Chapter 14

When I got home I looked at some restaurant options and surfed the net for movie ideas. I finally decided to take Angie somewhere simple, just for sushi at this great little restaurant off of I-70 and Wadsworth. We could wing it after dinner if I researched enough options beforehand. It had gotten late with my surfing, so I decided to call Angie the next day after I got home from work.

Before my work day ended, though, my cell phone rang.

"John! John! We did it! We did it!" It took me a moment to realize it was Billy.

"We did it, John! We did it!"

"Whoa! Slow down a minute, Billy! Did what?"

"Beat Jesse and Frank! We beat them!"

"You beat them? You had a fight?"

"No! Yes! But we didn't start it!"

I chuckled. "Okay, start at the beginning and tell me about it."

It took Billy a while to calm down and I had to ask him a lot of questions to get the full story. Apparently Jesse and Frank had started picking on a new kid, Manuel, right after school. Billy and his Merry Men had seen them and all four went over and told Jesse and Frank to knock it off. They yelled at each other and Frank, recognizing the two on five odds, had tried to pull Jesse away. Jesse responded by pushing Frank to the ground, saying there was no way a Sped was going to chase him off. Then he'd taken a swing at Billy, which Billy dodged.

Unfortunately for Jesse, Mr. Henderson had come out when he heard the boys shouting and saw Jesse throw the first punch. Jesse had been suspended and Frank had apologized to Billy and Manuel at Mr. Henderson's orders before slinking home.

"So you stopped Jesse and didn't get in trouble!" I exclaimed when I'd heard the entire tale.

"More than that, Jesse's on probation for the rest of the year!"

"What?"

"Yeah! Mr. Henderson said that if Jesse ever picked on any of us again, all we had to do was tell him and he'd put a stop to it! He even said Jesse could get expelled!" I just shook my head in wonder.

"So what next, champ?" I asked.

"Mom says we can have a party! We're going to have a party Saturday! Can you come, John? Please, John? Please come!" I chuckled.

"I'll be there," I answered. "Let me talk to your mom."

"Yay!" Billy yelled, before there was a fumbling of the phone on the other end and Lynn came on the line.

"Sounds like a great day," I commented.

"He's thrilled," Lynn responded. "I'm really glad he wants to share it with you."

"What time?" I asked.

"Mid-afternoon. I thought I'd give them a chance to play and then order pizza for dinner."

"Hmmm. I'm supposed to go out with Angie on Saturday."

"Invite her!" Lynn responded. "You two can always slip away for something better than pizza. Besides, I'd really like to talk with her a while. She can bring Ashley too."

It wasn't a dramatic romantic date, I realized. But as I thought about it, I realized it was really the right thing to do. I agreed to check with Angie and finished the call with Lynn. Angie was agreeable when I called her and asked if Lynn would be willing to baby-sit Ashley when we went out after. A few more phone calls and we were set.

The party was a hit. Ed, Ralph, Ben and now Manuel had somehow gotten toy bows and swords of their own and Billy quickly hustled me into joining them in archery contests and then mock sword battles in the back yard. The only howls of protest were when Lynn told them they couldn't use the bows in our battles, but they didn't last long when I backed her up. Two of my cousins had gotten seriously hurt when we were kids by shooting metal skewers at each other.

While we battled, Ashley played with a toy horse and rider, galloping them around a corner of the yard. Angie and Lynn sat on the porch sipping lemonade, watching the chaos and talking quietly. Their conversation paused whenever I approached closely enough to overhear, but I wasn't concerned enough to worry. When we got exhausted, Lynn herded us downstairs where she had the original 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' set up for the boys' viewing pleasure. Lynn called in the pizza order and then settled in the back with Ashley cuddled up next to her.

"You two go have fun," she said to Angie and me. We grinned, feeling like teenagers set free for the night.

Which is how the evening went, like teens on an early date. We joked and flirted during dinner, playing with the sushi. It was a warm evening, so afterward we drove over to Standley Lake and walked around it, just holding hands and having a light meaningful conversation. It was one of those conversations where the real messages are in the smiles and nods, while the words just fill the space between. We stole a few long kisses on Lynn's front porch before retrieving Ashley and calling it a night.

The low-key dating continued for a few weeks. Angie said she wanted our first time back in bed together to be something special. I didn't want to push and it seemed like a good chance to deepen our intimacy in non-sexual ways.

I filled Angie in on my childhood, not glossing over the horrid details. I told her about the surgeries and my own bullies. In return, she told me about her own experiences. When I started to talk about my early dating experiences, she said she wasn't interested in the details, though I ended up giving her a few as I explained the source of some of my emotional scars. She was appalled at the woman who'd slept with me on a bet, just as I was appalled at Mike's behavior during their courtship and marriage.

I offered to tell Angie about my experiences with Lynn, but she firmly said she wasn't interested. She was becoming friends with Lynn herself, and didn't want to know.

