PART III:
Resolution

With each trip he took to the coffee shop, Kevin had pretty much learned Harry's work schedule. The shop was closed on Sundays, and the former bandit had Tuesdays off. On Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, he worked the evening shift, while on Saturdays and Mondays, he worked early in the morning. Harry had in turn learned Kevin's routine as well. The young man had classes three days out of the week, and he also had a part time job, which he worked in the evenings. Thursday was his day off, so that was typically the day he came to the coffee shop, and it was usually around seven in the evening.

And this Thursday was no different.

"Right on time," Harry drawled as he noticed the blond making his way up the street, hands shoved in his pockets. He didn't even wait for the twenty-year-old to come inside the shop before he started preparing his coffee the way he liked it. He lifted his gaze when he heard the door open. "I'm just curious," he started, dropping his eyes back to the still pouring black liquid, "is your coffee maker busted or something?"

Kevin rolled his eyes, approaching the counter. "Are you going to question why I come here every time? I like the coffee!"

Once stirred to perfection, Harry pushed the cup across the counter to the blond's outstretched hand.

"I'm still just trying to figure out why you take an interest in talking to me of all people. I would think you'd have ran away screaming the second you saw me."

"At ten, I would have."

"Seriously, why do you wanna hang around me? You don't have any friends your own age to hang out with?"

Kevin shook his head. "Not many. I've always connected better with people much older than me than I ever did people my own age."

Harry furrowed his brows, frowning deeply. "Yeah, that reminds me, I left my cane at my apartment," he replied sarcastically. "You wouldn't mind helping me across the street after work, would you?"

Kevin bit his lip to restrain his laughter. "I wasn't trying to call you old, all right?" he said, his words trembling with laughter.

Harry shrugged off the comment. "Doesn't matter. I am old."

"Anyway…I know it doesn't make sense, but that's the way I've always been. I'm just able to open up better with older people, with the exception of my family, of course. I guess part of it is the stranger factor. Sometimes you're able to open up more to people you don't know. Strangers are sometimes less critical."

"But you and me are hardly strangers, kid."

"Yeah, we kind of are. When I first walked into this shop, I knew nothing about you, other than the fact that I caused you a lot of bodily harm, and you knew nothing of me. The thing is…when I talk to someone much older than me…I kind of take it as a learning experience. They've seen more of the world than I have, and I always hope to take something from talking to them…learn something."

Harry sneered at this. "And just what are you going to learn from me, kid?"

The blond appeared thoughtful for a moment before replying, "To keep my heart and mind open. If you can do it, I can."

Harry snorted, shaking his head as he turned away. "That's so sweet I'm gonna need to see a dentist."

Kevin suddenly caught a glance at the man's right hand, noticing a gold band on his finger. "Were you married?"

"What?" Harry looked back at the blond, thrown off by the sudden change of subject. Kevin nodded at the man's hand, and he looked down, his expression changing dramatically. He stroked the band with his thumb, nodding twice. "Yeah…years ago." Kevin waited momentarily, expecting the man to continue. When he didn't, he pressed him for more details.

"Did you get divorced or something?"

Harry shot the blond a look that seemed to ask the question, 'Don't you ever shut the hell up?' "No…we didn't get divorced. Would I still be wearing the ring if we did?" he quipped irritably.

The young McCallister pursed his lips, gaze averting back to his coffee. "What was her name?"

Harry paused but only briefly. "Sarah."

Kevin awkwardly ran a thumb around the rim of his cup, feeling like he had taken a step too far. He decided to leave the conversation at that, already detecting he was starting to trespass into more personal territory, but the former bandit surprised him when he continued:

"I met her when I was twenty-six. We met in a grocery store and just started yapping for the longest time. It was one of those falling in love without even trying type romances. That's the way it should be. People anymore try to force the romance, thinking their lives aren't gonna be complete unless they get married. I never once thought about marriage before I met 'er, and even after I met 'er, marriage still never crossed my mind. I was pretty much a loner before we met, and I thought that's how I preferred to be, but suffice to say, she gave me a new outlook on life.

"We dated for about a year, two months of that year spent livin' together, and then we got married. Our lives were all set."

"So…what happened?"

