Date: Wed, 20 May 2009 15:57:02 -0400
From: J. B. August <augustartjb@gmail.com>
Subject: Impact: Chapter 3- Pineapple Pie

Impact:

Chapter 3- Pineapple Pie

Quick Notes:

Firstly, thanks to all that have been sending me comments.  I do appreciate
all comments, and have begun taking time to reply to everyone.  Those of
you who leave longer comments will of course get longer comments back, but
I do reply to everyone. Well, I will not reply to flames, but that's all. I
hope you all are enjoying the story as much as I am so far.

I realized that when converting the story to a format which is accepted by
Nifty, many things tend to change.  One of these is that all auto formatted
... do not show up.  This is why many of my sentences seem to end abruptly
or else start with non capital letters.

I also noticed one rather large mistake in the last chapter. When Tyler
says is talking to Shaye in his room, I meant to have Tyler say "and I am
definitely NOT outgoing."  I figure most of you probably realized this
anyways, but what's the harm in making sure right?

I will be getting someone to check over my chapters early for mistakes.  If
you are interested, you can email me at augustartjb@gmail.com.  You would
have to be able to get it back to me within 48 or less after I sent it
every time.  But on the bright side, you would get to read the story early
:)

I am going to start putting in fun facts at the beginning of each chapter I
think.  These may last throughout the entire story or they might not.  It
depends on the responses you as the readers give back to me.  Thanks again
to all my readers and enjoy the next thrilling chapter of impact.


Fun Fact:

Originally, I had played around with the name "Fallen" for this story.
Like it better, worse?


Tyler continued laughing at me all the way down the stairs.  It was the
first time I had ever been ashamed of being afraid of a 6 foot reptile.
Just thinking about the slimy thing now gave me the shivers. I couldn't
imagine what it would be like to own one of those things, to have to feed
it.

As we made our way towards the front door, I was able to catch a glimpse of
the crash which had caused the commotion.  A fuming April was telling off
her movers over a pile of broken glass which appeared to have been a vase
at one point.  Sharp little shards of glass covered the floor of the entire
front greeting room.  It looked more as if someone had placed a small
explosive in the vase than if they had dropped it.

"Do you know what you have just broken?" she fumed. "That is a priceless
piece of art.  My grandmother made that for me." and so on and so forth.
The movers all shuffled their feet looking distressed.  I felt bad for
them, but didn't see how my interfering could help either party. Tyler
managed to placate my fear at what April might do though when he whispered
in my ear.

"She never liked her grandma that much anyways.  Don't worry, she won't
yell at them too much."

With Tyler's help, we were able to navigate to the back door instead where
would we be a less likely to become a casualty to April's rage.  But even
as we walked away, it seemed as if April was cooling down a bit, handing
out orders to the man nearest her to get a broom.

We walked shoulder to shoulder back over to my house, never close enough to
touch, but just close enough to make me want to reach out and grab his
hand.  Obviously, I did not.  Tyler didn't say anything else, and neither
did I.  When he thought I wasn't looking, Tyler would occasionally sneak a
peek in my direction, before darting his eyes back down towards the grass
in front of his feet.  His shy nature was endearing to me, only serving as
a catalyst for my already elated emotions.  I just couldn't believe that he
was real; that this was all real.

As I lifted the latch and opened the gate which surrounded my backyard, I
heard Tyler let out a cute little sigh.  He had noticed the pool which lay
inside, and seemed excited by its presence.

"Man, you are soo lucky.  I wanted my mom to get a pool, but she said I
might fall in and drown or something," he explained. "I'm pretty sure she
thinks I'm like 5 or something sometimes."

"Tell you what," I responded almost before he was finished, "you can come
over and swim in my pool whenever you want. How's that sound?"

