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- Bonds of Trust
-- Part VIII
The following week…
Bo comes through the front door with a huge smile on his face.
Matthew glances at him from the sofa. “Hey, Dad.”
-
- “Matt. How goes it?”
-
- He changes the channel absently.
“Fine.”
-
- Bo sits beside him, wresting
the remote from his hand, shutting off the TV. “I have news
for you. Where’s your mom?”
-
- “She called a little
while ago. She’s finishing up with a client at the Community
Center. We can order whatever we want for dinner.”
-
- Bo crosses his arms, continuing
to grin. Matt rolls his eyes. “What’s with the look?
Are you and Mom going on another weekend getaway?”
-
- Bo shakes his head. “Not
this time. This trip is for all of us.”
-
- Matt turns toward him. “Okay,
now I’m interested. Where we going?”
-
- Bo’s smile widens. “Asa’s
ranch.”
-
- “No way! You’ve
been saying that forever. For real?” Bo nods. “When?”
-
- “Week after next. I
talked to the foreman and they’ll be doing the Spring roundup.
I thought it would be fun for us to ride with the men.”
-
- The look of excitement fades
from Matt’s face. “Week after next?”
-
- “Yeah, I know it’s
not your Spring break but I figure we can get you a few days
off from school and then, of course, the weekend…”
He stops when he sees Matt shaking his head. “What?”
-
- “I can’t go.”
-
- “What are you talking
about? I told you, I’ll work it out with the school.”
-
- “That’s the weekend
of the Spring Formal, Dad.”
-
- Bo is confused. “You’re
going?”
-
- “Of course I’m
going. Freshman are allowed at the dance.”
-
- “I know that, but have
you cleared this with your mother?”
-
- Matt looks away. “Not
exactly.”
-
- “Not exactly? Which
means she knows nothing about it. Have you asked Kallie already?”
-
- Matt shakes his head. “Not
yet. But I was going to next week.”
-
- Bo grins. “Matt, if
I know anything about girls, it’s that you can’t ask
them to a dance at the last minute. There’s a dress and
hairdos and makeup and heaven knows what else, but I know they
need plenty of time.”
-
- Matt chuckles. “You
know all this, huh?” Bo nods.
- “Well, Kallie’s
not high maintenance like that.”
-
- Bo laughs. “They’re
ALL like that, buddy.”
-
- Nora opens the front door
and sees them on the couch. “Well, this is a nice sight
– my two favorite men laughing. Do I get to hear the joke?”
-
- Matt stops laughing and looks
at his dad. Bo nods, encouraging him. Matt takes a deep breath.
“We were just talking.”
-
- Nora walks over and gives
Bo a quick kiss, taking a seat beside him. “About?”
-
- Matt looks pleadingly at
Bo. “Dad said we’re going to Grandpa’s ranch week
after next.”
-
- Nora nods. “We talked
about that. I thought you would be thrilled.”
-
- Bo turns to Nora, bailing
out his son. “Matt thinks the timing is bad.”
-
- “Oh? Why’s that?”
-
- Bo looks back at Matt. He
says nothing. Nora is getting frustrated. “Okay, you two.
Out with it. Why is the trip to the ranch a bad idea?”
-
- “Well, baseball starts
soon and I wanted to get some practice in with Stevie. I promised
him…” Bo frowns at him. “Well, I do want to hang
out with Stevie.”
-
- Nora sees the looks passing
between Bo and Matt. “But that’s not what this is really
about.”
-
- Matt takes a deep breath.
“That’s the weekend of the Spring Formal.”
-
- The light dawns for Nora.
“And you think you’re going?” Matt nods as Nora
shakes her head. “We’ve already talked about the dating
thing, Matthew. You’re too young.”
-
- “But Mom, it’s
a school dance. You let me go to other school functions. What’s
the difference?”
-
- Nora looks at Bo, but he
stays silent. She turns her attention back to her son. “Other
school functions do not involve dating. A dance does. You are
not allowed to date yet. You know the rules.”
-
- Matt stands. “Why do
you insist on treating me like a baby?”
-
- “I’m not treating
you like a baby. But you’re certainly not an adult either.”
-
- “Stevie is going and
he’s taking Danielle.”
-
- “That’s a decision
for their parents.”
-
- Matthew is near tears. “You’re
making me the biggest dweeb in school! Everyone else is going
and my mommy won't let me. Do you know how embarrassing that
is?" Before waiting for an answer, he abruptly leaves the
room.
