Windows in Time (3 page)

Chapter Four:

Made a New Friend...

              Scott's mother had a pizza in the oven and the place smelled of cheese. She knew that her son would always be in a good mood when he smelled a pizza cooking. Scott took a seat at their kitchen table and opened up a soda.

              Nothing better in the afternoon that a cold soda and pizza. He was one of the few people he knew that could eat as much fattening foods, and never seem to gain an ounce. His mother was just glad that he wasn't trying to cut back on his food like many teenagers that worried about their weight.

              “How was your first day? And tell me about this boy you went to see after school.”

              “Well mom, his name is Chris. He's a lot taller than me and on the wrestling team. We have lockers next to each other. That was how we met.”

              “He seems nice from what you said on the phone.”

              “He is. I feel bad for him though.”

              “Why?”

              “His father is a minister and from what I saw in the exercise room in the basement, he must push him into a lot of competitions.”

              “I don't understand,” his mother said.

              “There is a trophy case. It is filled with things from the past few years. I think there hasn't been one sport in elementary or middle school that Chris hasn't been forced into playing.”

              “You don't know that Scott. Maybe he is just very competitive.”

              “Maybe. Anyhow, I'm excited for Friday. I'm thinking about talking with the people in charge of the school paper. I'd like to get back into photography.”

              “Oh Scott, let me guess. This boy would be considered good looking by many of the girls at the school?”

              “Maybe, but that isn't why I want to take his picture. I'm good at photography and haven't taken pictures since sixth grade.”

              His mother gave him a couple pieces of pizza on a paper plate. “I made your favorite kind. When I'm at work you will need to make yourself dinner. I did work it out that I should be home by 6 pm Monday to Friday.”

              “Ya mom, how was your day today? It was your first day at work.”

              “No no, we were talking about you. I want to know how were the kids. Did they give you any problems?”

              “Mom, this place isn't like Oil City was. Besides, the others don't know anything about my past.”

              “Good. I just started a new job and we don't want to have to leave again.”

              “This time I am not going to let anyone force us to leave. It isn't like last time.”

              Scott got out an Ipad from his backpack. “This is how they learn at the school. All our classes are on the Ipad.”

              “I know. I had to pay insurance on it when I registered you. At the college many professors use electronic versions of the text books now. I knew that at least you couldn't say you forgot your books at school.”

              He already had one Ipad at home, and it would have his textbooks in it too.

              “I found out today about a program at the college for high school students. Could you find out what the requirements are? Chris was talking about how he was interested in going next year.”

              “If you are eligible, you should think about it too. After seeing the college I know you'd like it.”

Friday

              During the following four days, Chris introduced Scott to many of his friends at the school. They included him because Chris was a big deal.

Each day after school they would walk home together and split off two blocks from their respective homes. Thursday Scott went to Chris' for about a half hour. He helped him with his math homework, because he was far more advanced than the others in his grade.

              Friday at lunch, which was a half hour early, Chris expressed his excitement at the big tournament starting at 1 PM.

              “I have to do good, or my dad is going to be mad. He always looks disappointed if I don't get first place.”

              “You should only ever just do your best. No one wins every time.You'll do great though.”

              “I wish that I had a father that was as kind as your mother. She would never yell at you.”

              “Mom just wants me to be happy. Now, I have a surprise for you. I went and spoke with the head photographer on the school paper. He told me that he couldn't make the tournament, so he said I could take pictures. I even have my own camera.”

              “You going to get some pictures of me?”

              “If you want....,” Scott said with a grin.

              He planned to enjoy the weekend. “Sunday I'll go over the pictures on my computer at home.  If you want to look at them you can come over.”

              “Sunday is church, but my dad might let me come over after lunch.”

              “You could always eat lunch with mom and I.”

              “Dad doesn't let me go out before lunch is over on Sunday. He expects me to be home with him and mom.”

              “Wow. I don't know what to say about that.”

              “Yes, I know. I can't sneak out either. He would get mad.”

