Chapter 21

The lake brought back a lot of memories for Tami, mainly because this was where one of her best friends lost his life trying to save a classmate. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. Jeff had gone into a coma, and the fear was that he would have brain damage because of the lack of oxygen. In the end, the lake water in his lungs finally did him in by causing an infection.

The worst part was that because she planned to become a doctor, Tami had learned a bit of medicine on her own. Consequently, she’d known what was likely to happen. She’d tried to prepare David and Alan as much as possible, but when Jeff finally succumbed, it had devastated both of them.

Teenagers are not built to handle death; most have never faced their mortality and feel like they will live forever. Seeing two people struck down in their prime was hard—yes, the girl Jeff tried to save had died as well.

Wind time forward three years. Tami had come home to talk to her mom about her premed program at Stanford.

It had turned out to be much more challenging than she’d expected. Tami had taken AP Chemistry in high school, so she thought she would be well-prepared for college chemistry. But organic chemistry had all but done her in, and she wasn’t the only one whose butt got kicked. Several people, whom she thought were even brighter than she was, had switched majors because they’d taken a nasty hit to their grade point average after that class.

Tami had somehow managed to get an ‘A,’ but it was only through force of will and the tremendous amount of time she’d dedicated to achieving that grade. Her current chemistry class was even worse, so much so that her joy at the thought of becoming a doctor had left her. She was also thinking of changing majors.

Her mom had listened and basically said the decision was Tami’s but reminded her why she’d once loved the idea of being a doctor.

Tami was in a bit of a funk when David found her sitting on a picnic table, staring out across the lake. It really was a pretty spot.

He sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulder to give her a hug. Tami’s emotions got the better of her, and she laid her head on his chest and hugged him back.

They sat there quietly as she tuned out the world and felt David’s arms around her. It felt like everything would be okay, that he would protect her.

Finally, she sighed and pulled away from his embrace. David wasn’t the one who had to solve her problem.

“Tell me a secret,” David said quietly.

This was a game from their childhood that David had come up with when she learned her dad didn’t want her; he’d started another family and was focused on them. David had used the game to get Tami to talk to him about how her dad’s rejection hurt.

“I’m questioning whether I’m cut out for Stanford premed.”

She looked at him because the rule was that he had to now tell her one.

“I secretly think these jeans make my butt look hot.”

She slugged him in the chest, and he acted like a big baby. But he’d done what he intended, i.e., make her smile.

“Now tell me a real one,” Tami ordered.

“I miss Jeff.”

“That’s a given.”

“I’ve been thinking of ways I could end Alan’s life and get away with it.”

“That’s easy. We stuff him in a 55-gallon drum of acid. It’ll get rid of all traces of evidence,” Tami said.

“I was leaning toward feeding him to hogs.”

They’d both watched too many movies. At least David hadn’t picked the wood chipper because that was just gross. It was probably for the best that none of his farms had hogs, or he might follow through on his fantasy.

Then David turned the conversation back to her.

“What’s going on? Is it that chemistry class?”

He was getting much better at listening to her. He would never have made that connection in middle school.

“Yeah, well, chemistry in general. Stanford doesn’t offer a premed major, but a biology degree can cover all the requirements for med school, so that’s what I chose. My major and med school both require the chemistry series. Even though I took AP Chemistry at Wesleyan, I struggled freshman year in organic chem and barely got an ‘A.’ This year, it’s brutal. I’ve got to seriously up my game, and what it’s done is make me question whether I really want to become a doctor,” Tami said.

“Look at it this way. They make us take calculus for a business degree. I’ve used it in my stats class, and I genuinely believe I can figure out anything with math. But the reality is that running a business day-to-day has nothing to do with calculus; it’s about people. Some of them will need to know calculus, but that’s why I would hire them.

“Being a doctor, you need to understand chemistry, but when you’re doing rounds or other doctor stuff? Isn’t that what the lab is for?” David asked.

“I have to be able to read the lab reports,” Tami said, pushing back, but she got what David was talking about.

“I know you’ll find a way to survive chemistry. Down the road, if you don’t like the doctor stuff, that’s when you decide whether you want to do it as a career. Calculus is my chemistry. It’s the foundation to get to my end goal.”

Cassidy walked up, looking sad.

“What’s up, Buttercup?” David asked.

“I was thinking about Jeff,” Cassidy said. “What are you talking about?”

“Tami’s whining about not being smart enough, and she was conceding that I’m the smart friend,” David teased.

