The First Love Of Alipang Havens

While Chilena squirmed and shifted herself to be pressed against him as tightly as possible, Alipang bathed her in loving words, with no trace of anger. "Sweets, honey, it's all right. You didn't _really_ ruin anything; there wasn't anything there TO ruin." Here he kissed her hair and her forehead. "Kim was _already_ seeing another boy; that wasn't your doing." He kissed one of her cheeks. "Maybe it's for the best to have it out in the open. So, no scolding; let's fast-forward to the part where I forgive you."

"Al--!" Her head came up from his shoulder, and she began repaying kisses. She had more tears to let out as well. They stayed locked together in mutual comfort and cuddling for neither knew how long before another word was uttered. Then Chilena felt herself wept out enough to speak coherently:

"I'm still sorry, Al, so sorry I embarrassed you. I swear I'm not a psycho; I don't expect you never to have a girlfriend. But for you to choose--" Her voice choked up, requiring almost a full minute of additional snuggling to work normally. "To choose a girl so _different_ from us--age is the least of it!--was like you going into a world I couldn't enter. You know it was important to me for you to approve of Dan; he's someone you can get along with. But Kim: her weird music, dressing ugly on purpose, liking animals better than people--seeing you crushing on someone so _alien_ made me feel as if--as if--"

"As if I were trying _specifically_ to break away from you, Chil?"

"Yes!" she sobbed, freshly tunnelling into his arms. "You talking about Kim all the time left me feeling unwanted. I wouldn't have felt that way if you had dated Summer, or Callie, or Kaitlyn; but for you to run away into a different world..." She wept some more. He let her weep.

Eventually she fell silent, without ceasing to cling to him, her fingers kneading his back as a cat's claws do to someone holding the cat. He let her stay thus for awhile, adding only the words, "I would never shut you out like that, Chil; I love you." When he felt the tension in her body subsiding, he waited an extra half-minute in silence to be sure she was getting over it. Then he kissed her; she kissed him; they kissed each other--and finally they could speak to each other at less than peak-level emotional intensity.

"What would you say to going someplace _away_ from this park, sweets? I'm not mad at you, but I'm not eager to encounter Kim right now. We can find Mom and Dad and let them know, then go do something more relaxing than chasing and wrestling."

Chilena dredged up a smile from somewhere. "Maybe we can get some ice cream."
 
PART THIRTEEN: DAMAGE CONTROL


Dad was with Mom and the little ones again, the little ones both having their faces painted by now. When Alipang and Chilena came up to them hand in hand and said they wanted to leave the park, Dad required an explanation first.

Chilena looked like returning to her weeping at this; but Alipang steadied her with his arms around her, and did the explaining to Dad while Chilena did the clinging to him. "After the Escrima program, Chilena saw Kim with another boy, a senior. She got mad at Kim for my sake, and accused her of playing games with my feelings. I've told Chilena that I don't blame her, that it's plain Kim isn't interested anyway."

"Do you think this means that the Tisdales coming with us to Assateague is off?" asked Eric Havens.

"I don't know, Dad. But my wanting to see Kim is off, at least for today. Chilena said she wanted ice cream--"

"We got ice cream!' chirped Melody.

"Choc'late!" exclaimed Harmony.

"Most businesses are closed right now," Mom pointed out.

"Yes, Mom, I know; but Rafferty's Truck Stop will be open, and they serve ice cream."

"You really want to avoid the concessions row here, don't you?" Dad said.

Chilena's head, propped on her brother's shoulder, swivelled to regard her parents. "Can you blame Al for wanting to avoid running into Kim, after the mess I made of everything?"

Cecilia stepped in to give her distraught daughter a kiss and a back-pat. "Your brother clearly isn't angry at you, and we're not angry at him. It's just a shame for you and him to miss the rest of the fun."

Alipang had a thought. "We might also see Dan. His mother said he was getting better, but he never made it out here."

At last, Mom and Dad okayed Al and Chil's departure, though Melody and Harmony were not especially pleased.
 
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When they reached Chilena's car and got in, Chilena dialled her boyfriend's number. This time, Dan answered.

"Chilena?" His voice sounded much heathier.

"Yeah; it's good to hear you. I missed you at the picnic, and you missed out on some drama. Are you well enough to be visited?"