"It happened in January, 1971. I had the worst head cold imaginable. I had already been in bed for two days, and I wasn't getting any better. Sarah kept insisting that she go to the drugstore and get something, but I didn't want her to set foot outside. We had had a lot of bad weather and the roads were murder. She insisted that she go and I insisted that she stay. She was always as stubborn as a mule, which normally I liked about her, but this was one case where I wished she had just listened to me. Her reasoning was that the weather was only going to get worse and we needed groceries to get us through the week anyway. She was right, of course, but I told her I would go instead, but she was under this impression that because I was sick, I was completely helpless," Harry said with a laugh, shaking his head. "All I could do was tell her to be extremely careful."

Kevin could no longer hold the man's gaze, opting to instead stare down at his hands, already knowing where this story was going. A part of him almost wanted to stop him from going any further, but he didn't dare open his mouth to protest. Though he dreaded the somber conclusion he knew the story was about to reach, he could tell that Harry was normally not an individual who bestowed such personal and emotional information about himself to anyone, much less someone he had more than enough reason to hate. Kevin couldn't help but feel somewhat honored that the man had opened up to him of all people. He had to return that respect by hearing every last word, no matter how depressing every last word may be.

"I think I dozed off for about an hour or two. I hadn't meant to fall asleep, but I was exhausted. When I woke up and saw what time it was, I went into the kitchen to see if she had come home yet…and she hadn't. There were plenty of reasonable explanations I could have written off before finally settling on the worst case scenario, but I just knew. I don't know how I knew…I just did. It wasn't long after I woke up that I heard a knock on the door. When I saw those two policemen standing there, that clenched it. They didn't even have to say anything; it was written all over their face.

"I can just barely remember grabbing the doorknob for support, and then just falling to the floor. When I finally came around, I was on the couch, and the cops kept talkin' to me, but I didn't hear none of it. It was like I had just been caught up in this huge explosion, and all I could hear was this constant ringing. I finally managed to get enough sense back for them to tell me what had actually happened. Her car slid right through an intersection, and a truck slammed into her on the driver's side…She was dead at the scene."

A long silence fell upon the shop. Even the traffic outside didn't seem as loud anymore. It was quite unnerving.

"She was two months pregnant."

Kevin's head shot up, and he looked towards the man, but he was looking elsewhere at that point. He wanted to say something, that he was sorry, anything, but that just seemed so cliché and hallow.

"It's amazing how fast things can change. You think you know where you're going, and then in an instant, life can take such a dramatic, fast turn that you think your neck might snap. I don't know where I'd be right now if that day had been different. Needless to say, you and I probably never would've met. I might have even been a grandfather by this point," Harry chuckled. "Before that day, I knew where I was going, where we were going. We were just getting ready to buy a house in this little neighborhood just outside of Chicago. Then after everything that happened, I didn't know what to do with myself. For about three weeks, I was just in shock, and this might sound weird, but that was actually the period when it was the easiest. When you finally process everything that's happened, it's all you can do to get out of bed in the morning.

"I don't have much left of her. She had a big family, so they got a lot of her possessions. I only have a few pieces of jewelry, and a few photos, including the wallet-size that she gave me when we started dating."

"Can I see it?"

Harry sighed, reaching behind him into his back pocket and pulling out his wallet. He dug through the cluttered mess before finally locating the photo, sliding it across the counter to the blond. The image was quite faded, and its edges were torn, which was not a surprise for its age, but Kevin could still clearly make out every detail of the woman in the photo: she had a very angular face, with dark eyes and equally dark, curly hair that reached to her shoulders. A lovely woman, no question. "She's pretty," said Kevin. "She kind of reminds me of my cousin, Heather."

Kevin slid the photo back across the counter to Harry's awaiting hand. He stared at the photo longingly for a few moments before slipping it back into his wallet. "I need to visit her grave. I haven't been out there in fifteen years. I ain't rotting in prison anymore, so it's not like I got an excuse."

There was a brief pause before Kevin asked, "How long was it after Sarah died that you met Marv again?"

Harry thought for a moment before answering, "Fifteen years."

"And…what did you do during that time?"

"Nothing. I barricaded myself from the rest of the world. The only time I talked to people was when I went to work every day. Then I'd come home and stay there. I hardly ever left my apartment for anything else. I didn't want anything to do with anyone."

"You didn't even stay in contact with Sarah's family?"

