Awakening: Second Stage
Chapter Nine
"Romance, Part I"
Saturday
The walk back to the cabin was quiet, but not uncomfortably so. Tino felt like speaking might ruin the current mood, a feeling Tish seemed to pick up on and reciprocate. Things were going better than ever expected. Tino reveled in the thought, he and Tish had truly been lost in that moment back on the beach, having reached a plateau of sorts. They often were comfortable just being together, but he couldn't help but marvel at how wonderful that moment had felt. It was so different than anything physical they could share, extremely unique, but no less pleasant. Little glances he occasionally snuck at Tish indicated that she was feeling pretty good herself, if that look on her face was any indication. She brought her hand down to join it with his own, and he offered no resistance.
"I'm just going to go change out of this and into something more comfortable." Tish grinned. "I'll be back soon."
"Something more comfortable?"
Tish laughed. "Don't get funny ideas! I didn't mean it like that!"
"Hey, you're the one who said 'something more comfortable,' not me."
"You'll just have to wait and see, I guess." Tish decided she'd better drop the matter before she ended up sounding like Mae West.
"I think I'll change myself. Come on over when you're done. Dixon's going to barbeque. Real Omaha Steaks! He brought some Gardenburgers for you, though."
"Thanks. I won't be long!"
Inside the cabin, Tino pulled a green shirt and blue shorts out of a drawer, slipping quickly into the bathroom to peel out of his damp clothes. The feeling of having something dry on his skin was quite nice, he found. He also found his stomach to be rumbling rather well. "Right, we skipped lunch." Tino sighed, remembering that he had had previous plans to grab a snack from the general store. It seemed that their work on a beachside reproduction of Venice had been far more seductive, plus they had managed to spend a fair amount of time in the water.
Tino emerged feeling slightly renewed, though it was hard to compete with the feeling of the quiet moments he and Tish had already shared on this trip. Through all of it, though, he felt as though something were still missing. Like there was something he should say. Sighing, Tino shook his head to clear it. There really wasn't anything he could say to her to explain it. Only now was he beginning to understand how complicated romance really is. The differences between men and women, aside from the obvious physical attributes, proved extensive. Extensive, but certainly not insurmountable. It was rare when he felt like he didn't know what to say to Tish, how to communicate with her. She made such a good friend and significant other that it was hard to imagine not being able to talk to her. He could count on Tish to be a sounding board. It was even better when she had advice. Much different than when his mother gave him an idea on what to do, she just provided a view that needed to be considered, that of an eighth grade woman. She could always be counted on, although he noticed she often told him to heed his mother's advice. The power of Mom was indeed not to be trifled with."
"Dixon, what's the ETA on dinner?" Tino asked watching as the sun continued to sink below the horizon.
"Well, I didn't want to start cooking before you kids got back. That, and I was a little.....preoccupied."
"You were with Mom, weren't you?"
"Contrary to popular belief, I did come up here this weekend with her in mind." Dixon smiled. "But I thought bringing you and your girlfriend to this place might provide you with some memorable times."
"Oh, and it has. Man, if you only.....well, um, you get the idea."
"Well enough."
"Hey, Dixon? Teach me about romance?"
"Romance? Tino, that's not something you can really teach. It's not a skill. I mean, sure, you can be romantic. But romance itself? It's spontaneous, something that has to come from both you and the woman you care for. I can give you a little bit of advice, if you like. But I thought you were doing pretty well on your own."
"It's not that, I just...things seem different all of a sudden, you know? Not in a bad way, but...I feel like there's something I should be telling her that I'm not. But I can't think of what it is. It's frustrating!"
"No, it's normal. Look, Tino, you should just stick with the truth. Tell her how much you enjoy being with her. Remind her. Reassure her. Deep down, we all love to be reassured about things like that. And above all else, just be honest with her. I really don't think you have anything to worry about."
"How did you learn so much about women?"
"A little bit of time, and a lotta bit of patience. Really, I don't know all that much. I just look like I do from your point of view."
"Fair enough. So, where's mom?"
"She said something about a seaweed casserole."
"Aww man!"