"I'd be well enough to get out of the house, if someone else drives. I hope to have my license exam before Friday, but I'm still a passenger today."

"We'll be there soon."

"We? Does that mean things haven't worked out for Al?"

Chilena's face fell; and her brother was not left wondering why. "No, they didn't, by a mile. I had to open my big flapping mouth and _tell_ Kim Al had a crush on her; but _she_ has a boyfriend already. Some goober basketball player."

"Let me talk to Al."

When the phone was passed, Dan said, "Al? Don't feel bad. I must have had at least four potential girlfriends stolen from me by conceited jocks. If those shallow meatheads are what Kim likes, she isn't worthy of you. So please do come with your sister."

"We were going to go to Rafferty's," Alipang told him. "Care to ride there with us?" Pretending that his next words were in reply to something said by Dan, he added, "Yes, you can sit in front with Chil."
 
Before long, they had picked up Dan from his house. Alipang, as promised, took a back seat.

At Rafferty's, Alipang realized that he wanted more than ice cream; with everything going on, he had never had lunch, and now it was getting close to suppertime. "Hey, guys," he said to Chilena and Dan, "along with the ice cream, let's order and split one of their Macho Nacho platters."

This was done; and while they were waiting to be served, Alipang received a cellphone call from Summer.

The very first utterance out of Summer's mouth announced, by her tone of sweet compassion, that she knew what had happened to her friend.

"Al, I'm really sorry for your disappointment. For what it's worth, you weren't stupid at all to be attracted to Kim. You have nothing to be ashamed of; we're allowed to have crushes where we have them. I'm praying for you, my dear brother--don't tell Chilena I called you that! This isn't the end of the world, Al."

"Okay." Alipang found a smile invading his mouth. "How did it go with your Dad at the park?"

"He enjoyed it. We were there for more than three hours! And Dad spoke almost normally some of the time. Mom wants to be able to work on his mobility now; but we don't have any more money for therapists."

"Hmmm...Listen, Summer, did you need _money_ for your Dad to be stimulated by my jokes and Grant's singing? I'll bet something can be done independently about your Dad's mobility, too. Maybe you could persuade your shop teacher to have the class build a parallel-bars set that your Dad could learn to hoist himself up onto, for work on walking again."

"Oh, Al, that's a terrific idea!"

Chilena and Dan stepped away for a minute to look over the novelty-gift shelves of the truckstop. This allowed Dan to ask Chilena, "Do you think now Al will run to Summer on the rebound?"

"I _wish_ he would," sighed Chilena. "But he won't. Actually, he just might, if _she_ ever acted like she wanted him that way; but Summer has my brother permanently labelled as her brother, too."

Then the nachos came, and eating began.
 
Alipang finally insisted that Dan and Chilena have _some_ time without him; so Chilena dropped him off at the empty house, where he let himself in with his key. There he folded a load of clean laundry in the basement...thought of short-sheeting Chilena's bed, but said "NAAAAAHH"...and put in a solid hour or more on Trigonometry and other studies.

The house being still silent, Alipang decided he would never want it said of him that he only prayed if someone else reminded him. So, in Tagalog--

"Dear God, I don't know what I expected from Kim. I know what I _wished_ for, but not what I thought would ever actually happen. You told us to pray for our enemies; help me to have at least a little genuine concern for the spiritual welfare, the eternal destiny, of that basketball player. After all, he did me no injury; I had no lawful claim on Kim for him to be violating. So if he doesn't know You in a saving way, please lead him to Your grace..."

========================

The subject of Alipang's prayer--who needed it--squandered, indeed negated, the advantage Alipang's sister had given him, less than two hours after Alipang had retired from the field. Staying for the concert held on the same stage where the Escrimadors had held forth, Kevin went on singlemindedly trying to persuade Kim to accept physical contact that she was not ready for; and worse luck for him, she basically was not ready for _any_ physical contact worth mentioning with any male. Before the show ended, she finally told him directly to leave her alone.

His wounded pride retorted, "What, so you wanna hang with that Filipino _child_ after all? Did some Tori Amos song teach you to be a cradle robber?"

