KP - Countdown : Part XIV – 15 Days and Counting for Kim, 20 for Ron
Kim, Ron and James went back the next day, renting a pair of all-terrain vehicles with trailers to retrieve their equipment. Kim's Dad received a pretty good reaming from a Forestry Service ranger for not taking some simple precautions in bear territory and for running away from the animal. The current theory for surviving a bear attack was to curl up into a ball, covering your head (as opposed to the old wives tale about just playing dead.) The ranger ended up reluctantly giving them a special permit to take the vehicles down the trail, preferring to have the site cleaned over the potential trail damage they would cause. Kim and her Dad promised to drive very gently. It was the crazies ripping up and down the trails at top speed that did the real damage.
It turned out they got extremely lucky, as the bear was far more interested in getting to a far easier treat – a jumbo bag of Bueno-Nacho-To-Go Double-Cheese Tortilla chips.
Unfortunately, in the process the bear managed to rend Ron's backpack into so much nylon and aluminum scrap. In fact, that's pretty much the condition most of the campsite was in. They managed to salvage the sleeping bags, but they would need serious laundering and drying before they could be used again, even the special high-tech material Kim's and Ron's were made of.
The ATVs were a good choice. While they were able to pack everything in on their backs to begin with, it would have taken several trips to haul everything out by hand, not to mention the extra weight of all the water everything was soaking in.
Wade was back on line, using satellites to keep track of the large wildlife, just in case the bear was still around looking for another snack.
The kids spent the next couple days chilling at the city pool, nearly embalmed in waterproof sunscreen. It was just as well, since the really hot days of summer finally started rolling in, along with a touch of humidity (it never really got too bad there.) They would get to the pool fairly early in the day, spend a short while working on their tans (a lost cause where Ron was concerned – his freckles just got darker) before the very pleasant task of putting sunblock on each other. Ron complemented her often and well about her badical-licious tan, even though she was wearing a more modest bikini.
They had a bit of fun with some other kids playing a game on the deep end of the pool. Basically, one swimmer was it and could try to tag the others while crossing the pool. The trick was the swimmers could only be tagged if their head was above water. Kim volunteered to go first and wasted little time tagging Ron when he popped up for air. It was about that point everyone figured out the best way to keep from getting tagged was to hug the bottom, pretty much swimming under him while he flailed around. Kim would just dive in, kick off the wall and tag the opposite side.
Frustrated (but still having a blast at the same time) Ron simply dove in place, wrapped his arms around her waist as she passed and kicked off the bottom, hauling her to the surface. It wasn't long before the others lost interest as the couple proceeded taking turns tackling each other under water.
Saturday's date ended up getting scrubbed by a mission. They made up for it with some up-close and personal time cuddling and kissing on their way home. Breaking the rules just slightly, they pretended to doze off watching TV later that night. They awoke the next morning with a light blanket on them, without a word being said by either parent.
After church (Ron was going with them every week rather than languish at home) Ron challenged the twins to a round of video games, so they headed off to J P Bearymore's for most of the afternoon, leaving Kim home with her parents.
"This is certainly strange." James commented, spying Kim lounging on the couch flipping through a fashion magazine.
"What's that, Daddy?"
"It's a fine day outside and you're not spending every waking minute with Ronald." He sat down in the easy chair opposite his daughter.
Kim smiled warmly. "He's doing the guy-bonding thing with the Tweebs. I may love him, but there are some things I just can't take. Screaming ten-year-olds, burnt pizza and the noise of two dozen video game consoles I so don't want to deal with. He's having fun."
"Outstanding." He returned her smile, leaning forward just a little.
She raised an eyebrow slightly. "It's outstanding that he's not with me?"
"Honestly, Kimmie-cub, yes, but don't take it the wrong way. What's so good is that you are happy and he's doing something that makes him happy and it doesn't always have to be just with you."
"You make it sound like all we every do is together stuff."
