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- Bonds of Trust
- Part VI
Bo and Nora stride into Asa’s study, holding hands and smiling.
Matthew is deep in a game of chess with Asa and doesn’t
notice them at first. Asa glances up and catches sight of them.
“Well, well, what’s with those grins?”
-
- Matthew turns and sees his
parents. He gives them a small wave. “Hi, Mom. Dad.”
-
- “Hey, bud. How was your
weekend?”
-
- Matt shrugs. “It was
fine.”
-
- Nora walks over to him, wrapping
her arms around his shoulders and kissing his head. “Just
fine?”
-
- He playfully pushes her away.
“Mom! Yes, it was just fine. Right, Grandpa?”
-
- “Yes it was. How was
the concert?”
-
- “Heavenly,” Nora
says, smiling at Bo.
-
- Asa rolls his eyes. “Spare
me the details.”
-
- “Hey, I want to hear,”
Matthew chimes in.
-
- Nora smiles smugly at Asa.
“Come on, Matt. Let’s go find Renee and tell her all
about it.”
-
- Matthew follows his mom out
of the room. Bo turns to Asa. “So, how was the weekend?”
-
- “Like Matt said, it
was fine.”
-
- “No wild parties at
Rodi’s?”
-
- Asa grins, walking over to
pour himself a drink. “I’m not telling. That’s
between Matthew and me.”
-
- Bo sighs. “Pa! Why do
I even bother?”
-
- Asa hands him a drink. “Relax,
boy. Matt had a quiet weekend this time. He seemed to be in a
mood on Friday when Nigel brought him back here.”
-
- “Something happen at
school?”
-
- Asa shrugs. “Don’t
know. He wouldn’t tell me what was wrong. He did ask me
about hitting women, though.”
-
- Bo stops as he is about to
take a sip of his drink. “He did?” Asa nods. “He
asked me about that a while back too. What did you tell him?”
-
- Asa grins. “I told him
that it’s acceptable only if it’s Lindsay Rappascum.”
-
- Bo can’t hide his grin.
“Good advice. What else did you tell him?”
-
- “The truth. Real men
don’t hit women – ever.”
-
- “Thanks for that, Pa.
I need to find out why he’s so curious about this topic.”
-
- “I wouldn’t worry
about it. He’s a Buchanan. He’s not going to hit a
woman.”
-
- Bo nods. “I hope not.
But something has got him thinking about it.”
-
- Renee hands Matthew a mug
of hot chocolate. “Thanks. So Little Richard remembered
you, Mom?”
-
- Nora nods, taking a sip of
coffee. “He sure did. He called us up on stage and we got
to dance while he sang.”
-
- Renee smiles. “How did
that happen?”
-
- “Bo slipped a note to
the concierge and he gave it to Little Richard’s manager.
He called us up on stage when he came out for the encore.”
-
- Matt shakes his head. “I
would have been so embarrassed!”
-
- Nora laughs. “Good thing
we left you with your grandparents, then.”
-
- Renee smiles. “He was
a joy. Whenever you and Bo want to get out of town again, you
just let us know.”
-
- “Well, as long as he
hasn’t outstayed his welcome, we may take you up on that.”
-
- Renee puts her arm around
Matt. “He can stay any time. He keeps Asa on his toes.”
-
- “What are you talking
about, woman?” Asa’s voice booms as he walks into the
kitchen.
-
- Renee frowns at him. “I
was just telling Nora that Matthew should stay again soon.”
-
- “Absolutely.” He
winks at Matthew. “Whenever you need to escape from your
prison, come on over.”
-
- “Asa!” Nora admonishes.
“Don’t encourage him.”
-
- “What’s a grandfather
for if I can’t encourage my grandson?”
-
- Matt laughs. “Thanks,
Grandpa.”
-
- Nora glares at Asa. “On
that note, we should hit the road, young man. You have school
tomorrow.” She hugs Renee. “Thanks for keeping him.”