Harry laughed coldly. "They hated me. They detested every moment that we were together. She came from a pretty successful family; her father was a doctor, and her brother was a lawyer. The point is, they had money, and I didn't. They had the proper education, and I didn't, so that made me pretty worthless in their eyes. I understand a family that is protective of their child, but they were just downright vicious. Her father almost didn't attend our wedding. And at Sarah's funeral…I actually overheard her brother say he wished it had been me in that car."

Kevin wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Geez, they do sound like the in-laws from Hell."

"Thing is…I agreed with 'im. I should have been the one in that car. She had a lot more to live for than I did. When she died, the world lost, but if I had died, the world would have gained."

"You shouldn't talk like that," Kevin protested firmly.

"Well, it's true," Harry replied with a shrug.

"I understand why you may feel that way, but that doesn't make what he said any less callous. Clearly, he was a douche."

"Yeah, he was a douche. Sarah usually had to keep a firm grip on my arm whenever we were in his presence because it was all I could do to keep from knocking his teeth out half the time. The only person in her family that ever showed me any respect was her sister, Nancy. We actually did stay in touch for about a year after Sarah was killed, but the phone calls eventually became few and far between, until they finally stopped altogether, and that was mostly on my part. After all that, I just wanted to be left alone."

"Sounds depressing."

Harry shrugged. "I was depressed. I drifted in and out of serious depressions for the first five years after her death. I didn't know how else to deal with it, so I just cut off all contact with people."

Kevin looked curiously at the man before asking, "Have you ever thought of having another family, though?"

Harry shot the blond an odd look. "What, are you kidding? Me have kids? I'm fifty-eight, kid. I'm too old."

"What are you talking about? Men can have kids all the way into their sixties."

"That ain't what I mean. I just really don't wanna hafta haul an oxygen tank around with me at my kid's high school graduation. I don't wanna worry about fallin' down and breaking my hip while playing catch with my son…or while chasing down my daughter's first boyfriend after catching them groping on the couch."

Kevin laughed, finishing off the last of his coffee. "Well…you could still get remarried."

Harry frowned, returning his attention to the gold band on his finger. "Not so sure about that. It's kind of a scary thought. When you've only loved one person in your entire lifetime, the thought of ever being able to love another person the same way again…just doesn't seem possible."

"Well, you never know unless you give it a chance."

Harry chewed on the inside of his cheek, shaking his head. "Yeah…well…like I said, I don't like forced romance, kid. I'm not gonna go out there looking for someone. Best to just let the chips fall where they may."

Kevin frowned. "But as long as you wear that ring, you're sort of crippling those chances."

Harry looked down at his hand, rotating the gold band around with his thumb. "Look," he began irritably, letting his hand fall atop the counter, "it's my business, not yours, all right? I'll do things the way I want to."

"All right, take it easy," Kevin replied, holding up his hands in defense. He gently tapped the counter with his index finger, staring at the older man out of the corner of his eye. "Okay…so I don't know what it's like, but I get it. You feel like if you take the ring off, it'll be like you're erasing her from your life."

"You're somewhere in the ballpark, but it's more a fear of insulting her memory."

"Well…I can't tell you what to do, especially since I've never been in love before. I don't know what it feels like."

"You'll know it when it happens, because you won't know what to do with yourself."

Kevin propped his elbow on the counter and leaned his head against his hand, his thoughts drifting momentarily. Harry caught the look on the younger man's face and smirked.

"Judging by that goofy look on your face, I'd say there's already someone you're interested in."

"Well…kind of."

"Kind of? Either you like 'er, or you don't, so which is it?"

Kevin sighed, shifting uncomfortably on the cushioned bar stool. "Well, I've actually known her since we were kids. She lives pretty close to where I do, or from where I did live, rather. Her grandfather was the one who introduced us." Kevin didn't bother to reveal the fact that Harry and her grandfather had actually met briefly, via shovel to the face.

"Pimped by Grandpa? Never heard that one before."

Kevin hid his face in his hand, rolling his eyes behind the cover of his palm. "Classy."

"This girl got a name?"

"Her name's Anna. We went to elementary, middle and high school together, but it never became a romantic thing. She had boyfriends all throughout high school, and some of them weren't the most trusting, either. We hugged one day in the hall, and her boyfriend threw me up against the lockers." Kevin laughed at the memory. "I didn't feel safe being within three feet of her."

"And you're not interested in her?"

"I don't know. It's not like I haven't thought about it."

"If you've thought about it, then you're interested. Case closed."

