Wyatt Klinker Section 10

Okay, just a quick note, I have training to do in 5 minutes so I can't take long.

I'm currently in the editing process and have made it through chapter three. I've been swamped at work getting ready for an audit and have been working through lunch, so my time is limited. Anyway, when I get done I believe my book will be available on Amazon for purchase. I think that would be cool.

Anyway, here's the next section...

CHAPTER 11: ROGERS’

Per the arrangements they had made earlier that morning during history class, Wyatt met Alex at her dorm room at six o’clock. He had actually been fifteen minutes early but rather than go up, he sat in the lobby passing time watching people walk by on the front walk. He did not want to come across as too anxious.
When it finally time finally came he took the stairs up to her floor. Her room was at the end of the hall on the right hand side. For a Friday it was extremely quiet and Wyatt felt uncomfortable walking, his feet making the only sound.
As he neared her door he heard the muffled sound of music coming from behind the door. He listened a moment before knocking, ascertaining that she was playing some kind of upbeat dance music. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard her yell “come in”. He pushed the door open to find her standing at a mirror, combing out her hair with a large brush.
“Hey there,” she said without turning.
“Hey there,” he mimicked. “So this is your room?”
Wyatt looked around. There were a set of bunk beds against the far wall, one with a very plain blue comforter, the other, a white one with bright stars of green and yellow. The closets were to his left and the door on one was open. Wyatt immediately realized that this one belonged to Alex as he recognized a few of the outfits hanging therein. He also noticed a dirty clothes basket on floor with a few items of clothing in it. He was embarrassed to see a lacey pink bra lying on top. He immediately averted his eyes.
Two desks in the room were the complete opposite of the other. One, on the right, was immaculate. Texts sat upright between two bookends. A blotter covers the top service and a laptop (which Wyatt immediately identified as Alex’s sat open. A psychedelic screen saver with multiple colored lines danced across the desktop. Cords ran from the back of the computer to twin speakers from which the music he had heard from the hall blared.
The other desk was a disaster. Books and papers were piled in multiple stacks, some reaching a foot high. There was no discernible order to the mass and Wyatt wondered if the desk was simply a catchall. It was apparent that the piece of furniture had no actual value as a study locale.
“It’s a mess, isn’t it?” she asked him, catching him looking at the desk. I should probably clean it up sometime because if I don’t it will never get cleaned. Wyatt let it go. He wasn’t planning on passing judgment on her roommate based on her desk.
Alex walked over to the closet and grabbed her coat. Wyatt was sure to keep his eyes focused on another part of the room and adverted from her undergarments that screamed at him from the clothes basket. He caught her closing the door out of the corner of his eye and turned to focus on her.
She was wearing a pale yellow turtleneck sweater that hugged her body accentuating her thin, yet curvy torso. Her jeans were artificially faded and had small tears in various places. Her belt was a wide black thing with a buckle shaped like a sun. Tall black boots with clunky heels rounded out her outfit. Her hair was pulled back and tied in a bundle with a yellow ribbon that stood out against her red hair. While Wyatt didn’t mind her hair this way, he loved it when she wore it down. She was wearing full makeup, Wyatt noticed and for some reason this surprised him. In fact, he felt a bit uncomfortable as he hadn’t even changed before venturing over to her place this evening.
“You ready to go,” she asked, flipping her laptop down and silencing the music.
“Yeah, let’s go,” he said, not taking his eyes off of her as she slipped on her coat.
“What are you staring at,” she asked him, catching him looking at her.
“Oh, nothing, I’m sorry. I just didn’t think we were dressing up for this,” he admitted.
“This isn’t dressing up. You’ve never seen me dressed up,” she stated nonchalantly.
“It’s just that I’ve never seen you wearing makeup. Besides that, you usually wear hooded sweatshirts.” He stated as they left, Alex pulling the door shut behind her.
“Well, maybe if you would ask me to go out with you more often I would wear different clothes and put makeup on. This IS the first time you’ve asked me off campus after all,” she accused him jokingly.