Kim came back with eyes like Erin's boa constrictor: "This has nothing to do with Alipang--except that if he tried to touch me and I _asked_ him to stop, he _would_ respect my boundaries. But even if I never see Alipang again as long as I live, even if I set his house on fire, I still don't want _your_ hands on me without an invitation!"

Going off sulking, Kevin decided he would be so lordly-gracious as to give Kim another chance. If she would go out with him next weekend, and act properly grateful for his attention, he would forgive her. If not....Kevin would concoct some deliciously filthy story about supposed misbehavior by Kim, and feed it to Ivy, East High's champion gossip-magnifier. After that, Kim wouldn't be able to get even a drunken sailor from Norfolk to ask her out anymore.
 
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Mom and Dad eventually came home with Melody and Harmony. Joyful to come upon Alipang without Chilena monopolizing his company, the little ones asked him to tuck them into bed. He did so, then underwent a reversal of bedtime storytelling: listening to them telling him about their experiences at Lakeshore Park. They fell asleep...some five minutes before he did, sitting against their bedroom wall as he and Chilena had recently done together. Dad, however, checked on his son, helped him up from where he sat, and helped him get to his own bed.

The next thing he knew, Alipang was standing in the center of the East High Falcons' football field. Jack Torinburg and his beefy buddies were nowhere in sight; but two non-specific football teams were around, and all the players on both teams had the exact face of the basketball player who had been with Kim Tisdale when Chilena had blabbed to Kim about Alipang's infatuation. A cheerleader squad of girls who looked like Kaitlyn Katon, all pointing at Alipang, was chanting:

"S...T...U...P...I...D!! What does it spell? ALIPANG!"

Only then did Alipang look at himself and realize that he was wearing nothing but a great big DIAPER.

He was glad to wake up from that one!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Chilena had arrived at home after dropping off Dan, safely within curfew but after Alipang was asleep. She did not disturb him. Her next occasion to speak with him was at another early wakeup--with a grinding outcry of pain.

Her brother's cry was not caused directly by his humiliating dream itself, distasteful though that was; thinking himself diapered in a public place with girls watching had caused him to start running--while actually lying on his back near the edge of his bed, which caused him to fall off.

The spasm of pain at least confirmed for Alipang that the dream-stadium was not real. He lay on the floor taking regular breaths--as deep as his bound-up ribcage permitted--waiting for the worst of it to pass. Alipang didn't mind Chilena coming in, since he had slept in his clothes.

"I'll be all right, sweets, I just fell out of bed. If I yelled, it was when I hit the floor. For in instant there, I thought my backbone and my sternum had traded places. Is this a school morning?"

She slowly helped him up. "Yes, it's Tuesday. Oh, Al, what happened?"

Sitting on the edge of his bed now, he said, "I dreamed I was, um, embarrassed in front of everyone at a football stadium." He didn't like making his ultra-sensitive sister feeling guilty again, but they were accustomed to telling each other the truth.

Melody and Harmony peeked in, were assured that their brother was all right, and went about their morning routine. Chilena joined him on the edge of the bed, placing her head on his shoulder. "I'm still sorry," she told him. "I know you dreamed of embarrassment because I embarrassed you yesterday. I'm ashamed of myself." But she looked less miserable after Alipang leaned into her to kiss her good morning.

She kissed him back, and her arms poured themselves around his neck. "Dan and I had a great visit, just talking and talking mostly. We'll hope to go out once before next Saturday, besides him coming on the Assateague trip if we still have it..."

"We'll still have it, only the Tisdales will probably beg off now."

"Yes, Dan and I talked a lot about what you must be feeling. That's why Dan himself said _only_ one date during the week for him and me. He feels awful for you, so he _wants_ me to be with you some of the time, to cheer you up. But I don't know that it won't make it _worse_ for you to see me around that much."

"Never a bad thing to see you," replied Alipang. With a gesture and a gentle tug, he returned her to her traditional spot on his lap.
 
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Chilena drove herself and her brother to East High that morning. Halfway there--having purposely set out with time to spare--she found a suitable place to park for a minute, where she and Alipang embraced and exchanged several kisses, designed to bolster his courage for an uneasy school day.

As the siblings entered first-hour English together, Alipang could not stop thinking about how it was going to be at _fourth_ hour...sitting at a desk with Kim Tisdale immediately to his right.

