Chapter 2

The following Friday, Tyler was rummaging through his closet, looking for just the right clothes for his first date. He was so intent that he jumped when Carol spoke behind him.

“Hey, bro, can I give you some advice?”

Tyler turned and saw her standing there in nice, but fairly casual clothes. He grinned sheepishly at being caught, but knew she was right. “Please, sis. What would you suggest?

“Since this is your first date with her, it’s best not to overdo it. Nice, but not dressy. Let her make a statement with her looks — you want to encourage her, so let her shine. For you, a nice button-down shirt without a tie and pressed khakis will impress without distracting from her. Remember, you’re not taking her to a fancy French restaurant, just a nice, family-oriented Italian place, after all.”

He thought about her suggestion for a moment, then reached in and chose a pale blue oxford shirt and light khakis, holding them up. She smiled and nodded, giving him her seal of approval. After she left, he set up the ironing board, then got the iron plugged in and heating.

When he was done and dressed, he found her in the living room. She had taken care of some final touches of her own and looked great. When he stood for inspection, though, he thought she looked a bit worried, and he wondered if he’d done something wrong.

She dispelled that concern when she spoke. “You look great! You even smell good. You’re not trying to steal my girl, are you?”

Tyler heard a different note in his big sister’s voice, then. Looking in her eyes, he realized that she was worried, but her worry was that he’d impress Naomi so much that she’d dump her for him. He smiled and shook his head. “I’m not going to do that to either of you, but we chose this restaurant expecting to be seen by someone from school and I want a level of verisimilitude. I want everyone who sees us to know that I’m with Naomi and doing my best to impress her.”

He saw her swallow, then, but she nodded and said, “I know, but it’s still a little unnerving — you look so nice. A lot of girls will be taking note, and I’m just hoping Naomi isn’t one of them.”

“Come on, sis. Of course she’ll be one of them,” he said with a grin. “But don’t sell your girlfriend short — she’ll see it and understand what I’m doing right away. It’s not like I’m not going to enjoy my date, but I really am good with her being your girlfriend in private.”

“Thanks, Ty. This whole setup is a pretty strange, and I guess I’m feeling a little insecure when it comes right down to it. I’m not used to that. I think it’s going to be hard for me to be the disinterested chaperone for the young couple.”

He shook his head. “You don’t want to look disinterested. One of the reasons we’re doing this is that everyone knows how close we are. If you’re keeping tabs on us, you really should show an interest in my date. You’re going to want to make sure that some upstart girl is good enough for the brother that you so obviously adore.” He said the last with a little wink to make sure she knew he was teasing her. “Really, it will help if you talk to her as well, getting to know her and trying to understand her intentions toward me.”

She nodded and said, “Thank you. I needed that reminder. She told me last week that my confidence makes her feel more secure, so confidence needs to be the order of the day. I may need more reassurance in the future, but I think I’m good for tonight.”

He smiled at her and said, “Cool! Then, how about we go pick up your girlfriend. I’d rather be a little early at the restaurant. I know they’ll hold our reservation, but there’s no need to be rude. Besides, her mother may want to grill me, so we should leave time for that.”

Carol agreed that being a bit early would be a good idea, so they headed out to her Corolla and made the trip to Naomi’s apartment. When they arrived, she accompanied him to the door. She knew that Mrs. Clarke, Lee, liked her, but she had yet to meet Tyler. As it happened, Lee was the one to open the door. After looking Tyler up and down, she smiled and invited them in while Naomi finished getting ready. As soon as they were inside, Tyler handed her the flowers that their mother had insisted he have for the woman who was entrusting her daughter to his care.

“Thank you for the flowers, young man. More likely, thank your mother for the flowers,” she said. Tyler smiled and nodded his agreement, so she went on, “I hope I’m doing the right thing. Naomi seems to be very taken with you, but she’s never dated before, so I’m a little unsure about this. The only reason I’m allowing it is that your sister is going to be keeping an eye on you.”

“Mrs. Clarke,” he said, “I don’t think I’d have believed you if you’d said you weren’t nervous about this.” He smiled at her and continued, “You might not know it, but this is my first date as well, and the only reason my parents are allowing me to go is that Carol will be there to keep an eye on me.”

“Really? I know you’re in Naomi’s class, but I thought you were older than her.”

“I think everyone in the class is older than her. Even so, I am too young to drive. My parents said that I wasn’t allowed to date until I could drive myself to my dates, as they didn’t want me falling prey to some older woman. Carol has been keeping an eye on me for most of my life, though, and they trust her to make sure that nothing untoward happens, as well as providing transportation.”

