Chapter 25: A Change in the Weather

Saturday, October 6, 2012 7am

Jesse stared out the apartment window at the dreary early morning scene. The wind was blowing the rain onto the living room windows. He’d been awake since before six o’clock, having heard what he assumed was Kirsten leaving for the university ice rink. She was a month into her second season with the T-Birds. He’d seen so little of her lately. She’d been to the Team Canada camp, but he had no idea if she’d been selected or not. The fact that she was back practicing and playing with the T-Birds indicated to him that she had probably not made the team. That would have been no surprise, since she was only beginning her second year of competitive hockey.

He’d talked to Candice on the phone twice and was pleased that she was recovering, although slowly with the big cast on her leg that would remain there until November first at the earliest. Her shoulder and ribs were healing well, and she was able to do some physiotherapy on her arms, but until the big cast on her left leg was removed, she was still bound to the wheelchair, or very short distances on crutches.

She sounded like she was in fairly good humour considering her being confined largely to her parents’ home, but could hear her mentioning Pete more often as her helper. That didn’t come as a surprise, but it was still disappointing that he had almost unlimited access to her, while Jesse was three hundred miles away. He wondered what to do about their relationship. In his mind, it was over, but until Candice told him so, he held out faint hope that it might not be.

Mica got his helicopter ride at the end of September and was allowed to bring Tony Birani along with him. They took off from the South Airport business flight center and Kent gave the boys the royal treatment with a flight west to the Gulf Islands, then north to the Comox Glacier, before crossing eastward to Whistler, then down the coast back to the airport. They were gone for well over an hour and the two couldn’t stop talking about everything they had seen, including a couple of cruise ships and some whales in Georgia Strait.

Kent was becoming a regular for dinner when he wasn’t on duty, and Jesse could see the relationship between him and Eve was getting closer. He began to think it was time to talk to Eve about him moving on. He was financially secure now, and could do pretty much anything he set his mind to. The projections Lachie had shown him for his proposed investment portfolio would produce over eighty thousand dollars in dividends each year. He emphasized that this was a conservative estimate and could easily yield over a hundred thousand. That alone stunned Jesse.

Lachie Kilgore had set up a cash reserve that could be used either for purchasing new stocks or bonds, or as a way to supplement Jesse’s cash supply. His advisor proposed a line of credit from a major bank of a quarter million dollars as a maximum. The interest rate would be prime plus one percent, a very low lending rate. Jesse struggled with the idea of having such a large amount at his fingertips, but Lachie cautioned him that because he had it available, he didn’t have to use it. In fact, Jesse was genuinely nervous about having so much money at his disposal. He would be super careful about how he used it.

Those were the thoughts going through Jesse’s mind as he stared out the window that miserable Saturday morning. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that the Austin Healey was a poor choice of vehicle. He couldn’t see himself driving it to Whistler in the winter, or rowing his way through the rush hour traffic that now nearly paralyzed Vancouver and the surrounding districts. No, something more practical was a better choice.

In addition, he was studiously examining the Internet listings for apartments. He gulped when he saw the monthly rental costs for a two bedroom apartment in False Creek. Two thousand dollars per month seemed like a staggering price for a one thousand square foot apartment. On top of that, a parking space was extra. However, it did have many features that he wanted, and the fact was ... he could afford it. Was this a good place to consider, if only for a couple of years? He had to admit, he really liked living in the area. For a guy who was brought up in a suburban home with grass and trees, it surprised him how easily he adapted to living in the downtown.

And now the question returned once more to his future. What was he going to do with his new life? With all the luxuries that he could now afford, he knew he still needed to work. Not for the money as much as for the sense that he was doing something worthwhile for himself and others. The burning question was what would that “something” be?

He’d postponed his morning coffee, knowing that he intended to do his workout before breakfast. Now was as good a time as any. The place would be empty on a Saturday morning, so he’d be able to use any of the equipment he chose. He grabbed his key card and a towel and headed for the elevator down to the second floor.

Jesse was surprised to see a light coming through the glass panel on the door to the exercise area. Perhaps someone forgot to turn it off last night. He pulled the door open and was surprised to see Kirsten on the treadmill, walking quite slowly. He dropped his towel on the bench along the wall and walked toward her. She must have noticed him because she turned and looked at him.

Jesse was shocked at her appearance. She seemed wan and tired, with dark circles under her eyes. There was no smile of greeting or any acknowledgement. Something was wrong and he knew it immediately.

“Good morning, Kirsten. How are you?” he asked as if by rote.

“Hello Jesse,” she said, not turning toward him.

“Kirsten, are you all right? You look very pale ... very tired,” he said, standing beside the machine.

She shrugged. “I will be better later on. I am just a little slow this morning,” she finally volunteered.

