Part 1 of 3


She felt the warm mud touch the middle of her back and tried not to flinch away. She had already endured a serious scrub at the hands of her tormentors. She corrected herself, not a scrub, an exfoliation. Whatever, it felt like the first few layers of skin had been scrubbed off her entire body. Just relax, they kept repeating to her. Okay, easy to say, hard to do when you’re getting warm mushy shit spread all over your back and legs. It was the main reason Kris had told her she needed to take some time while she was getting her shit straight and pamper herself exactly like this. Relax, she reminded herself.

She hadn’t had a mud wrap in a while and thought she’d try a different one. It was supposed to work for tired sore muscles, something she felt every day. But the effervescent seaweed mud was a little disconcerting. Okay, I’m relaxing damn it, she repeated to herself.

The music in this place has got to go, was the next thought that entered her mind. Who listens to this Yanni shit anyway? Is it supposed to help her relax? It sure as hell didn’t do that for her. It grated on her so she consciously let her breath out and tried to focus inward. They said that they’d leave her in the wrap for an hour and that the time would fly by. Let’s hope so, she thought.

Who could make their life any more fucked up that her? Who? Wait, that wasn’t a relaxing thought. Stay away from that shit. The look on David’s face when he finally gets to see and hear his daughter sing is going to be priceless. Too bad she wasn’t going to be there. It was in just a few days and she wasn’t ready to rejoin her life, already in progress. That thought made her giggle at herself like her life was some interrupted tv program and she could jump in and out at any time and shit would wait for her. She knew that wasn’t true. She’d missed so much by not being there through the years. She’d missed so much of her little brother’s life and there was no damn way she could get it back. He said he didn’t care and wasn’t bitter because he understood, but it didn’t take away her own induced guilt.

Fuckin’ music was intruding again. Okay, think of something that will tune that out, she mused. Almost of its own volition a song popped into her head


I'm becoming less defined as days go by
Fading away
And well you might say
I'm losing focus
Kinda drifting into the abstract in terms of how I see myself

Sometimes I think I can see right through myself
Sometimes I can see right through myself

Less concerned about fitting into the world
Your world that is
Cause it doesn't really matter anymore
No it doesn't really matter anymore
None of this really matters anymore

Yes I am alone but then again I always was
As far back as I can tell
I think maybe it's because
Because you were never really real to begin with
I just made you up to hurt myself

I just made you up to hurt myself, yeah
And I just made you up to hurt myself

And it worked.
Yes it did!
Only – Nine Inch Nails



She felt the tears start and cursed herself for her own stupidity, again. She seemed to have the absolute worst instincts when it came to men. She always seemed to get tangled up with the ones that were unavailable. Why did she do that to herself, she worried. Shit, if she asked Kris, she’d probably be told it was because they were unavailable. She never wanted anything long term in her life, too much shit trailing along behind her. But why did she seem to open her heart at absolutely the worst possible choices? Why didn’t she fall for the dumb shits, the losers, the mama’s boys like most of her friends? No, she fell for the ones that were still hog tied to their ex wives or ex girlfriends.

She nodded to the woman that was slapping, okay smearing would be a nicer term, the warm bubbly mud over her and rolled over so she could get completely covered in the supposedly therapeutic goo.

Thinking to David’s upcoming surprise, she recalled his irritation at both her and Kris’ insistence about him dragging his dead ass all the way home this week. Normally after a fan event or two, they would find some other community or special stuff he could do so he could finish out the day and head home late at night and sleep or early am after a little sleep. She smiled as she remembered his whining about it.

“Lil’ Sis, that’s not how you normally schedule my shit,” David said over the phone. She could hear that he was already tired from his long week.

“I know, David. But this is important. Kris wants you there, but Liz really wants you there this time. Don’t ask me why, but she does,” she finished with a smile as she looked out her hotel window and thought about visiting the mountain tomorrow if the weather stayed clear.

“Okay, but what the hell good will I be if I fall asleep on my baby girl,” he asked in a last ditch effort.

“You’ll be killed. If Kris doesn’t kill you, I’ll hunt you down and do it for her,” she giggled at him. He chuckled.

“Okay, you ladies win…this time,” he said.

“David? Take my car. You can find a place to park it and it needs to be driven,” she said quietly. She had arraigned to have her car driven back to her condo last week. Kris had a set of keys so it would be easy enough for David to borrow her. She wasn’t sure how long she would be away and her girl needed to be driven occasionally, so why not have him drive her, she reasoned.

“I said I’d go. You don’t have to throw in the car too,” David laughed at her offer.

“No, seriously. Take her. She needs to be driven. Plus she doesn’t need to stop for gas at every corner,” she reminded him with a nasty chuckle…

She knew that Mike was due to go with Kris, too. They had talked about it weeks ago. David was still in the dark about the real reason his schedule had been changed so he could hear Liz sing. But she knew he wouldn’t be pissed once he was there. How was she going to function if she flinched or was sick every time she was anywhere near the fifth member of their team? How was that ever going to work? Guess that was one of the reasons she was still sitting on her ass in a hotel. Plus she really had let a few things slide and the quiet had given her a chance to catch up and get some shit back under control.

She was still stuck on trying to figure out where to live next. She didn’t want to leave her family, but knew it would be impossible to pretend that everything was fine and go home again. Most of her shit she could do anywhere, so she was back to the same old problem of finding a place to live. Did she want to switch all her electronics back to European current? That was a huge pain, but easily doable if she was serious. Did she want to stay where she was instead? No change in electricity, certainly, but she wasn’t sure that it felt right. It was a great vacation spot, lots of things to do and beautiful places, but something wasn’t right and she couldn’t put her finger on it for a few moments.

Damn it, she knew exactly what it was. He wasn’t with her. What a stupid shit she was for feeling that part of herself was missing. Part of her life, a part that had become important to her, was missing. She was not going down that road today. No. She’d already spent too many hours crying over someone who had already wiped her off his feet and moved on. Wiped her off his cowboy boots, more precisely. God, she was acting like a love sick teenager and she hated herself for her own weakness. She should just be able to shake it off and move on. He obviously had. He had never really been with her anyway, he was just killing time. And her heart, her mind whispered back.

She was startled awake by a soothing voice telling her the hour was up and they were ready to rinse off the mud. She didn't even know when she had fallen asleep. As she watched them rinse off the caked on goo, she felt rested and at peace. It took her several moments to register exactly why. Finally she hit on the fact that she had admitted to herself finally that she had fallen in love with Mike. Regardless of how much she tried to deny it, it was the truth. She also knew there wasn't anything she could do about it, since he didn't feel the same way about her, obviously. Just admitting that to herself was a relief. Now she just had to wait for the pain to fade. She knew it would eventually, it had before. She just needed to keep herself busy. That had helped before, too.

She finished toweling off and slipped on the oversized, at least for her, plush robe and slippers. The next stop was the masseuse. After that, she had scheduled hair, manicure and pedicure. All of it was aimed to wash her mind and body clean of the last few months. She followed the tastefully understated signs pointing to the massage rooms. She found the one that was scheduled for her and stepped through.

He looked up at his newest client and smiled. She blinked away her memories and narrowed her eyes quickly. He wasn’t? No, he couldn’t be, not all the way over here. She had stopped at the door as she saw a bald man with a blonde goatee and dark brown eyes smiling at her. He didn’t look much different than the last time she saw him. He sensed her surprise and wanted to help ease her so she could relax and enjoy her massage.