James nodded and sat back again. "Well, for a while it seemed like you were doing just that, but I think that's just fine. Back when the two of you started dating it worried me for a while, especially since you have been together as friends for so long." His smile faded slightly. "I've been meaning to talk to you about, well, the two of you. It's been a very, very long time since we've had 'the talk.'"
Kim blushed slightly. "Dad, I think I've got a pretty good handle on that by now, don't you think?"
James pulled at the collar of his polo shirt slightly. "Yes, I'm sure you do…I'm sure you've got the gist of all the basics. That's not exactly what I'm getting at, though."
"Okay, then what? I know the birds and the bees and all that. Mom is a doctor."
"It's…I know that you have had a lot of responsibility shoved on you and you've handled it all magnificently. All that aside, Kimmie, even though you may feel like you are a grown woman, you are just seventeen."
"Almost eighteen." She corrected.
"Yes, and I'm an ancient at forty-five."
"Daddy!"
His warm smile returned. "I just hope you understand, when you get here, forty-five isn't going to seem all that old, and when you do, well, seventeen, even eighteen aren't going to seem as old and mature as you think they are right now."
"If this is about me and Ron, Daddy, I swear, I know we're not ready for that. We've talked about it…a lot. A whole lot."
"I know that, Kimmie. That's not what I'm getting at. Honey, I know you love Ronald very much…"
"Like all the world." She said resolutely.
He nodded thoughtfully. "I would have to be blind as a cave bat not to see that. It's just…sometimes I look at you two and all I see are two little kids playing house and I wonder if it's going to last."
Kim sat there and thought for a few minutes. "I think it will. In fact I know it will. Daddy, sometimes it feels like I'm not whole without him. Not right now, but those times when I got scared he might leave me because he had some bad notion that he wasn't good enough for me."
"I just hope that's true. Kimmie, I love Ronald like a son and if the two of you are meant to be together forever I'll be the happiest father in Colorado, but the fact remains, the two of you are still kids and no matter how special what you have now is, you need to be absolutely certain, and I mean you do, not me, not your Mom, but you have to be the one to know before you make things officially permanent." James sat up and reached for his daughter's hand, Twisting her ring so the emerald was straight up. "I know you are about to turn eighteen, but sometimes it's like you're fifteen going on thirty. Deep inside I know that before long Ronald will want to give you another kind of ring."
Kim blushed again, letting her Dad wrap his large fingers around her much smaller ones. "Dad, if Ron asks me to marry him, I'm going to say yes. This ring means just that."
James sat back up and wiped his eye slightly. "Ever since you were born, I've thought about the day that might happen. I actually never dreamed it would be Ron, especially over the last couple years before you two got together. In hindsight, I guess I just couldn't see it. Ronald wasn't a boy, he was just this person who was your closest friend for most of your life."
"Daddy, that's how I can know he's the one. He's my best friend, and even though he's my boyfriend now and yes, most likely my husband later…much later, he's still my best friend. Now I can't imagine ever loving anyone like that who isn't."
"That's what I want to hear." He wiped his eye again, but not before a tear did roll down his cheek. "I also wanted to apologize."
"What for?" she frowned, looking into her father's eyes.
"When I grounded the two of you, I said some things I really shouldn't have. I was angry and upset, though at the time I thought I was being fair and just. Instead I was just torn in two that I was losing you to Ron, and I said those things about the two of you acting like you were already husband and wife. That wasn't fair and it wasn't right. I'm the one…well, your mother and I, invited him into this home, knowing we would see much more of the affection you two have for each other. What I said was much more about how I feel than how you have been acting."
"Daddy, if our kissing makes you uncomfortable…"
"No, Kim. Well, it does, but that's because I wasn't seeing you for what you really are now. I was still seeing a little girl in her first cheerleading outfit, wearing braces and a ponytail. I just wasn't seeing that you were a nearly grown…and I mean just weeks away from being grown, woman who has feelings and desires that are normal and natural for a grown woman. Then too, now I look at Ronald and I see a grown man. I didn't notice that until the night he took you to the Prom, but I see him with you and I have to admit, I feel jealous, jealous that he's here to take you away from me and your mother."
