"Gawd, I feel like an idiot Paige. I should have known. No one's energy is that strong before meeting. I should have put it together." Layla apologized again as they drove down the street.
"It's okay Layla, really. You were only trying to be a good friend, to help me. To help Wah-ter." Paige finally forced his name out.
"Well at least now I know the name you were constantly avoiding to say when you talked about him." Layla smiled sadly at her.
Paige nodded as she turned where Layla said.
"It is kind of weird though. Before I saw him, I was sure I never wanted to see him again and now I can't go another hour without seeing him." Paige told her as they came to a stop at a light.
"Well if you would just let me apologize first, I'll step back and let the two of you talk. Or do you think it would help for me to be an intermediary? To try and help keep emotions under control?" Layla asked, looking at Paige.
"Well Walter won't be too emotional but it might not hurt for you to be there to keep me in check. I don't want to say anything that can even remotely hurt him but it is emotional and sometimes my emotions get the best of me. Though that night I think it was worse because I was trying not to be emotional at least on the surface as I knew Walter wouldn't understand them. I was cold and calculated and that I think hurt him more. I hit him in every spot I knew where it would hurt him the most. And I did it in front of the guys. People he had been friends with for close to ten years in Happy's case. I was a serious witch that night and then I just walked out." Paige sighed.
Paige turned on the next street Layla told her and then she frowned.
"Wait, doesn't this go to those new expensive condos on the bluff?" Paige asked, looking at Layla for a moment.
Layla nodded.
"Richard bought a condo and gave it to Walter as part of his compensation package. If it wasn't for our backyard I would almost rather live there. But I can sunbathe and swim in the nude and not have anyone bother me. Speaking of which, you should come over one day when Terry will be gone and we can both tan up." Layla grinned at her.
Paige grinned but then shook her head.
"There is no way Walter went back to that condo in his state. He had to go to some place that meant something to him." Paige said as she thought.
"So have you known Walter long?" Sylvester asked as they all sat uncomfortably at the dinner table eating.
"Compared to you guys, nope." Terry responded.
"Weren't you listening earlier when he said Richard brought him into their work space and introduced him a month and a half ago?" Toby asked him incredibly.
"Hey, quit being a bully." Terry told him as he pointed his finger across the table at him. "He's just nervous and trying to find a way to cut the tension. How can you be a freaking Harvard trained psychologist and still be this stupid? Layla with her associates in relationship counseling is a better therapist than you will ever be."
"He's got an excellent point Fungus, quit picking on people." Happy told him.
Toby threw his hands up not believing she wasn't backing him up and everyone else watched as the potato salad on his fork flew off and struck the ceiling above his head and then mostly fell back down and landed on him. Toby swallowed hard.
"Umm, sorry about that. Uh, when we get done, if you have a ladder I'll be happy to climb up and clean that up." Toby told Terry as he sat glaring at him.
"So what are you and Walter doing for Richard?" Sylvester tried again.
"We're redesigning the Tesla battery. Part of the reason Richard gave Walter the car. He's going all out to keep him happy." Terry laughed.
"That must cause a little animosity amongst the rest of you then, right?" Happy asked, looking at him.
Terry shook his head.
"Oh a couple of the guys aren't happy but there isn't anything they can do about it. Richard dolts on Walter. If push came to shove he'd probably fire everyone that works for him to keep Walter. But Walter and I hit it off pretty well right from the start. And Layla took a big shine to him as well. She always has a soft spot for people and animals she can tell are hurting." Terry told her.
"So is that how she got involved with Paige? Trying to figure out a way to help Walter?" Happy asked.
"Nope, she actually met Paige completely by accident and didn't have a clue who she was. She'd gone inside a convenience store to pick up some things and Paige was trying to pay for something but forgot her wallet. Layla just stepped up and put her stuff with Paige's and said she'd pay for it. Paige wanted to repay her but Layla told it was okay and not to worry. She was happy to help. Still Paige invited us over for dinner and their friendship just blossomed. Walter never said what her name was and she only ever partially said his name whenever I heard her. But now it seemed so obvious she was about to say Walter. She always froze after Wah came out of her mouth." Terry explained.