She leans up to kiss Asa’s cheek. “You too, you old
coot. Where’s Bo?”
-
- Asa nods toward the study.
“He got a phone call. He’ll be along.”
-
- Matt kisses Renee and shakes
Asa’s hand. “See you soon, Grandpa.”
-
- Asa pulls him into a hug.
“Count on it, Cowboy.”
-
-
- Next day…
Matthew stuffs his backpack into his locker, pulling out a book
and slamming the door shut. He stands beside the locker as Stevie
approaches. Stevie opens his locker, grabbing a book, ignoring
Matt. “Hey, Stevie. How was your weekend?”
-
- He slams his locker shut.
“Okay.” He walks away and Matt follows him.
-
- “Do you want to talk
about Friday?”
-
- Stevie stops. “What
about it?”
-
- Matt shrugs uncomfortably.
“About your parents’ argument…”
-
- Stevie starts walking away.
“It’s no big deal.”
-
- Matt falls in step with him.
“Do they always argue like that?”
-
- Stevie shrugs. “Sometimes.”
-
- “It sounded like your
dad hit your mom before the arguing stopped.”
-
- Stevie turns to him. “I
don't remember it like that. Mind your own business, Buchanan.
This has nothing to do with you so let it go.”
-
- “I’m worried about
you.”
-
- “Well, don’t be.
I’m fine and my parents are fine.” The bell rings.
“I gotta get to class.”
-
- Matt watches him walk away
before hurrying to his own class.
-
-
- Nora walks into the coffee
shop, digging through her purse looking for money. She looks
up when she bumps into someone. “Sorry.” She smiles
when she sees her collision mate. “Hi, Rex. Aren’t
you hyper enough without caffeine?”
-
- He smirks. “Funny. I’ve
been working a lot of hours since your hubby dumps all the hard
cases on me and runs off to Atlantic City.”
-
- “Poor baby.”
-
- “How was the concert?”
-
- “It was heavenly. We
got to dance on stage. Little Richard remembered that he married
us the first time.”
-
- Rex smiles. “Sounds
like a blast. I’m glad Bo got it right this time. You deserve
it.”
-
- “He’s in my good
graces for a while after last weekend.”
-
- “As long as you enjoyed
your birthday.”
-
- Nora nods. “I did. Speaking
of which, what was that between you and Matthew?”
-
- Rex looks away. “It
was nothing. You know how it can be spending all day with him.”
-
- Nora notes that he’s
not looking her in the eye. “I see. Well, I guess it’s
just the usual teen behavior then.”
-
- “Yup. That’s it.”
He looks at his watch. “It was good to see you, but I have
to run.” He gives her a quick kiss on the cheek and quickly
exits the coffee shop.
-
-
- Matt walks into the library,
scanning the tables. He sees Kallie at a corner table and makes
his way over. “Hi,” he says as he dumps his backpack
on the table.
-
- Kallie looks up from her
book. “Hey, Matt. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
-
- He takes a seat beside her.
“Whatcha workin’ on?”
-
- “That article on domestic
violence for the school paper. How was your weekend with your
grandparents?”
-
- “It was fun. I always
get away with anything when my parents go out of town.”
-
- Kallie smiles. “That’s
cool, as long as your grandparents don’t rat you out.”
-
- Matt shakes his head. “Never.”
He glances around the room. “Have you seen Stevie?”
-
- Kallie laughs. “In the
library? Are you kidding?”
-
- He smiles. “Good point.
So how’s the article coming?”
-
- Kallie slides her notebook
toward him. “I’m finding a lot of information. Did
you know domestic abuse can be passed from one generation to
the next?”
-
- “Meaning what?”
-
- “That if a son sees
his father abusing his mother, he is much more likely to consider
it acceptable behavior and the son can become an abuser too.”
-
- Matt looks at Kallie’s
notes. “That really happens?”
-
- “Yes. That’s why
it’s so important for the mother to report the abuse and
get the kids out of the situation.”
