keepsmiling7
XAF RU208
mary mary
begonia9508: I hope this helps explain Ava. She didn't understand humans and so was scared.
Chapter 13
A mother is torn between two children. Maria would always worry about Janice. That was her right and obligation. Maria also had Michael to worry about. Michael was torn between anger and pity. Of course, Max wouldn’t want pity, but that feeling was strong in Michael. Every night, Maria had to deprogram Michael from his talk with Max. Her mind in overload, she was thinking about Janice. Maria called her daughter.
Janice picked up the phone on its second ring. She had no idea where her mother was or she would have called her, herself. “Janice, how are things in Roswell?” Maria asked.
“Mom, where are you? I have needed to call you all week. I really need to talk to you about Liz Parker,” Janice stated.
“Liz? What is wrong with Liz?” Maria inquired, leaving the where are you part unanswered.
“Your friend, Liz, is having terrible dreams about her absent husband. She dreams he is wounded and that he is dying. Miss Parker is not sleeping and she is getting terribly run down. She wants you to call her as soon as you can. I still have no idea where you and dad are or what you are doing. There is not much I can do to help her,” Janice explained.
“Janice, I can’t call Liz right now and I can’t explain why I can’t call her. Michael and I will be home within the week. Tell Liz that I will see her then.” Janice was disturbed when her mother quickly hung up. She still didn’t have any idea where her parents were or have any idea of how to contact them.
It was almost a week after Kyle had left that Liz decided to attempt to find Isabel. She started with Boston Information. There were two Ramirez names listed as attorneys-at-law. Liz called the one listed as Jesse Ramirez. That one rang and rang, but even the answering machine had been turned off. Liz went back to information and asked for a Ramirez Law Office. The phone was promptly answered, “Ramirez Law Office. How may I direct your call?”
“May I speak to Jesse Ramirez, please,” Liz asked.
“I am sorry. Jesse Ramirez is not available right now. May I direct you to one of our other law partners?” the receptionist said.
“No, I need to talk to Jesse. It is about things that happened back in high school. I am in Roswell,” Liz said sadly. Was this going to turn into an impossible quest? Unless you are used to handling phone calls, trying to get information can be very difficult.
Jesse had hired only the best personnel to work for him. His son saw no reason to do otherwise. The receptionist, who sensed that there was more than a request to talk to a lawyer, said, “One minute please, let me see what I can do.”
Liz thought, what can you do? Unless she was lying about Jesse being available, there wasn’t anyone else who could help Liz.
The receptionist rang Philip Ramirez. “Mr. Ramirez, there is a phone call for your father. She doesn’t want to talk to any of the other law partners. It may be nothing, but she sounds sorta desperate. She is calling from Roswell. There are several Roswells about the country, so I don’t know which one it is. Do you want to talk to her or should I just get rid of her?”
Philip was very busy, as always. Taking over from his father meant that he wanted to prove he was every bit as able as his father. If the caller was desperate and calling from Roswell for his father, then Philip was sure that must be Roswell, New Mexico and that there might be something his father should know. “Hello, this is Philip Ramirez, I understand you want to speak with my father?” he asked.
“I really need to speak to your mother. I have even less knowledge of how to get in touch with her. My name is Liz Parker. Isabel might consider me her sister-in-law,” Liz stated.
“Miss Parker, yes I know who you are. We have never met, but my mom talks of you a lot. Look, getting in touch with her and dad is tricky. I am going to try this evening. Let me take your number and I will give it to her. She and dad are really tied up with something right now. I will pass on your message.” Philip hung up.
Liz thought, that is probably the best I can do. Again, Liz thought of Maria. She so wished she could talk to either Maria or Isabel. These dreams were getting out of hand.
Liz was sitting in her living room. She even had the lights turned off. She wasn’t sleeping. That would be too painful. Liz was just sitting and trying to keep her mind blank. She didn’t want to think. There was a ring at the doorbell that the scouts had repaired. At first, Liz hoped whoever it was would go away. Liz didn’t want to talk to anyone she knew. It wouldn’t be Maria or Isabel and any other person trying to bring good cheer. And, it would be too much to handle in her present state of mind. The bell wouldn’t quit. Finally, a female voice which Liz didn’t recognize called out, “Liz, Liz Parker, I need to talk to you.”
Liz was disturbed, but she also was intrigued. Who needed to talk to her? Liz opened the door. Standing in the doorway was a lady with curly blonde hair. Even in the dark, her eyes showed themselves to be bright blue. Her age was impossible to guess. She wasn’t a teenager, but she was not from the retirement home either. She was dressed in a dark blue suit with her dress hugging her hips to show all her curves. Under the suit coat, she wore a white blouse with ruffles. “Liz, may I come in.” Then, as Liz hesitated, the lady’s voice changed. It had a New York twang and she said. “Cornball, I need to talk to you about alien things.” This, Liz did recognize.
“Ava, please come in. I am sorry I didn’t recognize you,” Liz explained
This time, Ava made her voice a little like Liz remembered from so long ago, but there was a sophistication that Liz didn’t remember. “Cornball, I wasn’t really sure you would speak to me,” Ava started.
“Why, Ava? I thought we were friends,” Liz said.
“Yeah, I had hoped so. I took off so fast last time, I didn’t know if Roswell would let me come back or not,” Ava stated.
“Well, Kyle was certainly disappointed,” Liz replied.
“Yes, Kyle, that is surely something that needs explaining. The difficulty is that, I have spent 40 years trying to explain it to my self. Kyle wanted a wife, half alien children and the whole works,” Ava said.
“And that wasn’t what you wanted?” Liz asked.
“That was the problem. I didn’t know what I wanted. Remember I never knew anyone who would care for me. Rath and Lonnie used me when they wanted me to mind warp someone. When Zan was alive, before Rath killed him by pushing him in front of a bus, we were mates. We slept together at times of his choosing. I never had the feeling that he really cared for me or I really cared for him. When Kyle slept with me, his mind was so opened. I had never seen passion like he showed for me. Kyle wanted the passion he saw between you and Max. That was the first time we had sex. The second time, I panicked. Did I have the ability to return those feelings? As we lay there after making love, I mind warped him. Kyle thinks I spent the rest of the night with him. In reality, I left immediately. Since then, I have tried to study humans. I have gone to school and done a lot of reading. Maybe now I understand what Kyle wanted. Tess was a fool. She wanted to return to Antar as queen. She didn’t have to take Max away from you. She could have easily been queen with Kyle.” Then, Ava smiled and shrugged, “Well, I did the same. I could have had all in the world a human could have, if I had just understood what Kyle meant by love.”
Liz took Ava’s hand. “You have come a long way from the girl I remember, who told me I would forever be changed,” she said.
“That is why I am here. You have changed and there are going to be more changes. Liz, Max is back!” Ava exclaimed.
“Damn it, Isabel, I thought Max said he didn’t want to bring any more grief to Liz. Janice just called and said Liz is getting sick with worry. It seems she has seen in her dreams a crippled Max all scarred up and helpless. Why is Max sending out vibes or whatever to her?” Maria demanded.
“Maria, I am not sure Max is doing that. Remember, Liz changed along the way. She may be picking up Max’s presence on her own. This makes things different now. Max staying away, may be worse than if he confronts her. I hate to suggest this, but Michael needs to stay here to help us with Max. I think, maybe, you should return and help decide if Liz needs to see him or not. Find out how much Liz knows about Max and let me use that to explain to Max his obligations. Liz called our son, Philip at his office. She desperately wants to contact me about things that happened back at high school. That is what Philip said.” Isabel thought things were again getting out of hand. That was the trouble. No person or group could really control everything.
Maria picked up on that thought, “You know, we are trying to make decisions for other people without talking to them, don’t you?”
“That is why you need to talk to Liz personally. How does she really feel about Max, now?” Isabel asked.
At school, Jimmy Valenti would hang out with the football jocks. He played football, but he never had the passion that fueled his grandfather. If he wasn’t with the jocks, he would hang out with the scouts. Now, none of them had seen him for several days. Mandy Garcia saw him at the far end of the field sitting under a tree alone, apparently doing nothing.
“Jimmy, we have missed you the last two days,” she greeted him.
“Yeah, I know. I have been kinda worried the last few days,” Jimmy said in way of an answer.
“What’s wrong, Jimmy?” Mandy asked.
“It’s Miss Parker. She is feeling sick, as you know. Grandpa went to see her and he said it is something alien,” Jimmy said.
“What can be done to help her?” Mandy asked. Mandy also worried about Miss Parker. The scouts helped the elderly people, but they had also learned to make new friends. These would be friends whose lives might tend to be fragile.
“That is the trouble. She and grandpa are trying to contact one of the aliens, Isabel Ramirez. Isabel knows most about dreams and how to control them,” Jimmy informed her.
Is she an Hispanic alien?” Mandy asked.
“No, her husband is Hispanic. He still has relatives here in Roswell. He is Jesse Ramirez, a powerful lawyer back in Boston. Isabel is just an alien like Michael. So far, no one knows where she is. Janice is trying to contact her mother to see if she can help find Isabel. Maria said she would be back this week. We hope she can help Miss Parker.” Young people usually consider themselves invincible. They are immortal. When they are around older people, they see the ravages of time and learn the sanctity of what life is left. They learn the responsibility to care for others and maybe, even themselves.
Jimmy’s words gave Mandy pause to think. Her father had always been so proud of Jesse Ramirez being a great Hispanic lawyer. Mandy wondered how much her father actually knew about Mr. Ramirez. Jesse Ramirez was part of the alien world that Mandy had come to know.
“Max is back,” hit Liz like a ball bat. “Ava, why hasn’t he contacted me? Do you know where he is? Has he been hurt?” all these questions were running though Liz’s mind.
Ava sat patiently until all the emotions in Liz gushed forth. When it was seen that Liz was catching her breath, Ava spoke, “Liz I don’t know. When I first felt him, I started back here. I figured you would need help facing him. I do think he was badly hurt and I think the 40 years he was gone was not all his fault. I would like to stay here. I have an interest in what happened to Max, also,” Ava stated.
“Of course, you would be welcome to stay in the guest bedroom. It has been way too long since I had company. There is one problem, though. What do you intend to do about Kyle?” Liz asked.
Ava thought for a moment. “Is he still married?” she asked.
Liz shook her head. “No, Pam died several years ago. He lives with his son and his grandson,” Liz explained.
Ava was quiet again. “What was his wife like? I mean was she good to him?” she asked.
“Pam didn’t like the rest of us. She wanted nothing to do with aliens. I think she was good to Kyle. She was faithful, as far as I knew. Her son is a lot like her, but her grandson is a gem. He comes over to help me with the yard every so often. You will have to meet him. I am sure you will like him,” Liz explained.
“How do you think Kyle will do around me? Does he hate me? Will he even speak to me?” Ava inquired.
“Ava, I don’t know. I am having trouble thinking how I will act around Max. Did he remarry? Does he want his earth wife anymore? We both have to wait and see. Maybe, we will support each other,” Liz stated.
I Heard You Calling (CC,TEEN) COMPLETE - 3/27/11
Moderators: Anniepoo98, Rowedog, ISLANDGIRL5, Itzstacie, truelovepooh, FSU/MSW-94, Forum Moderators
Re: I Heard You Calling teen CC pg5 ch 12 Jan 2, 2011
Good teachers are born that way, not made. No! Good human beings, are born that way. Some of them become teachers.
Of course, life is not fair. You shouldn't expect it to be fair, but you should expect it to be ironic.
JKR 1981-2001
History is made of wars, recovering from wars and preparing for the next war.
JJR 1975-
Of course, life is not fair. You shouldn't expect it to be fair, but you should expect it to be ironic.
JKR 1981-2001
History is made of wars, recovering from wars and preparing for the next war.
JJR 1975-
Re: I Heard You Calling teen CC pg5 ch 13 Jan 9, 2011
begonia9508
keepsmiling7
XAF RU208
mary mary
Chapter 14
Janice picked up her mother at the Roswell airport. Getting in and out of Roswell by air was never easy. First, you had to get to the big city; for New Mexico, this was Albuquerque. Then, you had to get to a real city where they had connections. This usually meant Denver or as in Maria’s case, Dallas Texas. From there, you could travel. Returning was the same, so Janice waited for her mother to get off the tiny plane standing on the runway at Roswell. She had already been told that her father stayed wherever he was, for whatever reason he had, and he would return later.
On the way to Maria’s house, Janice told her mother about Liz. “Mom, she has these recurring dreams. They are about her husband, Max. She sees him wounded and pleading for help. Mom, Liz has no idea of where these dreams are coming from. She is really getting run down. We all are worried about her. She was hoping you might help. At least, you can talk to her,” Janice was saying.
“Janice, I can talk to Liz, but there are alien problems. I am not ready to discuss yet. I am not sure anything I say will help Liz,” Maria said.
It was late when Maria finally got home. She placed a call to Michael and that took over an hour. Neither of them liked being separated from the other. Maria and Janice decided to visit Liz in the morning. Now, Maria needed a hot bath and sleep, as much as she could get.
It was mid-morning when Janice and Maria walked up to Liz Parker’s front door. Liz answered the doorbell and when they entered, Maria froze. Her temper rose so fast you could feel it. Liz quickly stepped in front of Ava and cautioned Maria. It is Ava, Maria, not Tess. You remember Ava, who helped us long ago.” Liz said.
“Yes, I remember Ava. Another of those aliens who leaves without a by-you-please and you never know why.” Maria was still fuming.
Liz said, “Maria, Ava had a reason for leaving. You need to hear her out before you condemn her.”
Ava, put her hand on Liz’s arm, “Liz, Maria may be right. She and Kyle were always like brother and sister. She has anger against me for walking out on him.”
“You better believe I do. Kyle, on the rebound, took up with that Pam Troy. When he married her, we all lost him. Pam didn’t like any of us,” Maria said angrily.
“Maria, that is not fair to Kyle. He told me the other day that he and Pam had a good marriage. She didn’t like us, but without her, we wouldn’t have Jimmy. Now, that is a plus for their marriage,” Liz stated.
Liz saw that Maria was still in a huff, but Liz had other things on her mind. “Maria, Max is back!” she whispered.
Maria and Janice took their seats on the couch. “How did you learn this?” Maria asked.
“Ava told me. That is why she is here. Remember, Ava, like Michael, refused to return to Antar. She felt her home is here the same as he did. Ava said she returned to stand by me. She wasn’t sure if I had any friends around or not. She and Kyle are going to have to talk. That must be up to them. They may decide that they never want to see each other again. That will be sad, but realistic. Right now, we need to know more about Max. Do you, know where he is?” Liz asked.
Maria was silent for several moments. “Yes, Max is in and out of an Air Force medical unit in San Antonia Texas. He is under the care of Isabel’s son, Alex. Liz the whole story takes days to tell. That is where Michael and I have been the last week. He is badly wounded and it was a long time before he remembered how to speak English,” Maria explained.
“I want to go to him,” Liz said as she stood up. It was, as if she would grab her bags and be on the plane within the hour.
“Liz, wait. Things are not that simple. Max returned to die. He doesn’t want to see anyone,” Maria said.
Liz shook her head. “That is even more reason for me to go to him,” she said.
“Liz that might be enough to push him over. He feels he failed at everything, including your relationship. Seeing Michael was difficult enough. I think you do need to see him, but you both need to be prepared for a shock. Liz, Max has lost most of his powers. His body is badly scarred. Liz, Captain Alejandro (Alex) Ramirez, Isabel’s son, is an excellent medical officer. He is taking care of Max and it would be he who would reintegrate the both of you together. Liz, let’s talk this thing over carefully. Let me call Captain Alex,” Maria said with what she thought was great reason.
Liz just sat looking at Maria. It was seen that Ava took both of Liz’s hands and although they were trembling, Ava held them tightly. A quick flash of anger passed over Maria. Liz was her best friend. It should be her who was bringing comfort to Liz in times of stress. Someway, the perverse changes in life had seen fit to place Maria in a confrontational position to Liz. Now, it was Maria who was bringing more stress. In an almost unused region of Maria’s mind, the thought emerged, “I have to bring this troubling news to Liz. I am glad that she has a friend who will take my place and lend Liz support.”
It was Saturday and Jimmy had scheduled the scouts to be at Miss Parker’s home to work. The scouts had seen how troubled Miss Parker had been the last time they had seen her. Jimmy and Sammy had arranged for pizzas to be delivered to the Parker house just before noon. They would inform Miss Parker that they had already arranged lunch so she wouldn’t feel obligated or have to do the work to prepare something for them.
Liz answered the door and instead of immediately handing them a list of tasks that needed to be done, she invited them in. Standing behind Liz, the scouts saw a woman of indeterminate age. She was about the same height as Miss Parker. Her face was framed by curls of gold, but the things that stood out most were her bright blue eyes. Jimmy stuttered, “You are the fourth alien!” he exclaimed. Then he said, “I thought you were dead!”
Liz spoke up, “Jimmy this is Ava. She was not one of the original Roswell aliens. That was a lady named Tess. There were duplicates of all the Roswell aliens. All but Ava were killed.”
Ava was looking right at Jimmy when she said, “Jimmy, I am the one who knew your grandfather very well. I am going away with Liz for a time, but when I return, I want to have a long talk with Kyle. Please tell your grandfather that even if he is angry with me, I would like to have the opportunity to talk to him.”
“Which brings up to the next thing I want to say,” Liz stated. “Ava and I need to be gone for maybe a week or a little more. Now, I know the chores you have done around my house are part of your merit badge, but I need someone to take care of my house for the time I am gone. I will pay you, this is a lot more to ask than just working around the house.”
Jimmy looked at the other scouts. They all nodded as they were sure what he was going to say. “Miss Parker, we under took the yard and household chores to complete our merit badge. If we take care of your house while your are gone, we will do that because you are our friend. My dad would say, “That is what friends do. We care for each other. If you talk to my dad about paying bills, sending in the checks for utilities and such things, we will take in the mail, keep the yard clean and change the lights from time to time so it won’t be obvious that you are gone.”
There were tears in Liz’s eyes. These scouts were as much friends as Maria and Alex had been so long ago.
Captain Alex Ramirez and his mother, Isabel, were sitting in the same room as Max. Isabel was talking. “Max, Liz knows you have returned,” she dropped the bomb.
Max quickly looked up. His frown on his scared face and the look in his one good eye, made him look sinister indeed. “I told all of you she was not to be told that I had returned. I don’t want to bring more grief to her. Who informed Liz of my return?” Max angrily asked.
Captain Alex remained quiet. All you could hear from him was the scratching of his pen as he took notes. Isabel was not intimidated by her brother’s outburst. “You told her, Max. None of us broke your trust. Your being on Earth broadcast your presence to Liz. Liz has grown, no thanks to any support by you. She is as strong in some things as any of us,” Isabel stated.
The anger in Max’s face changed to wonder. “I guess, I made another mistake. It was selfish in me to want to die on Earth. I should have stayed back on Antar,” he mournfully said.
Isabel continued to stare into Max’s one good eye. “No, Max, it wasn’t a mistake. Maybe parts of your brain are brighter than other parts. You never belonged on Antar. They lost any right to you when they abandoned us to be on our own here on Earth. You probably still belong to Liz. Maria says she was ready to leave last night, without any planning. Liz is coming. There is nothing that you can do to stop it. Alex and I have to make sure you behave. You say you do not want to be selfish. Refusing to see Liz would be selfish, indeed. Liz has the right to hear your stories and she has the right to see you. Maybe, both of you are too old to take back anything of your youth. If that is the case, then so be it. Max, Michael and I will always take care of you. You were part of us. You made Liz part of your self. If Liz was part of you, from the time you saved her, then she is also part of us, now. Max, many things have changed over the years. Many things have stayed the same. You still have to decide how you will face them. You have hurt many people, but you have to rationally understand how you, now, can hurt them the least.
It was Mandy and Jimmy’s turn to water the lawn and to take in the mail. Liz had left a check made out to Ed Valenti so he could pay bills and take care of any surprises. Ed was proud of his son. Jimmy and the scouts had learned the true meaning of helping others. Ed and his father, Kyle, had their arguments, but Ed had always been there for Kyle as he aged. Ed wanted Jimmy to learn the importance of family. Old Mr. Hanson, Liz and to some extent, Janice until her parents arrived, had all been very lonesome. Listening to the scouts talking, Ed Valenti learned that to a small amount, the scouts had become the family the elder people no longer had. Now, the four scouts offering to watch the Parker place showed they understood many things about friendship.
Jimmy had finished watering the front lawn with the sprinkler system. He had pulled a few obvious weeds and Mandy had taken the mail to be placed in the pile on the table. She had sorted, the magazines, catalogs and bills separate from the rest of the mail. Jimmy’s father would come by in a day or so and pay the bills against the money Liz had left in her check to him.
On the first day that they had checked the Parker house, Mandy had washed the few dishes that Liz and Ava had left. She rounded up the laundry that was left and placed it in the machine later to be dried so Liz wouldn’t return to a dirty home. Now, she was sitting at the table watching Jimmy working outside, through the window. People in other parts of the country might view the chore of watering the lawn, strange. In the dry southwest, city sprinkling systems were used to water any of the plants every day or two. If the heat was extreme, then the watering must be done daily. Many people in this area would do what was called ‘xeriscaping’ their yards. They ripped out the lawns and plants to be replaced with cacti, sages and clumps of wild grass. They found this satisfying and except for occasions of extreme drought, they never had to water or mow their yards. To others, home meant lawns, bushes and flowerbeds. They were willing to pay the price of using the city water.
Mandy watched as Jimmy turned on the back sprinkler system and returned to the house. It would be about 20 minutes until the sprinklers were done and then, Jimmy would walk her home. They sat talking for a few minutes, then surprisingly, they ran out of things to say. Jimmy and Mandy had known each other since grade school. Now, Jimmy was looking at her as if he had never seen her before. Mandy was a very pretty girl. Jimmy had always known of her father’s plans for her future. Mandy had confided her frustration in these plans for many years. Mr. Garcia wanted a lawyer in the family. He constantly held Jesse Ramirez up to his daughter. “Emnuella,” he would say. “If that Ramirez boy could go to Harvard, there is no reason you can’t. It just takes dedication.” Mr. Garcia had tons of dedication.
Jimmy, also, knew that secretly Mandy wanted to become a doctor. Jimmy also knew that Mr. Garcia was fiercely proud of being Hispanic. He noticed that the old man never mentioned that Jesse Ramirez had married an Anglo. He had advanced while working in her father’s law firm. Jesse had done all this by his own skill, but Jesse had made himself free to pick the woman of his heart. Then, Jimmy thought about the joke. Jesse hadn’t married an Anglo. He had married an alien. What would Mr. Garcia say about Jesse, indeed, marrying a Gringo, meaning stranger or foreigner to many of the people of the southwest?
Jimmy was sure, in the end, that Mandy would follow her heart. Now, looking at her, as if for the first time, Jimmy felt something in his own heart. Somehow, their hands had become intertwined while they sat across from each other, at the table. The wind up egg timer went off, signaling that the back yard had been watered. They barely heard it. Jimmy got up and quickly turned off the back sprinklers. He returned and without a word he and Mandy locked up the Parker place and walked toward her house hand in hand. Later, Jimmy would tell his grandpa that he had no idea of what had happened. Suddenly, the playmate of his youth became much more important than anyone else in the world. A block from the Garcia home, Jimmy bent and kissed Mandy for the first time. They did continue the rest of the way in a respectful manner. No use causing the old man to have a heart attack, yet. Mandy had several things to slowly lead her father to understand.
keepsmiling7
XAF RU208
mary mary
Chapter 14
Janice picked up her mother at the Roswell airport. Getting in and out of Roswell by air was never easy. First, you had to get to the big city; for New Mexico, this was Albuquerque. Then, you had to get to a real city where they had connections. This usually meant Denver or as in Maria’s case, Dallas Texas. From there, you could travel. Returning was the same, so Janice waited for her mother to get off the tiny plane standing on the runway at Roswell. She had already been told that her father stayed wherever he was, for whatever reason he had, and he would return later.
On the way to Maria’s house, Janice told her mother about Liz. “Mom, she has these recurring dreams. They are about her husband, Max. She sees him wounded and pleading for help. Mom, Liz has no idea of where these dreams are coming from. She is really getting run down. We all are worried about her. She was hoping you might help. At least, you can talk to her,” Janice was saying.
“Janice, I can talk to Liz, but there are alien problems. I am not ready to discuss yet. I am not sure anything I say will help Liz,” Maria said.
It was late when Maria finally got home. She placed a call to Michael and that took over an hour. Neither of them liked being separated from the other. Maria and Janice decided to visit Liz in the morning. Now, Maria needed a hot bath and sleep, as much as she could get.
It was mid-morning when Janice and Maria walked up to Liz Parker’s front door. Liz answered the doorbell and when they entered, Maria froze. Her temper rose so fast you could feel it. Liz quickly stepped in front of Ava and cautioned Maria. It is Ava, Maria, not Tess. You remember Ava, who helped us long ago.” Liz said.
“Yes, I remember Ava. Another of those aliens who leaves without a by-you-please and you never know why.” Maria was still fuming.
Liz said, “Maria, Ava had a reason for leaving. You need to hear her out before you condemn her.”
Ava, put her hand on Liz’s arm, “Liz, Maria may be right. She and Kyle were always like brother and sister. She has anger against me for walking out on him.”
“You better believe I do. Kyle, on the rebound, took up with that Pam Troy. When he married her, we all lost him. Pam didn’t like any of us,” Maria said angrily.
“Maria, that is not fair to Kyle. He told me the other day that he and Pam had a good marriage. She didn’t like us, but without her, we wouldn’t have Jimmy. Now, that is a plus for their marriage,” Liz stated.
Liz saw that Maria was still in a huff, but Liz had other things on her mind. “Maria, Max is back!” she whispered.