“Carrie, you look great,” Kyle said. She smiled at him uncertainly. She hadn’t seen him since college and felt naked in her oversized robe.

“Thanks, so do you. What are you doing all the way on this side of the continent,” she asked. He smiled at her and directed her to lay down on the table.

“I moved here years ago,” he replied.

He turned his back so she could slip her robe off and pull the sheet up from near her feet. She had a million thoughts running through her head at seeing him again. She remembered how nice he had been to her when many others didn’t bother. He had never treated her like the baby she was. He was a good friend to her when they were both in college.

“Tell me, what have you been doing with yourself? I want to hear all about it,” he teased as he brought a bottle of water over to her.

“Drink,” he said in his professional voice.

He softened it with a wink and a smile for his old friend. He was still trying to get over the shock of seeing her name on his schedule that morning. She was quiet as she uncapped the bottle and drank all of it. She was extremely thirsty after her mud wrap and nap and hadn’t realized it until he handed her a water.

“Thanks,” she said shyly as she handed the bottle back and laid back down. His eyes were smiling at her as he reached for the empty.

“I can’t believe you got rid of your nose piercing. The lady I knew was adamant about it and about being a non conformist,” he chuckled.

“Yeah, well,” she shrugged as she laid back down at his motion. “They took it out while I was in hospital and it didn’t get put back in soon enough. I didn’t want to make another hole in my head,” she giggled.

“Okay, you’re off the hook on that one,” Kyle said as he directed her to roll over so he could start on her back. She followed his instruction and felt him slide the sheet down to just above her ass.

“Tell me if you have problem areas and we’ll work on those,” he said as he slipped back into almost professional mode with her.

“Kyle, I don’t think you have enough time to work on all of them,” she laughed and imagined his frown at her words. He had a funny habit of making a goofy face when he frowned and she was picturing him doing it at her words.

“Okay,” he said quietly. “Tell me your worst areas,” he tired again.

“Shoulders and knees, always,” she said quietly as he put his large hands on her back. She didn’t flinch from his touch, unlike the ladies that slapped warm mud on her earlier.

“You’re weren’t kidding,” he said quietly as he felt all the scar tissue and spasms in her shoulders.
He stayed quiet for many minutes as he worked on her shoulders, trying to knead them into relaxing a little.

“So, tell me what you’ve been doing,” he finally broke the silence. He knew she wasn’t asleep, yet. He sensed her unease and felt her tense under his hands so he tried a different tactic. “You ever get married to that big guy you were seeing just before graduation?”

“No,” she said quietly.

“I can’t imagine he was happy about that. He was totally off the deep end for you, honey. What happened?” He felt her start to relax again as he continued on her shoulders and back.

“We were together for a couple of years but it got too intense,” was all she said.

He knew her well enough to know that she wasn’t going to say anything more. He also knew by her words that she was the one that it got too intense for. He finished working on her back in silence. There was no hurry, he didn’t have another appointment for hours. She felt him slide the sheet back up to her shoulders and move around the table. He moved the sheet from her feet and legs, so he could concentrate on them next.

As he started on her foot, she groaned and said, “Can you do that for the next four hours, Kyle?” He chuckled and continued.

“That’s what everyone says,” he said quietly.

She wanted to move away from questions about her so she thought she’d ask some since she was curious.

“Tell me about you. What have you been up to? Married? Kids? What? And how the hell did you end up doing this,” she asked as he switched to her other equally sore foot. She heard him take a breath and let it out before he answered her.

“I met the woman of my dreams and we moved here almost right after college. We have a beautiful daughter, her name’s Chloe. She’s seven, going on seventeen,” he smiled.

Carrie heard his voice shift as he talked about his daughter. He loved his daughter, but obviously not his wife. How sad, she thought.

“You still married,” she asked quietly.

“No. We never did bother to get married so we didn’t have to go through anything messy and expensive like divorce. But it still wasn’t easy. I don’t get to see Chloe much, only some weekends and holidays,” he said as his hands slid up her calf.

“Do they live here,” she asked, hoping they were close for his sake.

“Yeah, thank goodness. Crystal makes sure I get to see her, but it’s not the same,” he said and cursed himself for talking about his problems with a client.

It didn’t matter if the client was an old friend, it was still against policy. He was silent and prayed she wouldn’t ask any more questions as he kneaded her legs. He kept his mind on task and noticed she still went to the gym frequently which was both good and bad for her. He was feeling the bad under his fingers, but she did look good, he admitted to himself. He slid his hands up to her thighs and concentrated on his task. He couldn’t imagine a less likely person that he would run into at the spa than his old college crush. Thankfully, she never let him touch her then as he was doing now, he mused. He wouldn’t have been able to contain himself.

“What about you? Married? Kids? Work,” he asked quietly.

He knew one of his best talents was listening. It had made him a very successful masseuse, along with his hands. He felt her sigh and start to tense under his hands, but then he felt her relax. That was interesting, he thought to himself.

“Not married, never been, never gonna happen. No kids, but I’ve got five nieces and nephews that I get to spoil,” she said as she stared at the carpet under the table.

She was glad he couldn’t see her face because she wasn’t sure she’d be able to convince him that she was okay. She remembered he used to be a great listener and he’d pry stuff out of her that surprised both of them.

“I’m surprised, Carrie. I would have thought someone would’ve come to their senses and married you years ago,” he said. Any other thought that tried to creep in, he stomped it down and continued. “Unless of course you’re gonna tell me that you’ve decided that you don't like men any more," he teased.

"Sheeeiiiiit. I think you know me better than that, Kyle," she laughed as she felt his hands slide even further up her thighs.

She would never have imagined that she would be able to have an intelligent conversation with Kyle, a buddy from college, as he was massaging and caressing her thighs. Her life was always weird, but this one was definitely one of the weirder things that had happened in a while. She let her self relax again and tried to not think so much. Thinking wasn't why she booked herself into a day spa.

"Time to roll over, love," he said with a smile.

She heard his words and complied without missing a beat or flashing any skin. Kyle knew exactly how to drape his clients so any little old lady's modesty was preserved. He picked up her hand and started with her fingers, gently squeezing them and the palm of her hand. He worked his way up to her forearm before he spoke again.

"Do you still compete," he asked as he kept his gaze on her arm.

He remembered some of the power she had accidentally displayed for him once. It was almost inconceivable that the tiny girl, woman he corrected himself, could have so much power and energy.

"No. I gave that up years ago. Last time my nose got broken, I decided that I'd be best served if I stayed on the sidelines and watched."

"What? You used to love it," Kyle reminded her.

"Yeah, I know. I still do, but I don't have the luxury of all that time any more," she said quietly.

"Is that when you left out your diamond," he asked her in reference to her nose birthstone.

"Yeah. They couldn't splint if very well with it in and by the time the swelling was down enough it had healed closed."

She had almost completely forgotten about her nose piercing. She wondered what Mike thought about nose piercings. Maybe she'd get it done again. What the fuck was she thinking? Mike didn't give a shit if she had her nose or her nipples pierced. He was gone and that chapter needed to be closed, she reminded herself.

Kyle noticed that she didn't wear any rings and hadn't in a long while by looking at her fingers. No tan lines or indents. Interesting, he mused again. The thoughts that he'd been stomping down were trying to peek out again. He clenched his jaw and forced them back where they belonged. He set her arm back beside her as he walked to the other side to start on that hand and arm.

"Kyle," she said as he picked up her right hand.

