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A New Life
-Chapter 8: It Makes Us Stronger–
The first day of high school was a little nerve raking for Jimmy Oken. But he would soon adjust. He was going into it with a lot of people that he considered to be friends, two of which where his best friends, Sam and Alice. As a matter of fact Alice was now Jimmy's girlfriend. Having a girlfriend going into high school was not something most of the other guys could say they were doing. And certainly not a girlfriend as amazing as Alice, as far as Jimmy was concerned. He had just turned fourteen several weeks ago and was feeling confident about everything that was going on in his life.
Just as Jimmy had finished that thought, the very person he was thinking of walked up to him where he was standing in front of Sea View high school. "Hey Jimmy! Nervous?" Alice said. "A little. I guess it'll go away. It's just different. That's all. You know what I mean?" He said. "I know what you mean." Alice said. She gave him a big hug. "Maybe that'll help you through your day." She said. He knew that it definitely would. "Let's go in and check where our homerooms are." Alice said.
They went inside and on the wall in the front hall where lists of homerooms by grade level and last name. "Okay the freshman homerooms are over here." Jimmy said pointing to where he saw some of their friends standing. They went over and looked for their names. "Here's mine. Greenwood, Allison. Room 223." Alice said, "What's yours?" She asked Jimmy. "Umm, here it is. Oken, James. Room 223!" He said excited. A couple of upperclassmen flashed him looks. "Great we have the same homeroom. So we get at least one class together every day, and lunch." Alice said excitedly. "Hey Sam, what's your homeroom?" Alice asked their other best friend. "Two-twenty-three, just like yours!" Sam said. Apparently he had already looked for their names as well.
They walked off towards the stairs and went up to their homeroom. About fifteen minutes later the teacher quieted them all down. "All right my name is Mr. Connor. The first things I need to do are call role and get all your names. When I call your name I want you to first tell me what you like to be called, and then one thing about you." Mr. Connor said. He called several names of people they knew and several they didn't know yet. Then the teacher arrived at a familiar name. "Brooks, Samuel?" Mr. Connor called out. "Here. I like to be called Sam. One thing about me is that I have a fear of black licorice. I think I had a bad experience with it once. I can't really remember." Sam said. Some of the other guys laughed and a couple of the girls smirked. "What? It wasn't funny!" Sam insisted. Clearly he did remember and he just didn't want to share the traumatic experience with anyone. Of course Jimmy and Alice knew what had happened, they had both witnessed it. They now laughingly referred to it as the 'Brooks Licorice Incident of the First grade'.
A couple more names where called out before another one of their names came up. "Greenwood, Allison?" Mr. Connor intoned. "Here. I usually go by Alice. So yeah. Something about me is that I've been able to do a handstand longer than I've been able to walk. Weird, huh?" Alice said. Some of the other kids began to laugh once more. "I think some of you don't understand the purpose of telling me something about yourself. I wasn't looking for something weird or bizarre. I was looking for something that would help me understand you better as a student. But, oh well. Moving on." Mr. Connor said.
About a dozen names later Jimmy's name came up, "Oken, James. Wait I think I was a grade ahead of your father when I went here. Is your dad's name Oliver by any chance?" Mr. Connor asked. "Yeah it is. I'd like to be called Jim or James. And something about me is that my arms are double-jointed. So if you ever see my arms really far behind my back they're not broken, I'm just stretching." Jimmy said with a smile that he couldn't hide. "What did I just finish telling Alice here? You must have heard me. You're sitting right next to her." Mr. Connor said, over some raucous laughter from some of the boys. "Sorry Mr. Connor." Jimmy said. "Very well Jim. You're dad let his mouth get him into trouble. Especially with that friend of his, Miley. But you can be your own person, right?" Mr. Connor asked. "Definitely." Jimmy responded.
An hour and a half later they moved out into the hallways for their second class. "See you guys at lunch." Sam said. He turned and walked down the stairs to his next class. "Looks like we both have the same class for second period. Algebra II, ohh." Jimmy said. He knew it wouldn't be a big challenge for him. But Alice on the other hand was not as strong as Jimmy at Math. But in Jimmy's mind this was to his advantage. He would get to spend even more time with her by helping her with her math studies.