"Fine, whatever. But I've never approached her about the idea of a romantic relationship. She's sort of distanced herself from me since her grandfather passed away four months ago."

Harry looked a bit thrown off. "I would think that'd be even more reason to stay close to you."

"Well, for some people, sure, but it was just really hard for her, and she wanted to have some time alone to process it. I think you know how that feels. But I told her she could talk to me anytime she needed to."

"I think it's time you start pushing her to talk instead of just waiting around for an invite."

Kevin looked extremely put off by the thought, shaking his head firmly. "I don't want to upset her."

"Women can be hard to read sometimes. Sometimes they need to know that you'll be there because you chose to be there, not just when they tell you to be there. Sometimes they say one thing and mean another. Sometimes when they say for you to stay away, they really want you to come closer."

"Yeah…and sometimes when they tell you to leave them alone, they really want you to leave them alone," Kevin retorted.

"Well, didn't I say they were hard to read? Just think of it like walking on ice. The ice might break, it might not, you never know. Just move forward and hope you don't get wet. Hopefully, you'll make it to the other side without a problem, and if you fall through, get the hell out of there as soon as possible."

As he mulled over the man's words, Kevin stared down into his empty coffee cup, frowning. He reached his cup over to the elder man. "Hit me again," he said, smiling. He nodded to the restroom before adding, "I need to make room for more."

Harry snorted. "You sure you want to leave me unsupervised while I make it? I could easily poison it, ya know, and don't think I haven't fantasized about it."

"Eh…I'll take my chances."

Kevin slid off his stool and made his way into the men's room, leaving the older man alone. He turned to the back counter to refill the cup. Just moments after he started preparing the coffee, he heard the bells jingle against the door, signaling the arrival of a new customer, or who he presumed was a customer.

"What's it gonna be, buddy?" he asked, his back still turned to the customer. Just as he started to reach for the cream, he heard a clicking sound that was all too familiar to him. Turning sharply, he found himself staring down into the barrel of a gun.

"It's gonna be your life if you don't do as I say," a tall man dressed in a black-hooded sweatshirt snapped as he tossed a bag onto the counter. He took a quick glance over his shoulder to see if anyone had seen him while walking by on the street. "You know what to do," he added, nodding to the bag. Still pointing the gun at Harry, the man slowly moved back, edging toward the closest window. He gripped the cord and pulled, letting the blinds drop to the windowsill.

"Geez," Harry sighed, almost sounding amused. "If this ain't ironic..."

"Shut up and fill the bag," the assailant replied as he went to drop the rest of the blinds, hindering any passerby's view the best he could. He approached the counter again, gun still pointed and ready.

Looking more annoyed than threatened, Harry reached over and took the bag. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into, pal."

"Save it," the crook replied, giving just the tiniest squeeze of the trigger. Harry shook his head, mashing the button to open the register.

"Look, I was robbing houses when you were in diapers, buddy. Take it from someone who's been down this road already. You're just gonna hit a dead end. Trust me. I had to rot for nine years before that lesson finally bitch slapped me in the face."

"God, is this the part where you tell me you found Jesus and that he loves me, and I should just get down on my knees right now and repent?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Hell no. This is the part where I tell you you're just going to run every day, always looking over your shoulder, always having to worry about where you're going, until finally the cops catch up with ya…and they will catch up with ya. Mark my words, pal, they'll get ya, even if it's five years from now, and those five years until they get ya will be a living hell, and then once you do get caught, that's when the real torture begins. It's no bike ride in the park, okay?"

At that moment, unknown to Harry, Kevin had just started making his way out of the restroom, but upon seeing the armed man at the counter, he quickly pulled himself back inside, closing the door just enough so that he was hidden but could still witness the events through the thin gap.

"Fill the Goddamn bag!"

Eyes narrowing, Harry set to work at removing the money from the register and dropping it into the bag. "Last chance, pal. If you leave now, I won't call the cops. I'll forget this whole thing happened."

The crook rolled his eyes, becoming fed up with this man's persistence. "God, did you leave your hearing aid at home or something? I said shut up and give me the money! Is that so difficult?"

"Hey, I'm fillin' the bag, aren't I, jackass?" Harry shouted back. Kevin winced. He knew Harry had a temper, but this wasn't the time to be showing it off.