"I remember Paige telling us about that. She was super embarrassed she'd left her wallet on the counter after giving Ralph some money for lunch. I didn't realize she had invited you guys over for dinner to thank you." Happy told him. "But wasn't Walter's picture on her walls then?"
"No, the only pictures we saw were of her and Ralph." Terry told her.
"So then it must have been a month or longer after the convenience store meeting that she invited you guys over. It took her almost three months to take them down. Though I think she just moved them into her bedroom. She's been nothing but business around us. But it wasn't hard to tell she missed him." Happy said a bit sadly. "Just like me, but for a different reason."
"Did you guys pick tonight because Ralph wasn't going to be around?" Sylvester asked as he got uncomfortable with the feelings from Happy.
"Naw, we love the little guy. Layla didn't find out until after she invited Paige that he was going to be hanging out with that grandpa fellow he loves so much." Terry explained before taking another drink of the wine. "And just as a friendly piece of advice to the two of you guys. Walter and Paige, they are both our friends. So stay out of the way as Layla tries to fix their friendship at least, if not their romantic relationship as well. Happy at least seems to be accepting of it but the way you both went after Walter earlier, I'll be happy to take you both out to my Dojo and use you for target practice if you interfere in this again."
"No way, you got your own Dojo? What is your Dan?" Happy grinned.
"I just made Rokudan a couple of years ago. Layla could apply for Rokudan if she wanted. She's got the time and skill." Terry told her.
"Man, that is awesome. I haven't kept up like I should. I might have to sweet talk the two of you into letting me come over some time and train with you." Happy told him.
"No sweet talking required Happy, come over anytime we're home, one of us is almost always up for a spar or to train. Just call first if you want to bring him with you." Terry laughed while pointing at Toby. "After we're done eating here if you want we can go out and you can take a look."
Paige pulled up to the parking area of the beach where they had spent loads of time for different things. The most significant was of course launching most of Megan's ashes into space.
Layla pointed at a car and Paige nodded as she saw it.
"Looks like you were right, girl. Walter did come here. I'd recognize that license plate in a sea of Teslas." Layla told her.
Paige frowned until she looked at the license plate.
"1974her" was all it said.
"1974 her? I don't get it." Paige started to say and then it trailed off as she realized it was his IQ + the number 4 meaning for her. Paige's heart swelled as she realized that the word her, referred to her personally. "That license plate, it's about, he's saying he's for me, isn't he?"
"He sure is, he explained that much to me when I first saw it." Layla grinned as she nodded.
"He always made fun of people with a vanity plate, it was illogical and a waste of money he always said." Paige looked at the clock in her car and saw they had about an hour before the sun would set. She opened her door at the same time as Layla and they both stepped out, closing the doors behind them. They were both scanning the beach and all of the people that were still enjoying the sun and surf. She saw Walter half leaning back against some rocks, his hands in his pockets and staring out into the ocean and sky. The rocks were the same rocks that fell when the sinkhole had swallowed Daniel. Paige gestured as she kicked off her heels and opened the car door so she could put them in the car before locking her door.
"Well, love is very illogical, so he's right in reference to himself." Layla grinned as she followed suit and then they began walking out towards him. Thankfully the sun's rays weren't striking the sand straight on, so the sand wasn't too hot. Still they moved tenderly by stepping into the shadows that were cooling the sand.
"Walter." Paige said softly as they got closer.
Walter jerked and stood up straight even as a hand came up and wiped at his face.
Paige was amazed as she almost couldn't believe that Walter had been crying.
"I'm sorry Paige, I don't want any trouble." Walter said weakly.
"Walter, I know you don't and neither do I. Layla is here with me. Is it okay if we get closer and talk to you? Please?" Paige all but begged.
"I don't own the beach Paige, you are free to do as you please." Walter said flatly.
