The Changing Wind

a story by Ryeloza

Chapter Thirteen

February 10, 1995

"You'll never guess who I just ran into outside."

"Who?" asked Victor, not even glancing up from his newspaper. Prue ignored this slight and sat down across from him, looking from her mother to her father expectantly awaiting their reactions. "Andy Trudeau," she said.

Her father continued to read the paper, making no more than a small acknowledgement of: "Oh that's nice." On the other hand, her mother stopped short in the middle of hanging some cheesy Valentine's Day decorations and gave Prue a concerned expression.

"Andy Trudeau? As in your best friend from when you were seven?"

"Yeah," said Prue.

"He just showed up outside?"

"He was waiting for me. He looked me up."

"But you don't live here anymore."

Prue shrugged. "I guess he found this address for me first. I don't know. Does it matter?"

"Yes, it matters. It's odd."

"Mom, it's just Andy. Not even just Andy. Andy as a cop. See, he gave me his card: Officer Andy Trudeau."

If anything, her mother only looked more agitated by this revelation. "A cop?"

"We're going out to dinner tonight."

"What happened to that other guy?" asked Victor. He waved his hand as if the gesture would conjure the name he sought. "Uh…Raymond."

"Ryan?"

"Yeah. Him."

"We've only gone out a couple of times. And Andy and I are just friends anyway. He's known me since I was in diapers."

Victor finally looked up. "Oh, so you knew him when you lived with your grandmother."

"Yeah. Haven't you been listening?"

Victor glanced over at Patty and then back to his paper, but Prue could tell his attention was still primarily focused on her. He was faking nonchalance. "Do you really think this is a good idea? You're going to make Ryan jealous."

"It's just dinner, Dad. Besides, Ryan and I aren't really going anywhere. I probably won't even see him again."

"It's just dinner, Patty," he said, as though her mother hadn't heard what Prue had just said.

"What's going on?" asked Prue. "Why don't you want me to go out with Andy?"

"It just makes me anxious, that's all. Him showing up out of the blue like this. It's odd."

Prue resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She knew parents had a right to worry, but this was ridiculous. "It's just Andy," she said again. "And he's a cop. Am I missing something?"

"Prue, it's fine," said her father. "You go out to dinner. Have a nice time."

"Thanks for the permission," said Prue, unable to hide the sarcasm. She was twenty-four years old, for goodness sakes. She didn't even live here anymore. With a sigh she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the box that held the necklace she'd borrowed from her mom a couple of nights ago. "Here," she said, setting the box on the table. "Thanks for the loan, Mom." She stood up and headed for the door.

"Prue," said her mom, her tone somewhat apologetic.

"I'll see you guys later."