“So, you’re back like a bad penny?” Stan growled.
“Stan, shut up for a moment and see who Richard has brought back with him,” Katrina scolded her brother as she pointed at Jan.
Stan’s jaw fell open and he uttered in disbelief, “Is that you? Jan? Is that really you?”
“Uncle Stan?” Jan answered.
“It’s you. Thank God! You’re alive!” He took Jan in his arms, kissing him and hugging him so tightly that the boy struggled and ran off to hide behind Katrina.
Stan stood in the middle of the room, turning his cap in his hands, intently studying the toes of his shoes. When he finally raised his head to meet Richard’s eyes, his expression was full of shame. “I guess…maybe you’re not such a bad guy after all…”
Richard didn’t feel schadenfreude at how the other man struggled admitting his mistake.
