Good News (Champagne Challenge #135) -- PG-13

[librarian_7]

Another entry...and another phone call I think probably happened, even if we didn't hear it onscreen.

Good News

“Mrs. Turner? Hello?”

“Oh my God. Mr. St. John?”

“Yes.”

“What’s happened? Where are you? Is Bethie—”

“I’ve got her, Mrs. Turner. She’s safe. We’re a couple of hours away, but I wanted to let you know—”

“Is she hurt? Can I talk to her?”

“She might have a scratch or two, but she’s fine. Here, I’ll hold the receiver for her.”

“Bethie, it’s Mommy. Are you okay, sweetheart? Bethie?”

“She doesn’t want to take her thumb out of her mouth.”

“Bethie, please, talk to Mommy. Say, ‘hi, Mommy,’ okay?”

“Hi… Mommy.”

“Oh, Bethie. Mr. St. John is bringing you home, all right?”

“She’s nodding.”

“What happened? How did you find her?”

“Long story. Don’t be alarmed when you see her—there was a fire; she’s… smudged.”

“What about the man who took her? Do the police have him?”

“Uhhh, it was a woman. And she’s—she’s never going to touch Beth again. Do you understand me?”

“You mean you—”

“I don’t want to say it in front of the child.”

“But—”

“Don’t ask me again.”

“Yes, yes. I understand.”

“I’m going to bring your daughter home now. We’ll be there soon.”

“I don’t know what to say, Mr. St. John. Thank you is—not enough.”

“I did the job you hired me for.”

“You’re an angel, Mr. St. John. An angel sent from heaven.”

“I’m no angel, Mrs. Turner.”

“You are to me, Mr. St. John. To Bethie and me, you’ll always be an angel.”

[Lilly]

And chills. But mostly --

This is perfect. There HAD to be a phone call. I love Mick's tone here. He's putting Mrs. Turner's mind at ease, but he's firm. He needs to be.

It seems he's still processing everything that happened himself. But his priority right now is Beth -- doing what's best for her. I love that he conveys to her mother what's Beth's doing when she doesn't speak. It's such a wonderful touch. Just fabulous.

[allegrita]

I LOVE this, Lucky. It sounds exactly like a panicky mother talking to a man who is shoving down his own shock and grief for the sake of someone else. It captures a little girl's response to trauma (and I agree with Lilly, the way Mick describes what Beth is doing to her mom is a stroke of genius). It shows how Mick would handle the issue of telling Mrs. Turner what had happened, without saying it--and how he would keep her quiet about it as well. And it gives us the emergence of Mick as Beth's Guardian Angel. All in 250 words. This is amazing. Really amazing.

[librarian_7]

Thanks, Lilly, and Alle. I'm figuring...at that time, it's unlikely Mick would have had a mobile phone. I expect he stopped at a gas station, or a store somewhere, to make the call from a pay phone. So I see them standing outside, in the middle of the night, while making this call.

[maggatha3]

Ahhh, I wanted so much to read a story about how that happened, how much Mrs Turner knew about Cora and the circumstances of saving Beth. Amazing how Mick firmly stopped her for asking for more...ever again. I 'd thought she might want to know exactly what happened, who that woman was and why the kid was taken ,but I guess it was enough for her to have Beth back .

[librarian_7]

I look at it this way...Mrs. Turner knows that Beth's kidnapper has been permanently, uh, removed. She's going to realize that the man she hired, committed a murder...and the less she knows about the circumstances, the less likely it is to come back to bite her in the form of a police investigation. She hired this guy, with the understanding that he'd do whatever it took. The legal implications are pretty grim. Of course, we all know that there was no body for the police to find, in whatever was left after the fire--Mick would have assumed that was because of vampires going to crumbled ash in fire, so he probably wasn't too worried about that. But he can't go around admitting to a third party that he killed someone. Just a bad idea all around.

Lucky

[MickLifeCrisis]

Another conversation spot on, Lucky! Loved it.

[SharonC]

He is definitely a Guardian Angel but who knew what a connection he would make saving this one child. Mrs Turner got her girl back and Mick lost his wife, or so he thought, on the same night.

A great idea for this story Lucky

[francis]

This is so spot on. Kids don't really grasp how a phone works. My godchild would show me all his toys when I called. "See, auntie, this is my new car."
Mick would not commit to having murdered someone but he needed to put Mrs. Turner at ease. It was probably a long way home.

[jen]

Lucky

Fabulous!

A theme is emerging from these Drabbles. Many deal with pivotal moments from the series, fleshing out what happened between the lines that we heard and saw one screen.

This is so perfect! Mrs. Turner knows what Mick had to do to free her daughter and not to bring it up again and she will protect the secret. She told him that she wanted him to do 'whatever it takes' and he let her know exactly what it took without saying the words.

All kinds of wonderful, again!

Thank you

Jenna

[Lucy]

all of those words had to be said.... and they were said so well!

[Luxe de Luxe]

.... and she was right.

Mick sounds very in control here - so the child is calm, the child's mother is calm and not asking awkward questions, but also for himself. He needs to keep himself under control after what happened. I'm not sure whether it was deliberate or not, but I read two meanings into your title. The 'good news' for Bethie's mom, but also for Mick himself. Maybe now (to his mind), he won't have to deal with 'the crazy' anymore.

[jmc]

I can hear Mick in your words, And he would have to be standing outside at a payphone somewhere - he's bleeding and Beth's in her nightgown, smudged - people would notice and remember.

Thank you, Lucky. Just wonderful.

[cassysj]

This is incredible. Mrs. Turner getting more info than can easily be processed but I'm sure she's relieved the threat to her daughter is "removed"

Mick was very protective of his new charge.

[allegrita]

I can hear Mick in your words, And he would have to be standing outside at a payphone somewhere - he's bleeding and Beth's in her nightgown, smudged - people would notice and remember.

Thank you, Lucky. Just wonderful.

At least in those days, pay phones were "phone booths" -- they were enclosed, with a door. So at least Mick would have a bit more privacy than with modern pay phones!