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Message-ID: <55191asstr$1169125803@assm.asstr-mirror.org>
From: Lazlo Zalezac <lzalezac@yahoo.com>
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Subject: {ASSM} A Different Sort Of Lifestyle 19 (MF, rom)
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Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2007 08:10:03 -0500
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Lazlo Zalezac
http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Lazlo_Zalezac
http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Lazlo_Zalezac
 
---------------------------------
Don't get soaked.  Take a quick peak at the forecast 
 with theYahoo! Search weather shortcut.
<1st attachment, "Life01-19.txt" begin>

A Different Sort Of Lifestyle
Chapter 19: Recovering
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2006

Ted Brown shifted nervously from foot to foot and looked around 
like a wild animal that finds itself surrounded by a pack of wolves. 
His father held him in place in front of the door with a hand across 
the back of his neck. His mother stood to his side and watched him 
with a worried expression. She hoped that her boy could do this. In 
an encouraging voice, she said, "Ring the doorbell."

He looked over at his mother and said, "This isn't a good idea. I 
don't really know him."

"Son, you have to do this," his father said in a stern voice. Ever 
since the attack, Ted hid in his room coming out only for meals 
and the visits to the psychologist. He was worried that Ted would 
never get out of the house and interact with people. 

As a result of the increased pressure on the back of his neck, Ted 
reached out and rang the doorbell. Hearing the sound of the bell, 
his hand flew back as if burnt. He tried to step back when a young 
woman answered the door wearing a swimsuit and a wrap. She was 
the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She could easily have 
been one of the cheerleaders at school.

Cathy looked at the trio standing at the door and asked, "Could I 
help you?"

Staring at the woman, Ted couldn't say a word. He felt as if his 
tongue had swollen in his mouth. When Ted didn't say anything, 
his mother said, "Hello. I'm Shirley Brown. We'd like to talk to 
Harry."

"Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Brown.  I'm Cathy Anders. 
Harry is getting ready to leave, but I'm sure that he'll be glad to 
talk to you for a minute or two," Cathy said recognizing the last 
name. Stepping back, she said, "Would you come in, please?"

"Thank you," Shirley said surprised by the manners. She also 
realized that they hadn't thought about what they would have done 
if Harry hadn't been home. As soon as Ted had consented to come 
over, they had hustled him out of the house before he could change 
his mind. 

When Ted didn't move, his father gave him a not so gentle nudge 
in the direction of the door. Ted walked into the house with 
wooden steps. He wished his parents wouldn't crowd him, 
particularly around strangers. His eyes flicked around the room 
looking for a way out.

"I'm Cathy Anders," she said looking at Ted. She had heard that he 
was shy, but this young man was taking the term shy to a whole 
new level. He couldn't even look in her direction.

Seeing that his son wasn't going to answer, he said, "I'm Daryl 
Brown and this is my son, Ted."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Brown and Master Brown," 
Cathy said. Having learned the identity of the young man, it wasn't 
difficult for her to guess the probable nature of the visit. She knew 
that her parents really wanted to meet him and his family. Judging 
by the terrified expression on Ted's face, she knew that probably 
wouldn't be the best idea. Still, she said, "I know that my parents 
would love to meet you, but I assume that you would you like to 
speak to Harry alone. Would you prefer to wait here for Harry or 
by the pool with my parents?"

Ted managed to say, "Here."

Cathy smiled at him and said, "Please, have a seat while I get 
Harry for you."

The family entered the formal living room and sat down on the 
sofa with Ted sandwiched between his parents. Ted watched her 
leave the room. It was a little more than a minute later when Harry 
entered the living room. Spotting the family, he said, "Welcome to 
our home, Mr. and Mrs. Brown. I'm Harry Anders. Hello, Ted. I'm 
happy to see you."

The family shifted in their seats; each waiting for the other to say 
something. Finally, Daryl stood and said, "It's a pleasure to meet 
you, Harry."

Shirley said, "We've wanted to meet you for a long time."

Holding up his hand with the finger cast on it, Harry said, "I'd 
shake hands except my finger is broken."

Daryl looked at the hand. He knew how the hand had gotten 
broken. He looked down at Ted and said, "Say hello, Ted."

"Hello," Ted echoed.