Class had not quite started. Steve LeMarque--a boy whom Chilena had thought "creepy" at first, but who was perfectly harmless--approached Alipang and said quietly, "Al, I hear that the girl you had a crush on was parading another boy right in front of you. I feel your pain, but remember there are other girls who would appreciate you." Steve almost said, but did not quite say, what was really on his mind. Steve's sister Cindy--a junior, thus closer in age to Alipang than Kim was, indeed only four months older--had been sweet on Alipang since he had caught her and kept her from being hurt when she took a fall on the stairs last week.

"Thanks, Steve." Alipang also said hello to Dan, then took his seat.

Between first and second periods, Brendan hailed Alipang in the corridor. "Al, I want you to know that as Captain LaCrosse, I tried to do what I could for the Filipino Fireball."

"Which was what?"

"After you ran off to forgive your sister--I was close enough to hear that--I went up to Kim, ignored the snotty guy drooling over her, and told her it should have been obvious to her that you wanted her, AND obvious that you were more than worthy of her." Seeming not to see Alipang wincing at this, Brendan concluded, "She couldn't come up with any answer to that. Jennifer thinks I took it too far, but I had to watch my buddy's back. Leave no man behind. Look for me at lunch if you have news to tell from Trigonometry. I'll bet Kim comes _crawling_ to you to take her back."

Alipang forced a smile. "Thanks, Captain. If she does that, you'll hear about it."
 
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Between second and third periods, it was Summer's turn. "Hi, Al. I brought up your idea about parallel bars to Mr. Trask in Shop, and he says we can do it!" She fleetingly grasped his forearm in enthusiasm. "He even has design drawings on a disk that we can adapt for the job. Will you be there to help lift my Dad the first time he tries to support himself on them?"

"If I'm still ambulatory myself then, yes."

Summer's warm smile transitioned into warm concern. "Meanwhile, remember about it not being the end of the world. From the little I know about Kim, she doesn't know half as much about getting along with boys, as she knows about looking down her nose at them. I wouldn't be surprised if that boy she prefers now, soon ends up wishing you had taken her off his hands!"

Alipang's powerful right hand gave her shoulder a soft squeeze. "You know, I always did suspect your middle name was Loyalty. Say, how would--" He almost issued an invitation for the Heron family to come on the Assateague Island excursion this coming Saturday; but with his luck, if he did that, then Kim would swear undying love to him today--only to revoke it angrily upon hearing that Al had asked another girl on the trip. So, instead: "How would your family, _including_ your Dad, like to visit mine for a backyard barbecue Sunday afternoon? If you have a boyfriend by then, he's invited too."

Summer was delighted to accept on her parents' behalf. Without it being said openly, this would allow the prosperous Havens to thrust free food upon the financially struggling Herons without the humiliation of an obvious handout.

And then came the fateful transition from third period, to....Kim.

In homeschooling days, Alipang had often listened with his Mom and Chilena to a Christian talk-radio program called "Janet Parshall's America;" indeed, he knew that the local Christian radio host, his friend Pete Gordon's big sister Amy, looked on Mrs. Parshall as a role model. One of two alternate opening tunes for the Parshall program was a highly distinctive one: a solemn and wistful sort of march in which snare drum, piano and horns were prominent. Hearing that music, Alipang had more than once felt that if he were the hero in a movie, and he were going nobly to meet an especially heroic death, he would want that music to be played on the soundtrack.

That theme, therefore, WAS playing on the boy's mental soundtrack, as he stiffened his backbone and marched to the Trigonometry classroom...where his fate awaited him in the dark and haughty gaze of an incomparable, unattainable senior girl.
 
Alipang would have been surprised to know how much he had been on Kim's mind since the last words he had spoken to her in front of the park stage yesterday afternoon. He had been on her mind when she realized the truth of her own rebuking words to Kevin Purdue: that Alipang, if ever in anything like a dating situation with her, _would_ conscientiously respect her dignity as Kevin never had--as most boys never had.

The scrappy Filipino was on her mind again when she dressed for school in the morning--as she put on a sort of Irish-dancer dress Betsy had given her, then deliberately spoiled its attractive effect with her beloved (to herself and no one else) combat boots. Alipang, though undeniably first drawn to her by her looks, clearly was not minded to pressure her about her fashion choices.

