Chapter 21

Lying on her stomach on the bed and a book placed before her eyes, Lou tried to study. The last couple of weeks had been lonely and too long. After their episode in the bad weather, Kid had gone down with the flu, which had confined him to bed for a whole week. Lou had not been able to come closer to him during all that time. Her mother's delicate health forced her to be extra careful. Lou could not risk falling sick, and passing the germs on to her mom. A simple cold could send her to the hospital, and Lou had to do her best to protect her mother from all that. When Kid had finally got better, he had gone on a special trip with his football team, and that had been ten days ago. Kid called her every night without fail, but even so she found herself missing him more and more with each passing day.

Lou forced herself to study, but the words passed before her eyes without registering in her mind. All she could think of was Kid. She wondered what he would be doing at this very moment, if he missed her as much as she did, and whether he would be thinking about her too. Louise also felt shaken by jealousy, which was something quite new to her, but she could not help fearing that he might have met somebody more interesting than her during this journey. Lou knew she was a fool. She had nothing to be afraid of. Kid was always very affectionate when they talked on the phone, but even so, she could not shake off that silly apprehension.

As all these thoughts rolled in her mind, suddenly a strange light fell on her eyes. Realizing that the light came from the window, she rose, and ran to see what it was. Her face brightened instantly when she saw Kid pointing a flashlight at her from his window. He switched off the flashlight, and showed a sheet of paper with something written on it. Louise picked up her binoculars to have a better look. This was the way they had communicated when he had been ill. Otherwise, they had talked on the phone, but they had to find an alternative method when his parents had complained of the huge telephone bill. 'I came back today. I wanted to give you a surprise,' read the paper.

Louise smiled, and quickly wrote on a sheet with a thick felt-tip pen. 'I missed you,' said her note, and, as she showed it, he placed his own binoculars on his eyes to read it.

'Me too,' came his prompt answer.

Lou then did not hesitate and wrote, 'Meet me outside?"

As soon as she read his written 'OK', embellished with a drawn heart, she ran downstairs. "Mom, I'm going out for a while," she said in a loud voice while she donned her thick coat and her scarf. It was a very cold evening; it had been snowing for a couple of days, and snow covered everything with its soft and smooth cloak. "Kid's back."

Mary Louise replied from her bedroom, and Lou did not waste any time, and ran to the door. She did not hesitate, and dashed outside, getting a disagreeable surprise as she found herself face to face with her father, who was about to climb the steps to the porch. She noticed his presence too late, and in a few strides he stalked to her. "Louise!" he exclaimed with a smile, and reached out to touch her shoulders as if he expected to draw her into an embrace.

"Don't touch me!" she cried, yanking away from him with such force that she stumbled and almost fell onto the snow.

Boggs again reached to grab her by the arm. "Louise, please, stop acting like a fool!" he exclaimed annoyed. "You're not a child anymore, and I know you're a very clever girl." Lou did not reply, and, as she kept glaring at him, she rescued her arm from his hold. His tall body blocked her way, and she folded her arms protectively as she took a step backwards. "You look much thinner than the last time I saw you," Boggs said. "Are you eating well?"

"That's none of your business!" Lou barked. "You have a lot of nerve pretending to act like a concerned father. If I'm thinner, it's all your fault!"

"Louise, I've tried to explain that what happened between your mother and me has nothing to do with you. Things changed, but I don't love you any less."

"Don't make me laugh!" she replied sarcastically. "You don't care about us. You have a new, perfect family and we can well go to hell as far as you're concerned."

"That's not true!" Boggs replied in the same tone. "I do care for you and your siblings. I want the best for you!"

"How can you be such a hypocrite?" Louise exclaimed with an expression of sheer disbelief. "You know we aren't doing well… at all."

Boggs' face changed to something that Lou thought was concern, but she knew her father too well, and he liked to pretend with his children, and appear as an innocent angel. "What are you saying, Louise? What's wrong?"

Lou could not continue with this conversation. She was tired of all his lies and pretence. It hurt too much, and she could not take it anymore. "Stop it, stop it, stop it!" she cried emotionally.

Kid was coming closer, and wondered who Lou was with. As he heard her loud voice, he grew concerned, and ran to her. "What's happening here? Lou, are you all right?" Kid asked, making his presence known.

His voice was like music to her ears. "Kid!" she exclaimed in obvious relief, and ran to him, hooking her arms around his waist as if she was terrified, and needed protection.

Boggs turned round and, when he saw the young man, he asked, "And who are you?"

Kid recognized Boggs as Lou's father. He remembered the day Lou had fled from him, and they had hidden between two cars in the street adjacent to the school. Kid wondered what he could tell him, and, as he paused to think, Lou answered for him, "He's my boyfriend. Any problem with that?"

"The only problem is that your mother has never mentioned him to me, and I have a right to know who my daughter hangs out with."

"You didn't mention you had a lover, and mom also had a right to know, don't you think?" Lou retorted.

Boggs stiffened. "That's not your concern. But it is my concern to make sure you are all right. So if your mother isn't well enough to look after you, maybe you children should come live with me for a while."