              His new friend's words reminded him of more than a few years ago and someone that had hurt him. That had been physical pain, which he had started to move on from finally. It still made his heart hurt to think about those days.

              “Then ask to come over after lunch. You have my number. He can call and talk with my mom to make sure it is okay with her.”

              Chris was careful what he ate during lunch. He needed enough strength to take down the boy he would wrestle in about 90 minutes, but not so much food that he would wind up in a heaver weight class. It was a fine line that wrestlers walked. He was good with keeping fat off of himself, and just have muscles that gave him his mass. A wrestler with muscles could defeat his opponent easier than one with just fat.

              “With our math work being due Monday, I was wondering if it would be okay to come over tonight to work on it.”

              “You don't have competition tonight?”

              “We are finished at 3:30 today. If I make it through today, I'll be in the semi-finals and maybe finals tomorrow.”

              “You'll do great.”

              Scott would be his friends biggest cheerleader. If he wasn't taking pictures for the school paper, he would be cheering louder than the rest. Taking pictures meant he had to be quiet or the camera would shake. He wasn't going to anything to mess up these pictures.

              After the classes were dismissed for the day, Scott went to his locker and got his digital camera, that was in a special bag. The locker had one of the latest locks on it, so that no one would get in unless they had the four letter code.

              It was the month and day of Chris' birthday.

              He had to wait about fifteen minutes before people were allowed into the Gym. When he walked into it, he looked around for a place to sit in the stands. A woman in her late 30s smiled at him and waved him over. It was Chris' mother.

              “Hi Mrs. Myers. Is your husband here?” Scott asked her.

              “He couldn't make it. He's got business at the church.”

              This surprised Scott. The way Chris sounded when they talked, his father never missed a match.

              “Chris will tell you tonight I'm sure, but he and I have a math assignment for Monday. I was wondering if he could come over tonight. I know his father doesn't like him staying overnight on Saturday nights.”

              “This weekend is a little different. Chris doesn't know it, but I was hoping he could spend the weekend with his new friend. I know you two seem to be getting along well.”

              “Won't his father be angry?”

              “Trust me, that is the least of his concerns. Anyhow, would you want him to spend the next couple nights at your place?”

              “Sure.”

              Scott called his mom up at her office, and asked her about having Chris stay. Then he gave the phone to Mrs. Myers. She spoke for less than a minute, and gave the phone back to Scott. Once he said goodbye, he smiled at the fact Chris was allowed to come over.

              “We have to do homework anyway, and tomorrow he will be in the finals.”

              “If he wins today.”

              “He has to win.”

Over at Scott's Place 

              “Congrats... on today,” Scott told Chris. “By the way, mom said that she will be back by six tonight. We are to get supper on our own.”

              “I have to be careful what I eat. Can't gain any weight.”

              “You won't if you don't overeat. If you want we can work out later. I don't have the same equipment you have at home, but we could practice wrestling. I'm sure you could show me how you won today.”

                Scott took his friend to the kitchen. He opened the fridge door and saw that his mother already had a few things prepared. “Maybe she had an idea that you would be here. No, that couldn't be.”

              There was some pork chops prepared, that just needed reheated. She had seasoned them with Scott's favorite seasoning. She also included a bag salad that could be made in a few minutes.

              “You sit at the table and I'll make us supper from this.”

              Scott made sure everything looked just right when he placed it on the table. “I hope you like it. I know it isn't as big a celebration as the team will have tomorrow...”

              “If we win the coach will take all the wrestlers out to eat. I'm hoping for Porky's.”

              “Mom and I haven't been there yet. I know it is just down the street, but she is always busy at work or working on paperwork for the college.”

              “You and I should go sometime. My treat.”

              The two of them started eating. “At home we have to sit around the table while my father tells me all about how the problems of the world are sending us all downward.”

The mention of a father made Scott look sad. He remembered just why his father left.

              “You won't get judgment here. My mom has always loved me no matter how I screw up. I never told anyone, but I think that I can trust you. Mom didn't divorce dad because he cheated on her. She left him because he was beating on me. She came in one day when she was going for her PhD, and found him hitting me. That, and all the bruises she had found on me, told her it had been him that caused them.”