“Tami’s way smarter than you,” Cassidy announced as she sat down, and David hugged her.

“I know, but don’t tell her that,” David said.

“I won’t,” Cassidy promised. “He was a great guy.”

Tami sometimes forgot that Jeff had gained a wider range of friends after she’d left to go to school at Wesleyan. David had talked him into going out for football, and he’d dated Cassidy. Jeff had had some hiccups along the way, but he’d started to become a good man. Alan was right: Jeff might have been the best of them.

“This isn’t supposed to be a downer. The lake was always a place we came to for fun. Let’s remember Jeff and those times, too,” Tami said.

“I agree. Let’s have some fun,” David said.

David was having a great time catching up. Many of the people there he hadn’t seen since he graduated. During a lull, he found Pam.

“Coby was conceived here,” Pam reminded him.

“He was. He was also the one that made me realize condoms are a wonderful invention.”

“Too bad you didn’t learn that sooner,” Pam said with a smile.

’If only there were do-overs,’ David thought.

He took a moment before saying, “I know it happened way too soon, but I wouldn’t change anything after the initial shock. And the best part is my mom is off my ass about grandkids.”

“Speaking of whom, they’re all over at my mom’s condo, using the swimming pool.”

Ashley and Scarlet had once lived in that same building.

David remembered when Coby was a newborn, Pam had dunked him. He couldn’t believe babies knew to hold their breath when they went under. Coby had loved the pool ever since. Actually, Pam had made it her mission to make all the munchkins love swimming.

“Why aren’t you there?” David asked.

“Because I wanted to hang out with you.”

“Good answer. I always enjoy spending time with you, too.”

“Tracy told me yesterday that she’s now your favorite.”

That made him chuckle.

“She might be my backup plan if Crystal gets smart and dumps me.”

“If that happened, Cassidy would be the next woman up,” Pam said.

“She only thinks of me as a friend.”

“You really are still a ‘stupid boy’ if you believe that. I predict she’ll be the one you actually marry.”

“You’re bailing on me?” David asked, acting hurt.

“I think what we have right now works. Eventually, I’ll find a guy, and you’ll be happy for me.”

David’s Alpha Male reared his head at that comment, but David tamped him down.

“As long as you’re happy, I will be, too.”

They both knew that was a big step for him. Pam patted his hand and leaned in close.

“Do me a favor and tell Tracy I’m still your favorite.”

“Always.”

Alan wanted to meet at Monical’s. Tami offered to give David a ride so Crystal could have his rental car.

They found Alan in a booth toward the back.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d come, but I figured if it was here...”

The lure of Monical’s was great but not enough to get him to come to meet Alan.

“We’re not staying to eat,” Tami said.

“So, what is it you want from me?” David asked, ending the small talk.

“All the way back in Little League, you guys always made me be on your team. When we got to high school, you and Jeff got me involved in coaching so we could all hang out,” Alan said.

“When you focused on that, you weren’t half bad,” David said. “It was the other crap, like giving my gear away, that I could have lived without.”

“I miss coaching, and someday, I’d like to do that for a living,” Alan said, ignoring David’s comment.

David could see that. Alan had a mind for figuring out how to win. When they played video games, he always kicked their butts. That carried over to football. Alan’s biggest problem was that his mouth didn’t have a filter. He also didn’t like jocks.

“If I remember correctly, you had to go to Wesleyan because I announced I would no longer protect you. The entire team wanted a piece of you,” David said.

“That’s something I’m working on.”

Tami gave Alan a sad look and shook her head to say, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’

“What do you want from me?” David asked.

“To put in a good word to Bo Harrington. Ask him to give me a chance.”

David almost told Alan, ‘Kiss my ass,’ but stopped. In the grand scheme of things, Alan no longer mattered to David. He looked over at Tami and could tell she was on board with telling Alan, ‘No.’

“If I do, I want something in return,” David said.

“Anything.”

“That’s it. This is the last of the goodwill you’ve earned from us being friends since kindergarten. I’ll be cordial if we see each other in the future, but we’re done being friends,” David said.

“I’m good with that.”

Tami slid out of the booth, and David followed.

“Tami, if you could stay, I need to make amends,” Alan said.

“You really don’t. Unlike David, I don’t have it in me to forgive you.”

Alan didn’t have anything to say to that, so they left.

When they got into the car, Tami wanted to talk. They rehashed everything Alan had pulled, and as their discussion continued, it honestly made David regret agreeing to help him. Even with his mental health defense, Alan had been a vile shit of a human being.