Maria and Janice took their seats on the couch. “How did you learn this?” Maria asked.
“Ava told me. That is why she is here. Remember, Ava, like Michael, refused to return to Antar. She felt her home is here the same as he did. Ava said she returned to stand by me. She wasn’t sure if I had any friends around or not. She and Kyle are going to have to talk. That must be up to them. They may decide that they never want to see each other again. That will be sad, but realistic. Right now, we need to know more about Max. Do you, know where he is?” Liz asked.
Maria was silent for several moments. “Yes, Max is in and out of an Air Force medical unit in San Antonia Texas. He is under the care of Isabel’s son, Alex. Liz the whole story takes days to tell. That is where Michael and I have been the last week. He is badly wounded and it was a long time before he remembered how to speak English,” Maria explained.
“I want to go to him,” Liz said as she stood up. It was, as if she would grab her bags and be on the plane within the hour.
“Liz, wait. Things are not that simple. Max returned to die. He doesn’t want to see anyone,” Maria said.
Liz shook her head. “That is even more reason for me to go to him,” she said.
“Liz that might be enough to push him over. He feels he failed at everything, including your relationship. Seeing Michael was difficult enough. I think you do need to see him, but you both need to be prepared for a shock. Liz, Max has lost most of his powers. His body is badly scarred. Liz, Captain Alejandro (Alex) Ramirez, Isabel’s son, is an excellent medical officer. He is taking care of Max and it would be he who would reintegrate the both of you together. Liz, let’s talk this thing over carefully. Let me call Captain Alex,” Maria said with what she thought was great reason.
Liz just sat looking at Maria. It was seen that Ava took both of Liz’s hands and although they were trembling, Ava held them tightly. A quick flash of anger passed over Maria. Liz was her best friend. It should be her who was bringing comfort to Liz in times of stress. Someway, the perverse changes in life had seen fit to place Maria in a confrontational position to Liz. Now, it was Maria who was bringing more stress. In an almost unused region of Maria’s mind, the thought emerged, “I have to bring this troubling news to Liz. I am glad that she has a friend who will take my place and lend Liz support.”
It was Saturday and Jimmy had scheduled the scouts to be at Miss Parker’s home to work. The scouts had seen how troubled Miss Parker had been the last time they had seen her. Jimmy and Sammy had arranged for pizzas to be delivered to the Parker house just before noon. They would inform Miss Parker that they had already arranged lunch so she wouldn’t feel obligated or have to do the work to prepare something for them.
Liz answered the door and instead of immediately handing them a list of tasks that needed to be done, she invited them in. Standing behind Liz, the scouts saw a woman of indeterminate age. She was about the same height as Miss Parker. Her face was framed by curls of gold, but the things that stood out most were her bright blue eyes. Jimmy stuttered, “You are the fourth alien!” he exclaimed. Then he said, “I thought you were dead!”
Liz spoke up, “Jimmy this is Ava. She was not one of the original Roswell aliens. That was a lady named Tess. There were duplicates of all the Roswell aliens. All but Ava were killed.”
Ava was looking right at Jimmy when she said, “Jimmy, I am the one who knew your grandfather very well. I am going away with Liz for a time, but when I return, I want to have a long talk with Kyle. Please tell your grandfather that even if he is angry with me, I would like to have the opportunity to talk to him.”
“Which brings up to the next thing I want to say,” Liz stated. “Ava and I need to be gone for maybe a week or a little more. Now, I know the chores you have done around my house are part of your merit badge, but I need someone to take care of my house for the time I am gone. I will pay you, this is a lot more to ask than just working around the house.”
Jimmy looked at the other scouts. They all nodded as they were sure what he was going to say. “Miss Parker, we under took the yard and household chores to complete our merit badge. If we take care of your house while your are gone, we will do that because you are our friend. My dad would say, “That is what friends do. We care for each other. If you talk to my dad about paying bills, sending in the checks for utilities and such things, we will take in the mail, keep the yard clean and change the lights from time to time so it won’t be obvious that you are gone.”
There were tears in Liz’s eyes. These scouts were as much friends as Maria and Alex had been so long ago.
Captain Alex Ramirez and his mother, Isabel, were sitting in the same room as Max. Isabel was talking. “Max, Liz knows you have returned,” she dropped the bomb.
Max quickly looked up. His frown on his scared face and the look in his one good eye, made him look sinister indeed. “I told all of you she was not to be told that I had returned. I don’t want to bring more grief to her. Who informed Liz of my return?” Max angrily asked.
Captain Alex remained quiet. All you could hear from him was the scratching of his pen as he took notes. Isabel was not intimidated by her brother’s outburst. “You told her, Max. None of us broke your trust. Your being on Earth broadcast your presence to Liz. Liz has grown, no thanks to any support by you. She is as strong in some things as any of us,” Isabel stated.
The anger in Max’s face changed to wonder. “I guess, I made another mistake. It was selfish in me to want to die on Earth. I should have stayed back on Antar,” he mournfully said.
Isabel continued to stare into Max’s one good eye. “No, Max, it wasn’t a mistake. Maybe parts of your brain are brighter than other parts. You never belonged on Antar. They lost any right to you when they abandoned us to be on our own here on Earth. You probably still belong to Liz. Maria says she was ready to leave last night, without any planning. Liz is coming. There is nothing that you can do to stop it. Alex and I have to make sure you behave. You say you do not want to be selfish. Refusing to see Liz would be selfish, indeed. Liz has the right to hear your stories and she has the right to see you. Maybe, both of you are too old to take back anything of your youth. If that is the case, then so be it. Max, Michael and I will always take care of you. You were part of us. You made Liz part of your self. If Liz was part of you, from the time you saved her, then she is also part of us, now. Max, many things have changed over the years. Many things have stayed the same. You still have to decide how you will face them. You have hurt many people, but you have to rationally understand how you, now, can hurt them the least.
It was Mandy and Jimmy’s turn to water the lawn and to take in the mail. Liz had left a check made out to Ed Valenti so he could pay bills and take care of any surprises. Ed was proud of his son. Jimmy and the scouts had learned the true meaning of helping others. Ed and his father, Kyle, had their arguments, but Ed had always been there for Kyle as he aged. Ed wanted Jimmy to learn the importance of family. Old Mr. Hanson, Liz and to some extent, Janice until her parents arrived, had all been very lonesome. Listening to the scouts talking, Ed Valenti learned that to a small amount, the scouts had become the family the elder people no longer had. Now, the four scouts offering to watch the Parker place showed they understood many things about friendship.
Jimmy had finished watering the front lawn with the sprinkler system. He had pulled a few obvious weeds and Mandy had taken the mail to be placed in the pile on the table. She had sorted, the magazines, catalogs and bills separate from the rest of the mail. Jimmy’s father would come by in a day or so and pay the bills against the money Liz had left in her check to him.
On the first day that they had checked the Parker house, Mandy had washed the few dishes that Liz and Ava had left. She rounded up the laundry that was left and placed it in the machine later to be dried so Liz wouldn’t return to a dirty home. Now, she was sitting at the table watching Jimmy working outside, through the window. People in other parts of the country might view the chore of watering the lawn, strange. In the dry southwest, city sprinkling systems were used to water any of the plants every day or two. If the heat was extreme, then the watering must be done daily. Many people in this area would do what was called ‘xeriscaping’ their yards. They ripped out the lawns and plants to be replaced with cacti, sages and clumps of wild grass. They found this satisfying and except for occasions of extreme drought, they never had to water or mow their yards. To others, home meant lawns, bushes and flowerbeds. They were willing to pay the price of using the city water.
Mandy watched as Jimmy turned on the back sprinkler system and returned to the house. It would be about 20 minutes until the sprinklers were done and then, Jimmy would walk her home. They sat talking for a few minutes, then surprisingly, they ran out of things to say. Jimmy and Mandy had known each other since grade school. Now, Jimmy was looking at her as if he had never seen her before. Mandy was a very pretty girl. Jimmy had always known of her father’s plans for her future. Mandy had confided her frustration in these plans for many years. Mr. Garcia wanted a lawyer in the family. He constantly held Jesse Ramirez up to his daughter. “Emnuella,” he would say. “If that Ramirez boy could go to Harvard, there is no reason you can’t. It just takes dedication.” Mr. Garcia had tons of dedication.
Jimmy, also, knew that secretly Mandy wanted to become a doctor. Jimmy also knew that Mr. Garcia was fiercely proud of being Hispanic. He noticed that the old man never mentioned that Jesse Ramirez had married an Anglo. He had advanced while working in her father’s law firm. Jesse had done all this by his own skill, but Jesse had made himself free to pick the woman of his heart. Then, Jimmy thought about the joke. Jesse hadn’t married an Anglo. He had married an alien. What would Mr. Garcia say about Jesse, indeed, marrying a Gringo, meaning stranger or foreigner to many of the people of the southwest?
Jimmy was sure, in the end, that Mandy would follow her heart. Now, looking at her, as if for the first time, Jimmy felt something in his own heart. Somehow, their hands had become intertwined while they sat across from each other, at the table. The wind up egg timer went off, signaling that the back yard had been watered. They barely heard it. Jimmy got up and quickly turned off the back sprinklers. He returned and without a word he and Mandy locked up the Parker place and walked toward her house hand in hand. Later, Jimmy would tell his grandpa that he had no idea of what had happened. Suddenly, the playmate of his youth became much more important than anyone else in the world. A block from the Garcia home, Jimmy bent and kissed Mandy for the first time. They did continue the rest of the way in a respectful manner. No use causing the old man to have a heart attack, yet. Mandy had several things to slowly lead her father to understand.
Good teachers are born that way, not made. No! Good human beings, are born that way. Some of them become teachers.
Of course, life is not fair. You shouldn't expect it to be fair, but you should expect it to be ironic.
JKR 1981-2001
History is made of wars, recovering from wars and preparing for the next war.
JJR 1975-
Of course, life is not fair. You shouldn't expect it to be fair, but you should expect it to be ironic.
JKR 1981-2001
History is made of wars, recovering from wars and preparing for the next war.
JJR 1975-
Re: I Heard You Calling teen CC pg5 ch 13 Jan 16, 2011
rar 1942
XAF RU208
begonis9508
keepsmiling7
mary mary
Chapter 15
Jimmy had told his grandfather about meeting Ava. He didn’t know what to expect. Ava had said they had history between them, Jimmy had no idea of what had happened. Kyle didn’t have a good way to tell the story to Jimmy. “If Ava hadn’t left town, I would never have married your grandmother and you would never have happened,” didn’t seem like a good way to start.
“At one time, I thought Ava was one of those good things about aliens,” Kyle started.
“She said you might be mad at her, but she believed the two of you needed to talk,” Jimmy said. “She said she is going away with Liz on alien business. She said she would be back in a couple weeks,” Jimmy added.
Kyle perked up at the mention of alien business. The only alien thing that would be of interest to Liz Parker would be Max. Jimmy and Kyle sat for several minutes. Finally, Jimmy said, “Grandpa, I think I might know how you once felt about the alien Ava.”
Kyle looked up mildly amused. Jimmy was growing up. At Jimmy’s age, Kyle was already know as Mr. Super Stud. Kyle did understand that much of his precociousness in sex and love was probably watching his father faltering though his relationships. To Kyle’s aged memory, Edward only had one girl and that was the one he married, Sheila. “How’s that, Jimmy?” Kyle asked.
“I think I might have a girlfriend,” Jimmy replied.
“Think you might have a girlfriend,” Kyle repeated. “That is not very reassuring. What’s wrong, don’t you know if she likes you or not?” he inquired.
“Oh, I think she likes me. It is her parents. I am not sure they will accept me,” Jimmy explained.
“If you love a girl, whose parents do not like you, that can lead to a life time of trouble,” Kyle stated. “You might want to go really slow and give them a chance to come around. Most of the time, a girl’s parents really love their daughters. When they do not approve of her choice of boyfriend, it is because they don’t trust him. If you can convince them of how much you care for their daughter, they may agree that her choice of man will lead to her happiness and that is what they really want,” Kyle advised.
“What happened between you and the little alien?” Jimmy asked.
“I don’t know, Jimmy,” Kyle answered.
Kyle saw Jimmy’s face fall. He thought, Jimmy thinks I am putting him off and refusing to tell anything about Ava. “No, Jimmy, I really don’t know. She was the first really serious relationship after Liz Parker dumped me for Max. These aliens don’t have parents, so I am not in the same boat that you are. It wasn’t my dad, he just wanted me to be happy and wished he could be happy also. Ava and I were together and, suddenly. she just left without any reason or statement. For a while, we thought she might have been killed by some enemy, but the other aliens didn’t have any problem. After a while, I met your grandmother. We found a comfortable arrangement. The only disagreement we ever had was over my former friends. Pam didn’t like them very much. Max pulled out and left for Antar. Maria and Michael both went on her singing tour. Then, Isabel announced she was going back with Jesse. Your grandmother was all I had. It didn’t seem I was giving up much. All my friends were leaving. Pam and I had a good life,” Kyle explained.
Even Jimmy saw that Kyle’s face lit up differently when talking about Ava, than it did when talking about the life he had lived with Grandma Pam. Jimmy imagined that grandpa’s feelings about the alien were similar to what he himself was feeling about Mandy Garcia. Well, Jimmy did realize that this was the first time he had ever had feelings like he was experiencing. Jimmy was sure that anything he and Mandy felt was still very immature. Jimmy thought, there had to be a first time for falling in love, even for Kyle. What Jimmy didn’t understand was that except for his encounter with Liz Parker, Ava was it for Kyle. Yes, Kyle had many episodes of sex and Kyle admitted that he never made any love with Liz. The two times he held the body of Ava were the most precious in Kyle’s memory.
Liz Parker and Ava were now in San Antonio, Texas. The power of Max being so close was like the aroma a charcoal cooked steak would be to a starving man. Liz could feel every movement he made. She wondered how she was affecting him? Wait, Maria said that Max’s powers had been crippled. He might not even know she was in town.
Right now, she and Ava were sitting in the office talking to Captain Alex, as Maria had christened him. Looking at the captain, Liz could almost believe that Alex Whitman, was staring back at her through those dark eyes. Liz knew that it was only his name, which fostered this illusion. “Liz Parker, Miss Ava, Mom has filled me in on your histories as far as she could. Liz, rest assured that Max remembers everything about your relationship. The reluctance to see you is rooted in his guilt for leaving. Liz, men go to war for many reasons. Some reasons are very practical like money or excitement. These men usually find what they were seeking. Other men go to war for more abstract reasons. Some of these men find reality so different that they have trouble returning. I have worked with so many returning soldiers that my heart goes out to each of them. Men who go to war to make the world a better place and then, return to find out that there has been no change. Men who go to war to free a people from a despot and return to find that the new leaders put in place are as bad or worse than those removed are two types who have a lot of trouble. Max has both of those feelings. You combine that with the guilt he has on leaving you, then you can understand his mental state. I grew up with mom. I know first hand how her powers work. She always declared that Max had more powers than she, because he was king. Max’s alien powers are crippled. The man who always thought he could fix things, cann’t even fix his own problems. What might become of Max in the future, we do not know. We do know that Max has to believe that he has reason to continue living. We have no knowledge of alien suicide. We don’t know how an alien would cease living. So I am going on the idea of being very careful. Michael’s anger scared me. Max defused that when he saw Michael. I can only hope that when he sees you, he will have a strong enough bond to strengthen that life force.” Captain Alex had been very thorough as far as Liz could see. Of all the men to discover Max, it was fortunate that it had been the one man in the service who had a complete knowledge of aliens.
“Does Max know that I am here?” Liz asked.
Captain Alex stated, “Max knows that you are aware that he is back on Earth. Even though you can sense him, he is not able to tell that you are in town. Mom dream walks him regularly. In fact, I am beginning to worry about her. She tries to bring out his relationship with you, Liz. I assume that Miss Ava has the same powers that mom saw in Tess. If so, then I want her to be present to warp Max’s mind if necessary. Being in the same room with you and touching you, Liz, I am sure will push Max’s mind a lot. We would like to present Ava to Max and let her establish repport with him before he confronts you, Liz. Max has been told that you are on your way and that there is nothing any of us can do to stop you. Mom says that she sees in Max the obligation for you to berate him if that is what you choose. He would see it as unfair to not let you take your pound of flesh for his actions. For the moment, we feel that it’s a safe feeling. Remember Max’s strongest traits are obligation and responsibility.” When Liz and Ava left his office, Liz was a little better satisfied as to Max’s care. Liz would spend the next day with Maria, while Ava would converse with Max.
Today, Sammy and Louise had their turn at watering and taking care of the Parker house. Except for timing the sprinklers, there was not much to do, so they sat in the kitchen talking. “Did you hear? Mandy finally got her feelings through Jimmy’s thick head?” Sammy said.
“Yes,” Louise replied. “She has been talking about him for so long. She said he kissed her on the way home.”
“Hey, he better be careful! If papa Garcia sees him, he may have his cojones hanging from the rear view mirror of the family car,” Sammy laughed. Sammy was referring to an old Hispanic joke of emasculating someone who offends your family. Many of the younger Hispanics would have foam dice or other things hanging from the rear view mirror of their cars. Sammy and Louise were close enough that he could make this joke without embarrassment. He wouldn’t dream of saying something like that in front of his girlfriend, Alison. Sammy and Louise were more like buddies. Neither took offense at what might be said.
Louise chuckled, “Yeah, we may have to lead a rescue party to get him free. Sammy do the Hispanics have rituals in what they do to Gringos who offend them?”
“Naw, we stopped that after the Alamo,” Sammy replied. Then, he got serious. After all, both Mandy and Jimmy were close friends. “I just hope things work out for both of them.”
“Do your folks get upset about you going with Alison West?” Louise asked.
“No,” Sammy replied. “My folks want me to know about Hispanic history, but it is just that, a history lesson. My dad knows Mr. West and they both are cool about us dating. Alison says that if we stay together we will have a rich culture to share with our children.”
“With your children, Sammy, I didn’t realize you were that serious. I had better be saving up for a wedding present,” Louise teased.
“You may have a few more years, so buy a nice one,” Sammy replied. To get back at her, he asked, “I don’t hear much about your love life recently?”
“For a while, I was dating jocks for a science fair project,” Louise was saying.
“Is that why you have such an interest in science? I bet that is not what you told your father,” Sammy teased.
“Don’t be an ass, Sammy. I am not one of your football friends,” Louise said as she gently punched him on the arm. “What I meant was that I was more studying them, than ever being serious, personally. Sammy, don’t get me wrong, you and Jimmy are friends and that is all you are. You both have your own social lives and I may envy that fact, but I could never think of either of you except as close friends. I am looking for a guy who is bright and exciting, kinda like you guys. I may have found a first candidate,” Louise explained.
“Oh, first candidate,” Sammy said with mock astonishment.
“Yes, first candidate, if he doesn’t pan out I am going to be on the lookout for another one,” Louise said with a toss of her head.
“Where did you meet this guy?” Sammy asked.
“I met him at a meeting at the extension college at Alamogordo for New Mexico State University. I was in Alamogordo with my dad. He had some business with a man who was a teacher at the college. He had dad meet him there. I met this boy who is a sophomore and is doing wildlife surveys in the Organ Mountains just west of the city. He was quite the ‘cowboy,’” Louise told Sammy.
“Oh my, a college sophomore and do Jimmy and I remind you of cowboys?” Sammy asked playfully.
“No, you don’t, but this cowboy reminds me of you guys. We exchanged email addresses and we have been emailing each other for several weeks,” She said.
“What do you guys write about?” Sammy asked, with a little more concern.
“Oh, I told him about our scout project. I told him about our new friends, without the aliens, of course. He thinks our project is a good one. His grandparents live in the same neighborhood as he does. His great grandfather worked on the ‘Manhattan Project.’ His grandfather was involved with ‘White Sands missile range. He grew up exploring the mountains and deserts of this area,” Louise concluded.
“Well, when do we get to meet him?” Sammy questioned.
Louise bristled a bit. “Why, Sammy? I don’t need your stamp of approval.”
“I didn’t mean it that way, Louise. If he is your friend, then he will end up being our friend. I am sure that we would all like to meet him. Maybe, all six of us could get together for some activity someday,” Sammy explained.
“I am sorry, Sammy. I didn’t mean to sound like I was taking offense. It is just that sometimes, I feel like the outsider with all you guys, all hooking up with your girlfriends. You are right. You are all part of me and if I like someone, I want you to like them, also,” Louise stated.
“Jimmy’s grandfather, Kyle, said that we all remind him of the Roswell teens he ran around with. Now they are all scattered across the country. Kyle said that sometimes he wishes for a reunion. Now that is an idea. Wouldn’t it be fun if the six of us could get together with Kyle’s friends and have a real western barbeque?” Sammy stated the question just forming in his mind.
XAF RU208
begonis9508
keepsmiling7
mary mary
Chapter 15
Jimmy had told his grandfather about meeting Ava. He didn’t know what to expect. Ava had said they had history between them, Jimmy had no idea of what had happened. Kyle didn’t have a good way to tell the story to Jimmy. “If Ava hadn’t left town, I would never have married your grandmother and you would never have happened,” didn’t seem like a good way to start.
“At one time, I thought Ava was one of those good things about aliens,” Kyle started.
“She said you might be mad at her, but she believed the two of you needed to talk,” Jimmy said. “She said she is going away with Liz on alien business. She said she would be back in a couple weeks,” Jimmy added.
Kyle perked up at the mention of alien business. The only alien thing that would be of interest to Liz Parker would be Max. Jimmy and Kyle sat for several minutes. Finally, Jimmy said, “Grandpa, I think I might know how you once felt about the alien Ava.”
Kyle looked up mildly amused. Jimmy was growing up. At Jimmy’s age, Kyle was already know as Mr. Super Stud. Kyle did understand that much of his precociousness in sex and love was probably watching his father faltering though his relationships. To Kyle’s aged memory, Edward only had one girl and that was the one he married, Sheila. “How’s that, Jimmy?” Kyle asked.
“I think I might have a girlfriend,” Jimmy replied.
“Think you might have a girlfriend,” Kyle repeated. “That is not very reassuring. What’s wrong, don’t you know if she likes you or not?” he inquired.
“Oh, I think she likes me. It is her parents. I am not sure they will accept me,” Jimmy explained.
“If you love a girl, whose parents do not like you, that can lead to a life time of trouble,” Kyle stated. “You might want to go really slow and give them a chance to come around. Most of the time, a girl’s parents really love their daughters. When they do not approve of her choice of boyfriend, it is because they don’t trust him. If you can convince them of how much you care for their daughter, they may agree that her choice of man will lead to her happiness and that is what they really want,” Kyle advised.
“What happened between you and the little alien?” Jimmy asked.
“I don’t know, Jimmy,” Kyle answered.
Kyle saw Jimmy’s face fall. He thought, Jimmy thinks I am putting him off and refusing to tell anything about Ava. “No, Jimmy, I really don’t know. She was the first really serious relationship after Liz Parker dumped me for Max. These aliens don’t have parents, so I am not in the same boat that you are. It wasn’t my dad, he just wanted me to be happy and wished he could be happy also. Ava and I were together and, suddenly. she just left without any reason or statement. For a while, we thought she might have been killed by some enemy, but the other aliens didn’t have any problem. After a while, I met your grandmother. We found a comfortable arrangement. The only disagreement we ever had was over my former friends. Pam didn’t like them very much. Max pulled out and left for Antar. Maria and Michael both went on her singing tour. Then, Isabel announced she was going back with Jesse. Your grandmother was all I had. It didn’t seem I was giving up much. All my friends were leaving. Pam and I had a good life,” Kyle explained.
Even Jimmy saw that Kyle’s face lit up differently when talking about Ava, than it did when talking about the life he had lived with Grandma Pam. Jimmy imagined that grandpa’s feelings about the alien were similar to what he himself was feeling about Mandy Garcia. Well, Jimmy did realize that this was the first time he had ever had feelings like he was experiencing. Jimmy was sure that anything he and Mandy felt was still very immature. Jimmy thought, there had to be a first time for falling in love, even for Kyle. What Jimmy didn’t understand was that except for his encounter with Liz Parker, Ava was it for Kyle. Yes, Kyle had many episodes of sex and Kyle admitted that he never made any love with Liz. The two times he held the body of Ava were the most precious in Kyle’s memory.
Liz Parker and Ava were now in San Antonio, Texas. The power of Max being so close was like the aroma a charcoal cooked steak would be to a starving man. Liz could feel every movement he made. She wondered how she was affecting him? Wait, Maria said that Max’s powers had been crippled. He might not even know she was in town.
Right now, she and Ava were sitting in the office talking to Captain Alex, as Maria had christened him. Looking at the captain, Liz could almost believe that Alex Whitman, was staring back at her through those dark eyes. Liz knew that it was only his name, which fostered this illusion. “Liz Parker, Miss Ava, Mom has filled me in on your histories as far as she could. Liz, rest assured that Max remembers everything about your relationship. The reluctance to see you is rooted in his guilt for leaving. Liz, men go to war for many reasons. Some reasons are very practical like money or excitement. These men usually find what they were seeking. Other men go to war for more abstract reasons. Some of these men find reality so different that they have trouble returning. I have worked with so many returning soldiers that my heart goes out to each of them. Men who go to war to make the world a better place and then, return to find out that there has been no change. Men who go to war to free a people from a despot and return to find that the new leaders put in place are as bad or worse than those removed are two types who have a lot of trouble. Max has both of those feelings. You combine that with the guilt he has on leaving you, then you can understand his mental state. I grew up with mom. I know first hand how her powers work. She always declared that Max had more powers than she, because he was king. Max’s alien powers are crippled. The man who always thought he could fix things, cann’t even fix his own problems. What might become of Max in the future, we do not know. We do know that Max has to believe that he has reason to continue living. We have no knowledge of alien suicide. We don’t know how an alien would cease living. So I am going on the idea of being very careful. Michael’s anger scared me. Max defused that when he saw Michael. I can only hope that when he sees you, he will have a strong enough bond to strengthen that life force.” Captain Alex had been very thorough as far as Liz could see. Of all the men to discover Max, it was fortunate that it had been the one man in the service who had a complete knowledge of aliens.
