Chapter 48: The Worst That Could Happen

Friday morning at breakfast I told Mom and Dad about my upcoming date with Angela. I guess waiting until the last minute wasn't the brightest idea I'd had. They looked at each other for a second, and then they looked at Allison to see what her reaction to this was. I can't say they were disappointed, but they obviously were not getting the reaction they were expecting.

"What?" Allison asked, when she saw them staring at her.

Mom shook her head in confusion and said, "Your brother just announced that he has a date with another girl and you didn't even blink? Doesn't it bother you?"

"No, I already knew about it, we talked about it yesterday. Why would it bother me?"

Now it was Dad's turn, "Well, I think we just assumed that you two were still very much in love and that you may be jealous or at least upset at the idea of your brother spending time with another woman?"

"Oh, I get it. It's not like that. Angela's in love with someone else. They're going to the mall to do some Christmas shopping and talk."

Mom turned back to me, "Wait a minute? This girl, Angela was it, is in love with someone else? You are in love with someone else, at least we thought so, and you asked her out?" She glanced at Dad, who just shrugged and then asked, "Are we missing something?"

I looked at Allison, who just shrugged and left it to me to explain. "Angela is in love with someone else, and yes, I am still very much in love with this really cute girl I met that lives down the hall," I took Allison's hand and kissed it, "and I didn't ask her out, she asked me out. We're not 'going out' as in 'going steady' or anything like that. She wanted to talk about some stuff and we figured this would be the best way to do it. Besides, it'll make it a lot easier for me to get my shopping done without having to make separate trips because one of you had to take me."

"And what does her boyfriend think of all this?" Dad asked.

"Oh, he's okay with it."

"How do you know that? Just because she said it was okay with him doesn't make it true, sometimes..."

I interrupted him before he could finish, "He told me."

Mom jumped in again, "He told you! Okay, now I'm totally confused. Wait a minute; is this the girl you were talking about that reminded you of Shannon?"

"The one I told you that the first time I saw her I thought, 'that's Shannon in four years?' Yeah, that's her."

Allison held up her hands and said, "Okay, stop. This is getting ridiculous and going nowhere. Yes, Angela is the girl you are thinking of, and, having met her, I totally agree with Jimmy, I can so see Shannon when I look at her, and if it were anyone else we wouldn't be having this conversation because Jimmy would never even consider going out with anyone else. The only reason he is going out with her is because he knows that she is in love with someone else and not really interested in him. What you don't know is that the person she is in love with is her brother, Tim, and Jimmy sort of introduced them."

"You introduced her to her brother? What, they were separated at birth? Is this some dream thing that you did?" Mom asked.

"No, not this time," I answered. "Let me explain."

"Oh, by all means, please do." Dad responded. It's really hard to follow them when they start talking like one person. They'd been doing it all my life but it still drove me nuts. I couldn't help but think they would make one hell of an interrogation team. They'd confuse the crap of almost anyone.

"The first time I met Tim was at cross-country tryouts. It was the second day and I wanted to push myself to see what I could do. Mr. Shelby had me run with Tim, and Angela. Tim was returning from last year's team and Angela was just coming out to help evaluate the new kids so he had the two of us run with her. I was standing next to Tim when she came up and from the very first it was obvious to me that Tim was hopelessly in love with her. Unfortunately, as is often the case, she was completely blind to it. After the run, Angela was helping me stretch and I pointed it out to her. I don't know why, but something about the situation and the feelings I was getting from her just made it feel like it was the right thing to do. At first she didn't want to believe it, but then I set it up so she could see it and she was instantly a believer. It took a little while but they eventually started talking and... well, there you have it.

"Anyway, because I was the one that pointed it out to her and thereby was responsible for 'hooking them up, ' suddenly I was the hero of the hour and now Angela wants to take me out to say thank you. She wanted to do a movie but I figured we may want to talk and the mall is a great place because everyone pretty much ignores you the whole time unless you are buying something from them. Tim was actually there when she asked me out, I talked to him about it and he said it was cool and that they had already talked about it. So, it's not a big deal to anyone, no one is going to get their feelings hurt or anything, so, can I go?"

"It was never an issue of whether or not you could go," Dad said. "I'm not sure we're done with the conversation, though. I for one am still a little unclear on several points but it's nothing we have to go into now. Have a good day at school. I'm off to work. I'll see you all later." He kissed Mom, grabbed his briefcase, and headed for the door.

Mom was still looking like she may have more to add. Finally she said, "Allison, could you give us minute please?"

"Sure, if you want. But do I have to go? I mean..." she stopped and stood up to leave.

"It's all right dear, no one is in trouble. I just want to talk to your brother for a minute, please."

"Okay."