Tish twirled about in the mirror, smoothing out her fresh outfit. Pink seemed to go well with her lately, along with a pair of purple shorts and her sandals to complete the look. Nothing all that special, she felt it would more than suffice. Besides, she hadn't been lying to Tino. It was comfortable! She flopped backwards onto the bed, feeling content. Life was definitely good. At least as far as this weekend was concerned. Noises coming from the kitchen grabbed her attention, and she hoisted herself off her bed to go see what was going on. Miss Katsufrakis was treated to the sight of Tino's mother chopping...something...at amazing speeds, just like one of those instructional cooking programs on television. Twin knives impacted the cutting board in flurries, and some sort of green leaf was being shredded before her eyes. Once the older woman set the knives down on the counter, Tish walked over in contemplation. "What are you making?"
"Seaweed casserole."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Casserole. Stuffed with seaweed. And some other good stuff?"
"Seaweed?"
"It's very good for the heart."
"Yeah, but is it good for my stomach?"
"Certainly better than anything you'd get at the Snack Shack."
"Ouch. Point for you, the Snack Shack is NOT a place to go if you're on a diet. If you were locked in there, you'd probably die of malnutrition in a few weeks, despite having food available."
"Exactly. As a single mother, it's my responsibility to provide healthy, wholesome meals to my son until he's old enough to move out and start eating all sorts of junk that is nukeable until he gets married."
"Wow, you've really got this figured out."
"I've just seen it happen one too many times. So what's on your mind?"
"Can I ask you a strange question?"
"Won't be the first one I've been asked today. How can I help?"
"What do you think of Tino? I mean, I know he's your son, but how do you see him, aside from that?"
"That's not an easy question to answer."
"I understand."
"I tend to think of him as a little nervous and needy, but really quite capable. Tino just needs a lot of reassurances. But at the same time, he can be a leader when he wants to. He's squeamish about some things but macho about others. To be honest, my son really isn't all that easy to figure out. He's full of idiosyncrasies, but I like him for who he is. Not just because I gave birth to him, although you'd be surprised at the effect that can have on you. Someday, I hope you'll understand that. Anyway, I guess what I like the most about Tino is that he's almost always honest, and usually he'll speak his mind to his friends. Even to me."
"Thanks. I just wanted to know what you really think, beyond the parent thing. I think he's really....it's hard. He engenders a lot of trust, you know. He's usually really thoughtful of me, but almost never in a smothering kind of way. When I look at him, I can still see him as my friend, not just my boyfriend, and I'm really happy about that. We don't agree on everything, but I think I'm better for knowing him. Does that make any sense at all?"
"I think it makes perfect sense. Like I said before, you have all the permission you might be looking for from me. I'm glad you two are able to talk so much. My advice is to hold onto that, because it's worth holding onto, let me tell you. It's things like that you'll remember years from now, even if you and Tino aren't always an item."
"I will." Tish nodded.
"Good. Now, why don't you go find him while I finish up over here. Once I'm done, I'll be coming by the boys' cabin for dinner."
"See you there!" Tish called, trotting out the door.
"Understanding my son is one thing." Miss Tonitini grinned. "Understanding men, now therein lies the real challenge."
Dinner went much better than anticipated, in spite of the seaweed casserole. Meat, Tino decided, was good. Specifically, meat that seemed pure and tasted fresh and safe. Meat that came from something that he wasn't emotionally attached to. Say, for instance, a certain ostrich named Jimmy.
Tish didn't seem to have any complaints with her meal. She even offered Tino a bite from one of her Gardenburgers, which Tino surprisingly found to have a tangy taste, not entirely unlikable. Certainly not enough for him to take after Tish's vegetarian ways, but he felt that he could definitely eat one if it were served to him at someone's house.
Little was said as the four of them ate their meal, each preferring mastication to conversation. The day's physical activity had left them all with a hunger that seemed nigh insatiable. The speed with which Dixon had ingested his steak was staggering, to say the least. Tino mentally forced himself to slow down before he made himself sick. Still, it took some effort. He wasn't entirely certain, but he thought he could hear Tish humming bars of "Food, Glorious Food" between bites from her burger and casserole. Perhaps they should have packed something to eat that afternoon. Tino made a not to let this happen again.
Fortunately, dining al fresco with paper plates and plastic utensils made for an easy cleanup. Tino excused himself, stepping into his cabin and rooting around under the bed. Finding what he was looking for, he pulled out the simply wrapped package, momentarily forgetting its weight. He half dropped it onto the bed, now looking for some citronella candles to complete the setup. Finding Dixon's stash lying beside a cooler, Tino grabbed two of the bucket type, along with a campfire lighter.