"Why did you tell Mister Connor to call you 'Jim'?" Alice asked inquisitively. "That's my name. Why?" Jimmy said wrinkling his forehead to pretend look confused. "Cause you're 'Jimmy'. That's what you've always been called. You don't have to change that to be cool. You're Jimmy Oken; you don't have to try to be cool. You just are." Alice said. "You're just saying that cause I'm your boyfriend. That's like my mom telling me I'm handsome." Jimmy said. "First of all she's right about that. You're the best looking guy here." Alice said. "Again…boyfriend." Jimmy said, raising his eyebrows. "Okay. Who thinks Jimmy, here, doesn't have to try to be cool?" Alice asked loudly. A bunch of people yelled back answers of approval, and some of their friends that where there agreed honestly. "Ok, fine. You're right. But I don't know. I guess I want to sound more grown up. And 'Jimmy' sounds kinda childish for a high-schooler." Jimmy said. "Well Sam and I'll still call you Jimmy. Okay?" Alice asked. "Okay. I can live with that." He answered. They entered their next class room to start the whole introduction thing over once more.
Four hours and three classes later the bell rang and it was finally time for them to go home. They didn't take the bus or get a car ride with somebody. They just walked home. It was only a fifteen minute walk for them. "That was pretty funny that whole thing we had going with Mr. Connor, where we told him totally random stuff about ourselves. I'm glad we're such good friends that you where both able to catch on that I wanted you two to do it too. But really, hand stands Alice?" Sam said. "What? It's true. I don't know why it happened that way. But it's true." Alice smiled. "Then what about you Jimmy? I'm sorry, I mean 'Jim'. What about that whole 'My arms aren't broken, I'm double-jointed' thing?" Sam asked. "What? I am double jointed. You knew that. You where the one that thought I'd broken both my arms when I was five. That's how we found out actually." Jimmy said. "Oh yeah, you're right. What'd you think of my licorice thing?" Sam asked. "That was funny. But if you wanted to make it something real maybe next time make it something you can live with other people knowing." Alice said. "Yeah. Well by the time Mr. Connor got to me, some of the other kids had caught on and they were doing it too. But it was still funny, right?" Jimmy said. They all nodded.
Two days later when they got to school there where sign-up sheets posted in the hallways for the school's sports teams. "I think I'm gonna try out for the basketball team." Sam said. He was at least three inches taller than Jimmy and five inches taller than Alice. He was the perfect type to play basketball. "Well they don't have track till the spring so I think I might sign up for the wrestling team." Jimmy said. He had become fairly muscular as of the last couple of years and wanted to put some of it to use. "I might try out for softball." Alice said. "You should do it. The sheets right over there." Jimmy said. "Okay. I will." Alice said, with a smile and put her name down on the sheet.
When Jimmy got home that afternoon he started into his homework. He was sitting on the couch in the living room when his brother Michael came up to him. "Hey Michael. What's up little bro?" Jimmy asked. "You know how you said when I was back to normal you would teach me more of your surfing moves?" Michael asked. He was referring to his legs having healed. "Yeah, if you want we can do that later this month. I'm really busy with school right now. I have to study. And I have to stay in shape. I'm trying out for the wrestling team in a couple of weeks. But after that we can totally go and do some surfing." Jimmy said. "Ok! I can finally use the wetsuit and the surfboard you gave me last year." Michael said. He walked off with a smile on his face.
Two weeks later Jimmy went to the wrestling tryouts after school. He did the test moves that the coach told him to do. Some moves challenging and others he succeeded at with ease. "Nice one Oken! I like what I'm seeing. You're on the team." The coach said. Jimmy walked off of the mat and shook the coach's hand.
That same week they had started to notice signs hanging up all around the school. They said "Homecoming Dance next week. Formal dress required." "Alice, you wanna go with me?" Jimmy said. "Yeah, of course. Who else would I go with?" Alice asked, giving Jimmy a hard time. "Right. Okay. So we're going?" Jimmy asked. "Yeah. That's what I said." Alice replied.
"You guys are going together. But I have no idea who I'd go with." Sam said. "Why don't you ask Summer Hainly? She's cute, right?" Alice said. "Yeah, but I don't know how to talk to her." Sam said. "You just be yourself. It's not that hard. Just walk up to her and ask. Besides girls like guys that are straightforward." Alice said. "Okay. You really think that'll work?" Sam asked. "Yeah. She's right over there. Go ask her before somebody else does." Alice said, giving him a little nudge. But before Sam had made it more than five feet Summer walked up to him. "Sam, you wanna go to homecoming with me?" She asked. "Uhhh-huuh." Sam spluttered. Jimmy gave him a light smack on the shoulder. "I mean yeah, I'd like that a lot." Sam said a little red in the face. "Great. See you later." Summer said to Sam smiling as she walked past them. "See Sam, wasn't that easy?" Jimmy asked. Sam looked at Jimmy "Yeah, sure, whatever you say, Jimmy. All I said was 'Uhhh.'"