He turned his face towards me, setting those big blue eyes on me.  I wasn't
prepared for it; I hadn't gotten time to brace myself for that intense
stare of his. I was helpless before his gaze.  He could have asked for the
pink slip to my car in that moment and I might very well have given it to
him. I needed to get ahold of my emotions before this kid ruined me.  And
the most depressing part of all was that I barely knew him.  I had just met
him that day.  I averted my gaze slightly away from his, enough that I
could breathe easier again, but not too far that it looked as if I was
being rude. He eyed me skeptically, ignorant of the effect he was having on
me. "You mean it?  I can come whenever I want?"

"Any day, any time," I responded.

"What if it's like the middle of the night? Then could I come over?" He
quizzed seriously.  I was having trouble not laughing.

"Well. I don't see why not, as long as your mom knew you were over here,
and as long as I was out here with you!"

"Sweet!" he cheered triumphantly. "You're the best Shaye!"

I felt my cheeks growing warmer as we finally made it to the back door of
my house; both because of Tyler's comment, and due in part by the images
which had entered my mind at the prospect of having Tyler over here in my
pool, in a wet bathing suit.

Crouching down onto my haunches, I lifted a stone which was place
strategically next to the back door and grabbed a key from under it.

 "You're not going to tell anyone where the key is, are you?" I asked,
mostly just kidding around with him. It wasn't like the key was well hidden
in the first place.  If someone was looking to break in, I was pretty sure
that would be one of the very first places they would look.

He seemed to take it very seriously though, promising to never ever tell a
soul.

I reached a hand to his head and tousled his hair lightly.  He looked
surprised at my touch, almost defensive, taking a full step back away from
me.  I flinched, thinking I had done something wrong, but then sighed with
relief as I saw him grin up at me with those shiny white teeth of his. What
had that been all about?  Maybe it was just me, but I got the impression
that Tyler was easily frightened.

I put the key in the lock, realizing too late that I had left the door
unlocked in the first place.  I slyly pretended to turn the key in the lock
before replacing it back under the rock where it had come from.

I opened the door and displayed a hand for Tyler to go first.  He hesitated
only a moment before stepping inside.  As he stepped over the threshold, he
gave a playful shiver.  "Holy crap, it's cold in here.  You raising
penguins or something?"

"Well, if you consider my mom to be a penguin, then I guess so.  She likes
it real cold in here."

I directed Tyler through the house, all the while watching as he took in
his surroundings like a detective out of a Sherlock Holmes book.  His eyes
moved all about, sweeping the building. observing. watching.  It was a big
day for him, moving all the way across the United States.  So many new
people, places, experiences. I could hardly believe that he had been in New
York only this morning.  I had never been to the eastern coast, but had
heard from many of my friends how huge New York was.  I wondered what Tyler
was thinking right now.

I grabbed my keys off the counter where I had left the last night before
directing the boy into the garage through a door in the laundry room.
Tyler let out a low whistle when he spotted the red Ferrari parked inside.

"WOW," he exclaimed "is that your car?"

For some reason, it unexpectedly hit me all over again how lucky I was
right now.  Here I was with quite possibly the cutest boy on the West
Coast, if not the entire world, and I was just about to take him out to get
pizza.  I wondered how many of the girls his age would have died to get the
same chance.  "Yeah," I managed to respond, "you like it?"

"Like it!" he replied, his voice growing in excitement and intensity, "man,
I think you must be the luckiest person alive."

I couldn't disagree with that one, but unlike Tyler, it wasn't the car, or
the pool for that matter, which made me feel lucky right now.

Tyler jumped into the passenger seat of the car, admiring the inside as
much as the outside.

"Hey shorty, put your seatbelt on," I said, pulling my own seatbelt over my
head.  He complied without a word, pulling the belt over his head like I
had.

I turned the car on, the air suddenly exploding with the sound of music.
Both Tyler and I cringed back in shock.  I had forgotten to lower the radio
before turning the car off.  The look of shock on his face was soon
replaced by perhaps the biggest grin I had seen on the boy as of yet.

"You can put on any music you want," I allowed after turning down the music
a couple notches.  "I'm not picky."