Tish appeared in the doorway, looking slightly perplexed. "What's going on?" she asked, seeing Tino running around the cabin as though he was on a short timer.
"Huh? Tish! Hey, you're just in time. I'm preparing for tonight. Want to help?"
"What am I doing?"
"Would you mind carrying these candles? This gift is kind of heavy."
"May I open it now?" Tish asked energetically.
"Not quite. Almost. As son as we get down to the dock."
"Okay." Tish agreed, picking up both buckets. Tino grabbed a nearby bag from the general store so they could pack out their trash, then hoisted the gift off the bed, lighter grasped between a few fingers. "So, the dock, huh? What do you have planned?"
"You'll just have to wait and see." Tino grinned.
"You know, you really have a way of driving me crazy!"
Tino laughed. "Tish, you say that as though you don't have a PHD in doing the same thing to me!"
"Yes, but that's different. It's expected of me." Tish smiled. "You know you love it when I drive you up the wall. You need me to keep you on your toes."
"Oh? And here I thought it was my job to sweep you off your feet."
"Who said it wasn't?"
"Well, how am I doing so far? Because you're doing a superb job of making me absolutely crazy so far, Tish."
"Be patient, Tino." She grinned at him, shifting both candles to one hand and patting the boy on the head with her now free one. "I haven't finished with you yet."
"Okay, I'm not sure if that was supposed to be sweet, or just creepy."
"You'll just have to wait and see, won't you?"
They walked out the door of the cabin, heading down towards the beach and the dock where people fished and small boats and canoes were launched. Tino stood aside during the walk, contemplatively. "Okay, you guys just saw that too, right? Did Tish just own me back there? I'm not really sure, but she's got that look on her face, see?!" Tino snuck a glance over a Tish, who indeed wore an extremely satisfied expression. "And what's worse is, I think I kind of like it. I've never heard her talk to me in a possessive kind of way before. Oh man, this is kind of weird, but it's also exciting. I'm not sure what to do! You know, all I really want is to make Tish happy, at least as long as I'm with her. She's so much fun, and so supportive, but most of all, she really understands who I am, and she treats me right. She's still a really good friend on top of being my girlfriend, so I feel responsible to her. I want her to believe in me."
Tino turned back towards his date as they approached the dock, which was segregated and to the right of the swimming area they had utilized earlier in the day. It was rather poorly lit, and both teens were grateful they had brought the candles as a source of light as much as they were for keeping the insects at bay. A nearly full moon did hang in the sky, but a slowly moving cloud obscured the view and dimmed the night to a lower level than it would otherwise have been.
They stepped out onto the wooden structure, only a slight creak sounding as they worked their way towards the end. Tino sat on the edge, dangling his legs off the side, his feet hovering just above the surface of the water. Tish took her place beside him, setting the candles down between them. Tino handed the gift to Tish, who waited with as much patience as she could muster while Tino lit both candles, instantly adding a warm glow to the immediate area.
"Much better." Tino sighed, releasing the trigger of the lighter and letting the flame go out. "Now we'll see well and be bug free."
"Ah, the wonders of modern man." Tish giggled. "Okay, so, I'm going to open this now. I've only been waiting forever!"
"Just remember. I got this because I wanted to share it with you."
"Alright." She smiled warmly at him, digging into a corner of the wrapping with her nails. "Let's see exactly what you had in mind here."
"Oh, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised." He watched in admiration as Tish ran her finger down the length of the paper's seam, slowly opening the gift without tearing through the paper.
"Wow, I expected you to just tear into this thing!"
"I figured you might want to use this again, sometime."
"That's a kind thought, but no."
"Even so, this way it kind of preserves the integrity of you work." Tish unfolded both corners, then tipped package to the side, its contents slowly sliding out the end she had worked open. "Is this a book?"
"You'll see."
Tish was able to pull the rest of the paper free without ruining it. She set it behind her, Tino grabbed it and tossed it into the bag he had brought. Tish felt, as well as smelled, the leather-bound book in her hands as she held it into the light coming from the candles. "The Collected Works of William Shakespeare?!" Tino, this is so sweet, but you know I've already got what's in here covered in my library."