"Please have a seat, Mr. Brown," Harry said as he made his way to 
the loveseat. Sitting down, he looked across at Ted. The poor guy 
looked like hell. He said, "I'm glad that you're okay, Ted. I was 
worried."

"I don't know. It probably would have been better if he had killed 
me," Ted replied staring at the floor. The idea that a man tried to 
rape him made him sick to his stomach. It made him wonder if he 
was gay and had never realized it. 

His parents stared at him in shock. Harry didn't know what to say, 
but knew he should say something. He said, "I can see why you 
would say something like that. I have nightmares about that 
afternoon. I imagine yours are a thousand times worse than mine."

Ted looked up at Harry amazed that someone understood what he 
was feeling. He nodded his head and said, "I keep living that 
afternoon over and over."

"I can imagine. I bet you keep wondering why he chose you."

"That's right," Ted said.

"I'm sure that it was random chance. You were in the wrong place 
at the wrong time. He could grab you and he did," Harry said with 
a dismissive shrug of his shoulders.

"I... I keep thinking it was because he thought I ...," Ted faltered 
and then said, "was a girly boy."

Harry laughed at the thought and said, "Don't be ridiculous. What 
on earth would make you think that? You're a regular guy just like 
me. That asshole was sick."

The easy dismissal of his fear as being unfounded was surprisingly 
reassuring to Ted. His parents were staring at him unaware that he 
had even considered that as the reason he had been attacked. 
Wanting confirmation, he asked, "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Harry said. His sister had described the kid's reaction 
on seeing her. She had thought it was cute. Glancing over at the 
parents for a second, Harry leaned forward and said, "Ted, there's 
no doubt that you like girls. Okay?"

"Okay," Ted answered. He sat back and thought about it for a 
minute. Deciding that Harry was being honest, he said, "Thank you 
for saving me."

"You're welcome. In a way it was good that I was there. We 
discovered that I had some anger management issues that needed 
to be worked out," Harry said. He was seeing a psychologist twice 
a week because of that day. Seeing the expression on the mother's 
face, he added, "It's a long story."

Shirley said, "We've wanted to meet you for such a long time to 
thank you for saving our son."

"You can say that again," Daryl said, "That was some brave thing 
you did."

Harry didn't feel that it had been a particularly brave thing he had 
done. In hind sight, he was sure that if he'd thought about it, he 
would have run off in the other direction. He was convinced that 
his anger had seen an outlet and taken it. Shaking his head, he said, 
"I don't feel particularly brave."

"It sounds like you are having some problems dealing with what 
you did," Shirley said.

"I'm having some problems. I was really lucky that I surprised 
him. I'm going to start taking Karate lessons soon," Harry said. He 
looked over at Ted and asked, "Would you like to join me?"

The suggestion was the best thing either parent had heard. Ted 
thought about it for a moment and then said, "Yes, I would."

"Excellent. My sister and my girlfriend are planning on going with 
me, too."

"Your sister?" Ted asked. His voice cracked when he said the word 
sister. 

"Don't worry about her. She's pretty cool for a sister," Harry said 
dismissively. He looked down at his watch and realized that he was 
running late for his date. It was a half hour walk to her house and 
he should have left five minutes ago. Looking up, he said, "Could 
you excuse me for a minute? I need to let my date know that I'll be 
a little late."

Both parents stood getting ready to leave. Shirley said, "Don't let 
us hold you up. We'll be going now. We just wanted to thank you 
for all that you've done for us."

"That's okay, Mrs. Brown. I know that my parents would love to 
meet you. Let me make my call and I'll take you out to the patio," 
Harry said.

"Okay."

When Harry left the room, Ted said, "His girlfriend is Lisa 
McCullum. She's the girl who went and got the coaches."

"Oh," Daryl said thinking that explained why she had been there in 
the woods. They had planned on going over to her house to thank 
her for getting help. 

Ted didn't know what to think when Harry's father addressed him 
as Master Brown. No one had ever called him that before. He 
could tell that it wasn't intended as an insult since he addressed 
Cathy's boyfriend in the same manner. Without understanding why 
he was doing it, he was automatically addressing Harry's parents 
as Mr. and Mrs. Anders. 

Ted's parents were just as confused by the form of address. They 
were pleasantly surprised at the manners being exhibited by all of 
the young people seated around the patio table. Although this was 
a large house, they hadn't expected such formality while lounging 
around in the backyard.