"I know you don't Walter but you have the right not to be disturbed by us if you don't want to be." Paige told him.
"You can come closer and talk if you want." Walter shrugged even as his heart wailed for him to look at her but he refused, afraid he'd break down more.
Paige looked at Layla and she nodded to Paige as she stepped on up to Walter.
"Walter, I am so sorry. I had no idea that you and Paige had been a couple before. I also didn't know her partners were going to be such jerks to you or I wouldn't have invited them." Layla told him.
Walter paused in responding as he struggled to get his emotions under control and bury them.
"Thank you for saying that Layla, you didn't have any way of knowing about that. You're forgiven." Walter told her as unemotionally as he could.
"I asked Layla to stay here to help me remain calm emotionally Walter, but if you would prefer for her to step away. I promise to try and remain calm." Paige told him as she moved closer.
"If you think you need her with you, Layla is welcome to stay. Along with Terry, they have been really great friends." Walter told her, still staring out at the sea. His voice, straining to remain flat and unemotional.
"Walter, can we sit here together like we used to do while we talk? Please?" Paige asked softly.
Walter sighed but nodded even as he stepped backwards and sat against the boulder.
Paige stepped up and sat down on his right side. She sucked in her lips as she stared out at the ocean with him.
"It is going to be a beautiful sunset I think." Paige said exploratorially.
"I think you are right. The yellows and reds will be splendid today. Less pollution since the winds aren't out of the East, so it will be clearer as well." Walter nodded as he realized she was trying to work up the courage to say what was on her mind, or heart perhaps. He kept trying to steel himself. He wasn't sure he could take another attack from her. Sylvester and Toby had nearly cracked him.
Paige smiled.
"I've really missed you Walter. I really needed to tell you that first." Paige told him. Her hand seemed to have a mind of its own as it moved a bit closer to where his hand rested on the rock.
"I've really missed you too. Thank you for the few visits with Ralph." Walter replied.
"You didn't have to thank me for that. I'm sorry I was mad at him and punished you both by stopping his visits." Paige told him.
"I had to, I didn't want you to think I didn't appreciate it. As excited as he was to come see me, he was still so mad. But we always had a good time despite his anger. It helped make this a little more bearable. And I understand, he did something you didn't approve of so you had to ground him." Walter said even as his skin prickled as her pinky lightly brushed against his hand.
"That's not why I did it though, he didn't actually do anything wrong. I was too proud to call you to ask what was going on. And I tried to get Cabe and then Ralph to tell me. We started getting more and more jobs and it was just weird. Now I know it is because you shut down Scorpion. I'm so sorry Walter. Scorpion was your dream and because of me it was ruined." Paige said, finally looking over at him.
Walter shook his head even as her pinky brushed back and forth against his hand.
"You didn't ruin it. I did. By doing what I always do, screwing up. Without meaning too I alienated Happy, Toby and Sylvester. And I forget not everyone looks at things as dispassionately as I do and in our case I couldn't see that what I saw as just two people going to a lecture could look like it was something tawdry to others, especially when it isn't disclosed properly." Walter told her.
Paige slightly nodded as she was looking out towards the ocean again. She felt her pinky sliding down the gap between his pinky and the ring finger of his right hand. Her eyes opened wide as she felt Walter's ring finger move before it came up over her pinky and trapped it between his two fingers. She looked down at their hands and it was almost as if he was holding her hand. She looked up with a tear in her eyes and saw Walter had them too.
"I'm so sorry Walter. I was so upset with you. I unfairly used my intimate knowledge of your insecurities and I hit you below the belt with my words that night. I wish I could take it all back but I know I can't." Paige told him as her ring finger moved over to squeeze his pinky between her fingers as well.
Greetings! Hope this finds you well! Umm, sorry, somehow I got my days confused and forgot I was supposed to post today. Maybe cause I finally got chapter 8 finished last night. lol Started working on chapter 30 of Callan today.
To the Adventure! -Tim