“I wish I could have known her better,” I say quietly, taking her hand again. “Then maybe I’d understand you better.” Kylie looks up at me, her eyes twinkling, moist from thinking about her mom.
We walk more slowly. I don’t want it to end yet, and I know The Hill is just around the next corner. Then she will turn to head back down the trail to her house. The scrub brush has become thicker and tall enough that we can’t see out. Or be seen.
In the still air I become aware of how bad I smell from the day’s work in the tunnel. “Boy, do I stink!” I exclaim apologetically and with some embarrassment.
“So I noticed,” she agrees. “You remind me of my brother. Why do guys stink so bad?”
I don’t respond. We have reached the trail junction. Our walk together is ending. She turns and wraps her arms around me. I guess I don’t smell that bad. But I quickly understand; she’s not exactly shower fresh herself. It’s a sort of a primal embrace without the dainty perfumes or soapy scents that usually waft around her. A wave of electricity runs through my body. Then she releases me and steps back.
“So, I’ll see you tomorrow, maybe?” she questions, continuing to move backwards down the trail home.
“Probably,” I reply.
“Okay then.” She turns and starts off. I hear her phone ring and watch as she pulls it out of her pocket. “Hi Daddy,” I hear her answer as she stops to talk.
I watch her a second longer before turning to go down my trail. A few steps later my phone announces, “Home calling.” I pull it out of my pocket. “Hello?”
“Tyler? Jared’s dad just called here to say he’s being held over in Las Cruces for something or other, and won’t get home till late. He said Jared’s heading out with some friends, and he didn’t want Kylie home by herself. Would you bring her with you when you come home?”
“Uh, yeah. Sure Mom.”
“Okay. Good dear. When do you think you’ll get here?”
“Another fifteen or twenty minutes, Mom.”
“Okay. See you soon. Bye.”
“Bye Mom.” I close the phone, turning quickly to stop Kylie before she gets too far down the trail, but I’m startled to find her standing silently behind me.
“I guess you’re my babysitter for the night?” she jokingly teases, taking my hand again.
“I guess,” I respond with a smile. We resume walking. To me it almost feels like a date. Or at least I want it to be so I ask, “Maybe we could pretend this is our first date?”
“That would be fun,” she agrees playfully, “but daddy really doesn’t want me to date until I’m at least a sophomore, and I don’t think he’s real sure about that, either.”
“So, who’s to know?”
“I guess we could keep it a secret. For a while anyway,” she says softly, squeezing my hand.
We’ve made it to the top of The Hill and stop to look around. So much has happened here, and to be honest, I have thought about how much more could happen here. Especially now, here with Kylie. I want to give her something. I reach into my pocket with the hand she isn’t holding. All I have is the spare hy-ped key. I pull it out of my pocket, awkwardly blurting out, “Do you want this?” and hold the key up in front of her. She looks at it, puzzled at first, then her face beams.
“The key to your heart?” she asks romantically.
“The key to the hy-ped,” I respond matter-of-factly.
She looks a little disappointed, and I don’t understand. “The key to our secret relationship?” she hints again.
I get it this time. “Shhh,” I play along, stooping and peering around like a spy actor. “It’s a secret.”
“And I hold the key,” she joins in, snatching the key from my hand, furtively glancing around until our eyes meet again. Then she stretches up, kisses me quickly but fully on the lips before running down the trail towards my house. I sprint after her, catching up as she reaches the shelter I built with her brother. Reaching for her right shoulder with my left hand, she comes to a stop and turns towards me. Only a little winded, she catches her breath easily through the smile on her face as we drift closer together. My arms wrap around her naturally as she reaches around my waist. We pull together. I can feel her breathing. I can feel her heart beat, or maybe it’s my own heart. We kiss again, long and sweet. Then she rests her head on my chest.
“Your mom’s going to be wondering where we are,” she says quietly.
“Probably.” I hold on, savoring the moment before letting go. She looks up at me.
