Las Vegas, NV 1999:
Saying good-bye to Vince and Amber, Spencer climbed out of the car. He walked to the front door, getting his key out as he went. Though the front porch light had been left on, the lights in the rooms in the front of the house were out. Spencer hoped that meant his mother was in her bed sleeping. Reaching the steps, he walked up them and put the key into the lock. Moments later he was turning the key and pushing the door open. Aware that Vince was still parked in the driveway, Spencer turned and waved before stepping into the house.
As he stepped through the front door, Spencer reached out and flipped the nearby switch, turning on the lamp sitting on the stand by the door. The house was quiet, and the sound of the door closing seemed to echo in Spencer's ears. Leaning back against the door, he closed his eyes. He had enjoyed himself today, but it had been a strange feeling. It had been awhile since he had spent the day with people close to his own age. There were only two other people besides Amber who had ever really even been friendly toward him, and only one of them would he really call a friend.
Parker Dunley, a class mate from high school, had always been nice enough toward him. Parker had even run interference for him at times with some of the teasing he had endured from the other kids. Spencer considered him more of an acquaintance rather than a friend. Ethan was about three years older than him. He had met him his senior year of high school when Ethan was a sophomore and a year ahead of his peers himself. Spencer couldn't tell you why the two of them had clicked but they had. When Ethan had came to Caltech Spencer's second year there, it had been such a relief. Finally, he had someone there to whom he could talk to. Could relate to on some level. There had been a fierce competition between the two of them in the few classes they had been it together, like there had always been when the two of them were together. It was a friendly rivalry though and one that both of them enjoyed.
Still, even Ethan hadn't known about his mother's problems until last year when she had suddenly had one of her episodes during their summer break from Caltech. Though Ethan had taken it in stride, Spencer never would have chosen to tell him. Deep down, Spencer always felt that it was his mother's illness that drove his father away and if her own husband couldn't deal with it, how could his friends. He also couldn't deny that it scared him at times. The illness scared him when his Mom got out of control, like she had last night when Amber had been on the phone. He was always afraid she would hurt herself when she got like that as he had lost count of how many times she either had or had come close. It also scared him when he thought about the fact that it could be passed on genetically. That what he was seeing in his mother could be the future that he had to look forward to. It was that fright that made him want to keep people who came into his life away from his mother. It was fright and not that he was ashamed of her, at least that was what he always tried to convince himself of.
Feeling slightly calmer, Spencer pushed away from the door. He would check on his mother before heading to his room. He had only taken a few steps away from the front door when he heard footsteps on the steps. Glancing up, he expected to see his mother. Instead, he found Mrs. Henderson walking down the steps. He suddenly became alarmed. Had something happened? Why hadn't anyone called him?
There were several different nurses who had been hired to help out and make sure that Diana Reid took the medicine she suppose to take to control her progressing schizophrenia. Normally, they paid three short visits each day with Mrs. Henderson spending a lot of time with her friend when Spencer was away. Being a widow and both her kids grown, Mrs. Henderson had the time to be able to help the Reids out. He hadn't asked Mrs. Henderson to stop by but she had told him that she was going to this evening. As he hadn't had any calls from her he had assumed that she had stopped by, found everything okay and then left.
"Mom?"
"Relax, she's fine now," Mrs. Henderson assured him. "I stopped by with dinner after leaving the dinner tonight. Diana was fine. We enjoyed a nice conversation while we ate. I was getting ready to leave when I noticed something wasn't quite right so I decided to hang around a little longer. Apparently there was some vandalism further down the street earlier this afternoon. The police were canvassing the neighborhood, trying to determine if anyone had seen anything."
"Oh no," Spencer said, closing his eyes. His mother had a deep mistrust for any law enforcement people or politicians. Watching a political debate or press conference was always a bad idea in his house, as either could easily send Diana Reid into a rant about the governmental fascists that were trying to control their lives.
"I don't think I need to describe to you what happened," Mrs. Henderson said, having seen Spencer's reaction. "It took awhile but I did manage to get your mother calmed down and the situation explained to the officers, who took it all in stride. The nurse stopping by set her off again as it was a new girl, quite young and this was probably her first difficult house call. I felt a bit sorry for the poor thing, though you may get a call from the agency tomorrow."