Tyler immediately began fumbling with the satellite radio as I pulled out
of the garage, pushing buttons and turning knobs until he found a station
which he found suitable.  It was a classic rock station, currently playing
the Beetles.  I loved the Beetles, always had.  I was glad that Tyler and I
had similar tastes in music.  Tyler waved to his mom who waved back from on
the lawn, already on the phone again, as we passed his new house.

The traffic wasn't nearly as bad as it had been earlier, and we had made it
to the pizza place in just under 15 minutes.  I found a parking space right
in front of the little mom and pops pizza shop, making sure to turn down
the radio before getting out this time.

"We're here," I said, stating the obvious, but not knowing what else to
say.

"Just in time too," he said licking his lips, "I think I could eat a whole
cow."

"Well, I don't know about any cows," I replied while laughing, "but you can
have a whole pizza if you want.  How's that sound?"

"DE-licious!" he said, making a show of rubbing his cute, flat little
belly.

We walked over to the little shop together, Tyler needing no direction, as
the place was pretty obvious.  A large sign out front, shaped like a pizza
with one slice missing announced the presence of "Pizzalicious Pizza
Parlor". The title was a little cheesy to say the least, but the pizza was
great. Tyler went in first, opening the door cautiously.  A bell sounded
revealing our presence.

The place was as I had remembered it.  Small, stuffy, and filled with an
mixture of wonderful aromas which always managed to make my stomach rumble.
Apparently Tyler's stomach was rumbling as well, because only moments after
we had entered, he was already up at the counter, perusing the lighted menu
above the counter for just the right combination of toppings.  An obese and
slightly intimidating looking man with a mustache equally as menacing
waddled his way lethargically up to the counter, eyeing the two new
customers in what appeared to be a friendly manner.

"What can I getcha little man," he asked politely enough in a gruff accent
I couldn't quite place.  Tyler retreated a couple steps as if frightened by
the man, returning to stand next to me.  Instead of answering the man
behind the counter, Tyler instead whispered into my ear.

"Can we get a pineapple pizza?"

I found it a little strange that he had come back to whisper the question
in my ear.  The comment he made about not being very outgoing jumped
forward in my mind.  Was he really this shy with people?  Then again, maybe
he was just trying to be considerate.  I was paying for the pizza after
all, and many people didn't like fruit on their pizzas.

 I didn't really love pineapple pizza, but I didn't hate it either.  Plus,
I simply couldn't deny that cute little voice of his.

"Of course we can," I answered, then waited to see if he would go order
himself.  It didn't seem like he had any plans of leaving my side though,
or even speaking to the man behind the counter from where he stood, so I at
last decided to order for the both of us.

"Can the little man here and I get one large pineapple pizza for here
please?"

"Of course you can," he boomed, a big smile on his face. From beside me, I
felt Tyler press into me slightly. I felt my legs go a little
wobbly. "That'll be 12.99. but I tell ya what, if you get your little
brother there to give me a smile I'll give you a dollar off.  Sound good?"

`Little Brother', I thought to myself.  `He thought we were brothers. I
guess we could kind of pass for brothers.  Plus, why else would a normal 17
year old boy be hanging with an 11 year old on a Friday.'  I peeked at
Tyler below my left arm to see if he had noticed what the man had said, but
his expression was stoic. His eyes kept sweeping the face of the man behind
the counter, as if he were still trying to determine if the man had the
intention of baking him into the pizza along with the pineapples.  I felt
kind of bad for the poor guy really, he was trying so hard to be friendly,
but Tyler seemed not to notice or else not to care.  To be fair, the man
did carry about him an aura of menace.  He stood over six and a half feet,
and probably weighed well over 350 pounds.  Every inch of visible skin,
accept for the small patch of skin where his eyes, nose and forehead sat,
was covered in grizzly hair; all along his arms to the top of his head.
Beads of sweat trickled down his face, and whenever he would breath in, it
sounded as if he was trying to inhale the in the entire room.

