Chapter 34

A warm summer afternoon, a nice back yard with a pool, a grill, and a few friends have been all the ingredients needed to make for any number of memorable parties, perhaps the best of all possible parties. It didn't take long before everyone was in swimsuits, splashing around in the pool -- well, everyone but Shae. She was wearing a spectacular string bikini that somehow emphasized her height even more, but she gave the pool a pass to keep a close eye on Sergei and Milla in a small plastic wading pool, while the rest of the adults splashed in the bigger pool. Vicky still felt herself heavy enough that she would have preferred to wear a one-piece swimsuit in most semi-public circumstances involving pools, but in the spirit of keeping the load down had only brought a tiny black bikini with her.

About the only thing even slightly incongruous was that the four from Bradford -- men and women alike -- on several occasions stole glances and surreptitiously shook their heads at Eve in her stars and stripes theme bikini, which was proportionately even more revealing than Shae's, if such a thing were possible. All four of them, Kevin included, remembered Denis Riley, and in spite of knowing Eve's history in detail it was still hard to believe. Visually there could be little doubt there was an attractive, nicely-shaped young woman barely wearing that bikini. But still, nothing was said; Eve had come a long way to be the person she had wanted to be, and had been as successful as she possibly could.

In time, Eve, Vicky and Jason wound up in chairs back in the shade, watching the others play. "You know," Vicky said, "When you think about it, this is all pretty incredible."

"That things could have worked out like this?" Eve smiled. "Vicky, a dozen years ago when Shae took that gun away from me, no one would have been more surprised to see this scene than I would have been. I've come further than most, but at least I made the trip."

"Gun?" Jason asked, mildly curious. He hadn't been present the evening following the Class of '88 reunion when Eve had detailed her story, and this part had never been passed along to him.

"It's a long story," Eve said. "One day back in high school I'd been bullied even worse than normal, and I'd had enough. I was all set to settle a few accounts before I settled my own. Shae caught me, decked me, and took the gun away." She looked down for a moment; it was still hard for her to remember the stress of that day. "It got very emotional after that, but in the next few minutes I admitted to her, to my parents, and really to myself what I thought I was and what I wanted to be. To my eternal amazement, nobody laughed at me and everyone helped, not just then, but afterward. Among many other things, it was the day that set me on the road to who I am today, and the day Shae became my best friend forever."

"I remember you telling us about that after the reunion," Vicky nodded. "I'm ashamed to admit that if it had been me, rather than Shae, I wouldn't have handled it nearly as well."

"I'm still amazed that Shae did," Eve shrugged. "My greatest frustration the past few years has been the fact that I haven't been able to help her solve her problems the way she helped me solve mine. I understand her frustration with her problems in finding a guy. I just got lucky as hell myself, or I'd be right there with her." She glanced over at Shae playing with the two little kids in the wading pool; one glance told them there was some question as to who was having more fun. "She would be a great mother," she shook her head. "She's said on occasion if she doesn't find a guy in a few years, she may just take a swing at single motherhood when Avalon runs out. I'm not too sure I'm in favor of that."

"It's a tough row to hoe," Jason shook his head. "I had to take a swing at being a single parent twice, and I couldn't have done it without a lot of help. My folks and Christine, of course, but Vicky's folks and Vicky all helped out."

"I remember playing with Duane in a wading pool like that," Vicky nodded. "Duane must have been right around that age, so I must have been nine or so. I'm pretty sure it was even before you were going with Christine, or at least around the time that started." She shook her head. "I remember looking forward to the day I could do that with my own kids. Oh, well, some people get lucky, others don't."

"Is there some reason you can't have kids?" Eve asked. "I mean, I'm walking proof that while adoptions are a pain in the butt, they can work."

"Oh, no, there's no physical reason I know of," Vicky shook her head. "I guess I have to say I'm lucky I don't have kids at this point. My ex was a real louse, but in your business you have to have heard that story before."

"Yes," Eve grinned. "Of course, with my specialty it's usually quite a bit different. But your ex is getting to be a long way in the past, and you're still a young woman. Is there some other reason?"

Vicky was silent for a long moment. She glanced at Jason, who had his eyes on her, almost asking his permission to speak. "Yes," she said softly, almost tearfully. "I promised Jason a long time ago I wouldn't put him in the position his first wife put him in."

Eve was more than professional enough to realize she was getting into some very touchy ground -- but she was also professional enough to walk that ground realizing there were unresolved issues there. "What was that?" she said softly.

"We had to get married," Jason sighed. "We, uh, we enjoyed the fooling around, but we never figured on it getting serious. Then, after Duane was born, she just couldn't take motherhood."

"And left you holding the bag," Eve nodded.

"I don't like to put it like that," Jason replied. "Given a choice, I would have preferred that it hadn't happened. Or, if it did, that it would have happened a different way. I was left with a situation I didn't want, but I tried to do my best."

"From everything I ever heard, and that includes what we were talking about earlier, your best was pretty good," Eve nodded. "It wasn't easy, was it?"

"It worked out pretty well," Jason nodded. "Yes, it was hard, very hard, and I had to love and lose another wife along the way to do it. But I think of my son down there on that river having the time of his life, doing the kinds of things I would have liked to have done if I hadn't had to raise him. At least I can realize he's getting the chance to do the sort of things I would have liked to have done."

"That's what I mean," Vicky sighed. "Jason, you're the only man alive I would like to have children with, but I just can't ask you to go through it again. You've already done so much for me, I can't ask that of you, too."

"I've thought about it," Jason replied. "In fact, I've thought about it a lot. There's a part of me that would love to do it over again and get it right this time. But Vicky, I'm no spring chicken anymore. I'm almost twenty years older than you are. There's just no way I can do the job I did with Duane again. To top it off, while I'm in good health, I see guys younger than me dying, and I wouldn't want to wish a couple small children on you as a single parent. It wouldn't be fair to them, and it wouldn't be fair to you. I don't want to pull a Christine on you. That was even harder than Jody leaving me with Duane, because at least I loved Christine."