Chapter 4: Tuesday Morning

About four in the morning I woke up a couple of times and couldn't get back to sleep. On the third try I decided I might as well get something done.

As quietly as possible I closed the hallway door, snapped on the desk light, and booted up the computer. First I reviewed the previous day's lecture material and it was scary how little seemed familiar. I must have been more spaced out than I realized. Anyway, I finished reviewing the lectures, did the assigned reading, and then whipped through the homework.

Next I checked messages. It was all spam except for the one I was really looking for: a message from Reb. She looked like she'd been through a wringer but it was definitely her.

"Hi Viv, this is Reb. I'll call back," was all she had to say. I tried returning the call but Reb has suppressed the sender address. That meant I couldn't send her a message, either. I'd just have to wait or, if that failed, try Magic again.

Rebecca Ribelle -- Reb -- was one of the few people in the world I truly trusted and respected. When I first met her she owned Borderline Dirt and Speed, she owned the beach house we later called Casa Velocidad, and for whatever reason she unofficially adopted any lost teenagers she found along the beach, sleeping by her door, or whatever. The beach house, after all, was quite a magnet. Reb was our unofficial den mother, camp counselor, sorority mother, and aunt. She made us work and she made us study, but she was always fair. She worked us; she rewarded us; she protected and defended us. She had her faults but she never screwed us over: not even once. That's a rare thing.

More often than not, kids drifted away rather than live up to Reb's standards. Those of us who remained were a tough bunch. We tended to be street smart, head smart, talented, and determined. We didn't hold back on ourselves or others. We were looking for a home, not running away from one. I suppose we drove away our share of drifters too: those who couldn't cut it.

Reb helped us find our talents and develop them to the max. That's how I got started doing a lot of things, such as racing dune buggies. Then, though no fault of Reb's, it all ended.

It was still early so I logged into Bogswamp's and resumed studying maps. The maps themselves were easy enough to read, and I knew what I was looking for. The problem was the amount of manual searching I had to do and the need to correlate data from different maps.

I tried browsing a couple of search engines for help, but all the solutions I found were expensive and required installing software on Bogswamp's servers. On a hunch, I sent Ben a message asking for help with mapping software. Of course he wasn't up yet so it just went into his queue.

With no immediate help available, I continued searching the maps visually. I guess I really got into it because when the door opened it sounded like a thunderbolt. First I nearly jumped out of my seat then I turned around and saw Adam peeking in.

"You startled me," I explained. "You shouldn't sneak up behind people like that."

"Look who's talking," Adam replied. "Why are you here?"

"Well, I started work at Bogswamp's yesterday, and I'd been up all night with my aunt who was sick, and Cynthia noticed how tired I looked. So I told her what happened, and that my aunt was in the hospital, and she asked me to stay here."

"Why did you call my mom Cynthia?"

"She told me to. She said everyone at Bogswamp's uses first names."

"Well, my mom told me the same story about your aunt when I got home last night and asked about the jeep. So I guess that jibes, and it also explains why you fell asleep so early. But what's the real reason you're here?"

"Adam, that's the real reason. I was working at Bogswamp's, which is something you helped bring about, and I fully expected to go home to Marjorie's apartment and clean it up and air it out and sleep there last night. My coming here was Cynthia's idea."

"You mean my mom's?"

"Yeah, Cynthia's. Look, this is crazy, you standing in the door and me twisting around in this chair. Why don't you come in?" I asked, standing up and moving toward the door.

"No, I need to eat breakfast and then go to swim workouts," he replied.

"Are you sure?" I asked, stretching back onto the bed.

"Yes, I am," he said, and then he was gone.

Moments later I head Adam's footsteps going down the stairs; then I guess he went into the kitchen. With Adam out of earshot I tried calling Olivia again and this time she was awake. I suppose that being on the swim team, she was on the same schedule as Adam.

"You again," Olivia answered.

"Yeah, sorry to keep buggin' you," I apologized, but Olivia didn't seem impressed. "Look, though, I'm tryin' to fix things up with Adam. I figure a nice surprise might do the trick. Has he ever told you anything he'd really like?"

"Do you mean, like, gifts, or favors, or sex, or something else?" Olivia asked.

"Sex, unless you think one of those others would be better."

"Nothing I recall. He really wasn't active until these last few weeks, you know."

