"THE BOYFRIEND"
by Kirk Hastings
(Based on characters created by Sidney Sheldon for "The Patty Duke Show", broadcast from 1963 to 1966 on ABC-TV.)
Cathy sat comfortably in an easy chair in the Lane's living room, reading her homework assignment, Les Misérables, for English literature class. Suddenly she heard a loud thumping noise. She knew instantly what it was - her cousin Patty, coming down the stairs from her bedroom.
"Hi Cath!" Patty said, as she blew through the living room toward the kitchen.
Cathy knew that Natalie, Patty's mother, was in the kitchen, probably cleaning up the last of the dishes from dinner.
A moment later, Patty reappeared, this time headed for the closet in the Lane's vestibule. After grabbing her coat from the closet, Patty came over to her cousin.
"Cath, aren't you going out tonight?" Patty asked.
"No. I thought I would just stay in and do some studying," Cathy responded.
"Didn't Ted ask you ..." Patty began.
"No. We've decided not to see each other any more," Cathy replied, before Patty could finish her question.
"Another girl?" Patty asked.
Cathy nodded. "Another girl."
A look of great disappointment came over Patty's face.
"Well, Richard and I are going bowling," she finally said. "Do you want to go with us?"
"No, thank you," Cathy replied.
"Are you sure?" Patty persisted.
"I'm sure."
"Okay, then," Patty said, giving in. "We won't be back late. We'll talk then."
Cathy smiled and nodded. Patty headed out the front door. Once at the door she paused for a moment to look back to where her cousin was sitting, a sad expression on her face. Then she went out.
Once Patty was gone, the house was quiet once again. Ross had already gone out for the evening with some friends, and Martin, Patty's father, was working in his study.
Cathy closed her book and held it in her lap, staring at nothing in particular.
I wish I had a steady boyfriend like Patty she thought. Richard isn't the smartest boy in the world, but he genuinely cares about Patty. And he's loyal to a fault. Patty is extremely lucky to have that.
It had been difficult for Cathy ever since she had come into the Lane's household in Brooklyn Heights a year or so before. It didn't have anything to do with Patty and her family - they were the nicest, friendliest, most generous people she could possibly have as a substitute family. But she missed her father, Kenneth. Cathy's mother had died when she was very young, and as a foreign news correspondent for the New York Daily Chronicle newspaper (the same paper Martin Lane, Kenneth's brother, was the Managing Editor of), Kenneth constantly traveled all over the world, and was rarely in any particular city for more than a day or two. That was why he had felt it best to bring Cathy over from Glasgow, Scotland, to live with Patty and her family - at least until Cathy could finish high school. Kenneth wanted Cathy to have a stable home life for the rest of her teenage years.
And she had had great fun getting to know her cousin Patty, who turned out to be her identical twin. They had had many amusing adventures together.
But Cathy, a quiet, studious, introspective person who had had a cosmopolitan upbringing traveling all over Europe, had found it difficult to fit in with the other teenagers in Brooklyn Heights, most of who had never set foot out of New York City. It had been particularly difficult for Cathy to secure dates with boys, because most of them only wanted to watch movies, go bowling, listen to rock and roll music, and pursue other relatively shallow pursuits. Cathy, being much more serious and intellectually-minded than that, tended to want something deeper and more meaningful out of life. But when boys found out she wanted to discuss Shakespeare, and liked classical music instead of rock and roll, they usually lost interest fairly quickly.
One boy, Ted Brownley, had remained fairly close friends with Cathy for much of the past year. But even he had recently been lured away by another pretty face.
Now she was alone again, with Patty being her only real close friend. But even Patty couldn't be around all the time, as she had Richard. And her outgoing personality insured that she always had an abundance of friends to spend time with.
And so Cathy remained the outsider, in a world she didn't grow up in.
She hugged her book against her chest and closed her eyes, dreaming about princes, and heroes, and knights in shining armor that always showed up to rescue the lonely damsel in distress.
# # #
The next morning, while Patty and Cathy sat in their homeroom at Brooklyn Heights High School waiting to be dismissed for their first class, their teacher called a tall, well-built young man with dark brown hair up to the front of the room. He came up to stand beside her desk.