Spencer nodded. It wasn't the first nurse that his mother would have run off. She had done it to a couple over the years. Nurses that just weren't capable of dealing with his mother during one of her episodes. It didn't help matters that Diana didn't react to new faces well anyway. Following the episode with the police officer, there was no way a new nurse was going to get anywhere with her. The paranoia caused by her disease just wouldn't allow it.
"Thanks for the warning," Spencer said. "Where is Mom now?"
"She's upstairs resting comfortably. I was able to get her to take her meds about an hour after the nurse had left. She went to sleep a couple hours after that. I just didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone after this evening so I decided to wait for you to get home."
"You could have called me," Spencer said, feeling guilty about being out having fun while all of this was going on.
"I knew you were out with your friends. You deserved at least one night away from this," Mrs. Henderson told him. She closed the rest of the distance between them and placed the palms of her hands on Spencer's shoulders. "Look, I know how hard this decision will be for you, but I really think you need to start considering committing Diana to a institution that is capable of handling her disease."
Spencer had already started shaking his head. Mrs. Henderson was putting into words the one possibility that he had been trying to avoid even thinking about.
"Spencer, listen to me," Mrs. Henderson said, continuing to speak. "Diana's schizophrenia is getting worse. I know you saw that when you came home this time. Chances are she's going to keep getting worse."
"Then I'll just have to stay home more. Be around to help her more."
"Drop out of Caltech and then do what here in Las Vegas?" Mrs. Henderson questioned. "There is so much more for you out there, Spencer. You've got dreams. Dreams that your mother wants you to realize. I know. I'm a mother myself and though I'm grateful that Edward chose to come back to help with the café, I never wanted him to do it just for me. If I thought for a second that he wasn't happy, I'd push him to go do something else. So how do you think your mother would feel if she knows that you gave up your dreams for her?"
Spencer looked down at his feet. He knew the truth in her words but he wasn't ready to commit his mother. To give up on her.
"I just can't. Not now."
Mrs. Henderson nodded. She knew that was the answer she was going get. This was the first time she had broached the subject with him and she knew he wasn't going to accept it right away. Still, it was a possibility that had to be put out there. That Spencer was going to have to think about and accept because eventually it was going to have to be done. She could see that. Could tell that her best friend was slowly getting worse. Getting to the point that she needed more help than those who cared about her could give her. In her more lucid moments, even Diana realized it as she had made her friend promise not to let Spencer throw his life away trying to care for her.
"I'm going to be there for you, no matter what, Spencer but you can't just dismiss the possibility that your mother is going to eventually need more care than what you can provide her at home. It's okay that you're not ready to accept it now but as hard as it is, there might come a time where there is no other choice."
Spencer nodded, not trusting his voice.
"I'm going to head home. I'll stop by tomorrow to see how the two of you are doing," She told him, kissing his cheek. "If you need me before then, just call."
"I will," Spencer told her.
Mrs. Henderson grabbed her jacket and let herself out the front door. Spencer headed for the steps and made his way to his mother's room. Standing in the doorway, he watched her even breathing for a few moments. At times like this, everything seemed so normal. Things were far from normal though.
Still, he couldn't give up on her no matter what sacrifices he had to make. Since coming home for the holiday break, Spencer could see that the schizophrenia wasn't being controlled as well anymore by the meds. Her episodes were more frequent. The times when she seemed like a normally functioning person fewer and shorter in duration. He could see it and the visiting nurses were telling him the same thing. He had already made an appointment with her doctor to see about adjusting meds. The trick was going to be getting her to the appointment.
Spencer leaned his head against the side of the door frame that he was leaning on. He closed his eyes, hearing Mrs. Henderson's words in his head. He didn't know what he would do without her support and despite wanting to be mad at her, deep down he knew he couldn't be. She was only telling him the truth. Giving him time to deal with the issues within himself before the situation got to the point where he didn't have any choice.