Her first sight of her admirer that day--from behind, so that he didn't see her--was of him striding along the hall talking with his brash friend Brendan. Kids of all ages and sizes parted like waves ahead of those two; none seemed frightened, but all seemed respectful to the sturdy youths. That certainly was something Alipang had to offer: any girl involved with him, would have a boyfriend people stepped aside for. Yet he was the exact opposite of a bully; he wanted to do good. A corny thought for cynics to laugh at, but Alipang Havens _really_ wanted to do good.

He had composed those Trig notes for her, expecting nothing in return. He had found sorely-needed employment for her, and made a point of telling her mother that he expected nothing in return.

Now he was coming into the room...trying to manage the focus of his eyes so that he did not appear either to be staring at her or to be exaggeratedly avoiding her own eyes. He said nothing, but was clearly trying not to make it a drama-queen sort of saying nothing. Kim wasn't sure what made her cross her legs and put her shoulders back a bit at the moment Al was getting seated.

Mr. Burdock's class proceeded like Mr. Burdock's class. A quiz was announced for Thursday. Upon dismissal, Alipang got up just fast enough, without his movements shrieking avoidance, and made for the exit.

This is ridiculous, Kim thought. I did nothing to create groundless romantic hopes on his side, that his sister and his buddy should be putting me down for mistreating him; but on the other hand, HE didn't do anything to deserve to be made miserable.

She lengthened her stride to overtake Alipang as he headed for the cafeteria.
 
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Hundreds of students at lunch were treated to a clear view of Kim hurrying up behind Alipang, reaching for his shoulder with--not a _begging_ attitude, but certainly a conciliatory one. "Al, please wait, we need to talk!" They also saw how the first sound of Kim's voice halted the boy's forward motion as if he had hit a brick wall...and how he turned to face her with, if not quite his initial adoration, yet certainly a look of some pleasure that she spoke to him in so gentle a tone.

He followed her back into the corridor, and hundreds of pairs of eyes followed them as far as was possible without physical pursuit. If it were not that many boys were afraid to anger Alipang--while some boys, and quite a few girls, were similarly wary of Kim--there would have been just such a pursuit by eavesdroppers. What _was_ pursuing the oddly-matched pair were prayers for them both, from persons including Chilena, Summer and Grant.

Alipang stood and waited for Kim to begin. She looked him in the eye and said:

"Al...you deserved better than to be put to shame in front of bystanders, for no more crime than having a peculiar taste in girls. I'm not saying this to throw rocks at your sister. Anyone can see that you're the moon and the stars to Chilena, and there's nothing she wouldn't do if she thought it would save you from being hurt. If I had any younger sibs, I'd want them to be that loyal to me. As it is, Betsy and I are tight like that."

"Chilena is sorry that she blew up at you," Alipang told her softly.

"Then you can tell her that I forgive her for misjudging me, just as she forgave me when I was wrong for misjudging you. Because your sister's heart is in the right place, it's just her information that was way off. The Purdue boy who was with me not only is _not_ my boyfriend, I'm not even _speaking_ to him anymore. Kevin was already pushing his luck before the scene with your sister, but after that he went into turbo-obnoxious mode. He thought that my not being _your_ steady, made me _his_ steady just like that. I had to inform his hands that I was not their playground... Easy, Al, there's no need for you to go bust him up, which you probably could _even_ with your cracked rib. He's been put in his place--also in front of onlookers.

"But that brings us to what _your_ place is, Al." She ventured to smile at him, hopefully without making it _too_ warm. He smiled back, yet with reserve.

"I think I know it already," he said with a shrug. "The same place Dan tells me he landed many times before he and Chilena clicked: the Nice-Person-But-Forget-It place."

Suddenly Kim could not prevent herself from laughing; but it was a melodious laugh with no cruelty in it, not even the cruelty of thoughtlessness. "Cheer up, Al, I'm not passing _that_ sentence on you! I know it's a painful punishment; one of the first boys I ever liked, when I was fourteen, branded the dreaded mark of Nice Person on my tortured skin. As for now...as for you...I haven't forgotten the way your letter said you liked me better than any other girl, though I didn't realize then how serious you were about it; but you added that you had no social life. Your frankness impressed me then, even when I was misunderstanding you in other matters.