He thought about it. This was the first time he had ever ventured off campus with her. Typically they would meet at one of the dining halls on campus. Other times they would meet at the student union to just hang out. He felt ashamed of himself for not thinking about it before. Now that they were leaving campus however, he felt good about it.
“So, where do you want to eat,” she asked, changing the subject.
“Have you ever tried Louie’s?” he asked.
“No, I haven’t, is it any good?” she replied.
“No, it’s horrible,” he said sarcastically. “You don’t think I would take you anywhere good seeing as this is the first time we’ve ventured off campus together.”
“I suppose I deserved that,” she laughed.
“Louie’s is the best pizza place I’ve ever eaten at,” he explained to her. “You haven’t eaten pizza until you’ve tried Louie’s.”
“But you just had pizza on Wednesday,” she answered, a bit of concern in her voice. “I don’t want you to go some place you don’t want to go.”
“Oh, I’ve only eaten at Louie’s once,” he responded, “and that pizza I had the other night can’t hold a candle to his.”
“Okay, if you’re good with it. I’m looking forward to this. You lead the way.”
The sun was going down by the time they got off the “L” at their stop and a chill had set in. Wyatt tucked his hands into the pockets of his jacket. Alex pulled gloves out and put them on before looping her arm through Wyatt’s elbow. This took him by surprise but he didn’t show any to her. He smiled as they walked the blocks to the restaurant.
There were people waiting to get in, but Wyatt and Alex were able to get seated at a small table after only a short wait. The aroma in the air was the same as the last time he had been here and Wyatt breathed it in deep. His mouth watered at the thought of the pizza they were about to order.
“So how’d you learn about this place,” Alex asked after ordering drinks from the waitress.
“Oh, my cousin Lindsey brought me here,” he replied.
“Oh, your aunt and uncle have a daughter? You’ve never mentioned her before.
Wyatt immediately became uncomfortable, “Yeah, they have a daughter. She’s younger than me. We don’t speak much. She’s busy with her friends and all that.”
“Oh,” was her only reply, willing to let his explanation stand.
“You know, the last time I was here was the day I found out about my parents,” he stated matter of factly.
“Awwww, doesn’t it bother you being back here,” she replied, a deep compassion in her voice.
“Not really,” he stated absently, thinking back to that day. “I’m kind of numb to their deaths now. It is worse when I’m at home, rather at my aunt and uncle’s house. While I’m at school I feel alive and free. There it’s like I’m a caged animal. I’m not looking forward to the end of the year at all.”
“Maybe you should try hanging out with your cousin,” she offered.
Wyatt immediately started shaking his head, “There’s no way I’m doing that. She’s one of the big reasons I don’t want to be there.”
“Why, what did she do,” Alex prodded.
Wyatt wasn’t sure he wanted to go down this avenue with her, but he trusted Alex like no one he had ever known. He wanted to share all his secrets with her. He wanted to tell her how little he felt for his parents after their deaths, how his morning hadn’t been for them, but for him, for the battles he knew he would have to face. Most of all he wanted to tell her how he felt about her.
Shoulder hunched and leaning forward he explained about how Lindsey had come on to him, how she had come into his room one night and how he had forced her to leave. He told her about Greg and how he had caught them in the act and how he thought she had done it just to make him jealous.
Alex listened intently as he unraveled his story. She didn’t allow any disgust to show and only listened. When he was done, she didn’t say anything. She lowered her head and looked into her lap.
Wyatt watched her for a moment before speaking, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. You’re probably disgusted with me. I shouldn’t have told you.”
When she looked up her face was damp from a trail of tears that had run down her face. She stared at Wyatt, a deep look of compassion in her eyes, “I never knew how horrible it was there Wyatt. I never knew how much of a change your life has seen over the last year. I’m sorry that something like that had to happen to you.” Her features changed as she found herself asking, “Why did you tell me this?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I guess that I figured you’d understand; that you would not hold it against me. Besides that, I trust you. I feel like I could tell you anything.”
Wyatt noticed that she flushed red with these comments, embarrassed that he would be so candid with her.
“I don’t hold it against you Wyatt. I never will, not as long as we’re friends,” she replied, wiping the tears away with the corner of her napkin.