It was clear Allison wasn't happy about it but she turned to go. I grabbed her hand, kissed it and gave it what I hoped was a reassuring squeeze before she disappeared.

Once we were alone, Mom continued, "Okay, what aren't you saying. There is more isn't there?"

I thought carefully before answering, "I'm trying to defuse a situation. A while back I 'bridged' Angela and she made it clear just how deeply indebted to me she felt and exactly how she wanted to express her appreciation. I didn't want to take the chance of doing any damage in her dream so I let it play out, thinking that if I let her... I don't know, get it out of her system, that maybe I could avoid it happening for real. Well, she was very expressive with her thank you, if you know what I mean, and then I sort of suppressed her memory of it..."

She interrupted, "You what?"

"I sort of blurred all the details of the whole thing."

"You can do that?"

"Mom, there isn't much I can't do in dreams. Not that I've found anyway. There is a lot I won't do, things that are just wrong. I don't like to take chances with people's minds if it can be avoided. Most people don't really remember all the details of their dreams anyway. I don't know if I could make her forget the whole thing, and in this case I didn't want to. Instead, I left her with the feeling that while I had very much appreciated the sentiment, that I would not want to take advantage of her that way in real life."

"Oh, no."

I shook my head. "Yeah, why is it everyone figured that out right away but me? I talked to Bob about it the next day. He suggested that I may have made matters worse. When Miss Swann and Miss Jenkins joined us later he gave them the hypothetical situation of me basically turning a girl down because I didn't want to take advantage of her, without giving away any details of course, and they both about busted a gut laughing at how much trouble I was in when this girl caught up with me. I still don't know what may happen. Allison and I had talked about it right after the dream and she agreed with my solution. I talked to her again after talking to Bob. She said not to worry about it, that there was really nothing to do but wait and see what happened, but that if it did happen, she would be okay with it. I don't know what to do, Mom. I can't just reject her, and I really would feel like I'm taking advantage. I mean sex isn't a thank you."

"Sure it is. But not normally between relative strangers." She raised her voice a little, "Allison? You can come back in now; I know you're just listening in the hall anyway."

Sure enough, Allison edged around the corner almost immediately. "I'm sorry, Mom, it's just..."

"It's okay, dear, I didn't expect you to just walk away and pretend nothing was happening. But next time, please do give me a little more credit when I say I need to talk to your brother. I am sure there are things that the two of you discuss that you would not if I was there, and while I am sure that Jimmy will discuss anything we talk about with you later," she looked me in the eye and said, "unless I specifically ask him not to," I nodded my agreement, "that does not mean I want to discuss them in front of you, okay?"

"Okay, Mom. I'm sorry." She sat back down in the chair next to me.

"You're forgiven this time. I'm a little puzzled by your whole attitude towards your brother having sex with other girls. Now that I know what is going on with this particular incident I understand a little more, but I still don't understand why this doesn't seem to bother you. How can you be comfortable with the idea of him possibly sleeping with Angela?"

"That's easy, because he loves me. Mom, Jimmy is special; he has this gift that no one understands; he has no one to talk to about it to help him, and no way to learn except by trial and error. He tried his best to stop this from happening. It may work, it may not, but even if it doesn't, he will not be with Angela because he loves her. It's just sex. It may even be really great sex, but it won't be love. She is not a threat to me, any more than Shannon..."

Mom held up a warning hand to stop her. Allison took the hint and skipped ahead, "He could refuse, but it would hurt her to be rejected like that, and that has its own set of problems, some of which are too bad to even go in to. Not to mention that no one would believe that a boy like Jimmy would ever refuse a chance to 'do it' with someone as hot as Angela. It would attract attention. He couldn't refuse in the dream because of the possible psychological damage. I mean, who gets turned down in their own dreams? So that leaves us back where we started. What's the worst that could happen? She says 'thank you, ' he says 'you're welcome, ' she now has a clear conscience about this debt she felt she owed, everyone is still friends, she still loves Tim, Jimmy still loves me, no one gets hurt and we all move on.

"Mom, I've known about Jimmy's gift for longer than anyone. I didn't see this specific situation coming but I knew there would be problems. My only choice is to accept them and try to help, or to cut off my love and support and let him deal with it on his own. That's not any more of an option for me than it would be for you. I love him, I want to be with him, and I want to help him as best I can. If I were to cut him off and he couldn't handle it, then what? I couldn't live with myself if something happened to him because I refused to be there for him. I know that no matter what problem I might face, he would be there for me. He's been doing that all my life."

I hugged her to my side. Mom got up and walked around the table to hug us both.

"I'm very proud of both of you. It's hard to keep up with how much this whole thing has forced you two to grow up, or how fast. I'm glad you have each other to lean on. If it comes up again I'll talk to your father so you don't have too. One question though, and I know I'm skating on thin ice here but what about Shannon?"

