Chapter 54 The Second Wave
Leaning against his truck, Keith looked up at the Sorority House that his sister lived in. He looked over and saw his teammate since high school, Nathan Smith, coming over with his bag over his shoulder. Keith shook his head and looked back at Nathan.
"Keith, my friend," Nate said.
"What do you want, Nate?" Keith asked, pushing his sunglasses up.
"Can I get a ride back to Tree Hill with you?" Nate asked.
Keith shook his head, "Nate, I have to take Ellie home, so no," he said.
"Come on, Keith," Nate said.
"Sorry man, my truck is full," Keith said.
"How can you leave me hanging like this?" Nate asked.
"Nate, listen to Keith," Shea Perkins said as she came up from behind Nate. Keith held his arms open and she slipped into them. He gave her a soft light kiss on the lips and when they broke apart she turned around and looked at Nate, "Nate, why can't your Dad or Mom pick you up?"
Nate shook his head, "My Dad's working, and I don't want to be involved with my Mom," he said, and then stormed off. With that, Shea turned around and looked at Keith.
"What's that all about?" she asked.
"Long story," Keith said.
"So, are you and Ellie going to be okay without me?" Shea asked.
Keith nodded, "Yeah, and you'll be following us to Tree Hill in a few weeks?" Keith asked.
Shea asked, "Yeah, I have a few things to do here, and then I'll be down there. So, your parents have no problem with me staying in that house?"
Keith shook his head, "No, not at all, they checked with my Aunt and you can stay in the small house," he said.
She nodded, "I'd rather stay in your room," she said.
Keith nodded, "I know, and well, that is their rules," he said.
Shea nodded and leaned against Keith, resting her head on his chest. She closed her eyes and sighed. Keith looked down at her and shook his head.
"Would you two get a room," Ellie said, as she walked over to where the truck was parked, weighted down with her bags; she looked at them, "Would you help me out here?"
Keith and Shea separated and walked over to her and relieved her of her stuff. Keith carefully put it all in the bed of his truck. He made sure nothing was loose and nothing would blow away. He turned to his sister and shook his head. She nodded, and walked to the passenger side of the Ford Ranger.
"Well, I have to get going if I want to make it home at a decent hour," he said.
Shea nodded, "Okay, call me when you get home," she said.
"Will do," he said, gave her a quick kiss, and slid into the truck. Soon they were off, leaving Shea standing there watching him drive off with his sister.
James walked into the front door of his house and looked at Ashlyn standing there with Brett. He admired his small family, his wife and step-daughter. There was always something so settling about having a family, and soon he would be seeing his wife, his true love, so little, because she would be off working on her career.
"We're all loaded, just waiting for Candi and we can get you over to the airport," he said.
Ashlyn shook her head, "We're leaving our home," she said.
James came over and wrapped his arms around her, "Yes, but we'll have a new one that we'll make our home," he said.
She nodded, "When, September? If you don't make the playoffs?" she asked.
"Ash, we can do it, we agreed no regrets," he said.
She nodded, "I know, but I just, I don't know," she said.
James nodded, "We'll be fine, and anyways we'll have the beach house, so no Brian and LK, it will be ours, until we buy our own," he said.
She nodded, "What about our stuff?" she asked.
"Dad said the movers will come and pack up the rest. Our realtor will sell it for us," he said.
Ashlyn nodded, "So, where's Candi?" she asked, looking at her watch.
James shrugged and scooped up Brett. He noted she was getting too heavy to be carried. But when she was too heavy he would miss holding her. She looked at him and smiled.
"We go soon?" Brett asked.
James nodded, "Yes, we'll go soon."
"We're going to see Sassy, Keni, and LK?" she asked.
James nodded, "Yes, we will," he said, as they walked out of the house.
"Cool, I can't wait to see them," she said, and she looked at the truck and there was Candace standing there, "Candi!" the little girl cried.
"Brett," Candace said.
"You coming with us?" Brett asked.
"Yes, I am," Candace said and walked over and kissed Brett on the cheek, "I loaded my stuff," she said to James.
James nodded, "Then let's get going, we have a professional basketball player that needs to get her career going," he said.
Ashlyn blushed, but they climbed into the truck with Candace and Brett squeezed into the extended cab. Ashlyn took her seat and looked out the window as they drove away. Her car had been sent ahead to Atlanta the other weekend. As they drove away, Ashlyn looked out the window and watched the house that was her first home disappear in the distance.
The beltway was in his rearview mirror, and so was the national capital. Finally, he would be free of the Jesuits and their teaching, away from it all. He still had a few choices he had to make. Mainly, they were all about his future. His Dad said at his graduation that his future would be determined by the next few choices he made.
As he gripped the steering wheel of his big red F-250 Diesel Pick Up Truck, his mind was drifting to various things. One was the hazel-eyed brunette that was waiting for him in Williamsburg.
"Well, Huck Ol' Boy, you've got a lot to think about and a short time to do it in," he said.
The window didn't answer him. He shook his head and just focused on the road and would wait until later for the choices he had to make. All he wanted was clear seas and a following wind, to complete his voyage home. All he need was the radio and feminine voice of Maggie Ellen, his GPS, to keep him company.
It was time to move on, but he knew he wasn't ready. He feared the choices he would have to make, but it was now time for him to be lost in the music and the voice of Maggie Ellen.
As they settled into their first class seats, Izzy looked over to see Kari talking with Fallon. Izzy shook her head and started looking for her noise-canceling head phones. But before she could find them Kari turned back to her.
"So, Keith was the one true love of your life?" Kari asked.
Izzy shook her head, "No, I wouldn't say that," she said.
Kari laughed, "That's not what Fallon says," Kari replied.
Izzy leaned forward and looked across the aisle at Fallon, "Last time I trust you, Judas, and imagine I called you sister," she said.
"Iz, I'm not going to lie," Fallon said, "Anyways, you and Keith were deeply in love."
"Yeah, so deeply in love," Trin said, and started making kissing sounds.
"The key word is 'was'," Izzy said.
"Yeah, how can an epic love like that just end?" Kari asked.
Fallon nodded, "Yeah, Izzy, what happened, why are you and Chase so quiet about what happened in Europe?"
Izzy shook her head, "How many times have I told you, nothing happened in Europe," she said.
"Europe?" Kari asked.
"Yeah, Izzy and Chase went to Europe before Chase went to College," Trin said.
"So what happened in Europe?" Kari asked.
"Nothing!" Izzy said.
Before Kari could follow up, the pre-flight announcement started. Kari was going to follow up but she saw that Izzy had already gotten her headphones on. As the plane took off and headed south she sighed. Her mission this summer is to find out why Izzy was so unhappy all the time, and try to fix it the best that she could.
As the plane leveled out at cruising altitude Kari reached for her own headphones. She always had problems flying, but she would just listen to her music and plan her next move. One way or another she would find out and fix this issue.