Once the Browns had been seated, June turned to Cathy and said, 
"Perhaps you kids would enjoy a little swim before dinner."

Taking the hint, Cathy said, "Sure."

She grabbed her boyfriend's hand and led him over to the pool. 
Ted thought he was going to fall out of his chair when she dropped 
her wrap. It didn't matter to him that she was a year younger than 
him. The reaction of his body to the sight of her body was more 
than enough to convince him that he wasn't gay. 

Harry said, "If I'm going to make it over to Lisa's house in time 
for the barbecue, I had better get going."

"Do you need us to pick you up or will Jack be dropping you off?" 
June asked with a smile.

Harry frowned and said, "I guess we had better plan on you 
picking me up. They are having their neighbors over for a 
barbecue, so I doubt he'll be in a position to drive me home."

Daryl listened to the exchange. It took him a minute to realize that 
Harry was walking over to the girl's house. He said, "If you 
wouldn't mind staying an extra few minutes, we'll be happy to 
give you a ride. We were going to stop by the McCullum's place to 
thank her for getting help."

"That would be nice, sir," Harry said. 

Daryl turned to Jack and said, "We stopped by to thank Harry for 
saving our son's life. You must be proud of him."

"We are very proud of him. Harry's a great kid," Greg said looking 
over at his son with approval. The past few months had given him 
a chance to learn more about his son and he had been surprised and 
pleased with what he had learned. It dawned on him that he hadn't 
been called up to school because Harry had done anything wrong. 

Harry had never heard his father describe him as a great kid. Wide-
eyed, he turned to look at his father trying to see if he was 
exaggerating. His father nodded at him. Shirley said, "We're proud 
of Ted. He was first in his class."

"Not any more," Ted said.

"Don't worry about it," Daryl said. 

Sharon asked, "What happened?"

"I didn't go back to school after the attack," Ted answered.

"His grades were good enough that even with zeroes on the final 
exams, he was able to pass with Bs. We were more concerned 
about his recovering than about his grades, so it all worked out for 
the best," Shirley said. She had spent a lot of worried nights 
holding him when he would wake up screaming from the 
nightmares. The poor kid couldn't sleep more than two hours 
without waking up screaming. 

"I can understand why you didn't go back to school. I missed three 
days and it was nowhere as traumatic for me as it must have been 
for you," Harry said. He knew that Ted was small, shy, and smart. 
That wasn't a good combination of traits to have in high school. 
He didn't recall anyone picking on Ted, but that didn't mean 
much. He didn't notice those kinds of things. 

"I'm a little upset by having ruined my A average," Ted said. He 
predicted that it would have negative consequences on getting into 
college. 

Sharon said, "Don't worry about that. You're a sophomore right?"

"Right."

"Next year is the important year for grades and I'm sure that you'll 
do just fine. Besides, the SAT is much more important in terms of 
getting into college," Gary said.

Ted wasn't so confident. His confidence had taken a terrible 
beating the past two months. Instead of expressing his doubts, he 
nodded his head in agreement. He would worry about college later. 
For now, all he wanted was to get through meeting Lisa.

Sharon said, "We are so happy that you stopped by. We wanted to 
know that Ted was all right."

"Thank you for your concern," Shirley said. She knew their 
concern was real since the family had called right after the 
incident. In a way, she felt guilty that she hadn't been all that 
concerned about their son. 

Harry rode in the back seat of the car with Ted. Both young men 
were quiet. Ted was thinking about dealing with Lisa and 
wondering what he would say to her. Harry noticed that Ted was 
lost in thought. Harry leaned over and asked, "So are you seeing 
anyone?"

The question startled Ted and he shook his head. Winking, Harry 
said, "Let me tell you about this great pick up line."

The remainder of the trip was spent with Harry telling Ted how to 
pick up women. Daryl smiled as he listened to the advice. Shirley 
frowned and wondered if it would actually work. She wasn't sure 
that she appreciated Harry telling her little boy how to pick up 
girls. 

When they arrived, Harry said, "Allow me to introduce you to Mr. 
and Mrs. McCullum."

The family followed behind Harry while he led them to the 
backyard. Spotting Mr. McCullum, he headed directly to the man. 
Nodding his head, he said, "Hello, Mr. McCullum. I've brought 
some people to meet you. This is Mr. Daryl Brown, Mrs. Shirley 
Brown, and their son, Master Ted Brown. They've come to talk 
with Lisa. Folks, this is Lisa McCullum's father, Mr. Jack 
McCullum."