"Yeah, Carrie," he answered and tried to keep his voce calm. His thoughts were crowding to give voice but he waited her out, not wanting to make a complete ass out of himself.

"Can we catch up over dinner? I'm dying to see pictures of your daughter and hear what you've been doing and it's very hard to pay attention when you keep making my brain turn to mush," she smiled. "Not that I mind mush. I think that was my plan today and you're helping me a lot."

"Sure. Dinner sounds good. The food here is pretty good and they have things that you can eat. I'm guessing you still don't do meat?" He grinned at her surprised expression. Yeah, he remembered. He remembered a lot about her.

"Yeah, still no meat. Here is fine. That way I don't run the risk of getting lost in this confusing city. I'm scheduled for treatments up until five today." She watched as he gently set her arm back down and moved to her legs and shins.

"You're doing the whole treatment? Wow, I am impressed," he said as his fingers started to gently knead her knee. Now he could feel exactly why she said her knees were a problem. He wondered quickly if they were both as bad. He'd find out soon enough.

"I won't get you in to trouble, will I," she asked. The thought had intruded that the exclusive spa might frown on employees fraternizing with the clientele.

"Off hours, I'm my own person," he assured her.

"Okay, that's good. I just didn't want to get your ass in trouble," she said as she watched him gently knead and massage her screwed up knees.

"Since when did you care if my ass got in trouble," he teased her and winked.

She opened and closed her mouth several times trying to get words out, but she couldn't. She'd forgotten he used to be her fall guy. She ended up chuckling at his remark since there really wasn't anything else to say and they both knew it.

"Sorry for that. Shit Kyle, sorry for everything," she said quietly.

"Don't worry about it, honey. I was just teasing you," he said and made sure she knew it by maintaining eye contact.

He rammed those thoughts back and continued to knead her right quad. He felt her start to relax more as he continued. Most people fell asleep during a massage and she had stayed awake longer than most, but it looked like his hands were working on her too.

Her breathing deepened and slowed as he shifted to work on her left quad. He snuck a quick glance and saw she was asleep or close to it and grinned to himself. He was pretty proud of the fact that he could put little miss dynamo asleep since she used to rarely sleep when he knew her. He remembered all kinds of other names that she used to be called by other students, most of them very derogatory. She never seemed to worry about it at the time, but he knew some of them hurt. He wondered what she was doing with her life and why she was getting the full treatment today. Usually older wealthy ladies passed their day by spending the day at the spa, not younger dynamic ones, unless they were either getting married or going through a divorce.

He remembered her earlier comments about never going to get married, so he didn't think that was the cause. Maybe she was going through a break up? Maybe more of her past life had bit her in the ass again. She always worried about that when she was in school, he remembered. He knew she took on a crazy workload so she could be done in record time and get on with her life, as she used to say. He wondered if she ever did. He realized he was looking forward to their dinner more than was healthy for him, but he was just curious he told himself. He pulled the sheet back down and checked the time. He had an hour until his next appointment. He'd just step out and check to see what her schedule was. He wanted to give her as much time to sleep as possible.

She felt warm strong hands caressing her, rubbing her, making her feel like jello and imagined that she was in her bed. Mike had a bottle of massage oil in his hands. He put his fingers to his lips and rubbed the oil in his hands and reached for her leg. God, that felt so good she thought. Don't stop doing that. He continued his rhythmic kneading in silence, but she could see he wasn't unaffected by their intimacy. Oh yeah, he was ready, more than ready she thought smugly to herself. God, why did she seem to be drawn to big men? And why did big men seem to find her interesting? She knew she wasn’t beautiful, she’d been told that many times growing up. She thought she was pretty average and on a good day might be considered cute, but nothing more. Was it because she was so damn small that they wanted to make sure all her parts were real? Was it because they liked to be able to rest a beer on her head? Okay, that hadn't happened since college, but still. She didn't understand it, but most of the men she had any serious connections to were all well over six feet tall. It was just one of those weird things in her life. Oh, his hands slid up a little higher and were now rubbing her thigh. Oh yeah, that felt real good. Mike looked up at her and smiled as he continued to torment her. She felt herself sliding deeper into sleep and she didn't want to sleep, she wanted to stay awake so she could enjoy his torment.

***

"Carrie, time to wake up," Kyle said quietly.

He smiled as she struggled to wake up and get her bearings. Her eyes met his and for a brief moment, those damn thoughts almost found a voice but he stomped them back down into submission.

"Kyle? How long did I sleep? Sorry for falling asleep on you. That's embarrassing," she said as she rubbed her eyes and stretched.

"Don't worry about it. Most people fall asleep. You've been out for forty five minutes, not too long," he assured her.

“Still, it’s embarrassing. I don’t usually drift off,” she said. She watched him grab her robe for her with a gentle smile. Wonder if his daughter got her dad’s smile, she mused.

“Thanks” as she took the robe from him and started to sit up.

He turned away quickly and she could see his blush from the back of his head. She looked down quickly to see if she’d accidentally flashed him, but everything seemed to be covered so she wasn’t sure what the hell that was about. But then, she never had understood him completely.

“I’m safe, you can stop staring at the painting,” she giggled. She smiled as he turned around ruefully.

“Sorry, Carrie. I didn’t mean to, to…” he stumbled and stopped.

She wasn’t sure what the hell he was trying to say so she ignored it for now.

“Do we just meet in the restaurant? Do I need to make a reservation,” she asked thinking of the evening’s promised dinner.

“You shouldn’t need to make a reservation since it’s not the weekend,” he said thoughtfully.

He handed her another large bottle of water and said sternly, “Drink some more. You’d be amazed at how dehydrated you can get today.”

“Thanks,” she smiled up at him.

Hmm, he’s not over six feet, she guessed. She gave herself a mental slap that she’d even think that about him. He was a friend, a good friend when she needed one the most in college.

“Thanks for everything and I’ll see you in a few hours,” she said as she stepped to the door.

He nodded and winked and watched her walk out. He blew out his breath and tried to settle his mind. He forgot what a stupid of sack of shit he became around her, until today. He should be well past that kind of childishness, but he’d done it again today. He wiped down the table, changed the sheets and was ready for the next client as she walked in.

“Misses Walters, nice to see you today. You look lovely,” he said as his very pregnant client waddled through the door.

Carrie had a hell of a time convincing the people that were giving her a manicure and pedicure that she did honestly want the purple color. No, not the bright red, purple please. She took a deep breath several times as she quietly shook her head at their other offered choices. She knew what she liked and if they didn’t use her purple with a purpose that she had with her, she’d whip out her tropical green soon. Fortunately, someone of higher authority walked over to discover the cause of the discussion. Following the edict that the customer is always right, regardless of how tacky we may think their choice was, they deigned to paint her toes and fingers her lovely shade of purple. She loved it, and knew it was silly but she liked to be a little unexpected sometimes. Another thought intruded as she waited for the top coat to dry. Yeah, why not, she thought. Kris had told her many times in the last couple of weeks that she needed to take her time and reconnect with herself. She wasn’t sure if her idea was what Kris had in mind, but she was going to do it anyway and appearances be damned.

Kyle had changed into a different pair of slacks and a dress shirt when he found her in the lobby of the restaurant. After a quick hug of greeting, he led her to their table.

"You look good, Carrie. The spa seems to have agreed with you," he smiled at her and stomped down on his unruly thoughts that kept trying to escape.