“Does Max know that I am here?” Liz asked.
Captain Alex stated, “Max knows that you are aware that he is back on Earth. Even though you can sense him, he is not able to tell that you are in town. Mom dream walks him regularly. In fact, I am beginning to worry about her. She tries to bring out his relationship with you, Liz. I assume that Miss Ava has the same powers that mom saw in Tess. If so, then I want her to be present to warp Max’s mind if necessary. Being in the same room with you and touching you, Liz, I am sure will push Max’s mind a lot. We would like to present Ava to Max and let her establish repport with him before he confronts you, Liz. Max has been told that you are on your way and that there is nothing any of us can do to stop you. Mom says that she sees in Max the obligation for you to berate him if that is what you choose. He would see it as unfair to not let you take your pound of flesh for his actions. For the moment, we feel that it’s a safe feeling. Remember Max’s strongest traits are obligation and responsibility.” When Liz and Ava left his office, Liz was a little better satisfied as to Max’s care. Liz would spend the next day with Maria, while Ava would converse with Max.
Today, Sammy and Louise had their turn at watering and taking care of the Parker house. Except for timing the sprinklers, there was not much to do, so they sat in the kitchen talking. “Did you hear? Mandy finally got her feelings through Jimmy’s thick head?” Sammy said.
“Yes,” Louise replied. “She has been talking about him for so long. She said he kissed her on the way home.”
“Hey, he better be careful! If papa Garcia sees him, he may have his cojones hanging from the rear view mirror of the family car,” Sammy laughed. Sammy was referring to an old Hispanic joke of emasculating someone who offends your family. Many of the younger Hispanics would have foam dice or other things hanging from the rear view mirror of their cars. Sammy and Louise were close enough that he could make this joke without embarrassment. He wouldn’t dream of saying something like that in front of his girlfriend, Alison. Sammy and Louise were more like buddies. Neither took offense at what might be said.
Louise chuckled, “Yeah, we may have to lead a rescue party to get him free. Sammy do the Hispanics have rituals in what they do to Gringos who offend them?”
“Naw, we stopped that after the Alamo,” Sammy replied. Then, he got serious. After all, both Mandy and Jimmy were close friends. “I just hope things work out for both of them.”
“Do your folks get upset about you going with Alison West?” Louise asked.
“No,” Sammy replied. “My folks want me to know about Hispanic history, but it is just that, a history lesson. My dad knows Mr. West and they both are cool about us dating. Alison says that if we stay together we will have a rich culture to share with our children.”
“With your children, Sammy, I didn’t realize you were that serious. I had better be saving up for a wedding present,” Louise teased.
“You may have a few more years, so buy a nice one,” Sammy replied. To get back at her, he asked, “I don’t hear much about your love life recently?”
“For a while, I was dating jocks for a science fair project,” Louise was saying.
“Is that why you have such an interest in science? I bet that is not what you told your father,” Sammy teased.
“Don’t be an ass, Sammy. I am not one of your football friends,” Louise said as she gently punched him on the arm. “What I meant was that I was more studying them, than ever being serious, personally. Sammy, don’t get me wrong, you and Jimmy are friends and that is all you are. You both have your own social lives and I may envy that fact, but I could never think of either of you except as close friends. I am looking for a guy who is bright and exciting, kinda like you guys. I may have found a first candidate,” Louise explained.
“Oh, first candidate,” Sammy said with mock astonishment.
“Yes, first candidate, if he doesn’t pan out I am going to be on the lookout for another one,” Louise said with a toss of her head.
“Where did you meet this guy?” Sammy asked.
“I met him at a meeting at the extension college at Alamogordo for New Mexico State University. I was in Alamogordo with my dad. He had some business with a man who was a teacher at the college. He had dad meet him there. I met this boy who is a sophomore and is doing wildlife surveys in the Organ Mountains just west of the city. He was quite the ‘cowboy,’” Louise told Sammy.
“Oh my, a college sophomore and do Jimmy and I remind you of cowboys?” Sammy asked playfully.
“No, you don’t, but this cowboy reminds me of you guys. We exchanged email addresses and we have been emailing each other for several weeks,” She said.
“What do you guys write about?” Sammy asked, with a little more concern.
“Oh, I told him about our scout project. I told him about our new friends, without the aliens, of course. He thinks our project is a good one. His grandparents live in the same neighborhood as he does. His great grandfather worked on the ‘Manhattan Project.’ His grandfather was involved with ‘White Sands missile range. He grew up exploring the mountains and deserts of this area,” Louise concluded.
“Well, when do we get to meet him?” Sammy questioned.
Louise bristled a bit. “Why, Sammy? I don’t need your stamp of approval.”
“I didn’t mean it that way, Louise. If he is your friend, then he will end up being our friend. I am sure that we would all like to meet him. Maybe, all six of us could get together for some activity someday,” Sammy explained.
“I am sorry, Sammy. I didn’t mean to sound like I was taking offense. It is just that sometimes, I feel like the outsider with all you guys, all hooking up with your girlfriends. You are right. You are all part of me and if I like someone, I want you to like them, also,” Louise stated.
“Jimmy’s grandfather, Kyle, said that we all remind him of the Roswell teens he ran around with. Now they are all scattered across the country. Kyle said that sometimes he wishes for a reunion. Now that is an idea. Wouldn’t it be fun if the six of us could get together with Kyle’s friends and have a real western barbeque?” Sammy stated the question just forming in his mind.
Good teachers are born that way, not made. No! Good human beings, are born that way. Some of them become teachers.
Of course, life is not fair. You shouldn't expect it to be fair, but you should expect it to be ironic.
JKR 1981-2001
History is made of wars, recovering from wars and preparing for the next war.
JJR 1975-
Of course, life is not fair. You shouldn't expect it to be fair, but you should expect it to be ironic.
JKR 1981-2001
History is made of wars, recovering from wars and preparing for the next war.
JJR 1975-
Re: I Heard You Calling teen CC pg6 ch 15 Jan 23, 2011
keepsmiling7 A friend of mine, who was quite a playboy is now having to explain his actions his youth, to his daughters. I find it interesting as he reflects on his former actions.
begonia9508
mary mary
Chapter 16
Ava had been gently probing Max’s mind. She found his confused feelings about Tess. The feelings, which Max thought of as something from Antar, then the feelings when Max left Liz for her, which Ava was sure were amplified by Tess. Tess had been a master at mind control. Ava knew she had every bit as good ability in that gift as did Tess; after all they were clones. The only difference being that Tess was raised by an alien and Ava was totally free to find her own way. Sometimes, abandonment was better than the alien pressure of Tess’s protector. Ava gently followed Max’s mind to the time when he was reunited with her at Los Angeles. They had had a final confrontation with the remnants of the special unit. Using Kyle as an amplifier, they managed to shut down devices, which were tied to aliens. (This is described in the Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin books ending in “Pursuit,” and “Turnabout.”)
Ava entered the room where Max and Captain Alex were sitting. Max stood. The deepest memory, of course, was of Tess. Had she returned to haunt him with everything else? Alex remained quiet. This had to play out and he was only an observer. Well, he was also there to halt things if they got out of hand. Ava reached forward and took Max’s hand. “I am not Tess, Max. I am Ava, one of the New York duplicates. I am not here to taunt you, but to bring you some comfort,” she stated.
Max felt embarrassed. He was beginning to think that any stranger was an enemy. Memories of Ava staying with his parents, after he and Liz came back to Roswell, began to take shape. In the mental exchange, Max saw what she felt for Kyle. He saw, just like himself, Ava would have to eventually, face Kyle for things she believed she had done to their relationship. Max, saw that he, likewise, owed it to Liz to face her, but the idea was easier to see in Ava’s obligation than his own.
“Max, if we were Hobbits, you might call me a storm crow. I always appear when things are all messed up. If I remember right when they called that sorcerer Gandalf a storm crow, it was because he appeared when all hope was lost. He always brought wisdom. That Max, is what I wish to do. I want to bring you a little bit of alien wisdom,” Ava said.
“Alien wisdom, I guess that is what I need. Ava, you were smart like Michael; when Antar called, you stayed where you belonged instead of getting involved in things you could never understand,” Max replied woefully.
“Don’t beat yourself up too much, Max. Antar wasn’t asking for a second clone of a queen who never lived long enough to establish her self. They didn’t want me. They may even have viewed me as being like Tess. Remember, she was aligned with Kivar. Michael’s clone was just a loyal commander. Antar only wanted an emblem to parade before the people. Max, you fought, human FBI special units, you fought Skins, and you may have fought other things you do not even know about. You had no defense against the people who created you. You will never have any idea of how free your choice to return to Antar was. They are a powerful people,” Ava explained.
Max hung his head and replied almost in a whisper, “They never cared what returning to Antar cost me, personally.”
“Max, you have that right. They created you and they used you. They were not like parents. They were more like carpenters who discarded a tool when it needs sharpening,” Ava stated. “Michael wanted parents so badly that he sensed that they were not like that. Hey, they just wanted to use you. You are lucky they even agreed to bring you back to earth,” Ava stated again.
“What do I do now?” Max stated, maybe as a question.
You and I have the same problem and we have to decide how we want to handle it. I have to face Kyle. He has questions and he deserves answers. These answers may be things that I haven’t thought of yet,” Ava mused.
Max drew a breath. More for the fact that he could think of some one else’s problems, he asked, “Why did you leave Kyle, Ava? Mom and dad always wondered if it was something they did. They worried that their knowledge of aliens was just too new to do things for you that were correct,” Max told her.
“See, Max, that is another thing, but it is too late to correct. Your mom and dad treated me like a daughter. I had no way to be that person. It is too late to explain to them. I hope they didn’t blame themselves too much. Kyle treated me like a girlfriend. To him, I was more than a girlfriend. When we had sex, Kyle made love. That had never happened to me. Kyle wanted marriage and children. Can you imagine me at that time being a mother? I was worse than what you called a Hippy,” Ava explained.
Max looked at her and said softly, “Maria’s mother was, also, called a Hippy. She made Maria the center of her life. She was a good mother.”
“That is what I mean. Amy DeLuca was a good mother. What kind of a mother would I have been?” Ava asked,
Max again said softly, “Ava, that is something that every generation has to find out for themselves.”
Ava and Max sat without speaking for some time. They seemed to have forgotten Captain Alex. He quietly observed them and scribbled notes on his pad. Was it his imagination or had Max managed to transfer the attention from him self and his problems to Ava and hers? Captain Alex thought that those stupid Antarians didn’t recognize what they had had in Max. He was still a king. Not a king of power, but a king who cared about those around him. Alex made a note this caring would be an obstacle when Max faced Liz. Unless Max was convinced that he could bring something to her, Max would still insist that she be kept away from him. If they wanted to help Max and Liz, they had to someway convince Max that Liz needed him as much as all the others around him. For the moment, let Max remained concerned about Ava.
All Ava knew about Roswell in the last few years was what she learned from her time with Liz. She picked up some information when she met Jimmy and the scouts. “Roswell has changed since we all left. Kyle married Pam Troy and they had a son. Maria and Michael have since moved back to Roswell. They have a daughter living there. I was introduced to a young man, who turned out to be Kyle’s grandson. He is with a group of scouts who are trying to earn their merit badge by helping folks about town. They can’t accept money, but they request everyone tell them things about Roswell from the past. They are a darling group. Liz introduced them to me.” Ava and Captain Alex were both watching Max as Ava told him this. His face contorted in pain.
The conversation dropped for several minutes. Ava and Captain Alex just sat, their minds busy with their own thoughts. Until Max made some sort of reply, there was little either of them could say. When Max finally spoke, it was in a whisper. “Tell me, Ava, how is Liz?” he hoarsely croaked out.
“I only stayed with her a few days. She has always considered her self married to you. She is not filled with bitterness, rather she is waiting for you to come home,” Ava stated.
“After so many years, that is not what I wanted her to do,” Max whispered.
“Well, your strongest trait has always been your responsibility. Hers was always loyalty. I think you will find that Liz thinks of herself as a military wife, waiting for her husband to return,” Ava stated flatly giving Max little room to argue.
“Didn’t she ever consider that I might have been killed?” Max inquired.
“I imagine that she did, but she would make no change until she had laid the body to rest. A military funeral is about all that would ever convince Liz Parker to give up hope,” Ava said. It was seen that Captain Alex was furiously scribbling on his pad.
Max did not look up with his good eye. “You know, I was killed. Max Evans, the king was killed not in battle, but in forming the peace. When I resigned the throne, I was giving up all my ties to Antar. Those ties were never strong to me anyway. I could never be a citizen of that place. I was told that Antar was disappointed in their king. Well, I was disappointed in the people of Antar. No matter who I was, my education was of Earth, and the part of Earth where individuals are given some respect. You talk about the scouts of Kyle’s grandson. That sort of group could never happen on Antar. To think of young people caring for elder citizens for no more reason than the elders need this care. To think of young people not continually fighting to improve their own status. Those are just thoughts foreign to that place, Antar.
Ava was still minimizing Liz’s presence, said, “I am sure the scouts would enjoy talking to you. I am sure that you would enjoy their enthusiasm for life. You remember Deputy Hanson?” Ava asked.
Max nodded without saying anything.
“Well, the girls in Jimmy’s patrol, yes that is the name of Kyle’s grandson, and yes the scouts now have both boys and girls in the patrols. Hanson is over 90 and the girls have set up menus for him. He was eating Spam and beans three times a day. Now, they have him set up with a hot lunch program and they treat him to things like potato chips and Coca Cola several times a week. For him, that is a real treat. He says he feels years younger,” Ava said.
Max sighed. “Potato chips and Coca Cola, you can’t imagine how good they sound, those and a bowl of chili from Señor Chow’s restaurant. Do you think he is still around?” Max asked.
Ava was able to smile. This was the first time Max had showed interest in things around him. “Kyle took me there one time before I left town. If I remember, Señor Chow had several children. Maybe, at least one or more of the Chow children stayed with the restaurant. Max, you should come back with us and see what is left of the old town,” Ava challenged.
Max quickly closed down. “No, I have hurt the people back in Roswell enough. There is no reason for me to return and open up new wounds.” Max was angry with himself that he had allowed himself to get nostalgic about his youth. He was sure he didn’t deserve this nostalgia.
“If you are talking about Liz Parker, Max, remember she will be here soon. No one had to tell her you were back. Now, you might find that her powers are stronger than yours.” Ava thought, maybe, this a little untrue, but not enough to worry about.
“Is there a way you can stop her? Tell her I don’t want to see her, or something,” Max replied.
“Max, none of us are going to say anything that will hurt Liz Parker further. Some of us think you screwed up badly when you left her. That is of no consequence. Everything depends on what Liz Parker thinks. Cheer up, Max. Maybe she wants to slap the shit out of you for leaving. If so, you probably deserve it. You wouldn’t want to dodge what is your just punishment would you?” Ava stated.
Max shook his head. Anything, Liz Parker wanted to weigh down on his head, he deserved. “I just hate to think of her looking at my scars and my shriveled eye. More than any just punishment, I dread thinking of her being revolted by me. Ava, how can I face her? I have nothing to offer?” Max asked.
“Max, how can I face Kyle? Maria says I ruined his life, making him accept Pam Troy on the rebound. What do I have to offer a man over 60? Will my presence place a division in Kyle’s family? I understand that his son will not even allow the word alien to be spoken,” Ava said. Then, she continued, “Max, we make our lives. We make our mistakes. But, we also, make our futures. Max, you always have to remember, your future is not yours alone.” After this statement, Ava got up to leave. She had done her best. She had many concerns her self. Talking to Max had been tiring. She hadn’t found any reason to mind warp him at this time. Ava was determined that Max would get the full treatment, if he said anything to hurt Liz. Ava hoped his good sense hadn’t all been taken from him, back on Antar.
---------------------------
Did you ever really consider an elevator? You walk into a box, close the door, experience some slight physical disorientation then you open the door to another place. If the elevator is completely closed, there is no transition of going from here to there. You just appear there when you open the door. You might expect that this box has a profound effect on an individual's life. Coming soon, "Elevator." mature, AU no aliens
begonia9508
mary mary
Chapter 16
Ava had been gently probing Max’s mind. She found his confused feelings about Tess. The feelings, which Max thought of as something from Antar, then the feelings when Max left Liz for her, which Ava was sure were amplified by Tess. Tess had been a master at mind control. Ava knew she had every bit as good ability in that gift as did Tess; after all they were clones. The only difference being that Tess was raised by an alien and Ava was totally free to find her own way. Sometimes, abandonment was better than the alien pressure of Tess’s protector. Ava gently followed Max’s mind to the time when he was reunited with her at Los Angeles. They had had a final confrontation with the remnants of the special unit. Using Kyle as an amplifier, they managed to shut down devices, which were tied to aliens. (This is described in the Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin books ending in “Pursuit,” and “Turnabout.”)
Ava entered the room where Max and Captain Alex were sitting. Max stood. The deepest memory, of course, was of Tess. Had she returned to haunt him with everything else? Alex remained quiet. This had to play out and he was only an observer. Well, he was also there to halt things if they got out of hand. Ava reached forward and took Max’s hand. “I am not Tess, Max. I am Ava, one of the New York duplicates. I am not here to taunt you, but to bring you some comfort,” she stated.
Max felt embarrassed. He was beginning to think that any stranger was an enemy. Memories of Ava staying with his parents, after he and Liz came back to Roswell, began to take shape. In the mental exchange, Max saw what she felt for Kyle. He saw, just like himself, Ava would have to eventually, face Kyle for things she believed she had done to their relationship. Max, saw that he, likewise, owed it to Liz to face her, but the idea was easier to see in Ava’s obligation than his own.
“Max, if we were Hobbits, you might call me a storm crow. I always appear when things are all messed up. If I remember right when they called that sorcerer Gandalf a storm crow, it was because he appeared when all hope was lost. He always brought wisdom. That Max, is what I wish to do. I want to bring you a little bit of alien wisdom,” Ava said.
“Alien wisdom, I guess that is what I need. Ava, you were smart like Michael; when Antar called, you stayed where you belonged instead of getting involved in things you could never understand,” Max replied woefully.
“Don’t beat yourself up too much, Max. Antar wasn’t asking for a second clone of a queen who never lived long enough to establish her self. They didn’t want me. They may even have viewed me as being like Tess. Remember, she was aligned with Kivar. Michael’s clone was just a loyal commander. Antar only wanted an emblem to parade before the people. Max, you fought, human FBI special units, you fought Skins, and you may have fought other things you do not even know about. You had no defense against the people who created you. You will never have any idea of how free your choice to return to Antar was. They are a powerful people,” Ava explained.
Max hung his head and replied almost in a whisper, “They never cared what returning to Antar cost me, personally.”
“Max, you have that right. They created you and they used you. They were not like parents. They were more like carpenters who discarded a tool when it needs sharpening,” Ava stated. “Michael wanted parents so badly that he sensed that they were not like that. Hey, they just wanted to use you. You are lucky they even agreed to bring you back to earth,” Ava stated again.
“What do I do now?” Max stated, maybe as a question.
You and I have the same problem and we have to decide how we want to handle it. I have to face Kyle. He has questions and he deserves answers. These answers may be things that I haven’t thought of yet,” Ava mused.
Max drew a breath. More for the fact that he could think of some one else’s problems, he asked, “Why did you leave Kyle, Ava? Mom and dad always wondered if it was something they did. They worried that their knowledge of aliens was just too new to do things for you that were correct,” Max told her.
“See, Max, that is another thing, but it is too late to correct. Your mom and dad treated me like a daughter. I had no way to be that person. It is too late to explain to them. I hope they didn’t blame themselves too much. Kyle treated me like a girlfriend. To him, I was more than a girlfriend. When we had sex, Kyle made love. That had never happened to me. Kyle wanted marriage and children. Can you imagine me at that time being a mother? I was worse than what you called a Hippy,” Ava explained.
Max looked at her and said softly, “Maria’s mother was, also, called a Hippy. She made Maria the center of her life. She was a good mother.”
“That is what I mean. Amy DeLuca was a good mother. What kind of a mother would I have been?” Ava asked,
Max again said softly, “Ava, that is something that every generation has to find out for themselves.”
Ava and Max sat without speaking for some time. They seemed to have forgotten Captain Alex. He quietly observed them and scribbled notes on his pad. Was it his imagination or had Max managed to transfer the attention from him self and his problems to Ava and hers? Captain Alex thought that those stupid Antarians didn’t recognize what they had had in Max. He was still a king. Not a king of power, but a king who cared about those around him. Alex made a note this caring would be an obstacle when Max faced Liz. Unless Max was convinced that he could bring something to her, Max would still insist that she be kept away from him. If they wanted to help Max and Liz, they had to someway convince Max that Liz needed him as much as all the others around him. For the moment, let Max remained concerned about Ava.
All Ava knew about Roswell in the last few years was what she learned from her time with Liz. She picked up some information when she met Jimmy and the scouts. “Roswell has changed since we all left. Kyle married Pam Troy and they had a son. Maria and Michael have since moved back to Roswell. They have a daughter living there. I was introduced to a young man, who turned out to be Kyle’s grandson. He is with a group of scouts who are trying to earn their merit badge by helping folks about town. They can’t accept money, but they request everyone tell them things about Roswell from the past. They are a darling group. Liz introduced them to me.” Ava and Captain Alex were both watching Max as Ava told him this. His face contorted in pain.
The conversation dropped for several minutes. Ava and Captain Alex just sat, their minds busy with their own thoughts. Until Max made some sort of reply, there was little either of them could say. When Max finally spoke, it was in a whisper. “Tell me, Ava, how is Liz?” he hoarsely croaked out.
“I only stayed with her a few days. She has always considered her self married to you. She is not filled with bitterness, rather she is waiting for you to come home,” Ava stated.
“After so many years, that is not what I wanted her to do,” Max whispered.
“Well, your strongest trait has always been your responsibility. Hers was always loyalty. I think you will find that Liz thinks of herself as a military wife, waiting for her husband to return,” Ava stated flatly giving Max little room to argue.
“Didn’t she ever consider that I might have been killed?” Max inquired.
“I imagine that she did, but she would make no change until she had laid the body to rest. A military funeral is about all that would ever convince Liz Parker to give up hope,” Ava said. It was seen that Captain Alex was furiously scribbling on his pad.
Max did not look up with his good eye. “You know, I was killed. Max Evans, the king was killed not in battle, but in forming the peace. When I resigned the throne, I was giving up all my ties to Antar. Those ties were never strong to me anyway. I could never be a citizen of that place. I was told that Antar was disappointed in their king. Well, I was disappointed in the people of Antar. No matter who I was, my education was of Earth, and the part of Earth where individuals are given some respect. You talk about the scouts of Kyle’s grandson. That sort of group could never happen on Antar. To think of young people caring for elder citizens for no more reason than the elders need this care. To think of young people not continually fighting to improve their own status. Those are just thoughts foreign to that place, Antar.
Ava was still minimizing Liz’s presence, said, “I am sure the scouts would enjoy talking to you. I am sure that you would enjoy their enthusiasm for life. You remember Deputy Hanson?” Ava asked.
Max nodded without saying anything.
“Well, the girls in Jimmy’s patrol, yes that is the name of Kyle’s grandson, and yes the scouts now have both boys and girls in the patrols. Hanson is over 90 and the girls have set up menus for him. He was eating Spam and beans three times a day. Now, they have him set up with a hot lunch program and they treat him to things like potato chips and Coca Cola several times a week. For him, that is a real treat. He says he feels years younger,” Ava said.
Max sighed. “Potato chips and Coca Cola, you can’t imagine how good they sound, those and a bowl of chili from Señor Chow’s restaurant. Do you think he is still around?” Max asked.
Ava was able to smile. This was the first time Max had showed interest in things around him. “Kyle took me there one time before I left town. If I remember, Señor Chow had several children. Maybe, at least one or more of the Chow children stayed with the restaurant. Max, you should come back with us and see what is left of the old town,” Ava challenged.
Max quickly closed down. “No, I have hurt the people back in Roswell enough. There is no reason for me to return and open up new wounds.” Max was angry with himself that he had allowed himself to get nostalgic about his youth. He was sure he didn’t deserve this nostalgia.
“If you are talking about Liz Parker, Max, remember she will be here soon. No one had to tell her you were back. Now, you might find that her powers are stronger than yours.” Ava thought, maybe, this a little untrue, but not enough to worry about.
“Is there a way you can stop her? Tell her I don’t want to see her, or something,” Max replied.
“Max, none of us are going to say anything that will hurt Liz Parker further. Some of us think you screwed up badly when you left her. That is of no consequence. Everything depends on what Liz Parker thinks. Cheer up, Max. Maybe she wants to slap the shit out of you for leaving. If so, you probably deserve it. You wouldn’t want to dodge what is your just punishment would you?” Ava stated.
Max shook his head. Anything, Liz Parker wanted to weigh down on his head, he deserved. “I just hate to think of her looking at my scars and my shriveled eye. More than any just punishment, I dread thinking of her being revolted by me. Ava, how can I face her? I have nothing to offer?” Max asked.
“Max, how can I face Kyle? Maria says I ruined his life, making him accept Pam Troy on the rebound. What do I have to offer a man over 60? Will my presence place a division in Kyle’s family? I understand that his son will not even allow the word alien to be spoken,” Ava said. Then, she continued, “Max, we make our lives. We make our mistakes. But, we also, make our futures. Max, you always have to remember, your future is not yours alone.” After this statement, Ava got up to leave. She had done her best. She had many concerns her self. Talking to Max had been tiring. She hadn’t found any reason to mind warp him at this time. Ava was determined that Max would get the full treatment, if he said anything to hurt Liz. Ava hoped his good sense hadn’t all been taken from him, back on Antar.