-
- “That’s really
good to know. What else did you find out?”
-
- “Why are you so interested
in this topic, Matt?”
-
- He shrugs. “No reason.
Just curious, that's all. I talked to my grandpa about it this
weekend. He said women should get away too. I feel bad for the
kids involved. I bet they’re scared to say anything.”
-
- Kallie nods. “Yeah,
I’m sure they are. I’m sure they don’t want their
family to break up. That’s why their friends should speak
up.”
-
- “You think? I mean,
it would be hard to get a friend’s parent in trouble.”
-
- “But I think it’s
worse to be stuck in that situation and your friends don’t
help you out.”
-
- Matt looks at her seriously.
“Would you tell?”
-
- “Of course I would!
What kind of person wouldn’t help their friend?”
-
- Matt looks away. “But
what if the friend didn’t want help and told you to stay
out of it?"
-
- Kallie shakes her head. “You
said yourself, they're just scared. Someone has to step up and
help even if it’s hard.”
-
- Matt nods, lost in thought.
“You’re right, but it sure would be hard.”
-
-
- Couple days later…
Nora pulls up to the ballpark in Bo’s Jeep. She searches
the bleachers looking for her son. She spots him sitting with
Stevie and Danielle as she gets out of the Jeep and approaches
the group. Matt can see on her face that she is annoyed. “Hi,
Mom.”
-
- Stevie looks over his shoulder.
“Hi, Mrs. Buchanan.”
-
- Danielle waves as Nora turns
her attention to her son. “Sorry I’m late, Matt. I
had car trouble and had to get your dad’s Jeep at his office.
Are you ready to go?”
-
- Matt grabs his gear. “Sure,
Mom. Can we give Stevie and Danielle a lift home too? Stevie
was going to call his mom, but I told him we could give them
a ride, right?”
-
- Nora smiles. “Of course.
Come on, kids.”
-
- Stevie and Danielle gather
their stuff and follow Nora. The kids pile into the Jeep and
chatter about their day as Nora drives toward Stevie’s house.
He thanks Nora for the ride, kisses Danielle and hops out. He
waves to Matt as he disappears into his house. Nora backs out
of the driveway and heads toward Danielle’s house.
- Danielle is too warm in the
back seat so she slips off her sweatshirt. Nora looks in the
rearview mirror to ask her a question when she spots a large
bruise on her upper arm. “Danielle, what happened to your
arm?”
-
- “Oh, it’s nothing,
Mrs. Buchanan. I just… I tripped… during gym class
and hit my arm.”
-
- Matthew looks back at Danielle.
“It was just an accident, right?”
-
- “Yeah, it was. Just
me being clumsy.”
-
- Nora glances in the mirror
again. “Ouch. You should put some ice on that when you get
home.”
-
- “I will, Mrs. Buchanan.
It looks worse than it is.”
-
- “Well, I’m glad
to hear that. It looks painful.”
-
- Matt glances back at Danielle
and she gives him a small smile, pulling her sweatshirt back
on. Both of them are quiet for the remainder of the trip. When
Nora pulls up in her driveway, Danielle hops out of the Jeep.
“Thanks for the ride. Bye, Matt. See you at school.”
-
- Nora waits until Danielle
is safely inside the house before pulling out of the driveway.
She turns to Matt. “Why so quiet, sweetie?”
-
- He shrugs. “No reason.”
-
- She glances at him. “Bad
practice?”
-
- “No. It was fine.”
-
- “Did the coach yell
at you?”
-
- Matt grins. “No, not
any more than usual.”
-
- “So, Kallie didn’t
come to watch you practice?”
-
- He shrugs. “No. She’s
grounded until next week.”
-
- “Grounded? Why?”
-
- “Bad grades, I think.
It’s no big deal, Mom.”
-
- “If you say so.”
Nora decides ignore her son’s foul mood for now. “How
about we stop for ice cream before we head home?”
-
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