimes timid of
men in bars. 

She glanced at him again, searching his face. Eventually, she replied,
"Hello." 

Encouraged, he continued, "My name's Adam, I've come to meet a friend." 

"Stella," she told him, taking a drink, "I'm here to wallow in my own self
pity." 

 "I could tell that about you." 

 "Yeah, well it's no secret." 

 Her voice was bitter, and hard lines showed around her mouth. Adam found
himself wanting to comfort her.  

"Want to talk about it?" Adam couldn't help himself. Despite the fact that
he was here to meet Chad, something about the woman called to him. He
could feel her sadness and wanted to make it better. What Sally would
think of this never even entered his mind. 

At first, he thought she wasn't going to answer. It looked as if she would
turn away, but then she spoke. 

"A picture can be a powerful thing." Puzzled, he frowned, wondering what
she was getting at, but was silent until she continued, "Just look at me.
Look at me!" She shook her head and took another sip. "Yesterday, I was in
court putting away a serial killer; today I'm here trying to drown myself
with Scotch. A big difference, huh? And it's all because of this." 

 Stella reached into her white handbag and drew out an envelope. This she
opened and, with trembling fingers, took something from it. Adam took it
from her gently, turning it over so he could see the image that had
devestated her.  

 It was a simple picture, one that should have produced joy not sorrow; it
was a picture of a man and a child. The man was small with uncontrollable
blond hair and a look of wonder on his face. The child was young, fitting
perfectly into the man's hands. Adam could instinctively tell that the
baby was the man's entire universe, and he could remember feeling that
kind of joy. 

"Your husband?" 

 Stella had been brooding as Adam studied the picture. Her attention
turned back to him with an almost audible snap. His words seemed to have
stabbed her because those blue eyes filled with tears. 

"Once." The word was unsteady, and Adam was immediately sorry. 

"So, this is not..." 

"Not my child, no. I didn't want children. I didn't even want Ray..." 

She trailed off and pushed the rest of the envelope's contents towards
him. He took them gingerly, noting that the handwriting was messy and the
stamp was Canadian. 

 There were two more things in the envelope--a letter and another picture.
He looked to her for permission and Stella nodded, unable to speak. 

 The script in the letter was no neater than that on the envelope. It
opened plainly with 'hi, Stell', but the nickname implied some sort of
affection. The contents were as simple as the picture had been, one friend
talking to another. It had normal, every day things to show that they
hadn't spoken in awhile, and when it came to the part about the child,
happiness shown through. It ended with a paragraph that Adam knew had cut
Stella to the bone--if it hadn't, she wouldn't have be there. 

 "You were right, Stella. Things do work out for the best. Us together was
only sad. Now I'm happy and you're happy. I know now that being the wife
of a cop and the mother of a bunch of kids could never satisfy you. Your
career meant too much. Me and Josy are a match. She loves kids like I do,
and you should see the way she looks at Joy. Me and you, we weren't good
for each other, but maybe we can make it as friends. I understand you
better now, and all I can say is thanks for knowing what was best for us.
" 

 Looking at Stella again, Adam suddenly knew what had happened. She had
pushed this man, this Ray, away again and again, convincing both him and
herself that she did not want what he had to offer. When she received the
picture, her illusions had crumbled into dust and the knowledge that what
was in the picture wasn't hers had crushed her. 

Stella didn't look at Adam this time. Her eyes were staring into the
mirror hanging behind the bar. Turning back to the envelope, Adam took out
the second picture. Three faces smiled back at him, two adults and one
child. Ray, Josy, and Joy. Ray's new wife was pretty but in a different
way than Stella. Where the lawyer put off a quiet, stand offish elegance,
he could tell Josy's beauty came mostly from an inner joy and love of
life. Where Stella was blond, Josy was dark, and Adam could see no
similarities in the two women that Ray loved. 

 As if it were treasure, Adam put everything back into the envelope. Then
he placed it back into Stella's pale, shaking hand. She did not seem to
notice, as she was still staring at the woman in the mirror with the
mussed hair, drawn face, and haunted eyes. 

 "You'll get through this, Stella," he said gently to a woman who didn't
even hear. 

Suddenly, he was startled by a hand on his shoulder. 

 "Adam?" 

 Turning, he saw Chad's smiling face. It was such a contrast to Stella's
misery that at first he didn't even recognize him. 

"Hey, buddy, are you okay?" 

Blinking, Adam found his voice and said, "Yeah, sure. Where've you been?" 

 "I had to work late. Have you been waiting long?" 

 "Not long." 

 Adam got up from the bar, saying good bye to Stella. She never
acknowledged it, and he walked away shaking his head.  

 "Who was that?" 

 "Just a woman who got what she wanted, only to find out it wasn't really
what she wanted after all."  

 This earned him a strange look, though Chad didn't ask for clarification.
Instead, he changed the subject and started talking about his new job. As
they sat, Adam listened half heartedly, his mind still on the woman at the
bar. He didn't think he'd ever be able to forget her, and when he got home
he planned on telling her story to Sally. Then he would go in and kiss
every one of his children good night. He was a lucky man, Stella had shown
him that, and he hoped that he would remember it for the rest of his life.
 

THE END