"Daddy, just because I'm with Ron doesn't mean you are ever, ever going to lose me. Love isn't like that. It's not some finite emotion that I only have so much to spread between you and him. I love you and I love him. Loving him makes me more."
"I know, Kimmie-cub. That's why I'm apologizing to you. The way I was thinking, the way I was feeling was that you would have to choose between us, and in my selfish way I wanted you to choose me. Instead you're choosing both of us."
"Is this about me sleeping with Ron too?"
It was James' turn to blush. "Well, er, yes. It's just, when you say it out loud, it sounds like one thing, even though I know what you really mean. Even if it was that other thing…I was raised a certain way. You know what Nana is like. A father is supposed to protect his daughter's virtue. In reality, I'm really supposed to protect you from harm, and at your age, more often than not, that sort of thing can be harmful. If it's done out of just lust or curiosity, it can lead down all sorts of roads you just don't want to go. There's also another selfish part to it. When young girls act a certain way, it reflects poorly on the father, as if people think they didn't raise their daughters right. You used to worry about the 'food chain.' Well, there's the same thing where parents are concerned. We always worry about what other parents think about us. Imagine how I would feel if people thought of you like they think of that Bonnie girl."
"I don't think there are any worries there, Dad."
"Yes, and no. Remember what happened when we came back from Florida last summer?"
"That picture?"
"Yes." Several of the grocery store tabloids had run a grainy photo of Kim and Ron making out on the boardwalk. They tried to make hay about her 'girl-next-door' image, though it didn't stick and blew over in less time than it took to come up with photos of Brittina topless at a French beach. "No matter what you are really doing, somebody else can see it a different way. I haven't mentioned this, but I've had to correct a number of my acquaintances about the living arrangements in this house. I can accept you are a grown woman who is honestly in love with Ronald, but others see it as me allowing the two of you to live in sin under my roof. They see you as just a pair of teenagers fooling around constantly.
"I've decided, however, that you two are not living in sin and I don't care if I have to shout it from the top of Mount Middleton. Now, I still don't think it right or wise for the two of you to share a room together here until you're older…somewhat older, but I want the two of you to take your vacation together later this summer, with your mother's and my blessing."
Kim sat up bolt straight, grinning from ear to ear. "You mean it, Daddy? We can go?"
"I want you to go. I want you and Ronald to share what should be one of the best times of your lives together."
Kim shot out of her seat and wrapped her arms around her Dad. "Thank you, Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She kissed his cheek over and over. "I love you, Daddy!"
Kim sat back down and reached into the pocket of her cargo shorts. "I've got to tell Ron!"
James reached across and put out a restraining hand. "I think you'd better let him have his fun with Jim and Tim. He'll know soon enough when he gets home."
Kim barely heard him. She sprinted up the stairs to her room. There was Monique to call, and Tara and there was an itinerary to plan…
…and even if it wasn't right or wise, she spent that night curled up with Ron and nobody said otherwise.
Ron pulled up at his house, feeling a little bit ashamed. Getting the green light from Kim's parents the previous Saturday lifted a huge weight from his mind. Before it had been hanging there like an oppressive cloud, like a storm about to break on their special summer together, much like the storm that had ruined their camping trip a couple weeks earlier. Now all there was to do was enjoy the lazy warm days, go on the odd mission and make their plans.
There was a little bit of a running tiff about how the vacation was to proceed, but he wasn't going to let that build into a full-blown argument. One of the other of them would eventually get their way and as far as he was concerned, either would be just fine. It all boiled down to Kim wanting to plan every minute of their trip and him just wanting to point the car some random direction and just go until they decided to stop.
