Chapter 3
Spaghetti was not one of Tim's favorite foods, but there was a time and place for everything. It was now the time for Spaghetti. It was time for the Spaghetti Supper, an all you can eat for one price fund raiser for the youth group. The young people boiled some noodles and opened a few cans of sauce. It was always a big money maker. Tim could never figure out why people would pay so much for such low quality food. However, that was not what was important. The important thing was that Jenny was there.
As soon as he opened the front door to the event, he was hit full force with the smell of burnt noodles. It was a sickening smell. Tim could see that the group adult leaders were already putting fans into the windows to blow the odor out of the room. It would be clear in a few moment. Strolling across the room, Tim saw Jenny standing out on the balcony staring into the darkness. Walking up to her, he greeted her in the most flamboyant role that he could imagine.
"My beautiful lady, you are even more lovely tonight than ever," Tim said with a big smile.
Jenny could not help but laugh a little. She responded, "Oh sweet prince, your words are too kind, but I thank you." She followed the comment with a little curtsey move.
Looking out into the darkness that Jenny had been looking, Tim said, "Does my Lady require anything? The moon... the stars.... Say the word, and I will sail the deepest sea and cross the tallest mountain just to bring you your desire," Tim spoke.
"You are silly. You always make me laugh, that means more than anything that you could carry," Jenny responded.
"Anything that I can do, to be of service to my Lady. If it is my humor and wit that makes you smile then you shall have it," Tim answered with a short bow.
"Seriously, have you seen Roger?" Jenny asked with a voice of deep concern.
With that comment, Tim knew that she did not want to play the carefree and lighthearted game. She had a look of worry and emotional pain. Even though she did not show her pain the same way as Roger did, it was in her eyes. At the picnic, those deep blue eyes showed extremely loneliness with just a hint of pain. Now, it seemed as if the loneliness had gone, replace with the type of deep emotional pain that wrenches a person guts. So Tim changed roles. He was no longer the Gallant Medieval Lord with the fancy words. He took on a much more serious role.
"Yea, I saw him last week," Tim answered.
Her eyes focused on his own eyes. They were watching every blood vessel, every millimeter of dilatation, and every flinch of his eye lash. Tim let her read his eyes. At least, he allowed to see the things that he wanted her to see.
"How is he, Tim?" she asked.
"Do you want to get out of here?" Tim returned the question. The last thing in the world that he wanted was for her to break into tears right in the middle of this great supper. Even if it might have been a relief to the people that were trying to eat the burn stuff, this was not the place. Jenny was on the verge of an emotional outburst that would be the highlight of the evening.
"We can't do that. We will get in trouble. We are suppose to be helping to serve the supper here?" Jenny spouted out.
"Come on, we need to get out of here," Tim said as he walked over to the serving tables. Tim scanned the room and saw that the trash cans were filling up.
"Hey Mr. Martin. It looks like the trash is starting to fill up. Can Jenny and I help you out?"
"Don't worry about the trash Tim. But, if you two are looking for something to do. We really need some more Coke. Can you run and get us 6 more two liters?"
"Sure Mr. Martin," Tim replied. As Mr. Martin was handing him a ten dollar bill, Jenny's mouth dropped open. Tim wished that he tell her to cool it. She was going to draw attention to herself. However, there was no way to let her know without making it worse. He just hoped that Mr. Martin didn't notice.
"We have to hurry Jenny. Lets go," Tim told Jenny in a low voice. Mr. Martin heard it and nodded with agreement. He quickly turned to some of the other duties.
Tim and Jenny walked out the front door with the blessing of their youth leader and headed for the store. Walking down the road, Jenny asked her question.
"Are you going to tell me what Roger said or not?" Jenny asked. A little frustration was starting to grow in her voice.
"I am going to tell you relax Jenny. I just wanted to find a place where we could talk without the rest of the world listening.. Let sit down over there," Tim replied pointing to a set of stairs . Mr. Martin knew it took time to get to the store. Tim figured that as long as they got back in the next 45 minutes, it would work out.
After sitting on some stairs, Tim turned his attention to her. "Ok, to answer your question. Yes, I talked with Roger. And before you ask, we did talk about the breakup and all. To be truthful, he is taking it hard, Jenny. He is a sad about it all. But, I think he is starting to understand. When I left him, he seemed to be doing ok. This kind of thing just takes a little time. You don't need to worry about him. The real question is, How are you doing?" Tim answered.
The tears came and came. Tim held her. Drawing her face against his chest and surrounding her body with his arms, he held her as securely as he could. He held her tight and close to let her feel his strength. Jenny continued to pour out her soul. As she sobbed, Tim stroked her hair softly and whispered, "I know... I understand.. Just let it out."
After ten minutes or so, Jenny raised her head from his chest and looked up into Tim's face. Her face was almost as big of a wreck as Roger. Her oval face was ghostly white with streaks of mascara streaming down her face. Her once beautiful blue eyes that twinkled with mystery were now bloodshot, red from the tears. Tim did understand. He could see the deep compassion and commitment of the person that he held. Here was a person who would love with all of their heart, holding nothing back. This was a rare person.
"It is going to be all right Jenny. I know it is tough now. I do. It will be all right. I am here for you. Anything that I can do to help you get through this time, let me know, " Tim offered a low sincere voice.
Jenny nodded her head. She stood up and gave Tim a big hug. As she held him close, she spoke to him in a soft whisper, "Thank you Tim... You are so wonderful."