"Thanks, so do you. You didn't have to dress up, Kyle. I've pretty much seen you at your worst," she reminded him. He grimaced, remembering how he used to go to class looking like he'd just rolled out of bed, because he had.

“You had to say it, didn't ya," he asked her with an amused twinkle to his eyes.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself. You know this is not how I normally look, but I didn't have time to change back into my comfies," she smiled at him.

He smiled at her and flipped open the menu to give himself something to do.

“Oh no you don’t mister. Show me some pictures of your girl. You know it’s killing me.” She had her hand on the top of his menu and had tilted it down so she could look at him.

top

end

Part 2 of 3


Dinner passed pleasantly with Kyle sharing pictures of Chloe. He also had funny stories about some holidays and birthdays involving his beautiful brown haired daughter. Carrie was content to enjoy his company and his stories. She watched as his face softened when he spoke of his daughter. She was obviously the apple of her daddy’s eye. It reminded her of both Wease and David and how they were with their kids. Both of them quiet, but very loving dad’s that cared enough to be involved in their kids lives. She felt someone touch her hand.

“Carrie, I lost you there for a little while. Where’d you go,” Kyle asked gently. They still hadn’t talked much about her yet so he wasn’t sure what was safe and what wasn’t.

She blinked and quickly looked at him, “Sorry. Listening to you talk about Chloe reminded me of my brother and brother in law. They’re both dad’s too and they love it.” Kyle nodded his understanding of her answer.

“Do they get to see their kids much,” he asked.

“Yes and no. My brother lives with the mother of his two kids. They haven’t bothered to get married either, but they’ve been together for six or seven years, I think. My brother in law travels a lot for his job, but he’s still married to my sister. He’s usually home a couple of days a week and the kids know that when Dad’s home, they get to ask all kids of outrageous shit that Kris wouldn’t tolerate. I think all involved dads are push overs, really.”

Kyle was quiet across from her as he listened to her talk about her family. He was pleased to hear that she had reconnected with them in someway. She had a relationship with them while she was in school, but it was hard because she was so far away from them.

A thought occurred to Carrie as she glanced at her watch.

“Shit, Kyle. Do you live close,” she asked urgently. He blinked at her question.

“Um yeah,” he admitted.

“How long would it take to get there,” she asked.

He could tell it was important to her. Those stray thoughts were jumping up and down, trying to break out but he ignored them again.

“Fifteen minutes or so, why?”

“Is there a bar close by? I need to be in front of a TV before eight,” she said.

Kyle looked at his watch and knew they’d make it to the local bar in time, but definitely not his place.

“You going to tell me why,” he asked with a raised brow.

“Yeah, once we’re there. Let’s blow this place and point me to the nearest bar with a TV.”

She stood up and grabbed her coat. Kyle was startled by her actions, but got to his feet also. The waitress hurried over and set the bill on the table. Carrie snatched it up without bothering to look at Kyle and signed the bill after she added the gratuity.

“Lead the way,” she said as she set the bill back down.

He nodded and reached for her hand. They only had a couple of blocks to walk, but she seemed in a hurry so he wanted to make sure they got there in time. He pushed open the door to a small quiet bar and looked at the TV in the corner.

“Will this work,” he asked her.

She nodded and walked up to the bartender without speaking to Kyle. He saw her lean in and ask something of the bartender and give him something. Money, he thought. The channel on the TV was magically changed and she walked back to him with a smile.

“Thanks, Kyle. This will work just fine. Did you want a beer,” she asked him as she pulled her coat off.

He was still thinking back to her exchange with the bartender and not understanding exactly what the hell was going on.

“Yeah, but let me get it,” he said as he walked away.

Her eyes went back to the TV and watched, knowing it was due to start in a few minutes. She had heard a little from David about what to expect, but since she hadn't seen it, she was curious. Kyle came back with their beers as the show started.

"Thanks,” she said.

Kyle could see she was clearly distracted by something. He turned and looked to follow her gaze and saw she was looking at the TV.

"This? This is what we had to hurry for? Wrestling? You gotta be shittin' me!" He thought she was an intelligent and articulate woman and to find out she watched wrestling disappointed him.

"Yeah. But it's not what you think," she said. She had watched his revulsion and confusion as he figured out the reason for the TV request.

"Whatever," he waved his hands dismissively. "My daughter watches it too. She's hooked. She knows all their names and who hates who and all that shit. I don't get it. It's all fake. We all know it's fake so I don't see what the big deal is," he said.

Carrie heard his words but ignored them for now. She wasn't going to rise to the challenge of his argument, not tonight. Not yet. At the first commercial break, she turned to Kyle with a devilish grin and a wicked thought in her head to match.

"You wanna know what I've been doing the last few years," she asked.

She took a quick drink of her beer as she noticed Kyle nod his head emphatically. Just wait, she thought to herself. He's gonna shit.

"I've been helping my brother in law when he travels. Of course I've been doing a lot of other stuff too, but hang on for a bit and I'll fill you in," she said as the commercial break ended.

Kyle looked at her in confusion. He’d never known her to care about much of anything on tube before, particularly something as fake as wrestling. He just shook his head at her and drank his beer as he watched her watch the TV. He saw her smile at the screen and brought his attention to the action on the flickering screen. He saw there were two very large men in the ring, surrounded by tons of screaming fans. He wasn’t sure what was happening, but those big boys were throwing each other around like they were paperweights. He winced as one of them dropped from the ring and landed squarely on his back.

“Damn, that has got to hurt,” he said quietly.

She looked over at him and grinned. Before long he was watching as avidly as her. He didn’t know everyone’s name, but he did recognize faces since he watched with his daughter. He did know the little guy’s name, Rey he reminded himself. Oh, and who the hell is that beautiful long legged creature, he wondered. He didn’t remember seeing her before. Carrie glanced over at him when Stacey came on the screen and saw her magic worked on Kyle, clear across the miles. She didn’t know Stacey very well, since she had just transferred with that bitch Christy, but she seemed polite and nice enough. She was honest enough with herself to admit that she was intimidated by Stacey’s grace and beauty, as always. She knew that Nan was friends with her so there must be more to her than the beauty queen image she portrayed. Maybe she’d make an effort to get to know her when she went back.

Kyle grabbed her empty beer and took both back to the bar to refill. He’s such a nice guy, she thought to herself. Too bad he doesn’t get to see his daughter very often. She stopped her ruminations and backtracked her thoughts and realized she had already made the decision to go back on the road with David. She didn’t remember doing it, but she obviously had. She knew next week was a bitch for him, lots of promo events and the live shows, plus a couple of special visits if they could squeeze them in. That was one of the reasons she knew her help was needed. David enjoyed those visits, but the office didn’t take any of that into account when they scheduled the travel week filled with events.

“Hey, Carrie. Anybody home,” Kyle asked as he set their beers down and slid into the seat next to her so he could watch the screen better. She blinked and smiled at him as her attention turned back to him and the TV.

“Thanks, Kyle. Yeah, I’m here, now. Remind me to ask you something next commercial break,” she said.

He looked confused briefly but let it pass and smiled his acceptance. The more he drank, the more those thoughts that he’d been stomping on all day intruded, demanding to be given a voice. Maybe he should stop drinking after this round, he worried. He watched her watch TV again and struggled to bring his mind back to the action on screen. She seemed oblivious to his attention. He saw she was following the on screen action.

As the commercials flipped over, she turned to him, “Is there a place where I can get a piercing done, close?”

He opened his mouth, but forgot to say anything for a moment as her words registered.