Jimmy arrived home. He had one week to think of a good way to conduct himself for homecoming. He and Alice had been a couple for several months. But this would be their first real date. He had the proper outfit for the occasion, a tuxedo, dress pants, a white shirt, a belt and a tie. So on the front of clothes he was ready. But was he ready to have his first dance with Alice? He had slow danced at his parents wedding anniversary. But that didn't count. Not really. It had been with his aunt. And that had been a while back. He figured that somehow he would manage. Besides, how much better of a dancer could Alice possibly be?
To clear his head Jimmy decided to go for a run on the beach. As he did so he started to think. "It'll be alright. You'll be fine. You've never been nervous around her before." His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden and totally unexpected urge to relieve himself. He was not far from the surf shack named 'The Shack: Formerly Known as Rico's'. So he jogged up to it and went into the bathroom. It still had a fee of a quarter to use it. The employees had never been able to get rid of that for some reason. Jimmy's father had told him that it must have been a parting gift from Rico to all the beach goers.
The next Saturday came so quickly that Jimmy thought time must have magically sped up somehow. He didn't know why but he was so nervous about his date with Alice that he couldn't think straight. At some points it even made him a little light headed. He had never gotten this way before from being nervous. So he figured he must be especially nervous. Finally it was almost time to leave to pick Alice up. He had already been sitting in the living room, fully dressed for the dance, for two hours now.
He had about a half an hour before he needed to go over to Alice's house to get her. Alice's father was going to be driving them there and then picking them up. It was about half after three when Michael came bounding down the stairs. When he got to the bottom he knocked over his crutches which had been sitting there unused for months now. He no longer needed them. He bent over and picked them up and leaned them back up against the wall. "I'm gonna go practice baseball with Robbie and Susan." Michael told his brother. "Okay, have fun little bro." Jimmy said. Michael pulled his baseball mitt out of the closet near the door and ran out of the front door and off to the baseball field outside of Sea View elementary school.
Michael got to the field in short time, Robbie and Susan where already there to greet him. "Where've you been? We've been waiting for you for ten minutes already!" Susan demanded. "Sorry I had to remember where I put my mitt." Michael said. They set themselves up to practice. Michael had the bat. Robbie was pitching. And Susan was catching. Michael only managed to hit about half of the balls that Robbie pitched to him. "Klutz!" Susan teased him. After about a half an hour of this they switched positions. Michael was now the pitcher. He tossed his mitt off to the side. And then he drew back his arm and pitched a ball toward Robbie's mitt. Robbie was standing behind Susan to catch the balls if she couldn't hit them. The first pitch smacked into Robbie's mitt. "Owe! Geez, you can definitely pitch better than I can Michael. I could never pitch that hard!" Robbie called out. "Thanks!" Michael shouted back. He pitched another ball. But for some reason this time it didn't hit Robbie's mitt nearly as hard as it had the first time. Michael was having a hard time building up enough energy to pitch the ball with the same level of force. But Susan hadn't been expecting a slower pitch, so when she swung the bat it was too early and she wasn't able to hit the ball. "Neat trick Michael!" Susan shouted to him. "Thanks!" Michael shouted back in a slightly weak voice. He wound back his arm for another pitch. But this time the ball didn't even make it half way to where Susan and Robbie where standing.
"What was that Michael? You hafta try harder than that. What are you doing? Hey are you okay?" Susan shouted. Michael didn't answer her. He was too weak at the moment. He passed out, and landed on his side in the dirt, which billowed smoke-like with the impact of Michael's body. Both Susan and Robbie ran towards him. Robbie pulled out his video cell phone and called his father.
Meanwhile, about thirty minutes earlier Jimmy was walking up to Alice's front door. He rang the doorbell and Alice came to the door promptly. She looked absolutely breath taking in her dress. She had her hair up and everything. He felt like he was going to faint because he couldn't believe his eyes. He knew she was beautiful, but she was utterly amazing at this moment. He stood there speechless until Alice broke the silence. "Jimmy you look incredibly handsome. You remind me of… what was that guy's name from that movie we just saw?" Alice asked. "Well I could say 'the name is Oken, James Oken'" Jimmy said, feeling nerdy. They had just gone to see the latest James Bond movie with his father and Jackson, and he had been waiting to say that, in the back of his head anyway.