---------------------------
Did you ever really consider an elevator? You walk into a box, close the door, experience some slight physical disorientation then you open the door to another place. If the elevator is completely closed, there is no transition of going from here to there. You just appear there when you open the door. You might expect that this box has a profound effect on an individual's life. Coming soon, "Elevator." mature, AU no aliens
Good teachers are born that way, not made. No! Good human beings, are born that way. Some of them become teachers.
Of course, life is not fair. You shouldn't expect it to be fair, but you should expect it to be ironic.
JKR 1981-2001
History is made of wars, recovering from wars and preparing for the next war.
JJR 1975-
Of course, life is not fair. You shouldn't expect it to be fair, but you should expect it to be ironic.
JKR 1981-2001
History is made of wars, recovering from wars and preparing for the next war.
JJR 1975-
Re: I Heard You Calling teen CC pg7 ch 16 Jan 31, 2011
mary mary
XAF RU208
keepsmiling7: we will see when she became so wise. She will tell us that she spent the 40 years studying humans
begonia9508
Chapter 17
“Can’t Max see that I have much to offer him,” Liz asked.
Isabel answered, “That is not what worries Max. He needs to find something he can offer you.”
“For 40 years, I have been alone waiting for him to come home. Isn’t that enough to fulfill? Just having Max back with me, is enough for him to bring back,” Liz stated.
“Liz, you were never that great understanding men,” Maria quipped.
“And, how about you? Have you had so much experience that you can instruct me?” Liz said almost angrily.
“Hey, Liz, don’t take it out on me! I did tame ‘SpaceBoy.’ Getting Michael domesticated should give me a degree in male alien relationships,” Maria returned.
Liz had always been close friends with Maria and here she was snapping at her. “I am sorry, Maria. I am just on edge. It has been so long and now I am so close. I realize we are dealing with an unknown. Alien psyches are not exactly listed in the text book,” Liz replied contritely.
Maria embraced her old friend. “That is all right, Liz. If friends can’t be yelled at, what good are they? Captain Alex says that now you know Max is back, it is necessary that you face each other. This is no time for Max to be plagued with what ifs.”
Liz couldn’t help it. Stress, angst and all else that went with 40 years of absence brought forth tears. “I have run through so many scenes where Max returned to me. I should expect that none of these scenes will prove correct. I have to prove to him that I need and want him back. We have lost so many years, I can’t think of losing any more.”
Edward Valenti didn’t notice it, but his son did. Kyle seemed to have more spring in his step the last few days. When Ed was gone, Kyle did talk to Jimmy, “She did ask about me?”
“Grandpa, she said the two of you needed to have a talk,” Jimmy responded.
“Was she mad or anything?” Kyle asked again.
“No, grandpa, she was more worried that you might be mad,” Jimmy replied.
“Jimmy, you can’t get mad at aliens. That would be like yelling at the wind. You always have to remember that aliens think differently than do other people. That is always what made your grandma mad at me. I could always predict exactly what she was going to say or do. After the years of being around aliens, Pam was an open book. That and when Pam and I were passionate at night, she would open her eyes and see the sparks lighting up the room. ‘Your alien magic is going to electrocute me,’ she always screamed. I think Pam was worried that I had powers that transcended her. She may have been worried that I wanted something more than a human wife. That, and my former friends, were our only contention,” Kyle said.
“Well, if Mandy and I take our relationship further, she knows all about me and aliens. She saw me healed by Janice DeLuca,” Jimmy stated.
“Relationship further, are things getting that serious between you and Mandy Garcia?” Kyle asked his grandson.
“Grandpa, I don’t know. What is the use of dating, Mandy if I am not considering eventual relationships?” Jimmy asked.
“I don’t know, Jimmy. When I was your age, I wanted to keep any talk about relationships quiet. I liked girls and I liked many girls. I wasn’t ready to settle for one,” Kyle explained.
“That is you, grandpa. I just feel differently about Mandy than you did about girls, at my age,” Jimmy said.
Kyle hugged Jimmy to himself. “Don’t listen to everything an old man says. If you know she is the one or if you even think she is the one, boy, go to it! Don’t let anything get in your way,” Kyle said to his grandson.
Mr. Anderson had business in Almagordo. Louise asked if she could come with him. Mr. Anderson knew that she had met a boy at the college and had been chatting with him on the computer. “I assume you want to come with me so you can see that boy, what is his name?” Mr. Anderson asked.
“Markley, dad, David Markley. He said that if I can come with you, he will show me some of his wildlife studies in the Sacramento Mountains just to the east of Almagordo.
“Louise, I have always trusted you to make logical and careful decisions,” her father said. Now remember, you are in high school and he is a college sophomore. I haven’t in the past and I won’t in the future, try to manage your life. However, I expect you to use that same logic and care you have always had with your new boyfriend,” Mr. Anderson continued.
“Yes, dad, that is what I am trying to find out. Do I have a new boyfriend? she answered.
Stephan Anderson sighed. Louise was so much like her mother. He had learned to see and have that same trust in his wife. They were both intelligent women, so far trusting in their decisions had been the right thing to do. He knew that Louise didn’t always do what her parents told her, that hacking into her mother’s parental code on the TV was an example. Stephan had watched and learned that Louise looked at her actions as just an exercise. It had been a challenge. She quickly tired of the adult shows on the romance channel and her father never saw her interested in it again.
Stephan worried when he saw her dating so many athletes. Many of the boys she was with had rather fast reputations. He did relax when he saw that there was no one boy she centered her interest in. He had been kind of surprised at her interest in the scouts. The other three students she spent time with were all honor students. At first, she told him that she needed public service credit for her college applications. Her interest, in the elderly people that she cared for went way beyond just public service. She had really learned to love these people. Even though Stephan had been in Roswell for about five years, he had heard all the Roswell stories concerning the former sheriff and the schoolteacher when they were young. A young girl being shot and no evidence of a wound had become an urban legend in this area.
Now, Stephan Anderson was facing a daughter who was intending to go out with an older man. Well, if you could call a sophomore in college an older man. Somewhere in his mind, Stephan knew that he had been responsible for her meeting this man. Stephan had been concentrating on his business while at New Mexico State University extension college in Almagordo. His wife had said, fatalistically, “Stephan, she will be in college next year. At least now, you know a little about the young man of her present choice.”
That was a blow to his mental well being. “Her present choice,” implied that there might be many men in his daughter’s life and he must learn to accept her judgment.
“Daddy, what time do you leave tomorrow?” Louise asked her father.
“I have to be at my meeting at about 9:00 tomorrow morning. Why?” he replied.
David wants to come by and let you meet him. He says he wouldn’t let a daughter go off an entire day without knowing who the boy was that was taking her off,” Louise informed her father.
Liz remembered the words of the two scouts, “Miss Parker, don’t you want to look nice when the king comes back?” At the time Liz heard this comment as just words. Now, the words were being put into practice. In a few minutes, Liz would be presented before the king, himself. After 40 years, she would see a Max, who she knew nothing about. Liz, no longer had the body of a teenager. How could she show herself off at her best? What would recall in Max the girl, a girl no longer, that he had left? The two scouts had applauded the purchase she made of the “little black dress.” That is what she would wear.
Max was in the next room with Captain Alex. “Max, she is here. You owe it to both yourself and her to see Liz today,” Alex Ramirez stated.
“I know, but it is easier to put things off than to accept the inevitable,” Max replied.
“Max, whatever she has in store for you has been held for 40 years,” Alex said.
“I don’t expect her to want me back like we were before. It would be nice if we could part on a friendly basis. I think my hunger to talk to her is stronger than any other feeling,” Max said.
At the captain’s signal, Ava took Liz’s arm and they entered the room. Max was sitting with his face shielded by his hand. On his face, Liz could see a stubble of a beard. The stubble was interrupted in several places by obvious scars. Finally, Max removed his hand and faced his once love. There were tears in his one eye as he croaked out the words, “Liz, this was never the way I wanted you to see me.”
Max’s one good eye was streaming with tears. Liz could now see his hands, held nervously in his lap. His face was filled with pain. No one expected what happened next. Liz ran to Max. The scars faded from her vision. For the moment in her mind, she saw the amber eyed young man who looked her in the face when he said, “Liz, look at me,” and a few minutes later, “Liz, you fell and broke the ketchup bottle.”
The second that Max had lowered his hand and had seen Liz, he only saw in the little black dress, that bouncy teenager who had meant so much in his teen years. Liz pulled Max’s head to her chest and said, “Max, I have missed you so much, please tell me you are returned for good. You won’t ever leave again,” she begged.
Alex was carefully noting that Liz showed no incrimination for the 40 years of abandonment. He noted that later there might be strong feelings that would develop between the couple. He was sure that both of them had questions about the other. He looked at Ava and she shrugged, then smiled. Alex was sure that she was not doing anything to either subject.
Alex had been doing this for several years. Bringing loved ones together after the forced separation of deployment to some war scene was played over and over. He had seen it all. Alex had seen wives who screamed out their frustrations at their spouses. He had also been party to the after math of changing this anger back to the love, which had been the source of the frustration in the first place. Alex had seen indifference as the spouse informed the soldier that she had moved on and wanted the separation to continue so she could lead the life she had learned to enjoy. Alex had seen the anger, which manifested itself later in the soldier, who felt that his wife should have been single-mindedly focused only on him, not realizing that no matter how much she loved him, she still had a life and family to carry on. Alex was in an untried field with the alien personality. He imagined that for the most part, soldier psyche was the same, especially since there were so many human genes to consider.
What he wasn’t prepared for was the glowing in Liz’s hands as she caressed Max’s face. He also wasn’t prepared to see some of the scars soften, as Liz talked to Max.
XAF RU208
keepsmiling7: we will see when she became so wise. She will tell us that she spent the 40 years studying humans
begonia9508
Chapter 17
“Can’t Max see that I have much to offer him,” Liz asked.
Isabel answered, “That is not what worries Max. He needs to find something he can offer you.”
“For 40 years, I have been alone waiting for him to come home. Isn’t that enough to fulfill? Just having Max back with me, is enough for him to bring back,” Liz stated.
“Liz, you were never that great understanding men,” Maria quipped.
“And, how about you? Have you had so much experience that you can instruct me?” Liz said almost angrily.
“Hey, Liz, don’t take it out on me! I did tame ‘SpaceBoy.’ Getting Michael domesticated should give me a degree in male alien relationships,” Maria returned.
Liz had always been close friends with Maria and here she was snapping at her. “I am sorry, Maria. I am just on edge. It has been so long and now I am so close. I realize we are dealing with an unknown. Alien psyches are not exactly listed in the text book,” Liz replied contritely.
Maria embraced her old friend. “That is all right, Liz. If friends can’t be yelled at, what good are they? Captain Alex says that now you know Max is back, it is necessary that you face each other. This is no time for Max to be plagued with what ifs.”
Liz couldn’t help it. Stress, angst and all else that went with 40 years of absence brought forth tears. “I have run through so many scenes where Max returned to me. I should expect that none of these scenes will prove correct. I have to prove to him that I need and want him back. We have lost so many years, I can’t think of losing any more.”
Edward Valenti didn’t notice it, but his son did. Kyle seemed to have more spring in his step the last few days. When Ed was gone, Kyle did talk to Jimmy, “She did ask about me?”
“Grandpa, she said the two of you needed to have a talk,” Jimmy responded.
“Was she mad or anything?” Kyle asked again.
“No, grandpa, she was more worried that you might be mad,” Jimmy replied.
“Jimmy, you can’t get mad at aliens. That would be like yelling at the wind. You always have to remember that aliens think differently than do other people. That is always what made your grandma mad at me. I could always predict exactly what she was going to say or do. After the years of being around aliens, Pam was an open book. That and when Pam and I were passionate at night, she would open her eyes and see the sparks lighting up the room. ‘Your alien magic is going to electrocute me,’ she always screamed. I think Pam was worried that I had powers that transcended her. She may have been worried that I wanted something more than a human wife. That, and my former friends, were our only contention,” Kyle said.
“Well, if Mandy and I take our relationship further, she knows all about me and aliens. She saw me healed by Janice DeLuca,” Jimmy stated.
“Relationship further, are things getting that serious between you and Mandy Garcia?” Kyle asked his grandson.
“Grandpa, I don’t know. What is the use of dating, Mandy if I am not considering eventual relationships?” Jimmy asked.
“I don’t know, Jimmy. When I was your age, I wanted to keep any talk about relationships quiet. I liked girls and I liked many girls. I wasn’t ready to settle for one,” Kyle explained.
“That is you, grandpa. I just feel differently about Mandy than you did about girls, at my age,” Jimmy said.
Kyle hugged Jimmy to himself. “Don’t listen to everything an old man says. If you know she is the one or if you even think she is the one, boy, go to it! Don’t let anything get in your way,” Kyle said to his grandson.
Mr. Anderson had business in Almagordo. Louise asked if she could come with him. Mr. Anderson knew that she had met a boy at the college and had been chatting with him on the computer. “I assume you want to come with me so you can see that boy, what is his name?” Mr. Anderson asked.
“Markley, dad, David Markley. He said that if I can come with you, he will show me some of his wildlife studies in the Sacramento Mountains just to the east of Almagordo.
“Louise, I have always trusted you to make logical and careful decisions,” her father said. Now remember, you are in high school and he is a college sophomore. I haven’t in the past and I won’t in the future, try to manage your life. However, I expect you to use that same logic and care you have always had with your new boyfriend,” Mr. Anderson continued.
“Yes, dad, that is what I am trying to find out. Do I have a new boyfriend? she answered.
Stephan Anderson sighed. Louise was so much like her mother. He had learned to see and have that same trust in his wife. They were both intelligent women, so far trusting in their decisions had been the right thing to do. He knew that Louise didn’t always do what her parents told her, that hacking into her mother’s parental code on the TV was an example. Stephan had watched and learned that Louise looked at her actions as just an exercise. It had been a challenge. She quickly tired of the adult shows on the romance channel and her father never saw her interested in it again.
Stephan worried when he saw her dating so many athletes. Many of the boys she was with had rather fast reputations. He did relax when he saw that there was no one boy she centered her interest in. He had been kind of surprised at her interest in the scouts. The other three students she spent time with were all honor students. At first, she told him that she needed public service credit for her college applications. Her interest, in the elderly people that she cared for went way beyond just public service. She had really learned to love these people. Even though Stephan had been in Roswell for about five years, he had heard all the Roswell stories concerning the former sheriff and the schoolteacher when they were young. A young girl being shot and no evidence of a wound had become an urban legend in this area.
Now, Stephan Anderson was facing a daughter who was intending to go out with an older man. Well, if you could call a sophomore in college an older man. Somewhere in his mind, Stephan knew that he had been responsible for her meeting this man. Stephan had been concentrating on his business while at New Mexico State University extension college in Almagordo. His wife had said, fatalistically, “Stephan, she will be in college next year. At least now, you know a little about the young man of her present choice.”
That was a blow to his mental well being. “Her present choice,” implied that there might be many men in his daughter’s life and he must learn to accept her judgment.
“Daddy, what time do you leave tomorrow?” Louise asked her father.
“I have to be at my meeting at about 9:00 tomorrow morning. Why?” he replied.
David wants to come by and let you meet him. He says he wouldn’t let a daughter go off an entire day without knowing who the boy was that was taking her off,” Louise informed her father.
Liz remembered the words of the two scouts, “Miss Parker, don’t you want to look nice when the king comes back?” At the time Liz heard this comment as just words. Now, the words were being put into practice. In a few minutes, Liz would be presented before the king, himself. After 40 years, she would see a Max, who she knew nothing about. Liz, no longer had the body of a teenager. How could she show herself off at her best? What would recall in Max the girl, a girl no longer, that he had left? The two scouts had applauded the purchase she made of the “little black dress.” That is what she would wear.
Max was in the next room with Captain Alex. “Max, she is here. You owe it to both yourself and her to see Liz today,” Alex Ramirez stated.
“I know, but it is easier to put things off than to accept the inevitable,” Max replied.
“Max, whatever she has in store for you has been held for 40 years,” Alex said.
“I don’t expect her to want me back like we were before. It would be nice if we could part on a friendly basis. I think my hunger to talk to her is stronger than any other feeling,” Max said.
At the captain’s signal, Ava took Liz’s arm and they entered the room. Max was sitting with his face shielded by his hand. On his face, Liz could see a stubble of a beard. The stubble was interrupted in several places by obvious scars. Finally, Max removed his hand and faced his once love. There were tears in his one eye as he croaked out the words, “Liz, this was never the way I wanted you to see me.”
Max’s one good eye was streaming with tears. Liz could now see his hands, held nervously in his lap. His face was filled with pain. No one expected what happened next. Liz ran to Max. The scars faded from her vision. For the moment in her mind, she saw the amber eyed young man who looked her in the face when he said, “Liz, look at me,” and a few minutes later, “Liz, you fell and broke the ketchup bottle.”
The second that Max had lowered his hand and had seen Liz, he only saw in the little black dress, that bouncy teenager who had meant so much in his teen years. Liz pulled Max’s head to her chest and said, “Max, I have missed you so much, please tell me you are returned for good. You won’t ever leave again,” she begged.
Alex was carefully noting that Liz showed no incrimination for the 40 years of abandonment. He noted that later there might be strong feelings that would develop between the couple. He was sure that both of them had questions about the other. He looked at Ava and she shrugged, then smiled. Alex was sure that she was not doing anything to either subject.
Alex had been doing this for several years. Bringing loved ones together after the forced separation of deployment to some war scene was played over and over. He had seen it all. Alex had seen wives who screamed out their frustrations at their spouses. He had also been party to the after math of changing this anger back to the love, which had been the source of the frustration in the first place. Alex had seen indifference as the spouse informed the soldier that she had moved on and wanted the separation to continue so she could lead the life she had learned to enjoy. Alex had seen the anger, which manifested itself later in the soldier, who felt that his wife should have been single-mindedly focused only on him, not realizing that no matter how much she loved him, she still had a life and family to carry on. Alex was in an untried field with the alien personality. He imagined that for the most part, soldier psyche was the same, especially since there were so many human genes to consider.
What he wasn’t prepared for was the glowing in Liz’s hands as she caressed Max’s face. He also wasn’t prepared to see some of the scars soften, as Liz talked to Max.
Good teachers are born that way, not made. No! Good human beings, are born that way. Some of them become teachers.
Of course, life is not fair. You shouldn't expect it to be fair, but you should expect it to be ironic.
JKR 1981-2001
History is made of wars, recovering from wars and preparing for the next war.
JJR 1975-
Of course, life is not fair. You shouldn't expect it to be fair, but you should expect it to be ironic.
JKR 1981-2001
History is made of wars, recovering from wars and preparing for the next war.
JJR 1975-
Re: I Heard You Calling teen CC pg7 ch 17 Feb 6, 2011
XAF RU208
keepsmiling7
begonia9508: having a big heart was always a trait of Liz's
mary mary
Chapter 18
Mandy had quietly had a talk with her mother. “Mama, I will be getting ready for college soon. Papa has so many expectations for me. I just can’t, in good conscious, follow them.”
“I know, querida mía,” Sadie Sanchez-Garcia answered her daughter. “Papa always means well and he is a good man, but sometimes a woman must learn to bend the mind of a man when he forgets what is really best for her.”
This was the first time Mandy had ever been referred to as a woman, especially by her mother. “Mama, I don’t wish to go against his wishes, but this is for the rest of my life,” Mandy explained.
Sadie put her arms around her only child. When she had gone to the bed of Carlos Garcia, she had dreamed of many children. Many times she had prayed at the church for God to help her. It had taken her priest many hours to convince her that the ways of God are not to be questioned by man. You can show disappointment, but a true Christian must accept God’s will and make the best of it. As Emanuella had grown into a woman, Sadie had always looked on her daughter with pride. God had seen fit to make in Mandy a wonderful child who was becoming a strong woman. Now it was to be Carlos who must face that, strong women must make their own decisions. The one fault that Sadie had found in her husband was stubbornness when it came to what he expected in the world. It had taken him many years to come around to the fact that he wasn’t going to be a great patriarch, rather he would develop pride in the accomplishments of his lone, wonderful child. “What are your plans that will upset your father so much, niña? Sadie asked. She had used a form of endearment given to a small child. Well, Mandy may be growing up, but to her mother, she was still someone who needed a loving lap and a shoulder to cry on.
“Mama, I don’t want to be a lawyer. Papa has, for so long, had this dream that I would be like the Ramirez man, Jesse. Jesse is a powerful man and he has done a lot for both the Anglo and the Hispanic communities. I know that Papa respects him a lot. I want to do things for all communities, but it is not with the law. Mama, I really want to study for medical school. Papa was so taken by the election where two women were running for governor that he sees me like that. Politics is the last thing I want to do. As a doctor, I could bring babies into the world and help the elderly as they prepare to leave it. I have learned so much as I work with the scouts. Look at Mr. Hanson. All he needs is someone who cares about him. Just someone who thinks about giving him a Coca-Cola,” Mandy explained.
“I know, querida. You are a caring person. If a doctor is what you want to be, it is a doctor you should become. Papa will just have to learn that doctors are as important as lawyers to the people,” Sadie comforted.
“Mama, there is one other thing. How did you know that Papa was the man you wanted to spend the rest of your life with?” Mandy asked.
This conversation was quickly getting more serious than Sadie had imagined. “When I first saw him, papa was so handsome. He was so smart. He was already assistant manager of his grocery store. My parents both liked him. What wasn’t there to like? He was kind, hardworking and he always promised to love and care for me. Except that God didn’t choose for us a large family, I could never ask for more,” Sadie explained.
“Mama, I do want more. I found a boy that I would like to go with who respects me and wants to stand beside me. He is a smart boy and he cares for all those around him. Mama, I don’t want to be with a boy just to have a boyfriend. We are both young and we may change in the next few years before we could think about marriage, but I don’t want to go with him behind both of your backs. I want to date him and learn about him at the same time you and papa learn about him. If he is the one, then I want you and papa to accept him as a son,” Mandy expounded.
Sadie frowned. Mandy had not dated to her knowledge and this confession indicated that she didn’t want to do so secretly. What kind of boy had she found who would raise questions in the Garcia family? “Querida, who is this young man you want to give your heart to?” Sadie asked.
“Mama, it is Jimmy Valenti. He is from a Catholic family, but since his mother died, they don’t attend church much,” Mandy stated.
“Emanuella, you know how papa feels about our heritage. No matter how good Jimmy Valenti is, papa will have a hard time accepting him,” Sadie told her daughter.
“I know, mama, but this is the 21st century. Sammy Gutierrez says his father wants to be proud of his heritage, but not for him to be trapped by it. I just want papa to be proud of me and to love whom ever I love like the son he never had,” Mandy said.
“It won’t be easy, querida. But, papa loves you and we will just have to convince him of how wonderful this Jimmy is. In the mean time, make sure you do not give him any other cause to worry. You and Jimmy mind your actions. If Jimmy is the right one, I am sure that papa will eventually come around,” Sadie said with more faith than she actually had. Carlos had many dreams. In these times, it would be necessary for him to see that Mandy also had her own dreams.
Sammy was at the Parker place. He had invited Alison to come with him. Louise was out of town with her father. Sammy knew that Louise was hoping to spend some time with her new friend. As Louise would put it, she wanted to see if he could be elevated to boyfriend status. Sammy knew that now, officially at the teen level, Mandy and Jimmy would be an item. He didn’t envy them. His family just had such a different view of their heritage. Their views on religion were different, also. Sammy had attended and graduated from his catechism classes. He had taken his first communion. His father had taken him aside and said, “I promised to give you Catholic training. This isn’t exactly what the church intended, but now it is up to you as to your relationship with God. Learn as much as you can about everything. As you build things, never get so conceited that you don’t remember that there is always something bigger than you. Alison wasn’t Catholic. She had attended mass with him as he had attended services with her at her church.
Alison was funny that way. She always said, “If we stay together, religion is one of the things we have to work out.” Being with Alison was like going into a room and always keeping the door opened. They stayed together, even through arguments, because they wanted to. Louise had told him that he and Alison reminded her of Michael and Maria.
They were sitting on the porch as they waited for the egg timer to go off, signaling that the watering was finished. “This is what I want for us, if we stay together,” Alison said.
“Why do you always say things like that?” Sammy asked.
“Like what?” Alison replied.
“Like always saying, if we stay together,” Sammy said.
“Well, Sammy even your Miss Parker had her boyfriend leave her for another girl while they were in high school,” Alison stated.
“Well, I don’t intend to leave you for another girl. Where would I find another girl who would argue with me so well?” Sammy asked.
“Just don’t run off to war for 40 years and expect me to wait for you,” Alison stated. “If you do, expect to come home to a house with a dozen kids,” she continued.
“Aw, Alison, you mean you wouldn’t sit by the door and wait for me?” Sammy drawled.
“Sammy, we get married and you go off somewhere, you better damn well have definite time limits on your absence,” she retorted. “Where did he go, anyway, for that long?” she asked.
“He went to a war. It took him a long time to get back,” Sammy answered.
“Sammy, 40 years? Where was this war? Across the galaxy!” Alison exclaimed.
Sammy didn’t reply for several minutes. Then, he said, “Yes, that is exactly where it was. Across the galaxy far, far away.”
“Sammy are you funning me?” Alison stated, then seeing his serious manner she said, “You are serious. That must mean that all the stories about the Roswell aliens are true. Was Miss Parker’s husband an alien?” she asked.
“Yes, and I guess this is one of those moments, if we stay together. Several of my friends are alien or part alien. Many of the stories you have heard are true. If we stay together, you would have to accept them. One of my friends, Kyle Valenti, married a woman who wouldn’t accept the aliens and he was forced to loose contact for many years with those he grew up with,” Sammy explained.