"Now I can say almost the same thing to you, Al. I honestly like _you_ far better than any other boy who has acted interested in me anytime recently; but again, that isn't saying much, because not very many other boys _have_ been interested. Besides which--as I told your sister, I simply haven't had the _time_ to get to know you."

Alipang drew himself up with a thoughtful expression. "And what if you were _given_ time, Kim? What if there were no pressure, no roaming hands--only the low-impact process of getting acquainted, which I admit I was hoping to see happening as we worked together at Pansit Paradise?"

Kim's smile turned sweeter. "Al, that is part of what I like about you: you _don't_ act as if you had a government document entitling you to everything you want."

"Homeschooling helps to prevent that mental disorder."

"Then I give you the chance to give me time, Al. I _will_ want to call this only being friends till further notice--but it _won't_ be 'friends, meaning you count for nothing.' I _will_ come along on your Barrier Islands trip, even if none of my sisters do; in fact, baby, you can drive my car. You and I will walk around together, look at things together, talk together. If it never turns into what you were wishing for--and it's a compliment to me that you would wish for that with me--I hope I'll have become a _good_ enough friend to you that you won't feel totally robbed."

"This is the best offer I've gotten today. See you in Biology."

"No need to wait for seventh period; you can see me straight across the lunch table. My stomach is reminding me about food, even if yours isn't. And since we both need to eat anyway, we might as well give the crowd something to talk about."

Moments later, the crowd had something to talk about indeed: Alipang re-entering the cafeteria and heading for the serving line, with his own books and Kim's grasped under one arm, while Kim herself hung on to his other arm, hamming it up with fond gazes at him, which he knew she didn't mean yet--but it still counted for something that she would allow their audience to believe she felt that way. Of course, this IS a way that she can give the same spiteful slap to Kevin Purdue as she _didn't_ give to me....
 
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"Something to talk about" carried over into Alipang and Chilena's downstairs meeting Tuesday night. Alipang had openly shared over supper the news of Kim not being romantically involved with Kevin Purdue, Kim forgiving Chilena for lambasting her, and Kim still wanting to come to Assateague on Saturday; but much remained to be said.

"Al, I want this to be a TOP SECRET meeting," said Chilena when they were the only ones not in bed. So hand in hand, still in daytime clothes, they sneaked outside, into Virginia's warm early-September night; and hand in hand they lay on their backs, looking up at the stars.

"Kim didn't just barely forgive you," Alipang assured his sister, "just as she didn't just barely apologize when she was the one in the wrong. She forgives you totally; she even said she admired your loyalty to me."

If he had been consciously planning to hasten the already-probable event of Chilena tilting herself toward him to begin snuggling up, he could not have chosen better words. It was not purely by chance that he had lain down with his damaged left side away from her. Chilena's right arm slid caressingly across his chest, the hand settling in his left armpit, and her chin came against his right shoulder as she said, "I admit she seemed very sincere the day she repeated her apology to me for bad-mouthing you last week. Did she sound that sincere when she said good things about me?"

Alipang laid his left hand atop her forearm that was bridging his torso. "Yes, I'm sure she meant everything she said to me today. She was nice in Biology today, too--so much so that I couldn't help enjoying it. But Mr. High-Horse-Yata made a nasty wisecrack about 'Christian boys getting just as interested in female biology as _normal_ boys."

"What a bum!" growled Chilena. "Al, I hope you're not letting him get to you. You're a lot more normal than he is!"

Alipang's left hand now ran along his sister's right arm, to the back of her neck. "I can shrug him off, sweets."

"Good, let's not even think of Mr. Hayata. I hope he gets fired before I ever have to take a course from him." And then the two of them went into a full front-to-front embrace, and a deliberate kiss...

...from which, in very short order, Alipang decided to lift them both up into a sitting position, separating their mouths for the moment. Scooting back to where they could brace their backs against the edge of the raised patio deck, they still held each other closely; and in this posture, it felt okay to kiss as well.

"So what was the deal at lunchtime?" Chilena asked as she leaned back from a kiss to her brother's temple. "Don't tell me that ALL of the hanging on you that Kim was doing was as genuine as the forgiving me!"