"Would you ask him and then let me know?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?"

"He's pissed at me right now. Uh, don't tell him you're asking because of me."

"Well, I don't know why I'm doing this, but OK," Olivia agreed. "Maybe it's because I didn't like that bad mood he was in yesterday."

"You and me both," I commiserated. Then, after I thanked her, we both said, "Bang!" and disconnected.

After that I made the bed, took a quick shower, and headed downstairs. Adam and Cynthia were having breakfast in the kitchen.

"Am I intruding?" I asked cautiously.

"No dear, not at all. Good morning," Cynthia greeted me warmly. "Come have a seat. Can I get you anything? Adam is having a ham and Swiss omelet."

"That sounds good, if it's not too much trouble," I replied.

"It's no trouble at all. The frying pan is still warm," Cynthia answered, rising from her seat. Absentmindedly I watched her take the eggs, ham, and cheese from the refrigerator, then crack and mix the eggs. I thought for a moment she was going to fry the omelet naked but at the last second she pulled on an old denim shirt.

"So, do you have a thing for my mom now?" Adam asked.

"What? No, not like that. I just never had a mom to cook me an omelet before, that's all. I'm just... I should have been looking at you. I'm sorry," I stammered. "Uh, look, Adam, I know things yesterday didn't go so well. I think we should talk about it."

"Not here," he whispered.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because my mom is here," Adam whispered, somewhat perturbed.

"What? You don't share your sex life with your mom?" I asked. By then, Cynthia was serving me the omelet and Adam turned ten shades of pink.

"Oh, I wish I'd known that yesterday," I admitted. Cynthia formed a little smile, shook her head softly, and rolled her eyes. Adam, however, went ballistic. He wolfed down the last of his omelet and rushed out of the house. Moments later I heard his car backing out of the driveway and then he was gone.

"Oops," I said to no one in particular, although Cynthia and I were the only ones present.

"You two certainly seem to operate on different wavelengths," Cynthia remarked.

"Do you think I'm in worse trouble now?" I asked her.

"I think the two of you will work it out," Cynthia consoled me. "The two of you just need to get better acquainted. Mentally and emotionally, I mean. You know, until the last few weeks, Adam was always shy around girls. He went on dates sometimes but they were just casual flings. He'd go to the movies or a dance with someone, and then he'd come home early. I think you were his first."

"Wait a minute. You just said he had other girlfriends."

"Yes, Vivian, I did, but I don't think Adam had actual sex with them."

"You mean, uh, vaginal intercourse?" I asked.

"Well, yes: going all the way, the real deal, hooking up, or whatever you kids call it these days. I don't think he did it with his earlier girlfriends. Of course, it's no secret with you and Adam. They showed the two of you doing it on the news."

Holy shit! If those two times up at the lake were Adam's first, then he did pretty well for himself. Of course, I hadn't been much of an expert at the time. It'd been the first time for me too, excluding other kinds of messing around. I'm not sure what I'd been waiting for but being stranded there on the beach with Adam turned out to be it. Maybe I trusted him even then, or at least wanted to.

"Are you OK, Vivian?" Cynthia asked.

"Oh, yeah, I was just thinking. Uh, look, I gotta finish some things before school starts. Is it OK if I keep using that computer upstairs?"

"Yes, that's fine. But Vivian, if you ever need help with Adam, or with anything else, will you consider coming to me? I don't know where this relationship between you and Adam will lead or how long it will last, but I think it's incredible how many obstacles you've faced in your life, and despite that how well you've done. I think you have the potential to do great things as long as you keep you head straight and don't get stuck along the way. Anyway, if you need something, I'm here. Now go and get ready for school."

"Thank, Cynthia," I replied quietly. It was a bit frightening, actually. I'd almost called her Mom.

Olivia called just as I was going upstairs. I didn't answer, though, until I'd returned to the spare bedroom and closed the door.

"What's up?" I asked Olivia. It was a few minutes past seven and of course, she was at the high school.

"Well, Adam seems to be over his funk, at least part way. We had our shower this morning."

"Good. And did you ask him?"

"Yeah, he said he wanted to keep making it with lots of girls."

"OK, good. Uh, look, what time do you guys shower after workouts?"

"Seven fifteen."

"Is it OK if I join you? Make it a three-way, I mean."