I leaned over to Tyler and whispered back in his ear, "You ganna give him a
smile?"  I poked him in the side playfully. He gasped, inhaling sharply and
then allowing a low breath to escape his lips which sounded a lot like a
giggle. Apparently he was ticklish.  I mentally filed the information away
in the back of my mind for later use.  The man behind the counter smiled
back jubilantly, assuming the small smile and laugh had been for him.

"See, that wasn't so bad was it? It'll be up in 15 minutes or so, ok?" he
asked.

Tyler let a small smile cross his face for real this time.

"Thanks" he said in the shyest, and if at all possible, the cutest voice I
had ever heard. Without even thinking, I squeezed the boy closer to me for
just a moment.  He didn't pull away like I thought he might, but instead
leaned into the semi-hug willingly. Even over the smell of freshly baked
pizza, I caught a scent of something even more delicious. Tyler had a
clean, newly washed smell to him.  Not like the smell of cologne, but
instead the smell of freshly washed hair.  I inhaled deeply before drawing
away to pay the man his money.  I passed the twenty my mom had left me over
the counter, asking for only 5 dollars back.  He thanked me, returning the
change with large meaty fingers, before turning to pass the order onto the
cooks in the kitchen.

Realizing that Tyler was no longer at my side, I turned to see that the boy
had already found a two person table as far from the cash register as
possible. There were only two more tables with people sitting at them.  The
place was less crowded than it normally was, especially for a Friday.  I
went to go sit with Tyler, taking a seat directly across from him.  I
silently pondered at the irony of the situation right now.  Just this
morning, I had been the one serving Tyler, now I was here sitting with him,
waiting to be served.

"What was all that about?" I asked conversationally, pointing with my thumb
over my shoulder.

"What do you mean?" he countered back, lowering his head a little.  A rosy
red blush was beginning to spread across his cheeks.

"Never mind," I hastily responded, not wanting to embarrass him.  I didn't
want to make him feel weird by putting him on the spot or anything.
Besides, knowing how he acted with other strangers only served to make me
feel a little bit special.

"You're weird," he said playfully, sticking his tongue out at me.  I
returned the gesture, which elicited a small snigger from Tyler.

There was a pause in conversation which must have lasted for almost an
entire minute, before Tyler suddenly spoke up again.

"How come you didn't tell him I wasn't your brother?" he asked bluntly.
His voice was even and his face serious.  I didn't really have a response
immediately, and I couldn't decide what the response he wanted to hear was.
I wasn't sure if he was mad at me for not setting the record straight with
the man.  He waited patiently for my response until I spoke, never looking
away from my face.  I was strongly reminded of those detective movies in
which the police officer gives a suspect a lie detector test.  I was being
questioned, and I couldn't help but think that if I answered incorrectly,
the consequences might be dire. Eventually, I sighed deciding on the truth.

"I guess, it was just easier to go along with it," I said studying his
response.

"Oh," he said, moving his eyes away and avoiding eye contact with me.

"And.," I continued on when it didn't seem like I had said the right thing,
"I wouldn't mind having you for a little brother."

I wasn't sure if I had gone too far.  I mean, I had only met the kid this
morning.  The last thing I wanted to do was to make him feel awkward.  He
seemed to consider my words though, and a moment later he lifted his head,
beaming in my direction.

I marveled at the row of perfectly straight white teeth he showed me.  It
appeared as if his teeth were straighter than mine, and I had worn braces
for three years.  As far as I knew, he was too young to have had braces
already.  Maybe he was just born with nice teeth.  Lucky him.

"Cool," he said simply. And then, "Man, I'm thirsty."

I let out a soft sigh of relief which I hoped he could not hear.  He didn't
think what I had said was weird, and what was more, he thought it would be
cool if we were brothers.  At his words, I realized that I too was thirsty.
I had forgotten to get the drinks.

"Watcha want? I'll go get us some drinks"

"I'll come with you," he said, jumping up from his spot on the chair and
circling the table to where I was now getting up.

