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- As Things Change
- Part II
Next day…
-
- Bo is going over some paperwork
in the PI office when the door opens and Rex walks in carrying
a manila folder. He tosses it on his desk and makes his way over
to Bo, taking a seat in front of him. “Hey, partner.”
-
- Bo looks up. “What can
I do for you, Balsom?”
-
- “What makes you think
I want something?”
-
- Bo puts down his pen. “Call
it a hunch.”
-
- “Okay, maybe there is
something.”
-
- Bo gets up and walks to the
mini fridge and pulls out a bottle of water. “Spill it,
Balsom.”
-
- Rex waits for Bo to return
to his seat. “How did you ask Nora to marry you?”
-
- Bo grins. “Which time?”
-
- “Either. Which was the
most romantic?”
-
- “Well, the first time
I asked her and the second time she asked me, so I would say
mine was more romantic.”
-
- Rex leans forward. “How
did you do it?”
-
- Bo grins. “I got down
on one knee and I asked her.”
-
- “That’s it?”
Bo nods. “How’s that romantic?”
-
- “I followed it up with
root beer…”
-
- “No champagne?”
Bo shakes his head. “And that worked?”
-
- “Oh, yeah. And I had
a great ring. Which, come to think of it, Nora made me return.”
-
- “She didn’t like
it?”
-
- Bo shakes his head. “She
said it was bad luck. We picked out another one that wasn’t
jinxed.”
-
- Rex shakes his head in disbelief.
“I should have known better than to ask you.”
-
- Bo grins. “So you’re
thinking of popping the question to Lauren?”
-
- “Yeah, but I can’t
think how to do it. These days, you need to have a plan and execute
it properly or you’re likely to end up being shot down.”
-
- “You think Lauren would
say no?” Rex nods. “You have to give her more credit
than that. So you’re ready to take the plunge and settle
down?”
-
- Rex takes a deep breath.
“I think so. Now that I’ve sold the club, we have more
time together. It’s awesome living with her – she keeps
the place spotless and she usually refrains from asking me to
use a coaster on the coffee table.”
-
- Bo can’t hide his smile.
“That does make her a keeper.”
-
- Rex is embarrassed. “It’s
more than that. I just…”
-
- Bo holds up his hands. “I
get it, Balsom. It’s love. I know it’s hard to explain.”
-
- “You’re not kidding.”
-
- The phone rings and Bo picks
it up. “Buchanan. … Oh, hey Coach Campbell. Is the
team ready for the game on Saturday? … No, I haven’t
talked to Matt about practice this week. I’ve been busy
and haven’t been able to watch… He what? … When?
… Did he say why? … I had no idea… No, thank you
for calling. … Of course I’ll talk to him. … Thanks,
Coach. Bye.”
-
- Bo hangs up with a frown.
Rex smiles. “What’s the squirt done this time?”
-
- “He quit the team.”
-
- “Really? When?”
-
- Bo looks at him suspiciously.
“Did you know about this, Balsom?” Rex shakes his head.
“He never mentioned it?”
-
- “No. I have no idea
why he would bail on the team. What did the coach say?”
-
- “Just that he quit the
team day before yesterday and was I having any luck talking him
out of it.”
-
- “Why would he do that
and not tell you?”
-
- Bo gets up from the desk,
grabbing his jacket. “I don’t know but I’m going
to find out.” He stops as he gets to the door. “And
as for our other conversation, keep it simple. If Lauren wants
to say yes, it will be because of you, not some fancy proposal.”
-
-
- Nora makes her way through
the lobby of the Palace, knocking softly on a side door as she
pushes it open. Renee looks up from her desk. “Nora! What
a nice surprise. Come on in.”
-
- “Sorry I didn’t
call first, I was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by.”
-
- Renee waves her toward a
chair. “You know you can stop in anytime. Would you like
some coffee?”
-
- Nora shakes her head as she
takes a seat in front of the desk. “No, thank you.”
