Bacon

Jen nods to Katie and takes her phone out of her purse. She grimaces. “Well, let’s see if I can get a signal out in the hall. I’ll be back. Wheeling herself out of the room, she separates herself from the others so she can call Jason. She’d had plenty of signal in Katie’s room, but it was just as well that her conversation be private if anything was said that might confuse Katie.


Kyle’s eyes go wide. “Of course you’ve been at our shows! You’re our biggest fan…er…helper…” He laughs. “I even added you to our website – you’ll have to check it out.” He opens his mouth to mention the one time Katie had missed, but realizes that she’d been at the wedding she didn’t yet know about, and he feels he shouldn't be the one to tell about that one. Closing his mouth, he starts again, but stops once more, having almost mentioned the most exciting show when Jason had proposed to Camryn. His face grows a little red. “Yeah, things have been going well. We’re thinking about making us a CD…I’m trying to convince Jason to make one under his name, but he isn’t too keen on the idea right now. Personally, I think if he was on the cover and people knew they’d just be getting his voice instead of his and mine, that they’d buy it.”

“You don’t have a bad voice,” Mike intervenes.

“No, but it ain’t Jason.”

Phil looks to Katie, thumbing to his brother. “He thinks he hasn’t improved any. Without Ja…” He stops short, almost ready to say ‘without Jason there fore a while, he was forced to be the lead singer,’ but he realizes that a whole lot of explanation would be needed after that one. “I mean, with some songs Jason hasn’t sung, Kyle’s been forced to sing more and he’s doing a whole lot better than he thinks he is.”

Kyle rolls his eyes. “The audience still wants Jason.”

“Who doesn’t?”

Mike interrupts again. “If Jen heard you guys, she’d slap you both. You know what she says, and she’s right…JetStream is all of us combined. Without one of us we’re just not the same. So…quit the bickering about who’s the best.”

Kyle salutes him. “Yes sir!”


Jason is just sitting down at his desk, when his cell phone rings. Fumbling with the clip on his belt it takes him just a minute and he looks at the number. Jen.

“Hey, Jen. What’s up?”

Jen smiles as she sits in the hall. “Hi, Jason. The band is up here with Katie and we were just wondering if you were going to swing by too.”

Jason pauses, strumming his fingers on his desk. “Um I just got to work, but…yeah. I guess…yeah. I need to.”

“Well Katie asked about you. She said she was a little worried about you.”

“Worried?”

“Yeah…that you’d been acting strangely.” Jen gives a little sigh and glances down to the open door. “Look, Jase…Con called Phil last night so we all wouldn’t be in the dark and embarrass anyone by accident. We know what you’re going through, so…I’m volunteering to spend the day up here with Katie.”

Jason closes his eyes for a moment. He couldn’t have asked for a better circle of friends. “Thanks, Jen…that means a lot. I’ll be up there in about fifteen minutes and stay as long as I can. I do have to get some stuff done for Reese though, so I’ll probably be back here for the afternoon.”

“Not a problem.” Jen finishes up her conversation with Jason before wheeling herself back to Katie’s room. She rolls her eyes. “The lazy bum had just gotten to work. He’s on his way over now.” She offers a bright smile. “And…I was thinking, Katie…I don’t have anything going on today and I’d love to spend some time with you. You wouldn’t mind if I hung out here today, would you?”

Mike lifts an eyebrow. They’d all planned on eating lunch together, then heading to his place for the afternoon. He doesn’t question Jen though, trusting she had a good reason.


Carson hears Misty’s voice and immediately a smile spreads on his face. Hearing her statement to Herb, he looks out the kitchen door to her and points a finger. “Better watch it, miss. I got a girlfriend who can get pretty jealous.”

Making sure that he can slip away for just a moment, he goes out to the font counter, a towel over his shoulder. Taking his finger, he tilts Misty’s menu down so he can see her face. “Ah, and here she is now.”

He rests his elbow on the counter to be just below her eye level, deciding not to talk about this morning unless she brought it up after seeing his shiner. “So what’ll it be this morning? Omelet? Pancakes? Waffles?” He holds a grin, stifling a laugh. “I make some pretty mean strips of bacon.”


Jamie’s words aren’t unlike what Scott expected her to say, but his eyes drift to the floor. He knew he was wanted around here…it just felt like he didn’t have a real place anymore. Like TJY was full of round holes and he was a square peg. Where did he really fit in?

He listens as she speaks of love and God, and finds himself fighting an emotional barrage again. Hated tears spring into his eyes. He could kick himself for showing his emotions like this.

Studying the floor, he appreciates Jamie’s pat to his arm. She’d always been nice…sweet…able to talk things through with anyone. Con was a blessed guy to have gotten her.

Looking up, Scott keeps the tears from overflowing, and swallows hard. “Thanks, Jamie. I…I know you’re right. I know all that up here.” He taps his head. “It’s just in here…” He puts a hand over his chest. “…that hasn’t been convinced yet.”

Forcing a dry, miserable laugh, he shakes his head. “You’d think with all the blunders I make, this one could just be added to the list without a problem.”

Turning, he goes back around his desk to sit down, not dismissing Jamie, but unsure if she’d stay longer or not. “I want so bad to go see her…talk to her…but she doesn’t even remember who I am…I was somebody with her around…without her, I’m just the geek without a life.” He shakes his head. “And even when she does remember, it still changes nothing. I still can’t have her.”