“What? Tonight?”

At her nod, he gulped and thought quickly.

“Yeah, I think so. What did you want to do,” he asked. His imagination ran away with all the body parts he might get to see her get pierced tonight.

“After this, I thought I’d reassume my nonconformist diamond,” she grinned at his shocked expression.

He hid his disappointment instantly at her news. But then, he’d never watched anyone get a nose pierced before. He bet it hurt like hell.

“Doesn’t that hurt like hell or something,” he asked.

“Not too bad,” she shrugged. “Oh, here it comes, the main event, last match. This should be good.”

He looked at her at her pronouncement like she’d grown a third arm. But he dutifully nodded and turned his attention back to the screen. He saw some big guy come out in a limo with a cowboy hat. He didn’t know his name but he knew his daughter always booed him.

“My daughter hates him,” he said quietly to Carrie. She grinned at him.

“She’s supposed to,” was all she said.

The second man was announced and the crowd response was incredible. This guy has got it made, Kyle thought as he saw all the women in the crowd cheering for him. He watched the behemoth walk slowly to the ring and noticed how fluid his movements were for such a large man. And large was not exactly the right word, but it was the only one that his tired brain could come up with.

“My daughter loves this guy. She thinks he’s better than sliced bread,” he turned to her.

She winked at him and said, “He’s a good guy, he’s my brother in law.”

She watched the confusion on his face at her words. Watched him make his funny face as he tried to see if she was kidding or not. When she didn’t say NOT with a grin, he began to take her words seriously.

“No shit,” he asked.

She nodded and grinned at him and turned back to the TV and the match. After the match concluded with the usual fracas at the end she turned back to him.

“Lead the way,” she said as she started to slide out of the booth. He stopped her with a hand and gently tugged her back to her seat.

“That guy, Batista, is your brother in law?” She smiled, nodded and waited for some more questions.

“So? Is he? Is he like married to your sister? The pretty blonde?”

He didn’t know what got into him but he couldn’t seem to form any articulate sentences. Carrie waited to see if he was finished because she knew she’d really thrown him for a loop if he was back to semi coherent sentences.

“Yes, Kris is married to David and they have three beautiful children that I get to spoil when ever I can steal them away,” she grinned.

“I met Kris, didn’t I?” Without waiting for a response, he continued, “She seemed funny and really bright. What the hell is she doing with a professional wrestler, for Pete’s sake?”

“Don’t let the TV fool ya, Kyle. Some of the assholes are the nicest guys and some of the supposed good guys are huge assholes. But very few of them are as dumb as most people think they must be.” She saw he was struggling to put her words into the stereotype he already had in his head of a big dumb jock.

“Okay. But wrestling is so fake,” he said in exasperation.

“What on TV isn’t, Kyle? All the dramas are scripted and fake. Reality TV is fake. Many sporting events have a predetermined outcome, too.”

At the look of protest from him, she held up her hand in surrender.

“Let’s not go there tonight. We finally have a hockey season and I’m damn happy about that. Can we agree on that?”

He smiled at her and nodded. She stood up from the table in preparation to leave. He glanced up in surprise, but she pointed to her nose with a smile. He'd forgotten her request.

"Okay. There's a decent place a couple blocks over. Do you want to walk it," he asked. She shook her head at his question and smiled.

"Of course. I'm not that old yet," she teased.

He stood up and reached for her hand. Her hand felt warm and soft. He forgot how small she was but her tiny fingers laced with his reminded him. Today had been one of those kind of days and he knew he’d remember it for a very long time. He felt the first drops of the promised rain start as they stepped out onto the pavement from the noisy bar.

“Damn, I don’t have an umbrella with me. You going to be okay,” he asked her. She looked at him incredulously for a brief second and nodded.

“Yeah, I won’t melt Kyle. When have you ever known me to give a shit enough to use an umbrella? My hair isn’t going to get any more messed up that it always is, so why worry,” she reminded him.

He looked over at her and glanced at her hair as he remembered her total lack of pretension. He nodded in acceptance of her answer and pulled her hand as he set off to the piercing and tattoo place. By the time they reached the store front, big fat drops had soaked both of them through. She laughed as he pulled her into the shop, in the hope of keeping her dry.

“Give it up. It doesn’t matter anyway. Damn shit will just get curlier as it dries,” she laughed at his wiped the water from his eyes.

The young woman behind the counter with her short hair sticking straight out from her head, watched the exchange and couldn’t contain her comment.

“That’d be great. My hair just goes limp and stick straight,” she said in reference to the curly haired woman’s ‘do.

Carrie crinkled her nose at her as she said, “It’s not, trust me. It looks like this every damn day, no matter what.”

The young woman shrugged, but her opinion hadn’t been changed by the comment either.

“Do you know what you want, Carrie,” Kyle asked.

Carrie nodded but glanced at the cases to see if she could find one that was appropriate for the task tonight. The bored young woman pushed herself off her stool so she could help, when needed.

“Yes, I’d like to use that one,” she said and pointed.

Kyle bent to look at what she zeroed in on and smiled. It looked almost the same as what she used to have. And if his guess was right, it was probably a real diamond, looking at the price, no dollar twenty nine crap for her. Carrie smiled at the young woman and waited. Once she had paid for the piercing and the adornment, the woman shifted from her uninterested pose.

“Do you know what you want pierced,” she asked. She looked into green eyes that were smiling back at her. She reached into the complicated case, digging out her keys since it was one of the few locked ones they had.

Once she had the tiny stud in hand she turned to the curly haired woman and said, “Come with me and show me where.”

They walked behind the counter into a draped off area in the back where it looked similar to a dental office because of the strange shaped chairs that were conducive to long hours lounging during the tattooing process. A strong light was flipped on and both Carrie and Kyle squinted initially. Carrie sat down on the chair and Kyle stayed by her side, in case.

“Is it okay if he stays,” the woman asked.

“Of course, unless he gets a little squeamish,” Carrie chuckled. Kyle stayed quiet, in case she changed her mind. He remembered.

“Okay, what can we do for you tonight,” the woman said as she slipped into professional mode.

“Just a nose re-piercing,” Carrie smiled. “Sorry it’s not anything exotic or erotic tonight.”

The woman nodded and looked closely at the other’s nose. She thought she spotted a faint scar. She reached behind her for her ever present felt pen.

“This side,” she asked as she pointed with her pen. Carrie nodded and watched as she felt the cool pen tip touch her nose.

“Okay, you’re gonna need this right after,” the woman said as she handed her a clean white towel. Again, she received a nod in return. “How are you about pain? This will hurt, not gonna lie.”

“I’m fine. I remember,” Carrie said quietly as she started to calm herself for the inevitable stab of pain that she knew was coming.

“Take my hand,” Kyle said sweetly as he reached for her closest hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze. He wanted to calm her, but he also knew he was nervous about the possibility of seeing pain and blood and guts and…he shook his head to clear his mind. The woman was busy behind them, cleaning and prepping the instrument and making sure the small stud was also disinfected. Several quiet minutes passed as they waited for the woman to be ready.

Kyle looked at her and asked, “You sure about this?”

“Oh yeah. Haven’t been this sure in a long ass time. Stop worrying. I’ll be fine,” she said as she returned his hand squeeze.

A sudden thought intruded, “You’re not squeamish, are you? You don’t still get ill at the sight of blood, do ya?”

He shook his head and swallowed slowly and tried to convince himself it was true.