He also knew that Mrs. Henderson was going to be there for him throughout everything. The Henderson's were the only people who had stuck with him and his mother through them through everything. Through the onset of the disease. Through his father walking out on them. All the while the disease got worse, slowly taking more and more of his mother away from him. Mrs. Henderson and her husband before he had passed away, had been a part of his life for as far back as he could remember. No matter how hard her words were for him to hear, deep down he knew she only had his best interests at heart. His mother's best interests.
Mrs. Henderson was also right that his mother wouldn't want to give up on his own dreams. He knew that because of the interests that she had always shown in what he did. The interest that she still showed. She told him often how proud she was of him. Anytime they went some place, she proudly talked about her son, the doctor.
Spencer sighed. How much longer could he go on like this? Would he even be able to return to Caltech after the holiday break? Given what he had seen so far while he was home he was having his doubts. Finishing the course work for his second doctorate may just have to be put off for a little bit.
This wasn't the worries that most nineteen year olds had to worry about. Even at his age, most of his peers still leaned on their parents to some degree. Very few of them were taking care of themselves much less their parent. Yet what could he do? His life had never been normal. He had accepted long ago that it never would be. His mother needed him but was he capable of giving her the help she needed?
Full of doubt, Spencer finally left the doorway of his mother's room and headed to his own.
Christmas Eve - Las Vegas, NV:
"Are you still messing with your hair?" Vince asked Amber as he walked out of the bathroom.
"Yes! It doesn't want to go up today for some reason," Amber replied, taking the bun down once again to try starting over. She turned and got a look at her friend. "Well, don't you look spiffy. Trying to impress Alicia?"
Vince was dressed in slacks, a dark green dress shirt, with a silver neck tie. His black hair was slicked back. Amber almost wanted to touch it just to see how stiff it was.
"Hey this is my one shot. If I don't make an impression while I'm here in Vegas, then I'm probably going to leave and never see her again. I just don't want to have any regrets. Do you think she'll like the necklace?"
"Yes!" Amber said, exasperated. He had asked that question a dozen of times since he had bought the piece of jewelry the day before. "I spent most of my afternoon yesterday helping you pick it out, she had better like it."
Vince nodded and watched as Amber tried to put her hair up once again. Again she yanked out the pins not long after putting them in, and let her light brown hair cascade down around her shoulders.
"Why don't you just wear it down for the night?"
"Because, I don't want it in my face all evening and I forgot to bring any clips with me and before you suggest it, no I'm not just pulling it back in a ponytail for a party," Amber told him, picking the brush up off the dresser and running it through her hair again.
Vince walked over to the bed and looked in the bag they had put the gifts, that they were taking to the party with them, in. The party was going to be held at The Desert Rose Café. Mrs. Henderson had closed the café to the public at four that afternoon and it would remain closed until eight a.m. the day after Christmas. Christmas Eve though, she held a party for her employees and families, as well as a few other friends she had invited. Amber, Vince, Chad and Alyse had all been surprised when they had gotten last minutes invitations to the party, which Mrs. Henderson had sent through Spencer.
Amber had quickly called Mrs. Henderson to accept the invitation, thanking her for her thoughtfulness as they hadn't yet decided what to do to make it feel like Christmas to them. Mrs. Henderson said she was just happy to be able to spread a little holiday cheer. She also told them that though there was no official gift exchange, that gifts were exchanged at the party and if they wished to do a gift exchange among themselves that would be fine. Amber and her friends decided to do just that, as well as getting something for Mrs. Henderson as a group. Being that they didn't know her well, they had pooled money and gotten her a gift card for one of the shops at the mall. In addition, Vince had bought something for Alicia who he had called and convinced to go to the party with him. Amber had also bought something for Spencer.
Vince retrieved one of the two gifts he had gotten Amber and walked back to her. "Open this one now," he told her, handing it to her. "I think you'll have more need for it now than later," he added.
Amber took the small package from him. Curious she opened it. Inside was the jewel encrusted butterfly barrette she had seen while they were shopping yesterday. "When did you buy this?"
"After you went to look for Spencer's gift. I saw you eyeing it while you were helping me pick out Alicia's gift. I figured it was the least I could do after dragging you from store to store. Now you can pull your hair back without having it up," Vince replied.
