Chapter 5

Ken removed his clothes and placed them on the patio table. The past four weeks had wrought major changes in his physique. He had lost fifteen pounds, with even more fat having been turned into muscle. His shirts were too large around the waist and too small at the shoulders.

He glanced over at his wife to see how she was reacting to stripping outdoors. Lisa's body was a soft red color, flushed as a result of embarrassment. After a month of morning exercises with William, Ling, and Tim completely nude, they had decided to try performing the exercises nude. In a way, they viewed it as a farewell gesture given that Ling was leaving that afternoon.

Ken watched William step out of the house and take his normal place in the yard. He was amazed the young man had barely glanced at Lisa. Ken looked at his wife appreciating the changes that had occurred in her body over the past four weeks. She had lost ten pounds and parts of her body that had started to droop had firmed. The chill in the air had stiffened her nipples. He wondered how William could be immune to her charms.

Seeing his parents undressed, Tim started to jump up and down with glee. He said, "Mommy and Daddy are naked!"

Laughing at the boy's excitement, William said, "So are you!"

"Yes, I am," said Tim with a smile even as he covered himself with his hands.

In response to her son's comments, Lisa had turned a brighter shade of red. She looked over at the pile of clothes wondering if it was too late to get something to wear. The sound of the door closing let her know that Ling had arrived. Resigned, she stepped over to the spot where she normally stood during the exercise period.

Stepping to her place in front of everyone, Ling noticed the lack of clothes on her two formerly reluctant students. After giving them a brief nod of approval, she said, "Okay. Let's start."

For the next thirty minutes, Ling led them through the moves of Tai Chi. The exercise was performed with slow controlled movements. With soft comments, she corrected their mistakes. There were remarkably few mistakes. The Armstrongs had learned their lessons well and Ling was pleased.

When they finished, Ling said, "Very good. I hope you continue to practice after I leave today."

In a very serious tone of voice, William said, "As soon as you go, we're going to buy a dozen bags of potato chips, spread out on the couches, and gorge ourselves on them. In a week, we'll have gained a good twenty pounds and lost all of our muscle mass."

Looking over at William, a tear came to Ling's eye. In a soft voice filled with emotion, she said, "Sometimes you remind me so much of your father. He'd say things like that."

William went to his mother and gave her a hug. There were very few occasions when she let her guard down and showed her vulnerabilities. William treasured those moments and he wasn't about to let this one go by unappreciated.

Touched and uncomfortable by the display of emotion, Ken put an arm around his wife and took Tim's hand. He led them away from the scene to give William and Ling the privacy they deserved. The past few weeks had taught him a lot about himself and others. In the manner of kids everywhere, Tim, his curiosity overwhelming his manners, kept turning back to watch. Bending down to get Tim's attention, Ken said, "Tim, they need to talk."

The boy nodded his head and asked, "Can we go swimming?"

"It's a little too cold to go swimming. Let's play with the radio- controlled trucks instead," suggested Ken. He got the desired reaction from Tim and they went into the house with Lisa following behind carrying their clothes.

William and Ling took seats around the patio table. It was a little cool, but not cold enough to chase them inside the house. Ling asked, "You haven't found her yet?"

"No, I haven't," answered William. He looked across the yard and took a deep breath as a wave of sadness washed over him.

"You're sure she's here?"

"If not this year, then maybe next year," answered William. His vision of a young woman was fixed solidly in his mind.

Putting an arm around her son, Ling said, "You're sure of this."

"I've been dreaming of her for twelve years. It's not fair. Beth has had John since she was a baby. Little John has had Susan since he was eight. I'm fifteen and haven't found my true love yet," said William sounding like a lonely fifteen-year-old boy.

It tore her heart apart to see William like that. It had taken years for the family to realize that while William could see future events that impacted others, he had almost no visions about events affecting him directly. There was one vision of his future that they knew about. He had a vision of the young woman who would become his true love. She hugged him and said, "I know it's not fair."

William stared off at the horizon. The vision of a young woman about fourteen years old going on fifteen came to mind. She was sitting on a bench crying, her hands covering her face. He was looking down at her brown hair. Her silky smooth hair was long enough to go to the middle of her back. That was all he knew about the woman he loved. Withdrawing from the vision, he said, "Soon. It has to be soon."

Shaking her head, Ling said, "I don't know what good it is for you to have that vision if all it does is make you miserable."