Wyatt was at a complete loss for words, he wanted to plead with her, to make her understand how they were supposed to be together. Looking at her, eyes red from wiping away the tears Wyatt knew that he couldn’t jeopardize what they did share by putting undo pressure on her. While it felt like knives in his heart, he knew he could only afford to have her as she was, to do otherwise would be unfair to her. She had voiced her opinion on the matter and he could not push it, regardless of what he had just told her; about how he felt.
As if on cue, there meal arrived, diverting the conversation. Their meal was enjoyable, if not a bit subdued. Both minds were filled with thoughts and they were both content to just eat and make small talk as opposed to carrying on deeper conversations.
Like Wyatt his first time at Louie’s, Alex was impressed as well.
“You know, you’ve been hiding this place from me for months now. I should really be offended,” she teased.
“Well,” he returned, “I’ve actually lied to you. I’ve been coming here every week for the past three months. I’ve not told you because I actually don’t really think you deserve it. You know, I don’t really like you much.”
She giggled, “Well, I’m not terribly fond of you either, but hey, I’m easy. I’ll do just about anything for pizza.”
“I’ve heard that about you,” he responded, garnering a kick from her under the table.
They finished their meal laughing and joking with one another, content to just be out, away from campus. It had been a long semester and they were both looking forward to getting away, to escaping from the city and seeing Washington.
After paying the tab they left and headed for the train. There were no real grocery stores in the center of downtown and they were both content to take a leisurely train ride north to one of the suburban areas to do some shopping. They chatted casually on the train with one another, talking about what they both wanted to see on their trip.
Neither was enthused about the fourteen hour bus ride but figured that they would make the best of it.
“You are planning on sitting by me on the trip aren’t you?” she asked as the train clattered northward.
“Well, I was, unless you would rather have someone else,” he responded, surprised she would ask.
“Okay, good. I was worried you would abandon me and one of the freshmen would want to sit by me,” she said absently.
“No, I wouldn’t let happen to you,” he smiled. “I probably won’t be much fun though. For some reason quite a few of my professors figured that Spring Break was a good time to assign homework. I’ve got a ton of reading to do.”
“Oh, that’s fine. I’ve got reading to do too. I promise I’ll leave you alone.”
They reached their stop and together got up and exited the train. It was a warm night for this time of year and they were both comfortable walking to the grocery. They continued to chat as they walked, enjoying each other’s company.
Alex guided them along the streets until they reached a small grocery store sandwiched between a law office and a furniture store. It didn’t really look like a grocery store on the outside, but the sign protested the fact: Rogers’ Market.
“Don’t you think we should find a Kroger’s or something?” Wyatt asked, giving the store a second glance.
“No way, I love this place. The owner is German and has my favorite cookies. They are expensive, but I have been craving them. They’ll be perfect to take on the trip,” she defended.
“They’ll have more than just cookies and sauerkraut won’t they? Sauerkraut probably wouldn’t be the best thing to take on the bus,” he teased.
She laughed, “They have regular American food too. I just want some of those cookies. Now come on dummy.”
The store was bigger than Wyatt had realized, stretching quite a ways back. It was an older building, but well kept. The shelves were packed full of product and very well organized.
Alex grabbed a shopping cart and turned to her left, making her way to the produce area. “This way, sweetheart,” she guided him.
“Yes dear,” he replied, playing along.
The produce area was small, but the fruits and vegetables were all very fresh looking considering the time of the year. Alex debated a bit as to whether to buy carrots and celery but decided that with no refrigeration that apples and oranges would be her best choice.
“Do you think the kids would like some bananas for their lunches,” Alex continued the charade.
Wyatt didn’t skip a beat, “Well, Juliet likes them but Petey doesn’t.”
“Well, let’s not then. We’ve got apples and oranges, they should be fine with that.”
As they marched through the store they filled their cart with various items. Alex tended to grab the more practical stuff like crackers and travels packs of tissue while Wyatt seemed to focus on junk food. All along they played at being husband and wife, laughing when one of the other said something overly absurd.