“Shhh.” She puts her index finger to her lips, and like bad children, we quietly sneak home, hand in hand.
When my house comes into view, she let’s go of my hand and walks a little further in front the rest of the way to the porch. I’m glad to see Gramps out grilling.
“Hi Grandpa Westland,” she greets him joyfully as we come up onto the porch. He glances over and waves before she darts into the house, quickly returning his focus to the pieces of chicken he is turning. “Hey Gramps,” I say coming up next to him.
“How’s it going Tyler?” he responds absently, as the chicken fat hits the coals, bursting into flames. He reaches for the lid to put on the grill to quench the flames. Then he sits in his chair, reaching for a glass of iced tea to cool himself. Looking over the glass as he sips, I see his eyebrows rise up inquisitively. “What’s that grin for?” he asks.
“Grin?” I ask back.
“Yeah! You look like the Cheshire Cat after he’s eaten the bird.”
I can feel my face blush. “Uh,” I stammer. “I’m not grinning,” I insist, looking away.
“Uh huh,” he remarks with suspicion. Out of the corner of my eye I can see him look at the kitchen door Kylie had disappeared through. “If you say so.” He looks back towards me. “That Kylie sure is a cute girl. Wonder if she’s got a boyfriend?”
Afraid our secret has already been discovered, I look pleadingly at him as he lifts his tea to take another sip. I run my arm over my mouth as if to camouflage any lingering trace of the kiss Kylie and I had shared. As he sets the tea down, he winks, smiles at me and whispers, “Your secret’s safe with me.”
I feel a flood of relief. Gramps is cool. Sometimes it’s almost seems like he’s a big brother instead of a grandfather. I sheepishly nod my thanks.
“There’s still about fifteen minutes before this chicken is done. Why don’t you go get cleaned up,” he suggests. I turn to go into the house. “By the way, I saw Jennifer when I stopped by the diner for lunch today. I asked her how things were going. She said ‘Great’. Then I asked her if she’s thought about getting a patent for that project she’s working on.”
“Can she do that?” I ask, looking back as I open the door.
“Sure. And it could have huge benefits,” he informs me. “She might stop over on her way home from work to talk about it.”
“Okay,” I reply, and head in.
Dinner is fun and delicious as usual. Kylie sits across from Gramps and me, and chats with Mom most of the time at one end of the table. Gramps, Dad, and I don’t say a whole lot as we eat which leaves me free to listen to Kylie.
She asks Mom a lot of questions about the baby and being pregnant. It gets a little personal at some points, so I try to appear more interested in the wing I am gnawing on than anything they are saying. But as I listen, it seems that women talk different with each other than with guys. Since Kylie hasn’t had her mom around for a while, my mom has always been more than happy to talk to her about woman stuff. I smile, remembering last year when she and her dad came over on a weekend just before Thanksgiving. Boy was he in a twist.
‘She’s becoming a woman,’ he had said then, ‘and I don’t know what to say to her about it. I could really use your help,’ he pleaded with Mom. She sent him out to the garage where Gramps was working on something or other. I had been coming down the stairs from my room when they had walked in. Nobody knew I was there, so I just sat down on the stairs and listened.
Being a nu
rse, Mom has always been pretty open about human physiology. In fact, a lot of what she told Kylie that day, she had already told me and that wasn’t anything I hadn’t already heard in class at school. Except she closed one part of her remarks with something like, ‘that’s what makes us women special’ and then another part with ‘that’s what makes men special’. She has always talked in equal terms about both sexes; how each has strengths and weaknesses, deserves respect, and need each other.
Then they had talked briefly about Kylie’s father and how hard it was on him without her mom, especially at times like this. And they laughed a little. Then they talked about how much they all missed her mom and they cried a little. Mom reassured Kylie how much her mom would be proud of her if she was still with them. Then out of the blue she called out, ‘Isn’t that right Tyler?’ Had she known I’d been sitting there all along? She called me into the kitchen to confess.