-
- "That reaction hardly
makes your case for being mature!" Nora calls after him.
-
- Bo looks at her as they hear
his door slam shut. “That went well.”
-
- “Did you tell him he
could go to that dance?” Bo shakes his head. “Did you?”
-
- Bo holds his hands up. “No,
honey, I swear. I didn’t even know about the dance. I booked
the tickets for Texas this morning.”
-
- “But you think we should
let him go.”
-
- “Well…”
-
- “Bo! You know how I
feel about him dating. We have to present a united front on this.
If we can’t, we’re sunk.”
-
- He takes her in his arms.
“We are a united front, Red. I’m not saying Matt should
be able to date yet, because I know you are adamantly against
it.”
-
- “But?”
-
- Bo smiles, kissing her lightly
on the nose. “You know me too well.”
-
- “Uh huh. Out with it,
Buchanan.”
-
- “But, Matt has a point
about this being a school function. He’s not old enough
to drive, so one of us would have to take them. It’s not
like they would be parked on Lover’s Lane all night.”
-
- “Bo, I…”
-
- He puts his finger to her
lips. “I’m not finished making my point. We have to
let him be a normal kid, Red. He’s been through a lot in
his young life and he’s at a stage where he’s finding
out who he is and he has to make his own way. Being a Buchanan
sets him apart from the other kids and at his age, he just wants
to blend in. If his buddies are going to the dance and his school
allows it, don’t you think we should let him experience
it too?”
-
- Nora sighs. She looks away,
thinking. “You may be right. I know it’s not easy for
him, I do. It’s just that…”
- “I have a compromise.”
-
- Nora turns back to him. “Do
you now?” He nods. “And what might that be?”
-
- “How about we chaperone?”
-
- “Are you kidding? Matthew
would never agree to us spying on him.”
-
- He shakes his head. “Not
spying. Chaperoning. We would be keeping an eye on all the kids,
not just ours.”
- He winks at her. “I
will even promise to keep you busy so you can’t follow him
around all night.”
-
- Nora finally smiles. “I’ll
bet you could.”
-
- “Come on, honey. I don’t
think Matt can get into too much trouble at a school dance. We
let him go but we get to take him and bring him home and we chaperone.
If he can’t accept those terms, he doesn’t go. Deal?”
-
- Nora sighs. “Okay, you
win. What about Texas?”
-
- Bo gets up, pulling her with
him. “I’ll cancel the tickets in the morning.”
-
- “How come we’re
not taking Asa’s jet?”
-
- “Because Asa is using
it that week. I already asked.”
-
- “Should we go tell Matt
the good news?”
-
- Bo grins. “Nah. We’ll
let him think we’re terrible parents until morning.”
-
- Nora laughs as they head
into the kitchen. “Let’s raid the fridge. Maybe hunger
will drive him out of his room.”
-
- Next morning…
Matt slinks into the kitchen, grabs a box of cereal from the
pantry, a bowl from the cupboard and spoon from the drawer. He
drops into a chair, sets down the bowl and fills it with cereal.
Bo watches with an amused grin.
- “Good morning, Matthew.”
He waits but gets no response, so he continues. “Morning,
Dad. How are you?” Matt continues to ignore him. “I’m
just fine, Matt. I slept like a rock last night. Must have been
the warm feeling I get from ruining my son’s life, right
Red?”
-
- Nora nods with a wink. “Must
be. I slept great last night too.”
-
- Matt finally cracks a small
smile. “Glad someone got a good night’s sleep.”
-
- “Didn’t you sleep
well?” Nora asks innocently.
-
- Bo grins at her. “Sorry
to hear that, son. Any particular reason?”
-
- Matt sets down his spoon.
“Do you two enjoy torturing me?”
-
- Bo laughs. “Actually,
we do.”
-
- Matt rolls his eyes. “Expect
major bills for my therapy then.”
-
- Nora smiles. “So much
drama. Really, Matthew, I thought it was challenging dealing
with Rachel’s moodiness but you are surpassing her in that
area.”
-
- “I had a good teacher.”
-
- Nora takes a sip of coffee.
“I’m sure you did.”
-
- Matt is getting frustrated
by their amusement. “Do you guys not care at all that I’m
going to look like a baby when the kids find out my mommy won’t
let me go to the dance because I’m too little to date?”
-
- “Not little, too young,”
Nora corrects him. “There is a difference, sweetie.”
-
- “Ah! I can’t deal
with you two.” Matt gets up from the table, dumping his
uneaten cereal into the sink. “I’m going to eat at
school.”