"Not fast enough!" The hooded man glanced over his shoulder again, watching for any sign of patrolling police, or anyone who may have noticed him through the door, the only thing that offered a clear view of the inside of the shop. At that same moment, Harry glanced towards the bathroom door, briefly catching Kevin's eye. He gave him a stern look and shook his head, warning him to stay put. The blond nodded once, though a small part of him was itching to grab the nearest chair and strike the assailant over the head, but from where he was positioned, there was no way he could make a move to subdue the man without being seen.

"I'm telling ya, pal, you're gonna regret this. Believe me. Maybe you can't pay your bills, or you owe a bunch of money to a credit card company, or something, but this ain't gonna get ya nowhere. This'll just end up being that one moment you wish you could go back and do differently, an' then you'll spend the rest of your life hating yourself."

The assailant thrust the gun forward, pressing it against Harry's temple. "If you don't shut the hell up, I swear, I'll blow your fucking head off!"

"Have it your way," Harry sighed, filling the last of the money into the bag. Both men suddenly looked towards the door when they heard the bells jingle against the glass.

"Stay where you are!" the crook shouted as a woman stepped into the shop. She froze, petrified by the sight of a gun being pointed her way. At that very moment, Harry seized the opportunity and lunged forward, reaching over the counter and hooking his left arm around the assailant's and using his other hand to grab for the weapon. The woman took advantage of his distraction and fled the shop, racing back outside to her car and fleeing the scene. The two men spat and snarled as they struggled to gain dominance over the weapon, neither one showing signs of letting go.

The entire shop shook with the sound of a single, powerful gunshot, and Kevin completely withdrew back inside the restroom, pressing his back against the wall and cursing frantically under his breath as he retrieved his cell phone from his pocket to dial 9-1-1. "Shit," he hissed, pressing the phone to his ear, heart racing.

"Just stay where you are, you hear me?" he heard the assailant shout angrily. "Just stay there!"

As much as he wanted to, Kevin didn't dare stick his head out that door, not wanting to run the risk of the crook seeing him and opening fire on him. He managed to keep calm long enough to bestow the needed information about the situation to the 9-1-1 dispatcher, hearing the sound of the bells banging loudly against the door, which told him the crook had finally fled the scene. Flipping the phone shut, Kevin reached out a shaky hand and slowly pulled the door open, peeking his head outside. He saw no sign of Harry behind the counter but was able to make out a few small spatters of blood on the wall, which confirmed his fear.

Swallowing hard, Kevin rushed to the counter, peering over it to find the man on the floor, his back against the cabinets and a hand clutching the top of his arm, blood gushing between his fingers. Kevin ran around to the other side, crouching down beside him. "That was really stupid, you know that?" he scolded.

Harry shrugged his uninjured shoulder. "Yeah, I guess it was," he managed to hiss, biting his lip against the pain. "But that's probably on account of the brain damage I suffered when you dumped those tools on my head."

"Well…despite how stupid it was, you may have easily just saved that woman's life."

Kevin leaned in, trying to push the man's hand away so that he could examine the bullet wound more closely. "Relax," said Harry. "It's just a flesh wound. It ain't like he got me in the liver."

"Yeah, well…flesh wound, or not, you can still bleed to death," Kevin replied sternly as he looked around for a clean rag. "This isn't the movies; there's no safe place to be shot." He opened up one of the cabinets and found several large rags neatly folded near the back. Grabbing one, he ordered the man to move his hand, and he firmly pressed it to the wound, the white fabric quickly turning a deep crimson. "I already called the police. They're on their way."

"Let's hope they don't arrest me out of force of habit."

Harry pushed Kevin's hand away. "I got it," he growled as he held the blood-soaked rag against his wound. Kevin hopped over to his other side and hooked an arm under his shoulder, pulling him to his feet. Once the man was standing and no longer leaning against the cabinets, Kevin was able to see that the bullet had passed all the way through his arm.

"God, it went all the way through," he said, cringing at the sight.

"I don't doubt it," Harry hissed through clenched teeth. "It hurts like hell!"

At that moment, the two were able to hear the distant sound of police sirens, which grew louder by the second. "You better get outta here."

"Why?"

"'Cause…they're probably gonna wanna ask you a lot of questions, and I know you don't want none of that, right?"

Kevin shrugged. "No, I guess not."

"Okay, then, get outta here," the older man repeated as he took a seat at one of the tables.