That is Ed Valenti’s father, isn’t it? Dad always said Ed had a ram-rod shoved up his ass. Why isn’t Jimmy that up tight? Alison asked.
“Jimmy takes after his grandfather, Kyle. Kyle is one of those who tell us stories about the Roswell aliens,” Sammy informed her. The timer went off and the two young people retired to the back yard to continue the watering.
Alison was still in deep thought. Sammy hoped that she didn’t turn out like Jimmy’s grandmother. Sammy didn’t want to have to make a choice between his friends in the alien abyss and his new girlfriend. “Is Miss Parker an alien?” Alison asked after several minutes.
“No, but when you are healed by an alien, you change in many ways. She has many powers since Max brought her back to life,” Sammy stated.
“Back to life, you mean like Lazarus?” Alison asked.
“No, Max just healed her bullet wound and stopped the bleeding. It was more like he gave her a second chance at life,” Sammy explained.
“Is that why she was willing to wait so long?” Alison inquired.
“I don’t think so. I think she was willing to wait because she really loves him. Like in sickness and in health or in presence or absence,” Sammy said.
Alison turned to Sammy and putting her arms around him she kissed him soundly. “I guess, if we stay together, your aliens will be my aliens,” she stated.
“There you go again with that, if we stay together, stuff!” Sammy exclaimed.
“Look, Sammy, I have to think real hard to see if I want to be with you for 40 years, so don’t push it, by going off to some stupid war that doesn’t end in a reasonable time,” Alison said as she sat on the back step with him, her arm still around him.
Louise was in a pickup with her new friend. “Daddy, I know it is late, but we are just now passing White Sands Monument. David says we will be in Alamogordo in about half an hour. Daddy, we saw so much wild life. David is able to stalk right up close to the animals. He seems to know where all of them are. I might even get an interest in wildlife biology. I have so many pictures that it will take a month to sort them out with PhotoShop. David says that if you haven’t had supper yet to wait for us. He can take us to a wonderful restaurant in Alamogordo,” Louise hung up as she watched the landscape rush by.
“Well, I showed you what my life is like. Now it is your turn to tell me more about yours,” David said.
“Except for school, most of my life is taken up with my scouting. We care for several folks in Roswell. We don’t take any pay, but most of those we care for tell us stories about Roswellian history,” Louise explained.
“You mean about the alien myths?” David asked.
“David, don’t dismiss them that easily. There may be a lot of truth in many of the stories,” Louise stated.
“Have you met any of the Roswell aliens?” David asked.
“David, I am very serious. Yes, I have met two of the original Roswell aliens. I have also met one of their descendants,” Louise explained.
“What do they look like? Are they three feet tall and slimy?” David asked in a jocular manner.
“No, David, that was the question Mandy Garcia asked Miss Parker when she first told us about them. They call themselves hybrids. They are part human DNA mixed with alien DNA. One of them that I met was in his sixties and he was just a strong man who has become an artist. The other one said she was about the same age, but she was a beautiful blonde lady with bright blue eyes. You would never be able to guess her age,” Louise answered him.
David looked at her. You are really serious, aren’t you? There really are Roswellian aliens?” he asked.
“Yes, David, and if we are going to be friends, you are going to have to meet them. I didn’t question your animals, so don’t you start questioning my friends,” Louise stated with a touch of anger. Well, this was what she needed to know. Would David show her as much courtesy as she had shown learning about his wildlife?
They drove the rest of the way to Alamogordo in silence. David took the two Andersons to supper and when they parted, he gently kissed Louise. “Take me to meet your friends, sometime,” he requested.
------------------------
How close does an executive get to his secretary? coming soon "The Elevator."
keepsmiling7
begonia9508: having a big heart was always a trait of Liz's
mary mary
Chapter 18
Mandy had quietly had a talk with her mother. “Mama, I will be getting ready for college soon. Papa has so many expectations for me. I just can’t, in good conscious, follow them.”
“I know, querida mía,” Sadie Sanchez-Garcia answered her daughter. “Papa always means well and he is a good man, but sometimes a woman must learn to bend the mind of a man when he forgets what is really best for her.”
This was the first time Mandy had ever been referred to as a woman, especially by her mother. “Mama, I don’t wish to go against his wishes, but this is for the rest of my life,” Mandy explained.
Sadie put her arms around her only child. When she had gone to the bed of Carlos Garcia, she had dreamed of many children. Many times she had prayed at the church for God to help her. It had taken her priest many hours to convince her that the ways of God are not to be questioned by man. You can show disappointment, but a true Christian must accept God’s will and make the best of it. As Emanuella had grown into a woman, Sadie had always looked on her daughter with pride. God had seen fit to make in Mandy a wonderful child who was becoming a strong woman. Now it was to be Carlos who must face that, strong women must make their own decisions. The one fault that Sadie had found in her husband was stubbornness when it came to what he expected in the world. It had taken him many years to come around to the fact that he wasn’t going to be a great patriarch, rather he would develop pride in the accomplishments of his lone, wonderful child. “What are your plans that will upset your father so much, niña? Sadie asked. She had used a form of endearment given to a small child. Well, Mandy may be growing up, but to her mother, she was still someone who needed a loving lap and a shoulder to cry on.
“Mama, I don’t want to be a lawyer. Papa has, for so long, had this dream that I would be like the Ramirez man, Jesse. Jesse is a powerful man and he has done a lot for both the Anglo and the Hispanic communities. I know that Papa respects him a lot. I want to do things for all communities, but it is not with the law. Mama, I really want to study for medical school. Papa was so taken by the election where two women were running for governor that he sees me like that. Politics is the last thing I want to do. As a doctor, I could bring babies into the world and help the elderly as they prepare to leave it. I have learned so much as I work with the scouts. Look at Mr. Hanson. All he needs is someone who cares about him. Just someone who thinks about giving him a Coca-Cola,” Mandy explained.
“I know, querida. You are a caring person. If a doctor is what you want to be, it is a doctor you should become. Papa will just have to learn that doctors are as important as lawyers to the people,” Sadie comforted.
“Mama, there is one other thing. How did you know that Papa was the man you wanted to spend the rest of your life with?” Mandy asked.
This conversation was quickly getting more serious than Sadie had imagined. “When I first saw him, papa was so handsome. He was so smart. He was already assistant manager of his grocery store. My parents both liked him. What wasn’t there to like? He was kind, hardworking and he always promised to love and care for me. Except that God didn’t choose for us a large family, I could never ask for more,” Sadie explained.
“Mama, I do want more. I found a boy that I would like to go with who respects me and wants to stand beside me. He is a smart boy and he cares for all those around him. Mama, I don’t want to be with a boy just to have a boyfriend. We are both young and we may change in the next few years before we could think about marriage, but I don’t want to go with him behind both of your backs. I want to date him and learn about him at the same time you and papa learn about him. If he is the one, then I want you and papa to accept him as a son,” Mandy expounded.
Sadie frowned. Mandy had not dated to her knowledge and this confession indicated that she didn’t want to do so secretly. What kind of boy had she found who would raise questions in the Garcia family? “Querida, who is this young man you want to give your heart to?” Sadie asked.
“Mama, it is Jimmy Valenti. He is from a Catholic family, but since his mother died, they don’t attend church much,” Mandy stated.
“Emanuella, you know how papa feels about our heritage. No matter how good Jimmy Valenti is, papa will have a hard time accepting him,” Sadie told her daughter.
“I know, mama, but this is the 21st century. Sammy Gutierrez says his father wants to be proud of his heritage, but not for him to be trapped by it. I just want papa to be proud of me and to love whom ever I love like the son he never had,” Mandy said.
“It won’t be easy, querida. But, papa loves you and we will just have to convince him of how wonderful this Jimmy is. In the mean time, make sure you do not give him any other cause to worry. You and Jimmy mind your actions. If Jimmy is the right one, I am sure that papa will eventually come around,” Sadie said with more faith than she actually had. Carlos had many dreams. In these times, it would be necessary for him to see that Mandy also had her own dreams.
Sammy was at the Parker place. He had invited Alison to come with him. Louise was out of town with her father. Sammy knew that Louise was hoping to spend some time with her new friend. As Louise would put it, she wanted to see if he could be elevated to boyfriend status. Sammy knew that now, officially at the teen level, Mandy and Jimmy would be an item. He didn’t envy them. His family just had such a different view of their heritage. Their views on religion were different, also. Sammy had attended and graduated from his catechism classes. He had taken his first communion. His father had taken him aside and said, “I promised to give you Catholic training. This isn’t exactly what the church intended, but now it is up to you as to your relationship with God. Learn as much as you can about everything. As you build things, never get so conceited that you don’t remember that there is always something bigger than you. Alison wasn’t Catholic. She had attended mass with him as he had attended services with her at her church.
Alison was funny that way. She always said, “If we stay together, religion is one of the things we have to work out.” Being with Alison was like going into a room and always keeping the door opened. They stayed together, even through arguments, because they wanted to. Louise had told him that he and Alison reminded her of Michael and Maria.
They were sitting on the porch as they waited for the egg timer to go off, signaling that the watering was finished. “This is what I want for us, if we stay together,” Alison said.
“Why do you always say things like that?” Sammy asked.
“Like what?” Alison replied.
“Like always saying, if we stay together,” Sammy said.
“Well, Sammy even your Miss Parker had her boyfriend leave her for another girl while they were in high school,” Alison stated.
“Well, I don’t intend to leave you for another girl. Where would I find another girl who would argue with me so well?” Sammy asked.
“Just don’t run off to war for 40 years and expect me to wait for you,” Alison stated. “If you do, expect to come home to a house with a dozen kids,” she continued.
“Aw, Alison, you mean you wouldn’t sit by the door and wait for me?” Sammy drawled.
“Sammy, we get married and you go off somewhere, you better damn well have definite time limits on your absence,” she retorted. “Where did he go, anyway, for that long?” she asked.
“He went to a war. It took him a long time to get back,” Sammy answered.
“Sammy, 40 years? Where was this war? Across the galaxy!” Alison exclaimed.
Sammy didn’t reply for several minutes. Then, he said, “Yes, that is exactly where it was. Across the galaxy far, far away.”
“Sammy are you funning me?” Alison stated, then seeing his serious manner she said, “You are serious. That must mean that all the stories about the Roswell aliens are true. Was Miss Parker’s husband an alien?” she asked.
“Yes, and I guess this is one of those moments, if we stay together. Several of my friends are alien or part alien. Many of the stories you have heard are true. If we stay together, you would have to accept them. One of my friends, Kyle Valenti, married a woman who wouldn’t accept the aliens and he was forced to loose contact for many years with those he grew up with,” Sammy explained.
That is Ed Valenti’s father, isn’t it? Dad always said Ed had a ram-rod shoved up his ass. Why isn’t Jimmy that up tight? Alison asked.
“Jimmy takes after his grandfather, Kyle. Kyle is one of those who tell us stories about the Roswell aliens,” Sammy informed her. The timer went off and the two young people retired to the back yard to continue the watering.
Alison was still in deep thought. Sammy hoped that she didn’t turn out like Jimmy’s grandmother. Sammy didn’t want to have to make a choice between his friends in the alien abyss and his new girlfriend. “Is Miss Parker an alien?” Alison asked after several minutes.
“No, but when you are healed by an alien, you change in many ways. She has many powers since Max brought her back to life,” Sammy stated.
“Back to life, you mean like Lazarus?” Alison asked.
“No, Max just healed her bullet wound and stopped the bleeding. It was more like he gave her a second chance at life,” Sammy explained.
“Is that why she was willing to wait so long?” Alison inquired.
“I don’t think so. I think she was willing to wait because she really loves him. Like in sickness and in health or in presence or absence,” Sammy said.
Alison turned to Sammy and putting her arms around him she kissed him soundly. “I guess, if we stay together, your aliens will be my aliens,” she stated.
“There you go again with that, if we stay together, stuff!” Sammy exclaimed.
“Look, Sammy, I have to think real hard to see if I want to be with you for 40 years, so don’t push it, by going off to some stupid war that doesn’t end in a reasonable time,” Alison said as she sat on the back step with him, her arm still around him.
Louise was in a pickup with her new friend. “Daddy, I know it is late, but we are just now passing White Sands Monument. David says we will be in Alamogordo in about half an hour. Daddy, we saw so much wild life. David is able to stalk right up close to the animals. He seems to know where all of them are. I might even get an interest in wildlife biology. I have so many pictures that it will take a month to sort them out with PhotoShop. David says that if you haven’t had supper yet to wait for us. He can take us to a wonderful restaurant in Alamogordo,” Louise hung up as she watched the landscape rush by.
“Well, I showed you what my life is like. Now it is your turn to tell me more about yours,” David said.
“Except for school, most of my life is taken up with my scouting. We care for several folks in Roswell. We don’t take any pay, but most of those we care for tell us stories about Roswellian history,” Louise explained.
“You mean about the alien myths?” David asked.
“David, don’t dismiss them that easily. There may be a lot of truth in many of the stories,” Louise stated.
“Have you met any of the Roswell aliens?” David asked.
“David, I am very serious. Yes, I have met two of the original Roswell aliens. I have also met one of their descendants,” Louise explained.
“What do they look like? Are they three feet tall and slimy?” David asked in a jocular manner.
“No, David, that was the question Mandy Garcia asked Miss Parker when she first told us about them. They call themselves hybrids. They are part human DNA mixed with alien DNA. One of them that I met was in his sixties and he was just a strong man who has become an artist. The other one said she was about the same age, but she was a beautiful blonde lady with bright blue eyes. You would never be able to guess her age,” Louise answered him.
David looked at her. You are really serious, aren’t you? There really are Roswellian aliens?” he asked.
“Yes, David, and if we are going to be friends, you are going to have to meet them. I didn’t question your animals, so don’t you start questioning my friends,” Louise stated with a touch of anger. Well, this was what she needed to know. Would David show her as much courtesy as she had shown learning about his wildlife?
They drove the rest of the way to Alamogordo in silence. David took the two Andersons to supper and when they parted, he gently kissed Louise. “Take me to meet your friends, sometime,” he requested.
------------------------
How close does an executive get to his secretary? coming soon "The Elevator."
Good teachers are born that way, not made. No! Good human beings, are born that way. Some of them become teachers.
Of course, life is not fair. You shouldn't expect it to be fair, but you should expect it to be ironic.
JKR 1981-2001
History is made of wars, recovering from wars and preparing for the next war.
JJR 1975-
Of course, life is not fair. You shouldn't expect it to be fair, but you should expect it to be ironic.
JKR 1981-2001
History is made of wars, recovering from wars and preparing for the next war.
JJR 1975-
Re: I Heard You Calling teen CC pg 8 ch 18 Feb 13, 2011
XAF Ru208
mary mary
begonia9508
keepsmiling7
Chapter 19
Everyone was interested in the new information that Liz’s touch was healing to Max. “I would expect that having Liz with him would improve his mental state, but you are telling me that Liz now, has the hands of the healer!” Maria exclaimed.
Ava nodded her head. “Exactly, Liz, can heal the physical body every bit as good as any alien. It would be interesting to know how long she has had this ability. We know that the Royal Sign can be passed from person to person. When it had been thought that Max had died and gone into the body of Clayton Wheeler, the millionaire. The sign passed to Michael. When Max returned, he took back the sign by force. Does anyone know if Liz has inherited the sign?” Ava asked.
Isabel had been thinking. Somehow in all the transfers, the Royal Sign had avoided her. Had there been some question about her, being created from the genes she received from Vilandra? After all, Vilandra had been considered a traitor. Isabel had never felt like a traitor although she continually worried about her actions, ever since she learned of Vilandra from congressman Whiticker. After meeting her duplicate, Lonnie, Isabel could understand any reluctance in trusting Vilandra’s genes. Somehow, Isabel was totally different from either Vilandra or the dup Lonnie.
Michael had been also sitting thinking about all of this. He remembered vaguely the time he bore the Royal Sign. That had been a time of turmoil for him. Eventualy, he came to the realization that he did not really want the sign. “Liz does not seem to be effected like I was, if she indeed does have the sign,” he stated.
Ava spoke up, “Liz is older and Liz has alien characteristics, but to our knowledge she has no alien genes. Any changes in her body probably took place within the genetic material she was born with.”
Now that Liz had been reunited with Max, she stayed in his apartment all the time. They had slept in the same bed together, but Liz released no stories about any intimacies they shared. Indeed, Max was still very weak. Max’s wounds were very deep. Many of them were in his soul, rather then his physical body.
The others were speculating about Liz’s powers. To Liz the realization of this power occurred only when she faced the tortured body of Max. She remembered one other time when she and Clayton Wheeler had fallen out of the window, while Liz was fighting for her life. When Clayton struck the ground, Liz received the power to awaken Max. At this time, Liz had no idea of having the Royal Sign or not. She only knew that Max had need of her and she had the power to help him. It was the same now.
Both Max and Liz knew that, eventually, they needed to have a long talk. No matter how their mutual attraction developed, they needed to share knowledge of what had transpired during the last 40 years. Right now, Liz was willing to put this off until she felt that Max was stronger.
Captain Alex thought he had found a new vocation. When and if he retired from the Air Force, he could always write fiction. He developed two reports. In the official report, Captain Alex had reunited Max with his friends and family. Max had no memory of what had happened since he had been in his early twenties. It was clear that he had been fighting, but there was no record of him in any service. If there were more questions, the captain would suggest a search for a missing soldier under some pseudonym. The second record, Alex had been careful to give as detailed an account as possible. He would probably turn this record over to his mother and father. They would know what best to do with that. Much like Liz, Alex also kept a journal. He would write everything he learned about his heritage and, someday, he would give this to his children with the suggestion of sharing this with the other descendants of the Roswell aliens.
It was Sunday and Ed Valenti was taking his one day off for himself. He was on the golf links. Grandpa Kyle was off, no one knew where. Kyle had been acting very spry lately. Jimmy knew that it was his hope to meet with the blonde alien. Ava had asked Jimmy to tell Kyle that even if he was mad at her, she wanted to talk to him. Kyle bore no grudge. He knew that aliens had their own way of thinking and if Ava wanted to talk with him, he wanted to face her at his best. Jimmy and the other three scouts and Janice were at the Valenti house planning their project. With Janice’s help, they had worked on Maria and Michael’s house and yard. Maria and Michael hadn’t had time to work on a lawn, yet. The time the house had been on the market had allowed much of the yard to dry up.
Janice was speaking, “Mama called and said they all were coming home next week. Max is reunited with Liz, but they have many issues to work out.”
Mandy looked up, “Even after so many years, you still have issues to work out. Does it never end?”
Janice smiled as she shook her head. “No, Mandy, relationships always have issues to work out.” Then, a sad frown crossed Janice’s face. “Maybe, that is why I haven’t been good at relationships. I never was good at working things out. I guess I get that from my father.” A pall surrounded the group for a minute. Then, Janice shook her head and forced a smile, “But, that is what futures are for. We always hope to do better tomorrow.”
“Speaking of tomorrow,” Jimmy started. “We need to work a few afternoons if we want the two houses to be ready for the homecoming late next week. Sammy how is Mr. Hanson doing?” Jimmy asked.
“Alison’s cousin works with Meals on Wheels. I talked to him about Mr. Hanson. Mr. Hanson is so eager to get the hot meal he waits on the porch by the door. Fred Simpson, that is her cousin’s name, says that Mr. Hanson really appreciates the hot meal and he also enjoys talking to the men who deliver it. Fred says that even in the short time he had known Mr. Hanson, he has seen a change in him. He seems to be a lot more full of life,” Sammy informed the group.
Janice spoke up, “I hope you guys understand what you have brought to these folks. Mama says that dad talks about you two,” indicating Jimmy and Sammy, “as his friends. Dad doesn’t make friends easily. He still doesn’t trust humans. Mama says that talking Miss Parker into buying that little black dress was a masterstroke. Liz wore the dress when she first was reunited with Max.”
“Once you get to know him, Mr. Hanson is a fun person. He knows a lot about the local history of Roswell. He tells good stories, once he learned to trust us. I know he has a hard time, but a little care and he can have a much better life,” Louise stated.
Janice smiled, she had noticed that the young people no longer saw Mr. Hanson as “Old Man Hanson.” He had taken on a much more personable character for them.
“When we suggested that Liz buy the little black dress, we told her to wear it when the king returned. Neither of us expected him to come this quickly. We just felt she should have at least one dress up piece to wear,” Mandy said.
Janice noticed also that at least Mandy had begun to call Miss Parker “Liz.” Janice knew that Mandy had had a long talk with Liz about her, Mandy’s personal life. Some bond must have passed between them.
It was late that afternoon, the scouts and Janice had gone home and Ed finally returned. “Dad, we are going to work a few afternoons on the Parker house. Janice Guerin says she is coming home. Her husband has returned from the war,” Jimmy stated.
Ed frowned, “Do you know what war he is returning from and why he has been absent for so long?” Ed asked.
“No, dad, Janice just said that he is back and he and Miss Parker are back together again. Janice says that everyone is happy to see Miss Parker with her husband,” Jimmy stated.
“Well, maybe he was held captive in one of those Himalayan countries. I understand they still are holding some of our boys prisoner. That is one of the saddest things of war, son,” Ed said to Jimmy.
“Yeah, dad, it is sad. Anyway, we are going to freshen up the Parker house and Janice wants help with her parents home. Maria Deluca and Michael Guerin will be coming back, also,” Jimmy said.
Ed frowned, “Jimmy, I don’t know if I want you around that Michael character. I don’t trust him.”
“Dad, you introduced us to Janice. Michael and Maria are her parents. We have been helping them along with the rest,” Jimmy told his father.
Ed turned and walked away. “I didn’t realize the last name. Maybe, I didn’t even know his last name. Those damned aliens are just dangerous,” he mumbled as he left.
As he watched his father leave, Jimmy thought, “It isn’t that he doesn’t believe in aliens, he is afraid of them. For some reason, he thinks they are a danger to our family.”
Jimmy found his grandfather, Kyle, sitting under a tree in the back yard. His father was nowhere around, so Jimmy pulled up another chair and sat beside the old man. “Yeah, he is scared,” Kyle started. Jimmy was surprised. He hadn’t yet told Kyle anything of his concerns. This wasn’t the first time gramps seemed to know what was on his mind. “All through high school, your grandmother was trying to find out the secrets of the Evans twins and Liz. After Liz dumped me, I was also trying to find out their secrets. Liz told me it was drugs. There was no way Miss Perfect would do drugs. I couldn’t see her protecting anyone else, where drugs were concerned. When we were dating, she never did anything that her father wouldn’t have approved of. That is why it was so surprising when I saw her all over Max. Even when they said there was nothing between them, I just couldn’t understand. Give them the eraser room or even a dark corner, Liz was willing to play baseball with Max as far as he wanted to go. He wasn’t even trying and I had used every thing I knew to try to get her into bed. She was all Max. After I learned the truth, I eventually understood. They were made for each other.”
“Well, when did you get with grandma Pam?” Jimmy asked.
“Jimmy, no disrespect to your grandmother, she was no virgin when we finally got together, but neither was I. That wasn’t important. Max and Michael had an argument over returning to Antar. Maria took Michael and got out of town. Isabel had already returned to Jesse and for no reason that I could understand, Ava left me. Looking around there was no one around that I had known from high school. After hearing that Max had left. I wasn’t about to try to start up with Liz again. I think your grandmother, at first, was using me to try to find out the secrets. Hey, I had been a real stud in my day. So as our relationship developed, Pam learned more than she wanted to about aliens. She had never liked Liz or Maria. That was from some schoolgirl thing. She never explained. Pam’s method of dealing with the alien stories was denial. I guess I could have put my foot down, but otherwise, our relationship was very good. The aliens were gone. Edward grew up a little prissy, but he is a good son. You came along and then your mother died. Ed looked back and decided that in someway, much of our family troubles were associated with aliens. Don’t ask him to make sense. Your father has to face the world the way he sees it. Just remember that you must face your world the same way; the way you see it. Always respect your dad, but remember, you must live your own life,” grandpa Kyle told his grandson.
“That is like Miss Parker told Mandy. She told Mandy that she should respect her parents, but she had to follow her heart, eventually,” Jimmy stated.
---------------------------------
What must a secretary do to keep her job? What must the boss do to keep his secretary? How does this affect their private lives? Coming soon "The Elevator." rated mature.
mary mary
begonia9508
keepsmiling7
Chapter 19
Everyone was interested in the new information that Liz’s touch was healing to Max. “I would expect that having Liz with him would improve his mental state, but you are telling me that Liz now, has the hands of the healer!” Maria exclaimed.
Ava nodded her head. “Exactly, Liz, can heal the physical body every bit as good as any alien. It would be interesting to know how long she has had this ability. We know that the Royal Sign can be passed from person to person. When it had been thought that Max had died and gone into the body of Clayton Wheeler, the millionaire. The sign passed to Michael. When Max returned, he took back the sign by force. Does anyone know if Liz has inherited the sign?” Ava asked.
Isabel had been thinking. Somehow in all the transfers, the Royal Sign had avoided her. Had there been some question about her, being created from the genes she received from Vilandra? After all, Vilandra had been considered a traitor. Isabel had never felt like a traitor although she continually worried about her actions, ever since she learned of Vilandra from congressman Whiticker. After meeting her duplicate, Lonnie, Isabel could understand any reluctance in trusting Vilandra’s genes. Somehow, Isabel was totally different from either Vilandra or the dup Lonnie.
Michael had been also sitting thinking about all of this. He remembered vaguely the time he bore the Royal Sign. That had been a time of turmoil for him. Eventualy, he came to the realization that he did not really want the sign. “Liz does not seem to be effected like I was, if she indeed does have the sign,” he stated.
