by Laura Acton
Perry and Drew came to the aid of their friend as Dan pummeled Reggie who lay on the grass beneath him. Three odious twelve-year-old boys against one angry and determined seven-year-old boy. Perry grabbed Dan’s arms from the back and held him as Drew stepped in front of Dan and punched him in the eye. Dan kicked as he tried to escape from Perry’s grasp and kicked Drew in the nuts—mostly on accident.
Twisting hard to one side, Dan wrench away from Perry. He turned and started to go after Perry when strong arms grabbed him from behind. The arms picked him up off the ground, and he struggled valiantly to break out of the hold until he heard the person speak.
By George! Danny is fearless, but the little kid is in over his head. Those older boys will tear him apart if I don’t intervene, Justin thought as he raced over when the fight started. Justin forcefully lifted Danny to stop him and to protect him from the other boys.
“Drew, Perry, Reggie, you all better go on home now, or I’ll be contacting your parents. I’m pretty sure you’ll get in trouble for picking on little kids. Especially the general’s kids,” Justin stated with authority.
Reggie stood up brushing off the sand as a dribble of blood snaked out of his nose. “He attacked me. My friends only defended me.”
Sara’s cries made Dan turn. “Put me down. Sara’s hurt. I gotta help her.”
Justin released Danny and put himself between Danny and the three older boys. “I saw what you did, Reggie. You’re no innocent. You deliberately made Sara fall off her bike.”
“Did not! Not my fault she’s a baby and can’t ride through a little bit of sand. She should’ve kept her training wheels on,” Reggie whined as he defiantly stared at the ice cream vendor.
Justin shouted, “Go home! Now! Or I’ll report what you did to the MPs. I’m sure your parents would love that.”
At the threat, the three boys reluctantly slunk off. Drew holding his privates and walking funny. Reggie rubbing his sore face where Dan had punched him several times and wiping off the tiny bit of blood.
Justin picked up Sara’s bike as Danny checked Sara’s hands and knees.
Dan wiped the sand from Sara’s hand. “Just little scratches. They’ll wash right up. Can you stand, Sara?”
Sara wiped her tears, more frightened than hurt, and she reached out a hand.
“You want to go home?” Dan took her hand and helped Sara up.
Eyeballing her bike, now afraid to ride, Sara shook her head. “I wanna sit on the swings now, my Danny.”
Dan nodded and took the bike from Justin.
Justin stopped him. “Are you both okay?”
Sara answered, “I’m okay. Just a little scratch.”
Wanting to be strong for Sara, Dan said, “I’m fine. Thanks for getting rid of them.”
Reaching out, Justin took hold of Danny’s chin gently and tipped his face up. “That’s gonna be some shiner. Are you sure you’re okay?”
His eye hurt a lot, but Dan pulled his face out of Justin’s hand. “Yeah.” Then he pushed Sara’s bike towards the rack.
Sara followed. The two went to the swings as Justin headed back to his cart. Justin kept an eye on the siblings as they sat on the swings together. After a while, Danny jumped off his swing and to push Sara. Her laughter filled the air as she begged to go higher and Danny obliged.
“We need to be getting home,” Dan said after he pushed Sara for a little bit.
Stopping the swing, Sara glanced at the bike rack as she began to chew on her lower lip. She didn’t want to admit she was frightened to fall.
Dan saw the direction Sara was staring and the fear on her face. “Sara, you can do it. You won’t fall again. How about I run next to you a few times?”
Sara gazed at Danny with big eyes. He won’t let me fall. He is big and strong. Her trust in him overrode her fear. “You won’t let go?”
“Not until you tell me,” Dan assured her.
They headed to the bikes. Dan pushed her and held on as he ran around the circle five times. On the sixth trip, Sara told him to let go. He stood smiling at her as she rode with a bright smile again.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead. He accidentally touched his eye and winced. Dan plopped onto the grass. Wonder how much trouble I’m gonna be in for fighting. I can’t hide it ‘cause my facie is probably bruised by now.
