Goodbyes

Ty looks at Katie quickly, surprised by her observation. He’d tried so hard not to make it obvious, but suddenly his secret was out. Apparently she really was good at reading people. He glances back out the window, unable to look her in the eye without feeling vulnerable. “Look, playing a game isn’t going to help… letters don’t make any sense to me. They never have. I flunked out of school, labeled as stupid, because I couldn’t read.” His embarrassment pools behind his eyes, desperate for release. He remains frozen in place, only glancing over his shoulder as Katie leaves. She was one of the few who had ever discovered his secret. He’d done a good job hiding it…most people just assumed he was lazy when it came to jobs, or a complete idiot at least. He’d never figured trying to learn to read was worth wasting someone else’s time over. It had been tried…he just couldn’t do it.

But as he stands alone and hears the others continuing to have fun and laugh, he realizes that he’s being left out due to his own will. Sighing, his mind begins a battle of tug-o-war. If he didn’t join in, there would be more questions. If he did, he’d risk the others discovering his secret. But was Katie right? Could she help him without the others knowing? Was it worth a try?
Not even sure why, Ty gives into the prompting. He wouldn’t normally…but something about this group was different…something told him he could trust them…and he didn’t want his antisocial attitude to ruin anything.

The game already in progress, Ty slips quietly into a seat next to Katie, staring at her row of tiles. It might as well have been chicken scratches to his eyes.

Wyatt looks up in surprise as Ty returns to the table, but he opts not to make a big deal out of it. He senses there’s something bigger here than a simple attitude problem, and is just glad he’s decided to join back in.

Ty watches the game progress, desperately trying to make sense of it all. He understands the rules, and he knows that the others are forming words on the board. But he has no idea what those words are, or how they are put together. He doesn’t even know the difference between the letters. But he stays, if only not to feel left out.

As it becomes later and later, Laura finally yawns and stretches, throwing a glance at Katie. “Well…I don’t know about you, but I’m beat. How about us heading back to my place?” She stands up and helps Wyatt clean up a few things. After everything is put back, she grabs her purse and keys. “Thanks, Wyatt. This was a blast.”

He grins and nods. “It was fun.” He throws Katie a casual salute. “You, my dear damsel shouldn’t be in any distress at all with a brain like yours.” He winks at her. “I’ll see you in a couple days. Try to stay out of trouble.”


The ride to Milltown is quiet. Mick’s mind wanders is so many directions… why had Dylan chosen this path? What if the past had been changed? What if Mick had handled things differently? Would he have been able to steer Dylan in a better direction? And what would happen now? Mick knew good and well that his son would not welcome his presence. At the same time, Mick’s blood boiled at the thought of Dylan being stupid enough to get involved with a rowdy bunch like he had – not only that, but to have skipped town and not even told his mother about it.
Sighing, he sips his coffee, trying to gain some alertness. This was not going to be fun.