"We told her about it the weekend of the accident," Allison answered. "We don't have any secrets from Shannon. It felt too much like lying to her and we love her too much for that."

Mom eyed Allison closely. I could almost see the wheels turning in her head. The word 'we' seemed to be getting stuck every time it came around. Finally she looked at me and asked, "I have the feeling this is another of those 'plausible deniability' things that I really don't want to know. You two need to hurry or you're going to be late for school." She kissed us both and started clearing away the remains for breakfast.

School was a non-event. Angela picked me up promptly at 6:00, and we headed to the local mall. The pizza place in the food court is actually very good. We were sitting, eating pizza and planning our shopping when Angela suddenly stiffened. She was looking over my shoulder at someone and it was apparent she wasn't happy to see them.

The reason made itself known a few seconds later as a voice came from behind me, "Well, if it isn't Angela Osborne?"

"Go away, Brad."

"What? Not happy to see me. Hey, you had your chance, babe; don't be bitter just because you let me get away."

"I didn't let you get away, Brad. I dumped you like the trash you are, I have nothing to say to you, so if you don't mind, I'm with someone and you are interrupting."

"You're on a date? You're kidding; I thought maybe you were babysitting? Angela Osborne, reduced to robbing the cradle, now that's sad."

I'd had about all of this I could take. I ignored the voice and said, "Let me guess, ex-boyfriend?"

She picked it up right away, "Yeah, one of my darker moments. I've been trying hard to forget it."

"Hmm, I understand. Let's see... uh, football?"

"Naturally."

I grimaced, "Quarterback?"

"Oh, of course."

"Figures," I said, shaking my head sadly, "let's see, hmm, tall, medium build, God's gift to women."

She giggled around a bite of pizza and nodded.

I was on a roll, "Life is a contact sport, a relationship is like a pass-rush; you don't want to be trapped, so you gotta move around a lot?"

She covered her mouth with her napkin as the giggle escalated and threatened to break out in full laughter. The voice was apparently not taking it well.

"Hey!"

I ignored him and continued, "Quick on the trigger? Specializes in the short pass? Decent enough in the huddle but collapses under pressure, low completion percentage?"

Angela lost it and the voice was really feeling the pressure to get back in the spotlight.

"You little prick, you watch your mouth. Hey! Midget, I'm talking to you."

I set my napkin down and stood up. Angela stopped laughing and got a real worried look on her face.

I turned and stuck out my hand, "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've been introduced. I'm Edward Matthews, and you are?"

Lost is what he was, he stood there with a confused look on his face staring at my hand.

I waited a couple seconds and spoke over my shoulder, "Angela?"

She stood up and came around to my side, "I'm sorry, Edward Matthews, Brad Russell, we dated briefly. Brad Russell, Edward Matthews, my date for tonight."

I think Brad had been up close and personal with one too many linebackers; he really wasn't picking this up very well. He slapped at my hand. "I don't care who he is, you just tell him to watch his mouth. You're really slipping, Osborne. I can't believe you're this desperate. You know all you had to do was ask, I'd have thrown you a bone."

"Brad, you are such an ass. Don't flatter yourself, you weren't that good. What little I remember of it. Now why don't you just go away?"

He started to answer but I intervened, "Oh, I get it; that explains why you got so upset at the crack about being quick on the trigger. I'll bet you leave all the girls wanting more, don't you."

"Damn right I do, and this little ice box was no exception."

Angela just rolled her eyes and looked embarrassed by the whole conversation.

I moved a little to the side, put my hand on his shoulder, and said, "You see, Brad, that's your problem. The trick isn't to leave them wanting more," I signaled the security guard that was approaching behind him, the guard headed our way as I continued, "if they want more it means you didn't do the job very well. What you should be doing is making sure they want it again. Now, I know those sound a lot alike, but they're not the same thing. Tell you what; why don't you go somewhere and think about it and let us enjoy the rest of our evening."

It took him a second to process what I had actually said, he shook my hand off and shoved me toward the table. "You little fucker."

A voice cut him off, "Is there a problem here?"

"Officer..." I stuck out my hand and looked at his badge, "Simpson, thank you for coming over, I'm Edward Matthews," he shook my hand, "this is my date Angela Osborne," I indicated Angela and he shook her hand as I continued, "and this is Brad, uh, Russell wasn't it? Mr. Russell is Angela's ex-boyfriend and he apparently couldn't resist the chance to stop by and annoy her. We've been trying without success to convince him to leave and let us enjoy the rest of our meal before we begin our Christmas shopping."

"I see. You're Angela Osborne? You ran against my cousin at regionals last year. You're good. I always thought Stephie was something but you really tore her up. What did you have, a minute lead in the 10k?"