"Thank-you," Amber told him, putting the barrette down on the dresser and hugging her friend.
"You're welcome," he replied. "Now why don't you fix your hair before Chad comes banging on our door wondering what is taking us so long."
Amber smiled as she quickly pulled her hair back and secured it with the new butterfly clip. Vince grabbed the bag with the rest of the gifts and they left the hotel room. Chad and Alyse were just coming out of their room as Vince and Amber stepped into the hallway. The four college students headed for the elevators and were soon on their way to the Desert Rose Café.
The party had already gotten underway when the group had arrived at the café. Mrs. Henderson greeted them warmly as they came into the place. Amber dug the gift card they had bought her out of the bag and presented it to her.
"Oh, this was so sweet of you all. Thank you!," Mrs. Henderson told them. She then led them over to the counter, where she had set up a small Christmas tree, and found four gift bags among the gifts that were there. "I get a little something for all my employees and this year I included you all," she told them, handing each of them a bag.
Amber, Vince, Chad and Alyse thanked their hostess who then went to mingle among her guests. The door chimes indicated the arrival of someone else. Looking over her shoulder, Amber saw Alicia walking through the door.
"Vince, you're date has arrived," Amber said, nodding her head toward the entrance.
Vince looked in that direction. A smile came to his face as he excused himself to go greet Alicia.
"Way to go little brother," Chad said, getting his first look at the girl Vince had told him about. He was leaning on the counter, watching his brother and Alicia exchange greetings. Alyse elbowed him in the ribs for the comment. "She isn't as pretty of you, of course," Chad quickly amended, giving his fiancé a kiss.
"I think I'm going to see if I can find Spencer," Amber told them, smiling at the exchange. Without Vince with them, she suddenly felt like a third wheel.
It didn't take her long to find him. Spencer was sitting in a booth, near the back of the café with a guy that she seemed to remember seeing around campus and a girl who resembled Mrs. Henderson. Amber wondered if she was the café owner's daughter. Spotting Amber, Spencer waved to her from where he sat.
Amber made her way over to the table, where Spencer introduced her to his two companions. The guy was indeed a fellow Caltech student, named Ethan, who had also grown up in Las Vegas. The girl was Mandy Henderson, Mrs. Henderson daughter. Mandy was currently going to school at the College of Southern Nevada for business while helping her mother out with the café.
"So you're not a figment of Spencer's imagination," Ethan commented, as Amber took a seat next to Mandy. "I was starting to wonder as Spencer talked about you quite a few times over the semester but never introduced me to you."
"It was a busy semester for me after the swimming season started, not to mention the fact that Spencer being my chemistry TA made things a little awkward at times."
"Well, you two won't have that excuse come next semester so I hope that means I'll see you around. Maybe I can get Spencer to come to some more social events with your help," Ethan told her.
"I'll certainly try," Amber replied.
The young adults continued talking. It wasn't long before not only Vince and Alicia had joined them but also Chad and Alyse too. The guys drug a table over near the booth to make room for everyone. They enjoyed some good conversation while enjoying the food that had been prepared for the evening. The gifts were exchanged and talked about. Part of Amber's gift to Spencer got a few laughs as she had bought him three pairs of socks and had already mismatched them before giving them to him. She had also bought him a copy of the Last of the Mohicans, one of her favorite books that he had never read.
At one point, Amber and Spencer found themselves alone at the table. It was then that Spencer got up the nerve to give Amber the gift he had bought her. While Amber moved across the table so that she was sitting next to him, Spencer pulled a neatly wrapped package from the messenger bag he had wedged between himself and the wall.
"I felt a bit awkward giving this to you in front of everyone else. I'm not sure if you'll like it or not," Spencer told her as he placed it on the table in front of her.
Amber picked up the package, that was on the light side, and began unwrapping it. Upon opening the box that was inside, she found herself looking at a azure colored cashmere shawl.
"You may not get many opportunities to wear it out here, but I remember you saying that your Dad lived out on the East Coast."
"It's beautiful. Thank-you," Amber told him as she pulled the shawl out of the box.