              “I'm so sorry Scott.”

              Chris walked over and put his arms around Scott. “Trust me Scott. You don't have to worry about being hurt.”

              For some reason he felt that he could trust him.

              Scott would have eaten a lot more than he did, but he didn't want to make his friend feel bad about his watching what he ate.

              “While you eat I'll go get my lap top.”

              “Good. I want to see those pictures of me.”             

Scott knew he wouldn't get the chance to save the ones he had taken for himself on his external hard drive. Chris would see all the pictures.

              Scott placed the card in the computer card reader included. His system had an I7 microchip processor, and went at top of the line speed.

              Scott had a wireless USB mouse hooked up, so Chris was able to speed through the pictures. “These are really good,” he said.

              “Thanks. I know that there were a lot. I had a 64 GB card in my camera.”

              Suddenly the pictures turned to show Chris. Scott wanted to hide a few of them, but it was too late. “Some of these you can't submit,” Chris said. “I don't want the students looking at me in these angles.”

              “I know. I was just taking as many pictures as possible, since you were moving around so fast.”

              That was the best excuse he could muster on such short notice. What he couldn't do was come up with one about the pictures of Chris when he was taking part of his singlet down after the match. His hot and sweaty body was noticed by a few of the girls, and one boy with a camera.

              “Those are some good pictures of me, but you know the school paper won't publish these last few pictures.”

              “I didn't plan on submitting those ones.”

              “Then why did you take them? Do you like me? I mean it is okay if you do. A friend of mine that lives in Korea admitted to me last month he has a crush on me. I told him we could only ever be friends, but it's no big deal to me if a boy likes me. My father on the other hand, would hit the roof.”

              They stopped talking about the pictures when their was a noise at the door. “Exit from them!” Scott said quickly.

              “Doesn't your mother know?”

              “Yes, but not all about how I feel about you.”

              Of course Chris thought it was probably just a crush. Scott wasn't sure how he felt. He just knew that when he was around this boy he felt happy. Love at first site was possible.

              “Scott, I'm home.”

              “We are out here in the kitchen,” Scott called back.

              Instead of one woman appearing at the kitchen door, there were two. Chris' mother appeared with Scott's and the two boys were surprised for a second.

              “Moms?” They both asked. “Why and how?”

              “Scott, Chris' mom is going to take him into the living room for a short talk. Then the four of us are going to figure out what to do about the next week.”

              Chris looked worried as his mom and he went to the living room. “Mom, how did you and Scott's mother know each other?”

              “I went to see her at her work. It was important, because I needed to ask her to let you stay over this next week.”

              Chris sat down on the chair next to the couch. It was a black chair that leaned back.

              “Mom?” He asked with worry in his voice.

              “Your father and I are getting a divorce.”

              “A … what!”

              “That isn't the only bombshell. He was caught stealing millions from the church. He's going to jail for a very long time.”

              Chris didn't know how to feel. On the one hand he was happy his father would go to jail. After years of being told how much of a failure he was as a son, his father's sins were catching up with him.

              He was good at preaching about other's faults, but he had many that would eventually boil to the surface. Now Chris could see his father getting what was coming to him.

              “What about us?”

              “We didn't have anything to do with what he did. You are thinking about finances though? We are going to be fine. Before I married your father I had a pre-nup drawn up. I get to keep everything that I brought into the marriage. You were never told, but my side of your family is rich. Your grandparents live in Hawaii, and they have only ever not seen you because of your father. He didn't like them because they are Catholic.”

              “What does their religion have to do with the fact they are my grandparents?”

              “It wasn't just that. It was the fact they wouldn't turn their backs on your uncle.”

              “I have an uncle?”

              “Your father told me that I was never to have anything that shows my brother in the house, and I was to never talk about him with you.”

              “Why? What could he have done?”

              “He did nothing. It's because he's gay.”

              “That explains it. Dad hates gays.”