"Fifty-four seconds, Stephanie Miller is your cousin? Didn't she get that track scholarship at Scottsdale? How's she doing?"

"Great, took her a little to get used to the climate but she made the adjustment okay, 3.8 GPA, still hasn't settled on a major though. What about you, you must be getting offers?"

"A few, I haven't really decided yet. And there is still the chance of a better deal in the spring."

"Right, well, it was nice to meet you, Angela, Mr... Matthews, was it? Enjoy your evening." He lost the smile as he turned to Brad. "Mr. Russell, why don't you take a walk with me? Tell me, Brad, was there a particular store you needed to visit before you left?" He took Brad's arm and began escorting him out of the food court. Several of the nearby patrons were chuckling at their tables as he left; one older gentleman approached us.

"That was incredible. You handled that very well, young man. My name is Stevenson, I'm with the mall office, I called for the guard, but I was afraid it was going to get out of hand before he got here." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a business card. "When you are finished with your meal, please stop by the service counter in the courtyard and give them this card. They will be holding something for you. I know you've got plans so I won't be taking up any more of your time. Enjoy your evening."

I took the card and turned it over. He had simply written 'Matthews' on the back, and signed his name. I showed it to Angela and she just shrugged. We finished our meal and headed off to the courtyard to find the service desk. When we got there a young woman I had seen at school was working behind the counter. I didn't know her name but she apparently knew Angela.

"Hey, Angie! Whatcha doing?"

"Hi, Cindy, just out for dinner and little shopping. This is my date, Jimmy. Jimmy, Cindy Sheppard."

I reached for her hand kissed it when she extended it, "Very nice to meet you, Cindy."

She blushed and said, "Hi, pleased to meet you. So you two are on a date? Here? Are you like, catching a movie or something?"

"No," I answered, "we thought about it, but since it's our first date, I thought it would be easier to talk if we weren't stuck in a dark theater. I have some Christmas shopping to do, and of course," I paused for effect, "being a guy, I'm not really genetically equipped to do it by myself." They both appreciated the joke. "Fortunately, Angela has agreed to act as chaperone."

"Taking one for the team, eh, Ang? What a trooper!" She laughed. "I can't believe you found a guy who wants to shop on a date? Does he have a brother?"

We both laughed and Angela said, "Nope, sorry. Listen, we've got some serious shopping to do so we need to get on it. There was this guy at the food court that said we should stop by. He gave Jimmy his card."

I handed her the card and her eyes got big as she read it. "Mr. Stevenson?"

"I believe that was his name, yes. Is there a problem?"

"A problem? No, no problem. It's just that he came by a while ago and said to be expecting someone to stop by. Your last name is Matthews?" I nodded, and then she opened up a drawer, pulled out two small envelopes and said, "He told me to give you these."

We opened them up to find they contained two Twenty-five dollar gift cards.

"They're good anywhere in the mall," Cyndi explained. "What did you do? I mean if you don't mind my asking? It's not every day the president of the mall gives away money."

Angela gave her a brief run down of the events at dinner. Apparently Cindy knew Brad as well, and her opinion of him wasn't any higher. When they were through laughing we headed off to roam the stores in search of Christmas treasure. We talked as we shopped. The conversation took the turn I had been waiting for when we went into Victoria's Secret. I wanted to pick up some sleepwear for the girls.

She was helping me select colors and determine sizes when she held a very interesting ensemble up against her and asked, "What do you think?"

It was eye-catching, I'll give it that, but that was at least partly due to the fact that you had to look closely to even see it. "Very nice, are you thinking of a little surprise for Tim? I don't think I could get away buying something like that for Allison or Shannon."

She leaned in a little and whispered, "Actually, I was thinking of wearing it for you."

I blushed and looked away. "Yeah right, like that's going to happen."

"What? You don't like it?"

"Oh I think it's very cute, and I'm sure it will look wonderful on you. I'm sure Tim would agree. But I don't think I'm going to ever find out."

She stepped closer and whispered in my ear, "What if it could happen? Would you like that?" She nipped at my ear, "Because, I'd really like to show it to you."

I stepped back and shook my head a little; her breath had tickled my ear. "Angela, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying I want to thank you for what you've done for me."

Even though I knew it was coming and was trying to avoid it, my body was reacting to all this in the expected fashion. I needed to leave while I could still walk. Picking up the two items I had selected for the girls I said, "I think this is a conversation we need to have somewhere else, don't you?"

"Yes," she said with a smile. "I think that's a very good idea. Let's get out of here."

I paid for my purchases, gathered up the rest of my evening's acquisitions and we headed for the parking lot. We stowed the packages in the trunk and headed for home. At least I had assumed we would be heading for home. Now I wasn't so sure; home was the other way.