Alice's father came to the door. "You both look amazing!" He said. "Let me get a picture of you two together. You look adorable." Mrs. Greenwood said. Jimmy and Alice stood together. They smiled while Alice's mother took pictures. Then Mr. Greenwood interrupted. "We have to go or they'll be late." He said. He had no idea how thankful they where to him for getting them out of more pictures. They both got into the car and rode off to the high school gym where the dance was being held.
For a while they just stood around and talked with each other and their other friends. But soon enough the chaperone teacher told them that the dancing part was about to begin. She turned on some slow sounding music, and everyone started dancing to it. But not ten minutes had passed when Jimmy had a sudden urge. "Alice…I have to go to the…uhh." Jimmy said awkwardly. "Make it quick, I was just starting to get comfortable, you know." Alice said with a slightly frustrated look on her face. He moved quickly over to the door and out into the hallway and went quickly to the nearest bathroom. He was relieved that Alice was as nervous as he was about dancing.
He got back to her as quickly as he could. "So let's keep going…" Jimmy said. He placed his hand around her waist. And they started to slow dance again. They had been going steady for about a half an hour when Jimmy had to go again. When he got back Alice looked even more irritated. But they started dancing again. This time Alice put her hand on Jimmy's waist. What she felt made her look at him funny. "What? What's the matter? I'm sorry I had to go I have no idea why it happened." Jimmy said a little red in the face. "It's not that? Have you been losing more weight lately?" Alice asked. "No. Why?" He asked, perturbed. "Well you feel thinner. I don't know maybe it's nothing." Alice said. "I have been watching what I eat. But that's cause of wrestling. But I didn't think I'd really lost any weight. Maybe a pound or two but nothing big." Jimmy said. "Like I said, Jimmy, it's probably nothing." Alice said.
They had been comfortably dancing for a while when they saw Sam and his date, Summer. They moved over closer to them. "How's it going you two?" Alice asked them. "Great, Summer is a really good dancer." Sam said, blushing a little bit. "Don't sell yourself short Sam. You're good too!" Summer said, her face glowing as she looked at him. "You guys should date." Jimmy said in a foggy voice. "What?" Sam said. But before anyone could answer him they were startled by Mr. Connor, another teacher chaperone who yelled "Linus, Milby, no kissing! Way too much contact!" They looked over and saw a sophomore couple, Roger Linus, and Anna Milby, pull apart abruptly.
In short time they all got back to dancing. Jimmy and Alice were having such a good time that neither of them noticed it when Jimmy's head came to rest tiredly on Alice's shoulder. However several seconds later Mr. Connor came up to them "Oken, Greenwood, too much contact!" he commanded. Jimmy lifted his head up. "What was that all about anyway, Jimmy?" Alice asked. "I don't know. I didn't mean to. It just kind of happened. I'm kind of lightheaded right now." Jimmy said. "Are you okay?" Alice asked. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be fine." Jimmy insisted. But minutes later his video phone vibrated. There was a text message on the screen. It was from his mother. It said "We're at the hospital. Michael's sick. We need you here now! Room 323." He looked up. "Is everything alright? You look upset?" Alice asked. "My brother's sick. They took him to the hospital and they need me to come right now. I'm so sorry." Jimmy said. He had a look of true regret in his eyes. "That's terrible. If you want I could come with you? You know for support." Alice asked. "Of course. I don't see why not." Jimmy said. Alice grabbed her coat from the hanger that it was on at the gym door and pulled it on. As they made their way out to the street Alice grabbed Jimmy's shoulder and turned him around. She put her hand on the shoulder of his tuxedo, leaned up, and kissed him full on the lips. "What was that for?" Jimmy asked, confused. "For being such a good boyfriend. The date wasn't as long as I thought. But just know I'm here for you. It's nice to see how good a brother you are to Michael." Alice said, smiling. He smiled back at her and they joined hands as they approached one of the many cabs waiting to take students home.