I’ll probably be punished by standing at parade rest in the library until bedtime and I might not get to eat dinner if the general is really mad. Like when I tried to be Tarzan and swung from one tree to the next and ended up ruining the general’s clothes when I fell.
If it were only Mom home, he would receive a short lecture and reminder to use his words before his fists. However, with the general here today, the minimum he faced was a long lecture about keeping control of his emotions and thinking before acting.
Dan sighed. I couldn’t let Reggie get away with hurting Sara. I just couldn’t. Standing at parade rest and listening to the general’s lecture will be a small price to pay for defending Sara. He grinned as he thought Reggie would think twice about teasing Sara when he was around.
Glancing down at his hands, he curled them into fists as he remembered how it hurt when he landed the hits on Reggie. Dan looked at Sara again and knew he would always protect her no matter the cost to him.
He unfurled his fists, wiped the sweat from his brow, and glanced at Justin’s cart, wishing again he could buy a strawberry bar today, but that wouldn’t happen. His stomach rumbled as he thought he might not even get dinner once he told the general crossed his mind again. Ignoring it, he stood up. Time to go home and face the music. He would give the general a truthful, detailed report of what occurred and accept his punishment without complaint.
“Sara time to go home,” Dan called out as he picked up Sara’s training wheels and put them in the backpack with the tools.
As the general’s kids rode out of the park. Justin smiled thinking Dan Broderick was a good big brother.
Park Near General Broderick’s Home – 4:30 p.m.
Dan couldn’t believe he received no lecture. Mom fussed over both of them cleaning Sara’s scrapes and giving him a cold pack to put on his eye. The general listened as he reported exactly what happened. Dan was surprised when the general called the parents of each boy and told them what their boys did.
He never heard his dad use that tone before as the general told the parents what Dan did to Reggie and Drew. Strange, but it almost sounded like his father was proud of what he did to protect Sara. Man, Drew, Reggie, and Perry are sure gonna be in trouble.
When Becca woke up from her nap, Mom suggested they all go to the park so they could watch Sara ride without training wheels. Mom and the general let them ride ahead as they walked with Becca in the stroller. Sara kept up with him. It was so fun to ride fast. The wind in his face cooled him down on the hot summer afternoon.
As soon as they got to the park, Dan headed for the monkey bars. He climbed up on top and kept an eye on Sara until his parents arrived. Then he hooked his legs and swung upside down. He closed his eyes because it felt better that way. Getting punched in the eye hurt—a lot.
His eyes opened wide when the general said, “Daniel.” The voice came from above him. He peeked up and saw the general sitting on top of the monkey bars. He didn’t realize his dad climbed up—his dad was really stealthy.
Dan swung himself upright and sat nearly at attention. “Yes, sir.”
William moved his hand from behind his back producing two of Daniel’s favorite strawberry shortcake bars, which happened to be his favorite too. “Son, you did well today. Not only did you teach your sister to ride without training wheels and help lessen her fear after her fall. You were fearless against a stronger and bigger force as you defended her.”
He held out one of the strawberry bars coated with cookie chunks to Daniel. “I’m very proud of what you did and how you handled yourself, but if your mother asks, I gave you a lecture about using your words first.”
Da
n’s eyes shone brightly as a lopsided grin appeared. He reached out for the frozen novelty, still stunned by the turn of events. “Yes, sir.”
William tousled Daniel’s hair. “How does the eye feel?”
He Shrugged. “It’s okay, sir.”
Father and son sat side by side atop the monkey bars and enjoyed a cold treat on a hot day watching Sara joyfully ride her bike without training wheels.
Present Day – August 30
Park Near General Broderick’s Home – 2:30 p.m.
Dan stared at the monkey bars for a long moment. He stood and strolled to them. They were indeed much smaller than he remembered. Back then it seemed he was on top of the world when he sat on the dome. He climbed carefully and slowly. When he reached the top, he sat. The memory his father share was a fragment of his childhood he would tuck away, cherish, and remember always.
