Windows in Time

by John Thompson

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

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

  “I'm so sorry Scott.”

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

  For some reason he felt that he could trust him.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  “Doesn't your mother know?”

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

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

  “Scott, I'm home.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  “Your father and I are getting a divorce.”

  “A … what!”

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

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

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

  “What about us?”

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

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

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

  “I have an uncle?”

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

  “Why? What could he have done?”

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

  “That explains it. Dad hates gays.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

  “You know?”

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

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

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

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

  “Is something wrong? ”

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

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

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

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

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

  Chapter Five:

  Promises...

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

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

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

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

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

  “Two years ago.”

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

  “That must have gone over well.”

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

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

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

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

  “But if they found out about me.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

  “Awkward,” Chris said as his eyes opened.

  “How did you sleep?”

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

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

  15 minutes later Chris appeared in the kitchen. He saw the table was filled with all sorts of breakfast food. “You sit down and eat up. I'll be back in ten minutes.”

  Scott made sure that the breakfast would be high in protein, but low in carbs. Chris needed enough energy to make it through the day, but he wouldn't want to eat so much that he was slowed down. He had to be fast on his feet. Scott didn't think his friend would have a problem with that.

  Scott's mother went with the boys to the school for the big event that day. Chris' mother wanted to be there, but she was being interviewed by the police in town. His father was already in jail.

  The media had been kept in the dark by the police while the immediate investigation was going on. News of the arrest would be on the TV by Sunday, but this at least gave one last day where Chris had some peace.

  Each and every match in the time between 10:30 till 12, was to see who would be in the final four matches of the day. His was the first match of the morning, and he easily beat his opponent. That didn't mean he would be the top wrestler of the meet.

  After lunch he and the other wrestlers for the afternoon had to choose a number out of a hat. He chose number 1. That meant he would wrestle in the first match. That was his lucky slot he knew. He got all his energy out, then could relax while the others wrestled.

  The rules for who was in the final was simple. The top 6 wrestlers were in groups of 2. The top two in the points after the first three matches in the afternoon would wrestle in the finale.

  Before Chris entered the mat area he looked over at the stands. He found Scott and Scott's mother, and smiled at them. Then he turned back to face his opponent. With a look of readiness for battle, he entered the battlefield. Chris went over to his enemy and shook his right hand. That was the last kind thing he would do for the next three minutes.

  This was the closest thing to war that a boy would ever know. It was either kill or be killed. He had to beat down this other boy, within the rules of the sport. He was picked to be on top. Chris got into position, and when the whistled blew, he used a couple tricks he had been keeping for the final couple matches. His opponent went down without much trouble at all.

  Two minutes after the match started, the other boy went out of the circle, and Chris won the match.

  He jumped up and the ref held his arm up.

  The crowd from the school went wild. He only had eyes to see what Scott was doing. He found his friend clapping and cheering louder than many.

  Something inside of Chris was feeling things he hadn't felt before. He found that it was Scott's opinion he cared about more than anyone else.

  What was happening to him? He thought that something was wrong, but then he understood that this wasn't wrong but just something that was building since he met him.

  He ran over to the bench and his team mates that were there to watch the event slapped his hand. He looked up into the stands and smiled in his friends direction. Chris hoped that Scott knew the smile was just for him.

  The heart wants what it wants, and from the speed of his heart, Chris knew what his heart wanted right then was to run into the stands.

  He would wait on that.

  The final match seemed to be so far away. Chris worked hard to be in the finals, and he made it.

  Everyone was cheering when the final match of the day began. He was one of two people that would be named grand champion after it was all over.

  Time seemed to stand still when he and the final opponent stood face to face. All he could see was his father, who would be yelling at him. His father wouldn't approve of his feelings about Scott. He would try to tell him that he was just confused, and that in one week he couldn't have feelings for someone.

  The anger that he felt for his father, gave him strength. Chris looked at the other boy and saw his laughing father staring back at him. When the whistle blew to start the final match, many people thought it would be an easy slaughter. The prize for first place was 200 dollars. It would be enough for a nice dinner and many movies with Scott.

  When the ref separated them the first time, Chris was up by 1 point. That was when both he and Scott had a flash. Inside their minds they saw the family of Scott's opponent. They were a poor family. The two boys didn't know how they knew, but they could see the worn coats the family was wearing to the event. In their minds they saw a home where some mornings they had little to eat before school.

  It would only be known by the two of them, but Chris use the next minute to get into the right position while wrestling the boy. Then he gave a good show. When the timer was almost over, he let the other boy push him down. He gave up first place.

  The other school erupted into cheers. Second place was nothing to sneeze at, although some of the members of his team would be disappointed in him.

  Ten minutes later there was the awards. When they got to the second place award, it came with an envelope that had 1 hundred in it. After the first place award was given out and people the event was over. The first place boy came over to Chris. "Why did you let me win? I knew you had me."

  "Some things are more important than winning," he said as he gave his envelope to the other boy. "Give this to your parents. Tell them it is a gift."

  He didn't know what to say. None of the kids at his school knew how poor his family really was. The extra hundred would go a long way.

  "Why?"

  "I have someone more valuable than money waiting for me in the stands."

  Chris turned to the stands and didn't care if anyone was looking at him. He had finally realized that sometimes there was something more important than money or popularity in life.

  Some from his team tried to tell hi
m it was okay. He wasn't listening. He ran to the steps for the bleachers. Up the steps he took them two by two. Then when he got to the top he stopped next to his mother and Scott.

  "You had the same flashes I did," Scott said.

  "Yes, that is why I threw the match, but it has to be our secret. I knew there was something more important than money waiting for me. That money will help his family more than anyone knows, but the only thing I need was to know how you feel about me."

  His mother expected that her son would admit his feelings towards the new boy, but she didn't know they would do it in front of the people at the tournament.

  Chris reached out with his hands and picked Scott right up from the bench. Then he planted the biggest kiss anyone at the school had ever seen.

  Chapter Six:

  It was at that moment the recall happened. Seth and Jonathan remembered who they were as they were sucked back through the Time Windows. Seth saw Mr. Yu first and knew something had changed.

  "What happened?" He asked. "One second I had pulled Jonathan up and kissed him and then you pulled us back here.

  "That was a gift, because your really test wasn't if you two were brave enough to kiss in front of people. Could you lose a match that the other Chris just couldn't lose. He didn't know about the other family and their trouble, but once you knew, you did the right thing. That boy had been the one at prom in the previous time line, he won't have that hatred in his heart for you now. As a matter of fact, his life is going to be much different now."

  "Your clothes are different," Jonathan said.

  "I know. You have started changing time. In this room I know all the changes that happened, so when I leave here I'll remember also. That boy you helped Seth had a relative that will be an aide to a congressman with a lot of influence. He will be told about the gift you gave him, by throwing the match. He will also be told about how much you care for Jonathan, or Scott as he will know of him, it will change one congressman to vote against the repressive laws."