It had been embarrassing then, seeing Kylie during a personal moment with her eyes wet from tears of joy and sorrow at being on the cusp of womanhood without her mom. Remembering that now, it seems like that was the first time I felt attracted to her; that she could be someone special in my life.
“Tyler?” someone calls from outside my memory. I jerk and look up from my plate, where I had been reflexively shoving green beans into my mouth. “Earth to Tyler.” It’s Gramps’ voice.
“Hmm?” I manage through the beans.
“I don’t recall you coming home with your cycle today.” He makes it sound like a statement, but the question hangs out there begging a reply. I motion towards my mouth, partly because it is full, partly because I hadn’t thought of how I would explain that it had found a new home.
“He donated it,” Kylie interjects before I get a chance to answer.
“Really,” Mom says slowly, looking first at me, then Kylie. Gramps gives a sidelong glance. Dad keeps to the business of finishing dinner.
“Yes,” Kylie continues proudly. “You know we’ve been working on a gyroscope demonstration exhibit at the launch facility. Well, we needed wheels and the hy-ped’s fit the bill perfectly.”
“A little light on weight, aren’t they young lady?” Gramps asks critically.
“Willie’s going to take care of that for us,” she replies.
He grunts quiet satisfaction. “I should have guessed. That Willie is a genius. My bike wouldn’t be running if it weren’t for him.”
Mom stares at me for a minute. “But that’s quite a sacrifice, isn’t it dear?” she asks. “How are you going to get around now?”
“Mr. Charles is paying me pretty good,” I answer, finally swallowing. “And I’ve saved up quite a bit from my odd jobs around here. I’ll find something.”
“You usually do,” Dad speaks. I guess he’s been listening. “You’re good at it too; making things work out.” That’s his way of offering a compliment, and I accept it with a smile.
Mom isn’t so sure. She looks from him to me. “But you loved that cycle. It was your first one.” She has a way of bringing up the emotional aspects of things. I guess that’s the biggest difference between men and women; they dwell on the emotions. Men just seem to do what the job requires. Each deserves respect. But she is right, and I choke up a little.
“It’ll be okay, Mom,” I reassure her. “And anyway, it will still be there. Just in another form. Like Willie says: ‘from a caterpillar to a butterfly’.” But it hits me. It isn’t in my garage. Does it feel abandoned over there, alone in that big hangar? Has it already been disassembled into the parts I had carefully put together two years ago? Of course it’s stupid speculation; mechanical devices have no feelings. I look across at Kylie. Maybe she senses my feeling of loss. The proud expression in her eyes offers comfort. Have I traded one love for another today?
“Well, I’ll be anxious to see this demonstration when it’s ready,” Mom says, closing the subject and reaching for empty plates. “Now! Anybody want dessert?”
Kylie and I help her clear the table before we enjoy some cookies. Dad moves into the living room to watch the news, and Gramps excuses himself to the garage where he says some part or other has to be cleaned to get ready for a ride with Henri tomorrow. When the cookies are gone, Kylie thanks Mom for dinner and the two of us go out to sit on the porch. It’s a quiet evening and we quietly settle into the chairs.
Handsome appears from around the side of the house. He comes up onto the porch and greets me by side swiping my ankle. I respond by reaching down to give his fur a tussle. He continues his greetings with Kylie in the same manner; a nuzzle and a side swipe. She pats her lap with her hands; an invitation he can’t refuse. He jumps up, pushing his face into her palms in a friendly, affectionate way. I can hear him begin to purr. Just as quickly, he jumps down, heads for the door where he mews quietly to be let in to have his dinner. I stretch over to open the door.
Kylie is watching me. “Your cat likes me, too,” she brags. I’m about to tease her and ask who else she thinks likes her, when I hear the noise of a car coming down the driveway. It’s Jared. “What’s he doing here?” she says brusquely.
