friends

Kyle grins at Katie, cocking his head. “Jason, eh? Well…I’d like to hear about that sometime.” He sees that something isn’t quite right, and decides better of asking her about it now. But she certainly had piqued his interest. “As for now….we’re going to give you that sunshine you’ve been missing.” He goes to the back of the wheelchair and grabs hold. “Geronimo!” Finding the smoothest path, Kyle gives Katie a fast speed ride down to the little beach, stopping near Jen. “Ahhh…here we are.” He takes a deep breath. “Smell that salty air.”

Mike rolls his eyes. “First it was Lake Erie, now it’s the ocean. I’m still not convinced it was the map that had us going in the wrong direction.”

“He had us going towards Bedford,” Phil adds.

“Beauford,” Kyle corrects.

“I thought it was Hampton.”

“No, that was Hillside.

“But it was supposed to be east.”

“South.”

Jen groans and throws her hands up in the air. “We’re here, okay?!”

“Hmm?” Kyle chuckles, looking down on Katie. “Well, young lady, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you need a pick-me-up. So, that said, I’m going to be the one to pick you up.”

Before any objection can be made, Kyle easily sweeps Katie up out of her wheelchair and into his arms. “If I’m not mistaken, someone wanted to get their feet wet.” He grins mischievously and heads for the water.

“Kyle!” Jen calls after him, noting he may be in bare feet, but he’s still fully clothed. “You dweeb!”

Kyle just ignores his sister and wades into the cool water just enough so Katie can’t get wet unless she wants to. “Ahhh…” He looks out over the small lake, the sun sparkling off the water. “Now that’s a sight.” Suddenly his eyes get wide. “But I think I shred of seaweed just went up my pantleg.”


Jason sits for several minutes at the mess hall table, his mind slowly becoming clearer as his headache and dizziness disperse. Finally looking up, he sees Clint is still standing there, his arms folded across his chest. “Sorry…”

Clint shrugs it off. “No worries, man. But you better start watching that. I had a friend like you…he didn’t take care of himself, and now he’s got diabetes really bad. I doubt you want that to happen.”

Jason scoffs a little, and buries his face. “Was that really Katie on the phone?”

“Yup.”

“Great.”

“Yeah, you did a good job with her.”

Jason rolls his eyes and leans back in his chair. “I did, didn’t I.”

“Why don’t you just go back?” Clint shakes his head. “You know it’s the right thing to do.”

“But what about Wyatt?”

“Forget about it. If you just throw your friendship with Katie down the garbage disposal, you’ll regret it the rest of your life.”

Jason sighs deeply. “Maybe you’re right…maybe I was stupid to leave.”

“Eh…you needed time to think. Can’t blame a guy for that. But quit moping. You’ve got answers staring you in the face.”

“That easy, huh?”

Clint grins a little. “Why not?”

Jason looks up at him for just a moment, changing the subject. "So when did we become friends anyway?"

"Beats me." Clint shrugs and aims for the door. "But I got work to do. Come get me when you're up to finishing our session."


Cindy laughs. “Oooh, lots of energy, huh? That could be dangerous.” She grins. “I would love to go for a ride with you. Just let me get my boots on.”


Con chuckles at Jamie’s punch to his arm. “Alright. I’ll catch you later, Jamie.” As he’s walking away, he calls back over his shoulder. “Need anything, you know my number.”