Before she could reply, Naomi made her appearance. Carol got a lump in her throat when she saw her, lovely in a mid-calf length blue dress that seemed to shimmer as she moved. Carol noticed, as she was certain Tyler did, that the dress had a high neckline, so there was no chance that Naomi would accidentally display her charms. Just the sort of thing a protective mother would insist on for a first date.

Tyler responded just as Carol had coached him, stepping forward to hand Naomi a single white rose and telling her how nice she looked. Naomi was gracious in response and took the rose to place in a small vase that, conspicuously, was already sitting empty on the kitchen counter. Lee smiled a little and nodded, probably to show that she felt the moment had been handled well.

With Lee’s blessing, they left the apartment and made their way to Carol’s car, where Tyler and Naomi slid into the back seat and buckled in before Carol backed out and headed for the restaurant. As soon as they were underway, Naomi reached forward to brush her hand along Carol’s cheek.

“Nothing against you, Tyler, but I so wanted to rush to your sister when I came out.”

“I understand,” he said. “I know that I’m not really your date, but I hope we put on a convincing show.”

“You never know with Mom,” she said. “She doesn’t miss much. I thought you looked like you really were interested, though, so I think we’re okay. And, Carol, you looked just right — checking me out to make sure I was good enough.”

Carol laughed a little from the driver’s seat and said, “I don’t believe you’re naïve enough to think that Ty was only acting like he was interested.”

Naomi turned to him and said, “I do understand that. I’m almost sorry to be putting you through this.”

He just smiled and waved her off. “Let’s see. I’m about to walk into a restaurant with not one, but two lovely ladies who, when we’re done with dinner, will accompany me back to my home. Believe me, I’m very happy with the situation.”

“Even though there’s no hope of a reward for you?”

“I kind of hope you’re wrong about that, myself,” he said. Seeing the startled looks from both girls, he quickly continued, “Oops! That didn’t sound good. Let me give it another shot. What I hope to earn from you through these dates is really just your friendship, and maybe your respect. You’re very special and so is Carol. I just want to be a good friend to you and a great brother to her. If I can get that close to you, I’ll be happy.”

He saw Carol glance at him in the mirror before she said, “Oh boy. It’s getting a little deep in here. That’s laying it on pretty thick, even for you.”

Seeing that they were pulling up to the restaurant, he just said, “I was serious. Let’s revisit this later. I think you’ll both want to know where I’m coming from to ease your minds. For the moment, I’ll just say that helping you two really is helping me as well.”

The girls exchanged a look after Carol turned off the engine, but apparently decided to take him at his word. He slid across the backseat and got out, then went around and opened Naomi’s door before giving her a hand up. Carol locked the car, then followed them into the restaurant.

At the hostess’ station, he let them know that Jensen, party of three, had arrived. After checking her board, the hostess took three menus and escorted them to a table in the main room. As they entered, he noticed a couple of kids from school, so he was sure the gossip line would be notified by the following Monday.

Ever the gentleman, he first seated Naomi across from his chosen seat, then his sister next to her. The hostess handed them each a menu and said that their waitress, Marie, would be with them soon.

He and his sister had eaten there frequently, so they barely glanced at the Specials menu, then set their menus aside. Naomi hadn’t been there as often, so she took a few minutes to look over the menu before deciding on fettuccine Alfredo.

He was amused when she mentioned what she’d decided upon. “Comparing my version with a professional’s?”

“Well, yeah. I’ve had it before in other restaurants, but, like I said last week, yours was different somehow. I want to see if it was just my memory or if there’s something else there.”

He just smiled. Carol chuckled, then said, “They do a good Alfredo here. But I quit ordering it at restaurants when Tyler got his recipe right. I’m sure some people will prefer it here, but I’m a big fan of his version.”

“What’s different? I thought Alfredo sauce was pretty much Alfredo sauce.”

“It is, mostly,” Tyler said. “It’s just that I’ve tweaked my recipe based on some things I’ve read. We’ll have to see whose version you prefer.”

Marie came around shortly thereafter, and they ordered. He had briefly considered ordering for Naomi, but that whole tradition left a bad taste in his mouth. He felt it was too dismissive of the woman as an entity of her own, so he deferred to them when Marie asked him first. In addition to Naomi’s fettuccine, Carol ordered her favorite linguine with clam sauce and Tyler had their chicken Saltimbocca.