"Where to?" asked the driver. "Malibu general hospital please." Jimmy said. They held hands for the entire ride. Jimmy's hand shook a little bit. When they got out Jimmy paid the driver. Then they approached the front entrance. "You must be so scared for your brother." Alice said. "Yeah. He was hoping never to have to come back here." Jimmy said. When they got into the main lobby Jimmy's father was waiting for him. "Hi, Alice, Jimmy. You guys come with me. He's up on the third floor. Come on." Oliver told them. They walked over to an elevator. When they got in Jimmy placed his hand around Alice's back and held onto her opposite side. "So what's going on dad?" Jimmy asked. "Well apparently Michael has diabetes. He was practicing baseball when he passed out. The doctors say it was a small diabetic attack. He'll be alright but he needs to stay here over night." Oliver told them. Jimmy just looked at his father in disbelief. "Poor Michael. He must be scared. He definitely needs his big brother to keep him company." Alice said.
"Anyway, Jimmy, it's genetic, he got it from me. So they want to test you too. They already tested Rose and she doesn't have it. So they're thinking neither will you. Let's keep our fingers crossed." Oliver said. When they got into the room Michael was lying on a bed. He looked over at Jimmy and smiled a tired smile. "Hey Jimmy." He said groggily. "Hey little bro. It's gonna be okay." Jimmy said. He leaned over and Michael gave him a weak hug.
Just after that the doctor came in. "I'm doctor Kelso. I assume you're Michael's brother Jimmy?" Dr. Kelso asked. "Yeah, I am. Is he gonna be alright?" Jimmy asked. "He'll be fine. But we need to take some blood so we can test you for diabetes as well." Dr. Kelso told him. So Jimmy sat down on the bed next to Michael's and rolled up his sleeve exposing the slightly bulging mass of muscle that was his right bicep. A nurse came up to him with a needle and drew blood from his elbow joint. "We should have the results back in about ten minutes." The nurse said.
They all sat there patiently and talked. "So Michael I hear you're really good at pitching." Jimmy said. "Yeah, better than Robbie, even. It's really fun." Michael said, smiling slightly. "So how did your first date go Jimmy?" Rose asked. "Great. Except I kept having to go…" Jimmy said, a little embarrassed. Minutes later the nurse came back in and handed a folder to doctor Kelso. "Okay. These are the results but I want to ask you a few questions first. How much do you weigh?" Dr. Kelso asked. "About one twenty four." Jimmy said. "It says here that at your fourteen year physical your weight was one hundred and thirty-four pounds. So you've lost ten pounds in a month." Dr. Kelso said. "Have you had to relieve yourself more than usual?" Dr. Kelso asked. "Just for the last couple of days." Jimmy answered. "What? Days?" Lilly asked, shocked. "Well I'm sorry to say it Jimmy but you too have type one diabetes." Dr. Kelso told him.
"Oh Jimmy…" Lilly said. She hugged her son. "I'm okay, I'll be fine mom." Jimmy said. The nurse had him change into a hospital gown. He was going to have to stay overnight just like Michael. He came out of the bathroom in the gown and lied down in the bed next to Michael's bed. He used the remote so that he could sit in an upright position. "I… uhh need to talk to dad about something." Jimmy said a little urgently. "Okay. Go ahead." Lilly said. "I…need a little privacy." Jimmy said. "Oh…" Lilly said. So all but he, Oliver and Michael left the room and walked down to a lounge at the other end of the hall.
A single tear crept down Jimmy's cheek. "What's wrong? Are you alright?" Oliver asked. "It's just…what if Alice doesn't want to be my girlfriend anymore?" Jimmy said, starting to cry a little. "What are you talking about? Why would you think that?" Oliver asked, concerned. "Cause, maybe she'll think I'm too sick or too weak or something." Jimmy said through tears. "She's not gonna think that. Your mom found out I had diabetes and she still dated me." Oliver said. "Yeah, but she knew way before you started dating. You had time to adjust. I'm springing this on Alice after four months of dating her. What if she thinks I…" Jimmy trailed off; the rest of his sentence was incoherent. "She won't leave you. She's been your best friend forever. She'll understand. How could she not Jimmy? Trust me she won't think any less of you. It'll be just fine. She's a smart girl, you know that. She'll definitely deal with this the right way." Oliver said, patting his son on the back. Jimmy didn't say anything he just nodded his head, smiling, and lied back in the bed. He reached up and ran his hands over his short hair and then let them rest at his sides. Michael, trying to be cute, imitated his brother and ran his hands through his neck-length hair and then let his arms rest at his sides.