-
- Bo catches his arm as he
tries to leave the kitchen. “Don’t you want to hear
what your mother and I discussed last night?”
-
- Matt stops and looks at Nora.
“Do I?”
-
- Bo motions for Matt to take
a seat. When he sits, Bo continues. “Your mom and I have
come up with a compromise that will enable you to attend the
dance.”
-
- Matt is immediately suspicious.
“A compromise?”
-
- Nora nods. “You can
attend the dance with Kallie – I’m assuming she’s
the girl you intend to invite?” Matt nods. “You can
go with Kallie if we take you and bring you home.”
-
- Matt nods slowly. “That
sounds fair.”
-
- “And we chaperone the
dance.”
-
- “WHAT? No way. Dad,
she’s not serious, is she?”
-
- Bo nods. “’Fraid
so, buddy. Those are your mother’s terms. Can you accept
them?”
-
- “No! Come on, Dad. The
only thing worse than not going at all is having you guys watching
over me every second.”
-
- “We won’t be watching
you, Matt. We’ll be chaperoning the dance. Watching ALL
the kids. Making sure no one spikes the punch.” Matt rolls
his eyes. “Or whatever it is that kids drink at dances these
days.”
-
- Matt looks between his parents,
shaking his head. Nora sets her coffee down. “I’m trying
to work with you, sweetie. I don’t think you should go to
the dance with a date at all. But I do understand that I need
to ease up and allow you to experience things with your friends.
I’m trying.”
-
- Bo takes Nora’s hand.
“Your mom is giving a little, buddy. Can’t you meet
her half way?”
-
- Matt is quiet for a long
time, weighing his options. He finally relents. “Okay, but
you guys CANNOT dance.”
- Bo and Nora look at each
other, smiles on their faces. “I mean it! If you go to the
dance, you just watch. No dancing. Promise?”
-
- Bo does his best to keep
a straight face. “I think we can manage that. Right, Red?”
-
- Nora nods. “Absolutely.
We probably won’t know any of the music anyway.”
-
- Matt gets up, kissing Nora
on the cheek. “Thanks, Mom. You’re the best.”
-
- “Love you, sweetie.”
-
- “I gotta get to school.
See you tonight.”
-
- “Good luck with Kallie!”
Bo calls as Matt hurries out of the kitchen. He looks at Nora
with a sly grin. “Now we have to figure out how to sneak
a dance without Matt catching us.”
-
- She laughs. “I’m
sure you will have plenty of ideas by the time the dance rolls
around.” She gets up from the table, setting her cup in
the sink. “I have an appointment at the Center this morning.
I’ll call Matt’s principal and offer our services to
chaperone the dance.”
-
- Bo joins her at the sink,
giving her a quick kiss. “Good luck with that. I’ll
see you tonight.”
-
- Lauren walks into the coffee
shop, waving when she sees Marcie in a booth. She places her
order and takes her coffee and Danish to the table. “Have
some,” she says as she slides the Danish onto the table
and slips into the booth.
-
- “I shouldn’t,”
Marcie says, cutting the pastry in half.
- Lauren smiles. “No,
we shouldn’t but we won’t tell anyone.”
-
- Marcie washes down her first
bite. “So, what’s Rex done now? I’m sure he’s
the reason you called this little coffee meeting. Do I need to
smack him upside the head for you?”
-
- “Not this time. He’s
actually done something right. At least I think so.”
-
- “Rex? Well, that’s
a first.” Marcie looks at her friend.
- “And why are you grinning
like that?” Then it hits her. “Omigosh! Did he ask
you to marry him?” She glances at Lauren’s left hand.
“Was he too cheap to buy a ring? Wait until I see him…”
-
- “Okay, okay! No, he
didn’t ask me to marry him. We’re moving in together.
Or, more to the point, I’m moving in with him.”
-
- “To Rex’s loft?
Have you seen that place? The health department has it on a list
of hazardous waste sights!”
- Lauren cracks up. “He
promised to clean up his act.”
-
- “Well, that would be
some commitment on his part.” Marcie sees her friend’s
smile vanish. “Are you disappointed he didn’t ask you
to marry him?”
-
- Lauren shrugs. “I know
he’s not ready for that. He didn’t have a typical family
growing up so getting married and happily ever after is a foreign
concept to him.”
-
- Marcie nods. “That’s
true. Roxy wasn’t capable of giving him any stability, that’s
why he went to live with his aunt. Bo and Nora are pretty good
role models though.”
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