"A gift like that deserves a kiss, I think," Vince said, in a playful voice from behind them. "Especially as you two are under the mistletoe," he added.
Amber looked up to see Vince behind them, kneeling on the seat of the adjacent booth. He was dangling a sprig of mistletoe over their heads.
"Very funny. That doesn't count," Amber told him. Beside her Spencer was looking down at the table.
"Mistletoe is mistletoe no matter how it got there," Mandy said, backing up Vince. Ethan and Alicia had also rejoined them by this time.
"Fine," Amber said, turning and giving Spencer a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Boooo, that doesn't count," Vince commented, backed up by the two girls who were standing there.
"Sure it does," Ethan said, coming to his friend's rescue as he saw how uncomfortable Spencer was getting. He reached out and snagged the mistletoe from Vince. "I don't want any distractions while I'm entertaining," he added, as he walked away with the mistletoe in hand.
Ethan made his way over to the piano. He placed the sprig of mistletoe on top of the piano and then sat down at the instrument. Moments later the first notes of Jingle Bell Rock started to fill the café. It wasn't long before couples started finding their way to the small section of the café that had been cleared of tables, to make a make-shift dance floor.
Though both Mandy and Amber made several attempts, Spencer could not be persuaded to dance to even a slow song. Amber did however share a dance with both Vince and Chad as Ethan made his way through a repertoire of both traditional and modern Christmas songs. She even said yes to a couple of guys at the party who came over to ask her to dance. All in all, Amber enjoyed herself and was glad she had chosen to come to Vegas with Vince for the holiday break.
Caltech Campus - end of February 2000:
Ethan Parker walked into the pool area behind his friend Spencer Reid. Though he enjoyed recreational swimming, going to a swim meet had never been an interest to him. In fact, Ethan probably wouldn't have been here now if it weren't for Spencer. His friend had convinced him to come with him to this swim meet. In exchange, Spencer was finally going to come see Ethan play at the Jazz Club in Los Angeles that he had been playing at for the last month or so. The club was a popular hangout for college students, as you only had to be eighteen to get in. It had also provided Ethan with the perfect opportunity to pursue his passion of performing music. Though a criminal justice major, Ethan was at Caltech for one reason - to please his parents.
"This sport has more of a turn out than I would have thought," Ethan commented as he followed Spencer up into the stands.
"Yeah, I was surprised myself when I came to last week's meet," Spencer commented. It was at that meet that he had met Amber's mother and step-father for the first time. Even Spencer could feel the tension between the three of them after being with them for only a few minutes.
"What? You went to someplace other than to work, the beach, or the library by yourself?" Ethan said in mock surprise. "I'm shocked."
"Very funny," Spencer muttered, as he came to a row with some empty seats near the aisle. He sat down leaving room for Ethan on the end near the aisle.
"So what events are Amber competing in again?" Ethan asked, growing serious. He knew the brunette was the only reason his friend was at all interested in the sport of swimming and he couldn't say he blamed him. Amber was attractive and if he didn't know that Spencer was interested in her, despite his friends protest to the contrary, Ethan would have taken a shot at asking her out himself. Competitive by nature, especially when he was up against Spencer, even Ethan knew better than to move in on a girl you knew your friend was interested in.
"The 200 meter backstroke, 100 meter freestyle, and the 4X100 medley relay," Spencer replied, as he settled his bag on the floor by his feet.
"So when are you going to get around to asking her out?" Ethan asked.
"What?" Spencer asked, looking over at Ethan. It was about as confused a look as Ethan had ever seen on Spencer's face.
"Amber? When are you going to ask her out? I can tell you like her."
"We're just friends," Spencer said in protest. He could feel his cheeks get warm and wondered if Ethan could tell too.
"Yeah, you might be 'just friends,'" Ethan said, making quotation marks in the air as he said the last two words, "but I can tell you want it to be something more. Tell her you like her. Send her some flowers or even ask her out on a date," Ethan told his friend. All the while he was talking, Spencer was shaking his head in protest. "Come on man, it's not like she's going to bite you or something. What's the worst thing that could possibly happen?"