"Class, I want to introduce a new classmate today," the teacher began. "His name is Ted Lang, and he comes to us as a transfer student from New Mexico."
Cathy winced at the boy's first name. She looked across the room to where Ted Brownley sat, and noticed that he was jabbering with his new girlfriend, a pretty blonde who sat right behind him.
Patty, who sat in the desk next to Cathy, leaned over to her.
"Wow, Cath, he's really good looking, isn't he?" Patty said.
Richard, who sat a couple of seats behind Patty, heard her comment and scowled.
"I suppose so," Cathy replied, noncommittally.
When the room was dismissed for class and everyone headed for the door, Patty gathered her books together and went up to the new boy.
"Hi Ted!" she said in a friendly voice. "Welcome to Brooklyn Heights High! I'm Patty Lane!" She extended her free hand.
The new boy took her hand and smiled. "Hi, Patty," he said. "Glad to meet you."
Cathy came up to stand beside Patty. Ted looked at Cathy for a moment, a look of surprise on his face.
"This is my cousin Cathy," Patty explained. "Some people say we look a little alike."
Ted continued to stare. After a moment he recovered himself. "I should say you do!" he said to Patty. "Excuse me for staring," he said to Cathy. "I'm very pleased to meet you." He nodded his head to her.
"You're excused," Cathy replied, smiling. "Pleased to meet you as well."
"You seem to have a bit of an accent, Cathy. Are you originally from England?"
"Actually, I was born in Boston," Cathy responded. "But I spent most of my growing-up years in Glasgow, Scotland."
"Wow. How interesting."
"Well, maybe we'll see you later!" Patty said. She bounced out of the room. Cathy quietly followed her.
"Yes, I very much hope that you will," Ted said to himself, as he watched the pair walk away.
# # #
After the school day was over Ted walked over to Patty in homeroom as she and Cathy were gathering their books together and preparing to leave.
"Hello again, Patty," Ted said.
"Hi Ted!" Patty replied.
"Patty, I understand you and Cathy work for the high school newspaper," Ted continued. "Is that right?"
"It sure is," Patty told him. "Cathy's an English major, and both our fathers are in the newspaper business. As a matter of fact, Cathy and I were just going to head over to The Bugle's office now."
"Oh?" Ted responded. "I'd kind of like to work for The Bugle too. I'm an English major as well, and I'm seriously considering journalism as a career. Do you think the paper would give me a job?"
That prospect seemed to delight Patty no end. "Sure!" she said. "Come on over to the paper's office with us, and I'll introduce you to Pete, the editor!"
"Thanks. I'd really appreciate that."
Ted followed the two girls out of the room. As they walked down the school hallway, Ted fell into step beside Cathy.
"Cathy, you and Patty seem very close," Ted commented.
"Yes, we are," Cathy replied.
"Do you live near each other?" Ted asked.
"Actually, we live together in the same household," Cathy told him. "My father is a foreign correspondent for the New York Daily Chronicle, and he travels the world a lot. Since he's the brother of Patty's father –"
"- who happens to be the managing editor of The Chronicle!" Patty interjected.
"Yes," Cathy continued. "Since Patty's father is the managing editor of The Chronicle and my uncle, my father decided to have me live with Patty's family until I could finish high school, so I wouldn't have to keep changing schools all the time."
"I see," Ted replied.
"Our homeroom teacher said you came here from New Mexico," Patty said. "What made you and your parents decide to come all the way out here?"
"My parents are both deceased," Ted explained. "Actually, I now live in the Boys' Home located on east Remsen Street. I was just transferred there from a boys' home in New Mexico where I grew up, because that home had to close down. The manager of the New Mexico home knew the person who runs the home here in Brooklyn Heights, so I was sent here."
"Oh, I'm very sorry to hear that about your parents," Cathy said.
"It's okay," Ted replied, shrugging. "They died when I was very young, and I don't even remember them. The people who ran the New Mexico home were good people, and I had a good upbringing there. The people at the home here seem like nice people too."
"That's an amazing coincidence!" Patty interjected. "We live on Remsen Street too! We're at number eight, right down at the end of the street where it meets the Promenade!"
"Is that right?" Ted responded. "Yes, the home I live in now is a brownstone just a few blocks up the street from there."
