Eva and James returned the next afternoon and I met them at Big Julie’s Pizza for a welcome home get-together. We placed our usual orders and started getting caught up on our adventures over the past few weeks. Bobby joined us before the pizza arrived and added his own stories into the mix. It felt really good to be surrounded by my friends again and I leaned back for a few seconds, taking in the feeling and appreciating the moment, as Eva tried to abridge her story about getting bitten by a jellyfish and James explained what really happened.
Usually, I’m so focused on the story that I don’t look at the reactions of everyone around me. This time though, as I ‘appreciated the moment’, I caught James giving Bobby a raised eyebrow and a questioning look. Bobby returned the look with a very quick shake of the head. I briefly wondered what that was about, but I put it out of my mind and got sucked back into Eva’s animated denial that she’s in any way at fault for all the hilarious things that seem to happen to her on vacation.
This year, in contract to last year’s hectic road trip sightseeing extravaganza, Eva and James’s families had chosen to rent a house on the beach in Miami. Their stories showed them walking along the boardwalk, spending time at the beach, and constantly trying out new restaurants. It sounded much more relaxing that last year’s vacation.
Bobby’s stories centered around his summer job as a lifeguard at that the municipal aquatic center. I was really glad to have pretty much finished my food before he told the story of having to evacuate the pool because of ‘floater’. Eww! I’m not sure if I’d ever go swimming there again.
For my part, I told them about going into the mine shafts with Mark, staying in hotels and camping out. I didn’t go into much detail about what I’d found though. During the camping stories, I noted a few more odd looks, this time between Eva and Bobby. I’d brushed off the looks before, but now I was getting really curious. Something was going on and everyone at the table was aware of it but me.
I’m not proud of what I did next. It was sneaky and mistrustful, but I just had to know what the big secret was. Given how I was keeping a huge secret from all of them, I should have just shrugged off the looks and moved on. Like that goose and gander thing. Instead, I excused myself to go to the bathroom and let them talk about whatever it was that was on their minds. I was back in my chair in less than twenty seconds, in R1, and listening to the intense conversation what was supposed to be going on in my absence.
“No Eva, I’m not chickening out. She was away for most of the time you’ve been away and only got back Sunday night.”, Bobby explained. He looked a little frustrated with Eva.
“And since then?”, Eva retorted.
“Have you met Abby? When is she not doing something?”, Bobby sighed and James laughed.
“He does have a point, Eva. Abby is constantly working on something or other, and she doesn’t even tell us half of the things she does. I have no idea where she gets her energy from. Besides, Bobby’s been working every day at the pool. There’s only been three nights since she got back and she’s probably been at Kung Fu each of those nights, getting back into shape after her trip.” James looked over at Bobby for confirmation.
“She hasn’t missed a class this week. Actually, she’s been doing two classes each night.” Bobby verified.
“So why haven’t you talked to her there?”, Eva countered. I started getting an uneasy feeling in my stomach. What did Bobby need to talk to me about and why was Eva so insistent about it?
“You have not idea how little chance there is of that these days. I’m not sure what’s going on, but since she got back, her uncle has been working her harder than I’ve ever seen. He’s separated her from the rest of the students and he and Charlie trade off teaching the class while the other spars or puts her through grueling exercises. It’s non-stop for her. She has incredible stamina. I’d have keeled over after only a few minutes. After class, she barely has enough energy to change out of her soaking uniform and her uncle drives her home.”
“Hmm. I wonder if she’s training for a tournament. She’s never done one before. Ok, I’m sorry I doubted you, Bobby. Do you have a plan?”, Eva asked him.
“I have my Kung Fu gear with me. I was planning on walking her to class after dinner.”, Bobby answered.
Eva nodded her head in approval. “Good. You don’t have much time or you’ll miss your shot.”
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
What shot? Why the rush? Luckily, Bobby also wanted to know that and asked her.
Eva continued, “If you thought that Abby was busy before, you haven’t seen anything yet. Tomorrow is the big auction and if it goes like I think it will, she’ll have more than enough money to start her foundation. Put that together with whatever’s happening in Kung Fu, and her starting her teaching assistant job for her father next week and Charlie going on vacation soon and you’ll need to schedule time to see her two weeks in advance.”
“I could wait a few weeks until it all dies down,” Bobby offered.
“Good luck with that. The next time she’ll come up for air will be when school starts. Her active life is not your problem. Your problem is who she’s active with. Tyler is enrolled in the class that she’ll be assisting in and Mark will be involved to some degree with the auction and her foundation. There’s a really good chance that one of them is going to ask her out before you do.”