“Good, because there will be some, but it’ll be like a nose bleed more than likely, right,” Carrie directed her question to the woman with the small stapler like instrument in her hand.

“Yeah. I can tell you’ve done this before,” she smiled at her customer.

She positioned the instrument at the exact same place as her mark. It was directly over the faint scar and waited for a few seconds for the shock of the cold steel to wear off before she tightened her grip. She looked into a pair of relaxed green eyes and gripped. The instrument pierced the customer in exactly the right spot, she noted as she pulled it quickly away. She waited for any sound from her customer but all she saw was her putting the towel up to her nose since it did start to bleed a little, not profuse but enough to be inconvenient.

“Shit, Kyle!” Carrie hopped off the chair and tried to catch him before he toppled onto the floor. She almost made it in time, but his head hit before she could reach him.

“Damn it! I knew he should have stayed out front, but I thought maybe he’d gotten over it.” She replaced the towel over her nose since it wasn’t quite done but stayed on the floor with him until he stirred.

He woke up to a pair of amused jade green eyes smiling at him in an unfamiliar place. She sensed his initial confusion.

“Kyle, you passed out. You’re on the floor,” she said gently.

His ego had taken a huge hit tonight and she didn’t want to rub it in. He had been such a good friend to her years ago, when no one else cared enough. He frowned as he heard her words.

“Passed out? I did? Was there tons of blood,” he asked, thinking that’d be the only reason.

The young woman who had done the piercing heard his question and made an inarticulate sound as she walked away, relieved that he was going to be okay. She didn’t think he’d be ready to go for a few. Men, she thought as she shook her head and walked away for a quick smoke.

“A little,” Carrie said as she leaned away from him so he could sit up. He managed to sit up, but she could see he had a hell of a knot on the back of his head. He rubbed his hand over his tender head and winced.

“Yeah, you’re going to have a headache later, no question. Sorry, Kyle. I thought you might have gotten over that. I wouldn’t have let you come back if I thought you’d…” she stopped because he was shaking his head and starting to stand up.

“I thought I’d gotten over it too,” he admitted with a shrug. “Let me see it, how’d it turn out,” he asked as he cupped her chin and turned her head. He nodded and smiled.

“I know that lady. She’s the one that used to help me with my econ homework,” he exclaimed. He chuckled at her startled expression. She’d forgotten that. She remembered helping him with some of his classes, but didn’t remember which ones until he’d said something.

“Weren’t you the guy that despaired of me ever passing any art appreciation class?” she lobbed back at his grin.

“Yeah, yeah I was. Look what you learned from it. Valuable life skills,” he teased.

She shook her head and muttered shit under her breath. She hated that class with a passion and used to whine about its lack of usefulness to her but it was required to make her more rounded, supposedly. Didn’t help, she was still a geek and couldn’t tell a Picasso from a Rembrandt, unless they were talking programs, she reminded herself.

“You feeling okay? Okay enough to walk me back to the spa? My rental's there and I should head back for the night. I’ve abused you enough,” she smiled.

He nodded quietly and reached for her hand. They walked past the front and the young woman that had resumed her seat behind the counters.

“Thank you," Carrie said with a smile.

She got a nod and a shrug in return. She was glad nothing major happened and he was walking out on his own. She seen some of the biggest men go down at the sight of blood, so she didn’t get freaked out about it anymore. But it did change her opinions of men irrevocably. The rain had stopped as they stepped out on to the pavement.

“Carrie, I want to thank you for your company tonight. I had a good time, even if I did pass out,” Kyle admitted with a grimace as they continued their brisk pace.

“I had a good time too, Kyle. I never would have pegged you as a masseuse. You were going to change the world, last I knew,” she teased him. “I’m just glad I ran into you. You reminded me of some things that I had forgotten.” She was quiet for a moment as they waited for the light to change so they could cross.

“Some important things,” she finished quietly.

He heard her but wasn’t sure what she meant so he left it alone for now.

An idea struck her and she said, “Hey. You think your daughter’d like to go watch wrestling? They’ll be in town soon.”

“She has bugged the shit out of me non stop, but they’re sold out. By the time I decided to take her there weren’t any more tickets left,” the uncool dad admitted with a grimace.

“Easy fix, my friend. I can get you two tickets ringside and leave them for you at will call. I’m not sure if I’ll still be in town, but I can at least do this one small thing for you and your daughter considering all the things you’ve done for me,” she finished and waited.

“You’ll make my life a lot easier. I’ll be back to being a cool dad again, but I can’t let you do that, Carrie,” he protested.

“Pffttttt! Let me do this. It’s easy for me, since I kinda have an inside track ya know,” she chuckled and winked at him. He could see he wasn’t going to win the discussion so he agreed with a nod.

They reached the parking lot quicker than either had anticipated. She looked at her watch and saw it was late, but just in time for some over seas shit for her. She didn’t pause as she pulled him to her and wrapped her arms around him for a serious hug.

“Thank you Kyle. Thank you for everything,” she said quietly.

He returned her surprise hug with gusto and let himself enjoy the sensation for a brief second or two. She pulled away too quickly for him, but she was already speaking so he had to let her go.

“You have email, Kyle,” she asked as she looked in his eyes. She blinked at what she saw in his gaze. He nodded and pulled out a card from his wallet and handed it to her.

“Now I know who to bug when I’m in town. Do you give massages away from the spa? Before you answer, I’m thinking about some of those big boys and girls in the ring. You could make a killing tenderizing them in a night.”

“Um, I have. I don’t do it often because the spa pays well, but I could.” He was surprised by her request. His brain quickly imagined him trying to loosen up a couple of those huge men he’d seen on the TV.

“Something to think about.” She pulled him to her again and reached up and kissed his cheek.

“Thank you. More than you know, you’ve helped me tonight. Don’t forget Monday. Chloe will never forgive you if you space it.”

She winked at his conflicting expressions, ranging from outrage to understanding.

“Thank you Carrie. I had a good time. We’ll have a good time Monday. Plus now I’ll have your email address and I’ll bombard you with pictures and jokes and shit,” he warned her. She laughed at him.

“Good, I especially like pictures and shit,” she said as she unlocked her car door.

She got in and closed the door, still laughing. He watched her start the car and drive away with a final wave for him. He managed to make it through the entire night without making a complete fool out of himself. Well, other than the passing out thing, but she knew about that already, so that didn’t really count, he mused as he walked to his car so he could drive home to his quiet house. He occupied his mind on the drive home with thoughts of Chloe and how she was going to react once she found out her dad had scored some tickets after all.

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end

Part 3 of 3


David was pacing in his kitchen, more nervous than he’d been in years. He checked his watch again and listened to all the noises coming from the upstairs bathroom. He could hear Kris’ voice and soothing tones. He couldn’t hear what she said, but he heard her intent. He also heard his daughter’s pleading, something about her hair, he thought.

“Ladies, it’s just about time for you to go. I don’t want you to be late,” he said up the staircase.

“Daddy! I can’t go. Everyone will laugh at me. I can’t. I just can’t,” Liz wailed as she stepped to the top of the stairs. He kept his expression blank to hide his surprise at his oldest daughter’s transformation. She was stunning. When did that happened, he wondered.

“Honey, you look lovely,” Kris said behind her. Liz was in a straight long black skirt, topped with a form fitting white blouse. Her long chestnut waves were pulled back and up, something she didn’t normally do. David guessed that was the reason for her concern. He thought he also detected a hint of makeup on his daughter’s face.