-
- “What brings you by?”
-
- “I wanted to know what
was going on with Asa last night?”
-
- Renee shakes her head. “It
was nothing.”
-
- “What was the surprise
you were referring to?”
-
- “I think that’s
between Asa and Matthew.”
-
- Nora groans. “It’s
not a motorcycle, is it?”
-
- Renee winks. “Not this
time.”
-
- “He wouldn’t!”
-
- “Honey, I told him that
was something you and Bo would not approve for Matthew.”
-
- Nora shakes her head. “They’re
dangerous, Renee. I worry about him driving a car. I can’t
picture my son on a dirt bike.”
-
- “I understand, Nora.”
-
- “I know that makes me
an overprotective mother, but I can’t help it. When he’s
18 and I can’t stop him, I’ll try to find a way to
live with it but for now, I just can’t do it.”
-
- Renee smiles. “It’s
okay, honey. Asa didn’t get him a dirt bike.”
-
- Nora sighs. “So what
is it?”
-
- “I really can’t
tell you until Matthew sees it. But I think you will approve.”
-
- “Okay, Renee. I trust
you. Asa, not so much.”
-
-
- Matt and Stevie walk into
the gym at the Community Center. A group of guys are involved
in a pickup game as a few teens sit in the bleachers, pretending
to watch. Matt makes his way over to join the teens as Andrew
emerges from his office. He waves to Matt before walking out
onto the court. “That’s it for today, guys. We need
the gym now.” The game breaks up as Andrew turns to the
gathered teens. “Thank you all for coming. Matt, can you
lead the introductions. I’ll be with you in a minute.”
-
- Andrew exits the gym as Matt
stands in front of the assembled teens. “Hey, everybody.
Thanks for coming to Teens Together. I know most of you know
each other but I see some new people, so if we could just go
around and introduce ourselves. I’m Matt.”
-
- Stevie steps forward and
introduces himself to the group. The rest of the teens introduce
themselves with a small wave. Matt points to a new girl standing
at the edge of the group. She is dressed in goth black with a
nose ring and she seems to have an attitude. “It’s
Raven.”
-
- “Raven?”
-
- “You got a problem with
that?”
-
- Matt smiles at her. “No,
no problem at all. Raven it is. Welcome to the group.”
-
- Andrew walks back into the
gym, accompanied by Kallie. He addresses the group as Matt takes
a seat in the bleachers. “Welcome to Teens Together. I’d
like to introduce Kallie. She’ll be leading the discussion
today. For those who are new, I’ll outline the rules of
our group. First off, what is said here is confidential. If you
are uncomfortable, you can ask questions without giving specific
details. I am also available for one-on-one counseling, just
give me a call anytime. Our goal here is to provide a forum to
ask questions and advance discussions of teen issues. Nothing
is out of bounds but our main goal is to address teen violence.
So, without further ado, I turn it over to Kallie.”
-
- Kallie steps forward as Andrew
takes a seat off to the side, allowing her to lead the meeting.
It starts off slow with Kallie initiating the discussion but
soon most of the kids are joining in – offering opinions
and asking questions. Matt notices that Raven says nothing through
the entire meeting. When it ends, he goes up to Kallie. “Great
job today.”
-
- “Thanks. I was so nervous!”
-
- He chuckles. “Are you
kidding? You’re a pro at running these meetings. You get
everyone involved and keep the talk moving.”
-
- “Yeah, but I’m
still a little freaked out standing in front of everyone. I’m
glad it’s your turn next time.”
-
- “You’re a hard
act to follow.”
-
- She smiles. “You’ll
do fine. What are you up to this weekend?”
-
- “My dad is taking me
driving on Saturday.”
-
- “How did you pull that
one off?”
-
- “He doesn’t have
a choice. I got my temps and I can take my test when I turn 16.
He has to let me drive before that.”
-
- “That’s exciting.
Driving is so much fun!”
