Engraved Invitations

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Order of Operations: Blind Memory, The Edge of Darkness, All These Things, Thrill of Hope

Chapter 1

If you would try you might decide to go,
and you can do anything if you want to,
and you can be all of that if you want to,
and you can say anything,
but you can't say I'm wrong,
when you won't even listen

"Please Try to Understand," The Stereo

He was bent over the keyboard, typing furiously when he heard Calleigh come in behind him. "Hey, how's it going?" she asked.

He automatically flung a hand out to keep her quiet. "Gimme a minute," he muttered.

She didn't reply, but he knew she was still standing there. "Just gotta wrap…there," he said, sitting back after finishing the sentence he was writing. He scrolled up and read the last paragraph. "Whew," he sighed, spinning the chair around to face her. "Hi, sorry."

"No problem," she said, with a smile. "Have you been writing all day?"

"Most of it," he said, stretching his arms overhead. "But it's done!"

"Great!" she said. "Which one is this, the lab report?"

"No, the paper on Miranda-Escobedo," he replied. "There's some interesting stuff there that I didn't know about. Theory and whatnot. I only ever knew the practical stuff."

"Huh," she said. "I only know the practical stuff, too. Nothing more than they went over in the Academy."

"Yeah, I didn't think I'd like the legal stuff, but it's actually kinda interesting," he said. "Anyway, how was your day?"

"Good. Nothing exciting, until now," she said, holding up an envelope. "This came in the mail for you."

He frowned as he stood up to take it from her. "What's so exciting about it."

"I don't know," she shrugged. "But it looks important."

He looked down at the envelope. It was small, but his Trace experience told him the paper was semi-expensive. "Looks like an invitation of some kind," he mused. "Maybe my cousin's getting married? But Mom didn't mention anything. She usually keeps me up to date," he said, as he turned the envelope over. "Huh, that's weird."

"What's that?" she asked.

"That's my parents' address. It's a bit early for graduation announcements, right?" he said, slitting the envelope open.

"I think February is a tad early, yes," Calleigh replied. When he didn't answer, she said, "Tim?"

He blinked down at the card in his hand. "Yeah?"

"What's it say?" she prompted.

He laughed a moment and shook his head. "I don't believe him."

"What's it say?" Calleigh repeated.

"It's an actual engraved invitation," he laughed. "It says, The presence of Timothy Daniel Speedle is graciously requested at the New York State Athletic Association Swimming Championships in Albany, New York, on the Fourth and Fifth of March, Two-thousand and Five. Sincerely, Matthew Robert Speedle"

"Matt sent it?" she asked.

He nodded, and turned the card over, feeling something attached to the back. There was a note there that read: Hey, Tim. It's looking really likely that I'm gonna make States. The District Meet is this weekend and I already beat my time for last year's Districts by about 6 seconds last weekend in the Sectionals. So we're pretty optimistic. It'd be really great if you could come up for the meet. If you just can't, I understand, totally. You don't even have to explain. But I'd really like you to get a chance to see me swim, since everything is up in the air yet for next year. Getting to States is going to change everything apparently. I don't even want to think about it- there's no offers yet, but that doesn't mean anything, they said. Calleigh can come too- the more the merrier. Well, you know how it is around here. Anyway, let us know! Even if something happens and I don't make it, it would still be great to see you. See ya, Matt.

"Are you going to go?" she asked, somewhat cautiously.

"I…don't know yet," he said, glancing up at her. "You're invited too, actually," he said, handing her the invitation and the note.

She glanced it over. "Well, that's really kind of sweet," she said, smiling. "If you want to go, I'd be happy to go with you."

"You're supposed to be going to Louisiana next week for your birthday, I thought," he said.

"I know, but I talked to Mom yesterday afternoon, and she said that she's going to be going to Baton Rouge because Marybeth's due to have her baby the day before my birthday. She wants to help with the kids, she said. So I'm not going to go right now. I'll see her in the summer, I guess," she said, shrugging. "I can probably move the weekend off to that weekend. It shouldn't be a problem."

"Well, don't do anything just yet," he said. "I don't know about this yet."

"Of course," Calleigh nodded. "I'm just saying, if you want to go, I'll go with you."

"Ok," he said. He laughed again. "I cannot believe he sent me an actual engraved invitation."

"That is pretty funny," Calleigh said.

"It's funnier if you know that the phrase 'what are you waiting for, an engraved invitation?' is a pretty common one in my family," he said, wryly.

"Matt thinks it's time you came home, then," she surmised.

"Yup," Tim nodded, more seriously. "I'll think about it."

"I think that's probably all that he's really asking, Tim," she said. "But it really might be good to go and have done with it, you know?"

"I know," he sighed. "All right. Anyway, what do you want for dinner?" he asked, changing the subject.

She raised her eyebrow at him, but went along with the conversation. "It's my turn to cook, isn't it?"

He shrugged. "Probably. There's soup in the freezer. We can make sandwiches to go with."

"What, you don't want to eat my cooking?" she joked.

He shook his head. "You made the soup, if I remember rightly."

"Ok, fair point," she agreed. "Soup and sandwiches it is, then. Come on out of here, if you've been holed up in here all day," she suggested as she left the room.

He trailed after her, considering the options of New York in early March.