"She'll probably laugh at me and then never want to see me again," Spencer told him, eyes focused on the pool in front of the stands, even though it was empty as the meet hadn't started yet.
"She won't laugh at you," Ethan told him. Since they had returned to Caltech following the holiday break, he had spent some time with Amber and Spencer. He couldn't read her well enough to know whether her interest in his friend went beyond friendship but he did know that she was sensitive enough that if Spencer did express his interest in her she wouldn't laugh. If the interest wasn't mutual, Amber Rossi would let the young genius down as gently as possible. Of course if he couldn't convince Spencer to admit how he felt if wouldn't matter.
"You're right because I'm not giving her the opportunity," Spencer told him. "Can we drop the subject please?"
"Sure," Ethan replied. "At least for now, but I'm not forgetting about it."
The spectators around them started quieting down as the swimmers for the first event started going to the starting blocks. The announcer came over the loudspeaker officially starting the meet. It wasn't long before the first swimmers were on the starting block, ready for the first event. As the starting gun sounded, once again the large room was filled with noise as family, friends and schoolmates started cheering on the athletes. Despite never having gone to a swim meet before, and not knowing anyone on the swim team personally other than Amber, Ethan still cheered loudly for the Caltech swimmers.
About three events in, the 200 meter backstroke event was announced. When Amber's name was announced, Ethan let out a loud whistle, drawing the girl's attention. Looking in their direction, she soon spotted Ethan and Spencer and waved to them before jumping into the pool for the start of the race. The race started. Beside him, even Spencer, who had been quietly clapping for the previous events when a Caltech swimmer was in the lead, found his voice as Amber soon pulled out in front of the other swimmers. By the end of the race, she had a decent lead on the second place swimmer and despite a sudden surge of speed from her nearest competitor, Amber easily won her first race.
"I'm telling you, you need to ask her out," Ethan told Spencer leaning close to be heard without shouting.
"She's not interested."
"How do you know if you don't ask her?" Ethan told him. "I'll ask her for you," he added with a sly smile on his face.
"Ethan, no!" Spencer said a look of panic on his face. He wasn't sure if his friend was making an idle threat or not. He really could see Ethan doing something like that.
"Relax, Spence," Ethan told him, clapping a hand on Spencer's shoulder. " I wouldn't actually do it."
Spencer didn't reply. He wanted to believe that but he knew if Ethan thought he was helping him, his friend would go through with it.
Spencer paced nervously out front of the Los Angeles Jazz Club, waiting for Amber to show up. He was starting to wonder if she was going to show up and wishing that he had agreed to her offer to pick him up. At least then he wouldn't be standing out in front of the club by himself. He glanced down at his watch. She had said she would be here by eight o'clock, as Ethan was slated to play at eight-fifteen. Right now it was seven fifty-five.
Spencer glanced from his watch to the front door of the club. He supposed if she didn't show by eight-ten then he would have to go in by himself. Spencer had promised Ethan he would come hear him play.
Ethan had been trying to get him to come to one of his gigs in Los Angeles since the beginning of the school year. Spencer had kept coming up with excuses. It wasn't that he didn't want to hear Ethan play, as his friend's piano playing was actually quite enjoyable. Spencer had heard him play at the Desert Rose Café back in Las Vegas a few times as well as at some recitals for school, but as he had been playing in clubs and other places Spencer didn't normally frequent, the young genius hadn't been to anything recently. Spencer hadn't want to come tonight either, but it had been Ethan's condition to coming to the swim meet with him.
Spencer jumped as he felt a hand come to rest on his shoulder. Instinctively he turned to find out who was behind him. He let out a sigh of relief when the young doctor saw who it was.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," Amber said, withdrawing her hand from Spencer's shoulder.
"I was just preoccupied," Spencer said, the excuse sounding lame even to his ears. "I was starting to wonder if you were going to show up," he said, internally cringing at his choice of words. What if she took it as an accusation? He was ready to take the words back and apologize but before he could Amber started talking.
