Part XVIII - 3: Woman's Right to Change Her Mind

I had promised my mom I would spend that Sunday with her and Richie, and despite the fact that I wanted to spend every minute of it with Jennifer, I did actually enjoy some parts of the day.

Richie was christened that morning for one thing, and I was made his Godfather which meant I held him while they made his fussy mood worse by sprinkling the holy water on him and making him outright cry.

Oh, I shouldn't really complain though. I was happy to do it, especially since I didn't have a Godfather or Godmother, At the time I was christened, it was only my mom and I.

My dad didn't attend because... heh... I guess you could say because of religious reasons. He didn't believe in God, Jesus, the church, or any of it, so while he didn't necessarily object to the christening, he didn't want anything to do with it either.

After the ceremony, I got to enjoy my mother's breast milk for what I thought would be the last time, for Richie was seven months old and it was time to wean him. My dad was actually more upset about that than the christening, and I guess I could see his point for the only reason mom gave was the baby book said it was time. But this was my mom's decision and I knew better than to interfere. It was her body, and I know she wanted start getting it back to normal again.

Around three in the afternoon, however, my plans for the day were diverted when Jennifer called.

"What's wrong?"

"I saw them again. Flying around my head."

"Are you okay?"

"Yes... "

"What did you do? Did your dad or Lee see you?"

"No, Lee isn't here, and when I felt it starting, I just went to my room. I was a little scared, but I didn't freak like last night. Tim? Am I going to keep having these?"

"I don't know, honey. Maybe they'll go away, or maybe you'll have one big one and then you'll see them all the time like me. But it's nothing to be afraid of though. You can get used to them pretty quick and if you want you can just kind of tune them out of your awareness again. It's just like how you don't really listen to the birds when you go outside, you know? You know they are there, but they don't distract you from other things."

She sighed, then said, "Tell me about them? I mean, why do we have them flying around our heads?"

"I don't know why, I just know that they... Well, they don't just fly around our heads, but in our heads, through our bodies, and even pass through the space between two people. When you move a finger, your hand, even beat your heart, there's a symbol which breaks off from the streams of symbols in your mind and travels down to the thing you're controlling."

"So the symbols... They're just... part of our nervous system? But you said they also can go from one person to another... "

"Yeah, they do. You see, that's where telepathy comes in. Normally the symbols can only travel through our nerves, but telepaths are able to break them away from our nervous system and insert them into the nervous system of another person. I think telepathy really has two different parts to it. You like have a telepathic eye and a telepathic, uhm, mouth. You use your eye to locate and read a person's feelings and thoughts, and you use the mouth to transmit the symbols that... For example, it allows you to make them call up memories and stuff that you couldn't access unless they happened to think of them on their own. Does all that make sense?"

"I think so... So all telepaths can see them and use them?"

"You mean the symbols?"

"Yeah."

"Jennifer, other than you and me, I only know of one other person who can see the symbols, and her name is Young Lee. Uhm, well that's not really her name, but I forget her real name at the moment."

"Now I don't understand. I thought you said telepaths use these symbols to make people do what they want."

"They do... They just don't see the symbols, that's all. I didn't even see them myself until about a year ago. Or at least I didn't see them like I do now. Joey and I had to feel them out to draw them. We never actually saw them back then."

"I still don't understand. If others don't see them, then how do they use them?"

"Think of it this way. We have been using them in our own bodies all our lives without knowing it. We don't have to see them to use them, or even know anything about them."

"Oh... You mean it's just like... Like not knowing how a muscle or our stomach works yet still being able to move and digest food. <sigh> So how come we can and the others can't?"

"Hmm... Good question. Maybe we like have like a telepathic ear or something that we can hear the symbols all around us... Er... something like that."

"Okay... I guess that makes sense. Tim? I can't stop thinking about those drawings. Half of me wants to never see them again, but the other half... "

"Well, that'll be up to you, honey. I don't know this for sure, but... Well like you said. It all seemed to start after you looked at the drawings we made. Looking at more of them might just... You know. Make you breakout completely."

"Breakout?"

"Yeah. That's when a person's telepathic abilities start working and they have to figure out how to control them. Luckily, I had my mom to help me, and I think it's during that time that determines a lot about how a telepath will turn out. Uhm, I don't want to scare you or anything, but a lot of telepaths go crazy after a while. Especially if they are just left to themselves without anyone else limiting their use of their abilities. But I won't let that happen to you."

"I know... Oh, I REALLY don't want them now. I don't want to see those drawing any more."

"Okay, baby... I miss you... "

"I miss you too. I wish we could just go to the mall or something together."

"Yeah, but since my mom moved out, I don't get to see her that much any more, and I promised her... "

"Well, why don't you see if she'd like to go to the mall too?"

"Hey, now that's a good idea. Yeah. Okay. Just a sec, and I'll ask her... Yeah, she'd like that. She says she'd like to buy you something that she saw last week and though you'd like and look good in. Uhm, and she says... "

"She's telling you all this? Or... "

"She's thinking it to me. She says your sister and dad could come too 'cause she'd like to meet them."

"Should I ask my dad?"

"Well, yeah... "

"Okay... But I don't think Lee will be back until tonight," she said before putting down the phone.

"Hello, Tim?" Mr. Corrigan's voice said a couple minutes later.

"Yeah, Mr. C?"

"Tell your mom we'll be taking you all out for dinner after the mall. Sound good to you?"