“You sure,” Liz asked. She really felt like she looked hideous and everyone would laugh at her. Okay, maybe not today since her dad was going to be there, but she knew they’d taunt her at school the next day, she was sure.

“Sweetheart, you take me breath away. You look beautiful,” he said as he smiled up at her unsure expression.

“Really?” Liz smiled at her dad shyly.

She was so excited that he was going to get to hear her sing, but she was also so nervous about making a total idiot out of herself. He nodded and was rewarded by one of her rare smiles. She rarely smiled, Kris had told him it was just a phase and to be patient about it. So he knew that her smile to him was special. He nodded but stayed quiet as she tried to navigate the stairs in her new shoes and long skirt.

“Honey, lift you skirt a little. You won’t trip on it that way,” Kris said patiently behind her. Liz did as instructed and was relieved to be able to navigate the stairs with ease.

David took her small hand in his and brought it to his lips for a gentle kiss. He was amazed at the beautiful creature standing in front of him. She was stunning, she wasn’t just his little girl anymore. She was quickly becoming a young lady right in front of him. He flicked his gaze over to Kris and saw that she was aware of his surprise at her transformation, even though he hid it from Liz.

“You know where to go, Dad," Liz worried.

"Yes, sweetheart. Don't worry, I'll be there. I'll be in the back where you can see me," he assured his stressed and worried daughter. He flicked his gaze quickly to his patient wife and she gave him a quick smile.

"Okay. You promise," she questioned him one last time. He nodded seriously and she stood on her toes and pulled his head down so she could kiss his cheek with a grin.

"Time to go, you don't want to be late," Kris said fondly. She paused to gather up a dozing Lissa, grabbed her jacket and keys and headed out the door to the car. David watched them go with mixed emotions.

When did she grow up on him? When did that happen? Why hadn’t he noticed it sooner? She’s as beautiful as her mother was but seemed to have none of her other tendencies, thank God. No he corrected himself, thank Kris too.

He was exhausted by his hectic week and would have like to have flown home tomorrow but Kris and Lil’ Sis had insisted on him coming home in time to hear Liz sing. Both had been adamant about it. He thought it was because he had missed her thirteenth birthday while he was on the road, but he was starting to get the feeling that wasn’t the reason at all. He hadn’t heard her sing or been to one of her concerts in years because of his chosen profession. Everybody in the family knew the sacrifices involved and they all accepted them, but he could see that he was missing some very important events in his kids’ lives and he would never get them back. Mikie chose to go to a friend’s house rather than hear his sister sing, again. David remembered his pained expression as he told his dad about having to listen to Liz practice for ever, he said and rolled his eyes.

Liz knew that he’d be there, but because of his notoriety, he’d arrive in time to hear her and stand in the back and probably leave before the concert was finished. He’d stay long enough to hear his daughter and then meet up with them again at home. Kris had talked to the choir master for the timing of tonight’s event so he knew exactly when Liz would be singing and how long her choir would be featured. He checked his watch again, noting that he had a few minutes before he needed to leave. He grabbed a water and promptly spilled some of it on his shirt. When did he start to have a drinking problem, he chuckled to himself. He went in to the bathroom to check in the mirror to make sure he hadn’t spilled it all down the front of his shirt. He glanced at his reflection and saw that Kris had left some lipstick on his cheek. He wiped it off and frowned. That wasn’t her normal color. As he thought back he realized Liz had kissed him too. She had left the lipstick. Oh man, being a dad was hard. Being a dad to a very pretty daughter was going to get even harder, he knew.

He tried to push that thought out of his head as he opened the car door, sat down and strapped in. He chuckled when he thought about this little car and the fact that Lil’ Sis was letting him use it tonight so he might not be so conspicuous. She had insisted on him using it along with him going tonight through her emails and a few phone calls. She might be absent, dealing with her own shit, but she was still looking out for him and his family. She had manipulated his schedule enough for him to be able to come to Liz’s concert tonight. He had a feeling than when Kris and she teamed up about something, he had very little hope of winning. Not that he minded, he thought to himself. His mom was going to miss Liz’s concert tonight because she was still in California visiting his sister and her family. It was the first one she had missed in years and Liz understood, he thought. Kris had informed him the concert was being taped so they could get it for his mom as a nice Christmas surprise.

His thoughts went back to his beautiful daughter and the fact that he was going to have to get used to his daughter not just being his little girl any more. How did other dad’s do it, he wondered. He and Eddie had numerous talks about being a dad. He had talked to him about his daughters and how much pride he had in them, but he also remembered some of the funny stories Connie had shared about Eddie being an over protective dad. Understandable, thought David as he waited for the light to change. What dad wants to let their little girl any where near any young man. It doesn’t matter if they’re a perfect student. They’re still young men with raging hormones wanting nothing more than to have sex with his little girl. He wasn’t going to let that happen. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He wasn’t so old that he didn’t remember how it felt to be fifteen or sixteen and wanting to undress every woman he saw, wanting to have sex with every woman he saw, young, old, it didn’t matter. He remembered walking around all the time so damn hard he couldn’t concentrate on anything, could barely put one foot in front of the other. All he wanted was sex all the damn time, regardless. He clenched his jaw as he thought about any young man getting any where near her. He was almost there and he knew he needed to calm down so he could enjoy the concert, he reached for his ever present pack of gum from the console. He unwrapped it, popped it in his mouth before he realized that it must be Lil’ Sis’s gum. He didn’t normally chew this mint shit. Fuck it, just chew it and calm down, he reminded himself as he navigated the parking lot, looking for a place to park her small car. He found a spot clear at an end, seemingly half a mile from the auditorium’s entrance.

Kris had said Mike was going tonight, too. Now that Lisa was gone, Mike was able to enjoy all kinds of things he never could before and going to his oldest niece’s concert was high on his list, or so he told David. David had followed Kris’s advice and not told Mike about any contact with Lil’ Sis. He knew his buddy was hurting, but he also knew Kris knew her sister better than anyone and if she said Mike shouldn’t contact her yet, then that’s what he’d do.

As he approached the doors, he heard singing. Sounded like very young voices raises in a very familiar hymn. He opened the doors and heard the last few notes. He followed the music and found the doors that opened into the auditorium and stepped through. He realized he was at the back of a small auditorium. He wasn’t so far away the he wouldn’t be able to see his baby girl. His daughter that was now a young lady, he reminded himself. The choir was arraigned on risers on the stage, facing the assemblage of parents and friends seated in the provided chairs, many of whom were taking pictures. The conductor raised his arms and the choir started to sing John Jacob Jinglehimer something or other with gusto. David looked at the kids and guessed they were somewhere roughly his son’s age, maybe younger. It was getting harder to tell every year.

The door to his right opened and a young man stuck his head around and spotted him. His eyes widened as he spotted Liz’s famous dad, standing in the back, dressed in jeans and a black t shirt. The young man nodded and tried to be cool and not embarrass himself, not tonight in front of his family. David returned the young man’s look and nodded in return and clenched his jaw. He could hear a babble of voices behind the young man as the youngsters were finishing up their song on stage. Once completed, the crowd applauded, proud parents clapped and cheered their prodigies as they walked in an orderly fashion from the stage to the back and it looked to David out a different door.

