The Taking of a Hero's Wife, Part Ii

The things they screamed at poor Laura enraged Owen, and made his blood boil, to harass a widow who’d lost everything… Was there nothing left they would not spoil? Owen saw a police car, on the corner, the two officers keeping it all in sight, free speech was free speech, they couldn’t interfere, so Owen decided to take up the fight. “You’re all damned fools, harassing this woman, and you’re cause is insultingly dumb! You think it’s ‘justice,’ ruining her day Ooer a well-known piece of criminal scum! “This was no child caught in the cross-fire, Oo a fool kind who pushed his luck too far! You’re defending a drug-dealer, think of that, of all the lives he damaged and scarred! “And on top of all of that damn nonsense, you have the gall to come here to this place? To terrify the wife your ‘hero’ widowed? You’re an utter and absolute disgrace!” Stunned silence fell across the whole crowd, taken aback by the boldness he showed, then came angry shouts, then insults and slurs, Owen prepared himself for the blows. But just then the two officers emerged, and put themselves between him and the crowd. “Anyone who fights we’ll be hauling away! I’m ordering you all to disperse! Now!” The crowd grumbled, still in a fighting mood, but cooled when the cops tapped their Sigs, they slowly dispersed, growling their rage, shouting “racist,” and “fascist,” and “pig!” Owen released a breath he’d been holding, then went tense when the cop turn to him, he was an older man, hair fringed with gray, carved of iron from his forehead to chin. He said,”I knew Laura’s husband, Cliff, he was an honorable man, and brave. When rumor said Laura was seeing you, I though the grief had driven her insane. “Maybe she’d broken from all the stress, maybe she was depressed and down on her luck, but after today...maybe I was wrong, standing up for her sure took some guts.” CONCLUDES IN PART III