"You're not getting out of this that easy," Amber told him, knowing that The Los Angeles Jazz Club was the last place Spencer would voluntarily go to. The thought of what Ethan could have said to convince him to come had crossed her mind more than once but she had decided not to ask. Why he was coming to the club was Spencer's business and if he wanted her to know he would share. If he chose not to, it didn't change the fact that he had asked her to come along and as she had always enjoyed jazz music and had enjoyed Ethan's playing during the Christmas party back in Las Vegas, Amber had been only to happy to tag along.
Amber looped her arm through Spencer's. "Come on. This is going to be fun," she told him enthusiastically.
Without protest, Spencer let himself be led to the front door. They showed their Ids to the guard at the front door, who gave them armbands, indicating they were under 21.
Though Amber had never been to the club she was instantly in love with the place. The lights were kept low, and light jazz music played through the speakers. Tables surrounded the medium size wooden dance floor in the middle of the club. The dance floor was right in front of the stage, which was currently empty except for the piano and drums that were there. Waitresses made their way through the patrons, taking orders and bringing food and drinks to the tables. Posters depicting scenes from New Orleans lined the walls.
Her arm still looped through Spencer's, Amber led the way through the club, looking for an empty table. She found one, near the stage on the left side of the dance floor. There were four chairs situated around the small table, which would be good as Ethan was planning on joining them following his performance.
Spencer and Amber took their seats. It wasn't long before a waitress was standing next to their table. She placed a bowl of pretzels on the table as she introduced herself and handed them the menus of drinks and appetizers that the club offered. The two Caltech students both ordered ginger ales and the waitress headed for the bar, cutting across the dance floor which had only a handful of couples sharing a slow dance on it.
"I like this place," Amber commented as she took a couple of pretzels from the bowl. "The atmosphere is relaxing and it's not so loud in here that you can't hear yourself think or have to shout to be heard. Most of the time, clubs play the music way too loud."
Spencer nodded in agreement, unsure of what to say. It wasn't as if he had been to a lot of other clubs that he could compare this place to. In fact, the Los Angeles Jazz Club was the first club he had ever been in.
"Not exactly you're type of scene, is it?" Amber asked, taking note of Spencer's stiff posture and the fact that though he had a pretzel in his hand, he seemed to have no intention of eating it anytime soon.
"Not really," Spencer said nervously. The pretzel broke, small pieces falling onto the table in front of him. He dropped the main pieces of the pretzels onto a napkin, brushing the small pieces onto the floor.
"Relax. You're here to listen to a friend perform, nothing else. I promise not to ask you to dance."
"Good because I'd probably end up stepping on your toes or something," Spencer answered.
"So how is your course work going?" Amber asked, wanting to get on a subject that was familiar territory for her friend in the hopes it would put him at ease. It worked, as Spencer was soon telling her about one of his projects. Amber listened intently, asking questions when he got to something she didn't understand. Spencer was just finishing when the club's manager stepped out onto the stage to introduce Ethan.
Amber and Spencer were silent while Ethan performed, both enjoying the beautiful playing. After the performance, Ethan came down and joined the two of them at their table as the house band came back on stage, playing an upbeat jazz piece.
"You were wonderful," Amber told Ethan as he sat down across the circular table from her and next to Spencer.
Spencer echoed her sentiments in more precocious language and Ethan thanked them both.
"As well as you play, why aren't you a music major?" Amber asked.
"My parents," Ethan answered. "They think music is a nice hobby but want me to get a" Ethan raised his hands and made a quote gesture as he said the next words, "'real job'. I figured a major in criminology would make them happy and at least its interesting. I've always found reading true crime books interesting. Not exactly what most people would call light reading, but that's my cup of tea," he said, with a shrug of his shoulders. "I find the books by former FBI Agent David Rossi very interesting. Ever read any of his books?"
Amber nodded, a small smile crossing her face. "Yeah, I have read his books. I tend to stick more to fiction but someone recommended those books to me," she told him. She hesitated telling that David Rossi was her father, not because she was ashamed of that fact but because of the experiences she'd had in the past. People who were fans of his books or had heard of him all of the sudden wanted her to introduce them to him or to get them a signed book. Once they knew, she sometimes wondered if they hung around her because of who she was or because of who her father was.