Adam’s heart seemed lighter as he walked to the vendor to buy ice creams for everyone. An idea to help Dan formed in his mind. He recalled now how much Dan liked riding bikes. He might be able to share his own enjoyment of mountain trail riding with Dan. It would be a perfect thing to help Dan restore his lung capacity and have some fun at the same time. All he needed to do was obtain Dan a mountain bike.
When Adam returned with the treats, William took his and Daniel’s and went to the monkey bars. He climbed and sat next to Daniel and offered the frozen novelty. Father and son, side-by-side atop the monkey bars, each enjoyed as strawberry shortcake bar as they imagined Sara’s joyful laugh and her riding her bike without training wheels. Today, just like twenty-one years ago, was a good afternoon in the park.
Cures for Dan’s Foul Mood
59
September 3
General Broderick’s Home – Library – 10:00 a.m.
Dan marched toward the library—grudgingly. After his nightmare or rather several nightmares, his mother suggested talking to a psychologist might help. Dan believed differently but reluctantly acquiesced to please her. His nightmares frightened her which made him feel miserable. He would do anything to prevent his mother experiencing any more pain because of him.
He also agreed because before he would be allowed to return to the TRF, he needed to be certified sane rather than certifiable. So this would be his practice session for him. A bit rusty, Dan needed to brush up on his techniques if he was going to fool the TRF psychologist into thinking he was not completely screwed up.
Entering the library, Dan scanned the woman standing by the window. She appeared to be about the height of Ripsaw, close to five six. The psychologist’s dark brown, straight hair stopped above her shoulders, and her bangs came to her eyebrows. He noticed she wore a pair of oval shaped wire-rimmed glasses and neatly dressed in dark brown slacks, a light yellow blouse, and low heeled brown pumps. As he moved closer, he noted the simple gold wedding band on her nicely manicured nail-polish free nails.
When she turned to him, her brown eyes gave the impression of warmth and kindness. Dan held out his hand. “Hello, I’m Dan Broderick.”
She took the offered hand and shook it gently noting the strength in his grip. “I’m Dr. Dawn Tansy. Pleased to meet you, Dan.”
Dawn took a moment to assess her patient. Appearance could be deceiving, but she had the impression he didn’t want to be here. Not insightful on her part, Dawn figured that out when contacted by her patient’s mother. This didn’t bode well for a beginning.
But she looked passed the stoic mask plastered on his face and deep into his eyes. Suspicion, pain, and resignation showed clearly. Dawn thought about which therapy method to use. Based on the few details Dan’s mother shared, he experienced several traumatic events starting from the time he was nine. The most recent one rocked his world. His mother also shared with her he been held captive and tortured several years ago which worried her because he woke screaming from terrible nightmares nightly.
Dawn decided to try logotherapy. It might work in Dan’s case because rather than therapies which believed power or pleasure were the base motivators, logotherapy theorized it is striving to find meaning in one’s life which is the primary, most powerful motivating and driving force. Neurologist and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl developed this therapy. He used his theories to help him to survive his Holocaust experience and his three years in concentration camps further reinforced his ideas.
“Shall we sit?” Dan waved to the chair which had been positioned behind the desk and facing another chair on the opposite side of the desk for their meeting.
Glancing at the chairs and desk, Dawn didn’t think that would be best suited for them. She politely asked, “Do you mind if we sit on the couch?”
The psychologist’s question confused Dan. Psychologist’s always sat behind a desk and stared down at him. Well, at least all the ones when he saw as a child did. He moved to the couch and sat down. “Sure, whatever.”
Dawn slowly moved to the comfortable looking couch and sat at the opposite end. She turned to Dan and noted he sat rigidly though didn’t cross his arms in a closed off manner. Her mind came up with two possible reasons. She surmised from what Mrs. Broderick shared, Dan had a rather strict upbringing to prepare him for military life. Having previously worked with a few soldiers, she was aware of General Broderick’s reputation. The man demanded a lot of the men and his son wouldn’t be the exception.