Patty's face lit up. "Gee, then maybe we'll be seeing a lot of each other!" she laughed.
"Yes," Ted replied, looking straight at Cathy. "I hope so."
Cathy smiled demurely and shyly looked away.
# # #
After talking to Pete, the editor of The Brooklyn Heights High Bugle, Patty convinced him to hire Ted on as a new reporter on the paper. That goal completed, a short while later the three new friends left the school and headed toward home. They boys' facility that Ted was now living in was less than a mile from the school. When they got there, Patty and Cathy said goodbye to him, and he started up the steps to the brownstone. Patty and Cathy headed off down the sidewalk to their own home a couple of blocks away. That December had been a cold and wintry one, and the temperature was below freezing. As a result there were numerous patches of ice on the sidewalks, left over from a recent sleet storm. Patty and Cathy had not gone far when Cathy's feet suddenly slid out from under her on the slick pavement, and she fell backwards to the ground. Her books scattered across the sidewalk.
Ted reacted immediately. He leaped over the concrete parapet of the brownstone's steps and raced over to where Cathy lay on the sidewalk, grimacing in pain. Patty was already hovering over her.
"Cathy! Are you all right?" Ted asked her, great concern in his voice. He put his hands gently on her shoulders.
"I – I don't know," Cathy replied haltingly, sitting up. "The left side of my hip really hurts." Her face reflected the obvious pain she was experiencing.
Ted carefully slipped his left arm under Cathy's knees, and his right arm around her waist. Very gently he lifted her up. Cathy instinctively put her arms around his neck.
Then, for just a moment, their eyes locked.
"Patty, can you get Cathy's books for her?" Ted said over his shoulder. "I'll carry her the rest of the way to your home."
Cathy started to protest, but once again her face twisted in pain, and she said nothing more.
"Sure!" Patty responded. "Are you sure you can carry her that far?"
"No problem," Ted replied.
Ted started down the block toward Patty and Cathy's home at the end of the street. When Patty had gathered Cathy's books she fell in behind Ted. Stepping carefully, they both made their way down the remaining two city blocks to the Lane home. Along the way Patty marveled at how effortlessly Ted carried Cathy, as if she weighed nothing at all.
When they finally reached their destination Patty opened the front door to the Lane residence, and Ted carried Cathy inside.
Patty led the way into the Lane living room, and pointed to the sofa there. After dropping her books and Cathy's books down on a chair she hurried over to the couch and arranged some pillows on it.
"You can put her down here," Patty said.
Ted brought Cathy over to the couch and gently laid her down on it, her head on the pillows Patty had arranged.
"You had better call a doctor," Ted advised.
Patty nodded. "I'll go find my mother."
She sprinted off toward the Lane kitchen. A few moments later she returned with her mother in tow.
"Oh my goodness – what happened?" Mrs. Lane exclaimed when she saw Cathy grimacing on the couch.
"She fell on the icy sidewalk," Patty told her. "She said her hip really hurts. We should probably get a doctor to look at her."
Mrs. Lane briefly looked Cathy over. "I agree," she said. "I'll call Dr. Fayer immediately."
Natalie went over to the end table beside the couch and lifted the receiver of the telephone there. She dialed a number. After speaking to the doctor for a few moments she hung up.
"He'll be over in a few minutes," she announced. "Fortunately he was in the neighborhood anyway."
While they waited for the doctor to arrive, Ted remained by Cathy's side. Mrs. Lane looked quizzically at him.
"I'm sorry," Ted apologized. "You don't know me. I'm Ted Lang. I'm a new boy in Cathy's class in school. I saw her fall up the street and brought her home."
"Thank you very much for doing that, Ted," Natalie replied.
"You should have seen him, Mommo!" Patty said. "He carried Cathy all the way down Remsen Street like she didn't weigh a thing!"
A short while later Dr. Fayer arrived. Patty let him in, and after chasing everyone into the other room he set about examining Cathy. When he was done he called everyone back.
"Fortunately, there's nothing broken or dislocated," he told them. "She just has a large, nasty bruise on her hip. A day or two of rest and some aspirin and she should be just fine."
A smile of relief crossed everyone's faces.
"Thank you, doctor!" Mrs. Lane said. "I'll see you to the door."