The voices got quiet behind the young man with lots of whispered, “ssshhhhh’s” before the door opened completely and many young adults walked past him. He held his ground along the back wall as they filed past him. He recognized the young ladies were dressed the same as Liz. This must be her bunch, he thought and watched the girls in white shirts and long black skirts continue to file past. Finally he saw her enter the door. Her smile hit him like a ton a bricks. This is why he needed to be here tonight, for her. Not because she was singing, but because she wanted him to hear her.

“Dad”,” she exclaimed as quietly as possible as she walked towards him.

“Knock ‘em dead, Peanut,” he rumbled as she walked past. He heard several giggles at his remark and realized too late that he’d probably just embarrassed her. She was easily mortified right now and it didn’t seem to matter what he did, he was always embarrassing her in some way and it seemed like he’d just done it to her again. Keep your mouth shut, he reminded himself. She glanced at him and smiled tentatively at his remark and then she walked past him on the way to the stage. He scanned the crowd, trying to see Kris’s blonde head or the back of Mike’s head. He shouldn’t be too hard to find, since he was still growing his hair back out.

“I noticed you’re growing back you hair,” he said with a grin to his buddy. His head looked like a chia pet, or at least that was how Liz had described it. David thought it looked like he’d been growing it out for weeks, almost as soon as he shaved it all off, if his guess was right.

Mike shook his head before he answered. “Yeah,” was all he said and shrugged.

“Did she tell you she hated it,” David asked. He was surprised that she would have, she didn’t normally comment on Mike’s appearance, no matter how much he asked her. He’d heard Mike complain about the lack of feedback from her.

“No. You know what she’s like. She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t touch my head at all.” He blushed before he admitted, “She normally touches my head all the time, grabs my hair and shit.” Mike didn’t meet his eyes as he tried to explain.

David nodded and just grinned at him and let it drop, but knew he’d give him shit later.

He thought he might have spotted them sitting together and Mike playing with Lissa over his head, but brought her back down as the kids walked past. He saw the blonde next to him turn in her seat as Liz walked past. Yup, that was them. Kris turned more in her seat and scanned in the back, looking for him. She spotted him and nodded with a smile. He returned her smile and watched as the kids assembled on the risers on stage. He felt his heart start to pound as the time grew close for them to start. What was he worried about, he knew his little girl could sing. She’d been singing since before she could speak. Hell, she’d rather sing than speak when she was a tot, he remembered fondly. He took a deep breath as the choir master walked up to the microphone. He felt himself slowly exhale as he listened to the proud explanation of the songs they would be hearing from the advanced choir tonight. He went onto explain that he was proud to say that this was the most talented class he had and they’d be singing several songs in French and one in Latin. David frowned at that. He was hoping he’d be able to understand or possibly know the songs Liz’d be singing but he knew he damn sure didn’t know any French or Latin songs.

The house lights dimmed again as the choir settled. David scanned the faces quickly, looking for his little girl. He was starting to get worried because he couldn’t see her as the first song started. Then he spotted her, right in the middle, second row. The song was in English and he was able to understand the words, but he’d never heard it before. It was a slow lilting song with many changes in tempo. The voices raised were amazing, he realized. He leaned back against the wall and folded his arms across his chest to keep his fingers from clenching into fists with worry. He chewed his gum and listened to the pure voices, losing himself in a song he’d never heard before, losing himself in the power of song. He saw his little girl right in the middle of it all. He imagined that he could discern her voice from the others, but he wasn’t sure. The first song finished on a high note, literally. The crowd clapped briefly before the choir master frowned at them and raised his arms to silence them. David still had his arms across his chest as he listened to the choir master proudly tell all that the next song would include a solo by Elizabeth Batista. David blinked. Did he just hear that right? He stood up from the wall and took a deep breath. Kris must have known about this, he thought. So did Lil’ Sis, he realized. This was why he needed to come, to hear his baby girl. He’d already had enough shocks for one day, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to take another.

The next song started as he held his breath. He realized it was one of the French ones so he didn’t know a damn thing of what they were singing. These kids are amazing, he thought. All those stupid reality shows didn’t have anything on these kids and their singing. Then his daughter’s voice cut through him. Cut him straight through to his heart and he forgot to breathe as he listened and watched her sing. Oh my God, where have I been that I missed this? He smiled at her when he noticed she was looking directly at him as she sang. She held his gaze as she continued with the choirs’ backing as he felt his eyes burn. She was fantastic. He couldn’t hide his grin, he knew it must be a mile wide. He was so proud of his baby girl, so proud that he didn’t care if anyone else could see that he’d shed a tear or two or ten. He didn’t give a damn. His little girl was singing and he loved it, loved her and was so proud of her. The song ended and the crowd started to applaud again. David managed to shout his approval before the choir master’s actions silenced them again. The next song featured another solo, by a young man. David didn’t hear his name, but he wasn’t listening anyway. His eyes were locked on his baby girl and he was grinning like a fool. The song was in some language that he didn’t recognize. Must be Latin, he thought as he listened and watched his baby sing. He realized he was more proud of his girl tonight than he had been when he won the world heavyweight championship. That night paled in comparison to tonight and how much love he felt for his baby and his wife for keeping it from him. He’d nag at them later for it, but right now he was so proud he felt like he was busting at the seams. His eyes never left her face as she sang the song full of words he didn’t know or understand. It didn’t matter. He knew his smile never faded either. After the song ended, the choir master walked back up to the microphone and said it was the last song of the night and it would again feature a solo by the extraordinary Elizabeth Batista. Extraordinary was right, David thought with a nod to himself.

Later, if asked what the song was he knew he would never be able to tell anyone. All he knew was his daughter’s voice raised in song, a voice so simple and pure it tore through him and filled him at the same time. He kept his eyes on her and smiled the entire time, encouraging her and letting her know how proud he was of her. The last of the song faded and the crowd erupted into applause. The two soloists were asked to bow separately from the rest and received the loudest applause, some of it from the very back of the room. David’s plan was to leave right after and see them all back at the house, but he knew he wasn’t going to leave until he saw his baby girl.

The kids all filed off the stage in an orderly fashion. David saw Kris and Mike wave at Liz. She waved back and smiled and returned her gaze to her dad in the back of the room. Her grin got wider as she approached. David heard the other kids around him, but only had eyes for his baby girl. He waited until she was close and then he wrapped his arms around her and picked her up.

“You were fantastic baby, just fantastic,” he whispered in her ear.

“Thanks,” she said quietly. When she saw him earlier she almost started to cry, she was so nervous. She kept her eyes on him to help her stay calm as she sang or she knew she would break down and cry.

“I love you, baby,” he whispered as he set her back down so she could follow the rest of her class.

He knew he needed to leave before the rest of the crowd so he beat a hasty retreat out the doors and started to walk the long distance to the car.

He heard Mike’s voice say, “Hey, asshole.” He turned and grinned as Mike walked up to him.

“You know about this,” David asked him. Mike nodded and couldn’t wipe his grin off his face either. David shook his head and grinned back.

“When the fuck did that happen, that’s what I want to know,” Mike said, voicing both their thoughts.

“I don’t know buddy. I don’t know,” David said ruefully. “See you at the house?”

“Oh yeah. Gotta help the diva celebrate her first standing ovation,” Mike smirked. David realized he was right. The choir did receive a standing ovation as all the crowd got to their feet in appreciation of their efforts.

“Lil’ Sis know about this,” David asked Mike. He saw the pain cross his face briefly before Mike nodded. He forgot about that matter for a few hours, but his thoughtless words reminded his buddy. Something needed to be done there, he knew. He just wasn’t sure what yet.

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