The other possibility for his body language she must give due consideration. He was trained in anti-interrogation methods and unfortunately had extensive experience applying his training. Probing or demanding would be of little use with him. Knowing this solidified her decision to use a reflection approach.
“So, Dan, why am I here?” Dawn asked softly.
Dan blinked, and his body imperceptively flinched backward, shocked by her question. Every psychologist from his youth started by asking him why he was there. “Don’t you mean, why am I here?”
Dawn respond in a soft voice, “I’m more interested in why you think I’m here?”
“Because it’s the only way I can get back to my job,” Dan answered with a hint of disdain but no hesitation.
“You would like to get back to your job.” Dawn reflected back to Dan after reading uncertainty and pain in his eyes. She attributed the disdain in his voice up to the fact he didn’t want to talk to her.
His words thrown back to him flummoxed Dan. Where are the probing questions? His mind shifted, and he thought about what she said. “Yeah.”
Dawn took a moment to consider what to say next. “You sound unsure.”
A quick glance down at his chest, Dan acknowledged to himself he was unsure if he would make it back. He stared at the psychologist. Something flickered in his mind—something familiar. He intended to remain silent but said, “Don’t know if I can go back.”
“It hurts a lot to think you won’t return.” Dawn hoped she read accurately.
Dan dropped his head as tears welled. It hurt tremendously to think he wouldn’t return to where he belonged. He feared what would happen if he didn’t make it back. If he lost them all because he could no longer do the only thing he did well—protect people.
When she saw the tears well, Dawn realized she had been right. He was in pain and afraid. His injuries are severe with grim prospects of returning to his previous job.
“Being part of TRF gives my life purpose. Without it I’m nothing,” Dan said very softly as he hastily wiped at his tears.
His words were so quiet Dawn almost didn’t catch them. Modulating her voice, so it was very soft too, she said, “You’re really trying to find out what’s meaningful to you in life.”
Dan lifted his head and studied Dr. Tansy. A tear slipped down. “You sound like Brody. He always talked about finding the beauty of life.”
Internally Dawn smiled, she was establishing a rapport which was essential to help Dan. “Brody is someone important to you.”
“Was … is … was … I killed him. He was my best friend, the brother I always wanted. Always there for me,”
Dan stumbled out, surprised he spoke about this to her, and she didn’t ask him questions.
Shocked by his statement, Dawn remained outwardly calm. Curiosity how Brody was killed increased—certainly not on purpose or Dan wouldn’t be here. Instead of asking, Dawn said very softly, “Brody was very special to you.”
Dan nodded. He spent the remainder of the hour telling Dawn about Brody. He knew he hid his own problems behind talking about Brody, but the psychologist let him take charge of the direction of the conversation. It felt good to share things about Brody.
As Dan talked, Dawn perceived he crafted shields to hide his many hurts and fears behind. He spoke about his friend Brody the entire time to avoid what troubled him. Though what he shared, gave her insight into Dan’s thinking process and the types of relationships he established.
She sensed his pain when Dan shared he killed Brody in an incident of friendly fire. Dawn smiled when he told her about how Brody would listen to him and helped him find the beauty of life by listening to music. At the end of their hour, Dawn gently asked, “If you would like to talk more we can meet in a week.”
“I’ll see you in a week,” Dan stated before he realized what he said.
Dawn rose from the couch. “A pleasure to meet you.”
After Dr. Tansy had left the library, Dan stared out the window wondering why he shared so much with her. Not his intention when he arrived here an hour ago. He sat on the couch until his mother came in about a half-hour later to tell him it was lunch time.
Dan stood and followed his mom to the kitchen, further surprised when she didn’t ask him how it went with Dr. Tansy. Every time as a kid they would ask him how it went. Or did they? Mixed up memories made him unsure.
General Broderick’s Home – Kitchen – 12:45 p.m.
Adam returned to the kitchen, tapped his foot impatiently, and noted Dan listlessly washing dishes. “Aren’t you done yet?”
Dan glanced over his shoulder. “What do you care? I’m not scheduled to hike up the damned stairs … until tonight.”