Natalie and the doctor left the room.
"Perhaps we should get Cathy to her bedroom so she can rest in her own bed?" Ted asked Patty.
"Yeah, that would probably be a good idea," Patty replied. She nodded her head toward Cathy. "Would you mind?" she asked Ted.
"Not at all," Ted told her. Gingerly he picked Cathy up off the couch.
"Follow me," Patty responded. She headed out of the living room to the foyer of the Lane home where the steps to the second floor were located. Ted followed her with Cathy in his arms.
"I'm so sorry to cause you all this trouble," Cathy told Ted, as he ascended the stairs with her.
"There's nothing to be sorry about," Ted told her. "I'm just glad I was here and able to help."
Once upstairs Patty led Ted into the girl's bedroom and pointed to Cathy's twin bed that sat next to Patty's. Ted tenderly laid Cathy down on it.
"I'll take it from here, Ted," Patty said. "Thanks for all of your help."
Ted nodded. "Would it be okay if I check on you tomorrow to see how you're doing?" he asked Cathy.
"Thank you," Cathy replied with a smile. "I would like that."
Ted smiled back at her. Then he left the room. When he had left Patty started to help Cathy get into her nightgown.
"Gee, Cath, I think the new boy in town likes you," Patty told her, as she helped her cousin under the bedcovers.
Cathy thought about that for a moment.
"You know, Patty," she replied, "I don't think I would mind it at all if he did."
Downstairs, Ted exited through the Lane's front door. Outside on the sidewalk he paused for a moment, staring up at the second floor windows of the Lane home where Patty and Cathy's bedroom was.
He was finding it hard to get the pleasant sensation of Cathy's closeness while he carried her out of his mind.
# # #
The next day, a short while after school had let out, the doorbell at the Lane home chimed. Natalie Lane opened it, and she found Ted standing there.
"Oh, hello, Ted," Mrs. Lane greeted him warmly. "It's nice to see you again."
"Thank you, Mrs. Lane," Ted replied. "Would it be all right for me to see Cathy for just a minute to see how she's doing – and to give her this?" He indicated a book he carried.
"Of course," Natalie responded. "Please come in."
"Thank you," Ted told her politely. He followed Mrs. Lane as she led him up the stairs to the girls' second floor room. Once there Natalie opened the bedroom door a crack and peeked inside. Patty and Ross, Patty's younger brother, were already there, sitting on the edge of Patty's bed and visiting with Cathy. Cathy was dressed in her nightgown and sitting up in her bed with her back propped up against some pillows.
"You have another visitor," Natalie announced to Cathy with a smile. She opened the door all the way and stepped aside.
Ted came into the room, stopping just inside the threshold.
Patty took one look at Ted standing there, and she quickly stood up.
"Well, I guess we'll leave you now, Cath," she said to Cathy, with a lilt in her voice, "… so you can spend some time with your tall and handsome rescuer!"
Patty started out of the room, but Ross did not follow. She jerked her head at him and snapped at him a low, stern voice: "Come on, Ross!"
Suddenly comprehending the hint, Ross went "Oh!" and jumped up from Patty's bed. He started to follow Patty out of the room.
"Nice to meet you, Ross," Ted whispered as Ross skirted around him.
"Likewise," Ross whispered back.
The door closed behind them, leaving Ted standing alone.
For a moment Ted and Cathy just stared at each other. Then Ted stepped forward and offered the book he held to the bedridden girl.
"This is for you," he said. "I hope you're feeling better, and I thought this might help you pass the time."
Cathy took the book from him and looked at the cover.
"Oh, a commentary on the works of Shakespeare," she said. She smiled. "How did you know … ?" she began.
"Your English Lit teacher told me that you're the secretary of the Lit Club. And that you like Shakespeare."
"Thank you," Cathy continued. She casually flipped through the pages of the book. "This was very thoughtful of you."
"You're more than welcome," Ted replied. He indicated Patty's bed. "May I?" he asked.
Cathy nodded. Ted sat down on the edge of the bed, facing her.
"Tell me about yourself," Ted asked. "You told me before that you traveled all over Europe with your father while you were growing up."
"Yes," Cathy replied.