Jack recognized the name and said, "Ah, it is nice meeting you. 
We were worried about young Ted."

Seeing that Harry had arrived, Lisa came over and grabbed his 
arm. Out of consideration of her father's feelings, neither teenager 
showed too much affection in front of him. Smiling at her 
boyfriend, she said, "I see you brought company."

"Yes, Lisa this is Mr. Daryl Brown and his wife Mrs. Shirley 
Brown. Everyone, this is Miss Lisa McCullum."

Shirley turned to the young lady and said, "We wanted to thank 
you for getting help for Ted."

Lisa blushed at the suggestion that she had done anything special 
and said, "I didn't really do much. Harry charged in and took care 
of the bad man."

"You brought help," Shirley said biting her lower lip. The idea of 
how close she had come to losing Ted was still giving her 
nightmares. 

"Thank you," Lisa said. Harry hugged her affectionately.

June came over and introductions were made again. The Browns 
were very surprised by the polite manners exhibited by everyone, 
particularly the two teenagers. The adults went off to talk leaving 
Ted with Harry and Lisa. 

Lisa turned to Ted and asked, "How are you doing?"

"Better, I think," he answered. The short conversation that he had 
with Harry had helped a lot. 

"I still have nightmares about that day," Lisa said with a shiver. 
She looked over at her mother and father for a second. With a sigh, 
she added, "I try not to let my parents know how much it affected 
me."

Nodding his head, Ted said, "Same here."

"They know," Harry said gently. 

Gesturing over to the yard next door, Lisa said, "The boys are 
coming. Let's go take care of them so that Mr. and Mrs. Liberman 
can visit with my folks."

"Tag?" Harry asked knowing that it would wear the boys out fairly 
quickly. 

Stepping back a pace, she reached out and touched him. She 
shouted, "You're it!"

Harry started chasing her around the yard and was quickly joined 
by the boys. Little Joe and John flowed into the game. Soon, Harry 
had tagged John who took off after Ted. For Ted, it had been years 
since he had run around playing like a kid. He was surprised to 
find that he was having a very good time. He was sad when it was 
time to leave with his parents.

Harry and Lisa kept John and Joe entertained until the barbecue 
was ready. The four of them settled around the folding table Lisa's 
mother had set up for them and made a production out of eating 
hamburgers and hot dogs. The boys loved every minute of it.

Over at the other table, George was enjoying himself more than he 
could imagine. It was nice sitting around talking with people in a 
social situation. He kept glancing over at Cindy with a smile. She 
was having a good time being free of the kids for an evening. A 
barbecue with the neighbors was such a simple thing, but it had 
been missing from their lives for so long. 

After finishing his meal, Jack put an arm around June and said, 
"That was wonderful. Which one of you made the Jello?"

Cindy answered, "I did."

"It was outstanding. I've always liked it with fruit cocktail," Jack 
said.

June smiled and said, "I thought you liked it with the tangerine 
orange slices."

"I like that too," Jack answered hugging her tightly.

Grabbing the bowl of potato salad, George said, "Real home made 
potato salad made with mayonnaise. You've got no idea how much 
I've missed this."

Cindy looked over at him and said, "Three helpings?"

"I had two helpings of the jello, too," George answered without 
feeling embarrassed.

"You really miss home cooking, don't you?" Jack asked.

"You bet," George said just before shoveling a forkful of potato 
salad in his mouth.

Smiling at her husband, Cindy said, "I never understood what he 
meant about eating out all of the time until our little trip to 
Baltimore. The food was pretty bad in the hotel. I can't imagine 
eating it all of the time."

George swallowed and said, "She made a pot roast the other night 
that was to die for."

Frowning, June asked, "Aren't you worried about gaining weight?"

"No. I gave up soft drinks, fruit juices, cookies, and cakes. The 
weight has been dropping off a little every week without too much 
effort," Cindy answered with a smile. She was wearing an outfit 
that evening that had been too small for more than a year. George 
had even commented on how slim she was looking. 

"I work out in the gym at the hotel every night. If you think home 
cooked food is fattening, you've never seen the result of eating out 
every night. We're talking fat city!"

 
<1st attachment end>


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