Ava spoke up, “Liz is older and Liz has alien characteristics, but to our knowledge she has no alien genes. Any changes in her body probably took place within the genetic material she was born with.”
Now that Liz had been reunited with Max, she stayed in his apartment all the time. They had slept in the same bed together, but Liz released no stories about any intimacies they shared. Indeed, Max was still very weak. Max’s wounds were very deep. Many of them were in his soul, rather then his physical body.
The others were speculating about Liz’s powers. To Liz the realization of this power occurred only when she faced the tortured body of Max. She remembered one other time when she and Clayton Wheeler had fallen out of the window, while Liz was fighting for her life. When Clayton struck the ground, Liz received the power to awaken Max. At this time, Liz had no idea of having the Royal Sign or not. She only knew that Max had need of her and she had the power to help him. It was the same now.
Both Max and Liz knew that, eventually, they needed to have a long talk. No matter how their mutual attraction developed, they needed to share knowledge of what had transpired during the last 40 years. Right now, Liz was willing to put this off until she felt that Max was stronger.
Captain Alex thought he had found a new vocation. When and if he retired from the Air Force, he could always write fiction. He developed two reports. In the official report, Captain Alex had reunited Max with his friends and family. Max had no memory of what had happened since he had been in his early twenties. It was clear that he had been fighting, but there was no record of him in any service. If there were more questions, the captain would suggest a search for a missing soldier under some pseudonym. The second record, Alex had been careful to give as detailed an account as possible. He would probably turn this record over to his mother and father. They would know what best to do with that. Much like Liz, Alex also kept a journal. He would write everything he learned about his heritage and, someday, he would give this to his children with the suggestion of sharing this with the other descendants of the Roswell aliens.
It was Sunday and Ed Valenti was taking his one day off for himself. He was on the golf links. Grandpa Kyle was off, no one knew where. Kyle had been acting very spry lately. Jimmy knew that it was his hope to meet with the blonde alien. Ava had asked Jimmy to tell Kyle that even if he was mad at her, she wanted to talk to him. Kyle bore no grudge. He knew that aliens had their own way of thinking and if Ava wanted to talk with him, he wanted to face her at his best. Jimmy and the other three scouts and Janice were at the Valenti house planning their project. With Janice’s help, they had worked on Maria and Michael’s house and yard. Maria and Michael hadn’t had time to work on a lawn, yet. The time the house had been on the market had allowed much of the yard to dry up.
Janice was speaking, “Mama called and said they all were coming home next week. Max is reunited with Liz, but they have many issues to work out.”
Mandy looked up, “Even after so many years, you still have issues to work out. Does it never end?”
Janice smiled as she shook her head. “No, Mandy, relationships always have issues to work out.” Then, a sad frown crossed Janice’s face. “Maybe, that is why I haven’t been good at relationships. I never was good at working things out. I guess I get that from my father.” A pall surrounded the group for a minute. Then, Janice shook her head and forced a smile, “But, that is what futures are for. We always hope to do better tomorrow.”
“Speaking of tomorrow,” Jimmy started. “We need to work a few afternoons if we want the two houses to be ready for the homecoming late next week. Sammy how is Mr. Hanson doing?” Jimmy asked.
“Alison’s cousin works with Meals on Wheels. I talked to him about Mr. Hanson. Mr. Hanson is so eager to get the hot meal he waits on the porch by the door. Fred Simpson, that is her cousin’s name, says that Mr. Hanson really appreciates the hot meal and he also enjoys talking to the men who deliver it. Fred says that even in the short time he had known Mr. Hanson, he has seen a change in him. He seems to be a lot more full of life,” Sammy informed the group.
Janice spoke up, “I hope you guys understand what you have brought to these folks. Mama says that dad talks about you two,” indicating Jimmy and Sammy, “as his friends. Dad doesn’t make friends easily. He still doesn’t trust humans. Mama says that talking Miss Parker into buying that little black dress was a masterstroke. Liz wore the dress when she first was reunited with Max.”
“Once you get to know him, Mr. Hanson is a fun person. He knows a lot about the local history of Roswell. He tells good stories, once he learned to trust us. I know he has a hard time, but a little care and he can have a much better life,” Louise stated.
Janice smiled, she had noticed that the young people no longer saw Mr. Hanson as “Old Man Hanson.” He had taken on a much more personable character for them.
“When we suggested that Liz buy the little black dress, we told her to wear it when the king returned. Neither of us expected him to come this quickly. We just felt she should have at least one dress up piece to wear,” Mandy said.
Janice noticed also that at least Mandy had begun to call Miss Parker “Liz.” Janice knew that Mandy had had a long talk with Liz about her, Mandy’s personal life. Some bond must have passed between them.
It was late that afternoon, the scouts and Janice had gone home and Ed finally returned. “Dad, we are going to work a few afternoons on the Parker house. Janice Guerin says she is coming home. Her husband has returned from the war,” Jimmy stated.
Ed frowned, “Do you know what war he is returning from and why he has been absent for so long?” Ed asked.
“No, dad, Janice just said that he is back and he and Miss Parker are back together again. Janice says that everyone is happy to see Miss Parker with her husband,” Jimmy stated.
“Well, maybe he was held captive in one of those Himalayan countries. I understand they still are holding some of our boys prisoner. That is one of the saddest things of war, son,” Ed said to Jimmy.
“Yeah, dad, it is sad. Anyway, we are going to freshen up the Parker house and Janice wants help with her parents home. Maria Deluca and Michael Guerin will be coming back, also,” Jimmy said.
Ed frowned, “Jimmy, I don’t know if I want you around that Michael character. I don’t trust him.”
“Dad, you introduced us to Janice. Michael and Maria are her parents. We have been helping them along with the rest,” Jimmy told his father.
Ed turned and walked away. “I didn’t realize the last name. Maybe, I didn’t even know his last name. Those damned aliens are just dangerous,” he mumbled as he left.
As he watched his father leave, Jimmy thought, “It isn’t that he doesn’t believe in aliens, he is afraid of them. For some reason, he thinks they are a danger to our family.”
Jimmy found his grandfather, Kyle, sitting under a tree in the back yard. His father was nowhere around, so Jimmy pulled up another chair and sat beside the old man. “Yeah, he is scared,” Kyle started. Jimmy was surprised. He hadn’t yet told Kyle anything of his concerns. This wasn’t the first time gramps seemed to know what was on his mind. “All through high school, your grandmother was trying to find out the secrets of the Evans twins and Liz. After Liz dumped me, I was also trying to find out their secrets. Liz told me it was drugs. There was no way Miss Perfect would do drugs. I couldn’t see her protecting anyone else, where drugs were concerned. When we were dating, she never did anything that her father wouldn’t have approved of. That is why it was so surprising when I saw her all over Max. Even when they said there was nothing between them, I just couldn’t understand. Give them the eraser room or even a dark corner, Liz was willing to play baseball with Max as far as he wanted to go. He wasn’t even trying and I had used every thing I knew to try to get her into bed. She was all Max. After I learned the truth, I eventually understood. They were made for each other.”
“Well, when did you get with grandma Pam?” Jimmy asked.
“Jimmy, no disrespect to your grandmother, she was no virgin when we finally got together, but neither was I. That wasn’t important. Max and Michael had an argument over returning to Antar. Maria took Michael and got out of town. Isabel had already returned to Jesse and for no reason that I could understand, Ava left me. Looking around there was no one around that I had known from high school. After hearing that Max had left. I wasn’t about to try to start up with Liz again. I think your grandmother, at first, was using me to try to find out the secrets. Hey, I had been a real stud in my day. So as our relationship developed, Pam learned more than she wanted to about aliens. She had never liked Liz or Maria. That was from some schoolgirl thing. She never explained. Pam’s method of dealing with the alien stories was denial. I guess I could have put my foot down, but otherwise, our relationship was very good. The aliens were gone. Edward grew up a little prissy, but he is a good son. You came along and then your mother died. Ed looked back and decided that in someway, much of our family troubles were associated with aliens. Don’t ask him to make sense. Your father has to face the world the way he sees it. Just remember that you must face your world the same way; the way you see it. Always respect your dad, but remember, you must live your own life,” grandpa Kyle told his grandson.
“That is like Miss Parker told Mandy. She told Mandy that she should respect her parents, but she had to follow her heart, eventually,” Jimmy stated.
---------------------------------
What must a secretary do to keep her job? What must the boss do to keep his secretary? How does this affect their private lives? Coming soon "The Elevator." rated mature.
Good teachers are born that way, not made. No! Good human beings, are born that way. Some of them become teachers.
Of course, life is not fair. You shouldn't expect it to be fair, but you should expect it to be ironic.
JKR 1981-2001
History is made of wars, recovering from wars and preparing for the next war.
JJR 1975-
Of course, life is not fair. You shouldn't expect it to be fair, but you should expect it to be ironic.
JKR 1981-2001
History is made of wars, recovering from wars and preparing for the next war.
JJR 1975-
Re: I Heard You Calling teen CC pg 8 ch 19 Feb 20, 2011
begonia9508
mary mary
keepsmiling7
Chapter 20
Janice called Jimmy, “Why don’t you all work on Mr. Hanson’s place this weekend. Give my parents and Liz and Max a little time to settle in.”
It had been at Mr. Hanson’s insistence. At noon, the pizza man drove up and delivered several pizzas along with several liters of cold Pepsi Cola. The kids had treated him several times, so he wanted to return the favor. They were sitting under a tree in the front yard when Jimmy said, “Remember Liz Parker. Her husband Max returned to her.”
Hanson hadn’t even kept up with world political events much less events nearer to home. “How long has he been gone?” Hanson asked.
Jimmy was tearing off a slice of Pizza. “He has been gone about 40 years. He went to war. My father says maybe, he was held prisoner some where in the far east,”
“Far east, my ass. If he was gone to war, you can bet it was on some other planet. That boy was an alien. He healed the Parker girl and I heard he married her. I thought aliens were smart. If that Max guy was going to leave the Parker girl and go gallivanting across the universe, he should have left her to your granddaddy. You can bet that if that Max boy went off somewhere, there were UFOs somewhere around. What happened to the rest of them aliens?” Hanson asked.
“Well, we heard that Michael Guerin went off with the singer, Maria DeLuca and Max’s sister, Isabel, married a Jesse Ramirez,” Jimmy explained.
“Ramirez, Jesse Ramirez, don’t recall much about that boy. He must have not ever been in trouble. Them good kids I never got to see much. There was that little blonde girl. I always thought she was some sort of alien. I tried to stop her a time or two, but I always got confused, somehow. I figured she was putting the hex sign on me, or something. She disappeared a couple times and then, that Air Force bunch was plastering the town with her pictures. Jimmy, I think at one time she had a thing with your grandfather. Just before Kyle finally got married, she disappeared for good,” Hanson concluded.
“Well, they are all coming back,” Jimmy stated.
“Oh my, we are being invaded. Are they going to line us up and take us off to the meat Market like that “V” movie?” Hanson exclaimed.
“No, Mr. Hanson, I think they just want to settle down. They are the same age as grandpa and they want to live out their lives in peace,” Jimmy said.
“What does your papa have to say about this? Knowing his feelings I imagine he will be fit to be tied,” Hanson remarked.
“I am not sure he completely understands about them returning. Remember, he is not sure that aliens even exist,” Jimmy explained.
“Oh, they exist for sure! Let me know what happens when he learns about it,” Hanson requested. Then he chuckled, “Watching that Ed Valenti boy will sure be a sight, when he sees aliens all over the place.”
“Papa, I want start dating. I don’t want to do this without your blessing,” Mandy pleaded.
“Remember, you will start Harvard, next year. You will be pretty busy. Who is this young man? Did Sammy Gutierrez break up with his Anglo girl?” Mr. Garcia asked his daughter.
“No, papa, Sammy is still going with Allison West,” Mandy said.
“Well, have you met one of the younger Ramirez boys? Remember their uncle or something went to Harvard and became a great lawyer,” Mr. Garcia stated.
“No, papa, it isn’t one of the Ramirez boys. I did hear that Jesse Ramirez is returning to Roswell with his Anglo wife,” Mandy informed her father stressing the word “Anglo.” She had to bite her tongue to not say his Anglo alien wife. She didn’t want to set her father off too much. Why couldn’t her father be more like Sammy’s parents. They had Hispanic pride, but they were not prejudiced like her father was. Mandy took a deep breath, “Papa, it is Jimmy Valenti, one of the scouts,” Mandy informed her father.
“No, no, you have to get ready to go to Harvard! You do not have time to be messing around with boys like that,” Mr. Garcia said with force.
Mandy felt that she was already in trouble so, she said, “Papa, that is another thing. I don’t want to go to Harvard. I don’t want to be a lawyer. I don’t want to go that far away from home.’
Mr. Garcia was now, really upset. It took a while, but something that Mandy had said to him, finally, got through to his thinking mind. “Papa, I don’t want to go that far away from home.” Mr. Garcia had never thought what it would be like, his only daughter clear across the country, able to only come home Christmas, maybe, or maybe not return until the summer. She had never been away from home that long before. He stomped out of the room leaving Mandy in tears.
Sadie Garcia entered as soon as she was sure that her husband had left. “Emanuella, he is not used to thinking of you growing up. He is not used to thinking that you might have dreams of your own. If you really like that Valenti boy, then just wait awhile. Papa will come around. I will say something to Mr. Gutierrez. Papa respects him and he is a lot more reasonable than papa is sometimes.” Sadie laughed a little. “I don’t think papa ever realized that if you did go to Harvard, you would be that far away. To him, Harvard has always been just a town or two away. That you would be gone a whole year scares him. I know it scares me.”
Mandy was with Allison West and Louise. Since Allison was with Sammy, the girls had been including her in their company more and more. “Of course, my father knows that Sammy is Hispanic, but all he asked me was, is he smart, is he reliable and do I really like him?” Then Allison snickered, “Of course he asked me if his intentions toward me were respectable. How do you answer that? Is any teenaged boy’s intentions to his girl respectable? I told my father that Sammy had a good reputation and that I believed he liked me as much as I liked him. That seemed to satisfy him for the moment,” Allison told the girls.
Louise stated, “David is Anglo, but the only things that my father was worried about was that he was in college. My mom told dad that I would be in college myself next year. He better develop trust in the way I was raised. A lot of my romance with David, if you can call it that at this stage, was by computer. I don’t think his race came into question. Come to think about it, what type a name is Markley anyway?” Louise mused. “Religion hasn’t even come up yet.”
Jimmy was at school and Ed was at work. Kyle was sitting at home. There was a knock at his door and he answered it. When he opened the door, he was surprised. Standing in the door way was a blonde lady. Her eyes were sparkling blue and she didn’t look a day over what Kyle remembered of Tess so many years ago. On second thought, there was a difference in this lady. Tess had always looked hungry. Tess always wanted something and she was willing to do anything to get it. The woman in front of Kyle wanted something, but there was none of the savage hunger Kyle remembered from Tess. “Come in Ava,” Kyle said.
“Are you sure I am welcome?” she asked.
“Welcome, why wouldn’t you be?” Kyle answered with a question.
“I did leave rather suddenly,” she replied.
“That you did and I think you owe me an explanation,” Kyle stated.
“You scared me,” was the simple statement she made.
“Scared you. Why, because we slept together?” was Kyle’s question.
“No, because we made love,” she said.
“Slept together, made love, what is the difference?” Kyle was still perplexed.
“To you nothing, but to me, there is a lot of difference. Sleeping together, having sex, that is just an act of pleasure. It can be an act to create life, if we want it to or it can just be an act of cementing a relationship, no big deal. The second time we slept together, I could see in your mind. You were thinking of giving up all your wandering ways. You wanted a home with a wife who loved you. You wanted children, not because we needed more life, but because you wanted something, of me and you wanted me to want something of you. That second time, you were in love. I had no idea what love was all about. You wanted me to be with you forever. You saw your mother and you wanted me to be what she wasn’t. Suddenly, I was terrified. Would I cause in you, the same sadness I sensed in your father? I knew I wasn’t human and for your dad, human wasn’t even enough. All reason left me. I fled without even thanking the Evans family for their kindness. I ran without talking to Liz, because I knew that Liz could give Max what you wanted. Later, when I heard that Max had left Liz, I decided that the genes from Antar would make it impossible for me to be what any earthman would want. Even Max couldn’t be faithful. Then, I saw Isabel. Isabel stood by her man no matter how hard it was to part from Max. Max was her brother, but Jesse was her husband. Isabel was what a human man would want. Isabel was a variation from Lonnie and the original Vilandra. Maybe, Isabel was defective, alien wise. She was more human than even some humans. Finally, I heard about Michael. He wasn’t married to Maria. That was another validation that normal aliens could not be faithful to Earth creatures. Watching Michael over the years I saw that he didn’t need marriage. Marriage was just a legal term to Michael. Michael had no intention of ever leaving Maria.” All this time as she was talking to Kyle, Ava was playing with her hands in her lap. Kyle could see that she was very nervous.
“When did you come to a decision?” Kyle questioned.
“Several years ago. I decided that I could be what an Earthman would want. By then, you were married. I watched you from afar to see if you would have better luck than your father. I had questions about Pam, but soon I decided that she would stay with you for a long time. I took off, determined to never return. Then, I felt the return of the king. I knew that Cornball would need someone to stand beside her, someone who understood aliens. It was Liz who introduced me to Jimmy, your grandson.” Ava had said almost all she intended to. She had no idea of what would happen next.
Kyle reached out and brought Ava close to him. “Do you mean that if I do this, you will not get scared?” he asked.
“No, I won’t” she answered, but Kyle felt her quiver. “At least not now, she continued.
Kyle reached his fingers behind her head and ran them through her long yellow hair until he felt her neck. Then, Kyle tilted her head until he could look into her eyes, “You mean that if I do this, you will not get scared?” he asked again.
Ava imperceptibly shook her head, “No, I won’t,” she answered, but now she was shaking all over.
Kyle lowered his lips to her face and just before he covered her red lips with his own he said, “You mean that if I do this, you won’t get scared.”
Her answer was only a mumble as Kyle kissed her. Suddenly, Kyle felt her body respond. Now, she was kissing back with as much fervor as he. Kyle glanced over her shoulder at the clock on the wall. It was still in the early afternoon. Jimmy wouldn’t be home from school for several hours and Ed never came home early during the week days. Kyle lifted the small alien and carried her to his room.
When Jimmy came back, he saw his grandfather sitting at the kitchen table just thinking. Kyle looked up as Jimmy came in. “I think I need a new car,” Kyle stated.
Kyle had an old wreck of a pickup. Ed had for years been trying to get him to buy a new car. “Dad,” Ed said. “That old heap is going to leave you stranded out somewhere.”
“Then I will stay the night until someone comes by to help me,” Kyle retorted. Now for some reason, Kyle was thinking of a new one.
Jimmy wondered at the change in his grandpa. Of course Jimmy’s father, Ed, would think that Kyle was finally coming to his senses about the old wreck he had been driving. Jimmy was sure that there was more to the story.
This time, it was Ed who was home alone. Jimmy was with the scouts working on Mr. Hanson’s yard and who knew where his father, Kyle, had gotten to. Ever since that blonde lady had visited Kyle, he had been gone most of the time. Kyle had bought a brand new crew cab, four wheel drive pickup. Then, he added an expensive sound system. He had bought new clothes. Among the clothes was a western style suit and a fancy shirt with red roses embroidered all over it. He told Ed that he was thinking of getting his own apartment. Ed was worrying now about whether his father was entering senility or not. Ed had asked once for an explanation, but Kyle refused to reply. “I can’t tell you, Eddie. You won’t let me talk about aliens in this house,” Kyle firmly answered.
Kyle hadn’t called him Eddie since before his mother had died. He was worried about his father. There was a knock at the door and Ed answered it. She just walked in and sat down. “Come on Ed, calm down, you were flirting with me the other day when you arranged for the scouts to work for me. I am the same person. You just now know more and now you are acting like an ass,” Janice stated.
“I didn’t know what you were the other day,” Ed mumbled.
“The word is who, Ed. I am a who, not a what!” she spoke sharply. “You cut yourself off from aliens and you are going to miss a lot of your own heritage. At seventeen, your father, Kyle, was shot by his father, the sheriff. Then, Kyle was healed by aliens. Most of his life, he sparked a little. He has just hidden that from you. My father was an alien hybrid. The other day, your son fell off a ladder and I healed him. What are you going to do when he starts ? Don’t give me any crap about how I didn’t have any right to help your son. I helped him because I think he is one of the nicest young men I have met. Your son and Sammy have become real friends to my dad. Dad doesn’t have many friends. Don’t try to take that away from any of them. Your father is romancing Ava and she is the same as my dad. If she and Kyle aren’t going to have an affair soon, the stories told about your dad are all lies,” Janice stated.
“Wh,,,wh…what do you want here,” Ed stammered.
“I told you that I really admire your son. He has grown up into a fine young man to be proud of. What you don’t know, is that he is having trouble. Trouble you can’t help him with, but he does need your understanding. The father of his girl is as stuffed shirted as you are. He doesn’t want his daughter to go with Jimmy. He doesn’t want his daughter dating an Anglo. Jimmy needs some compassion,” Janice said. Then, she continued, “You know, Ed, you raised a fine son without much help. You and your wife should have always been really proud. You are a halfway decent guy if you just forget about this alien nonsense.”
“Aliens ruined my family’s lives,” Ed said Hoarsely.
“No, they didn’t, Ed. Your great grandfather ruined his own life trying to destroy aliens. Your grandfather was well on the way to becoming just like his father. It wasn’t until your grandfather understood that aliens meant him no harm and he needed the alien to heal your father that his life was saved. Without aliens, neither your grandfather nor your father would have been alive to ever have had you. That would have meant that there would have been no Jimmy Valenti. That would not be acceptable.”
Janice was angry, but Ed couldn’t tell exactly what she was angry about. Was it things that had been done to her parents, by humans or was it something about Jimmy? Ed was still sitting there, a blank stare on his face, when Jimmy finally came home. Janice had long gone, but Ed was thinking she was quite a woman. Kyle never did come home that night, either.
----------------------------------
Do you call her an administrative assistant or a private secretary? No matter this lady is responsible for much of her boss's success. Some would call her the office wife. coming soon: "The Elevator."
mary mary
keepsmiling7
Chapter 20
Janice called Jimmy, “Why don’t you all work on Mr. Hanson’s place this weekend. Give my parents and Liz and Max a little time to settle in.”
It had been at Mr. Hanson’s insistence. At noon, the pizza man drove up and delivered several pizzas along with several liters of cold Pepsi Cola. The kids had treated him several times, so he wanted to return the favor. They were sitting under a tree in the front yard when Jimmy said, “Remember Liz Parker. Her husband Max returned to her.”
Hanson hadn’t even kept up with world political events much less events nearer to home. “How long has he been gone?” Hanson asked.
Jimmy was tearing off a slice of Pizza. “He has been gone about 40 years. He went to war. My father says maybe, he was held prisoner some where in the far east,”
“Far east, my ass. If he was gone to war, you can bet it was on some other planet. That boy was an alien. He healed the Parker girl and I heard he married her. I thought aliens were smart. If that Max guy was going to leave the Parker girl and go gallivanting across the universe, he should have left her to your granddaddy. You can bet that if that Max boy went off somewhere, there were UFOs somewhere around. What happened to the rest of them aliens?” Hanson asked.
“Well, we heard that Michael Guerin went off with the singer, Maria DeLuca and Max’s sister, Isabel, married a Jesse Ramirez,” Jimmy explained.
“Ramirez, Jesse Ramirez, don’t recall much about that boy. He must have not ever been in trouble. Them good kids I never got to see much. There was that little blonde girl. I always thought she was some sort of alien. I tried to stop her a time or two, but I always got confused, somehow. I figured she was putting the hex sign on me, or something. She disappeared a couple times and then, that Air Force bunch was plastering the town with her pictures. Jimmy, I think at one time she had a thing with your grandfather. Just before Kyle finally got married, she disappeared for good,” Hanson concluded.
“Well, they are all coming back,” Jimmy stated.
“Oh my, we are being invaded. Are they going to line us up and take us off to the meat Market like that “V” movie?” Hanson exclaimed.
“No, Mr. Hanson, I think they just want to settle down. They are the same age as grandpa and they want to live out their lives in peace,” Jimmy said.
“What does your papa have to say about this? Knowing his feelings I imagine he will be fit to be tied,” Hanson remarked.
“I am not sure he completely understands about them returning. Remember, he is not sure that aliens even exist,” Jimmy explained.
“Oh, they exist for sure! Let me know what happens when he learns about it,” Hanson requested. Then he chuckled, “Watching that Ed Valenti boy will sure be a sight, when he sees aliens all over the place.”
“Papa, I want start dating. I don’t want to do this without your blessing,” Mandy pleaded.
“Remember, you will start Harvard, next year. You will be pretty busy. Who is this young man? Did Sammy Gutierrez break up with his Anglo girl?” Mr. Garcia asked his daughter.
“No, papa, Sammy is still going with Allison West,” Mandy said.
“Well, have you met one of the younger Ramirez boys? Remember their uncle or something went to Harvard and became a great lawyer,” Mr. Garcia stated.
“No, papa, it isn’t one of the Ramirez boys. I did hear that Jesse Ramirez is returning to Roswell with his Anglo wife,” Mandy informed her father stressing the word “Anglo.” She had to bite her tongue to not say his Anglo alien wife. She didn’t want to set her father off too much. Why couldn’t her father be more like Sammy’s parents. They had Hispanic pride, but they were not prejudiced like her father was. Mandy took a deep breath, “Papa, it is Jimmy Valenti, one of the scouts,” Mandy informed her father.
“No, no, you have to get ready to go to Harvard! You do not have time to be messing around with boys like that,” Mr. Garcia said with force.
Mandy felt that she was already in trouble so, she said, “Papa, that is another thing. I don’t want to go to Harvard. I don’t want to be a lawyer. I don’t want to go that far away from home.’