"I'm gonna leave you two alone for a while so you can get some rest. We'll be here for another couple hours, then we'll be leaving, and we'll come back and get you tomorrow." Oliver told them. When he had left the room they turned to each other and began to talk. "I hope you and Alice don't break up. She's so cool." Michael said. "I know. She is, isn't she? I don't think she'll break up with me. She's better than that. I know her enough to say that." Jimmy said. "Still it's kinda weird to see you and Alice dating. I mean after all these years of her being your best friend and being at our house all the time. It's kinda weird seeing you guys kissing, and holding hands, and going on dates. But I like it. She's always really nice to me too. She's not gonna break up with you." Michael said. "Let's hope not." Jimmy said.
All of a sudden tears started streaming down Michael's face. "What's wrong little bro?" Jimmy asked. Michael didn't answer. He just turned on his side, facing Jimmy, bent his legs up to his stomach, and wrapped his arms around them. Then he cried even harder. "Come on Mikey, you have to tell me what's wrong." Jimmy insisted. "Why?" Michael sobbed. "Why? Cause I'm you're big brother and you're my little brother. We tell each other things. That's just how it works. That's why." Jimmy said. "Yeah, but I…" Michael started. "But nothing. I spilled everything to you and dad. And look at me. I'm not crying anymore. Now do you wanna just sit there and cry until you soak the pillow, or do you wanna tell me what's going on and I can help cheer you up?" Jimmy asked. "It's just… I keep having these things happen to me." Michael said through more tears. "What's that supposed to mean? Are you talking about…?" Jimmy asked. "First I fell off the monkey bars and everybody thought I was gonna hafta use a wheelchair forever. And now…" Michael said, trailing off, the tears making it too hard for him to talk.
"And now you have diabetes. I know it's hard to accept. But I have it too and I'm accepting it." Jimmy said. Michael unclenched his eyelids. "But you're older than me. And you're bigger than me and stronger than me and smarter than me." Michael cried. "You're my brother. You have just as much of a chance of having those things as I have." Jimmy said. "But it looks so easy with you. And now that I have this… I can't…" Michael started to say but Jimmy cut him off abruptly. "Michael Stanley Oken, I'm your big brother and I won't let you say you can't do anything. You're in big trouble the next time I hear you say that. And you wanna know what? None of that stuff is easy for me. All of it is really hard. I have to study all the time to be smart. I have to run and work out all the time to be this way. And you know what else? We are going to get through this as long as we do what the doctors tell us we need to do to deal with it. And we're gonna go on like it's not even there. It's something we're going to work around. We're just as smart and strong as we would be without it. We're brothers and we're gonna get through this together. So stop crying, cause you know what? It doesn't make us weak. It makes us stronger. We're stronger cause we can deal with it and we won't even let it slow us down. Got that little bro?" Jimmy said.
"Ok. You're right." Michael said wiping the tears from his face. "Yeah, I'm right. Now come here." Jimmy said. He got up out of his bed and stood between his and Michael's bed. "Come on, get up." Jimmy repeated. Michael reluctantly pulled back the covers and climbed out of his bed. He stood facing his brother who was almost a foot taller than he was. Jimmy reached out his hands and pulled Michael in towards him. He wrapped his arms around Michael's back in a firm, warm hug. Michael did the same, wrapping his arms around his brother's back. "It's gonna be alright. Everything's gonna be fine little bro. It's gonna be more than just fine." Jimmy whispered into Michael's ear. "I love you Jimmy." Michael whispered. "I love you too Michael." Jimmy whispered back to his brother. They stayed like this for several minutes, just standing there hugging each other for emotional support.
They did not realize that they were in fact being watched. Alice was standing outside with a broad smile across her face. The display of brotherly love she was witnessing warmed her heart. And in truth the thought of leaving Jimmy had never even crossed her mind. What she saw at this moment was just further affirmation to her that she had made the absolute right choice in agreeing to make her best friend her boyfriend. For all she knew, at this moment, she might even love Jimmy. She certainly knew she loved him as a friend. But then again she loved Sam as a friend. But it was nowhere near the same as the feelings she had for Jimmy. She was reasonably sure that in her heart Jimmy was more than a friend. But for now she was going to let the feelings she thought she had process through her mind. She wasn't sure she was ready to tell a boy that she loved him. Not even Jimmy. But she was certain that one day she would. But for now she was only fourteen and she figured she needed to let the feelings grow on her.