“Gramps told me Jennifer was coming over to talk about something. I don’t think this was part of your brother’s plan for tonight,” I answer. She looks at me questioningly as the car comes to a stop. Jared quickly steps out.
“What’s she doing here?” he asks with annoyance. Jennifer slips out behind him and shuts the car door.
“Your dad’s getting back late from Las Cruces so he wanted my mom and dad to watch her for a while. That’s all.” I sound defensive. I didn’t want him to think it had been my idea hoping to avoid any protective outburst he might hurl at me.
“Babysitting then?” Jen joins in with a laugh.
“No,” Kylie shoots back, asserting herself. “I was invited over for dinner, and now we’ve just been sitting on the porch having a nice time. At least until you two showed up,” she concludes with a scowl.
“So what’s this business you and my grandfather have?” I ask, changing the subject.
“Yeah! What’s so important that we have to spend Saturday night here?” Jared demands to know.
“He stopped for lunch at the diner today, and covertly asked if I was doing anything to protect my rights to the containment field,” Jen explains. “At least that’s what I thought he was asking. The conversation was pretty vague.”
“And you think he’d know something about that?” Jared asks, incredulously.
“Hey!” I shout, annoyed by Jared’s comment. “He’s knows a lot more than you ever will!”
The encounter could have gone downhill from there, but a shrill whistle from the garage interrupts our exchange. We all look over simultaneously. Gramps is waving to us to join him in the garage. “I guess we’ll see,” Jared says simply.
Gramps closes the door after we are all in. There isn’t anywhere to sit. He seems a little nervous to me. “This shouldn’t take long,” he informs us, “then you can all go do whatever it was you had planned. But I’m glad you came.”
Jared walks over to look at the motorcycle. He has seen it before, and I suspect he is just impatiently killing time. Kylie looks around at some of the stuff on the walls. There are cartons of electronics, and tools of different kinds and vintages. She looks in one box that has a glass screen with black and white lines crisscrossing it. “Is this is an old oscilloscope?” she asks, looking over at Gramps.
“That’s correct. The first one I ever owned,” he answers with pride. “Probably should throw it out. It’s junk now.” He settles himself against one of his workbenches. There are two; one for mechanical maintenance, the other for electronics.
“Before I get to the main topic, I feel I should tell you something more about myself. Some of this even Tyler has never heard before.” I look up at him wondering what he means. “And some of it’s embarrassing to me. But I hope my loss can become your gain, and that you will not make the same mistakes I’ve made in the past.” He looks down
at the floor, then in turn at each of us.
“I’ve invented many things. Nothing you’ve heard of, or anything that you might use in daily life. Some I’m not proud of because they were ultimately used to harm many people, but then some have been used to save many lives.” He stops to gather his thoughts.
“And where did you do this?” Jared asks.
“At that security company Henri mentioned a few weeks ago. Where we met,” he replies quietly. “I worked in the back rooms for over thirty years coming up with many devices in the name of national security. Gratefully, some I will never be associated with. But there are others that I wish I could get credit, primarily financial, which I shall never see. It is because of that that I am living here, unable to support myself, and I want to help ensure that your lives don’t come to the same end.”
“How’s that, Mr. Westland?” Jennifer asks.
“By protecting the results of your experiments, and the devices and methods you are developing with patents,” he says forcefully. “Do you know the impact you will have on the country and the world when you go public?” He looks across our blank faces. “Do you know what kind of money is at stake?”
“Millions?” Jared answers, taking more interest.
“Billions!” Gramps corrects him.
“What would I do with billions?” Jennifer wonders in disbelief.
“Whatever you want,” suggests Kylie.
“But what’s even more important,” Gramps continues, “is you will retain control over your creation. Share it with whomever you want or keep it for your own gain. It would all be up to you.”
“How can we do something like that?” Jennifer worries. “I mean, I have no experience in these things, and though I could probably do it given enough time, we don’t have a whole lot of that if we’re going to continue as planned.”
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