"I found the book Deviance: The Secret Desires of Sadistic Serial Killers to be very interesting. Ever since reading his books I've been thinking that maybe the FBI may be the way to go for a career. It should be good enough to keep my parents off my back."
"Heard the training for FBI agents is very challenging, but I'm sure you could do it if you really wanted to," Amber told him.
"What I really want to do is play music but as that isn't going to happen, so I guess I'm just going to have to settle for my second choice."
"I know pressure from your parents can be rough, but you really should do what you want to do."
"Well, as my parents are paying the tuition that is kind of hard to do. They wouldn't pay for it if I wasn't majoring in something they considered worthwhile. I am managing to sneak some music classes in though, and they don't know about the gigs like this," Ethan said, gesturing to the club, "which is paying for some private lessons. So, Spencer tells me you're a computer science major. Does that mean you know how to hack."
"I know a few tricks," Amber admitted. "Like you though, I'm doing this because of my parent's expectations. Well, my mother really. I wanted to join the Marines out of high school which my mom is dead set against it. Her hope was that if I went to college I'd change my mind about joining up. The only thing that's changed so far is that instead of the Marines I'm more interested in the Coast Guard now."
"An admirable pursuit. What's your mom have against the service branches."
"The fact that my father served in the Marines," Amber replied. "My parents have been divorced since I was little."
"Sorry to hear that," Ethan said.
Amber shrugged. Her parents and their multiple other marriages was a subject that she preferred to avoid if possible.
"So, Spencer have you decided what career you're going to pursue once you get through with earning degrees?" Amber asked, deciding it was time to get the conversation off of herself.
Spencer shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure. I've had some offers already for jobs and I'm weighing my options. What I really want to do is join the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, but I'm still a few years away from being able to do that. You've got to be twenty-three before you can join."
The house band started a slow piece.
"So do you dance?" Ethan asked Amber. The change in the conversation took her by surprise but she recovered quickly.
"Yeah, I enjoy dancing."
" Well in that case," Ethan said getting to his feet and walking around the table. "May I have this dance?" he asked holding out his hand to her.
Amber smiled but looked over at Spencer before answering. They were just friends but Spencer had been the one to ask her to tag along. She wasn't sure about leaving him by himself. "Do you mind?"
"No. Go ahead," Spencer said, gesturing to the dance floor with one hand.
Smiling, Amber put her hand in Ethan's. "In that case, you certainly may," she replied, getting to her feet.
Spencer watched the two of them head for the dance floor. He picked up his glass and took a sip, part of him wishing it was him that was with Amber. Maybe it would be if he wasn't such a chicken. Hadn't he told her he couldn't dance.
Meanwhile, Amber and Ethan had reached the dance floor.
"So what do you think of Spencer?" Ethan asked as they swayed slowly to the beat of the music.
"Now that was a question that I wasn't expecting," Amber commented, not sure how to respond to the question or even if she wanted to answer it.
"Just curious. He's my friend and he's had it rough. I guess I feel the need to look out for him at times."
"We're just friends."
"Spencer likes you, you know. As in more than just a friend."
Amber could feel her cheeks grow warm. She wasn't at all sure what to say to that statement. "He actually told you that?"
Ethan smiled. "Not really. I'm not even sure Spencer is willing to admit it to himself. I know him well though. I can see the signs. Not to mention, in all the years I've known him, Spencer has never attended a sporting event, until he started going to your swim meets. Spencer isn't exactly the most outgoing person, as I'm sure you've seen. It wouldn't be easy for him to come out and tell a girl he likes her."
"Spencer is a nice guy but we're just friends," Amber told him. "I'm happy with things the way they are. I wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize that friendship."
"Fair enough," Ethan said, accepting that he wasn't going to get any further on this subject.
The two fell silent as they danced to the rest of the song. When the song came to an end, Ethan and Amber rejoined Spencer at the table. As the three of them chatted, there were brief interruptions as other club patrons came over to tell Ethan how much they enjoyed his playing. It was almost midnight before the three of them left the club and headed back to the Caltech campus.