"Can you imagine how horrible I would feel if I didn't know there would be an end to my loneliness?" asked William. The horror in his voice was unmistakable. He had never cursed having the vision, only that it hadn't yet come to pass.

A shudder went through Ling at the thought of the misery he would have experienced. She looked down at her lap and said, "You're right."

"I'm glad you came," said William.

Smiling at the change in subject, Ling asked, "Do you think Ken or Lisa will get over my visit any time soon?"

"Oh, I think they'll actually miss you," said William with a light laugh. He'd watched Ken gain confidence over the past few weeks. The morning exercises had gotten the young couple into the best shape of their lives. The fact that they had elected to strip this morning suggested they were getting in touch with their bodies.

"You'll make sure that he continues to practice?"

"Yes. Every morning we'll practice Tai Chi. I'll have him go to the dojo with me every other evening."

"What about his shooting?"

"He'll go to the police shooting range every other morning until he gets his carry permit."

"Good," said Ling with a nod. At least having Ken carry a gun would provide some measure of security that was currently lacking. It angered her that William was considered too young to get a carry permit. Her son had more discipline than most police officers.

Returning to a subject that they had discussed almost every day of her visit, she said, "I'm going to find a body guard for you."

"You don't need to do that," said William.

"I need to do that for my own peace of mind," answered Ling. It wouldn't matter if she were ninety years old, she would feel responsible for the safety of the family. She looked at him and said, "I'd die if anything were to ever happen to you."

Looking at her, he knew she was telling the truth. She took all attacks against the family personally. It was a sad commentary on their lives that there were attacks on the family. He said, "It's tough being wealthy."

"It's not wealth. It's the basic goodness that you and your fathers possess that draws evil," said Ling. "Your father was attacked so many times that even I think it is amazing John survived as long as he did. Ed remains a constant target. I've never seen men with so many scars on their bodies. Kelly has been attacked a couple of times, but either I or Claire has always been there."

"I thought the attacks were quieting down."

"After that Middle East effort, three men tried to kill Ed. Leroy basically saved him by calling the house and giving us a warning. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal except that idiot husband of mine decided it was time to act like bait. Fortunately, Leroy tackled him just before one the terrorists fired," said Ling.

"Idiot husband?" asked William with a grin knowing that Ling must have been seriously upset with Ed to call him that.

"Okay. My poor misguided husband who thinks he is invincible to bullets," said Ling.

William laughed at his mother. Of course, Ed would try to get the bad guys to reveal themselves. He said, "Let me get this straight. Daddy Ed saw that there were men who wanted to hurt him, but he knows that they couldn't be arrested for wanting to hurt him. They had to try to hurt him, so he let them try. That way, they could be arrested."

"That's right. Like I said, misguided thinking," said Ling.

"You would have taken care of the problem by just killing them," William said.

"Even I wouldn't do that, despite the temptation. I'd have roughed them up and scared them off."

Knowing how much she would have liked to do that, William said, "Ah, I see. Sounds like a plan to me. Although when I think about it, I suspect they could have come back another time and ambushed him."

"That's what he said." Ling stared at the ground thinking about how hard it was to protect her family. It was frustrating that evil was allowed the first blow. The time and place of confrontation was up to them. Everything was stacked against the good guys.

"It doesn't help that he was right," said William watching his mother.

"No it doesn't," she admitted.

It was late in the afternoon when William waved goodbye to Ling as she drove off in her rental car. He watched the car disappear when it left the driveway; his view of it blocked by the hedgerow that fronted his property along the street. Turning, he went into the house.

"You're mother is gone?" asked Lisa knowing the answer to her question. She asked it so that he could talk about it if he wanted.

"Yes," answered William. He went over to his desk and returned to his work.

"Dinner will be ready about six," Lisa said returning to her dusting seeing that he wasn't in the mood to talk.

"Thank you," said William absently. His thoughts were already in the world of economic forces and their consequences on stock prices. It was time for him to adjust his portfolio of stocks. The transportation industry was about to take a tumble after years of continued growth. They'd react by raising rates, but that would only mitigate the problem for a short time. The effects of higher prices would create a downturn in the tourism industry. The end result would be a period of strong growth in the entertainment industry.

He directed his browser to the web site of his brokerage firm. After logging in, his account information filled the screen. He sat back to examine the numbers. They looked good with all of his stocks showing increases in value.

A tapping on the window attracted his attention. A raven was tapping on the window and then flapping its wings. It took him a second to realize that something bad had happened and the raven wanted his attention. Springing out of the chair, he shouted, "Oh no."