Meanwhile Michael and Jimmy moved apart. Jimmy rubbed Michael's long hair and then turned and sat down on his bed, getting ready to lie back down. But Michael came up behind him and rubbed Jimmy's short standing up hair. They both laughed genially and then lay down in their respective beds. It was nearly ten at night. Alice came in. "Hey you guys. We're all getting ready to leave. But they let me come in and say goodbye first." Alice said. "So I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Jimmy asked hopefully. "I wouldn't have it any other way Jimmy Oken." Alice responded pleasantly. She leaned in and gave him a warm kiss directly on the lips, and he returned the gesture. He was so happy that she hadn't reacted badly to the news of his diabetes. He was so happy that he began to laugh. She turned and headed for the sliding glass door. "See you too Mikey." She said giggling.
When she was out of sight Michael started giggling, he had a cheeky little smile on his face. "What's so funny?" Jimmy demanded. "Nothing. She doesn't care about your diabetes. She still likes you the same…" Michael said, still giggling. He was happy for his older brother and this was the way he was showing it, and the truth was he couldn't help but giggle, that's what happened some times when he was really happy. It was also that his hug with Jimmy and seeing that his brother wasn't having his heart broken was quite enough to rid him of all the despair that had clouded his heart. All this was what made him laugh happily. Jimmy started to laugh too. He got out of bed and went over to Michael. "You asked for it little bro." Jimmy said with a big grin. "What? Oh, noo… wait." Michael protested. Jimmy started to give his brother noogies (rubbing his knuckles against his head). "Ahhh. Hey." Michael said, still laughing. Then Jimmy starting tickling Michael in the stomach (above the gown). Michael giggled so hard he had to take a deep breath to keep it up.
"Okay you two, enough funny business." Lilly said as she walked in. "Ok, we'll play nice." Jimmy said, he walked over and lay back down in his bed. Moments later he and Michael burst back into laughter. Lilly let it continue for a few seconds longer. "All right you two settle down. We'll see you in the morning and then you can come home." Lilly told them. "See you tomorrow big bro. See you Mikey." Rose said, giving them both hugs. "We'll be here early tomorrow. So both of you get some sleep." Oliver said. As he walked out, he turned and said "See ya big guy, see ya Mike Stanley."
They were now alone. "I feel weird. Like I'm tired but I'm not tired." Michael said. "I know what you mean. I was like that at the dance with Alice. It was kind of embarrassing. Now that you mention it I still feel like that. I've just been caught up in thinking about Alice and about you. I think it means our blood sugar is low." Jimmy said. "What do we do?" Michael said. The doctors hadn't told them what to do to manage their blood sugar. They had told their parents so they could tell them. They figured it would be better coming from parents. "I read about it for school one time. We need something with sugar in it." Jimmy said.
Just then as if by magic a nurse came in with a tray. The tray had two mugs on it with warm, steaming liquid in them. "You boys need to keep your blood sugar up. So I brought you some hot chocolate." The nurse said with a smile. "You both have blue eyes so I couldn't decide what cups to get you. So you get blue." She said handing the blue mug to Michael. "That's my favorite color!" Michael exclaimed happily. "And you get yellow." She said smiling, handing the yellow mug to Jimmy. "Thanks." Jimmy said. She left them alone. Michael held the cup by the handle with one hand and cradled the other side with his other hand as if it was something precious. He tipped the glass up to his mouth and sipped happily.
Within the next hour Michael had fallen asleep. Jimmy lay there for at least another half an hour just staring at his brother, admiring him for willing to be so brave. He wasn't sure that he himself would be willing to be as brave if it weren't for his little brother, and all the other people that they had to support them. But at the moment Michael happened to be the person that filled that role the most. They were brothers and they where there for each other. He was sure if Rose was the one in the other bed and not Michael he would feel the same way. But it was Michael. Even though he had to deal with the same thing, he still felt bad for Michael for some reason. To Jimmy, Michael wasn't like other people's younger brothers, he was special. And this night had proven that even further.
The next morning came fairly quickly. Jimmy woke to see his family sitting across the room from his bed. "Good, you're awake. We brought both of you fresh changes of clothes. That is unless you want to go home in your tux...or that hospital gown." Lilly said. Jimmy chuckled lightly. Moments later Michael drifted awake. "Hey. When did everybody get here?" He said hazily. "Ready to go, Michael?" Oliver asked. "Yup." Michael said with a smile on his face. He and Jimmy took turns changing in the bathroom. And then they walked down the hall and went down to the lobby with their family. They checked out and went home.