Tucked back in the corner was a section completely devoted to German food. Alex immediately found the cookies she was looking for. She excitedly showed them to Wyatt. They were called Biffar Dark Chocolate Ginger Sticks. She grabbed three packages and put them in the cart, insisting that she was stocking up.
Wyatt teased her, “You’re probably going to have one of those packages gone before we even hit the train. Are you going to even have any left for the trip tomorrow?”
“Hey, you back off mister. I’m not the one who grabbed two cartons of chocolate Pop-tarts. We’re only going to be on the bus for two mornings, what do you need all those Pop-tarts for?” she smiled, happy with her response.
“I guess you got me there,” was all Wyatt could say.
They finished walking through the store, taking turns pushing the cart, chatting up various products and grabbing stuff from the shelf when temptation called.
They reached the front of the store and checked out, pooling their money to cover the bill. Each grabbed a plastic grocery bag and made their way to the door. When they got there, they noticed that what had originally been a nice warn night had turned a bit chilly, and a steady rain had begun falling. Momentarily a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky.
“What do you want to do Wyatt?” she asked, worried by the weather.
“Well, I don’t necessarily want to walk in the rain, but we really don’t have much of a choice,” he replied.
“You want me to call a taxi?”
“No way. That would be super expensive from way up here” he thought for a moment. “Why don’t we sit on that bench over there and wait and see if it lets up.”
See looked to where he pointed and saw a singular green bench, sitting under and awning for a jewelry store, it remained dry as the rain fell around it.
The two ran through the rain and reached the bench. They laughed as they reached the protection of the awning and flopped down beside one another, their respective bags on each side of them.
“How long do you think it will last,” she asked, referring to the storm.
“I doubt very long. I didn’t even know there had been a chance for storms tonight. It’s probably just scattered showers. It’ll lighten up soon and we can head back to the train.”
They sat quietly, watching the storm. The rain pounded down, puddling in the streets. Occasionally a lightning flash would cross the sky, followed shortly thereafter by the crack of thunder. Each time Alex would flinch.
“You okay,” Wyatt asked.
“Yeah, I’m just not a real big fan of storms,” she answered, sliding a bit closer to him.
“You know, when I was little I was deathly afraid of storms. I used to scream whenever there was lightning and thunder. Then my mom told me that storms were God’s way of letting people know that he was still there. She used to tell me that weather in general was something we were powerless against. She said that God is the only one that can create storms and that we shouldn’t be afraid of them, we should marvel at them because it showed the glory and strength of God, and that he existed. I guess after that storms never really bothered me.”
They sat quietly for a moment before she spoke, “Thank you Wyatt. I never really thought about it that way. I like that. Your mom was a smart woman.”
Wyatt didn’t reply, instead he just sat watching the rain come down, enjoying being with Alex.

March 27th – Dear Starlog

I guess I should really put March 28th as the date, considering its 1:30am. I just got back from taking Alex back to her room after our little shopping trip. I guess I was wrong about rain tonight. It hasn’t let up yet and both of us are soaked, me a bit ore than her I guess because I had to walk all the way back here. It was worth it though.
Alex is an incredible person to be around. I love spending time with her and I really think she likes spending time with me. I can’t wait for this trip to DC.
We ended up sitting on a bench for about an hour watching the storm before we made a run for the train. It was pretty bad. We had to sit there soaking wet with a long ride back. It was miserable. I felt bad. I tried to apologize but Alex said everything was cool.
The school is pretty dead tonight. Most people left right after classes got out. Dave left yesterday. He skips classes all the time. I guess it doesn’t matter that much because he pulls down some pretty decent grades.
Tonight was a good night. Sure, we got soaked but I really enjoyed just being with her. I know I can’t have any more than what I got tonight, but that’s okay. Playing stupid little games with her, sitting on a bench watching the storm, sharing dinner; I’ll take that any day.
Well, I’m tired. Maybe I’ll write more when I get back.