"For you, that may have happened months ago," she said. "But for me, it will have happened today, because that's when you told me. I don't want to bring the past into today."

The only jarring part throughout our discussions was Angie's general disbelief that I was ugly. She continually got a small scowl, sometimes patronizing, whenever I described myself as a freak, or ugly, or bad looking. She conceded that I had a lot of physical features that weren't what most people called handsome, but she continually said that ugly, like beauty, was in the eye of the beholder. I finally quit calling myself ugly in her presence, unless I phrased it as 'The Ugly One!' using the tone of Underdog or Mighty Mouse calling out their names. That got her to smile.

The name appeared to have stuck in other quarters. At Lynn's graduation, a couple of her classmates came over at the end of the ceremony, laughing, and calling "Hey, it's The Ugly One!" We shook hands and joked about that evening past. They told me stories about other encounters people had had with Greg. He didn't seem to have won many fans among the graduating class, even before our encounter.

Angie and Ashley had come with me to Lynn's graduation ceremony. While I had continued my Thursday dinners with Lynn, Angie had also started to talk with Lynn regularly. We sat with Summer, who had flown in for the weekend and who became an immediate hit with Ashley by noticing her toy horse and mentioning that she had real horses. Ashley was enthralled. Summer laughed and entertained all of the six-year-old's questions as we adjourned to Lynn's backyard for a small graduation party. I met Lynn's uncle, who had come out for her graduation, and spent some time talking with her mom, but mostly played with Billy and Ashley while their mothers sat on the back porch and talked.

It was getting late and Ashley was beginning to tire and get a little cranky. I looked over at Angie and Lynn and they exchanged some meaningful glances. Then Angie called Billy and Ashley over, saying she wanted to show them something in the house. Lynn motioned for me to follow her toward the gate to the front yard.

"Let's go for a short walk," she said. I glanced over at Angie who nodded. Lynn and I strolled through the gate into the quiet street and down the block a ways.

"John, she said. "I've decided to take the Portland residency. While the past month wasn't too bad, there were enough comments that I'm sure this is the right thing to do." I nodded. I'd expected this. She'd told me about the comments during the past month, and tried to make light of them, but I knew her too well now to not sense their sting.

"I understand," I replied. "If that's what it takes for you and Billy to be happy, then you need to do it." Lynn gave a sad smile.

"Billy's not too happy about moving away from his friends. I hope you can talk to him before we go."

"Will do."

"I'll come back to visit when I can," Lynn stated. "And you're also welcome to come stay with us in Portland." I smiled.

"We may take you up on that," I said.

"I'd like that."

"We'll also email and call, I'm sure," I said. Lynn smiled and nodded. We walked a little further in silence, listening to the night insects. I realized there was something I still needed to say.

"Thank you, Lynn. For everything." She turned, eyes merry and grinning.

"You're welcome. And thank you."

"I didn't do much," I protested.

"Neither did I," she shot back. We just rolled our eyes at each other and then turned and walked back to the house.

When we got there, Ashley was sound asleep on the couch. Lynn's mom and uncle were ready to go back to her mom's house and had just been waiting for Lynn's return so they could say goodnight. After they left, Summer and Angie resumed a conversation that had apparently begun while Lynn and I were out. I smiled at the women and went to look for Billy.

Billy was in his room, playing with a MechWarrior. I sat down next to him.

"Hey," I said.

"Hi," Billy replied. He looked tired and a little sad.

"Your mom says you guys are moving to Portland now that she's graduated."

"Yeah." Billy didn't look up and kept fiddling with his toy.

"It'll be exciting!" I exclaimed.

"No, it'll suck!" I was a little surprised at his choice of words, but kept my expression calm.

"Oh, I don't know. You'll get to spend time with your cousins, and see your uncle's dog. You'll get to go to a new school without Jesse or Frank or any bullies."

"And no friends. I finally get friends and now we're moving!" Billy looked up, his lower lip trembling.

"You'll make new friends," I replied. "You know how, now. I'm sure there will be some guys there for you to play with and hang out with. Besides, it's not like you'll be losing your friends here. Your mom says you guys will come back and visit and I'm sure Ralph and Ed and the rest will be thrilled to see you when you do."

Billy shrugged his shoulders and looked down at his warrior again.

"Think of it as an adventure!" I urged. "A new land! New comrades! New quests and challenges!" Billy reluctantly nodded his head.

"I wish she hadn't graduated," he said. "Then we wouldn't have to move."

"People graduate, Billy. That's what they go to school for. To complete their education. Some day you'll graduate from school too. It'll be exciting! In fact, I want to be there when you do!"

"You do?"

"Of course I do! It'll be great to see my buddy graduate! You're my friend, Billy, and I want to be there when you succeed. No different than coming to the party for beating Jesse and Frank." Billy smiled at that.