"Can you tell me something more about that?" Ted continued. "That sounds like a fascinating way to have grown up."
Pleased that Ted was interested in her life, Cathy proceeded to give him an outline of her life before she came to stay at the Lane home.
After she had finished, Ted asked: "And your father is Patty's father's brother?"
"Yes," Cathy responded. "Father and Uncle Martin are identical twins. I suppose that's why Patty and I look so much alike."
"You sure do!" Ted laughed. "But you seem to have very different personalities."
"Yes, I suppose we do. Patty is the outgoing one. I'm the quiet one."
"That's okay," Ted told her with a smile. "I like quiet girls."
Cathy had to fight to keep herself from blushing at that response.
Trying to change the subject from herself, Cathy offered: "But now that I've told you something about myself," she said, "please tell me about you."
Ted shrugged. "There's not a whole lot to tell," he began. "My parents were both nuclear scientists, working for the U.S. government. In the mid-1940s they were involved in an industrial accident, resulting in them both being exposed to a massive amount of radiation. I was born in 1949, and they both passed away shortly afterward. I was enrolled in a local orphanage, and then later a boys' home. You know the rest."
"I'm so very sorry," Cathy said.
"It's all right," Ted told her. "I was very young when my parents passed, and I don't even remember them. I was treated well in the orphanage and the boy's home, and I don't feel that my life has been all that bad. A little lonely at times, I guess. But not bad."
Cathy thought about this for a moment. Then, somewhat coyly, she asked: "Have you … ever had a girlfriend?"
Ted smiled. "No," he replied. "No, I haven't."
Just at that moment, Mrs. Lane knocked on the bedroom door and poked her head inside.
"Cathy, I'll be bringing your dinner up shortly," she announced.
"Thank you, Aunt Natalie," Cathy told her.
When Mrs. Lane had left, Ted stood up.
"I had better go then, so you can eat," he said.
"Thank you for coming back to check up on me," Cathy told him. "I really appreciate it. And thank you for the book."
"My pleasure," Ted said. "I hope to see you again."
"I hope so too," Cathy replied.
When Ted had left the room, Cathy hugged the book he had given her to her chest and smiled happily to herself.
# # #
The next day was Saturday. By Monday, Cathy was well enough to return to school. That afternoon Mrs. Keeler, Patty and Cathy's biology teacher, handed out a new assignment to the students in her class: they must pair up with someone and come up with a science project display for the upcoming Science Fair at the school in January.
After the announcement was made, Patty made a beeline right over to her boyfriend Richard (who just happened to get good marks in biology).
Seeing this, Ted walked up to Cathy.
"How are you feeling, Cathy?" he asked her.
"Very well, thank you," she replied. "And enjoying the book you gave me."
"I'm glad," Ted continued. "Cathy … would you be interested in pairing up with me for a display about genetics, and how certain characteristics are handed down from generation to generation? I've always been interested in that particular subject."
"That subject has always interested me too," Cathy replied. "Yes. I'd be glad to."
Ted grinned. "Wonderful," he said.
"Why don't you come by my home tonight with whatever materials you have that you want to use, and we'll start planning how we're going to do it?" Cathy suggested.
After she had said it, she suddenly found herself surprised by her own boldness. She was not usually so forward with boys. Especially boys she had not known very long.
"That sounds great," Ted replied. "I'll come by your house at about … 7 o'clock?"
Cathy nodded her agreement.
# # #
For the next two weeks Cathy and Ted spent quite a bit of time together, working on their science project. They found that they both shared an interest in science - among a number of other things.
As Christmas began to approach, Cathy's father Kenneth arrived from overseas for his customary stay at the Lane home during the holidays. The evening after Kenneth's arrival Cathy invited Ted over to the Lane household for dinner, so that she could introduce Ted to her father. Patty decided to invite Richard for the evening as well.
After introductions had been made and the dinner that evening was over, everyone retreated to the Lane living room for coffee and tea. Patty helped her father start a fire in the fireplace, and everyone settled in to hear about Kenneth's latest adventures overseas, something they did every year when he came to visit. Patty and Richard sat next to each other on one end of the Lane couch. Cathy and Ted sat together at the other end. Three stuffed chairs that were about the living room were pulled over in front of the coffee table in front of the couch for the adults to sit in. Ross sat cross-legged on the living room floor.
