Home » The Archives » Chapter 13 » Cold Front
| Re: Cold Front [message #842 is a reply to message #841] |
Wed, 25 July 2012 17:14   |
artisticrainey
Messages: 1228
Registered: July 2012
Location: Northern Ireland
Karma:
|
Field Commander
Switzerland |
|
|
Sunday, November 10, 2068, 4 p.m. Tracy Island. (10 p.m. the previous day, Boston)
The phone in the study rang, and Kyrano, who was sifting through the magazines and culling the older issues, moved to answer it.
"Hello. Tracy residence."
The viewscreen flipped on, and a man in his forties looked back at Kyrano. "Hello... uh, it's Mr. Kyrano, right?"
The retainer smiled. "Yes, Mr. Parkhurst. I am Kyrano."
"Jared," the man hastened to say. "Call me Jared, please." He paused. "After all, we're going to be, uh, related soon."
"This is true, Jared. And you may call me Kyrano, for now. I look forward to seeing you and your family again."
"I look forward to it, too. My kids are excited about coming to the island for the wedding." He paused again, clearly a little nervous to be speaking to his future step-father. "Are my mother and my sister around?"
"Yes, they are. Please hold for a moment."
"Sure."
Kyrano pressed the "Hold" button, replacing Jared's image with a sign that said, "Caller on hold". He pressed the button for Jeff and Dianne's quarters, where both women and Cherie were watching a previously recorded skating exhibition. "There is a call from Boston for both of you."
"Thanks, Kyrano," Dianne said. She muted the televid, making Cherie frown, and pulled a chair over to the built in desk, where the vidphone was. Lisa settled herself in the chair that was already at the desk, while Dianne sat in the one she'd brought. "You can transfer the call now."
The vidphone snapped on, revealing Jared's pensive face. It brightened when he saw his sister before him, and cleared further as his mother leaned in to say, "Hello, Jared! It's been a while since we've heard from you!"
"Hi, Mom! Hi, Di! How are things in the tropics?"
"Tropical," Dianne said with a grin. "Rain yesterday, rain today, likely rain tomorrow... it's spring and heading into summer!"
"How's Boston?" Lisa asked.
"We had our first snow yesterday. Only a couple of inches but the kids were so excited! Weatherman says we should get a little more on Monday night."
The conversation went on like this for a little, with the women asking after Patricia and Jared's twins, and Jared asking after Dianne's kids, Jeff, and any of the other Tracys he could think of. Finally, Jared cleared this throat.
"I didn't just call to chew the fat with you both, though that certainly has been great. I called because..." Jared looked very uncomfortable. "Because Dad called me."
Lisa drew in a sharp breath, and Dianne began to scowl. "So, what did he have to say for himself?" she asked, her tone sharp.
Jared took in a deep breath. "He wants to visit me and the family. To make amends, he says. He told me he's in Alcoholics Anonymous and is on step... I don't remember the step."
"Step nine," Dianne replied quickly. "Step nine is to make amends -- unless it would hurt the people you're trying to make amends to."
"Yeah, step nine." Jared cocked his head to one side, a questioning expression on his face. "How do you know...?"
"Doctor, remember?" Dianne's scowl turned to a wry expression. "I became familiar with AA's tenets so I could recommend it if I thought someone needed it." She paused, and sighed. "So, he's on step nine. What are you going to do?"
Jared shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. He's supposed to be going to Dougie's for Thanksgiving, and suggested he come visit me for Christmas. I told him it wasn't a good time." Now Jared's shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry, Ma. I kinda let the cat out of the bag about the wedding."
Dianne groaned, covering her eyes with a splayed hand. Lisa sighed and shook her head. "You didn't tell him more than that, did you, Jared?"
"No. I didn't." Jared shook his head. "He asked how to get in touch with you and I told him straight out that you had asked the family not to give out any addresses or phone numbers."
"That's a relief." Lisa sat back a little. "Please remind Tricia and the boys of that."
"I will," Jared said.
"Hope Dougie doesn't tell him during Thanksgiving," Dianne muttered. "I know Angie wouldn't."
There was a pause in the conversation, then Jared swallowed and asked, "Ma, wouldn't it be best if you let him make amends? I mean, he doesn't have to know where you live or anything, but next time you're in the States..."
Lisa shook her head. "No, Jared. It might sound like I'm being stubborn, but I'm just not ready." She wrapped her arms around herself. "Last time I saw him, he'd followed me into a store when I had Dianne's kids with me. He caught me off-guard and I felt... I felt powerless, like I did when we were married. I swear I will never feel that way again, Jared. Not with him. Never again."
They could see Jared's fingers as he brought his palms up. "Okay, Ma. I see your point." He turned to his sister. "What about you, Di? Will you let him make amends to you?"
"Truthfully, Jared, I don't think there is anything he could do to make amends for what he did to me," Dianne stated. "How do you say, 'I'm sorry' to someone you beat up like that? How do you say it as if you mean it? Sure, it was a long time ago, and I healed from it, but it haunted me for years afterward." She shook her head slightly. "I could never trust that anything he said or did was sincere. Especially now."
"What do you mean, 'especially now'?" Jared asked.
"Now that I'm married to Jeff." Dianne's response was prompt. "Jeff did a background check on him; he's in quite a bit of debt because his wife likes to gamble. I could never trust that he wasn't trying to get close to me so he could touch Jeff for funds."
"I see." Jared's tone had a touch of disapproval to it. "Well, I'd better get going. It's getting late here."
"If you do see him, let me know how it goes." Lisa's request was soft. "I did love him, once. I'd like to know if he is sincere. And if you want him in your life, Jared, that's... that's okay. It's your choice."
"Thanks, Ma. Talk to you two again, soon. Give my love to the family."
"And give Tricia and the twins love from us," Dianne said, her tone softer. "Bye, Jared."
"Bye."
The vidphone clicked off, and Dianne pressed a button to end the call from their phone. She turned to her mother, and sighed.
"Why did he have to come back now?"
"I don't know, Di," Lisa replied, putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "But I'm not going to let him ruin the rest of my life."
Dianne reached out, and the two women embraced. "I'm so glad, Ma," Dianne whispered. "I'm so glad."
  
|
|
|
|
Current Time: Wed May 01 19:31:35 EDT 2024
Total time taken to generate the page: 0.01257 seconds
|
International Rescue: The Next Phase
Search
Help
Members
Login
Home