"I know. Let me explain. See, at first, I really I had no idea what to get you for this anniversary. I wanted it to be something that you would not only like, but remember years from now. I went down to the library and asked from advice from the librarians who know you pretty well, I asked what they thought you would really like. They told me you were really into Shakespeare and other classical works, which of course I knew. And that was when the idea came to me. I never really looked into most of these things. So I went down to the bookstore and asked around for the best book they had which featured everything that Shakespeare had written. I thumbed through it, so many plays....and then behind them, I found this huge stash of poetry. I brought it up to the information desk and asked them to tell me about these poems. And this guy explained to me that Shakespeare had written a lot more than just plays, but all these poems...sonnets, they're called."
"That's right!" Tish exclaimed. "That's what made him so cool. Will was not a one trick pony. He wrote all these different types of plays, plus a plethora of really romantic sonnets......oh my gosh! Tino! Do you mean?!"
"I thought it would be kind of romantic of we sat out here and just read some of these poems to each other. I wanted to know more about these things. I know you're really interested in them. I went over a few with the bookstore guy, and they weren't really that difficult to understand. Anyway, I want to share in your interests. Because I say I'm interested in you, but I think it's time I started showing it a little more."
Tish stared at Tino for several moments, her face looking dreamy and her eyes full of stars. Leaning into him, she ran her left hand up his arm, across his shoulder and then under his neck, tipping it upwards to meet her own as she pulled him into a very tender kiss, one that began soft and that became a little more daring than usual as she wrapped her arms around him, prolonging the moment. She released him after some time, leaving little flash kisses around his mouth and cheeks as she pulled away.
"Whoa." Tino tried to recover, still lost somewhere between his explanation and...whatever had happened immediately afterwards.
"Tino, I know I've said this a lot this weekend, but do you have any idea how sweet you are? You didn't have to do this, you know?"
"I know. I didn't do it because I felt I had to, or because anyone told me to. I did it because I wanted to. And I want to know more about you and your world." Tish pushed her glasses up into her fair as she wiped something out of her eye. "Hey, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Really. I just....had something in my eye, is all." She replaced her glasses, restoring her sight. "Sorry. You just really took me by surprise here. In a good way, Tino, I mean that, I truly do." She couldn't resist running her right hand slowly through his hair as she lifted the book onto her lap and began leafing through it. "This is.....there's nothing you could have bought me that would mean as much to me as this does. Come on, lean in closer, let's recite some of these, like you planned."
"I'd like that." Tino pushed himself closer, until they were side by side, moving a candle closer so that they could catch better light to read by.
Tish looked up at him once more as she readied a good poem to start with. "Happy anniversary, Tino." She smiled warmly, putting an arm around Tino and pulling him a little closer.
"Happy anniversary, Tish." The cloud drifted away from the moon as the began reciting.
Welcome, dear readers, to the chapter that nearly wasn't. More than any other week, the entire cosmos was against a new chapter coming out. I ended up writing most of this at work on Friday, August 25. It wasn't easy. But it came out. On time, no less. I was crying Thursday night, feeling I'd never get the new chapter out. Fortunately, I was able to get this together, and it's not looking too shabby, if I do say so myself.
No Lor this time out. Not that I couldn't think of anything to do with her, just that I felt there were themes and forces here too great to break up with an interlude starring her and Carver. I haven't quite finished this segment yet, so it's possible she may not appear next week either, I haven't decided just yet. Fans of Lor, please don't despair. You will begin to see her character take on a much more pronounced role in this saga come Third Stage (oh yes, there IS a Third Stage), so don't think she's being brushed aside. By no means. In fact, one of my greatest fears is that her story will become more popular than the main one, but it's a chance I'm willing to take. Sadly, saying anything more on this matter would be telling, so you'll just have to make do, for now.
An important notice, I will be going away the weekend of August 8-10. Those who have looked at my profile know that I'm a huge anime fan, and I will be at Otakon that weekend. Preparations for this trip will likely eat into story writing time. In other words, there may be no chapter that week. I've been looking into writing another one ahead of time, but I don't know if that will be feasible or not. Rest assured that I will do exactly that, if possible.
We come now, my friends, to the end of the file. Another week come and gone. To those of you who deeply look forward to this story updating, week in and week out, I wish you could know how much that means to me. As I step out, I'd like to encourage you all to keep reviewing, and better yet, to contact me via e-mail or AIM if so moved. It's nice to get to know the people who are involved with what I create every week.
Later days!
Lord Malachite
7/25/03
1:52 AM, EST
E-mail: ranger_writer@yahoo.com
AIM: Asukaphile26