Do you feel up to walking on to the store?" Tim asked.
"Yea, I think so. I actually feel somewhat better. It is still sad. I invested so much into that relationship. It is so unreal that it is over."
Tim replied, "I know exactly what you are going through. Right now, everything is very bleak. Believe me. I understand. I have been there. I don't know what I can do to help, but I am here for you."
"You have helped Tim. Just by being who you are.. you have already helped," Jenny said.
As they release their hug, Tim said, "We better get that Coke, or Mr. Martin is going to have our heads."
Jenny and Tim started to walk to the store in a rapid pace. Jenny watched the way that Tim walked. She had always loved the way that he walked. He looked so hot. Yet, it was hard to know exactly what it was that excited her about him. It could be the confidence that he displayed with each step. He walked as if the world was his for the taking and that nothing could stand in his way. On the other hand, it could because he was extremely comfortable with who he was and what he could do. Yet, there was always the fact that his muscular butt flexed into a tight compact package with each step. In the pants that he was wearing tonight, it was very easy to see the muscles flex and then loosen.
No matter what the reason, Jenny wondered if Tim knew how great all the girls thought that he looked. The more that she thought about it, the more she doubted that he could know about the conversations that went on about him. All the girls that got together in the powder room about how attractive he was. Or all the girls that talked about how he was the Devil himself with his smooth words and slippery moves. If he really knew about the stories, Tim would have to be totally conceited. It was funny the girls that liked him and the ones that slammed him both had to admit that he had a magic or charisma.
Today was no exception to that magic. Jenny had expected Tim to be attempting to maul her, kiss her, and try all the tricks that he was so famous. Yet, he had been nothing like the stories. He had been caring and supported. Even during her most emotional time periods, he did nothing to take advantage of the situation. This type of behavior must be part of the reason that people had said that you will never understand him. However, through it all, there was something nice about him.
As soon as Tim had paid for the 6 liters of Coke, they headed back to the Supper. Tim was starting to feel the pressure. If they were gone for too long, then there would be no way of explaining it. He had promised Jenny that he would take care of it. Now, he was starting to feel his deadline getting tight.
As they were walking back, Tim asked, "So tell me about yourself, your family. What does your dad do?" .
"There is really isn't much to say..." she answered as she took on a thoughtful look. "My dad is a truck driver. You know the 18 wheeler type of driver. He does a lot of long hauls. That means that he may carry a load to the other side of the country, then bring back another. He is gone a lot of the time.
"That must be sad for you, " Tim added.
"Well, sometimes. But, to tell you the truth, there are sometimes that I wish that he would stay gone longer. Do you know what I mean?"
Tim slowly nodded his head.
"I mean, he likes to yell a lot. You know how fathers can be sometimes. He has this way of making seem so small. Like, I don't know anything. Sometimes, I am glad when he goes back on the road. I know that sounds terrible, but sometimes it is true," Jenny finished the sentence with a small stomp of her foot.
Tim was stunned and didn't say anything. Jenny saw his reaction and said," I'm sorry. I am a little emotional now. I just started thinking about him. And I guess that something came out."
"Don't worry about it. I think you are doing great. If you didn't have any emotions, you wouldn't be any fun, now would you?" he responded.
"Thanks, " Jenny replied.
"Hey, I know some of the guys are going skating this Friday night. Do you want to come? It might be fun."
"Who all is going?" Jenny asked.
"I don't know. I know that Dawn and Terri were talking about it. Bill and Mary may go too. You know they go a lot. You don't have to say anything now. If you are interested, just come on."
"What about Roger? Do you think he will be there?" Jenny asked with a look of concern in her face.
"No, I doubt it," Tim answered. Tim was a lot more certain that Roger would not be there than he sounded. In fact, he was almost positive that Roger would not be there. Roger would be lucky to even know anything about it.
When they had reached the building holding the Supper, Tim took a final look at Jenny to be sure that she was composed. She was taking the last minute opportunity to clean her face with a napkin from the store. Within a moment, she had repair the damage to her makeup. Tim opened the door and let her walk in. The Supper was still in full swing. They carried the 2 liter bottles to the drink counter and added them to the rest. Tim turned to join the crowds of people when Jenny spoke up.
"Tim, what about his change? We need to give back his change."
"We will. Lets see how Dawn is doing," motioning her toward the cute blond that was standing across the room.
As they walked toward Dawn, Jenny was more insistent, "Tim, I don't feel right about taking Mr. Martin's money. We have to give it back."
"Jenny, if I would have gone and gave the money and Coke bottles to Mr. Martian now, he would have looked down at his watch and said something like you two sure took your time. He would have probably known the exact time that we took to go to the store. Now what would we have said to him, if he would have asked what we been doing? Would you have lied to him?
On the other hand, he probably will not even notice the new bottles until much later in the evening. When he does notice the Cokes, he probably will not even think about how long it took for us to get them. At that point, he would have no idea. Now, my parents probably would not care. However, you were really concerned about getting in trouble, I promised that you wouldn't. So I am just doing what I promised. Trust me, and it will be ok," Tim answered.
After thinking about it for a moment, "Tim, you are a Devil!!!"
"Hey, I didn't lie. I didn't steal. I didn't cheat. I just play the game."
"You are still a Devil, Tim" Jenny said with a little smile. "And Tim, I will go skating with you."
Later that evening after almost everyone had left, Tim gave Mr. Martin his change. He received a "Thank you for helping out".