After Marie left, Naomi asked Tyler about his order. “I thought Saltimbocca was a veal dish, and I saw they had that on the menu. Why chicken?”

“A couple of years ago I found how they raise veal,” he said, grimacing. “I swore I’d never order it again once I knew.”

Carol piped in as well. “When he found out, he convinced us all, not that it took that much effort, to forgo veal for other meats. I’m sure Mom and Dad already knew, and I don’t remember them ever ordering it, but they appreciated the depth of Ty’s feelings as well. The chef here does a nice job with chicken, which makes it an easy sacrifice.”

Naomi had smiled at Tyler’s response and nodded to Carol. “I’m the same way. I’ve seen veal pens, and I’m appalled that they’d raise cattle that way.”

As the salads were being served, Naomi steeled her resolve and asked Tyler to explain his comment about a reward. She’d pinned a lot of hope on him being different, and his comment had unnerved her.

Tyler looked her in the eye and quietly replied. “I doubt you’ve paid a lot of attention to me at school, but if you had, you’d eventually have worked out that I don’t have many friends. Really, I have one, and she’s sitting next to you. I know plenty of people, but only a few have ever been to our house, and I’ve been even fewer of theirs.

“I don’t know how much Carol has told you about me, but I’ll bet you can figure out where I’m coming from based on a couple of pieces of information. First, I was a late bloomer — I was really small when I was younger. Second, I’ve been going to school with most of the same people since kindergarten. Lastly, my Uncle Kenny always tells me that I wear my heart on my sleeve.”

After hearing that, Naomi thought she understood — he’d been small, emotional and empathetic, and he’d been tortured because of it. “Please don’t take this wrong, it’s not meant as a knock against you, but I’ll bet you’re also pretty emotional. Not only do you show the emotions you feel, but you let yourself feel more than most guys.”

He quickly nodded, as did his sister.

“You had a target on your back,” Naomi said. Something wasn’t right, but this part she was sure of. “All of the bigger kids picked on you, and when you cried, they gloated and laughed. How am I doing?”

Carol chipped in with, “Pretty good so far. Where does that lead you today?”

That was the part she didn’t yet understand. “Darned if I know. By all rights, I’d expect you to still be the whipping boy for all of the bullies in school, regardless of the fact that you’re big enough to take care of yourself now. I know I’ve only been here a couple of years, but I’d have seen it if that was the case, so I must be missing something.”

She saw Tyler take a deep breath and smile. Then he reached across the table with his right hand and took his sister’s. “I may have been small, but my big sister wasn’t. I know I’ve said it before when you were around, but I really do love my sister. She was my protector all the time I was growing up. Even when she was in a different school, nobody dared to pick on me because she’d tear them apart.”

Naomi was surprised. Of course she knew Carol didn’t lack for self-confidence — it was one of the things that had attracted her. She also knew that she cared deeply for her brother, but she had no idea beyond that. When she turned from Tyler to her girlfriend, she got a shock. Her friendly, easy-going girlfriend was gone, replaced by someone who looked like she would have no trouble or qualms about taking someone apart at the seams. When she shrank back, Carol modified the look some, but it was still a no-nonsense look.

“There are some guys at school even now, including a couple on the football team, who would rather be on the other side of the hall when I walk down it,” Carol said. “Early on, there were a bunch of bullies who thought they could pick on my little brother. They shed a lot of blood before they realized just how bad an idea that was.”

Then she smiled and dispelled that scary, focused visage, and Naomi relaxed again. “They also learned that my brother believes it’s better to give than receive, particularly in a fight.” Naomi snickered at the description, but Carol wasn’t done. “He mentioned Mom’s brother, our Uncle Kenny? He’s a Marine. Specifically, he’s a Gunnery Sergeant in Force Recon. He’s been trained to fight by deadly people, and he’s been generous with our education when he’s around. The first lesson he gave, though, has been the most important: there are no rules in a real fight. He taught us to not worry about getting angry, just get violent; if you have to fight, get to it. Most kids fight like they don’t really mean it. They’ll knock someone down, then taunt them to get back up. It’s all posturing to determine who thinks they’re the alpha dog. Neither of us care who thinks they’re the alpha. We learned that when you’ve knocked someone down, it’s time to start kicking and to aim where it will do the most good.”

As Naomi listened, something inside her started to unknot. When Carol was done, she swiveled her head between the siblings and, in her most intense voice, said, “Teach me! Please, teach me!”