Mr. Garcia was now, really upset. It took a while, but something that Mandy had said to him, finally, got through to his thinking mind. “Papa, I don’t want to go that far away from home.” Mr. Garcia had never thought what it would be like, his only daughter clear across the country, able to only come home Christmas, maybe, or maybe not return until the summer. She had never been away from home that long before. He stomped out of the room leaving Mandy in tears.
Sadie Garcia entered as soon as she was sure that her husband had left. “Emanuella, he is not used to thinking of you growing up. He is not used to thinking that you might have dreams of your own. If you really like that Valenti boy, then just wait awhile. Papa will come around. I will say something to Mr. Gutierrez. Papa respects him and he is a lot more reasonable than papa is sometimes.” Sadie laughed a little. “I don’t think papa ever realized that if you did go to Harvard, you would be that far away. To him, Harvard has always been just a town or two away. That you would be gone a whole year scares him. I know it scares me.”
Mandy was with Allison West and Louise. Since Allison was with Sammy, the girls had been including her in their company more and more. “Of course, my father knows that Sammy is Hispanic, but all he asked me was, is he smart, is he reliable and do I really like him?” Then Allison snickered, “Of course he asked me if his intentions toward me were respectable. How do you answer that? Is any teenaged boy’s intentions to his girl respectable? I told my father that Sammy had a good reputation and that I believed he liked me as much as I liked him. That seemed to satisfy him for the moment,” Allison told the girls.
Louise stated, “David is Anglo, but the only things that my father was worried about was that he was in college. My mom told dad that I would be in college myself next year. He better develop trust in the way I was raised. A lot of my romance with David, if you can call it that at this stage, was by computer. I don’t think his race came into question. Come to think about it, what type a name is Markley anyway?” Louise mused. “Religion hasn’t even come up yet.”
Jimmy was at school and Ed was at work. Kyle was sitting at home. There was a knock at his door and he answered it. When he opened the door, he was surprised. Standing in the door way was a blonde lady. Her eyes were sparkling blue and she didn’t look a day over what Kyle remembered of Tess so many years ago. On second thought, there was a difference in this lady. Tess had always looked hungry. Tess always wanted something and she was willing to do anything to get it. The woman in front of Kyle wanted something, but there was none of the savage hunger Kyle remembered from Tess. “Come in Ava,” Kyle said.
“Are you sure I am welcome?” she asked.
“Welcome, why wouldn’t you be?” Kyle answered with a question.
“I did leave rather suddenly,” she replied.
“That you did and I think you owe me an explanation,” Kyle stated.
“You scared me,” was the simple statement she made.
“Scared you. Why, because we slept together?” was Kyle’s question.
“No, because we made love,” she said.
“Slept together, made love, what is the difference?” Kyle was still perplexed.
“To you nothing, but to me, there is a lot of difference. Sleeping together, having sex, that is just an act of pleasure. It can be an act to create life, if we want it to or it can just be an act of cementing a relationship, no big deal. The second time we slept together, I could see in your mind. You were thinking of giving up all your wandering ways. You wanted a home with a wife who loved you. You wanted children, not because we needed more life, but because you wanted something, of me and you wanted me to want something of you. That second time, you were in love. I had no idea what love was all about. You wanted me to be with you forever. You saw your mother and you wanted me to be what she wasn’t. Suddenly, I was terrified. Would I cause in you, the same sadness I sensed in your father? I knew I wasn’t human and for your dad, human wasn’t even enough. All reason left me. I fled without even thanking the Evans family for their kindness. I ran without talking to Liz, because I knew that Liz could give Max what you wanted. Later, when I heard that Max had left Liz, I decided that the genes from Antar would make it impossible for me to be what any earthman would want. Even Max couldn’t be faithful. Then, I saw Isabel. Isabel stood by her man no matter how hard it was to part from Max. Max was her brother, but Jesse was her husband. Isabel was what a human man would want. Isabel was a variation from Lonnie and the original Vilandra. Maybe, Isabel was defective, alien wise. She was more human than even some humans. Finally, I heard about Michael. He wasn’t married to Maria. That was another validation that normal aliens could not be faithful to Earth creatures. Watching Michael over the years I saw that he didn’t need marriage. Marriage was just a legal term to Michael. Michael had no intention of ever leaving Maria.” All this time as she was talking to Kyle, Ava was playing with her hands in her lap. Kyle could see that she was very nervous.
“When did you come to a decision?” Kyle questioned.
“Several years ago. I decided that I could be what an Earthman would want. By then, you were married. I watched you from afar to see if you would have better luck than your father. I had questions about Pam, but soon I decided that she would stay with you for a long time. I took off, determined to never return. Then, I felt the return of the king. I knew that Cornball would need someone to stand beside her, someone who understood aliens. It was Liz who introduced me to Jimmy, your grandson.” Ava had said almost all she intended to. She had no idea of what would happen next.
Kyle reached out and brought Ava close to him. “Do you mean that if I do this, you will not get scared?” he asked.
“No, I won’t” she answered, but Kyle felt her quiver. “At least not now, she continued.
Kyle reached his fingers behind her head and ran them through her long yellow hair until he felt her neck. Then, Kyle tilted her head until he could look into her eyes, “You mean that if I do this, you will not get scared?” he asked again.
Ava imperceptibly shook her head, “No, I won’t,” she answered, but now she was shaking all over.
Kyle lowered his lips to her face and just before he covered her red lips with his own he said, “You mean that if I do this, you won’t get scared.”
Her answer was only a mumble as Kyle kissed her. Suddenly, Kyle felt her body respond. Now, she was kissing back with as much fervor as he. Kyle glanced over her shoulder at the clock on the wall. It was still in the early afternoon. Jimmy wouldn’t be home from school for several hours and Ed never came home early during the week days. Kyle lifted the small alien and carried her to his room.
When Jimmy came back, he saw his grandfather sitting at the kitchen table just thinking. Kyle looked up as Jimmy came in. “I think I need a new car,” Kyle stated.
Kyle had an old wreck of a pickup. Ed had for years been trying to get him to buy a new car. “Dad,” Ed said. “That old heap is going to leave you stranded out somewhere.”
“Then I will stay the night until someone comes by to help me,” Kyle retorted. Now for some reason, Kyle was thinking of a new one.
Jimmy wondered at the change in his grandpa. Of course Jimmy’s father, Ed, would think that Kyle was finally coming to his senses about the old wreck he had been driving. Jimmy was sure that there was more to the story.
This time, it was Ed who was home alone. Jimmy was with the scouts working on Mr. Hanson’s yard and who knew where his father, Kyle, had gotten to. Ever since that blonde lady had visited Kyle, he had been gone most of the time. Kyle had bought a brand new crew cab, four wheel drive pickup. Then, he added an expensive sound system. He had bought new clothes. Among the clothes was a western style suit and a fancy shirt with red roses embroidered all over it. He told Ed that he was thinking of getting his own apartment. Ed was worrying now about whether his father was entering senility or not. Ed had asked once for an explanation, but Kyle refused to reply. “I can’t tell you, Eddie. You won’t let me talk about aliens in this house,” Kyle firmly answered.
Kyle hadn’t called him Eddie since before his mother had died. He was worried about his father. There was a knock at the door and Ed answered it. She just walked in and sat down. “Come on Ed, calm down, you were flirting with me the other day when you arranged for the scouts to work for me. I am the same person. You just now know more and now you are acting like an ass,” Janice stated.
“I didn’t know what you were the other day,” Ed mumbled.
“The word is who, Ed. I am a who, not a what!” she spoke sharply. “You cut yourself off from aliens and you are going to miss a lot of your own heritage. At seventeen, your father, Kyle, was shot by his father, the sheriff. Then, Kyle was healed by aliens. Most of his life, he sparked a little. He has just hidden that from you. My father was an alien hybrid. The other day, your son fell off a ladder and I healed him. What are you going to do when he starts ? Don’t give me any crap about how I didn’t have any right to help your son. I helped him because I think he is one of the nicest young men I have met. Your son and Sammy have become real friends to my dad. Dad doesn’t have many friends. Don’t try to take that away from any of them. Your father is romancing Ava and she is the same as my dad. If she and Kyle aren’t going to have an affair soon, the stories told about your dad are all lies,” Janice stated.
“Wh,,,wh…what do you want here,” Ed stammered.
“I told you that I really admire your son. He has grown up into a fine young man to be proud of. What you don’t know, is that he is having trouble. Trouble you can’t help him with, but he does need your understanding. The father of his girl is as stuffed shirted as you are. He doesn’t want his daughter to go with Jimmy. He doesn’t want his daughter dating an Anglo. Jimmy needs some compassion,” Janice said. Then, she continued, “You know, Ed, you raised a fine son without much help. You and your wife should have always been really proud. You are a halfway decent guy if you just forget about this alien nonsense.”
“Aliens ruined my family’s lives,” Ed said Hoarsely.
“No, they didn’t, Ed. Your great grandfather ruined his own life trying to destroy aliens. Your grandfather was well on the way to becoming just like his father. It wasn’t until your grandfather understood that aliens meant him no harm and he needed the alien to heal your father that his life was saved. Without aliens, neither your grandfather nor your father would have been alive to ever have had you. That would have meant that there would have been no Jimmy Valenti. That would not be acceptable.”
Janice was angry, but Ed couldn’t tell exactly what she was angry about. Was it things that had been done to her parents, by humans or was it something about Jimmy? Ed was still sitting there, a blank stare on his face, when Jimmy finally came home. Janice had long gone, but Ed was thinking she was quite a woman. Kyle never did come home that night, either.
----------------------------------
Do you call her an administrative assistant or a private secretary? No matter this lady is responsible for much of her boss's success. Some would call her the office wife. coming soon: "The Elevator."
Good teachers are born that way, not made. No! Good human beings, are born that way. Some of them become teachers.
Of course, life is not fair. You shouldn't expect it to be fair, but you should expect it to be ironic.
JKR 1981-2001
History is made of wars, recovering from wars and preparing for the next war.
JJR 1975-
Of course, life is not fair. You shouldn't expect it to be fair, but you should expect it to be ironic.
JKR 1981-2001
History is made of wars, recovering from wars and preparing for the next war.
JJR 1975-
Re: I Heard You Calling teen CC pg 9 ch 20 Feb 27, 2011
rar1942
XAF RU208
begonia9508
keepsmiling7
mary mary
Chapter 21
“Look Max, I know you felt that you needed to help your people. That responsibility is what makes you, being you. I hurt every minute that you were gone, but like any good military wife I realize you had duty,” Liz was explaining the thinking that had stayed with her for forty years.
“That is just it, Liz. I may have been played for a fool. Ava believes that, maybe, those of Antar were using more than just persuasion on me to get me to return. She thinks that they were pressing more than my ego. Remember she and Tess were the experts on mind warps,” Max told her. “I am no longer sure that they are even honorable people. Liz, when I went back to New York City with Tess and the two dups, they said that the four of us in Roswell were the defectives. They said that they were more alien than we were. Back on Antar, I was even more convinced that this was true. Every year I was with the Antarians, I saw that they were not like me. Larek was the only one who showed me any compassion. All I saw in most of those there was that they are a selfish and ambitious people,” Max related. He and Liz had been talking for sometime. It became apparent to each of them that the history that had passed was not nearly as important as the psychological events that had been pressed upon each of them.
“Max, me going over the pain I felt, those many years, won’t help anyone. Neither of us has the time to waste on the past. I need to know if you still love me and if you can still return, somehow similar, to the boy who left,” Liz said.
“No, Liz, I can’t come back as the boy who left. I was really naïve then. What I have seen will not leave me. I will always scream out, at times, about the horrors I have seen. I can come back as the man who loves you dearly. I can be the man who owes you greatly. I can come back as the man who wants to live every day that I have left with you. Liz, my worst fear is that I have nothing that I can offer you, now,” Max explained.
Jimmy and the other three scouts were working at the Parker home to day. As usual, Mandy and Louise were inside helping Liz with the cleaning. Sammy had decided that another shrub was root bound. It wasn’t doing as well as it should where it was growing. It hadn’t bloomed that spring. Talking to his dad, Sammy believed that they should thin it like they did some of the other shrubs. Sammy’s dad had told him, “Sammy, if you and Jimmy are careful, you might get several starter plants out of the original. See if Miss Parker would like you to start a hedge.”
The shrub had been close beside the sidewalk. It had been a chore to keep it from crowding anyone walking by. If they dug it up and placed it further back, then it might make a nice hedge rather than just a decorative shrub. Sammy and Jimmy had dug almost beneath the plant. Max came out and watching the boys, he went into the garage to see what he could find. Max returned with an old rope. “Guys, loop this about half way down the shrub. Let me lean away from it and see if you can get to the tap root underneath.” Jimmy crawled out of the hole they had dug. Taking the rope with Max, they both pulled for all they could. Sammy crawled down until he could see the taproot. A few whacks with a sharp shovel and the shrub was free. The rest of the morning, Max and the boys spent dividing the shrub and setting out a hedge. It would take a few years, but Max was sure that Liz would have a fine hedge.
Lunch time and when the piazza truck arrived, Max sat with the four scouts and Liz savoring the delicacies. They were eating. “Boys, it is all how you grew up. Things like this pizza and this Coke are items of dreams when you are in a foreign land. It was a truly foreign land because I don’t think there is a place on Earth that you can’t, someway, get pizza and Coke,” Max mused.
“Didn’t the place you were at have their own special food? My dad says that every culture has things that the people really yearn for,” Sammy inquired.
“Sammy, at one time, I am sure they did. When the royals were in power and the world was relatively at peace, I am sure there were foods that were served for special occasions. Where I was, the people were so greedy that their war had destroyed the land to the point they might even, eventually, have a terrible famine. I think they had forgotten what they really were fighting for. They certainly were not fighting for democracy. They almost laughed at me when I tried to explain democracy. They were fighting for power. One group was not that much different from the other.” To himself, Max wondered if there had been a time when the royals, which he represented had indulged in luxuries like food and entertainment. If that time had existed, Max wondered what did the common people have? If they slaved so Max’s family could have these luxuries, then it, indeed, would have been a sin. Liz had told Max over an over that he wasn’t a royal. He was just an Earth boy who had been caught up in a revolution he didn’t understand. This was what Max needed to hear “over and over.”
Jimmy turned to Max, “Liz, Mr. Hanson, Michael and Maria all tell us stories about the aliens, but there is one thing you need to know. My father will not allow the word alien to be spoken in our house. Grandpa will tell me stories when pop is gone, but my father tries to believe that aliens do not even exist,” Jimmy explained.
“What is your father doing about Kyle? From what Ava says, they are trying to make up for the lost years,” Liz asked.
“Grandpa moved out. He bought a new pickup and new clothes. I guess he has a girlfriend in the alien Ava and they got an apartment somewhere,” Jimmy informed them.
“I guess your grandpa has the same trouble as we do, Jimmy, except it is with his son. I told my father the other day that we wanted to go together and that I wanted other things in my life. He hasn’t spoken to me since,” Mandy stated.
Sammy sighed, “I sometimes forget how lucky I am. My family seems to support me in my choice of girls. My dad and Mr. West even went golfing together last week. He asked me that if I break up with Alison, will he have to loose Mr. West as a golf partner? I think they are becoming good friends. I don’t know the future, but I don’t see myself finding a better girl than Alison,” Sammy stated.
“Of course, Alison might easily find a better guy than you,” Louise quipped.
“Just don’t go bringing in your celebrity cousin to Roswell to get me dumped,” Sammy growled.
“Aw, Sammy I wouldn’t do that. In fact, Mandy and I might ask the same thing as your father. If you dump Alison, do we have to promise to not hang out with her? Sometimes, she is even more fun than you are,” Louise kidded.
It had been so long since Max had been a part of such friendly banter. The teens quarreled just like Michael and Maria had so long ago. Well, if what Liz had told him, Maria and Michael were still just the same.
Isabel and Jesse were now settled comfortably in Roswell. They did miss their son, Philip, who now was working in his father’s place in the law firm back east. Philip’s wife, Corinna and their two childen had been a lot of comfort through the years. Alejandro, being in the Air Force, had to move around a lot. He was still working with the Veteran’s Administration. As long as there were wars, there would always be men who had to be returned to their former lives. Alejandro was studying the best ways to do this. Now Jesse and Isabel were becoming content to settle back into some sort of retirement. “Izzy, I don’t know what to say,” Jesse complained.
“What did they ask you to talk about?” Isabel asked.
“They didn’t give me much guidance,” Jesse answered.
“Again, who is it that asked you to speak?” Isabel questioned.
“It was a Mr. Garcia and a Mr. Gutierrez. They claim that their children suggested me as a speaker. I think the kids are part of that scouting outfit that Maria and Michael were talking about. The Hispano Chamber of Commerce is giving a dinner for outstanding Hispanic students. They want me as the keynote speaker. But, they carefully failed to give me close guidelines of what they want me to talk about,” Jesse again complained.
“Why don’t you tell them your story, a Hispanic kid growing up in a multicultural world? Of course, you should probably leave out facing the alien abyss. That may be one culture too many for those attending that dinner,” Isabel suggested.
Jesse laughed, “Hear Michael tell it, the two kids who suggested me, know all about us. They spent the whole year asking for stories about aliens. Michael keeps suggesting that I ask for their help getting our new home straightened up.”
Jesse thought, when all his law school training failed him, the thing to do was ask his alien wife. She would know the right thing to say. Now let’s see, what would students want to hear and what would be of service that he could tell them? Jesse knew that growing up in a predominantly Anglo society, sometimes he was offered things as a token Hispanic. None of this would have mattered without the hard work he put into his studies and later, in his work. Would he have had these opportunities if his parents had chosen to live in a completely Hispanic neighborhood? Jesse was sure that anyone who worked as hard as he did to get through Harvard would have succeeded. Luck and opportunity were what you made. Additional help was always nice, but your own hard work was all you could really count on. Personal drive was such a complicated trait.
Jesse had no idea why the Evans Law Firm had hired him so long ago. Yes at first he had taken on more than his share of Hispanic cases, but that was more for his knowledge of Hispanic culture than any favoritism from the firm. After he had had proved himself, Jesse found himself coaching Philip and other lawyers about cultural matters. He had approached Philip with his high academic credentials and good recommendations. Jesse was sure that he would not have lasted without the reputation he built with Philip Evans. This was a reputation that lasted even through the act of stealing Philip’s daughter when she was just 18. Jesse was sure that any problems Isabel had had at home when she married were smoothed over, eventually, by the fact that Philip did admire Jesse and considered him a good man. Jesse understood that Max stood up for him, even though Max broke Jesse’s nose at the bachelor party. Reliving his life and family, Jesse was becoming excited about his speech. Maybe, he would invite the scouts over on a weekend, soon. After all, he owed at least two of them for the opportunity for speaking. In his mind, Jesse celebrated a world where even alien culture would be looked at as something to bring to the world. Weren’t both Philip and Alejandro proving this every day?
As Jesse was facing his past as a blessing, Ed Valenti was looking at his past, which was catching up with him, as something he had no idea of how to accept. Stories about his father back in high school made him out to be a real “sex machine.” Now, with the mysterious blonde lady, Kyle was reborn. What about the father, Ed had known all the years growing up? Had Kyle someway tamed his libido those years with Pam? Somewhere back in Ed Valenti’s head, lurked a flame of logic. He had heard that his mother, Pam, had been a wild girl her self, in high school. Maybe, it was her response to Kyle’s intense passions, which held them together during their long marriage.
Ed had heard things about his father and the blonde alien that happened before Kyle had married Pam. Did that mean that Pam was just a second best? What did that make Ed? Kyle had always tried to be the best father he could, but Ed always wondered, did Kyle do that because of some guilt? If Kyle had cheated on his mother in anyway, Ed had never had any indication of that. Now that tiny flame of logic was telling Ed, “Pam was never second best. She was just what Kyle most needed, at that time of his life.” Then, it was evident that Ed wasn’t second best either. Fate had not seen the necessity to give Kyle any off spring from any affairs before Pam. Again, fate had decreed that Kyle and Pam have only one child; that is, fate and maybe, their choice. Ed was Kyle’s heir and Kyle had always been a considerate dad, because he wanted to be. The alien was back. Was there any reason that she and Kyle couldn’t take up where they left off? It would be no insult to his mother.
Now, that he had that mental garbage out of the way, Ed started thinking about himself. His marriage to Sheila had been different than what he had seen in his parents, or so Ed thought at the time. They had married, had a son and had, at least, what Ed had thought of as a good life. Sheila had died unfortunately. That had been five years ago. What about the woman he had just met, Janice? She was part alien. Was that important? His father surely didn’t think so. Would she even talk to him? He had been so rude to her before. Kyle had been changed by aliens, long ago. Now, Jimmy had been affected by the part alien, Janice recently. Ed was not a forward person in talking to strangers. Had there been something he had inherited from his father, that drew him to the lady, Janice? Stories of mind warps floated through Ed’s mind. Did this lady practice that sort of thing?
Unknowingly, Ed was much like Max. He placed his responsibilities above his personal pleasures. There had been two important women in Ed Valenti’s life, his mother, Pam, who he wanted to please so badly and his wife, Sheila. Until her death, five years ago, Sheila had been the most important person, Ed had known. His love for his son, Jimmy, was a reflection for his devotion to Sheila. When his mother died, Ed felt cheated because he thought in some ways he hadn’t quite pleased her. There had always been something she wanted to know about his father’s life. Ed hadn’t understood his father until Kyle had started living with them. Thinking about this, Ed almost forgot his grandfather’s girlfriend, Amy. To please Amy, all little Eddie had to do was to show up with a tear or a smile. That was almost all Amy needed to tightly hold the small boy.
XAF RU208
begonia9508
keepsmiling7
mary mary
Chapter 21
“Look Max, I know you felt that you needed to help your people. That responsibility is what makes you, being you. I hurt every minute that you were gone, but like any good military wife I realize you had duty,” Liz was explaining the thinking that had stayed with her for forty years.
“That is just it, Liz. I may have been played for a fool. Ava believes that, maybe, those of Antar were using more than just persuasion on me to get me to return. She thinks that they were pressing more than my ego. Remember she and Tess were the experts on mind warps,” Max told her. “I am no longer sure that they are even honorable people. Liz, when I went back to New York City with Tess and the two dups, they said that the four of us in Roswell were the defectives. They said that they were more alien than we were. Back on Antar, I was even more convinced that this was true. Every year I was with the Antarians, I saw that they were not like me. Larek was the only one who showed me any compassion. All I saw in most of those there was that they are a selfish and ambitious people,” Max related. He and Liz had been talking for sometime. It became apparent to each of them that the history that had passed was not nearly as important as the psychological events that had been pressed upon each of them.
“Max, me going over the pain I felt, those many years, won’t help anyone. Neither of us has the time to waste on the past. I need to know if you still love me and if you can still return, somehow similar, to the boy who left,” Liz said.
“No, Liz, I can’t come back as the boy who left. I was really naïve then. What I have seen will not leave me. I will always scream out, at times, about the horrors I have seen. I can come back as the man who loves you dearly. I can be the man who owes you greatly. I can come back as the man who wants to live every day that I have left with you. Liz, my worst fear is that I have nothing that I can offer you, now,” Max explained.
Jimmy and the other three scouts were working at the Parker home to day. As usual, Mandy and Louise were inside helping Liz with the cleaning. Sammy had decided that another shrub was root bound. It wasn’t doing as well as it should where it was growing. It hadn’t bloomed that spring. Talking to his dad, Sammy believed that they should thin it like they did some of the other shrubs. Sammy’s dad had told him, “Sammy, if you and Jimmy are careful, you might get several starter plants out of the original. See if Miss Parker would like you to start a hedge.”
The shrub had been close beside the sidewalk. It had been a chore to keep it from crowding anyone walking by. If they dug it up and placed it further back, then it might make a nice hedge rather than just a decorative shrub. Sammy and Jimmy had dug almost beneath the plant. Max came out and watching the boys, he went into the garage to see what he could find. Max returned with an old rope. “Guys, loop this about half way down the shrub. Let me lean away from it and see if you can get to the tap root underneath.” Jimmy crawled out of the hole they had dug. Taking the rope with Max, they both pulled for all they could. Sammy crawled down until he could see the taproot. A few whacks with a sharp shovel and the shrub was free. The rest of the morning, Max and the boys spent dividing the shrub and setting out a hedge. It would take a few years, but Max was sure that Liz would have a fine hedge.
Lunch time and when the piazza truck arrived, Max sat with the four scouts and Liz savoring the delicacies. They were eating. “Boys, it is all how you grew up. Things like this pizza and this Coke are items of dreams when you are in a foreign land. It was a truly foreign land because I don’t think there is a place on Earth that you can’t, someway, get pizza and Coke,” Max mused.
“Didn’t the place you were at have their own special food? My dad says that every culture has things that the people really yearn for,” Sammy inquired.
“Sammy, at one time, I am sure they did. When the royals were in power and the world was relatively at peace, I am sure there were foods that were served for special occasions. Where I was, the people were so greedy that their war had destroyed the land to the point they might even, eventually, have a terrible famine. I think they had forgotten what they really were fighting for. They certainly were not fighting for democracy. They almost laughed at me when I tried to explain democracy. They were fighting for power. One group was not that much different from the other.” To himself, Max wondered if there had been a time when the royals, which he represented had indulged in luxuries like food and entertainment. If that time had existed, Max wondered what did the common people have? If they slaved so Max’s family could have these luxuries, then it, indeed, would have been a sin. Liz had told Max over an over that he wasn’t a royal. He was just an Earth boy who had been caught up in a revolution he didn’t understand. This was what Max needed to hear “over and over.”