A couple minutes, and three dollars and twelve cents later, we were back in
our spots again. Tyler had opted for the orange soda, while I had gone with
a root beer.  He slurped it down loudly, swallowing half the cup in a
matter of seconds.

"Slow down there bud, or you might overflow. "

He gave me a devilish little smirk, and then turned back to his orange soda
to have another sip.

"Mom doesn't let me drink soda all that often," he said in a confiding
voice. then as if he had suddenly reconsidered telling me his secret,
"wait. you're not ganna tell my mom are you?"

"Your secret is safe with me," I said in a mock whisper, and then
considering, "for a small payment of course." I smiled, reaching across the
table and tousling his hair again.  He jerked away from my touch again, but
I thought that this time, from the smile on his face, it had been more
playful.  His hair was soft and clean.  I was glad he wasn't one of those
kids who seemed to go for weeks at a time without a bath.

"I don't have any money," he said pulling out his pockets for emphasis and
pushing out his bottom lip in an adorable little pout, "so I guess I can't
pay you."

"Then." I began, pulling at an invisible beard on my chin for theatrical
effect, "how about as payment, you have to come over tomorrow and keep me
company for a little while?"

He looked at me incredulously, "you serious."

"Of course, but you gotta promise, or else I might just let it slip about
how you drank all that soda."

"Yeah, I promise," he said excitedly, "when you want me to come over?"

"Whenever you want," I replied, if at all possible more excited than even
he was.

"Pizza!" Tyler suddenly squealed pointing over my shoulder.  Sure enough,
when I turned around a man in a white chefs outfit made his way over to the
table with a giant pizza covered in pineapples. Tyler let out another
adorable squeal of delight as the man put the pizza in front of
him. Everything about this boy was endearing.  I still couldn't imagine how
he would have trouble making friends in school. Although, now that I
thought about it, I was probably one of the only kids close to his age
Tyler would meet over the summer.  There weren't many kids in the
neighborhood Tyler's age, and he wouldn't even have school to help him meet
new people.  I felt bad for the little guy, but at the same time excited at
the prospect of being Tyler's new friend.

Before the pizza had even hit the table, Tyler had a slice in his hand and
was chowing down. The man in the chefs outfit looked a little taken aback,
but said nothing as he returned to the kitchen.

"I love pineapple!" Tyler exclaimed through mouthfuls of pizza.

"I can see that," I chuckled, grabbing a piece of pineapple pie for myself
before it was all gone.  It was every bit as delicious as it had been last
time I was here.  I often wondered how different pizza places were so much
better than others.  I mean, a pizza is just doe, cheese, and sauce right?
Well, and pineapples in this case I supposed.

By the time we were finished with the pizza, I had eaten 3 pieces, and
Tyler had managed to consume 5 1/2 more. I marveled at how he was able to
fit so much food into that little body of his.

"You want to take the last piece home, or throw it away here?" I asked.

Tyler was lying back in his chair, his hands folded over his now slightly
bulging belly.  A little bit of grease still clung to his mouth, causing
the light reflect of his lips.  Suddenly, he let out a loud belch which
turned the heads of the few customers in the store. He laughed maniacally.

"Did you hear that?" he asked, obviously proud of the burp.

"I wouldn't be surprised if your mom heard that," I replied with a sly
smirk.  He leaned over and playfully punched me on the shoulder.

"You're lucky," I said cracking my knuckles, "if I weren't so full, I would
come over there and beat your ass!" His eyes grew wide as half dollars for
a moment, and I thought for the first time I saw true fear in his eyes.  My
smile faltered, "I didn't mean it, I was just joking," I said
apologetically.

"Oh," he replied giving me a weak smile in return. "I knew that." I wasn't
entirely sure that he did, even now.

I could feel my heart breaking at what I had done.  He seemed worried
again.  I had frightened him enough by my comment to sully the mood.  There
was no more laugher, no more of that winning smile of his. I would have to
watch the sarcasm from now on; that is if he even wanted to hang out with
me anymore.

Tyler got up suddenly and headed to the door, "Just leave it. I'm not
feeling so well anyways."