He kissed her cheek and replied, "No, that was play-acting; but it was nice to be included IN her play-acting. We were giving that basketball dork a signal that Kim's heart _isn't_ his to dribble and score with."

She kissed the side of his nose. "But will Kim's heart ever be _yours_ to treat nicely?"

"It's possible, sweets. Now, speaking of hearts, why don't you just lay down your head and listen to mine for awhile? I promise, I'll tell you at future meetings what progress there is with Kim, if any."

Smiling in his arms, Chilena planted an ear against Alipang's chest to hear his soothing heartbeat. Eventually, he woke her up, so they could go inside, climb the stairs, kiss goodnight, and go to their respective beds.


~ ~ END OF PART THIRTEEN ~ ~ ​
 
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PART FOURTEEN: BRIDGING THE ISLANDS


Elizabeth Tisdale went to East High the next day for a routine meeting with Kim's guidance counsellor, Miriam Dreyer, who had also been Baeline's counsellor. Miriam praised Kim's performance in anything artistic, and had more guarded optimism about Kim overcoming the effects of her dyslexia in harder subjects. Elizabeth had not asked Kim about this directly, but she wondered whether Alipang's efforts to help Kim with studies were making any difference. Kim did occasionally, just occasionally mention at home something interesting that the dentist's son had done at school. It was refreshing just to hear Kim speak of any boy in terms other than utter contempt.

Coming out of Miriam's office after the meeting, Elizabeth sighted a man in a deputy sheriff's uniform just coming into the office area. It was, of course, Wilson Kramer, she realized, although she had seldom crossed paths with the man. They said hello to each other offhandedly, passed by each other, and...

Each one looked back at the other, to see the other looking back. Kramer laughed: "Season of the Witch!" Elizabeth knew that he was referring to an old Donovan song from the Sixties, which mentioned just such a coincidental mirrored gesture between two people.

When she left the school, Elizabeth realized that she still was thinking about the school's guardian. He was a very well-built man, and she knew he was highly thought of by the majority of students at East. She also knew that he had been cruelly abandoned by his wife, just as Elizabeth had been cruelly abandoned by the father of her daughters. Wilson Kramer was a few years younger than Elizabeth, but _only_ a few years; and Elizabeth had taken good care of herself in appearance and fitness....

Probably nothing would come of these thoughts. And yet, it _would_ serve Mr. Tisdale right if, having left Elizabeth for a younger woman, he were to learn that Elizabeth was being treated _right_ by a younger _man,_ one who was _more_ of a man than Mr. Tisdale could ever hope to be, morally as well as physically.

There would, in such a case, be the question of how her four daughters would react to their mother taking ANY new husband, however good a man he was.

That required about five seconds of contemplation. Susan, Sharon, Baeline and Kimmy would unanimously applaud a man who gave their mother happiness to compensate her for being robbed of it years ago.

AAAAAAAND yessssss...a marriage to Mr. Kramer would give Kimmy a younger stepbrother to feel superior to.
 
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Ooohh... it is going very good. It doesn't matter if it doesn't really go with the RPG, who cares? Lol, you're a great writer, professor, and your ideas are absolutely inspirera and original :)
*hugs*
I love it.
 
On both Wednesday and Thursday, Alipang and Kim ate lunch together again, while Chilena ate with Dan. Wednesday night's downstairs meeting found other things to discuss than Kim, such as a future visit to Uncle Doug in Pennsylvania. The downstairs meeting for Thursday night was cancelled by mutual consent, because Dan had finally gotten his driver's license and was taking Chilena out "to break the jinx" at the same Italian restaurant where (by no fault of the restaurant) they had gotten sick last week, after which they would visit at Dan's house with Dan's mother present.

Before driving Chilena home Thursday night, Dan gave her a powerful pep-talk about repairing her fragile relationship with her brother's whatever-she-was. Thus on Friday, Chilena shyly asked to sit with Al and Kim for lunch...and Kim not only welcomed her, but seized the opportunity to repay last Sunday's forgiving hug. With wounds healed, the two girls began actually becoming friends.

Rafael Imada, meanwhile, had indeed obtained Jennifer's services to work in Kim's place on Saturday, which guaranteed Brendan coming to the Pansit Paradise for both lunch and supper, the former with his mother too. So the road was clear for the Barrier Islands.

