Chapter 13

Going back to Highland Park wasn't a big thrill, but I was really happy to see Mom when she came to pick me up.

"Dad wanted to be here, too, but he had a meeting he couldn't get out of," she told me in the car on the way home.

"That's fine, I'll see him later."

"So, is Sheila all set to come out here?"

"Yeah, I just have to find her a place to swim. She's coming in on the 28^th."

"Great. I'm so looking forward to meeting her. I can't believe the change in you. I can't wait to see the girl that brought about that change."

"Wasn't all her, Stanford's a great place all around," I said. "Though, yeah, she's a lot of it."

"So," Mom said, "should I be preparing the guest room for her, or will she be sharing your room?"

I always knew the parents were cool, but this cool?! "Well, it's your house," I said.

"Brendan, you're an adult. You have a girlfriend. She's welcome to stay in your room, your bed is big enough." She glanced at me while she drove. "Or was I wrong in assuming you've slept together?"

"No, though you would've been about two weeks ago," I admitted with a grin.

"Were you her first as well?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Have you done it since the first time?"

I just laughed. "Let's just say I'm lucky I passed finals, with all those 'study breaks' we kept taking."

She laughed and said, "OK, you did it for the first time two weeks ago. You did it repeatedly since then. Now you're separated for a couple weeks. I'll just assume she'll be staying in your room." I just looked at her, and she cracked up. "Hey, I was 18 once, too, you know."

"Mom, you're all right."

"And so are you," she grinned. Then she got serious. "When I came home that day two summers ago, Brendan-well, let's just say I didn't think I'd ever be sitting next to you having a pleasant conversation about your sex life. I know Stanford helped. But, I'm warning you, when I meet Sheila I plan on giving her the biggest hug you've ever seen."

"I've never apologized. I know what I did put you and Dad through hell."

"It's difficult to recognize someone else's hell when you're living in your own," she said wisely. "Now that you're back, you'll probably run into some of your old 'friends'. How are you going to handle that?"

I laughed. "Sheila advised me to throw her picture in everyone's face and flaunt it. And when she shows up we can really flaunt it."

Mom cracked up. "Oh, I am going to really like this girl, I can tell."

We got home, and Dad came home shortly thereafter. We ate and hung out and chatted. They were thrilled that my life was going so well. I was glad-they really had been through hell with me.

The next day I hung out, chatted with Sheila on the phone, and, after supper, headed to Lisa Waslewski's house. I knocked on the door, and Lisa answered.

"Brendan. Hi," she said, obviously surprised to see me.

"Hi, Lisa," I said pleasantly. I didn't have anything against Lisa-as I said, she always treated me decently. "I was looking for your father. Is he in?"

"Sure," she said, and opened the door. "What do you need Daddy for?"

"It's swimming-related," I laughed. She grinned, and led me into her living room. Five other people were there, friends of Lisa's. Her best friend Chrissy wasn't too bad, but the rest of them I didn't like much--one of them was Craig Jannick, the asshole that had broken my wrist.

"Hey, Brendan," Chrissy said as Lisa went to find her dad. "How's Stanford."

"Great. I love it out there."

Lisa came back out, her Dad in tow. "Brendan! Good to see you," he said, taking my hand and shaking it. Mr. Waslewski was well-known in town, and was a good guy. I always suspected he was the reason Lisa wasn't an asshole-because she hung around with some. "Lisa says you have a swimming-related question."

"Yes, a favor, actually," I smiled. We sat down on a couple of chairs next to the couches where Lisa and her friends were gathered. "My girlfriend is coming here to visit, and she needs a place to swim. She's coming out on the 28^th and will be here until January 10^th. And she's training for Nationals right now and needs two or three hours a day, at least, in the pool. Since you're an official for USA Swimming, I thought you might be able to help."

"She's a national-level swimmer?"

"International, actually. I've seen some web sites and magazines describe her as 'USA Swimming's Rising Star, '" I laughed. "Went to the World Championships last year. Won three medals, in fact."

Mr. Waslewski looked at me. "Don't you go to Stanford?" I nodded. "Rising star, three medals at Worlds, goes to Stanford-Brendan, are you going out with Sheila Mitchell?"

"That's her," I grinned.

"SHEILA MITCHELL???" Lisa exclaimed from the couch. "You're kidding."

"You know her?" I asked.

"Not well, but I know who she is, and I've been with Daddy to enough swimming meets." She looked at her friends. "Sheila Mitchell walks down the hall, and twenty guys follow."

"Not anymore," I grinned.

"She's that gorgeous?" Craig asked. "And she's going out with him?"

Yes she is. Nyaah, nyaah, nyahh. I was tempted to actually say it, but I didn't.

"It's not all looks. Sheila's pretty, don't get me wrong. But a lot of it is personality." Lisa said.