Jimmy turned to Max, “Liz, Mr. Hanson, Michael and Maria all tell us stories about the aliens, but there is one thing you need to know. My father will not allow the word alien to be spoken in our house. Grandpa will tell me stories when pop is gone, but my father tries to believe that aliens do not even exist,” Jimmy explained.
“What is your father doing about Kyle? From what Ava says, they are trying to make up for the lost years,” Liz asked.
“Grandpa moved out. He bought a new pickup and new clothes. I guess he has a girlfriend in the alien Ava and they got an apartment somewhere,” Jimmy informed them.
“I guess your grandpa has the same trouble as we do, Jimmy, except it is with his son. I told my father the other day that we wanted to go together and that I wanted other things in my life. He hasn’t spoken to me since,” Mandy stated.
Sammy sighed, “I sometimes forget how lucky I am. My family seems to support me in my choice of girls. My dad and Mr. West even went golfing together last week. He asked me that if I break up with Alison, will he have to loose Mr. West as a golf partner? I think they are becoming good friends. I don’t know the future, but I don’t see myself finding a better girl than Alison,” Sammy stated.
“Of course, Alison might easily find a better guy than you,” Louise quipped.
“Just don’t go bringing in your celebrity cousin to Roswell to get me dumped,” Sammy growled.
“Aw, Sammy I wouldn’t do that. In fact, Mandy and I might ask the same thing as your father. If you dump Alison, do we have to promise to not hang out with her? Sometimes, she is even more fun than you are,” Louise kidded.
It had been so long since Max had been a part of such friendly banter. The teens quarreled just like Michael and Maria had so long ago. Well, if what Liz had told him, Maria and Michael were still just the same.
Isabel and Jesse were now settled comfortably in Roswell. They did miss their son, Philip, who now was working in his father’s place in the law firm back east. Philip’s wife, Corinna and their two childen had been a lot of comfort through the years. Alejandro, being in the Air Force, had to move around a lot. He was still working with the Veteran’s Administration. As long as there were wars, there would always be men who had to be returned to their former lives. Alejandro was studying the best ways to do this. Now Jesse and Isabel were becoming content to settle back into some sort of retirement. “Izzy, I don’t know what to say,” Jesse complained.
“What did they ask you to talk about?” Isabel asked.
“They didn’t give me much guidance,” Jesse answered.
“Again, who is it that asked you to speak?” Isabel questioned.
“It was a Mr. Garcia and a Mr. Gutierrez. They claim that their children suggested me as a speaker. I think the kids are part of that scouting outfit that Maria and Michael were talking about. The Hispano Chamber of Commerce is giving a dinner for outstanding Hispanic students. They want me as the keynote speaker. But, they carefully failed to give me close guidelines of what they want me to talk about,” Jesse again complained.
“Why don’t you tell them your story, a Hispanic kid growing up in a multicultural world? Of course, you should probably leave out facing the alien abyss. That may be one culture too many for those attending that dinner,” Isabel suggested.
Jesse laughed, “Hear Michael tell it, the two kids who suggested me, know all about us. They spent the whole year asking for stories about aliens. Michael keeps suggesting that I ask for their help getting our new home straightened up.”
Jesse thought, when all his law school training failed him, the thing to do was ask his alien wife. She would know the right thing to say. Now let’s see, what would students want to hear and what would be of service that he could tell them? Jesse knew that growing up in a predominantly Anglo society, sometimes he was offered things as a token Hispanic. None of this would have mattered without the hard work he put into his studies and later, in his work. Would he have had these opportunities if his parents had chosen to live in a completely Hispanic neighborhood? Jesse was sure that anyone who worked as hard as he did to get through Harvard would have succeeded. Luck and opportunity were what you made. Additional help was always nice, but your own hard work was all you could really count on. Personal drive was such a complicated trait.
Jesse had no idea why the Evans Law Firm had hired him so long ago. Yes at first he had taken on more than his share of Hispanic cases, but that was more for his knowledge of Hispanic culture than any favoritism from the firm. After he had had proved himself, Jesse found himself coaching Philip and other lawyers about cultural matters. He had approached Philip with his high academic credentials and good recommendations. Jesse was sure that he would not have lasted without the reputation he built with Philip Evans. This was a reputation that lasted even through the act of stealing Philip’s daughter when she was just 18. Jesse was sure that any problems Isabel had had at home when she married were smoothed over, eventually, by the fact that Philip did admire Jesse and considered him a good man. Jesse understood that Max stood up for him, even though Max broke Jesse’s nose at the bachelor party. Reliving his life and family, Jesse was becoming excited about his speech. Maybe, he would invite the scouts over on a weekend, soon. After all, he owed at least two of them for the opportunity for speaking. In his mind, Jesse celebrated a world where even alien culture would be looked at as something to bring to the world. Weren’t both Philip and Alejandro proving this every day?
As Jesse was facing his past as a blessing, Ed Valenti was looking at his past, which was catching up with him, as something he had no idea of how to accept. Stories about his father back in high school made him out to be a real “sex machine.” Now, with the mysterious blonde lady, Kyle was reborn. What about the father, Ed had known all the years growing up? Had Kyle someway tamed his libido those years with Pam? Somewhere back in Ed Valenti’s head, lurked a flame of logic. He had heard that his mother, Pam, had been a wild girl her self, in high school. Maybe, it was her response to Kyle’s intense passions, which held them together during their long marriage.
Ed had heard things about his father and the blonde alien that happened before Kyle had married Pam. Did that mean that Pam was just a second best? What did that make Ed? Kyle had always tried to be the best father he could, but Ed always wondered, did Kyle do that because of some guilt? If Kyle had cheated on his mother in anyway, Ed had never had any indication of that. Now that tiny flame of logic was telling Ed, “Pam was never second best. She was just what Kyle most needed, at that time of his life.” Then, it was evident that Ed wasn’t second best either. Fate had not seen the necessity to give Kyle any off spring from any affairs before Pam. Again, fate had decreed that Kyle and Pam have only one child; that is, fate and maybe, their choice. Ed was Kyle’s heir and Kyle had always been a considerate dad, because he wanted to be. The alien was back. Was there any reason that she and Kyle couldn’t take up where they left off? It would be no insult to his mother.
Now, that he had that mental garbage out of the way, Ed started thinking about himself. His marriage to Sheila had been different than what he had seen in his parents, or so Ed thought at the time. They had married, had a son and had, at least, what Ed had thought of as a good life. Sheila had died unfortunately. That had been five years ago. What about the woman he had just met, Janice? She was part alien. Was that important? His father surely didn’t think so. Would she even talk to him? He had been so rude to her before. Kyle had been changed by aliens, long ago. Now, Jimmy had been affected by the part alien, Janice recently. Ed was not a forward person in talking to strangers. Had there been something he had inherited from his father, that drew him to the lady, Janice? Stories of mind warps floated through Ed’s mind. Did this lady practice that sort of thing?
Unknowingly, Ed was much like Max. He placed his responsibilities above his personal pleasures. There had been two important women in Ed Valenti’s life, his mother, Pam, who he wanted to please so badly and his wife, Sheila. Until her death, five years ago, Sheila had been the most important person, Ed had known. His love for his son, Jimmy, was a reflection for his devotion to Sheila. When his mother died, Ed felt cheated because he thought in some ways he hadn’t quite pleased her. There had always been something she wanted to know about his father’s life. Ed hadn’t understood his father until Kyle had started living with them. Thinking about this, Ed almost forgot his grandfather’s girlfriend, Amy. To please Amy, all little Eddie had to do was to show up with a tear or a smile. That was almost all Amy needed to tightly hold the small boy.
Good teachers are born that way, not made. No! Good human beings, are born that way. Some of them become teachers.
Of course, life is not fair. You shouldn't expect it to be fair, but you should expect it to be ironic.
JKR 1981-2001
History is made of wars, recovering from wars and preparing for the next war.
JJR 1975-
Of course, life is not fair. You shouldn't expect it to be fair, but you should expect it to be ironic.
JKR 1981-2001
History is made of wars, recovering from wars and preparing for the next war.
JJR 1975-
Re: I Heard You Calling teen CC pg 9 ch 21 Mar 6, 2011
begonia9508
keepsmiling7
mary mary
Chapter 22
Kyle managed to score a bunch of tickets to a baseball game. No, it wasn’t any major league team. It was a local farm team and in their way the fans were just as passionate as any World Series audience. Kyle decided to share his tickets with Michael and Max. If there was one thing, Maria understood, it was performance. Cheering fans was the one opiate that Maria could not avoid. At the last minute, she came along also. Michael and Max had already invited Jimmy Valenti and Sammy Gutierrez along. Maria kidded everyone that Michael was sort of adopting these two boys.
Kyle was the true sports fan. Kyle’s favorite sport was the one that was in season at the time. Going to a small high school gave Kyle the opportunity to take part in all the major sports. In the first two years of high school, Kyle’s dream vocation after graduation changed from sport to sport.
Jimmy was tickled pink. He was spending the afternoon with his grandpa and his two new friends, the aliens. He also found that his Aunt Ria was outrageous as a fan. She cheered in the most inappropriate times. Michael leaned over and whispered, “Jimmy, your aunt cheers for men, not for the sport. She will cheer for anyone who makes a homerun, either side.”
Kyle glared at Maria and said, “Aw come on guys, we are supposed to cheer for the home team.”
Maria glared right back. “Kyle, brother almost, I cheered for you in that church league last Labor Day and I didn’t even know which church you represented.”
Kyle looked a little abashed, “Come to think of it, I didn’t know which church was sponsoring my team either,” he said.
Just then, a high fly was knocked to right field. Maria alternated between cheering “Run, run faster,” to “Catch that fly, catch that fly.”
Michael leaned over to Sammy and Jimmy, “See what I mean. She even cheers for both sides at the same time.” That, of course, earned him a swat on the back of the head by Maria.
After the game, they were found at a “Burger King” eating fries and drinking Coca Colas. Maria wondered if this would earn the guys animosity from Sammy’s parents or from Ed. They had already ruined any chance of a good supper, eating too many “hot dogs,” during the game. Kyle had tied a slight buzz on with the several beers he had drunk. Michael, of course, stuck to his limit of one beer, he didn’t want to light up the baseball field by sparking for everyone and Max drank Cokes with the boys. Maria had just muttered at all of them saying, “Men!” as if that explained everything. Jimmy was now quiet. He had been very excited, first at the game, then watching his Aunt Ria.
Maria leaned over and asked, “What is wrong, Jimmy?” She surely hoped that he hadn’t gotten sick with all the food they had consumed.
“Aunt Ria,” Jimmy began. “I have had a really good time, today. It’s just that dad will get upset with me because I am with you guys, you know, the alien thing and all. Then, if I had been with Mandy, her father would be upset with me because I am not Hispanic. There are two many people I care about worrying because of things I do not feel are important,” he finished.
Kyle shook his head to clear the cobwebs. It wouldn’t do to not be clear and focused when he responded to his grandson. “Jimmy, your dad is upset with me because I have moved in with Ava. I hope, in time, he will come around. Except for the subject of aliens, your dad and I had always been very close. I hope he won’t let something I could never explain to your grandmother, come between us. With Mr. Garcia, you are just going to have to be patient. Maybe, he thinks you are trying to take away his only daughter. You will just have to wait and see.”
“Dad told me Mandy’s mom talked to him the other day. She asked pop to speak up for you. Our fathers are pretty good friends, in the Knights of Columbus and all. Maybe, he can help,” Sammy said.
Jimmy looked up al all of them, “I guess so, we are all so close genetically, that I don’t understand what the problem is. None of us will completely follow the beliefs of our parents, anyway,” Jimmy stated.
Michael looked at Jimmy. “Your Aunt Ria will tell you I am far from being the philosopher of this group, but I have found that the closer we are to being alike, the closer some people look trying to find some difference,” he said.
Then, Max spoke up. “Yeah, and it isn’t only with humans either. The aliens themselves are constantly trying to find differences, which set them off and make one of them better than the other. Maybe, it is some trait of life. You know, climbing up some evolutionary ladder, trying to reach some top. When you get there, you only find that it is lonesome being alone,” Max stated.
Mr. Garcia was sitting at his computer. He had insisted that Mandy apply to Harvard. He knew that Mandy had high grades. Now, it was other factors, which would determine her acceptance. He was hoping that they would need one more Latina female and that would be what would tip the scales.
Mr. Garcia had been reading blogs of students who had made it to Harvard. Colleges like Harvard could be very arbitrary in who they selected. A full scholarship was a rare thing indeed. They were given to students who filled some indiscriminate need the school had in their formulas of diversity. Most of the bloggers had been accepted and they told of the high tuition that was needed to continue. There would also be the expense of travel. Sadie had expressed that she would dread not seeing Mandy except for summers, and then, not every time. There might be internships and special programs. Mr. Garcia knew that his daughter would soon leave the nest and move out on her own. It was just too sudden to confront Mandy’s absence. Mandy had already received acceptance from the several state universities she had applied to. They were just waiting for the final, and for Mr. Garcia, the important acceptance invitation. He had been studying student loans and other ways to raise money. Sadie had just shook her head. Mr. Garcia knew that Sadie was not happy to think of her daughter being saddled with big loans when she finally graduated. Big loans, meant the need of high paying jobs and high paying jobs were not easily found in the southwest. Mandy would probably have to stay back east. That worried Sadie and she was conveying this worry to her husband. Then, there was that Valenti kid. Maybe it would be worth it getting Mandy back east. Get her away from the Valenti kid’s influence. Somewhere in his mind, there was the question. He always worried about the loss of his culture in his daughter. How strong would la gente (the people) reach back there? Even if she was able to marry an Hispanic, would the culture of the southwest that he loved be found back there? Hispanics in the east tended to be Cuban or Puerto Rican. If she truly was in love with Jimmy Valenti, would she be happy with someone else?
Jimmy had told his father that he and Sammy were going to a baseball game with Kyle. That was good as far as Ed was concerned. Then, he learned that Kyle was also taking those alien people. That was disturbing. Ed had been mowing his front lawn. Jimmy was caring for other people’s yards, but Ed intended to do his own work. He felt closer to his home that way. He had been sitting in the shade, washing off his lawn mower, when Janice walked by.
“Janice, can you sit and enjoy some shade for a few minutes?” Ed called, trying to be a little more friendly than he had been the last time they met. Ed was not by nature a rude person. He had been worried about both his son and his father, when Janice had last talked with him. He was still worried about aliens, witness his concern for who Jimmy was with this afternoon. Being rude to Janice, as an individual was different. Ed had definitely been impolite to Janice when she was last here.
Janice frowned. She had been angry at Ed and his prejudice, especially when Jimmy, his son, was suffering a different kind of prejudice. Ed’s tone had sounded different. Janice was not the type to indulge in turf battles. If Ed wanted to play nice this time, she owed it to Jimmy to return the same. “Ms. Guerin, I am sorry that I was impolite last time. There is no excuse for it,” Ed apologized.
Janice had felt hurt and it would take a bit more for her to fully accept what he said. “No, there is never an excuse for impoliteness,” she stated. Then she softened a little. I guess I could do with a Coke if your offer goes that far.”
Ed returned with two cold cans of Coke. “Dad keeps cold beer in the fridge if you would prefer,” he offered.
Janice looked at him. “You really don’t know much about aliens, do you? The tolerance for alcohol is not strong in us. Every generation develops a little more tolerance, but Coke is fine.”
Ed felt a bit awkward as he tried to make conversation. “I guess Jimmy is out to the ball game with your dad and mom,” Ed opened with.
“Yeah, your dad got some tickets and invited my dad. Then, mom decided she wanted to go along. That prompted dad to take Max Evans so he would have back up if mom started off on him. Dad and Max decided to ask Jimmy and Sammy along. I imagine, they will have quite a time. Kyle always says that having mom along is for entertainment if the game gets dull. Mom is a one person entertainment squad in the cheerleading department,” Janice explained.
This brought to Ed, the relationship his father had with Maria and thus, with Michael. “Janice, I am really sorry for the way I reacted the other day. All my life, there have been things which were blamed on aliens. My mother never understood and neither did I. I will never know what my mother was worried about, but I can try to learn about things that affect my father. Except for that one subject, we have always been so close,” Ed tried to explain.
“You should be sorry. You would have had a great time if you were with those other men, including your son. My mother is hilarious when she is excited,” Janice stated. Then, she changed the subject. “Has Jimmy said anything about his troubles with his girl friend?”
“No, I guess he still doesn’t feel comfortable with me on subjects that are troubling to him,” Ed said.
Janice stood as she prepared to go. “Janice, could we talk again, sometime? Could you maybe tell me more about aliens?” Ed requested.
Janice smiled as she walked through the gate. “I think, sometime we should talk again. You need to be considered in the ‘I know aliens’ club.” With that, she went on her way.
------------------------------
The Elevator a story about fantasy and reality
keepsmiling7
mary mary
Chapter 22
Kyle managed to score a bunch of tickets to a baseball game. No, it wasn’t any major league team. It was a local farm team and in their way the fans were just as passionate as any World Series audience. Kyle decided to share his tickets with Michael and Max. If there was one thing, Maria understood, it was performance. Cheering fans was the one opiate that Maria could not avoid. At the last minute, she came along also. Michael and Max had already invited Jimmy Valenti and Sammy Gutierrez along. Maria kidded everyone that Michael was sort of adopting these two boys.
Kyle was the true sports fan. Kyle’s favorite sport was the one that was in season at the time. Going to a small high school gave Kyle the opportunity to take part in all the major sports. In the first two years of high school, Kyle’s dream vocation after graduation changed from sport to sport.
Jimmy was tickled pink. He was spending the afternoon with his grandpa and his two new friends, the aliens. He also found that his Aunt Ria was outrageous as a fan. She cheered in the most inappropriate times. Michael leaned over and whispered, “Jimmy, your aunt cheers for men, not for the sport. She will cheer for anyone who makes a homerun, either side.”
Kyle glared at Maria and said, “Aw come on guys, we are supposed to cheer for the home team.”
Maria glared right back. “Kyle, brother almost, I cheered for you in that church league last Labor Day and I didn’t even know which church you represented.”
Kyle looked a little abashed, “Come to think of it, I didn’t know which church was sponsoring my team either,” he said.
Just then, a high fly was knocked to right field. Maria alternated between cheering “Run, run faster,” to “Catch that fly, catch that fly.”
Michael leaned over to Sammy and Jimmy, “See what I mean. She even cheers for both sides at the same time.” That, of course, earned him a swat on the back of the head by Maria.
After the game, they were found at a “Burger King” eating fries and drinking Coca Colas. Maria wondered if this would earn the guys animosity from Sammy’s parents or from Ed. They had already ruined any chance of a good supper, eating too many “hot dogs,” during the game. Kyle had tied a slight buzz on with the several beers he had drunk. Michael, of course, stuck to his limit of one beer, he didn’t want to light up the baseball field by sparking for everyone and Max drank Cokes with the boys. Maria had just muttered at all of them saying, “Men!” as if that explained everything. Jimmy was now quiet. He had been very excited, first at the game, then watching his Aunt Ria.
Maria leaned over and asked, “What is wrong, Jimmy?” She surely hoped that he hadn’t gotten sick with all the food they had consumed.
“Aunt Ria,” Jimmy began. “I have had a really good time, today. It’s just that dad will get upset with me because I am with you guys, you know, the alien thing and all. Then, if I had been with Mandy, her father would be upset with me because I am not Hispanic. There are two many people I care about worrying because of things I do not feel are important,” he finished.
Kyle shook his head to clear the cobwebs. It wouldn’t do to not be clear and focused when he responded to his grandson. “Jimmy, your dad is upset with me because I have moved in with Ava. I hope, in time, he will come around. Except for the subject of aliens, your dad and I had always been very close. I hope he won’t let something I could never explain to your grandmother, come between us. With Mr. Garcia, you are just going to have to be patient. Maybe, he thinks you are trying to take away his only daughter. You will just have to wait and see.”
“Dad told me Mandy’s mom talked to him the other day. She asked pop to speak up for you. Our fathers are pretty good friends, in the Knights of Columbus and all. Maybe, he can help,” Sammy said.
Jimmy looked up al all of them, “I guess so, we are all so close genetically, that I don’t understand what the problem is. None of us will completely follow the beliefs of our parents, anyway,” Jimmy stated.
Michael looked at Jimmy. “Your Aunt Ria will tell you I am far from being the philosopher of this group, but I have found that the closer we are to being alike, the closer some people look trying to find some difference,” he said.
Then, Max spoke up. “Yeah, and it isn’t only with humans either. The aliens themselves are constantly trying to find differences, which set them off and make one of them better than the other. Maybe, it is some trait of life. You know, climbing up some evolutionary ladder, trying to reach some top. When you get there, you only find that it is lonesome being alone,” Max stated.
Mr. Garcia was sitting at his computer. He had insisted that Mandy apply to Harvard. He knew that Mandy had high grades. Now, it was other factors, which would determine her acceptance. He was hoping that they would need one more Latina female and that would be what would tip the scales.
Mr. Garcia had been reading blogs of students who had made it to Harvard. Colleges like Harvard could be very arbitrary in who they selected. A full scholarship was a rare thing indeed. They were given to students who filled some indiscriminate need the school had in their formulas of diversity. Most of the bloggers had been accepted and they told of the high tuition that was needed to continue. There would also be the expense of travel. Sadie had expressed that she would dread not seeing Mandy except for summers, and then, not every time. There might be internships and special programs. Mr. Garcia knew that his daughter would soon leave the nest and move out on her own. It was just too sudden to confront Mandy’s absence. Mandy had already received acceptance from the several state universities she had applied to. They were just waiting for the final, and for Mr. Garcia, the important acceptance invitation. He had been studying student loans and other ways to raise money. Sadie had just shook her head. Mr. Garcia knew that Sadie was not happy to think of her daughter being saddled with big loans when she finally graduated. Big loans, meant the need of high paying jobs and high paying jobs were not easily found in the southwest. Mandy would probably have to stay back east. That worried Sadie and she was conveying this worry to her husband. Then, there was that Valenti kid. Maybe it would be worth it getting Mandy back east. Get her away from the Valenti kid’s influence. Somewhere in his mind, there was the question. He always worried about the loss of his culture in his daughter. How strong would la gente (the people) reach back there? Even if she was able to marry an Hispanic, would the culture of the southwest that he loved be found back there? Hispanics in the east tended to be Cuban or Puerto Rican. If she truly was in love with Jimmy Valenti, would she be happy with someone else?
Jimmy had told his father that he and Sammy were going to a baseball game with Kyle. That was good as far as Ed was concerned. Then, he learned that Kyle was also taking those alien people. That was disturbing. Ed had been mowing his front lawn. Jimmy was caring for other people’s yards, but Ed intended to do his own work. He felt closer to his home that way. He had been sitting in the shade, washing off his lawn mower, when Janice walked by.
“Janice, can you sit and enjoy some shade for a few minutes?” Ed called, trying to be a little more friendly than he had been the last time they met. Ed was not by nature a rude person. He had been worried about both his son and his father, when Janice had last talked with him. He was still worried about aliens, witness his concern for who Jimmy was with this afternoon. Being rude to Janice, as an individual was different. Ed had definitely been impolite to Janice when she was last here.
Janice frowned. She had been angry at Ed and his prejudice, especially when Jimmy, his son, was suffering a different kind of prejudice. Ed’s tone had sounded different. Janice was not the type to indulge in turf battles. If Ed wanted to play nice this time, she owed it to Jimmy to return the same. “Ms. Guerin, I am sorry that I was impolite last time. There is no excuse for it,” Ed apologized.
Janice had felt hurt and it would take a bit more for her to fully accept what he said. “No, there is never an excuse for impoliteness,” she stated. Then she softened a little. I guess I could do with a Coke if your offer goes that far.”
Ed returned with two cold cans of Coke. “Dad keeps cold beer in the fridge if you would prefer,” he offered.
Janice looked at him. “You really don’t know much about aliens, do you? The tolerance for alcohol is not strong in us. Every generation develops a little more tolerance, but Coke is fine.”
Ed felt a bit awkward as he tried to make conversation. “I guess Jimmy is out to the ball game with your dad and mom,” Ed opened with.
“Yeah, your dad got some tickets and invited my dad. Then, mom decided she wanted to go along. That prompted dad to take Max Evans so he would have back up if mom started off on him. Dad and Max decided to ask Jimmy and Sammy along. I imagine, they will have quite a time. Kyle always says that having mom along is for entertainment if the game gets dull. Mom is a one person entertainment squad in the cheerleading department,” Janice explained.
This brought to Ed, the relationship his father had with Maria and thus, with Michael. “Janice, I am really sorry for the way I reacted the other day. All my life, there have been things which were blamed on aliens. My mother never understood and neither did I. I will never know what my mother was worried about, but I can try to learn about things that affect my father. Except for that one subject, we have always been so close,” Ed tried to explain.
“You should be sorry. You would have had a great time if you were with those other men, including your son. My mother is hilarious when she is excited,” Janice stated. Then, she changed the subject. “Has Jimmy said anything about his troubles with his girl friend?”
“No, I guess he still doesn’t feel comfortable with me on subjects that are troubling to him,” Ed said.
Janice stood as she prepared to go. “Janice, could we talk again, sometime? Could you maybe tell me more about aliens?” Ed requested.
Janice smiled as she walked through the gate. “I think, sometime we should talk again. You need to be considered in the ‘I know aliens’ club.” With that, she went on her way.
------------------------------
The Elevator a story about fantasy and reality
Good teachers are born that way, not made. No! Good human beings, are born that way. Some of them become teachers.
Of course, life is not fair. You shouldn't expect it to be fair, but you should expect it to be ironic.
JKR 1981-2001
History is made of wars, recovering from wars and preparing for the next war.
JJR 1975-
Of course, life is not fair. You shouldn't expect it to be fair, but you should expect it to be ironic.
JKR 1981-2001
History is made of wars, recovering from wars and preparing for the next war.
JJR 1975-