"Uhm, yeah. Sure. Sounds great? So, do you want to meet us there? Or we could come by in a limo... "

"Hmm... Shhh," he said to Jennifer. "He want's to know if we want to go in a limousine."

"YES we do!" she cried.

"Did you hear that?" he asked me.

"Yeah. So did your neighbors I think. Heh. We'll pick you guys up around four, okay?"

"Okay. It will probably be just Jennifer and I."

"Yeah, I know."

"Okay... Well, here's Jennifer again," he announced, then a moment later in the background I heard him say, "Ouch! Careful, honey... Next time wait until I leg go of the phone before you grab it away."

"Sorry daddy... Tim? You still there?"

"Nope. I hung up."

"Ha ha... Well, I can't wait for you to get here."

"Me neither. I love you."

"I love you too. Bye... "

"Bye."

Not even ten minutes went by before she called back and asked, "Would it be okay if Sandi and Brad came with us? Sandi called me up a few minutes ago, and their mom and dad had to go to a wedding and were bored."

"I guess. I mean, as long as your dad's okay with it."

"Brad says he'll pay for theirs, and my dad said he didn't care. If you don't want them to go... "

"No... That's cool. Brad is my friend, you know. I don't have any problems with it. I trust you."

"I trust you too," she said softly. "I'll see you in a little while, k?"

"Uhm, wait. Is Brad and Sandi going to meet us? Or are we picking them up?"

"They're already here, but they said they can go in their car if there isnt' enough room... "

"Already there? I thought you said Sandi called?"

"Oh, uhm... Well? I didn't want you to get upset if you knew they had come over on their own... I'm sorry."

"That's okay, but don't do that, okay? I'm not really the jealous type, and I'd rather always be able to believe everything you say, you know?"

"Okay... I'm sorry. I won't lie to you again." she said miserably.

"Jennifer?"

"Yes?"

"I love you... "

She sighed, then said, "I love YOU."

"And I love you... Uhm, look. If I'm going to get out of here, I need to get off the phone, okay?"

"Okay... But I love you anyway <click>."

I hung up with a smile on my face, then set the phone down and took a couple of careful sniffs while my smile changed to a frown.

"Shit, Richie," I said, holding him up off my lap to confirm he had soiled himself again. "Why didn't you tell me you had to go before I put your clothes on!"

I turned him around to face me as I got up, then couldn't help but grin at the way his face lit up in a smile when he saw me.

"You know... If I didn't know better, I'd swear you were empathic. You're not, are you?" I said in a giggly voice while shaking him gently to make him laugh with delight.

"Bbbbbba" he said in response.

"You can say that again, bro," I sighed as I set him down on the changing table and started undoing his snaps.

"Earrrraaa?" he cooed while I pulled his pants off.

"Yeah... You like those bunnies, don't you?" I said when I found his attention being temporarily held by the stuffed bunnies on the shelves next to the table.

"Ggggbbbbblllllaaa," he said bubbly."

"Shit, Richie... My shit doesn't smell this bad after I drink mom's milk... Pwew!"

"It did when you were his age," my mom said, walking in the nursery. "Oh, honey... I said the red pants, not the jeans... "

"Yeah, but mom! We're going to the mall... Nobody in their right mind goes to the mall in red corduroy pants. That's like not cool."

"Okay then... You get to change him in the restaurant. The red pants slip right off and on. I always have to fight him to get those... "

She stopped as Richie planted his feet on the mat and lifted his butt for me as I slid the new diaper underneath him, then once I had finished powdering him, I sealed his diaper and waited as he reached down with his little baby hands and started pulling his own pants up.

"That' a lot better this time, Richie. Here, let me help you get them up over your diaper... There. I know, I know... You can't get the zipper or snap. That's okay... We'll work on that when you're fingers are stronger for that kind of thing."

"How did you get him to do all that?!" my mom exclaimed finally.

I looked over my shoulder at her with a smile as I picked up my baby brother, then turned and kissed his forehead and said, "Big brothers are supposed to teach little brothers things like that, right Richie?"

"Ahchheeheheh" he giggled while reaching out to my mom.

"Come 'ere my little precious," my mom said sweetly as she took him from my arms. "Daddy has a nice big bowl of oatmeal and a jar of carrots ready for you."

"Ehemnahhwana... " he said from her shoulder, looking at me as they walked out.

"Yeah, after you eat, we can play again," I said, assuming that's what he had meant from the images I had read from his developing mind.

I went and got ready myself, taking a shower, and then out of pure curiosity, I ran back to the nursery and powered my butt like I had Richie's.

My dad was taking his shot at feeding Richie when I got to the dining room, and I watched his antics with great interest until Richie had had enough and promptly sent his bowl flying.

"Dang, Richie... " I said as my dad wiped the oatmeal off his left leg. "You're supposed to spit it back out when you're full, not throw it across the room."

"He's too smart for that now," my dad said. "He's learned that I just poke it back in his mouth if he spits it out. So instead he cuts of the supply at it's source. Don't you, my little bright boy?"

"Oh, honey," my mom exclaimed as she walked in. "Did your daddy try to overfeed you again?"

"Well we wouldn't have to feed him this slop at all if his mother would let him get all the good stuff like he wants."

"Now don't start that again," my mom warned sternly. "Tim, I take it you're ready?"

"Yeah, but I don't think Richie is," I said, taking the cloth and cleaning up his mouth. "Awe man? He has oatmeal on his jeans and everything!"

"Welcome to the life of a parent, Timothy," my dad chuckled.