              “I called up my brother this morning and we talked. He forgave me for turning my back on him. I told him about the fact I am leaving your father.”

              “Him going to jail will make that a lot easier.”

              “How do you feel about him going to jail?”

              “As long as you are okay, I will get over it. He did a lot to hurt us over the years and I can now finally tell you what I couldn't say before.”

              Chris' mother took a deep breath. She had a good idea what her son was going to say, so she said it first. That way he didn't have to.

              “You want to tell me about feelings you have for someone. If it is Scott, well I figured that out the first time I saw you two together. Something in your eyes told me how you felt.”

              “You know?”

              “I didn't want to say anything, but with what is going to happen with your dad I thought you shouldn't feel like you couldn't be honest now.”

              “The people at church wouldn't like it.”

              “You have to be true to yourself Chris. As for the people at church, you can't let them run your life.”

              In the Kitchen Scott was sitting at the table talking with his mother. She wanted to ask him for a favor. “Chris' mother is going to need him to stay here this coming week. I told her that we would open our home to him for a long as she needs.”

              “Is something wrong? ”

              “I'm sure that Chris will tell you. Just be a friend for him. He's going to need you.”

              “No judgment by me ever, but you have me wondering.”

              Chris walked back out into the kitchen with his mother. “Mom says I need to stay here this coming week.”

              “We are going to have a great time,” Scott said. "We can work on our homework together." He was also hoping to wrestle a little more with his friend. He wasn't as good as Chris, but he enjoyed the exercise.

              “You two go upstairs while Chris' mom and I talk. Then after she leaves we are going to a movie.”

Chapter Five:

Promises...

              Chris' mother dropped off a suitcase filled with clothes around seven in the evening. By 9 the two boys were ready for bed. They had created a little island with blankets on top of a blow up air mattress.

              “I set the alarm for 7 AM,” Scott said. “I know you have to be at the school by 9.”

              “Glad you are going to be there to cheer me on. After what mom told me I thought about forgetting tomorrow. How can I wrestle after knowing my father is going to jail? The other students won't ever let me live it down.”

              Scott thought there was one way to put his friends mind at ease. He needed to know that it is possible to get through even the darkest of times.

              “Chris, I know that you think it is the end of your world. It isn't. Remember I told you about how my parents got divorced because of my father. What I didn't tell you is what happened when I was in the 6
th
grade.”

              “Two years ago.”

              “My father was in Oil City to see his parents. He wanted to meet with me. He thought that a simple apology would make me forgive him for the physical abuse that mom and I received from him. It was at that meeting I told him I like boys not girls.”

              “That must have gone over well.”

              “Not exactly. He told a friend of his that worked for the middle school. That person was an admin, and she let it slip in front of a few students. You know what happens when you tell a middle school student something like that... it gets around.”

              “Your own father caused you to be home schooled?”

              “Yes. There were more than a few that wanted to make sure I didn't make it to the 7
th
grade. That is why my mom took me out of school.”

              “At least our school here has a no tolerance policy for bullying. Besides, if any of the other students give you a hard time, just tell me. I have friends that will make their life miserable. Any friend of mine, is protected at our school.”

              “But if they found out about me.”

              “I'm telling you that my inner circle of friends wouldn't have a problem with it.”

              Scott believed him but he didn't want to take a chance. Chris had been so kind to him since he started at the school, he wouldn't want to cause problems for him.

              “We better get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a big day for you,” Scott said.

              “After talking with you, I think it just might be a big day. Mom's words made me consider giving up, but that isn't what would be best for me.”

              As they drifted off to sleep, Scott looked at his friend. Chris was going to go through a nightmare over the next couple of weeks. He was going to need someone to rely on.

              In the morning Scott woke to a surprise. They had moved closer to each other during the night. The two were almost eye to eye when they woke.             

              “Awkward,” Chris said as his eyes opened.

              “How did you sleep?”

              “Better than I have in a very long time.”

              “Then I think we had better get ready for today. I'll go downstairs and get our breakfast ready.”