Jesse looked around and couldn’t see her usually present water bottle.

“Can I get you some cold water?” he asked.

She didn’t respond immediately, but after a few moments she nodded.

Jesse went to the dispenser and filled a paper cup and took it to her. She had stopped the machine and stepped off it, waiting for him. He handed her the cup and looked at her carefully.

“You don’t look good, Kirsten. Are you feeling ill?”

She shook her head. “Just tired.”

Come and sit over here with me,” he said.

She surprised him and didn’t resist, but followed him to a padded lifting bench and sat with him.

“I haven’t seen you in a long time,” Jesse said. “I don’t remember you ever looking as tired as this. Have you seen a doctor?”

She nodded. “Yes, she ran some blood tests and I am a bit anaemic, so I have to take some vitamin pills to correct that. I will be better in two weeks.”

“How did you get so run down?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I suppose it was the combination of playing hockey and studying at night and then the tryout camp last summer. Now, I am back playing and studying. I had little time off this summer. I was not sleeping well after the Team Canada camp and I think that led to the problem.”

“I’m not surprised. You push yourself very hard. You work very hard at your fitness and your studies ever since I’ve known you. Maybe you need a vacation,” he suggested.

She turned to him with a weak smile. “I wish I could, Jesse, but I am back in school and I will be playing hockey when I get past this anaemia. Right now, I am trying not to lose my conditioning.”

“Do your parents know about your condition?”

“Yes. I am supposed to take it easy, but I can almost feel my body getting soft.”

Jesse snorted and suppressed a laugh. “That’s not entirely a bad thing, you know.”

That brought about a smile from her, and she leaned toward him and bumped her shoulder against his.

“You know what you should do,” Jesse offered, “You should go back to bed and get some sleep. That will do you more good than anything.”

Again she smiled. “Okay, doctor Jesse. I think you are right. I have no energy this morning. I am not supposed to be here anyway, so I suppose it was a bad idea.”

“Come on, I’ll go with you,” he volunteered.

“You do not need to do that,” she protested.

“I know ... but I want to,” he smiled, helping her up and leading her to the door. The ride up on the elevator was in silence as was the walked to her apartment door.

She turned to him, smiled, and kissed him gently on the lips. “Thank you, Jesse. It is good to see you again. I have missed you,” she said before turning and entering her home.

If there was one thing that could energize Jesse, it was kiss from Kirsten. He headed back to the elevator and the exercise room with a renewed sense of vitality. Somehow, this workout was going to be much easier than usual.

Sunday, October 7, 2012 11:45am

Jesse was watching the clouds break up and the sun beginning to make an intermittent appearance in the sky. He wouldn’t have thought it possible a few hours ago, but it looked like it was going to be a pretty nice afternoon after yesterday’s storm had passed. He was considering taking a bike ride when there was a knock on his door. It could only be a neighbour he thought as he went to the door. When he opened it and saw Kirsten standing there, he smiled. One look told him she looked much fresher than she had early yesterday morning.

“Hi, Kirsten ... come in.”

Again, a relaxed smile and a bit more colour in her face gave him some confidence she was feeling much livelier as well.

“You look much better than you did yesterday. Did you get some sleep?”

“Yes ... thank you. I feel better too. I wanted to thank you for being there for me. I was not feeling very happy and you were so kind to me.”

Jesse smiled. “The rest has done you good. Are you hungry? I can make some lunch. Your parents are at the store, I imagine.”

“Yes, weekends in October are always very busy. Hockey season is underway and skiing is not far away, so they are quite busy. I should be there, but Mama won’t let me. I am supposed to be at home, doing nothing. I am not very good at doing nothing,” she smiled softly.

“I know what you mean. I’m lousy at doing nothing too. I was going to make some soup and a sandwich. Would you join me please?” he said.

She nodded. “Thank you.”

They exchanged small talk as Jesse took out the fixings for the sandwich and prepared the package of dried soup for the stove. He was pleased that she seemed so relaxed and at ease with him once more. Was this another turning point in their relationship? He hoped so.

Kirsten was relaxed and comfortable with Jesse. She had made a decision some time ago that she wanted to restore the close friendship they once shared. She felt guilty that she had ignored him while she tried to deal with his revelation of the strange situation that brought him so far forward into the future. She still could not quite believe it, but when Eve confirmed she believed it as the truth, she had to accept it as so.

Eve had assured her that there was nothing about Jesse that was dangerous, but that he had suffered a very traumatic change in his life over which he had no control. It had taken some time for Kirsten to come to terms with that belief, but now ... with his so obviously genuine concern over her health, she realized her fears were unfounded. He was still Jesse, and he was still a very nice young man; the same young man she had developed strong feelings for.