Chapter 17: The Truth Shall Set You Free

Tuesday turned out to be a fairly average school day. Jessica and I didn't talk much during homeroom, but she did say she would text me later. This was one of those days Jessica had where I could see she just wasn't the same ol' Jessica. If you weren't looking and didn't know her, you would never know she was going through something so traumatic. But after talking to her as little as we had, I could see the difference.

Classes were settling into a routine, and I knew I wouldn't have any problems achieving my scholastic goals. Mrs. Parkman was still into tight skirts and blouses, but I was able to save the image of her clearing the chalkboard for later use. She did, however, wink at me on the way out of the classroom. What the heck was that about?

Sparks and Heather both said they had enjoyed the pool parties, even if the second one had been a bit of a bust after the incident with David and Christine, neither of which I saw around school that day. Again, that wasn't unusual as we didn't have any classes in common and we normally didn't see each other anyhow.

I asked Sparks and Heather to drop me off at Ken's shop on the way home. Ken's was about four miles from the house, and I hadn't seen Ken since I returned from Kansas and I wanted to at least give him the courtesy of a visit.

Ken Nguyen owned a little bicycle shop in downtown Richmond. Although I'm sure that Ken could have opened his own martial arts center, which would have been very profitable, he had told me more than a couple of times that he really had no desire to teach anymore. He preferred a quiet existence doing something simple, but something he enjoyed. Apparently, repairing bikes had been it. I was sure there was some Zen aspect to it that I just didn't understand.

My connection to Ken really started long before I was even born. Twenty-five years ago, Ken had emigrated to the U.S. from South Korea. When he was younger, he had been involved in a student exchange program in Indianapolis. He had promised himself he would do whatever he could to return, permanently. When Ken's first wife passed away during childbirth, taking both away, he decided that was the time to leave and start over somewhere else.

When he arrived in Indiana, he had just over five hundred dollars and a short resume with a background in IT. By some stroke of luck, Ken submitted his resume to the company who employed my father. My dad, being who he was, helped Ken get setup in Richmond. A great friendship between the two developed until my father's death, just over ten years ago. Ken was out of the office that day, and blamed himself for not being there to take the bullet for my father. At the funeral, Ken had offered to help me and my mom in any way that he could. Our friendship developed out of that and Ken, like Tom, had helped to fill some of the void left behind in the wake of my father's death.

Ken was working on a Trek road bike when I walked in.

"Wow, Phil, you have really grown a lot!" Ken stopped working on the bike, grabbed a towel and cleaned the top layer of grit from his hands before shaking mine.

"Five or six inches since the summer started, I think."

Ken walked me back to the office and offered me a seat next to his desk. "You're filling out a little bit, too. I'd bet you have to beat the ladies off with a stick!"

"Well, that's certainly not the case, but I do have a girlfriend now."

For the next hour, Ken and I caught up. I told him about Christy, Jessica and Christine. I also told him that Mike and Sparks now had girlfriends as well, which really shocked him.

"No offense, Phil, but that Sparks is a weird dude. I wasn't sure he would ever get a girlfriend as crazy as he is. I don't worry about you being around Mike, but Sparks is ... unpredictable. I really don't care for 'unpredictable.'"

The next subject up for discussion was my mother. I knew I had to be careful, here. Ken and I could talk about anything and everything and I had no doubt that he would never reveal to anyone what we had talked about. To this point, however, what we had talked about paled in comparison to a discussion involving my evolving relationship with my mother. But I had to talk to somebody I could trust, and no one could fit the bill like Ken could.

"You need to be very careful how you handle this, Phil. This is different for me, because I consider your mother to be as a sister to me, much as I look at you as a nephew. I do not wish to see either of you hurt, but see no outcome in which that does not happen to you both.

"Your mother is a very special lady. She has a good heart, and is filled with compassion. She has a great capacity for love, just as you do. She is also very wise, which puzzles me. It appears the strength of the love between the two of you is overriding good sense. My advice to you is to reach an understanding with your mother that does not include a sexual component. The direction you are heading is fraught with pain and suffering for you both."

Ken sat back and caught his breath for a moment. I could tell that he was not pleased with the news about Mom and I. After thinking it over for a few moments, it looked like Ken had found his comfort zone.

"However, I know that you are both stubborn as mules. If the two of you have already started traveling down this path, I see nothing to stop you from continuing. Communication will be the key. And maintaining other intimate relationships is a must. Eventually, you will want to start your own family and have your own children. This cannot happen with your mother."

"She hasn't said that I shouldn't date, Ken. In fact, she's been encouraging me to get out and meet people. She's already said that we would never have sex. We will never go all the way. She's only said that there could be times when things happen and we shouldn't be ashamed if they do."

