Chapter 10: Friday Night Lights (Out)

"What do you want?! I just saw you a few hours ago!" snapped Suzanne Rowan, over her phone.

"I'm sorry. Are you busy?" asked Brett Nilsen

"It's fucking Friday night, of course I'm busy!"

"I hate to bug you, but I guess I was kind of lonely."

"Talk to your brother."

"I can't. He's with Carrie."

"No doubt trying to take advantage of the poor girl," she said, her tone dripping with venom.

Brett Nilsen was normally not as shy as his brother, but he had one weakness in this regard. Though not as bad as Tom, he was somewhat shy around girls. This of course, evaporated when someone was attacking his brother. "Listen here you bitch! If it weren't for Tom, Carrie would still be with her stepfather! She'd probably be getting raped right now! Tom actually told her NO when she offered him sex. He really cares for Carrie. By the way, it was SHE who asked HIM to be his girlfriend!"

Suzanne Rowan was shaken at Brett's outburst. This reaction seemed out of character with his reputation. Yes, he was a guy and guys were petty and cruel. Brett was certainly lashing out, but she had just said something nasty about his brother. She realized that in her own way, it was she was the one being petty and cruel.

"I'm sorry, Brett," she said, quietly uttering her first civil words to him.

Her simple apology took the wind out of Brett's sails. "OK, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have called you a bitch. But Suzanne, why do you have to be so mean about everything?"

Again, the question and Brett's changed tone surprised and confused Suzanne. "I guess my experience with guys hasn't been that great. I have two older brothers who are shits to me. One of them is a flat out sadist."

"What about your dad?"

"My father died when I was only three, so I didn't really know him."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I can't miss what I never had. He was probably like his sons anyway," she murmured.

Brett had his "Eureka" moment. Suzanne was growing up in a home without a father and had poor male role models. "Suzanne, my father is one of the greatest people I know. He's a civil rights and corporate/labor attorney. Lately he has practically stopped practicing corporate law, only keeping several major clients. We have a good lifestyle, but we could have been even better off if my dad had just kept practicing corporate law."

"Why did he stop?"

"He took a civil rights/employment case about a single mom who was being discriminated against by her employer. She was so poor that she was in danger of losing her three kids. Dad proved her case and she was able to get her job back and receive her back salary."

"Well, he got paid, didn't he?"

"No. He did it as a favor to the pastor of our church. The point is not all guys are jerks. My dad is the greatest guy I know and an excellent role model. I'd like to think that I'm trying to hold myself to his values," he paused. "I'm not completely sure why you hate guys, but I can't help but think that not having a father and having two brothers growing up without one couldn't have helped any of you."

Susan was too stunned to summon up any real anger. She tried to find some bite to her voice, but it clearly came out hollow. "Why would you care?"

"Why WOULDN'T I?! Suzanne, you don't know me, but remember; I told you that I was going to change your opinion of me."

"Why can't you just let things be? You want a girl to take to the prom. The head bitch is making me go with you. Can't we just leave it at that? Why are you being so..."

"What."

"Nothing," she said quietly.

Brett almost defended Sandy, but remembered that Sandy would have to be "Sandra" for now for any of this to work. "I think the word you were looking for was 'nice'. Do you want to know why?"

"OK," she said, feeling a bit curious.

"Because I want to be your friend."

"Yeah, right. You just want to get into my pants! Even if I found you attractive, which I don't, it's not going to happen, so you might as well quit trying!" she spat.

Tom did not take the bait. He paused and said, "Listen to me," he started softly. "I'm not trying to get into your pants. I never was."

"Why?"

"For starters, you're only fifteen."

"You're not much older than I am."

"I'm sixteen, but I'll be seventeen in June. The other thing is that I don't want to be with someone who doesn't want to be with me."

"Then why don't you find a girl who does. You're not repulsive looking. I'm sure you could find somebody who'd go out with you."

"Because Sandra is making me do this, the same way she's making you," he lied out of necessity.

"Can't you just ask your friend to have his girlfriend end this little game for us?"

"Come on, Suzanne. Do you really think Derek wears the pants in that relationship?"

At that moment Brett heard something he had never thought he would have heard from Suzanne. She laughed. It was not a sarcastic chuckle, but a real laugh. It lasted at least thirty seconds.

"OK, I see your point," she said trying to calm down. "But why do you want to be my friend?"

"I'm sure I can think of any number of reasons, but two come to mind. For one thing, if we're stuck with each other for the next two or three months, I'd rather not be bickering with you all the time. Being friends would make the time much more pleasant, don't you think?"

"I guess so," she grudgingly admitted. "What else?"

"Because I admire what you do with animals. I told you about our 'rescue dog'. He was abused by his previous owner," he paused. "Anyway, I guess since you care about animals, I'd like to think that there is somebody inside of you that I could like."

"As a friend?"