The rest of that Sunday was spent sitting around in the living room talking. Mostly they talked about what they needed to do to balance their diet and stay alert about their blood sugar levels. But as the day went on Jimmy and Michael talked just amongst themselves. They talked about what they would do now that they had a big thing I common. Not that they weren't already close. But this change in their lives had brought them much closer together as brothers. It was like they had both gained a new best friend. "So you still wanna teach me how to surf better and do all those moves, right?" Michael asked. "Yeah, of course. We have tomorrow off from school. We can do it then." Jimmy said.
Alice paid a visit later that afternoon. She stayed with Michael and Jimmy until dinner time. Jimmy was tired but he went out front with her and stood out view of any windows. "You're really taking this well Jimmy." Alice said. "It's not easy. But I feel like I have to be strong for my brother. Cause if I'm not, then what kind of example am I setting for him." Jimmy said. "You're right. But do you always have to be so strong all the time. Don't you ever just let things loose?" Alice asked. "Sure I do. I've gotten into all those fights at school. That was me letting loose." Jimmy said. "That's not quite what I meant. I meant, don't you ever need somebody else to lean on when you're not strong?" Alice asked. "Of course. But sometimes what helps me to be strong is knowing that other people need me. Like my brother. That's the kind of support I need… sometimes. And there's the fact that you didn't break up with me when you found out." Jimmy said, saying the last part quietly. "Didn't break up with you? Why would I break up with you? You should know better than that. I couldn't break up with you over something like that. I'm not that kind of person." Alice said. "I know. I knew that. Maybe it was my blood sugar messing with my head… I was just really scared right then…" Jimmy said. But Alice cut him off with a meaningful kiss. She had a habit of doing that. Not that Jimmy would complain about it. But it caught him off guard every time she did it.
"I hope you don't mind, but I'm starting to feel a little drowsy. I think my blood sugar might be low or something. I think I need to go in and get dinner. I'll see you tomorrow. I'm gonna take my brother surfing. But after that…" Jimmy said. "Definitely. You guys have fun." Alice said. She hugged him and then headed off for home. Jimmy went in and had dinner with his family. It definitely helped him feel better. He was anxious to find out how to balance his blood sugar so that he wouldn't keep having these flashes of light-headedness.
When he was finished he spent some more time with his brother. Then they went up to go to bed. "Jimmy, can I stay with you tonight?" Michael asked. "You haven't done that since you where little." Jimmy said. "Please?" Michael pleaded. "Ok, just for tonight." Jimmy said. He turned around and grabbed an extra blanket and some pillows from the hall closet. When they got to his room Jimmy laid them out on the floor and set himself up on them. "Okay, Mikey, get into bed and go to sleep. You wanna have lots of energy for surfing tomorrow." Jimmy told him. "You know I'm turning ten in a couple weeks?" Michael asked quietly. "I know, maybe you'll get a surprise party. But not if you don't go to sleep." Jimmy said. Michael fell silent without any more argument. He tucked himself in and sat there until he drifted off to sleep. "'Night little bro." Jimmy whispered. And soon he too fell asleep.
The next day before noon Michael and Jimmy headed for the beach. They were both dressed in their wetsuits. And they had their surfboards in hand. As they walked down the beach Jimmy put his hand on Michael's shoulder, Michael smiled up at him. They kept walking until they found the perfect place to start from. Jimmy helped Michael with a move until Michael got the hang of it, which didn't take that long. Michael was a quick learner. Jimmy looked over at his brother. "Okay, Michael, you'll like this next one."
To learn more about diabetes check out this site (and others) online:
-The American Diabetes Association
Notes to the readers:
*Reviews are much appreciated!!
** This is the eighth chapter of my saga "A New Life". If you haven't read my first saga you may not know where these characters are coming from. So you might want to read it, or at least "Meant to Be Parts 5-9". This story takes place 3-4 years before the end of "Meant To Be".
***Lilly and Oliver, and Miley and Jackson are in their thirties. Jimmy is 14. Rose is 11, about to be 12. Michael and Susan (Miley's daughter), and Robbie Rod (Jackson's son) are all 9, almost 10.
****If you want to find my other stories (My first saga) click on my screen name on the top of this page, and you can find my stories on my profile. If you want to stay updated as to when I post new chapters, please subscribe to my username!!
*****There will be more in the near future. So I hope you will continue reading. I have no idea how long this saga will last. I have ideas for many more chapters. So it will most likely be at least a little bit longer than "Meant to Be" probably quite a bit longer. Only time will tell.