As always, all characters, events, companies, etc. are figments of our imagination and have no connection to any living or dead persons, true events or actual companies. In other words, this is all fiction.
M.P. "I've never met a man that sells anvils before."
C.C. "It takes a real salesman; I can tell you that. Anvils have a limited appeal, you know."*
The Sales Man
I'm Harold 'Harry' Collina and I've been drinking from this same coffee cup for the past fourteen years. It's chipped on the brim, the handle was superglued to the cup after it broke off several years ago and the original hand-painted pelican is almost faded beyond recognition. Why is this particular cup so important to me? Because it's the only souvenir of my Key West honeymoon with Gwen Collina, my first wife.
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After six years of mostly blissful marriage, Gwen died in an auto accident. That in itself was enough to throw me into a tailspin, but because the gods can be especially cruel, our daughter growing inside her was taken from me at the same time. The teenage girl that ran the red light and broadsided Gwen's car was busy at the moment updating her Facebook page.
I confess; at the time I wanted the young girl to suffer unbelievable horrors before dying a gruesome death. How could such a stupid act cause such pain? Not only my pain; but Gwen's parents as well, they lost a daughter and their first grandchild.
The seventeen-year-old girl, Katherine Mellon, was charged with vehicular homicide and a number of other crimes. I pushed the DA and any other authority I could contact to make certain this young criminal, that's how I viewed her, would go to prison for as long as the law would allow. I was ready to sit in court every day of her trial, holding a photo of Gwen and an ultrasound of my daughter. I was ready - until the day Katherine Mellon's father came to visit me; it was two months after the accident that took the lives of my family.
I was initially reluctant to meet Jacob Mellon when he called to ask for a meeting. I asked my grief counselor what he thought. My counselor was helping me recover and after he and I discussed the pros and cons; I agreed to meet Mr. Mellon.
"Mr. Collina; thank you for meeting with me. Please let me begin by offering my condolences and apologize for the pain my daughter has caused."
"Is there a reason why your daughter isn't the one apologizing?"
"Kathy wanted to come; I told her I should meet with you first. If you agree; she'll be here tomorrow. I assumed she's the last person you want to see."
"You're right; the only time I want to see your daughter is when the jury finds her guilty, when she's sentenced to prison and when she's burning in hell."
Even though Mellon expected a strong reaction; I could see he was taken aback by my venom. It took him a few moments to recover and continue.
"Mr. Collina; I will do anything I can to prevent Kathy from going to prison. We're not wealthy people; but is there anything Kathy and I can do to avoid a prison sentence?"
"Are you trying to bribe me with money?" I was beginning to shout. "Because if you think you can buy me; then fuck you!"
"I'm sorry; that came out wrong. I wouldn't dream of offering you money. I was told your wife was a nurse; I was thinking of a scholarship to nursing school in her name - something like that.
"I also want you to know that Katherine is accepting full responsibility for her actions; she's quite willing to plead guilty. She's willing to go to prison; it's me that's begging you to come up with a different punishment. I know what goes on in prison; even juvenile prisons. My daughter won't last a month in any one of those facilities. And yes; I understand that right now, you'd love for that to happen; for her to suffer; but I just can't let that happen."
I could see Mellon was doing his best to hold back the tears as he spoke; but, damn it, I wanted my pound of flesh.
"You have no fucking clue what it feels like to lose everything. Maybe if you lose your daughter, you'll understand my pain."
"There's where you're wrong, Mr. Collina. My wife died two years ago to cancer. I watched her fade away after all the chemo and radiation failed to save her life. It wasn't the same; her death wasn't caused by a thoughtless, stupid act. But; like you, my best friend and partner was taken from me. I do know how that feels."
My hatred for this man, who brought the girl into the world that took my family away, was starting to fade, just a little.
"Bring Katherine here tomorrow and we'll talk. I'm not making any promises; but I will meet with her."
Katherine came with her father the next day. Unless she's an actress with Meryl Streep's capabilities, Katherine's contrition and apology was genuine. It was an emotional meeting, to say the least; and I was proud of myself for resisting the urge to strangle her neck.
The following day I hired a PI to look into Katherine Mellon's life. The PI came back with information surprised me. Ms. Mellon was a National Honor Society student, a leader in her school with a wonderful reputation and volunteered at the local hospital in the children's wing. After her mother's death from cancer, Katherine began spending time at the children's cancer ward.
I also asked a few people in the know regarding Jacob Mellon's assertion that juvenile prison was as bad as he made it out. The answers I received was 'yes', kids like Katherine wouldn't come out of prison undamaged.
So, now I had to ask myself - did I want this young lady's life ruined? Did I hate her that much?
It wasn't an easy decision. I talked to Gwen's parents; I talked to friends whom I trusted; I talked to my therapist. It was almost unanimous; let go of the need for revenge. Find a way to give Gwen's life and her death a meaningful turn. Gwen's parents were the most adamant; especially when I discussed Jacob Mellon's offer for a scholarship in Gwen's name.
Gwen's mother kissed me on the cheek with tears in her eyes. "Harold; you know in your heart that if you asked Gwen; she wouldn't want revenge; she'd want something good to come out of this tragedy."
I met with the Assistant DA and we came up with a plan. Katherine would plead guilty; she'd receive a suspended sentence, but if she was ever pulled over for inattentive driving again, she'd serve out her term. She would perform thousands of hours in community service; not just at the hospital, but also giving talks to students on the dangers of texting and driving. She would have to give these talks and show the photos of Gwen and our daughter. She would be required to tell how she was responsible for snuffing out the lives of two innocents and causing the heartache of their loved ones.
You read about someone whose love turns to hate after a traumatic event such as infidelity; but I never considered the other side of that same coin; how someone could learn to love a person they initially hated. Now I know it can happen because after spending time with Katherine, my hatred for the young lady was melting away; I was learning to love her - no, not in a romantic way, but in the way an uncle loves a niece. By the time Katherine's hearing began, I was on board with the recommendation to suspend any prison term.
I don't know who exactly came up with the idea; I think it was some do-gooder working in the Sheriff's Office; but someone thought it might have more impact if I appeared with Katherine at her talks on the dangers of inattentive driving. I had my doubts; but was convinced that even if these sessions saved one life, I'd have done my civic duty. The sessions reminded me of the old TV series, "Scared Straight" in which hard case inmates would tell a group of teenagers just how awful their lives would become if they ended up in jail. Whomever designed Katherine's sessions did a fairly good job of it. Dry statistics were mixed in with real life tales of the carnage caused by texting while driving. The impact of each session would be increased because Katherine and I would be the presenters.
We did a session roughly every two weeks; at schools, churches, civic groups and scout meetings. For me; it was another way I might turn my personal tragedy inside-out. It was probably the tenth session when it hit me; I was watching Katherine give her part of that evening's presentation to a group of boy scouts when I realized - it was almost as if Katherine was getting some kind of endorphin rush from presenting her story of guilt and shame.
I spent an hour with my counselor two days later, discussing what I saw and felt. He agreed; there was every possibility that the sessions were becoming cathartic for Katherine. It wasn't that she didn't feel guilt or shame, it was she was using the sessions to deal with her inner turmoil. Whatever the reasons; I just couldn't be a part of the show and I quit the following week. Katherine and I lost touch with each other; she went to college, to become a hospice nurse, of all things.