"Are you sure you're gonna be all right?"

Harry sighed in annoyance. "Yes, all right? If I could survive your little obstacle course of misery, I think I can survive a measly little bullet."

"Getting shot's pretty serious, though."

"I'm still breathin', ain't I? I ain't seein' a bright light yet, okay? Now beat it!"

"All right, all right, I'm going." Kevin quickly slipped on his coat and simply grabbed his scarf and gloves, not bothering to put them on. He shot the man one last glance before he exited the shop, his retreating form quickly swallowed by darkness. Harry took a quick glance at his bleeding arm and groaned.

"What a day I'm having," he sighed.

0ooooooo0

Entering the coffee shop, Kevin wasn't even half-expecting to see Harry behind the counter, with his arm possibly in a sling, and sure enough, he was nowhere in sight. It had only been a week since the incident, and though he wasn't that knowledgeable when it came to gunshot wounds and how long it took for the victim to become active again, he had been expecting that the man would be out for at least two weeks. Coming to this shop had just become part of his routine, though it certainly wasn't the same without Harry.

The man he saw standing behind the counter was someone he had never seen in the shop before. He was of average height, possibly in his mid sixties, and graying hair only on the sides of his head. He looked up when he heard Kevin enter the shop, smiling kindly.

"Can I help you, sir?"

"Umm, yeah…is Harry in today?" he asked, pulling his winter hat from his head. The man frowned.

"No, we had a robbery last week, and he was injured during the incident."

Kevin nodded knowingly. "Yeah, I know…I was there."

The man suddenly smiled. "You must be Kevin."

Kevin nodded, approaching the counter. He noticed the elder man reach over to grab something, quickly noticing that it was a cup of freshly poured coffee. Handing it off to the blond, the man said, "Two creams, two sugars, right?"

"How'd you know?" Kevin asked, taking the cup.

"Harry told me you'd probably be in. Says you usually come in about this time every week."

Kevin looked down into the cup, noticing steam was still rising off the liquid, which told him the coffee had probably just been prepared moments ago. "Is he all right? I haven't seen him since that day. I tried going to the hospital to see him three days after it happened, but he was already gone."

The man nodded, face splitting into a toothy grin. "Two days and he was ready to leave, much to the disapproval of the doctor, but he's fine. It's all a matter of healing now, which could take a few weeks, or even months. I'd imagine he'll be in next week, and that's regardless of whether or not he should. He's incredibly stubborn."

Kevin nodded with a grin, knowing first-hand just how stubborn the man actually was. "So…did he say anything else about me?"

The elder man grinned. "Oh yeah. Says you're too smart for your own good, and you're-and I'm just quoting him-the 'biggest pain in the ass that ever lived'."

Kevin smiled into his coffee. "I've got a whole family of brothers and sisters who would toast to that." Setting down his coffee, Kevin studied the man a little more closely. "You wouldn't happen to be Carl, would you?"

"Yes, that's me, Carl Langster," the man replied, extending his hand, which Kevin accepted with a smile.

"So, what made you want to take your chances with hiring Harry?"

Carl chuckled. "I guess you think I'm crazy, don't you?"

Kevin made a face. "No, I wouldn't say that."

"Well, a lot of people would. Not that I blame them, of course. There is certainly a risk involved when hiring an ex-con, so it's no surprise that most people are quick to turn them away when they come looking for work. But I saw a man who looked like he was trying to make an honest effort, and there was just no way I could look myself in the mirror again if I turned him away. Sometimes people make bad choices, and we're usually quick to judge them for it. It's perfectly understandable, but the irony is if we turn a blind eye to someone who is trying to make things right, we're just ensuring that they stay in a bad position. What do you think would have happened if I hadn't hired Harry?"

Kevin shrugged. "Probably would have kept looking for a job somewhere else."

"And if no one had hired him?"

"Well…I'd imagine he may have eventually given up…and possibly fallen right back into crime."

"Exactly. In fact, he may have even just been taken back to prison. I believe when people are released early, they are expected to find employment. I knew I was taking a serious chance with him, but someone had to. I would have been a hypocrite if I hadn't."

"What'd you mean?"

"Well…I've made some bad choices in my time as well. Back in my thirties, I had a serious alcohol problem. I even got arrested for drunk driving." The man leaned over the counter, lacing his hands together as he regarded the memory with a look of shame. "I've spent time in jail myself, and I was lucky enough to find someone who didn't turn me away when I came looking for work. I always promised I'd repay that kindness in some way. Harry has never given me any reason to regret hiring him, and after what happened last week, I know I can trust him."