Lou panicked, realizing what her father was trying to do. She saw the situation clearly now. Was he making things complicated for her mom so that he could demand full custody of his children? Lou knew that thanks to his profession, her father knew a lot of people in the legal field, and he must know what steps to take even though he was breaking the law himself. This was so wrong, and Louise felt anger boil inside her. "If you try to harm my mom and take us from her, I'll kill you!" she barked passionately and as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she felt a terrible urge to cry. She turned her face from him, and muttered, "Come on, Kid, let's go!"

Louise yanked her boyfriend along as she marched down the street. The snow made walking hard, and Kid almost tripped a couple of times as he tried to keep up with her pace. "Please Lou, calm down!" he exclaimed, finally stopping and putting his foot down.

Lou halted breathlessly, and looked behind her to check that her father had not followed them. There was nobody, and she felt a surge of relief and disappointment at the same time. The pain broke her inside and, unable to hold back any longer, she burst out crying. "Hey, hey, Lou," Kid cooed as he wrapped his arms around her trembling body. Louise wept against his chest, and, when her tears subsided, Kid steered her to a bench in the little park they had stopped.

"Lou, it's all right. I'm sure you don't have to worry. He can't do anything against your mom. You said he didn't pay your mother for your support, so he has no right to demand anything."

"How can he be like this?" Lou asked in a pitiful voice, "How can he act as if he really cares? Doesn't he know how much this hurts us?"

"I'm really sorry, Lou."

She turned her damp eyes to him, and said, "And do you know what the worst is?" He stared at her, waiting for her answer, and she added, "I miss him… I miss him so, so, so much!" She paused to wipe her tears with the tissue Kid handed her. "We were so close… like you and your dad are. We did everything together. I adored him… I even thought he was the best dad in the world. My mom used to joke and say she was jealous of us." Kid gave her a smile, and Lou continued in a more bitter tone. "But he ruined everything. He betrayed me… betrayed us, trampling on everything we'd shared. And now he doesn't even care if we suffer. But… but… I still love him."

"That's natural, Lou. He's your father, and you have a good heart."

"But I don't want to love him!" Lou exclaimed passionately. "I want to hate him and wish him ill, but I can't… I just can't."

Kid didn't try to reply, and simply drew her to his arms. He placed a kiss on top of her head, and they held onto each other in silence. They did not care about the cold permeating through their bones, or the darkness around them. After a while, Lou raised her eyes to his and like the opposite poles of a magnet they got drawn to each other, and started kissing.

After the encounter with her father, Lou was invaded by a terrible sense of longing she could not ignore. She needed to feel Kid, and forget about the bitterness that nagged her. Without even being aware of her own movements, Lou shifted her body, and sat on his lap while her arms crept up, and hooked around his neck to keep him as close as possible. Among their kisses, she managed to say, "Please Kid, make love to me."

Kid hardly realized what he was agreeing to as his senses were too caught in the passion of the moment. It was when he noticed her thin fingers fumbling with his belt that he had to stop. He also realized that she had straddled him and her long skirt was hitched up, uncovering her stockinged thighs.

"Lou, what are you doing?" he managed to croak, taking her hands in his and halting her motions.

"Kid, I want you… I want you now."

"We can't… not here."

"Why not?" Lou insisted. "There's nobody around."

"It's too cold and… this is not the way I picture making love to my girlfriend… on a bench in the park. You deserve better."

"Oh Kid, please," Lou continued. "It's been too long, and we don't have many chances to be together."

Lou unleashed her hands from his, and tried to start what she had started, but Kid stopped her again. "I said not here," he exclaimed a bit too loudly, and breathing out, he added in a calmer way, "Lou, maybe we can…"

His refusal did not sit well with Louise, and, before he could finish his sentence, she rose from his lap, and lifting her chin proudly, she said in a curt tone, "As you wish. Since I'm obviously not wanted here, I'd better go. Enjoy the night by yourself then."

Kid was so confused by her angry speech that he was slow to react. It was when she swirled around, and dashed away that he quickly scrambled to his feet, and tried to catch up with her. "Lou, wait!" he called but she never stopped. The snow slowed him down, and in one unlucky step he slipped and fell on the ground. When he managed to rise to his feet again, he realized that she had already reached her house, and disappeared into it.

Kid covered the distance to his house with slow steps. His elbow and hips were sore from the fall, and his clothes were all covered in snow and dirty slush. He could knock at her door, and try to talk to Lou, but he knew she would not listen to him. Besides, they could not discuss their disagreement if her mom and siblings were around. So he'd better leave her alone for the moment. This was not the way he had planned their encounter after all these weeks apart, and he felt very sad. He would have to wait for the right moment to talk to her, and with a heavy heart he finally opened the door to his lonely house.