His guilty feeling concerned his family. The previous Saturday he went to Temple with his Dad and spent a little bit with his Mom, but over the whole week he never managed to get back over there. Ron knew he was about to get the clichéd 'Jewish Mother Guilt Trip' with both barrels.
Instead, all she did was hold him close to her for many minutes. She was healthy and so was her unborn child, but being cooped up in the house was starting to get to her. Normally a very svelte woman, Jean Stoppable had gained probably sixty pounds because of her inactivity. Ron sat on her bed for a couple hours just talking to her and telling her about what was going on in his life. She was absolutely thrilled about the planned trip, much to his surprise. For the longest time she had taken a very old-fashioned view of their relationship, even after basically accepting Kim as an "Honorary Nice Jewish Girl."
Not long before he got ready to go home to his other 'family,' Ron stopped at his Dad's home office. Hesitantly, he knocked on the door.
"Come on in, Ron." His Dad actually sounded upbeat, a good sign considering his work.
"Dad, I was wondering if I could get your help with something?"
"Sit down, Son. Let me guess," He took off his glasses and cleaned them with a handkerchief. "We're fast approaching the end of July and that means Kimberly's birthday is just around the corner. Now, I did tell you, when you gave back that interest money I let you have out of your trust fund, we weren't just going to keep pulling it back out every time you want to do something special for her and things are slim."
Ron chuckled slightly. "No, that's not it, Dad. I've already got her birthday present. I got her brothers to help me with that. Like Kim says, No big."
"Then what is it?"
"Dad, I do want to do something special for Kim, something a whole lot bigger than just her birthday."
Gene just raised his eyebrows, telling his son to go on.
"We're both going to be eighteen in a few weeks, and I know it seems like we're kinda young, but…" He stopped, biting his lip and looking at the floor. "I'm going to propose to Kim, right after my birthday."
The elder Stoppable sat there at his desk a few minutes, just looking at his current only child.
Sensing he said something wrong, he quickly went on. "I…we don't plan to go through with it until we've finished college, so it's going to be a nice, long engagement thing, so it's not like we're rushing anything. I just want to make what we have real. I mean…it is real, I just want to make it official and all."
Gene suddenly broke out into a wide grin. "Ronald, you don't know how happy this makes me. I can't think of anyone in the whole world better for you than Kimberly, but if you've got this all decided and planned out, what do you need my help with? You already have my blessing, even if you were going ahead with it."
"Well, Dad, remember when you helped me with my Prom? Even though it got ripped up real bad, that tux was extra-badical. I mean, it was like the most perfect thing and I wouldn't have been able to come up with that if you hadn't taken me to Mister Horowitz. I want you to come with me to help me find her a ring. I don't need money, I've got about five hundred set aside for it, though I know that's going to make things on our trip a little dicey, but I think it'll be worth it."
Gene pulled his glasses off again, sitting there just looking at his boy. "You want me to help…Son, yes, of course! When would you like to go?"
"Some time next week. Kim and I are going out after dinner tonight, but I want to find one as soon as I can. I'm going to propose the Friday after my birthday."
"Have you told your mother?"
"Yes. She likes the idea too, though I think she's wanting us to get married sooner than later."
His Dad laughed. "She just wants Catherine Jean to have a nephew or niece she can play with, but that's all good, Son. After college is probably the best time. Tell you what, keep your schedule clear next Tuesday and we'll go to that same fellow we bought that last ring from."
"Sure, Dad, that'll be great! Kim loved that ring, she won't even take it off, even for missions now!"
Ron left, closing the door behind him, seemingly walking on a cloud.
Gene smiled, then opened his laptop, connecting to the internet. Ron had turned completely around from the days when he managed to lose almost one hundred million dollars. If he could save enough out of his stipend to set aside five hundred while still having enough money for a two week trip, then he was well along the way to being able to manage a little more. That trip might change his life, so a little boost was only going to help things along.
Smiling, he called up Ron's checking account and clicked on Tranfer.
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