"I hope it stays that way."

"Oh, I think it will," Carl replied, beaming. "He can be pretty proud of himself."

"I forgot to ask…did they ever catch the guy that robbed you?"

Carl nodded. "Yes, they finally found him two days later. Turns out they had been looking for him for about a month. He's hit several shops and convenient stores around here."

Kevin set his cup down on the counter, slipping his winter cap back on his head. "Well, I hope that's the last robbery you ever have to deal with."

Carl suddenly found himself laughing. "When I visited Harry the first night he spent in the hospital, he went on about how hilarious it was that everyone was worried he'd end up stealing the money, and then ultimately, someone else ended up robbing us."

Kevin grinned. "Well, it is kind of ironic."

"He wouldn't stop giggling about it, though. I think it had something to do with the medication they gave him, because he was still laughing when I left."

The blond smirked, wishing he had been there to witness the man in his medically induced state of laughter, which he imagined had to be pretty humorous. "I need to get going," he said, throwing his scarf over his shoulder. He started to pull out his wallet to pay for his coffee, but Carl shook his head, holding up a hand.

"Don't worry about it. It's on me, as thanks for being there and helping him."

"Well, thank you," Kevin replied as he slipped his wallet back into his pocket. "Nice talkin' to ya." Grabbing his coffee, Kevin smiled at the man and headed for the door.

"And to you."

0ooooooo0

It felt good to be back at work. Other than his job, Harry didn't do much else with his time. After being at home for two weeks, he was starting to go mad from boredom. When he entered the coffee shop on Saturday, he oddly found himself in a good mood. A good mood was hard to come by for Harry, and he never thought it would come as a result of being at work.

Four o' clock rolled around faster than usual, and while he was tired (no thanks to his pain medication), Harry felt as though he could have probably worked another hour. Putting on his winter coat and scarf, he caught a glimpse of his co-worker, Debra behind the counter, wearing a deep frown on her face. "What is it with you? Ever since you walked through that door, you've been sulking."

The woman rolled her eyes. "It's my birthday today," she sighed.

"Oh…that is a tragedy."

Debra rolled her eyes a second time, unable to stifle a laugh.

"I don't see why that's a reason to be in such a mood."

"What? I'm supposed to be happy about getting older?"

"Older? C'mon…you can't be a day over…what? Twenty-nine? Thirty?"

Debra couldn't suppress a blush. "Aren't you the sweet talker. Well, sorry, but I just turned forty today."

"Well, if I had known it was your birthday today, I would have gotten a card."

"Oh I'm sure," the redhead snapped, narrowing her eyes. "You probably would have gotten some nasty card, exaggerating about what an old fart I am. Everyone else I know did."

Harry smirked. "Now would I do that to you?"

A look of realization suddenly crossed the woman's face, and she quickly lifted the unopened box of napkins on the back counter and slipped something out from under it. "That reminds me!" she said. "I almost forgot to give this to you."

"What?"

"This was left here for you yesterday."

Harry approached the counter, reaching a hand out to take the blue envelope from the woman. "Who's it from?"

"I don't know. A young man came in here yesterday and left it for you."

Harry nodded knowingly and slipped the envelope inside the inner pocket of his coat. "All right…well, I'll see ya Monday." After making sure his scarf was secure around his neck, Harry pushed the door open and was on his way, his apartment only two blocks away. Once he had returned to his residence, he had already forgotten about the envelope, hanging his coat up by the door and making his way into the kitchen to fix something to eat.

Later that night, Harry still had not remembered the envelope in his coat pocket. He sat on the edge of his couch, flipping through the channels in hopes of finding something worth watching. He mumbled curses under his breath with each commercial he saw, flipping through at least six channels before he found an actual program. He finally came to a particular channel that showed a panned out view of Times Square, where thousands of people were gathered. It didn't dawn on the man until that moment that it was New Year's Eve. As the screen faded out to a view of the brightly lit ball that was scheduled to drop in less than five minutes, Harry couldn't help but think of Marv.

Marv had always loved watching the ball drop for some reason, but Harry had thought it was the biggest waste of time, and he still did. He had never understood why people would want to stand out in the freezing cold for hours just to watch a giant ball drop.