They talked for quite some time. Ted marveled at how much alike Patty's father and Cathy's father looked. Aside from the pencil-thin mustache that Kenneth wore, it was virtually impossible to tell the two men apart.
"As most of you already know, the situation in Khurdistan has been pretty volatile for more than two years now," Kenneth continued. "The government there has been in utter turmoil since the violent takeover by the country's military in early 1963. In-between trying to report on the constantly changing situation there for The Chronicle I've been trying to help the rebel faction out in any way I can, since General Muzeem, the rebel leader, is a close friend of mine. Of course, this has not exactly endeared me to the country's militia."
"Uncle Kenneth, aren't you afraid that members of Khurdistan's army might try to target you one of these days for your perceived interference in their affairs?" Patty asked.
"Sure, Patty, that's always possible," Kenneth replied. "But I've been in this business a long time. At this point I've had quite a lot of experience concerning covering my tracks behind me, and keeping out of the way of people that might not be overly fond of me."
"Still, I worry about that all the time," Cathy injected.
"No need to, Kit-Kat," Kenneth told her. "They haven't caught up to me yet. And I'm betting they never will!"
As the evening wore on and Kenneth kept his audience in rapt attention with his stories of mortal danger and international intrigue, Ted noticed at one point that Cathy's hand had wandered over to rest on his knee. He let it sit there for a moment. Then he laid his own hand down on hers, and held it.
Cathy lightly squeezed his hand back to let him know that she approved of his action.
The rest of the evening went by entirely too fast as far as Ted was concerned. When the group had finally broken up for the night, and Patty and Richard had finished saying good night to each other, Cathy escorted Ted to the front door.
"I had a great time tonight," Ted told her. "You have a really wonderful, interesting family. And your father is really something!"
Cathy laughed at that.
"You know, Cathy, if things had been different, I wish I could have had a family just like yours," Ted said, a bit wistfully. "I'm just now beginning to realize how much I may have missed."
"Well, I for one am glad that you found us all now," Cathy replied, looking up at him.
"So am I."
They looked longingly at each other for a moment. Then Ted leaned down close to Cathy, as if he was asking permission to kiss her.
The expression on Cathy's face gave him his answer.
He kissed her very lightly and gently on her waiting lips.
# # #
The next day Ted walked Cathy home from school, and they held hands the entire way. When he dropped her off at her front door he told her that he would be back after dinner to continue work on their school project. They kissed briefly, and then Ted started back up the street toward the boys' home, his heart flying.
But as he proceeded up the sidewalk he noticed a small white panel truck head down the street in the opposite direction toward the Lane home. The truck said "Brooklyn Heights Florist" on the side of it.
Ted stopped, watching the truck. Could Richard be sending Patty some flowers? Or (horror of horrors) could somebody be sending flowers to Cathy for some reason?
Cathy had just stepped inside the Lane house when the doorbell rang. She turned back and opened the door again.
"Yes?" she said.
A big, swarthy man in a white uniform that said "Brooklyn Heights Florist" on the pocket was standing there.
"We have a delivery for a Miss Cathy Lane," the man said, with a slight foreign accent.
Cathy's heart leaped. Was Ted sending her flowers?
"I'm Cathy Lane," she told the man.
Suddenly the big man grabbed Cathy by the arm, clamping his other hand over her mouth. Before she knew what was happening, the man had his arm around her waist and had picked her up bodily like a sack of potatoes. He turned and bolted toward the panel truck parked just a few yards away at the curb.
Another swarthy man inside the truck opened one of the rear doors just as the first man reached it. The first man climbed in, Cathy still held tightly in his grip. The door slammed shut behind him.
The truck pulled away from the curb and started up the street.
Ted watched all this from his vantage point just up the block. When the van passed him, he dropped his school books onto the sidewalk and sprinted after the vehicle.
The truck picked up speed. Running after it Ted sprang up from the pavement with a mighty bound. Incredibly, he sailed up over the top of the van. With a thump he landed spread-eagled on the roof of the speeding vehicle.
Immediately he raised his right fist up into the air and brought it down, punching a hole into the top of the truck.