"Yes, as a friend."

After a somewhat cordial goodbye was issued and the call disconnected, Suzanne wondered if Brett was really genuine about his feelings. "What if he was?" she thought. She decided to be cautious. Even if there wasn't any attraction and she knew there never would be, maybe this would be a chance to make a real friend. Most of her friends were bitches and twits she had to hang out with. Brett seemed to like animals and even offered to help her tomorrow at the shelter. "I guess if we're in the same boat, we shouldn't rock it," she laughed to herself.

"Are you sure, Maggie?" asked Veronica.

"Look at them, Ronnie. Don't you feel like we stepped into a time machine," sighed Margaret Turner, as she stared at their children. Sandy had her chin on Derek's shoulder. He was sitting on a barstool. Sandy was looking on as their husbands and Derek conversed.

"I know, honey, but they're not little kids anymore."

"I know, but there is something about them. Look how comfortable they are with each other. They are acting more like an old married couple than two teens in love."

Ronnie looked at the kids and saw that her friend was right. They had all the easiness of being nine years old, the way they were then and all the affection that a retired married couple would have for each other. It was strange. Yet the more she thought about it, it was wonderful. "I can see what you mean, but Maggie, what are we going to do about them?"

"As far as I'm concerned, we shouldn't do anything. As long as they keep up with their studies and other obligations, and they use birth control, I don't think we should limit them at all. Something has happened to Sandy. It's like her mental and emotional maturity has accelerated from four to forty. She has become completely unselfish and she has been an absolute joy to us. Make no mistake; her feelings for Derek are responsible for this. Why would I want to limit that?"

"I see your point. Derek has always been really mature, but I haven't seen the kind of joy he's exuding now since he was a little kid. But Mags, we're their parents. Shouldn't we be limiting this somehow? What if word got out about them sleeping in the same bed together regularly?"

"We'll make sure they are discreet about it. I'm sure they are smart enough not to advertise it to their friends."

"I know, but they're just so damn young," bemoaned Veronica Carson.

"You and Rick shared his bed at Princeton."

"That's different. We were in College."

"How old were you when you started?"

"Eighteen."

"They've both just turned seventeen, and are only about a year younger than you were, Ronnie. I think it took me until I was twenty to show the maturity Sandy has been showing lately. Let's face it Ronnie, we're destined to be in-laws," she grinned.

Ronnie grinned and shook her head. "Typical, overly enthusiastic Maggie," she thought. "She makes 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown' look like 'Debbie Downer' on a bad day," she added to her thoughts, as she chuckled out loud.

"What?"

"God, I'm so happy we're friends again," smiled Ronnie.

After a wonderful dinner at the Turners, the Carsons and Sandy returned to Carson home to watch a movie. Laura was waiting in the living room. After greeting her parents, before they went into the kitchen, she gave her brother a huge hug.

"Damn, Squirt! Have you grown since I last saw you?" she grinned, as she hugged her brother.

"An inch or two, not so much of a squirt now, am I, Lola," he laughed, as he broke the clinch.

"Once a squirt, always a squirt," she teased.

"You remember Sandy?" he said, as he saw two of the most important women in his world looking at each other.

"OK, let's get this over with," muttered his sister under her breath.

"OK, he said, as he rubbed Sandy's shoulder, before walking into the kitchen to help his parents make popcorn and organize other snacks for the movie they were all going to watch.

Both women continue to stare at their counterpart; sizing each other up like a couple of heavyweights before a championship bout. Then Derek's girlfriend shocked the shit out of his sister. She launched herself at Laura and gave her a big hug.

"Oh, Laura! It's great to see you again!" she exclaimed, before breaking the hug and leaving an affectionate kiss on her cheek.

"OK ... Hi, Sandra," she said, with an expression somewhere between bemusement and being completely dumbfounded.

"Actually, I'm going by Sandy again. You remember ... the little girl you liked," she smiled.

"OK..."

"Look Laura, we have some things we need to discuss and catch up on, but you need to understand something." Sandy paused. "I love him! I'm completely his and he wants to be mine!" her blue eyes twinkled with a kind of guilelessness, that Laura had hardly ever seen before.

"But how? Why?" Laura now genuinely confused. She somehow believed from Sandy's demeanor that she was telling the truth. Part of her tried to convince the rest that this look was a trick, but Laura had seen that look before and it made a compelling argument to Sandy's sincerity.

"I can't explain it except to say that a tiny part of me that I thought had died started growing. It showed me how much of a bitch I had become; especially, with Derek. It also showed me what an ass I'd been with you."

"You mean about Scott?" asked Laura, referring to her old boyfriend.

"Yeah."

"Well, I guess that is one thing you and Scott have in common," grinned Laura. "He told me that he wanted us to try to stay together, long distance. Then what do I find? The bastard started sleeping with a girl the day after he got to college."