-
- “Don’t rub it in
that you got your license first.”
-
- “Sorry.” She looks
at her watch. “I gotta run. I promised to pick up my little
sister at ballet. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”
-
- “Okay, see ya.”
Matt watches her walk away before he turns to look for Stevie.
He sees Raven still hanging out near the bleachers so he walks
over to her. “Did you like the meeting?”
-
- She shrugs. “It was
okay.”
-
- “You didn’t say
much.”
-
- She shrugs again. “I
was observing.”
-
- He nods. “Sometimes
it’s hard to jump in when everyone is talking at once.”
-
- “So are you like the
leader of this or something?”
-
- “Yeah. I sorta founded
the group with a couple of my friends when we got into trouble
a while back.”
-
- “You seem too white
bread to get in trouble.”
-
- He smiles. “Thanks,
I think.” He watches her, giving her the opportunity to
continue the conversation. When she doesn’t, he motions
toward the exit. “I gotta go. Hope to see you at the next
meeting.” She shrugs as Matt walks away.
-
-
- Nora comes into the kitchen,
her arms full of grocery bags. Bo comes in from the living room
and takes them out of her hands. “What’s all this?”
-
- She smirks at him. “It’s
called food. We’re going to cook it.”
-
- He laughs. “I can hardly
wait.”
-
- She ignores him and starts
to empty the bags. He jumps in to help.
- “How was your day?”
-
- “Fine. I stopped by
the Palace to talk to Renee. Asa is not getting Matt a dirt bike
but I couldn’t get her to tell me what the surprise is all
about. Did you call Asa today?”
-
- “I forgot.”
-
- “Bo! I asked you to
keep tabs on your father.”
-
- “Relax, Red. I’m
sure it’s no big deal.”
-
- “This is Asa we’re
talking about.”
-
- “Well, Renee said it’s
not a dirt bike. How bad can it be?” She frowns at him.
“Okay, I’ll talk to him.” He goes to put the milk
in the fridge. “Pretty sure it won’t do a bit of good…”
he mutters under his breath.
- Nora turns to him. “You
say something?”
-
- “No. Not a thing.”
-
- “I thought so.”
She hands him a package of meat. “You’re in charge
of the grill.”
-
- “How convenient. When
is Matt supposed to be home?”
-
- Nora looks at the clock.
“He was at the Teens Together meeting at the Center. He
should be here soon. Why?”
-
- “Because I need to talk
to him.”
-
- “About?”
-
- Bo pulls open the package
of meat, dumping the contents onto a platter. “About him
quitting the baseball team.”
-
- “What? He quit the team?”
Bo nods. “When?”
-
- “Day before yesterday.
I got a call from the coach this afternoon, wanting to know if
I had convinced Matt to change his mind.”
-
- “Why would he quit the
team?”
-
- Bo picks up the platter and
opens the door to the back yard. “That’s what I intend
to find out.”
-
-
- Matt rides up to the front
of the PI office on his bike. He checks the parking lot to make
sure his father’s car isn’t there before parking his
bike. He pushes open the door and walks inside. Rex looks up
from his desk. “Squirt, what are you doing here?”
-
- Matt closes the door and
goes to sit in front of Rex’s desk. “I need to talk
to you.”
-
- Rex closes his laptop. “I
bet you do. You quit the baseball team?”
-
- “How did you know that?”
-
- “Your coach called Bo
earlier. What’s going on?”
-
- Matt shrugs. “I just
didn’t want to play anymore. No big deal.”
-
- “If it’s no big
deal, why didn’t you tell your parents?”
-
- He shrugs again. “It
was my decision.”
-
- Rex shakes his head. “Not
good enough. What’s going on?”
-
- “I have other plans
for the summer, that’s all.”
-
- “What might that be?”
-
- “Stevie and I are looking
at a camp.”
-
- “What kind of camp?”
-
- Matt sighs. “If you
must know, it’s water skiing.”
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