"She says that now, Phil. But, be aware that in the heat of the moment, any and all things are possible."

Ken gave me a few workout suggestions to help me get past my latest plateau. I could bench my body weight, which was now 165, but I had been stuck there for the last several weeks. Ken was not a fan of weight lifting, per se, favoring practical outdoor work instead. One of his suggestions was to see if I could get a huge old tractor tire from a local farmer. If I could do that, he could give me a routine he had used when he was near my age.

Ken was good enough to drive me home. Mom and Maria both gave Ken welcoming hugs, and invited him to stay for dinner. It was nice to have Ken at the dinner table with us and I knew Mom agreed when she asked Ken to stop by for dinner a couple of times during the week. After the meal was over, Ken and Mom went into the living room to talk. I took the opportunity to check my phone. As promised earlier in the day, Jessica had texted me.

Christy and I spent a few minutes setting up Skype and testing it out. We talked about the two pool parties, and the situation with David and Christine. Christy said that she had talked briefly to David who apologized profusely for what had occurred the day before. She said that Christine had seemed a little down, but she didn't have a chance to really talk to her. She reminded me that Friday, the football game was out of town and she didn't expect to get back until midnight. Saturday would be our next chance to get together.

That would likely be the day that Christy and I finally went all the way. I was already nervous with anticipation, trying to imagine exactly what was going to happen, over and over in my head. I was wearing out my right hand, lately, and was looking forward to a mutual separation from it.

Just before seven, I went downstairs to say goodbye to Maria. Ken was also leaving, but promised to stay in touch more, and to be here for dinner one night each week. I could tell that both Maria and Mom were happy Ken would be visiting more.

A few minutes after seven-thirty, I snuck out to the pool house to get things ready. I had no doubt that my 'sneaking' would be easily detected, so there was no reason to try to be too clandestine. I'd probably have to explain what was going on, but I figured I could come up with a reasonable explanation without giving everything away.

Jessica knocked on the door a few minutes later. I offered her a quick drink and took a seat in a fold out chair while Jessica made herself comfortable on the day bed.

"Hey there, hero." Jessica said.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're a hero, according to Mike and Christine, for what you did yesterday."

"I'm not a hero."

"Mike believes you saved him from a lifetime prison sentence for David's murder", she chuckled. "Christine is just over-the-moon with you, right now. I'm pretty sure if you showed up in her bedroom tonight, she wouldn't be asking if she could have your baby, she would be asking how many."

"That's ridiculous. Anyone else would have done the same thing."

"That's something you don't know, Phil. It takes character to do what you did, and that is not in great supply for many guys your age. I knew my instincts were right."

"What instincts?"

"I trust you. I needed to be able to trust someone and my instincts told me that you might be that person. Doing what you did yesterday just confirmed that you are."

"I don't understand what Christine is thinking. We've never dated or even hinted at any kind of relationship, other than us being friends."

"That's your take on it. She is convinced the two of you will end up together in some happily ever after fairy tale. I'm sure she's writing 'Christine Marlow' over and over in her notebook as we speak." Jessica had an evil little smirk on her face.

I rolled my eyes. "She knows I'm dating Christy."

"Yes, she does, but she considers that to be temporary. She's looking much further into the future."

"What do you see?"

"I have no idea, Phil. I don't share her vision."

I was glad to see she was at least a little reasonable.

"Of course, she and I do agree on one thing. Your relationship with Christy is temporary."

"Why would you say that?"

"Don't get me wrong, Phil. The more I'm around both of you, the more I like you. I think if you two were both a few years older, maybe you would have a better chance, but your timing is off. She's going to be in college before you graduate high school. Even if that was the only factor, that right there would be enough of an obstacle that you guys wouldn't be able to get over. I mean, look at me and Todd. I thought he and I would be able to handle the difference, but that certainly didn't happen."

"I don't know what it is between you and my Mom. Both of you are telling me that I shouldn't get too involved with Christy."

"I didn't say you shouldn't get involved. Just have fun with it, for now. I know that she is having fun being with you. Just know that your relationship does have a shelf-life. If you understand that, you won't be so devastated when the relationship runs its course."

"I thought you were here to talk about yourself. How did I get pulled into this?"

Jessica paused and lowered her voice to just above a whisper. "Whether you know it or not, Phil, you're kind of my hero, too. What you did for me the last couple of weeks, when I felt I had nowhere to turn, has really helped. I guess I figured I could be here for you as well, if you needed it."

"Yeah, I guess I do need it ... Sometimes I feel like I'm in the deep end with Christy."