Fully awake in the dark, Louise lay in her bed. She could not sleep as she could not erase from her mind the nasty way she had treated Kid. He did not deserve her callousness, and she had no excuse. Talking to her father had left her in a foul mood, and she had vented her anger against Kid even though he had been so kind and patient to hear her out. She was really an ungrateful, heartless harpy. She despised herself, and in the darkness of her room she wondered if she would have the nerve to talk to him tomorrow. She was too ashamed.

After leaving him in the park, Louise had felt remorseful, regretting her hateful attitude. She had been sullen and subdued for the rest of the evening. During dinner her mother had obviously noticed her grim mood, but she had put it down to her ex-husband's visit when he had come to pick up the children for the weekend. Lou had answered to her mother's questions with monosyllables. In fact, right now she had forgotten about the episode with her father, and all she was worried about was Kid.

Lou kept tossing and turning in bed. Her mind played with the idea of giving him a ring, but she soon gave up. It was too late to phone him, which would naturally bother his parents. Besides, she imagined Kid must have been angry with her. He had not come to find her or called her after their disagreement. His silence gave him a huge clue of his feelings, but of course he had no reason to come to her. She was the one who needed to eat humble pie, and apologize to him .

Louise could not calm down and knew she could not wait till tomorrow. She needed to sort this out tonight, and talk to him. Lou rose from the bed, and walked to the window. As she pulled back the curtains, and had a look outside, she realized that his house was in total darkness. Maybe she could try to sneak into his bedroom. There was a wooden structure for a Virginian creeper that Mrs. Cain grew, and Lou was sure she could climb to his window.

Louise stepped out of her bedroom but seconds later she re-entered, as she noticed there was light downstairs. Her mother was still awake, and Lou wanted to avoid being found out. She could not explain to her mother why Kid and she had fought and besides, her mom would not allow her to carry out her intentions.

She needed to find another way to get out. Naturally she could wait for her mother to go to sleep, but she was too impatient. So she walked back to the window, and opened it. There was a leafless tree very close her house, which would be her means to do what she wanted. She just needed to take a jump from her window to one of the branches, and then she would easily crawl down the tree. It would not be difficult. When she was a child, she used to like climbing trees, and more than once her parents had punished her when they had caught her red-handed.

After throwing her coat over her body, she got ready to make her escapade. She did not think it twice, and with an impulse she jumped towards the tree branch. Her stretched arms managed to grab it strongly, but she had not counted with the branches being covered in frost. Unluckily, her arms slipped, and, before she knew what was happening, she found herself falling. It was so sudden that she did not even manage to scream. Her body hit the snow-covered ground, and, as her mouth let out a grunt, she heard a more urgent voice calling her name.

"Lou! Lou!"

She lifted her eyes, and found herself looking at Kid's concerned eyes. "I… I'm fine," she said as she let him help her back to her feet. "I… the snow cushioned the fall, and I'm not so sore as you might think."

"What on earth were you doing?" Kid asked a bit too loudly.

"I…I…" she started clumsily with downcast eyes, feeling totally stupid. Under his intense stare, the truth about her acts was too embarrassing to admit, and she felt unable to talk. "It doesn't matter. It was silly."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Louise nodded, meeting his eyes again. He did not seem angry, and Lou dared to hope they could mend things. "And what about you? What were you doing here all by yourself?" she asked.

"Enjoying the night in solitude. That's what you told me to do, isn't it?" he replied half-seriously.

Louise hung her face in shame. "I'm really sorry, Kid. Please forgive me. My behavior was absolutely detestable."

"You were just upset," Kid replied. "I can't blame you, but I just want you to be sure about my feelings for you. Lou, I respect you too much and I won't do anything that shows you less. That's why I came out with the hope you'd be awake and we could talk."

Louise smiled, looking at him sheepishly. "I also wanted to talk to you, and apologize when I fell from the sky," she finally admitted. "That's why I tried to get out, and fell from the tree. I planned to sneak into your bedroom."

Kid had to chuckle. "Do you know that you're absolutely crazy?"

"Maybe, but you love me," she said cheekily, and for the first time tonight she dared to touch him. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she pushed herself up on her tiptoes, and placed a soft kiss on his chin, very close his lips. "And I really long to be with you," she repeated what she had said in the park, but in a much calmer way. "I really want to fall asleep in your arms as we did on those nights we were in the hotel during the blizzard."

"Well, that could be arranged," he replied, wrapping his arms around her trembling body. Louise gave her a confused look, and he added, "You could sneak out into my place as you had already planned… but please use the front door. My heart can't take more scares tonight."

"And your parents?"

"They are away for the weekend. That's what I tried to explain to you before, but you wouldn't hear me." Louise looked at him apologetically, and as he took her hand, leading her to his house, he added, "And don't worry. I'll get you out before your mom wakes up tomorrow."

"Who's worried here?" Louise replied flirtatiously as they stood before his door. "If she catches us, I'll tell her that you've kidnapped me, and I couldn't resist your charms."

Kid had to laugh. "Oh Lou, you're wicked," he replied with a teasing smile.

Lou clasped her arms around her necks as she whispered, "Oh… you haven't seen half of me yet." And without further ado, she joined her lips to his in a long kiss that promised to last all night long.