We can work on that, Maya stood. One more thing, yes? Don't name it after me. Susan smiled. I had a feeling you might say that.
That Friday evening, second table was busier than usual. The kitchen smelled of cornbread, coffee, and onions frying in a skillet. Warm yellow lights glowed above long tables. Maya moved between them carrying plates. Back in the rhythm she'd known before Hawthorne turned her into a headline.
Linda caught her near the beverage station. Someone's looking for you, David Carter stood by the entrance. He was off duty, wearing a brown coat instead of his campus uniform. In his hand was a small envelope. Maya walked over.
What are you doing here? I've been invited three times. By who, Earl? Across the room, Earl raised his coffee cup. David smiled.
Then held out the envelope. This belongs to you. Maya opened it. The brass token fell into her palm. She stared at it.
I thought I lost this at the reception. You did. David had found it beneath the banquet table after the statements were taken. He had kept it with the evidence because of where it fell and because at the time he hadn't known what the night would become. Maya rubbed her thumb over the worn word stamped into the metal.
Home I should have returned it sooner, David said. Maya looked up. You recognized it that night. I did because Grandpa gave you one. David nodded.
Walter, standing a few feet away, had gone very still. Maya looked between them. You never told me how you knew him. David pulled out a chair. Maybe I should.
They sat. The room carried on around them. David turned the token over in Maya's palm. Years ago I was in a bad place. He kept the details simple.
He had lost a job he thought would last forever. Bills had piled up. Pride had made asking for help harder than going without it. For a while he had worked nights around transit facilities and warehouses, taking whatever security shifts came his way. I was angry at everybody, David said.
Mostly because I was ashamed of being scared. Walter looked down at his coffee, so I continued. One night your grandfather saw me trying to act tougher than I felt. Maya smiled faintly. That sounds like him.
He invited me to one of those workshops. Didn't charge me. Didn't treat me like charity. Walter shrugged. You needed somewhere to be.
David shook his head. I needed somebody to remind me I still had something useful in me. He looked at Maya. Your grandfather helped me get through one of the hardest seasons of my adult life. Maya looked toward Walter.
Walter's expression had changed, not pride, something more vulnerable. David tapped the token lightly. He gave me one of these. Told me to remember what I was trying to get back to. Maya looked again at the worn word.