Which made for a Friday-night downstairs meeting good enough to count for two nights.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Instead of the usual location, this meeting was held in the finished basement with the door closed at the top of the stairs, so that the stereo down there could be played at a moderate volume without disturbing the sleepers two flights up. Chilena had told Al she had a surprise planned for him there; so he could only come down the basement stairs when she called him.

He came when called, shutting the basement door behind him...to see that Chilena had put on the beautiful green gown that she herself, with some help from their Mom, had made for when she played Nimue in Camelot. As soon as his foot hit the basement floor, she touched a button, starting the love theme from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Then she extended her arms toward her brother, saying, "You may be dancing with Kim sooner than you think; so come here and practice."

Alipang made a respectful bow to his sister before walking to meet her. Chilena's right hand met his left; his right hand went to her waist; her left hand reached behind his unresisting neck, drawing his face to hers for a profoundly tender kiss, before they settled into ballroom stance and began gracefully dancing as she had taught him long before.

There was to be nearly two hours' worth of talk in that basement that night, before the last kiss of the night was exchanged upstairs; but the words both siblings would most remember from this downstairs meeting were spoken at the start, while the Disney song still was playing:

"I love you, Chilena, for always and always."

"And I love you for _longer_ than always; but I think it's a little unfair."

"What's unfair, sweets?"

"That you get to be _both_ a beast...and a beauty."
 
Saturday morning was making up its mind to begin when Chilena, fully dressed, crept into Alipang's room, closed the door behind her, stooped over the bed to deliver an exaggerated big wet smacking kiss on her brother's mouth, and laughed as his eyes flew open. "That, Al, is Kim, about fourteen hours from now!"

He sat upright, swung out his feet, hauled a willing Chilena onto his lap, and repaid the big wet one in several small portions. "I love your optimism, sweets. Are the folks up?"

"At the bathroom stage. I heard them saying that the Gordons will be coming with us, too;" but she lost interest in the travelling roster as she turned to squishing herself closer against Al's chest and shoulders. "You know I _had_ to drop in on you for a minute. On the trip, I'll be with Dan and you'll be with Kim, which is how it should be; but this is one moment for you and me. You know, in case we don't fit in a downstairs meeting when we come back tonight. I love you, Al--so much."

"And I love you, Chil, to the power of--AMBUSH HUG!" He was of course already hugging her, but at his whisper-shouted battle cry he swung her around onto the bed, falling on top of her with both of them still holding each other tightly. This was okay, because they didn't stay there, but rolled and flopped off the bed onto the floor, in a kind of slow motion to spare his ribcage. Staying clamped together the whole time, they silently rolled and embraced in their non-furious non-combat, each one's hands caressing neutral space on the other's head, back and shoulders. At last Alipang halted them with his sister on top, and pulled her blonde head onto his chest. "A dose of heartbeat for you, sweets. I love you."

"Sure enough," she whispered back, "that's your heart, all right. I love you." After a brief snuggling silence, they prayed there on the floor for safe travel and a good day...kissed once more...then rose to their feet and began turning their minds to Dan and Kim.


Soon enough, breakfast was eaten, and coolers with lunch were loaded into the SUV. The timing was perfect: their co-travellers were coming up Liddell Street. Not only Dan and his mother and the Tisdales and the Gordons, but also the Ashfords, and Wilson Kramer with his son Quinn. Coming over on foot from across the street was Tippi Martin, a single mother whom Cecilia had befriended, bringing her daughter Taffy.

At the last moment, Eric Havens whispered to both his elder children: "Keep this behind your premolars, but I asked Mr. Kramer along because I _think_ he may be interested in a certain unattached lady in this group. And I don't mean Tippi."

Alipang and Chilena both went wide-eyed and unthinkingly blurted out, "KIM'S MOTHER??" Fortunately, none of the new arrivals had yet gotten out of their cars to hear this.

A moment later, Chilena's eyes were on Dan, who looked completely recovered from sickness now, and gave Chilena his killer smile. Alipang's eyes had their work to do with Kim, who was wearing shorts and a fairly close-fitting T-shirt for the first time he had ever seen. Even her combat boots couldn't spoil that view for him.

Apples and oranges, both siblings thought as if with one mind.
 
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