"The only way I would ever watch that oversized disco ball drop is if there was even the slightest chance that damn thing would malfunction," Harry had told Marv one year after the taller man had begged and begged for him to sit down and watch the traditional event with him.

"Where's your holiday spirit, Harry?" he had replied. Marv had always been, what Harry thought of as, a ten-year-old stuck in a man's body. Sure, Harry had his moments when the ten-year-old boy in him would emerge, but Marv had always been the more childish of the two.

Harry tossed the remote control aside and leaned back into the couch, unable to find it in his heart to change the channel. "I'm watchin' this stupid event for you, Marv," he sighed grudgingly. It was at that moment that he suddenly remembered the envelope he had stuck in his coat pocket as he left work earlier that afternoon. Looking over his shoulder at the coat hanging by the door, he sighed. He pushed himself off the couch and headed for the coat, slipping a hand inside and fumbling around for the envelope. Plopping back down on the couch, Harry turned the envelope over, slipping a finger under the flap and tearing it, which was difficult with only one good arm. Slowly, he slipped a card out of the envelope, an elegant winter landscape painted on the front. He didn't need to open the card to know who it was from, but that certainly didn't dampen his curiosity as to what he could possibly have to say inside it. Somehow he knew it wasn't going to just say, 'Get well soon.'

He stared at the front of the card for a long moment before finally willing himself to open it, finding the entire left side of the card written up in blue ink.

This year is gone. What do you have to show for it? Probably a hell of a lot more than most people. Not too many people can look back at this past year and see it as an accomplishment. You haven't just taken a single step in the right direction, you have taken a great leap over the biggest hurdle that even the greatest athletes can't jump. I know you're probably rolling your eyes at how corny this sounds, but I'm being sincere in what I say. Many people are unable to handle the obstacles that life throws at them, and in the four weeks that I spent getting to know you, I learned very quickly that your life was just one obstacle after another. You were never given much to work with. They say to play the hand life deals you, but when you're dealt a bad hand, losing is an inevitability. But one thing I managed to learn from you is that sometimes in order to win, you *have* to lose. Now that you've learned to play your cards right, I'm hoping I can do the same. So…I guess that's my New Year's Resolution. My mission is to step into this new year with an open mind and learn from each experience, good or bad, but I'll *especially* embrace the bad and hopefully come out a better person for it. Easier said than done, but I've always enjoyed a challenge. And by the way, I took your advice and talked to Anna yesterday. I'm happy to say that she didn't push me away. She was very happy to get my call, in fact, and we're planning on getting together soon to catch up.
So on the off chance that you haven't already tossed this card aside in disgust, I'll go ahead and wrap this up by saying that I hope you look back on this year as initiative to keep moving forward and make this year even better than the last. I hope your arm is healed enough so that you'll be in next week because you *know* I'll be there. Stop rolling your eyes, you know there's nothing you can do to stop me. You're stuck with me. Deal with it.

Have a good one.

Your friend (yeah, you read that right),
Kevin

Just as he came to the end of the message, the cheering on the television set suddenly became much louder, and Harry looked up, noticing the ball was beginning its descent. The clock was ticking the seconds away in the bottom, right corner of the TV. He slowly glanced back down at the card, unable to suppress a grin. "Okay, Marv…" he began as he closed the card and leaned forward to set it down on the small table in front of the couch, "…I just got a reason to watch that stupid ball drop every year." The man shook his head, settling back against the couch.

3...

2...

1...

The ball reached the end of its descent, the new year underway. While he didn't know what the future had in store for him, he was not about to let the past repeat itself. He had every intention of moving forward, never backward.

"Happy New Year, kid," he said, unable to keep from rolling his eyes as he sighed the words, the corner of his mouth lifting into the faintest smile.

Just a few miles away, at that very moment, Kevin was wishing him the same.

Author's Note: Well, that's it. I hope you all enjoyed reading! A big thanks to everyone who reviewed!

-Please Note-

Harry's wedding ring is actually canon. If you watch the movie closely, you'll see a wedding ring on his hand. The popular, and most likely, theory is that it's Pesci's ring since he was married at the time the movie was made, and he just forgot to take it off during filming, but another theory is that his character might have been married. And some suggest he may have just stole it. But I liked the theory that he was actually married. It gave me a chance to explore his character a little deeper.