Inside the truck's cab Ted's descending fist just missed the head of the surprised driver. Startled, the man involuntarily jerked on the van's steering wheel, and the truck began to swerve.
Using the hole he had just created as a handhold to steady himself, Ted let his legs fall down over the side of the vehicle until they were on the truck's driver's side running board.
By now the driver had once again regained control of the truck. But now Ted smashed his fist through the driver's side door window, knocking the driver clear across the front seat - where he crumpled, unconscious.
Ted grabbed the van's steering wheel and yanked it toward the curb. This caused the truck to run up over the sidewalk and smash into the front of a brownstone there, where it came to an abrupt halt.
Unfazed, Ted jumped down from the truck's running board and raced around to the back of the vehicle. Once there he grabbed the handles of both of the truck's rear doors and ripped both of them completely off their hinges. He threw them both behind him to the ground.
Now he could see that Cathy and both her captors lay sprawled across the floor of the truck, thrown there by the sudden halt of the vehicle.
Ted leaped inside. Quickly he reached Cathy and started to help her to her feet. But the two burly men beside her had recovered from being thrown off their feet. They both leaped at Ted.
Ted met their attack. His right fist landed squarely on the jaw of one of the men, throwing him backward against the side of the panel truck with such force that the wall bent as he struck it. The man bounced forcefully off the wall and toppled forward, landing face down on the van's deck. He did not get up.
At almost the same time Ted's left elbow flew backwards and struck the second man right in the solar plexus. The man bent over and grabbed his midsection, gasping for breath. Ted turned and finished the job by punching the man once in the jaw also, sending him to the truck's floor just as quickly and decidedly as his partner had done.
Cathy watched all of this, wide-eyed and completely thunderstruck. After her two captors had been overcome she ran over to Ted and threw her arms around him. Ted held her tightly for a moment. Then he picked her up and leaped out of the back of the van with her. He sped back down Remsen Street, quickly reaching the street's end where the Brooklyn Heights Promenade began. He carried her some distance down the Promenade before putting her down on one of the benches there. He quickly sat down beside her, his arm around her shoulder.
"Are you all right?" he asked her, great concern in his voice.
"Yes," Cathy managed to blurt out, still somewhat in a daze by what had just happened. "Yes, I'm all right." She threw her arms around Ted's neck and held him tight again for some minutes. Ted tenderly stroked her hair in an attempt to calm her.
Finally Cathy was able to regain some of her composure. She straightened up and looked at her benefactor.
"What just happened?" she asked him. "Who were those men? Why did they try to abduct me?"
"I don't know for sure," Ted replied to her. "But if I had my guess, I'd say they were from Khurdistan, and they were trying to get back at your father by kidnapping you."
Cathy thought for a moment. "That makes some sense," she finally said. "But Ted – those things you did. How were you able to – "
Ted stared at her for a long moment, as if he was trying to decide exactly what to tell her. Finally he said: "You know those stories you hear sometimes about how some people suddenly find extraordinary strength in times of great stress or panic to do things they couldn't normally do?" he tried to explain. "Perhaps we could put this down to that. I was just scared out of my mind that something terrible was going to happen to you, and I guess my adrenalin did the rest."
Ted didn't quite sound to Cathy like he really believed what he had just said. But it was also pretty clear to her that Ted, for whatever reason, didn't at the moment want to offer any other explanation.
That being the case, she decided to just trust him, and let his explanation do for the time being.
"Why did you bring me down here onto the Promenade so quickly?" Cathy asked.
"If the thugs in the van really are from Khurdistan," Ted explained, "I think it would be better for all of us - you, me, the Lane family, and especially your father – that this whole incident not be linked to us. Let's let the police assume that this was just a routine car accident. If those guys are in this country illegally – which I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that they are – then that will be discovered, and they'll be dealt with by the proper authorities on that basis. And if they are deported back to their home country, I imagine the price for failing their mission will turn out to be pretty high. Regardless, it's better for us if we stay out of it."
"I suppose you're right," Cathy replied. "But thank God it's all over."
Ted nodded. Cathy hugged him tightly again.
I love you, Cathy Ted thought to himself. But I can't tell you the whole truth about me. Not yet.
(Watch for more exciting installments in this series, coming soon!)