Wait. What? Bobby wanted to ask me out? I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I wasn’t sure how I felt about him. And why was Eva so sure that Mark and Tyler were interested in me. Nothing had ever happened between any of us. She had to be wrong. I needed time to think but there wasn’t any more time. I’d have to come back from the bathroom in just a few seconds.
I returned to the table and the three of them were talking about the upcoming Comic convention in San Diego, as if they hadn’t just been conspiring to…to get me to go out on a date. With Bobby. What was I going to say to him if he asked? I felt a moment of panic as I took my seat and remembered that he wasn’t going to ask me now. I still had a bit of time. With some effort, I put it out of my mind and fell back into the conversation.
Changing the topic, Bobby turned to me and asked, “What’s going on with you at Kung Fu, Abby? I’ve been going for seven months and I’ve never seen you training like you are now. Is there a tournament coming up or something?”
“Nothing so easy as that, Bobby. Uncle Magnum asked me if I’d like to be evaluated to see if I’m ready for my red belt test. I agreed to give it a try and now he and Charlie are determined to make sure that I don’t embarrass the school. Since Charlie is going on vacation in two weeks, they’re trying to get in as much training as they can in the meantime. On the plus side, I’m burning off so many calories every night that I can easily afford to have some ice-cream for dessert.” The last part I’d said just as our waitress came over to check up on us and we all placed our orders. Eva and James shared a lava-cake, while Bobby took his inspiration from me and ordered a sundae.
“How about you, Bobby? Are you enjoying Kung Fu? You’re there almost every night” I asked.
“I really like it. I’m trying to get in as many classes as I can before I take a break from it for a few months. Football training season is starting soon. Once that starts, I’ll be lucky to get in one class a week. I’m definitely going to start up again after the season though. I’ve never come back to training this fit before.” From there we talked about our plans for the rest of the summer until dessert arrived.
When the food was finished and our bills were paid, I turned to Eva and reminded her that we needed to go see Evan tomorrow. “Dr. Blake says that he doesn’t have much longer left. Another week or two at the most. I went to see him a few days ago and he was only able to stay awake and alert for an hour.”
Eva looked stricken by the news and confirmed that she’s meet me at the hospital at one tomorrow. We said our goodbyes and James and Eva got on their bikes and pedaled for home. Bobby lingered behind and I started to get nervous.
“Want some company on the way to Kung Fu?” he asked me.
I shrugged my acceptance and we walked in silence for a few blocks; both of us lost in our own thoughts and worries. If I hadn’t eavesdropped on my friend’s conversation, I would be heading to class without a care in my head and I’d have been completely blindsided when Bobby worked through his doubts and fears and simply asked me, “Abby, would you like to go on a date with me?”
This was the guy that I’d called a coward? He was certainly working hard to break that image of himself. He’d actually said the word ‘date’ so that I had no way of misunderstanding his intentions. He had committed himself and was forcing me to re-examine my feelings towards him. Without the prior knowledge of his intentions, I’d have been at a complete loss in how to answer him and I probably would have embarrassed us both with my surprise and whatever I managed to stammer out.
Having been forewarned, I was able to look into his eyes, blushing only slightly, and answer, “I’d like that.”
His expression tried for calm acceptance but didn’t quite make it. Relief warred with surprise and victory to get the top spot. His surprise at my answer wasn’t something I expected. I realized that he hadn’t expected me to say yes. It made me question why and it left me wondering if he’d planned any further than just asking me out. The ‘why’ I’d ask him about later. The ‘further’ planning question was of more immediate issue.
“Do you have some place in mind for the date?” I asked innocently.
“Uhm, actually, I don’t. I honestly didn’t think you’d say yes. Not that I didn’t want you to, because I did. I really hoped that you would, but I thought I might be too late already,” he stammered out.
Now I was really curious. “Too late how?”
“Too late because you may have put me in the friend zone already and too late because Mark might have asked you out already.” Well, I had asked and he had given me a very straight-forward answer. He really wasn’t holding back.
“Mark and I are just good friends,” I explained.
Bobby looked doubtful at my statement, but he kept his mouth shut about it. Instead, he asked me where I’d like to go to on our date.
An evil thought occurred to me and I answered, “My friend Mary O’Reilly runs a restaurant west of the city center. I can make us a reservation if you’d like.”