He said.
Cassie did not know whether he was talking to her.
He touched the back of one chair.
“I kept thinking I’d come back when enough time passed.”
“What changed?”
He looked at her.
“Turns out time doesn’t do the job by itself.”
Outside, a truck entered the lot.
Graham.
He got out.
Saw Tommy’s motorcycle.
Stopped.
Cassie watched through the window.
For several seconds, her father did not move.
Then he entered.
Tommy turned.
Three feet separated them.
“Graham.”
“Tommy.”
Nothing else.
Fifteen years sat between two words.
Cassie instinctively reached toward her recorder.
Then stopped.
This was not hers yet.
Graham looked toward the coffee maker.
“You want coffee?”
Tommy smiled faintly.
“Yeah.”
“Coffee would be good.”
Within an hour, the clubhouse filled.
Hank arrived first.
The moment he saw Tommy, his face folded.
He crossed the room and grabbed him.
No handshake.
No words.
Just an embrace so hard Tommy stumbled.
Maria arrived next.
She stood in front of Tommy for several seconds.
Then slapped his shoulder.
“You look terrible.”
“So do you.”
“Good.”
She hugged him.
Others followed.
Some warm.
Some cautious.
Then Derek entered.
He stopped inside the door.
Tommy turned.
The room quieted.
Derek resembled Bull around the eyes.
Cassie could see it even from old photographs.
Tommy clearly could too.
“Derek.”
“Tommy.”
Derek did not move closer.
“Didn’t think I’d see you again.”
“Neither did I.”
“So why?”
Tommy glanced toward Cassie.
“Heard about the project.”
Derek laughed coldly.
“That’s why?”
“Partly.”
“High school homework brought you back?”
Tommy absorbed the insult.
“No.”
He looked around the room.
“It reminded me history includes the parts people stop talking about.”
Derek folded his arms.
“My father died thinking you betrayed this club.”
Nobody breathed normally after that.
Cassie’s pen stopped.
Tommy did not look away.
“Your father and I disagreed.”
“You tried to change everything.”
“I tried to change something.”
“You wanted to turn us into social workers.”
Tommy sighed.
“Bull used that exact phrase.”
“Because he was right.”
Tommy looked toward the memorial wall.
“No.”
“He was scared.”
Derek stepped forward.
“Careful.”
Graham moved slightly but did not intervene.
Tommy continued.
“We were getting older.”
“Vietnam guys.”
“Some Korea guys.”
“Then younger veterans started coming home from other deployments.”
“Men with the same look we had in ’71.”
“I said the club could help.”
Derek said:
“You wanted meetings with counselors.”
“I wanted phone numbers.”
“Contacts.”
“Rides for guys who had stopped leaving their houses.”
“Help with benefits paperwork.”
“Job leads.”
“Somebody to notice when a man disappeared for three weeks.”
Tommy’s voice rose for the first time.
“Bull thought that made us weak.”
Derek said:
“He thought it changed what the club was.”
“Yes.”
“And I thought what the club was had to be useful.”
The room tightened.
Graham finally spoke.
“I said nothing.”
Everybody looked at him.