On the drive back, Maximilian kept watching Catherine from the corner of his eye. He didn't need words to know she was hurting; he could feel it somewhere deep in his chest, a dull echo of her pain. The silence between them felt wrong, heavy with things neither of them were saying.
He leaned slightly closer, intending to speak. He wanted to break that silence, to erase the shadow of doubt he could see lingering on her face.
"Uncle Joey, crank it up. I love this song," Catherine suddenly said to the driver.
Maximilian recognized the gentle dismissal immediately. She didn't want to talk to him right now. Still, he leaned closer again, unwilling to let the moment slip away so easily.
But the music filled the car before he could speak.
"That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia…"
Catherine began singing along almost immediately, her voice soft at first, then louder.
"That's the night that they hung an innocent man…"