We got stuck in traffic on the way home. Someone had gotten into an
accident in front of us, which had left only one road for traffic to pass
through. Tyler was silent, playing with the Radio from time to time,
switching between classic rock stations and a little bit of hip hop.  I
felt terrible.  Why had I said something like that?  He didn't know me well
enough to know if I had been joking.

I found it difficult to focus on the road.  Should I talk to him?  Should I
wait for him to talk to me? After driving in complete silence to 10
minutes, I decided to make the first move.

"I'm sorry" I said, not daring to make eye contact with the kind next to
me. When there was no response, I continued on.

"I didn't mean to like. make you think I was actually going to hurt you or
anything. I know you don't know me very well, but I would never do anything
like that.  I was just kinda joking with you. I mean it though, I am really
really sorry. Can you forgive me?"


His eyes were glued the floor, not even once looking up at me as I spoke to
him.  I did not even know if he was listening to what I had said. But after
I had finished, I heard him make a reply in little more than a
whisper. "It's ok.  I know you were just kidding.  It's not what you think.
It wasn't you."

I felt only the slightest relief at his words.  I didn't know what else
other than my comment could have caused the sudden change in his demeanor.

"Plus," he went on, raising his head to mine with a slight smirk on his
lips, "you wouldn't stand a chance against me in a fight." Before I could
respond, Tyler had begun to giggle.  His giggles grew to a full out laugh
when he saw the look of puzzle incredulity on my face, and soon I was
laughing along.  The thick atmosphere of before had lifted as if nothing
had ever happened.  I wondered what had happened, what I had missed, which
had caused Tyler so much pain if it hadn't been me; I didn't dare ask.

We finally rolled onto our street 20 minutes later, listening to a song I
was pretty certain was sung by Kanye West.  Tyler had once again surprised
me by singing along to the song.  His clear boyish alto voice sent shivers
up my spine.  I wondered whether or not he had ever sung in a band or a
choir or something.  He was good; in fact, he was more than just good, he
was great!  I commented as much as we pulled into the driveway, which made
Tyler's entire face turn red, but he did not stop singing.

I parked the car in the empty garage, turning down the music before turning
the car off.  The clock said it was 7:45, which meant that if Tyler wanted,
we had another hour and fifteen minutes left before he had to leave.  Just
the same, I had him call his mother and let her know that we were home.  It
sounded as if they had an argument about him staying, but I was glad when a
couple minutes later, Tyler's smiling face entered the room again asking
what I wanted to do.

I shrugged my shoulders, patting a spot on the couch next to me for him to
sit.  He obliged, practically jumping down onto the cushion, and then
leaning so that our shoulder's just barely touched.  I was pretty sure at
that moment that I was in heaven.

I stared down at his expectant face, my heart doing summersaults in my
throat.  He was so close that I was almost certain he would hear every
heart beat.  He pushed back the hair from in front of his eyes again, his
smile growing broader.

"What? Do I have a booger or something?" he asked, pretending to wipe his
nose on my shoulder.

"Nah," I said, "just thinking how lucky I am to have you as a friend."

He seemed shocked that I had said that, and to tell you the truth, so was
I.  Even as I was saying it, I knew it was cheesy and stupid. Tyler did not
respond with words, but instead leaned even closer to me, moving his head
under my shoulder.  I had been wrong, now I really was in heaven.

"I'm glad we met," he said stifling a yawn.  I realized for the first time
at that moment that he was 3 hours off his normal time.  To him, it must
seem like nearly 11 P.M.

"You getting tired bud?" I asked, enjoying the heat of his body pressed up
against mine.

"Nope," was the immediate response, and then, "maybe a little."

"So what do you wanna do then?" I asked.

"Dunno, let's see what's on TV."

I grabbed the remote and passed it over to Tyler.  He stared intently at
the TV, flipping through the channels trying to find something he wanted to
watch.  I stared intently at him.  Thinking about the entire day, at how
lucky I had been, set my heart doing summersaults all over again.

Tyler eventually stopped on the Terminator 3 which had started not too long
ago.  It was a movie which I had seen before but didn't mind watching
again; not if Tyler wanted to watch it.  Within 15 minutes, he was sound
asleep lying against my chest.  The warmth of his body against mine was so
comfortable, it all seemed so perfect.  I sat with him until the movie was
over, almost falling asleep myself.  I had my eyes closed, and was about to
doze off when the doorbell rang.  I immediately knew who it must be, and
felt terrible for not remembering in the first place.

I managed to maneuver myself away from the sleeping boy without waking
him. He looked like a little angel resting there on the couch.  I hurriedly
laid a blanket over him which had been folded over a chair in the room.  I
then rushed over to the door to great April.

When I opened the door, I was glad to see that she didn't look angry,
although she did look dead tired.

"Hello Mrs. Valley," I said in my best suck up voice.  She smiled either
seeming to eat it up, or because she wasn't used to being called
Mrs. Valley.  She was still very young after all.

"Hi Shaye, I hope Tyler wasn't too much trouble" she grinned, "I know he
can a handful sometimes.  I really appreciate you helping me out today,
getting him out of the house and all."

"It wasn't a problem, seriously Mrs. Valley.  We had a lot of fun at the
pizza shop, then we came back here and watched a movie.  Actually, he's
asleep on the couch right now."

She seemed at a loss for words at that news. "I don't know how you did it
Shaye, but Tyler doesn't warm up to anyone that fast.  And I do mean
ANYONE. I was more than a little surprised today when he volunteered to go
with you to get pizza alone.  He's a pretty shy kid."

I felt the blood rushing to my head at her comment.  It made me feel good
to know that I was special, that Tyler had chosen me as a friend.  I was
glad that it was dark enough outside to hide my blush.

"Yeah, I think I got a little of that," I said offering for Tyler's mom to
step into the house.  She shivered as she stepped through the doorway.

"It's colder in here than it is outside," she said wrapping her arms around
herself.

"If you don't mind me asking Mrs. Valley, I feel like I know you from
somewhere. I couldn't have known you before could I?  I mean, you lived in
New York until today."

She gave me a knowing smile before speaking, "I get that a lot.  I do a lot
of modeling work. I have also acted in a couple films as minor parts."

"Wow," I exclaimed, actually surprised. "Sounds like a busy life."

"Yeah it is," she allowed.

I led her into the living room where Tyler was still sleeping.  She paused,
taking a quick look around the house.

"You don't live here by yourself do you Shaye?" she asked, obviously
surprised that no one else was home with me.

"Nah," I responded chuckling a little, "I live with my mom.  She pretty
busy though and doesn't get home till late often time.  Hey Mrs. Valley."

She cut me off suddenly, "April please."

"Ugh.. right, April. Do you just want to let Tyler crash here for the
night. We have more than enough guest bedrooms, and I am sure my mom
wouldn't care.  I could just carry him up to one right now.  It just seems
kinda sucky to wake him up and all."

She considered what I had offered for a moment before responding. "Well,
that's very generous of you, but I think Tyler should be home tonight.
It's been a big day for us, and I don't really want him waking up in a
strange house without me there."

I sighed, a little crestfallen, but what she had said made sense.  You
can't win them all I guess. "No problem, you want me to carry him back?"

"I'll just wake him," she said in a voice which practically screamed how
tired she must feel.

She moved over to Tyler, gently waking him from his slumber on the couch.
He barely seemed awake as she half carried him to the front door.  "Thanks
again," she allowed before heading back to her house.  What a crazy day it
had been.  I shut the door and headed upstairs to my room to brush my teeth
and get ready for bed.  I was tired from work, and had decided that I might
as well turn in early that night. Even as I got ready for bed, I had to
convince myself that it hadn't all been some crazy dream. And the best part
of it all, Tyler had promised to stop by the following day.  I couldn't
wait!



Can't wait ti hear your comments
Cheers,
J.B.